Help a dude out that was born B.C. (Before Computers) What marginally priced desktops would you recommend for todays computing. I really don't want to spend big money. Maybe around $500 + or - for the cpu, keyboard and mouse. I use it for blogging, e mail, online shopping, photo searches, information searches, news, youtube and other visual media plus lots of photo files. My nephew said a good graphics card is a must for video playback. How much RAM is adequate in todays environment and what about processors and ethernet. Suggestions? I'm not a gamer to speak but some gaming capability would be nice. I'll show you two refurbs I was looking at and tell me yay or nay plus suggestions are welcome.

This was the other I was interested in but somebody already bought it. Let's use it for comparison though. Don't ask me why HP. It doesn't have to be but I've had HP for more than 15 years. The media center computer I have now is 10 years old so I got my money's worth and more. It's had a couple of upgrades along the way but it's just getting old and tired. What I replace it with doesn't have to be new and a refurb would be OK. The latest and greatest doesn't matter to me because it all changes so quickly. Is Windows 7 still acceptable to get? It will be supported till 2020. Or should I torture myself with Windows 8. I will read and learn from what you geeks tell me.



http://www.ebay.com/itm/290971720481?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Here's another

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Pavilion-P ... 1263547803?pt=Desktop_PCs

Throw another into the mix.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-ENVY-Deskt ... 1110648254?pt=Desktop_PCs

Thanks for taking the time to aid me in my folly.

I'm going to be in the same boat shortly. I have one ancient machine that I upgraded from Win2K to XP just a couple years back, and it'll have to be replaced soon, which I'm not looking forward to. I haven't kept tabs on what are good graphics chips, hard drives, etc. so I'm anxious to see what the recommendations are, too. On the surface, any of those machines should be plenty capable.

I haven't heard glowing reports on Win 8. I have been very happy with Win 7.

Tommy, I am something of an HP bigot. I think they are good solid machines. I buy directly from HP.com. you can take their machines as they are or customize them to your liking.

I don't know if Windows 7 is still available or not.

You can't have too much RAM. I would probably go for 8g.

Video, if you are not gaming the high end video cards are not necessary. For watching things on Youtube I find whatever is in the machine is sufficient.

Win 8 sucks.....I'm about ready to make the move to a MacBook Pro of some kind. All my kids have them and they give me pitying looks when I need them to fix some glitch on my old Toshiba.

Dad...why are you messing around with a PC still? The Mac's are expensive but once you go over I don't think you will ever come back.

I had HP for a long time but had trouble with one when they went to 64 bit. It did have Vista on it also...

I then switched back to Toshiba laptops and have had good luck with them. I have had this one in my library for a long time and it serves me well...its Win 7.

TBee's good at computers...he should be able to advise...

I don't have time to give a good answer right now, but will tonight.

In short, I build my own... check TigerDirect.com for parts.

Ya, I know all you young whipper snappers like to cobble together a mix of components to suit your needs but I'd have issues in mixing compatible drives, processors, memory cards, etc. Ken, When you order components and have them build one for you to suit your desires, it's like ordering a new car from the factory. You pay for your individuality unless there is a sale or promotion. I did that with Dell many moons ago. That computer lasted about 8 years. That's why I'm inclined to go "pick one off the lot". We recently bought a Windows 8 computer for the office. Then had to buy a new printer/scanner /fax because the old one was not compatible. I have an HP photo printer and a Brother fax/scanner/ printer (the old one from the office). My HP all in one printer that's about 4 years old just took a dump. The feeder is screwed. New feeder $170 plus labor. New printer, around a hundred fifty bucks. It's a throw away world we live in. Stuff is old as soon as you take it out of the box. That's why I'm not opposed to an older unit with an older OS. (Maybe I can use my stuff with Win 7) Win 7 will have support till 2020. That's when I'd need a new and improved version anyway.

Win 8.1 has mouse control back... so that's no longer an issue.

I use MSI gaming boards... a litle more expensive, but will last a long while.

One other thing... find our where the computer is made.

The best bet is either Taiwan or Japan.

the mobo's I buy are all Taiwan with Japanese components. That is the best of the best.

Here is the real geek shit:

A good quality Japanese capacitor will cost about 4 or 5 cents each. A junk Chinese one is about a penny. Guess which the major mfgs use?

The difference is that the quality Japanese components are near mil spec. Very good stuff that will last 5+ years, easy.

Another aside. Dell has the Precision and XPS series. Both are VERY good. I have an Precision series at work and it's EXCELLENT. Best Dell EVER. It has a single Xeon processor, 3.2ghz... 12 gigs of ram. I think it has space for a 2nd processor. Xeon's are used in servers. Fast mofo.

Tommy, HP Labor Day sale is still going on. They have some Windows 7 machines available. There is a code on their front page to enter for the savings.

Ya, Ken. I just saw that. They have a deal at $499 after $100 off. That looks pretty good for me. I wonder if I should get the 3 yr in house warranty for $129? Dells are running a little higher. For a plain Jane in house average user the $499 deal looks pretty good. It's a new machine with warranty and free shipping and it fits my budget. I always bounce the extended warraties through my head on computers, tv's and major applinces like washers, refrigerators and such. It depends on the product and service costs associated with them.

I've always had good luck with Dell. HP is also a good brand. We had really good luck with our last Acer laptop.

I like tigerdirect.com for good deals. You can also watch for mfg sales. You should be able to find a very nice computer in the $500 range. Don't worry about getting the latest/greatest for what you are doing.

Tigerdirect is a good place to buy. I've bought 5 of these for clients Tommy. Win 7 Pro.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicatio ... asp?EdpNo=7437768&CatId=6

Quote:

That is exactly the one I was going to suggest to you.

I normally don't do warranties, but in this case, for $129, it will replace a head hard drive and do so without angst.

That's almost worth it.

I just confuse myself more by trying to expand tech for a future laptop. So what do you need, a wireless card and router? Anything else?

Then there's all the new software and needed apps. What a pain in the ass to upgrade. Then there is all my old software and files. More pains in the ass. I hate change and improvement. It's too much like work. I'm getting closer though to figuring it out. I might have to have two computer systems. My old one and my new one.


Here's all my pre 09/2013 shit on this one and all my post 09/2013 shit on this one.

My home office will look like an expanded drum set.

Attach file:

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  Computer.bmp (685.84 KB)

we were naive, eh?

Tommy, it's not hard to fix the data issue... programs? well, that's another problem...

I will give you a call over the weekend.

This looks like a good Win 8 HP deal . I'd be all over it on if it had WIN 7.

relinked

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicatio ... details.asp?EdpNo=8275290

That's a nice computer, Tommy. 6core 10GB, Win8 would be the drawback.

the link is crappy... sucks...

get win 8.1... it has the mouse support. demand 8.1

Win 8 isn't bad, but its dedicated to touch screens!!!

With Win 8 or 8.1 I would have to buy a compatible photo printer and all in one machine. You know new versions don't like to be backward compatible. They like to force upgrades.

tee. I'm finding it hard to beat your recommendation.

My windows 8 machine didn't have any problem with my printers...all of them pretty old. All HP, Laserjet 1200, Designjet 500 and Color Laserjet 1518ni. Had drivers for all three native to the OS.

ding,ding,ding,ding,ding,ding



We have a winner!

This is what I bought. I hope I didn't screw it up too badly.
I think I got what I wanted.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/300953407071?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

not bad at all! Looks like a solid machine with a shit load of features. 12g of RAM is killer, as is the 2t of disc.

I give that 4.5 stars out of 5, with the only half start ding going to the onboard video card, but that's fixable if required.