Help me find a new desktop!
October 17, 2023 12:55 PM Subscribe
I need a new computer to replace my dying 10 year old PC. Please give me concrete, actual, links I can click on to buy a PC for the next decade. I live in Oregon; my budget tops out at $1000. Details on what I need inside.
I do a lot of photo processing and occasional graphic design. I might end up with a remote job and I may, in that case, need it to do basic office stuff. I also do a little light gaming - well, in reality, I play ridiculous amounts of Minecraft but maybe someday something else will come along that I would like to play. I have been thinking about Rust and Subnautica (look, I'm old, I move slow.) Therefore, I have learned that I need a lot of RAM and a good graphics card. I would also like a lot of storage. Yes, I back things up to the cloud but photos add up so quickly and I like having them in one place. Now we have reached the end of my computer knowledge. It should be fast? Definitely it should have wifi that works? I already have a monitor; ideally, I would like it to come with a new keyboard and mouse but I can, of course, buy those separately.
I asked a friend for a recommendation and he suggested this ibuypower desktop which was on sale at Costco for $1000. It arrived, it was goofy and hilarious and I loved it - until I tried to get the wifi to work. Turned out the wifi card was defective, also turned out it could not easily be replaced because something something attached to the motherboard. I got this information from their tech support after reinstalling the wifi drivers they emailed me and etc., etc. but when they suggested I take out the motherboard and replace it, I said no and returned it to Costco.
A local shop - I called them to help with the wifi problem - is trying very hard to sell me a custom build but I'm a little reluctant because I a) don't like hard sells and they've been very hard sell and b) they told me they had a finished computer they would sell me for $1000 that was better than the iBuyPower one. When I went to the shop to look at it, turned out it had no graphics card and that would be another $400. Therefore I no longer entirely trust them but, that could be unfair on my part; the guy kind of rubs me the wrong way.
I just want a computer that works out of the box, is solid and lasts. I would prefer not to spend a couple of days removing bloatware but if I have to I will. OK, so what do I want? Do I want this custom build or do I want to order one? Do I want a Dell from Costco? They have several in my price range but I have a vague memory of a very bad Dell experience and I'm not sure I want to go there. I live in a remote area and there is no Best Buy, no anything, actually, except Costco and Wal Mart. So probably I will have to order it; Costco does not keep a lot of computers in stock.
I do a lot of photo processing and occasional graphic design. I might end up with a remote job and I may, in that case, need it to do basic office stuff. I also do a little light gaming - well, in reality, I play ridiculous amounts of Minecraft but maybe someday something else will come along that I would like to play. I have been thinking about Rust and Subnautica (look, I'm old, I move slow.) Therefore, I have learned that I need a lot of RAM and a good graphics card. I would also like a lot of storage. Yes, I back things up to the cloud but photos add up so quickly and I like having them in one place. Now we have reached the end of my computer knowledge. It should be fast? Definitely it should have wifi that works? I already have a monitor; ideally, I would like it to come with a new keyboard and mouse but I can, of course, buy those separately.
I asked a friend for a recommendation and he suggested this ibuypower desktop which was on sale at Costco for $1000. It arrived, it was goofy and hilarious and I loved it - until I tried to get the wifi to work. Turned out the wifi card was defective, also turned out it could not easily be replaced because something something attached to the motherboard. I got this information from their tech support after reinstalling the wifi drivers they emailed me and etc., etc. but when they suggested I take out the motherboard and replace it, I said no and returned it to Costco.
A local shop - I called them to help with the wifi problem - is trying very hard to sell me a custom build but I'm a little reluctant because I a) don't like hard sells and they've been very hard sell and b) they told me they had a finished computer they would sell me for $1000 that was better than the iBuyPower one. When I went to the shop to look at it, turned out it had no graphics card and that would be another $400. Therefore I no longer entirely trust them but, that could be unfair on my part; the guy kind of rubs me the wrong way.
I just want a computer that works out of the box, is solid and lasts. I would prefer not to spend a couple of days removing bloatware but if I have to I will. OK, so what do I want? Do I want this custom build or do I want to order one? Do I want a Dell from Costco? They have several in my price range but I have a vague memory of a very bad Dell experience and I'm not sure I want to go there. I live in a remote area and there is no Best Buy, no anything, actually, except Costco and Wal Mart. So probably I will have to order it; Costco does not keep a lot of computers in stock.
Yup, get that.
You don't want a Dell desktop. They're full of weird proprietary shit that's hard/expensive/impossible to fix/replace.
If you want to look further, I'd start by hitting youtubeses for "linus tech tips secret shopper."
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:44 PM on October 17, 2023
You don't want a Dell desktop. They're full of weird proprietary shit that's hard/expensive/impossible to fix/replace.
If you want to look further, I'd start by hitting youtubeses for "linus tech tips secret shopper."
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:44 PM on October 17, 2023
This CyberPower Gaming Desktop from Costco is kind of a bonkers deal: $999 for a 13th gen i5, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD, and an RTX 4060 graphics card.
that really is kind of a bonkers deal.
posted by Dr. Twist at 2:38 PM on October 17, 2023
that really is kind of a bonkers deal.
posted by Dr. Twist at 2:38 PM on October 17, 2023
Wow, yeah... buy that. I just upgraded my PC and I'm tempted.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 4:05 PM on October 17, 2023
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 4:05 PM on October 17, 2023
Three months ago I bought this gaming PC from the Best Buy near the Portland airport/IKEA. I'm pretty satisfied with it.
It costs $1,300, but I bought it during "Amazon Prime Days" over the summer and got it for $1,000. I'd bet the same price will be available for Black Friday.
I also have an external SSD drive for all of my photos and videos, so your mileage may vary on that end.
posted by tacodave at 5:02 PM on October 17, 2023
It costs $1,300, but I bought it during "Amazon Prime Days" over the summer and got it for $1,000. I'd bet the same price will be available for Black Friday.
I also have an external SSD drive for all of my photos and videos, so your mileage may vary on that end.
posted by tacodave at 5:02 PM on October 17, 2023
Response by poster: Typing this from the new computer! It rocks - and it hooked up to the wifi no problem. I was so worried that the failure of the other one was something I did but turns out no, it really was defective.
Thanks, implied_otter! It's shiny with rainbow light spinny fans and it came with a shiny light up mouse! I think we're going to be good friends.
posted by mygothlaundry at 7:12 PM on October 24, 2023
Thanks, implied_otter! It's shiny with rainbow light spinny fans and it came with a shiny light up mouse! I think we're going to be good friends.
posted by mygothlaundry at 7:12 PM on October 24, 2023
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This CyberPower Gaming Desktop from Costco is kind of a bonkers deal: $999 for a 13th gen i5, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD, and an RTX 4060 graphics card. I didn't see any Dells when I filtered on your price range, but maybe that's because I'm not in your region.
You'll probably want to do a clean reinstall of Windows right away rather than manually remove bloatware. I'd suggest trying a "Reset Windows" first, then a clean install from media if that doesn't get enough of the things. Here is the Microsoft help page with instructions for both those things.
posted by implied_otter at 1:35 PM on October 17, 2023 [5 favorites]