Need a new computer, any recommendations?

[Solo]

Hi! I really need a new computer; my current is a laptop that I got in 2002 (holy crap, right?). But right now I'm posting on my father's desktop computer which isn't much newer; I haven't had the Internet on my laptop for years now and the screen is acting up like HECK.

Basically what I'll be doing is my next game, using VX Ace, and the others eventually. So it has to at least measure up to the required specs for that program. Aside from that, I listen to lots of music (mainly VG music but that's inconsequential), type notes/plans/scenes in Notepad, draw art/graphics in Paint (yes Paint); not exactly high-maintenance, right? I know installed programs vary (I find the thesaurus in Microsoft Works very useful, and the version on my father's computer has a dictionary which I also dig; my laptop doesn't have this version of Works).

I'm thinking more a desktop PC this time around rather than a laptop for a few reasons. Number one, I barely ever used my laptop as an actual laptop (that is to say, it rarely left my home). Also, as the years went by, heat problems became an issue (the laptop suddenly shutting down while playing my game, for example, because it overheated). And lastly, the screen. Oh my Lord, it sucks so bad. I have to finagle like you wouldn't believe, and even when I hit the "magic spot" while adjusting it, I'm viewing it at a near 45-degree angle (I do not lie). At least for a PC you can buy a new monitor, right?

This may be an erroneous impression, but as well, I glean that desktop PCs are more hardy for gaming and such (not that I play any games online or anything, just those I make with RPG Maker). Of course, with the advancements made in the 11 years I've been using my dinosaur, anything's possible... and the fact that my dinosaur is still going after 11 years is itself a testament to its hardiness (it's an HP, if that matters; so going by my own experience, I'd say they make good laptops, but what about desktops?).

So can anyone recommend any trustworthy brands? Or ones to stay away from? And why? I'd like something stable that'll last a good while, you know?

I appreciate it!

 

[SlaveOfThaMind]

not this or that but you should definitely give them a try

(stay away from dell, unless you plan to budget alienware)

 

[Diego2112]

 I would strongly suggest building your own, if you're able.  If not, as stated above, stay away from Dell.

I'm an HP/Compaq man myself, but to each their own in that regard.  Right now, I'm on "Frankenstein's Computer," as in, I've cannibalized many, MANY parts from various and sundry other places.  All in, I've got around $600.  

8GB of RAM,

1GB GFX RAM,

1TB HDD,

1.8GHz Dual Core Processor, AMD

And a Soundblaster 24bit Audio Processing Card.

That's the IMPORTANT bits, anyway.

Tiger Direct has some pretty sweet deals on parts, barebones, and even full-built rigs.  My buddy is using I THINK an iBuyPower rig, and it does pretty damn decent for pretty much everything.

 

[Solo]

not this or that but you should definitely give them a try

Um... sorry?

And yeah, I've heard bad things about Dell for years.

As for building my own... that's... a little beyond me.

 

[Zalerinian]

(stay away from dell, unless you plan to budget alienware)

No, it's still a Dell. It's essentially the Macbook of Dell. It's more expensive and doesn't do anything impressive (except the keyboard. I like my lightup keyboard. That's cool).

 

[SlaveOfThaMind]

i dont know about hp desktops, but i know from personal experience that hp laptops suck. they overheat entirely too quickly and the screens are the first to go just after your warranty lol. been through three.  im using a compaq laptop right now and its okay so i would say a compaq desktop would be good, they are pretty durable as well.

i built my own and the last computer i owned since this was a dell, it lasted me over 10 years without any replacements other than a harddrive but, it was always a pretty slow machine, but hey it ran diablo 2 great.

it really depends on your budget and what your intentions of use of the machine are and limited to. i would shop newegg before i shopped tigetdirect in a heartbeat though.

its really up to you  because everyone's opinions are biased.

 

[Dalph]

Just build your own pc, choosing every specific component, and please stay away from these premade crap.

 

[Touchfuzzy]

Just build your own pc, choosing every specific component, and please stay away from these premade crap.

I agree if you are going to go desktop. Building a computer from scratch is actually nowhere NEAR as difficult as people think, but at the same time its MORE difficult than some people think. You have to know how to research parts, and you have to know WHAT you are looking for when you research them. If going laptop I would say check out Asus stuff. Asus is great.

 

[Solo]

i dont know about hp desktops, but i know from personal experience that hp laptops suck. they overheat entirely too quickly and the screens are the first to go just after your warranty lol.

Story of my life, dude. Ah well, it had a great run!

 

[SlaveOfThaMind]

definately man, if you want , shoot me a pm with a budget and a few ideas of what you want in a desktop and i can set you up a list within your pricerange ( completely optional mind you )

 

[Andar]

Basically I wouldn't choose by brand name. ALL companies usually have their low-cost-series and their high-cost-series, and in the case of the low-cost, the quality is often low while the high-cost-series build the company reputation.


Basically you always get what you pay for. The trick is to choose the best compromise between your wallet and your wishes ;-)


Premade computers often have parts that you do not need (if going to high-class), or have a hidden bottleneck for resources (the place where the low-class reduced cost too much). Self-created computers on the other hand often end up with slightly higher costs for the parts (mass production does reduce cost) and you need to know at least some of the technical specs behind the orders (I heard of someone who bought an AMD CPU for an Intel Board once).


