Advice needed - buying a new PC

[Merkuri]

Getting a computer through a big box store may be a good idea. It's cheap and easy. The support not so good. A local Mom and Pop can be a good idea, if you can find one that will survive.

Quite a few years ago my father tried to make a business building and selling computers. Even taking his time and searching for deals he was not able to compete with big-name computer companies. It would have been cheaper for him to buy pre-built computers from these companies and cannibalize them.

But he offered service with every computer he bought. Years later after he had officially given up on the business he still occasionally went to customer's houses to fix them up, good to his word.

I'm a fan of Mom & Pop computer stores, but they do have a hard time surviving because it's impossible to compete with big companies who sell pre-built PCs.

 

[Grog]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I ended up going with Dell since the only place I could find locally that builds PCs wanted to charge me more money for a less powerful computer. I got something pretty decent for just a tad over $1k. I don't do enough PC gaming anymore to justify the price of a higher-end system.

Now I need monitor advice! I'd like to get a new monitor, too, but I'm not sure what to get. Are TN panel monitors as crappy as I've heard they are? Because it seems like, if you want a higher-quality panel, it's quite a big jump in price.

 

[drothgery]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I ended up going with Dell since the only place I could find locally that builds PCs wanted to charge me more money for a less powerful computer. I got something pretty decent for just a tad over $1k. I don't do enough PC gaming anymore to justify the price of a higher-end system.

Now I need monitor advice! I'd like to get a new monitor, too, but I'm not sure what to get. Are TN panel monitors as crappy as I've heard they are? Because it seems like, if you want a higher-quality panel, it's quite a big jump in price.

If you don't game, and you spent $1K w/o a monitor, you probably bought too much system. Heck, I think the $550 Dell I just bought because my laptop is dead was likely overkill (given that I pretty much only game on my Xbox 360); a 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo with 4 GB of RAM is not going have any trouble running Visual Studio 2008, SQL Server Express, and IIS at the same time, and isn't going to run anything more demanding than that. But I couldn't make myself stick with a Pentium Dual Core (even at 2.5 GHz) or integrated graphics.

And no, TN panels aren't crappy. They're not the best, but go look at some panels at a store before dismissing them out of hand.

 

[Thanee]

The only real downside of TN panels is the color change when you look at the monitor from different angles. They are otherwise very good.

I would recommend to get at least a 22" (possibly more, depending on budget).

24" to 26" are very nice and not too expensive.

Bye
Thanee

P.S. For 1k your PC should be able to handle current games easily, unless you didn't get a decent video card, of course.

 

[Grog]

Oh, I do game, just not as much as I used to. And like I said, I like to keep my computers for a long time. I bought mid-high end last time, and it's lasted me five years. If I'd gone cheaper, I would have had to upgrade a year or two ago, probably.

And thanks for the advice about monitors. I guess I'd better go shop around a bit before I get something.

 

[drothgery]

Oh, I do game, just not as much as I used to. And like I said, I like to keep my computers for a long time. I bought mid-high end last time, and it's lasted me five years. If I'd gone cheaper, I would have had to upgrade a year or two ago, probably.

The thing is that it's kind of a bad time to try and build something to keep for a long time. Core i7's with DDR3 memory are a terrible value proposition right now; Core 2 Duo/Pentium Dual Core systems with DDR2 are cheap but will be replaced with Core i7-family chips next year. The fastest normally available CPU for apps most people run is a 3.33 GHz Core 2 Duo E8600; the future is probably quads (though I suspect Amdhal's law will raise some objections), but it's insane to buy a low-end quad unless you do a lot of audio/video (or otherwise heavily multi-threaded) work because the dual-core at the same price point is too much better for everything else.

Also worth noting is that $1K for a desktop w/o a monitor isn't even 'upper midrange' anymore, it's very definitively high-end.

 

[Aus_Snow]

I have a TN panel. It's actually not that bad. Basically, unless you're doing professional publishing/pre-publishing or graphics work, don't sweat it.

I more or less agree with Thanee: 22" to 24" (or so) is probably about the best value for money, last I checked. It's what I went with recently-ish, and honestly, I couldn't be happier with it.

I do a fair bit of gaming, and a fair bit of other stuff - and yeah, the cheap[er] LCD hasn't let me down so far. Just make sure to check if it's one with any (or much) backlight bleed, and keep an eye out for response times.

From memory though, the majority of LCD monitors are actually going to contain one of only a handful of brand panels, anyhow.

I'd recommend doing a bit of research and price-checking, whatever you go with in the end.

 

[ssampier]

Quite a few years ago my father tried to make a business building and selling computers. Even taking his time and searching for deals he was not able to compete with big-name computer companies. It would have been cheaper for him to buy pre-built computers from these companies and cannibalize them.

But he offered service with every computer he bought. Years later after he had officially given up on the business he still occasionally went to customer's houses to fix them up, good to his word.

I'm a fan of Mom & Pop computer stores, but they do have a hard time surviving because it's impossible to compete with big companies who sell pre-built PCs.

Yes, people want low prices and service; unfortunately those two things don't go together

I am glad your father kept to his word. Integrity is so hard to find... As an aside I probably wouldn't have done the same.

 

[MonkeyKing]

If you dont mind the extra bulk and power consumption of a CRT than the ThinkVision C220p from IBM isnt bad. $589 is a pretty cheap price to pay for the image quality it offers.

IBM ThinkVision C220p - At A Glance - Reviews by PC Magazine

 

[Steel_Wind]

If you dont mind the extra bulk and power consumption of a CRT than the ThinkVision C220p from IBM isnt bad. $589 is a pretty cheap price to pay for the image quality it offers.

IBM ThinkVision C220p - At A Glance - Reviews by PC Magazine

You do realize that review is nearly five years old, right?

I purchased a new 24" Flat widescreen TN panel LG W2452T before Xmas for $319 CDN. I am extremely pleased with it. Colors are great, contrast is excellent and the speed - at about 2MS - is blistering for games. 1920x1200

You could give me a 24" CRT 4:3 aspect monitor for FREE - and I'd still be buying a 24" widescreen flat panel.