Need a new desktop PC

[davebarnes]

Dave…..tell me more. I've been looking at them for my wife.

1. Don't buy a computer for your wife. Let her buy her own computer. Have her visit a female friend who owns an iMac and talk with that person about why she likes her Mac.
2. Be prepared to pay more. Apple products cost more because you are paying for the design and build (For example, this comment about a Dell AIO "Only down side the fan is loud." iMacs are almost silent.). iMac customers do not talk about specs. If price is important to you, then don't even consider any Apple products.
3. One of aspects of Mac OS that people like is that the UI is "smoother". Very difficult to describe.
4. If she does decide to buy an iMac, then get one with a fusion drive and the minimum memory. Add 3rd-party memory to get up to 32GB. Buy Applecare.

 

[albireo13]

We have our 2nd iMAC 27". It is our one family computer. We love them and they work great, as long as you are ok with the Apple ecosystem.
I am thinking now of getting a refurb, or cheap, WIN-based pc. I sometimes find programs or applications which just run better or are only available on WIN boxes.

A cheap laptop would be great for this. It would be my PC and I would use it for fun/hobby stuff.

 

[nancyfrank232]

We have our 2nd iMAC 27". It is our one family computer. We love them and they work great, as long as you are ok with the Apple ecosystem.
I am thinking now of getting a refurb, or cheap, WIN-based pc. I sometimes find programs or applications which just run better or are only available on WIN boxes.

A cheap laptop would be great for this. It would be my PC and I would use it for fun/hobby stuff.

Congrats! What did you guys do with the first iMac? Did you pay Apple to recycle it? Or just keep it around the house? I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with it!

 

[statsman]

I just opened Dell site, to see if I could get a clearer picture.
https://deals.dell.com/en-us/work/category/desktops

Since I have an older XPS, I would likely stick with that. There are two Black Friday deals that I would compare, on that page - XPS Tower. But would look around to see what other manufacturers are offering.

Each manufacturer you'd consider will have a page with limited deals, and that shows you what they're pushing, which is likely to be what's most popular.

$200 spread out over 5 years of useful life is not a big deal. YMMV.

I've gone with Dell since 2009. Prior to that, I used to build my PCs. When I last purchased in late 2013, I worked deals with both Dell Home and Dell Business. It seems like a lot of their added deals and coupons have been reduced or eliminated since that time. I've always gotten a lot more computer for less cost each time I upgraded in the past, but this time, it appears the cost will be quite a bit more than in 2013.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

We will be replacing both our desktops with refurbished units at a cost of $200 each.

+1 on this. I have been doing this for 10+ years and have had no issues with these computers. However, I don't do anything game/graphics intensive with it but they have all lasted 4 years or more (have bought for my Dad as well) and came with the latest OS.

 

[Jerry1]

(For example, this comment about a Dell AIO "Only down side the fan is loud." iMacs are almost silent.).

Mine is completely silent.

In searching for a quite computer, I found this place.

https://silentpc.com/

They will build you whatever you want. Mind is a fanless unit and I'm very happy with it. I can't stand fan noise. Not cheap, but exactly what I wanted and they use high end components. My current one has lasted 6 years with no problem. Hoping for a few more.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I've gone with Dell since 2009. Prior to that, I used to build my PCs. When I last purchased in late 2013, I worked deals with both Dell Home and Dell Business. It seems like a lot of their added deals and coupons have been reduced or eliminated since that time. I've always gotten a lot more computer for less cost each time I upgraded in the past, but this time, it appears the cost will be quite a bit more than in 2013.

Funny, I've gone the opposite way. I used to buy Dell's until Windows 7 came out, since then I've built them myself. You might consider that. Homebrew components are much better than Dell's mass produced stuff.

I'm in the same boat as you, I've got an i7 with 16GB RAM and a full 120GB SSD, running Win 7. I figure I'll eventually buy a 1TB SSD and install Win 10 on it.

I've already converted another homebrew i5 Win 7 machine with 16GB and a 240GB SSD to Win 10. In case you're wondering, this was my son's gaming computer, and now I do photo editing on it and some video editing. I can't tell a difference between it and my Win 7 machine with an i7. So, if you are mulling spending that extra $200 for the i7, it's probably not worth it.