So there is no perfect way, you always have to research what you want to buy.


Computer requirements have remained relatively stable for the last few years (unless you want top-level-3D-actiongames) - that's why you can still use an old computer today. Fifteen years ago you needed a new computer every other year just to be able to use the newest MS Word, that's how fast technology and program development was speeding then.


My personal advice? If you can afford it, you should go for a computer that is at about 80% of today's maximum power. That will let you stay below the extreme cost of the newest hardware while giving it enough reserves to last another decade until you need an upgrade.


Otherwise you should look at the lowest-cost-end, especially if you have no pressing reason for more computer power.


Due to technological advances, even the lowest end of available computer parts is several generations and speed classes above a ten-year-old notebook. If that notebook still is usable to you, then that will low-cost-computer should have enough resources to be usable for you for two or three years while being much cheaper.


However, even if you go low-cost, make sure you research the tests for the specific model you're buying - those test are usually fast to detect problems, just look them up on the internet.

 

[Sharm]

Newegg is also a good place for computer parts.  Asus was good for laptops but based on my family's experience in the last two years or so they have a high hard drive failure rate now.  When building your own computer you pick a motherboard first then pick parts that are compatible from there.  Between the motherboard's manual and googleing things online you can find the information you need to put the computer together.  You won't want to have everything in the computer the same brand.  For example, logitech does great peripherals but you wouldn't want a hard drive from them.  Building a computer takes a lot more research and planning but is much cheaper and you get a system suited for you.

 

[Some Guy In A Waistcoat]

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.geforce.co.uk%2Fwhats-new%2Farticles%2Fgeforce-gtx-660-650-launch%232&h=BAQFWYoyo

NVidia had a fairly respectable list of parts to build a budget gaming PC. I'd recommend doing it yourself. It's a geek rite of passage. Like a Jedi constructing his lightsaber. Except I don't think Luke ever wasted hundreds of pounds only to emulate Atari games

It only seems daunting, but as long as you do a little bit of reading up you should do fine. I built my first PC from scratch last summer with no idea of what to do beforehand so I fully understand the trepidation. 

 

[mithcd]

I would strongly suggest building your own, if you're able.  If not, as stated above, stay away from Dell.

I agree. By the way, you don't need a high powered one, you'll never use those features anyway. Go with the spec that suits your need. Intel i5 would be a nice one to start.  

 

[Mon Dez]

i dont know about hp desktops, but i know from personal experience that hp laptops suck. they overheat entirely too quickly and the screens are the first to go just after your warranty lol.

I like HP to a point, but geez did both my hp laptops go and the cause was the battery then the screen and the second has battery issues because I uninstalled Norton which makes no sense. (battery is not constant 0% after Norton was removed)

Ebay has some good custom rigs, but always make sure to get a liable seller because I'm not entirely trust worthy towards some of them although my custom rig was from ebay, but the guy was really nice when I had issues with it (due to UPC's terrible delivery service) and helped me out.

Building a computer can give some serious knowledge and like others I strongly recommend it.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

for PC, yeah, you might wanna try to build your own... and it's normally cheaper... plus you can get most of what you really want...

btw, what's wrong with DELL? my lappy is dell and the company comps here are dell too... no problems really...

aside from my laptop requiring more and more time to boot-up as time pass by...

 

[Touchfuzzy]

I had a dell laptop once. It was so badly designed there was a class action lawsuit related to the whole damned thing CATCHING FIRE.

Mine never did that, but it did have overheating problems always, and near the end of its life, I had to run it on top of an air conditioning vent just to pull the lastof the important files off of the hard drive.

 

[Mon Dez]

@Touchfuzzy

Wha-What?! You had a Dell laptop catch on fire? That's seriously crazy.

I don't like the whole brand anyways besides the whole PC market always will flourish with custom built instead of pre-built because its cheaper and comes with less problems.

 

[Andar]

Every company (no matter whether it's Dell, HP, Lenovo/IBM or others, always has different lines of devices. The Business class laptops/PCs are usually high quality but more expensive, while the Consumer class devices reduce cost by reducing functionality or component quality.


Basically you get what you pay for, no matter the Brand - and it's rather common that the consumer-class notebooks have heat problems, as they try to get maximum power for cheapest price - quality and cooling are usually the first to be sacrificed for the price.

 

[Touchfuzzy]

Well, i will add that one of my problems with Dell had more to do with their response to their explosive laptop than the laptop itself. They finally redesigned the heatsink on it and offered to have it replaced... if you mailed it to them... at your cost... but only after a lawsuit was placed. And people were reporting 1-2 month processing times. I never did it because I couldn't be without any computer for that long. (also, at the time I bought it, that was a high end laptop. It was in no way cheap. It was a massive design flaw, not just cutting corners, the heatsink was designed awfully for no benefit.)

Compared to how I feel about Asus (I got a Lemon mobo on my first Asus laptop, I called them, they had me mail it in in a prepaid box THEY provided (that was ultra cushy and safe), for free, and had it to them and back to me in about a week), my feelings for Dell are very . Mostly because Dell customer service really seems like ass.