What are you using this computer to do? What' s your budget?

How about that budget?

One of the Falcon Northwest TiKi's go for over $5,000 and another goes for around $9,196.

Of course the one that goes for $9,196 is total Overkill. It has an 18 Core Intel Xeon 852699 CPU w/ HT ($4,300 itself), 1.2TB Intel 759 Series SSD ($1,099), 6TB Hard Drive, 32GB RAM, 12GB NVidia GeForce Titan X Graphics ($1,049). Yes, it's Liquid Cooled too!

Google Budget Desktops.

This was rather an experiment. On another recent post it was said some manufacturers have good/bad reputations - the OP was encouraged to try to get a comp from an outfit with a good rep etc. Well some of you obviously have a good feel for that but most of us sure don't hence my search as above to see what might happen.

There sure were lots of different outfits many of which I'd never heard of. I guess that should be many of which I had never heard. :-) There was no duplication which I find a bit discombooberating. I have no budget but why buy the Queen Mary when a rowboat would do?

Those Top 10 lists are just Opinions, they're like A*******s, everyone has one! I really would love to have that Falcon Northwest for $9,196, but I surely would never pay that much for a computer. I don't even like paying that much for a car (not saying I won't pay that much for a car)!

I'm more like mxyplux, I'd settle for the Rowboat, Canoe or Kayak. I would definitely look at the Queen Mary, but since I can't afford it, I'd never touch it!

One way to choose a desktop is to first, write down the critical specs you require such how much RAM, hard drive space, graphics, processor cores and speed, etc. Next, look for makes that have the best reliability record.

If you will not be doing high end gaming or professional drafting and rendering or graphics, a lesser than max capability graphic card will do. For the average home user, the 5th core in an AMD processor is usually enough. (AMD makes a so called 5 core processor. The 5th core is really a display engine.) Personally, I prefer an Intel processor, but if you are on a budget, the AMD processor does give value for the cost. However, watch for over-clocking of the processor, usually done to push the performance figures for advertising. Over clocking is not a good idea. It does work in selected cases, but puts a strain on the processor.

Some things to look for:

1. Drive light on front. Several offerings are leaving this off. I like to see when the drive is active or stalled.

2. USB ports on front of the case - very convenient. In addition to USB ports on the rear of the case, I have 2 USB ports on front and a data card slot. I find these are very useful.

3. Drive light up front for the DVD/CD drive. These are being omitted these days.

4. Expansion bays. A minimum of one, three is better.

5. Check the software you will be using at present and near future. Most have a minimum recommended processor speed. Do not buy a lesser motherboard and processor.

>>Next, look for makes that have the best reliability record.< < How?

>> write down the critical specs you require such as graphics, processor cores and speed, etc,<< I haven't the faintest idea.

Processor....Core? 5th? 3rd? What's that? Is it in the geographical center of the the processor?

>>However, watch for over-clocking of the processor << How would I ever know?

Check software minimum processor speed... Lost me there.

Jem you are a smart well informed guy and I've learned much from reading your various posts but this advice is good for somebody that knows whats going on. Not for a slouch like me. I did Google "computer makes that have the best reliability record" and got this site for desktops (lots more for laptops)

http://www.pcworld.com/article/244481/desktop_pc_reliability_and_satisfaction_dell_and_hp_home_pcs_get_poor_grades.html

Too much info, many comments disagreed with results, site was quite old so validity is questionable. Apple came out best - I hate Apple computers. Anyway I didn't persue it past that.

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I may or may not get a new comp. I will either go to Walmart and get the cheapest possible (as advised above) or the HP site and buy a business model which, presumably, will last longer, be more than I really need but serve me well for several years and most likely be more economical and most importantly less stressful in the long run.

:-)

My Walmart experience is limited (there aren't as many around here as in other areas) but I've heard said that it's a pretty good place to buy PCs. Fair prices and fair return practices. If what you're looking for is a budget machine, you can probably trust the prices they charge for the units they have.

As you may have heard from others, buying from Best Buy is like being stopped on a country road by a highwayman. Costco has good prices on often over-equipped models such that you wind up spending more than you needed to for capabilities you may not use.

