Opinion on buying new Desktop PC

Discussion in 'hardware' started by Rasheed187, May 10, 2014.

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  1. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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  2. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    USA still the best. But barely.
    I would get Asus over the others all day long.

    Why even get a desktop instead of a laptop? If not for gaming or editing I don't see the point.
     
  3. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Can you give a bit more info, why do think so highly of Asus?

    And I don´t need a laptop, I always sit in the same (work) room. :)
     
  4. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    Asus motherboards are among the best. MBs are the core, thus Asus before others.

    Btw at least in USA typically 2x better hardware in laptops for the same money as desktops. And just use existing external monitor, kb, mouse if you want.
     
  5. silat

    silat Registered Member

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    Can you provide info on that?
    I thought it was just the opposite. Desktops have 2x's better hardware than laptops.
     
  6. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    I'm talking at the same price points.

    @silat Don't know your location. OP I surmise is in the Netherlands. I only speak of my experience in the USA.
     
  7. Wroll

    Wroll Registered Member

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    I would build it myself, but if I had to buy one from those 3 brands I would pick: 1. Asus 2. HP 3. not Dell (only thinking that I would have to deal with this kind of behaviour...). The reason I don't like brand desktop is because they always seems to pair weird hardware (300$ CPU with stupid PSU and integrated or cheap dedicated GPU; cheap motherboards with gaming hardware) and price.

    If you don't include the monitor in the price any 300$ desktop will beat a 300$ laptop.
     
  8. Joxx

    Joxx Registered Member

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    larger monitor
    being able to position keyboard/mouse/monitor at the right distances
    more effective component cooling
    easier to clean/maintain
    easier to upgrade
    etc.
    and gaming
    and etc.
     
  9. Joxx

    Joxx Registered Member

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    Sir!
    I must be blunt!!
    stop taking those pills!!!
     
  10. Joxx

    Joxx Registered Member

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    does that mean you can't for some reason?
    tell the shop to do it
     
  11. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    What are you talking about? LOL
     
  12. silat

    silat Registered Member

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    USA here.
     
  13. ams963

    ams963 Registered Member

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    Couldn't agree more with you guys.:thumb:
    Wroll meant that if he were the OP that is Rasheed, he would have built the desktop himself.
     
  14. Joxx

    Joxx Registered Member

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    bollocks... I thought he was the OP, sorry
    avatars should be mandatory
     
  15. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    What I forget to tell, is that I already bought an HP Envy desktop this year, but I had to return it because of a bad smell.

    So right now I´m leaning to the Asus. But it really annoys the hell out of me, that the specs are different per country.
    In Germany you get a 128GB SS + 2TB HDD, in Holland you get a 64 SSD + 1TB HDD (Asus).

    I also noticed that in the USA you can build your own HP desktop (like Dell). I´m so jealous of you guys. :)
     
  16. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    OP whats the pricing like in the Netherlands? Here in the USA stores B&M & online are falling over themselves to offer cheap entry to mid level laptops.

    Not so much for complete desktops. Desktop towers alone (wo kb, monitor, & mouse) are cheap too for cheap entry to mid level. But add $150 & UP for kb,
    monitor, & mouse then one is at higher price points than equivalent hardware in laptops.
     
  17. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    @ zapjb,

    I think prices are quite expensive for a top end desktop with a combined SSD + HDD. This year I bought the HP ENVY desktop for 1200 euro, my old HP desktop that I´m still using, costed about 1100 euro almost 8 years ago. So perhaps I shouldn´t complain. :)

    Btw, about the Asus desktop, I noticed that they are using the Nvidia GeForce GTX 650, why wouldn´t they use their own brand GPU? I´m not a hardcore gamer, but it´s still a bit of a slow card. Another thing I noticed is the 300 Watt power supply, this means that you can´t upgrade the GPU as easily.
     
  18. FanJ

    FanJ Updates Team

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    Hi Rasheed,

    (part of the following is in Dutch)

    As for buying in The Netherlands, you are not limited to the brand names like HP, Asus, Dell, etc. There are shops where can you buy a custom build. Some shops are giving you more options than others, though.
    Have you looked, for example, at the sites of Paradigit or Informatique (just only to list two of them)?
    - http://www.paradigit.nl/ (in Dutch: als je een computer op maat wilt, ga naar: http://www.paradigit.nl/cms/landingpages/bto/default.aspx )
    - http://www.informatique.nl/ (in Dutch: als je een computer op maat wilt, ga naar: http://www.informatique.nl/pcopmaat/ )
    Informatique gives you more options than Paradigit; at the other hand Paradigit has more shops in case you want to talk with a person in the shop for advice.
    These were just two examples.

    Edit: the Dutch parts were to point Rasheed to the sites of those shops for custom builds.
     
  19. Wroll

    Wroll Registered Member

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    If you want to calculate something that's sold in the EU always add at least 20% on the US price.
     
  20. Sm3K3R

    Sm3K3R Registered Member

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    Why not build your own with that money?
    You would make a great desktop in that budget or even with almost half.
    Depending on what you want to do with it i can suggest an AMD based system as i avoid Intel corporation whenever i can.
     
  21. whitedragon551

    whitedragon551 Registered Member

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    I paid $1300 for my Sager. 120Gb Samsung Evo SSD, 750Gb 7200RPM HD, 12Gbs of RAM, i7, GTX770GPU. You can build a much beefier desktop for half that price.

    To be on topic. Asus all day long. I have seen Dell and HP used in production enviornments and they are constantly failing. On the other hand I had multiple Asus laptops. All over 5 years old. None of them have ever failed. My Asus gaming laptop was on 24/7 and put over 3000 hours on BF2 and BF3 gaming in the 5 years I had it on top of daily use and never had a single issue.
     
  22. Baserk

    Baserk Registered Member

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    If you don't mind spending 1200 euro on a gamesystem, you should look at Dutch website/forum Tweakers.net.
    Check the May 2014 Mainstream Gaming system with a €1100 budget; f.i i5 4670, MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming 4G, 240GB SSD and 2TB HDD link
    I'd change the PSU for a better brand like Seasonic (or branded for Corsair).
    In the thread, you'll also find other build choices within the budget with an i7 or a different MB etc.
    Contact one of the better (online) hardwareshops in NL, and ask them what such a custom build would cost, if they'd build it for you.
     
  23. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    @ The last three posters, thanks for the feedback, but for some reason I don´t feel comfortable building my own system. I also have to say that my 8 year old HP desktop is still working just fine, I only had to replace the GPU one time, but overall it´s good quality as expected with a top brand.

    I think I will wait for newer models from both HP and Asus. The Asus looks cool, but a few things are bugging me (post #17). Also what´s up with idiotic hardware designers nowadays? I can´t believe that at HP, they think it´s a good idea to keep a light blinking (on front of the desktop) when in standby mode. :thumbd:
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2014
  24. whitedragon551

    whitedragon551 Registered Member

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    What kind of gaming do you do? The 650 is going to be fine for most games with the exception of the latest games. Unless you are hard core into BF4, Crysis, COD Ghosts, Theif, etc. you should be fine.
     
  25. Wroll

    Wroll Registered Member

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    The GPU cards will be ASUS NVidia/AMD NUMBER. I'm sure about that.

    As I wrote before, brand PCs have weird pairings. That ASUS PC I don't even know what it supposed to be - HTPC, Office, Gaming. It's a bit of all and nothing in the end. I don't know why would anyone put a 650 in a PC instead of a 750. Sure it's a bit cheaper, but they have same performance and 750 eats way less energy than 650.
     
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