Which brand Desktop to buy?

[Robert11]

Hi,

Would appreciate any and all thoughts on this.

Want to buy a new Windows10 Desktop pc for my son, and his graduate school courses.

I realize that most of these brands, probably, use components from the same sources,
and that to a very large extent it is truly the luck of the draw.

But, is there any general consensus these day regarding reliability on Desktops ? Dell, HP, etc ?

(And, ease of setting it up; we are both very non-technical when it comes to computers)

Over the years, many, I've had good luck with Dell and HP Desktops, and also very bad experience with both.

Reliability is the number one factor. (and ease of getting it going).
He does not play games on it, etc. Pretty basic stuff.

Amazon a good source ? Not looking for absolutely lowest price; just ease of returning and warr. if it doesn't work.

Might as well also ask: same questions regarding a Monitor for ? (Brand, Model, etc. ?)

Much thanks, really appreciate the help,
Bob

 

[LarryBates]

Do Not buy HP if you plan to use the machine more than four years. I bought a high-end desktop that came with Win-7 but with free Win-8 upgrade. It came with an Intel I-5 G630 CPU, 4 GB RAM, 1 TB HD, and "discrete level video." Four years later, Win-10 was released and needed new drivers. I downloaded the needed drivers but HP will not let them install. The reason is that my machine was bought in Sept and HP will not allow machines made before Oct to install the new drivers. We used to be an all HP shop but will never buy another. (We have Six HP computers in use and have retired two older machines.)

 

[nownthen]

When I was in the need for a new Desktop Computer I did some research and ASUS kept coming to the top of each article I researched. I bought it via Newegg and I have never regretted getting this computer.

 

[HealthyITRepair]

What would be the primary purpose of the desktop. Will he need more power because of his workload? For example, is he a Master Information Systems major?

 

[StevenG]

With Desktops it’s a matter of choice, there are Branded Desktops, All In Ones from different manufacturers. I prefer the DIY's Desktops, their advantage is that you can configure them to any specifications and budget that you want (be they used or new components) as their components are constructed from different and individual components e.g. motherboards, cpu's, graphic cards, rams, power supplies, water cooling, case, monitors etc etc. My experience (as I’ve built many desktops probably over 1000 in 30 years) is that the known brands and manufactures e.g. Asus, Gigabyte etc motherboards, graphics, monitors while Nvidia GeForce, AMD Radeon, EVGA graphics cards are also the tops on the market. With known brands you get reliability with good service and backup.

With laptops, the Acer Aspire laptops (which I have now and have been using for over 8 years) and are still made today (to higher specs) are of good quality and reliability and can be upgraded with RAM and CPU's of higher capacities (Note: this is on some models only) not with the new 2 in 1's or the other 11.6", as their CPU's are soldered on, but, you can upgrade their RAM, to higher capacities e.g. from 4GB to 8GB etc. But remember, as with all computers, you have to maintain and keep your system up to date and in good service order for your computer(s) to function properly and efficiently! As far as your operating system(s), Windows 10 Home or Pro are the best and have become a very stable platform.

See a list of all the computer component manufacturers here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_computer_system_manufacturers

And as an aid, this is one example of a ‘Socket 1151 Intel Gaming System’ (btw, AMD cpu's are the preferred for gaming by gamers) but, that is another matter (I prefer the Intel Cores, as I found them more stable). This computer and its system components are in the vicinity of about USD $3,800 so you can get some sort of a guide of what you need to build one. Hope this helps

1. MAINBORD - ASUS STRIX Z370-E GAMING Strix Desktop Motherboard Z370E Gaming
2. CPU - Intel 8th Gen Core i7-8700K 6 Core 3.7GHz Max 4.7GHz
3. RAM - Ballistix Sport LT Red 16GB DDR4-2666 UDIMM (64GB)
4. SSD HDD or M.2 – Samsung 890 Pro or 850 EVO 1TB
5. GRAPHICS - EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 HYBRID GAMING
6. CASE - EVGA DG-87 Full Tower
7. POWER SUPPLY - EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 T2
8. MOUSE - EVGA TORQ X10 Carbon Gaming Mouse
9. KEYBOARD - ASUS ROG Claymore Mechanical Keyboard
10. MONITOR - ASUS ROG Swift Curved PG348Q Gaming Monitor - 34" 21:9 Ultra-wide QHD (3440x1440), overclockable 100Hz , G-SYNC™
11. Microsoft Windows 10 Pro.

 

[Tim Locke]

My main PC is a 2012 vintage Acer. Works well to this day with the old HD replaced by SSD.
and more memory.

I agree with HealthyITRepair, depends what he is going to do with it.

But in general. More memory is good. Windows may well run in 4Gb but 16Gb is a lot better. The combination of a 256/512 GB SSD and a 2TB spinner gives you lots of storage and speed.
I5 cpu is the sweet spot I think...unless he is going to be doing heavy duty video editing.

I personally would not buy HP except for a printer.


Are you sure a Thinkpad laptop wouldn't work for him or does he need a big screen. I mean a REAL Thinkpad, but they are not cheap and easier to steal than a desktop.

 

[StevenG]

Hi,

Would appreciate any and all thoughts on this.

Want to buy a new Windows10 Desktop pc for my son, and his graduate school courses.

I realize that most of these brands, probably, use components from the same sources,
and that to a very large extent it is truly the luck of the draw.

But, is there any general consensus these day regarding reliability on Desktops ? Dell, HP, etc ?

(And, ease of setting it up; we are both very non-technical when it comes to computers)

Over the years, many, I've had good luck with Dell and HP Desktops, and also very bad experience with both.

Reliability is the number one factor. (and ease of getting it going).
He does not play games on it, etc. Pretty basic stuff.

Amazon a good source ? Not looking for absolutely lowest price; just ease of returning and warr. if it doesn't work.

Might as well also ask: same questions regarding a Monitor for ? (Brand, Model, etc. ?)

Much thanks, really appreciate the help,
Bob

'Robert11' In addition to my post above, if you 'Want to buy a new Windows10 Desktop pc for your son, and his graduate school courses' most certainly don't buy a HP or Dell. The 'All In One's' are nice to look at and have one advantage, that they have a touch screen but, they are built in a confined space and thus they are limited in their component range because of what motherboards, cards and components can be built into them, which also is susceptible to heat and lack of ventilation, which affects computer components greatly. Also, they are made of components that are generic and mainstream for either Dell or HP use.

I would suggest that you go to a PC shop and get them to build one for you. For a 'Graduate School Course' your main needs are RAM and read/write speeds which corelates to an SSD drive, most of the current CPU's are capable of computing anything that your usage demands e.g. the Intel 8th Gen Core i7, i5 and i3's. I would suggest an 8th gen Intel core minimum i5 or probably an i7 with at least 16GB but preferably 32GB RAM and a mid range graphics card of at least 4GB RAM, storage should be either an SSD SATA III 2.5" or SATA III M.2 and a good 750W power supply. The Asus monitors make excellent monitors and touch screen monitors also, they are great and of above average quality and if you want a 'touch screen' then that can also be included in your specs.

 

[ram1220]

If you are going to build your PC I just want to give a plug to AMD CPU's as well as AMD graphics. cards. I have been building computers going back to the mid 90's. I have never had an issue with an AMD CPU or an AMD graphics card. Some people will tell you otherwise. But they are less expensive than Intel or Nvidia and like I said I have never had an issue with any of them. I even over clock my own system.

 

[Robert11]

Hi,

Thanks All for the great information. Really helpful.

Much appreciated, and for the time it took for you folks to write
it all out.
Great Forum, and folks here.

Bob