Snidely,

When going to Wal-Mart always be careful in what you buy. Their Return Policies are so liberal that:

1. I saw a Logitech Mouse I didn't recognize (thought I knew every Logitech mouse out there) and when I picked up the package I found out why I didn't recognize it. Someone had returned their Old Microsoft Mouse in the Logitech Package. Of course Wal-Mart didn't bother to look at the returned product or they would have seen this right away (thru the plastic).

1. I also purchased a set of The Rain-X Wiper Blades ($20 for each blade). Mine were so bad I went right out to the car and started to change them while in the parking lot. When I took the Blades out of the package they were falling apart. Someone had returned their Old Blades (which were worse than the Blades I was replacing). I walked right back in and Returned them for my money back! I told them that they were welcome to come look at the blades I was replacing and the blades I purchased there 5 minutes before! Anyway, they just gave me my money back!

Just saying, be careful when shopping at Wal-Mart. Lot's of Opened Items on the Shelves being sold as New! They just return the Returns to the shelves and never inspect them. Maybe this differs from Store to Store, but this is the policy at the Wal-Mart I shop at!

Fry's Electronics, a smallish family-owned chain of large stores that started in the San Jose area, is a great place to go shopping for anything of a technology or electronic nature because they carry everything. But as you describe for Walmart, one needs to be careful when grabbing items for purchase, because they're good at resealing returns. Not all returns are non-functioning but many are. I learned that lesson there the hard way.

I think this phenomenon happens more because of inept employees than a store's quiet policy to try to pass off junk as salable.

I agree Snidely. I was just getting a little upset while typing. This has a lot more to do with the Dishonest Customer then it did with Wal-Mart. Yes, the Inept, Untrained Employees are the other portion of the problem. I really don't think Wal-Mart has a Policy like this, I was just Venting!

How is the reliability of AMD processors? They certainly seem to be less expensive than Intel. But how reliable?

Jane

my response in the other thread with the same question

I've been using AMD Processors in my Desktops for a Very long time! Never had one fail yet! My First AMD was an: AMD DX5 133MHz and my Current is an: AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition @ 3.0GHz.

I bought an HP Envy 700 4th Gen. Intel Quad Core i7-4770 Processor at Costco. It is a great computer. Amazon is out of it now. I set up a shopping account with Costco when I bought it. You have 90 days to send it back. What appealed to me about the store is they have Concierge Service on your machine. It is free. Costco is a good employer. The employees are paid well and the Concierge people were first class employees who know their stuff.

I was told by a Microsoft person that Mac computer users had far more problems than Microsoft users. My fortunate friends will vehemently deny that and I have never seen anywhere those statistics. And, help on Microsoft starts at the help desk and that is where the problems begin. However, it is a costly product.

I'm not sure what you mean in saying "a Microsoft person" but any informed person in the IT world will tell you that both competing systems have their strengths and weaknesses. Microsoft products? As far as PCs are concerned, all they make is software.

Apple makes great products. The quality, ease of use, and tight integration and interoperability across the platform need to be seen to be fully appreciated. Simply amazing.

Do I use them? No, not at all, I dislike the user experience of Apple products and prefer a bit more flexibility. Their ease of use approach to things is simple for a beginner and often counter-intuitive for a person of intermediate knowledge as I consider myself to be. Members of my family have Apple PCs, iPhones, iPads, etc, and would never consider doing otherwise.

People prefer what they prefer, that's it.

I agree Snidely. We are basically a PC Family here, but my daughter who was raise on a PC is now into Mac's, iPods, iPhones and iPads! My Wife has an iPod and an iPhone but prefers a PC for a computer! Me, I have a Windows 8.1 Phone, Windows 10 Desktop, 2 Windows 10 Laptops and a Windows 10 Tablet.

Looked at online reviews, not sure trust those from magazines that have paid advertising; talked with friends and colleagues in IT; and looked at CR ratings & reliability. At least there is some science to CR due to the survey numbers they generate. Ended up getting a Dell from Costco; price and return policy was best I found.