 

[albireo13]

Congrats! What did you guys do with the first iMac? Did you pay Apple to recycle it? Or just keep it around the house? I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with it!

The old iMAC was over 8 yrs old IIRC and still running. It was getting a bit long in the tooth and was too old to get an Apple credit for it. At first I considered upgrading it … more RAM and go to SSD.
Instead I decided to just get an all-new iMAC.

I ended up posting it on Craigslist and selling it.

 

[albireo13]

What brand laptops are the favorite? Dell, HP, etc??

 

[Midpack]

I'm done with the Microsoft Office suite. Once they started transitioning to Office 365, I started looking for alternatives, and found Google Docs. Easy, intuitive, very similar to office, and all of your documents can be accessed by any computer with internet, as long as you know your Google sign-in information. I have nearly instant access to every one of my Google Doc files from my laptop, phone, or tablet. It's so much better than Office IMO.

I haven't payed attention, but if Microsoft ever goes to Office via subscription only, I'm done with them even though I've used Word-Excel-PPT for decades. I use Google Sheets only when forced to and there's no way I'll adopt Google Docs entirely. So I may end up with another platform like Apple even though we've never owned a Mac desktop or laptop (love the iPad & iPhone though).

 

[Big_Hitter]

in same boat, following

 

[easysurfer]

I haven't payed attention, but if Microsoft ever goes to Office via subscription only, I'm done with them even though I've used Word-Excel-PPT for decades. I use Google Sheets only when forced to and there's no way I'll adopt Google Docs entirely. So I may end up with another platform like Apple even though we've never owned a Mac desktop or laptop (love the iPad & iPhone though).

There was an article I ready about 2 months ago saying the writing is on the wall that Microsoft will go the subscription route. Namely, not having a desktop but running off a Virtual Microsoft Machine. The article (which I can find it again) compared the setup similar to the old days of mainframe computers and PCs would act like dumb terminals back then. The PCs would rent out time to use to Microsoft OS.

 

[statsman]

There was an article I ready about 2 months ago saying the writing is on the wall that Microsoft will go the subscription route. Namely, not having a desktop but running off a Virtual Microsoft Machine. The article (which I can find it again) compared the setup similar to the old days of mainframe computers and PCs would act like dumb terminals back then. The PCs would rent out time to use to Microsoft OS.

I would never risk keeping any of our critical spreadsheets and documents on the cloud or tied to cloud-based applications. I will either limp along on an old Windows PC with Office 2010, or I will switch to open source applications if I can't keep Office 2010 going forward.

I choose securing our important information over convenience every single time. It's why I have never signed in to any of my email or financial accounts on my smartphone or waved the smartphone over a payment device at a retail location. I've heard enough horror stories from my wife (40+ years in banking, credit unions, and S&Ls) to know better about the latter.

 

[davebarnes]

It's why I have never ...waved the smartphone over a payment device at a retail location.

Using Apple Pay is the most secure way to pay with a credit card.
Only a token is sent. Not your credit card info.

Why Apple Pay Is the Most Secure Payment Platform on the Planet
https://mashable.com/2014/10/23/apple-pay-is-more-secure-than-your-credit-and-debit-cards/

 

[Sunset]

I currently have a Win 10 all-in-one desktop that has run without a hitch for more than a year. It meets all my needs and if I have an interest in something new its easy to find and implement. For many years I ran a couple of Linux servers in the basement to house my family website, a file and print server, and for a while a firewall, intrusion detection software and vulnerability scanners that I was experimenting with. At various times I would experiment with using one of the Linux boxes for routine desktop functions. I was able to do that but it was always a PITA - getting and installing the right packages, mounting disks, connecting peripherals were often a challenge. The impression I get is that the vast majority of Linux systems are still used and administered by pros. Linux has become more and more user friendly over the years but still remains a hobbyist platform for routine desktop use. Maybe a solution for the OP is to buy a new Win 10 desktop to accomplish his essential tasks and load a Linux distro onto the old system to experiment with. If he finds it meets all his needs he could convert the new machine or continue with both OSes.

I totally disagree about the ease of use. Maybe you were using some exotic pro version like Redhat via the command line.

