Help me pick out a Desktop PC
December 30, 2019 6:14 AM Subscribe
My dad needs a new Windows desktop. I haven't bought a PC in forever - how do I choose a budget-friendly PC these days and/or what do you recommend for his pretty simple use case?
What I'm looking for: a cheap tower that will do what he wants - Word processing, internet browsing - lightning fast; and an ENORMOUS monitor for his aging eyes.
Budget: $1200ish total for tower and monitor.
What do I need/not need in terms of specs? I'm thinking a SSD and 8GB of RAM with a decently new processor will be plenty. But the specific options abound and I don't even know what brand to target.
My go-to for making these decisions used to be CNET, but I feel their quality has declined in recent years. In lieu of specific PC suggestions, any advice on where can I find a good buying guide for a Desktop PC?
What I'm looking for: a cheap tower that will do what he wants - Word processing, internet browsing - lightning fast; and an ENORMOUS monitor for his aging eyes.
Budget: $1200ish total for tower and monitor.
What do I need/not need in terms of specs? I'm thinking a SSD and 8GB of RAM with a decently new processor will be plenty. But the specific options abound and I don't even know what brand to target.
My go-to for making these decisions used to be CNET, but I feel their quality has declined in recent years. In lieu of specific PC suggestions, any advice on where can I find a good buying guide for a Desktop PC?
I recently got a Lenovo desktop from this ThinkStation line and feel they're well-equipped for what you're looking for. They don't come with a monitor but for a PC just under $900, you should have plenty left over for a huge monitor if your budget is $1200 (the tiny PC comes with a mouse and keyboard).
Or skip the video card and spend less money.
I like this little box because it's Lenovo (trusted, generally), can be very easily upgraded, and has a very tiny footprint - no massive tower to get in the way.
8GB of RAM and at least a core i3 processor should be totally fine for browsing and word-processing. Be sure you get Win10 as 7 is end of support very soon.
posted by alrightokay at 6:31 AM on December 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
Or skip the video card and spend less money.
I like this little box because it's Lenovo (trusted, generally), can be very easily upgraded, and has a very tiny footprint - no massive tower to get in the way.
8GB of RAM and at least a core i3 processor should be totally fine for browsing and word-processing. Be sure you get Win10 as 7 is end of support very soon.
posted by alrightokay at 6:31 AM on December 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
Check out Craigslist for used gaming PC's. Nobody seems to want them.
posted by Ferrari328 at 6:51 AM on December 30, 2019
posted by Ferrari328 at 6:51 AM on December 30, 2019
This Dell Vostro looks decent and is currently $640 which gives you plenty of moolah for the monitor. The fast CPU and M2 SSD should last him a long time. It's small and has decent IO ports. The only gotcha would be if he needs a bigger drive for photos or video or something.
In terms of monitor look for a VA or IPS panel, they're a lot nicer looking. Dell also makes very nice monitors, here's one you could pair the Vostro with.
posted by selfnoise at 7:13 AM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
In terms of monitor look for a VA or IPS panel, they're a lot nicer looking. Dell also makes very nice monitors, here's one you could pair the Vostro with.
posted by selfnoise at 7:13 AM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
I purchase computers for my workplace. l always buy them from a local "mom and pop" computer store. The staff there are super-friendly, they never up-sell, and their prices are reasonable. They also provide excellent repair service and honor their warranties. They build their computers from components and will make recommendations for the specs, based on how you intend to use your computer. I'd guess that a lot of cities will have at least one store like this. Maybe you can check Yelp for reviews. If I were going to buy myself a desktop computer, I would go to a store like this. It's nice to have a local place where you can take your computer if it has any problems.
posted by alex1965 at 7:58 AM on December 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by alex1965 at 7:58 AM on December 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
You don't need to spend anywhere near that these days. An 8th generation i5 or better with an SSD will be extremely fast for his needs. Dell and Lenovo have a ton of those.
Personally, for a family member, I'm only going to tell them to buy from a company that will handle all the support and warranty issues. Being on the hook when something inevitably goes wrong with a bespoke system is no fun, at least in my family.
For aging eyes, don't go higher than 1080p. Does he wear bifocals? That might affect how large of a monitor he can effectively use.
posted by Candleman at 8:27 AM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
Personally, for a family member, I'm only going to tell them to buy from a company that will handle all the support and warranty issues. Being on the hook when something inevitably goes wrong with a bespoke system is no fun, at least in my family.
For aging eyes, don't go higher than 1080p. Does he wear bifocals? That might affect how large of a monitor he can effectively use.
posted by Candleman at 8:27 AM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
I bought an HP last time out mostly because it was cheap. Experience has been mixed. It had a problem and eventually was sent back to HP by an authorized HP dealer. On the bright side, HP did find the problem (bad SSD) and returned it fairly promptly.
posted by SemiSalt at 9:17 AM on December 30, 2019
posted by SemiSalt at 9:17 AM on December 30, 2019
Response by poster: He does have bifocals and he just had cataract surgery - please steer me in the right direction vis-a-vis monitors! I was thinking the bigger the better but maybe that is not right...
posted by codhavereturned at 9:31 AM on December 30, 2019
posted by codhavereturned at 9:31 AM on December 30, 2019
You're probably better off getting a moderately sized monitor and scaling the text up. I think what the previous poster was warning about was getting a really high resolution monitor because everything will be tiny. Now, you can use Windows 10 display scaling as well as web browser scaling to enlarge things, but there's always that one program that doesn't play nice.
Something like a 27inch 1080p monitor might be ideal to minimize having to wrestle with that.
posted by selfnoise at 9:59 AM on December 30, 2019
Something like a 27inch 1080p monitor might be ideal to minimize having to wrestle with that.
posted by selfnoise at 9:59 AM on December 30, 2019
I would think 8GB of RAM and a non-shitty processor and an SSD should be fine for your dad. The last time I got my mom a computer, I looked at the Dell outlet and purchased a new discounted computer in the "scratch and dent" category. It was neither scratched nor dented and it only cost $400. It has lasted her six years and is in need of an upgrade now but her needs for it are so minimal (email, web browsing, organizing photos, watching YouTube videos) that I am not in a huge rush. I didn't need to get her any peripherals so obviously that will add to the price but to me $1200 for an older parent seems unnecessary. I just built myself a beast of a desktop PC with very good components for less than that.
posted by AppleTurnover at 9:59 AM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by AppleTurnover at 9:59 AM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
I am also a fan of the Lenovo Tiny series, but I would recommend the Tiny Desktop series. The M920 should be sufficient for everything you describe. Then spend your money on a good monitor.
The Tiny desktops are about the size of a large hardback book. They have a small fan inside but it almost never turns on so it is completely silent.
One thing to note about large high-resolution monitors. The default icons and text sizes actually get smaller, because the pixels are smaller, which might seem surprising. So you will have to go into the Windows display setup to increase the sizes from the default to take advantage of your larger monitor size.
posted by JackFlash at 10:47 AM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
The Tiny desktops are about the size of a large hardback book. They have a small fan inside but it almost never turns on so it is completely silent.
One thing to note about large high-resolution monitors. The default icons and text sizes actually get smaller, because the pixels are smaller, which might seem surprising. So you will have to go into the Windows display setup to increase the sizes from the default to take advantage of your larger monitor size.
posted by JackFlash at 10:47 AM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
A comment about computer vision. You don't say what kind of glasses your father has, but progressives are not the best if you have a large monitor. Because of the narrow view of the closeup part of the progressive, you have to scan a large monitor by twisting your neck back and forth instead of your eyes.
If your father has regular bifocals, he should look into tri-focals that will provide a mid-range distance of 18 inches or so which is good for monitors. And the tri-focals have a wide peripheral range so you don't have to move your head to scan the width of the monitor.
And if not tri-focals, he could also just get a special pair of glasses just for computer use, optimized for about 18 inches, sort of like reading glasses but a little longer distance.
posted by JackFlash at 10:54 AM on December 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
If your father has regular bifocals, he should look into tri-focals that will provide a mid-range distance of 18 inches or so which is good for monitors. And the tri-focals have a wide peripheral range so you don't have to move your head to scan the width of the monitor.