I've using Ubuntu (a version/flavor of Unix) and it is MORE user friendly than Windows.
You can try it out before installing it.
It comes with useful software as part of the install, not bloatware.
It's all gui driven just like Windows, by default.
It's free.
The software store is built in.
Auto update is available and easy to use.

https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop

 

[target2019]

I would never risk keeping any of our critical spreadsheets and documents on the cloud or tied to cloud-based applications. I will either limp along on an old Windows PC with Office 2010, or I will switch to open source applications if I can't keep Office 2010 going forward.

I had Office 2010 already installed on my PC with Windows 7. After the upgrade to Windows 10, it kept right on working. Of course that's just one report, and YMMV.

On the new PC I bought for spouse, I installed LibreOffice. That is sufficient IMO unless you have ambitious Excel macros and custom functions you've built over the ages.

 

[DrRoy]

Take a look at Cyberpower. Likely a Thanksgiving special coming up.

 

[dirtbiker]

I do the same and use Google Sheets also. Great stuff.

I also use Google Sheets. It was not as intuitive for me going from Excel to Sheets as it was going from Word to Docs, as a lot of the cell formatting was subtly different, but now that I've gotten used to it, I'm happy enough with it. Truth be told though, I do like the formatting in Excel better..

I haven't payed attention, but if Microsoft ever goes to Office via subscription only, I'm done with them even though I've used Word-Excel-PPT for decades. I use Google Sheets only when forced to and there's no way I'll adopt Google Docs entirely. So I may end up with another platform like Apple even though we've never owned a Mac desktop or laptop (love the iPad & iPhone though).

It seems as though they're transitioning to a subscription only type of service, even though you can buy the non-subscription version at this time. The new 2019 Office is missing a lot of the newest features that you can only get with the subscription based 365. I predict that moving forward the non-subscription versions will be more and more watered down. This is what turned me off from Microsoft and pushed me to Google (and I like free vs. paid, of course). However, if Microsoft sees lost revenue due to this, I'm sure they'll react and beef back up the non-subscription version. So it'll boil down to how other consumers react to it.

 

[donheff]

I totally disagree about the ease of use. Maybe you were using some exotic pro version like Redhat via the command line.

I've using Ubuntu (a version/flavor of Unix) and it is MORE user friendly than Windows.
You can try it out before installing it.
It comes with useful software as part of the install, not bloatware.
It's all gui driven just like Windows, by default.
It's free.
The software store is built in.
Auto update is available and easy to use.

https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop

LOL. I did start out on an early version of Redhat although I ended up on Ubuntu. And yeah, initially a lot of command line work, installing tarballs, and the like. By the time I left, the graphical interface options were good (if a bit bewildering) and the package managers made most applications easy to install, update, and run. I still ran into a lot of PITA stuff although in fairness I didn't use Linux for routine end user stuff on a daily basis, much more occasional use so it may be that I just didn't get used to it for that. But I haven't used Linux in about 10 years so things might have gotten quite a bit easier still.

 

[24601NoMore]

In the same (upgrade) boat here..my i7 PC is 8 (!) years old and while it 'mostly' runs fine, I'm spending a heck of a lot of time constantly tweaking and cleaning things up to keep it humming..

Been hoping for some good black Friday deals but most retailers have announced what they will have already given the shorter shopping season this year with Thanksgiving being so late..must say I'm a bit underwhelmed by the deals, tho - probably not as aggressive this year since MS turning off updates for Win 7 is going to drive a lot of sales so demand will be up..

I found what looks to be a good website for comparing specs between things like i5, i7, graphics cards, etc. It's from actual user benchmarks and gives good data aggregation and 'net' differences between the different options..here's a link to a comparison between the i7-9700 and i5-9600k, for example..

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-9700-vs-Intel-Core-i5-9600K/m816180vs4031

I was going to go i5 to save a few $$, and while the i5-9600K runs at a higher base clock speed than the i7, I might miss the extra cores of the i7 on demanding apps like Lightroom. Was also going to skip having a discrete GPU, but Lightroom will also probably drive me to get that as well.