And if not tri-focals, he could also just get a special pair of glasses just for computer use, optimized for about 18 inches, sort of like reading glasses but a little longer distance.
posted by JackFlash at 10:54 AM on December 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
Like others, I don't think a tower makes a massive amount of sense any more, especially if he'd be fine with a USB optical drive. Those ThinkStations or (better) ThinkCentres or HP ProDesk / EliteDesk models will do the job. And yes, better to pay the premium for a big maker in exchange for having them handle support. Splurge for a biggish SSD, and I'd agree that a 27in 1080p monitor might be better than a massive and/or 4K display and having to hunt around a large screen area and fiddle with scaling settings.
posted by holgate at 11:00 AM on December 30, 2019
posted by holgate at 11:00 AM on December 30, 2019
Laptop. He can use it at a desk or on the patio or in bed with netflix. You can get a 15' or 17" screen. I love my refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad.
posted by theora55 at 1:13 PM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by theora55 at 1:13 PM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
Anything you can buy new these days will very likely be more than enough for what your dad needs, spec-wise (though definitely make sure you check that it has an SSD; the extreme low-end is still dominated by hard-drive-based storage). Heck, if you want to cheap out and go for used/refurb machines, you could probably get something good for less than $300, though you obviously won't be getting much in terms of manufacturer support. That said, even if you buy new, you're unlikely to get very good manufacturer support from the major manufacturers of Windows PCs, so buying from a local independent "mom & pop" computer store where they build their own machines may be a better bet from that angle.
posted by Aleyn at 4:00 PM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Aleyn at 4:00 PM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
The good news is that thanks to LCD TVs, big monitors are affordable, and if you need something any larger, a 1080p or 4K TV with an HDMI port will work with little or no effort. A 40" or 43" TV that will work can be had for under $300
As far as the computer, anything built in the last seven or eight years with an SSD and 8gb of RAM will work fine as a utility computer for the foreseeable future. I picked up an Dell 7020 off EBay for $150 delivered, and I had picky requirements. If it'll be any use at all, a Lenovo T450 (or T440, or T460) with those requirements is a tidy Laptop that can be had for <$300 with those requirements, hook to the big monitor, and move around a smidge.
posted by wotsac at 7:28 PM on December 30, 2019
As far as the computer, anything built in the last seven or eight years with an SSD and 8gb of RAM will work fine as a utility computer for the foreseeable future. I picked up an Dell 7020 off EBay for $150 delivered, and I had picky requirements. If it'll be any use at all, a Lenovo T450 (or T440, or T460) with those requirements is a tidy Laptop that can be had for <$300 with those requirements, hook to the big monitor, and move around a smidge.
posted by wotsac at 7:28 PM on December 30, 2019
Best answer: I frequently purchase from Dell factory refurbished computers. At the moment they have a typical 45% off coupon floating around and the following Dell OptiPlex 5040 comes to $213.21 incl delivery.
Processor: Intel Core i5 Quad (i5-6600) 3.30 GHz
Memory: 8 GB
Hard Drive: 448 GB (128GB SSD / 300GB HD)
OS: Windows 10 Professional
Chassis: Small Form Factor
I have made only good experiences with these machines, they will last for ages and are fast enough for all the usual stuff people do in the common offices you find around town. HDMI/DP incl.
Just a thought, the configurations keep changing, but for under $300 you will get something that will work OK. You won't be able to fit big GPUs inside, they are specced to only allow swapping HD/SSD. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
posted by nostrada at 2:55 PM on December 31, 2019
Processor: Intel Core i5 Quad (i5-6600) 3.30 GHz
Memory: 8 GB
Hard Drive: 448 GB (128GB SSD / 300GB HD)
OS: Windows 10 Professional
Chassis: Small Form Factor
I have made only good experiences with these machines, they will last for ages and are fast enough for all the usual stuff people do in the common offices you find around town. HDMI/DP incl.
Just a thought, the configurations keep changing, but for under $300 you will get something that will work OK. You won't be able to fit big GPUs inside, they are specced to only allow swapping HD/SSD. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
posted by nostrada at 2:55 PM on December 31, 2019
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posted by jozxyqk at 6:28 AM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]