Lot more $$ than I was planning or want to spend - looks like about $1,199 (after 'supposedly' $400 off for Black Friday) for a Dell XPS with i7-9700, 16 GB RAM, 250 GB SSD + 1 TB SATA and a dedicated, high-end GPU (NVidia RTX 2060). But it'd be a beast of a box and hopefully last another 5+ years also - hopefully longer.

If anyone has any opinions on i5 vs i7 for demanding apps like Lightroom, would love to hear other perspectives on this..

Also would appreciate any better Black Friday deals anyone has found..I'm trying to stay name vs off-brand, though, as the few $$ I could probably get off-brand in all likelihood may not be worth the likely added aggravation long-term..I plan to have this next box for at least 5+ years..

I also wonder if we're going to see 'better' deals on the day of Black Friday or Cyber Monday..hard to say since BB, Dell, AMZN, etc have all already published their Black Friday deals online and even in flyers..

 

[target2019]

I ran the UserBenchmark tool after downloading (link above). It was helpful in assessing my 4-year old system. It's at the 50th percentile, and I could spend much dollars speeding it up and so on for game-readiness. since I don't game, I can get another year or two out of this before purchasing a newer model. Maybe an SSD upgrade is in the future for me?

 

[ERD50]

I totally disagree about the ease of use. Maybe you were using some exotic pro version like Redhat via the command line.

I've using Ubuntu (a version/flavor of Unix) and it is MORE user friendly than Windows.
You can try it out before installing it.
It comes with useful software as part of the install, not bloatware.
It's all gui driven just like Windows, by default.
It's free.
The software store is built in.
Auto update is available and easy to use.

https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop

I agree. I find Linux easier to use than either WIndows or Mac OS. I rarely need to go into the terminal to do command line stuff.

In fact, I had to trouble shoot some things on DW's and DD's Mac Books a while back, and I had to go into the command line to do things that are very simply done from the GUI on my Linux machine. IIRC, one of the things was to view hidden files on a Mac - had to use the command line to turn that on/off, and then had to restart the Finder each time for it to take effect.

BTW, I run the Xubuntu variant (Xfce on top of Ubuntu), which just allows me to lay things out just the way I want using the GUI. A lot of people like Mint, have not tried it in a long time, I should give it a go and see.

-ERD50

 

[easysurfer]

For me, what OS isn't a one and only choice. I have Win 10 as my main PC and a laptop with my main Linux distro. There are some really good programs on either OS. My approach is not so much the OS but what programs are out there to run to solve a need.

I like using Linux more (especially since Win 10) but am more familiar with Windows. My favorite OSes of all time are early Mac (pre- OS X) and Win XP.

 

[target2019]

I use (rarely) a Powermac 7500 + OS 9.1. I used to run my consulting business software on it. Now I just use Excel PC.

The PowerMac also has an old version of Quark Xpress, an innovative DTP that kept me busy in the early 90s.

Love the software apps, and tolerate the OS.

 

[24601NoMore]

BB has a Black Friday deal on the HP Omen with i7-9700, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD + 1 TB SATA and GTX 1660 TI for $899, regularly $1,249.99. It looks like a pretty nice box and would have everything most people would ever need, but after reading reviews for the past hour or two it seems limited on upgradeability with only 2 memory slots (1 filled on shipment) and somewhat 'iffy' cooling when the box ramps up to max usage - like on games or heavy photo and video editing.

The other downside is that it really appears to be marketed first and foremost as a gaming rig and has a clear side panel with LED lighting. That can be turned off, but then you just see inside the case and it's components.

To get a comparably configured Dell XPS would be ~$1,118 for a delta of $219. That's the XPS 8930 with Intel HD onboard graphics, and you'd have to add an after-market 1660TI card which appears to go for around $269 on AMZN. So, $849 base price plus $269 is $1,118.

Tough call for a $219 delta, but I have a Dell XPS today and it's lasted me 8 years. Plus, it's more expandable (2 free DIMM slots, open hard drive bays and I think though I haven't verified yet, more PCI slots) and doesn't have that (to me) somewhat meh glass side panel.

I'll probably just suck it up and get the Dell, but wanted to let anyone interested in the HP box know as that does look to be a pretty impressive config for $899 if you can live with the trade-offs mentioned.