Need help choosing a desktop
Hey guys, I'm getting my first desktop very shortly and i am i need for your help. I have very minimal background on desktops and they're specs and whatsoever. I have a budget of $1200. I know most of you will tell me to build one as it is much cheaper and worth more in quality in such, but sady i am unable to do so. I would like the desktop to be able to run games, i dont want it to be a head on gaming desktop, but more as a reg desktop that can run games such as combat arms, minecraft, and maplestory easily with little to no lag. Eg. Minecraft in High settings. I would also like it to be fast and good for school use as i am going to need it for; school, gaming, and personal uses. I would like it to have a high memory space and overall fast. I hope this can help with the info, and thanks for your help. If possible selecting from the websites listed below as they are my only options area wise.
http://www.staples.ca/en/Desktop-Computers/cat_CL200590_2-CA_1_20001
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/category/desktops-imac/1003.aspx?path=c7529f5036d719c9744f63ca53abda2fen01
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/category/desktop-computers/20213.aspx?path=3551fbf72f2cbaac084e0e041a558fa2en01
14 Comments • Newest first
[quote=Nerb]I personally think it is worth it to get an SSD...I'm more than sure he can spend a bit more for a SSD[/quote]
It's a bad suggestion regardless and has no place in this thread. I've already explained in simple terms why an would be almost completely useless for hessamgol. Additionally, your comparison between an SSD and an HDD is half incorrect; SSDs have much faster read/writes than HDDs, but HDDs are certainly not slow. On top of that, HDDs from a hardware standpoint are almost never the primary reason why a computer would perform poorly.
[quote=hessamgol]Wow thankyou aswell i well probably go to a local pc hardware shop and ask for those, but for the SSD is there more space i mean i dont think 128gb is gonna really be enough for me.[/quote]
He's come back to the thread to post more useless information. You can't tell because you don't quite have the knowledge and experience, but I do and based on what he's posted, I can tell that he doesn't have a clue what he is supposed to be doing in this thread.
Like his first post in his thread, he's talking about a high-end gaming computer, a type of computer you did not ask for. An SSD is nearly of no benefit for you as the only thing you can get from it is the faster Windows start up time. That's not enough to justify getting an SSD considering its drawbacks such as the higher cost per GB.
@ZeetayHD okay thank you so much for the help
@Nerb Wow thankyou aswell i well probably go to a local pc hardware shop and ask for those, but for the SSD is there more space i mean i dont think 128gb is gonna really be enough for me.
[quote=qwan456]Yeah, an alternative to Fry's that has an assembly service is NCIX for $50. As well as the warranty you have for each component, they offer you a standalone 1 year warranty for the entire system that had assembled for you. Canada Computers also have an assembly service as well, IIRC.
Are MC, MS, and Combat Arms the only games you wish to play? Or you were using CA as a general example for FPS games and will be playing games like Battlefield, Crysis, Metro, and such?[/quote]
Well no other games come to my mind, since im going to be also hooking up my ps3 to my monitor to play from that, but i dont think that has to do with the pc. I may play battlefield or like Ghost Recon Online, but other then that nothing much.
[quote=hessamgol]Oh, Okay, but the thing is with building a desktop i dont know what parts are good and like where i should get them. Should i go to like a retailers and say i want to build one and they help me? or...?[/quote]
No. They'll rip you off. I once pissed off a sale reps at Fry's because I didn't mind my own business and told the customer over the rep's shoulder that a cheaper 500 watt power supply was going to cut it.
The only Canadian retailer for sure that I know assembles computers from purchased computer parts to order is NCIX. They charge $50 for the assembly at the warehouse, though it's still a better value than buying a branded $1000+ gaming desktop.
The most demanding game and program you have listed is Minecraft.
http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph6332/50163.png
A look at Futureshop lists a bunch of desktops with the AMD A8 and A10 processors.
That means something like this:
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/asus-asus-m11bb-desktop-pc-amd-a8-5500-1tb-hdd-6gb-ram-windows-8-m11bb-ca002s/10254785.aspx?path=cece38545252e59ced0aacb5162d727den02&SearchPageIndex=1
...can play Minecraft at the highest settings at a 1080p display resolution.
I still haven't closely looked at all the stores yet so I cannot confirm if that ASUS desktop has the best value out of all options, but it's an indicator that you don't necessarily have to spend over $500 for Minecraft. This is information an in-store representative cannot tell you because:
1) They wouldn't have a clue how well Minecraft runs on a certain computer
2) Their job is to make as much money from the customer as possible and as quickly as they can even if it means making up BS on the spot
Yeah, an alternative to Fry's that has an assembly service is NCIX for $50. As well as the warranty you have for each component, they offer you a standalone 1 year warranty for the entire system that had assembled for you. Canada Computers also have an assembly service as well, IIRC.
Are MC, MS, and Combat Arms the only games you wish to play? Or you were using CA as a general example for FPS games and will be playing games like Battlefield, Crysis, Metro, and such?
[quote=Burning]A store in the United States. It's completely useless to you.[/quote]
Oh, Okay, but the thing is with building a desktop i dont know what parts are good and like where i should get them. Should i go to like a retailers and say i want to build one and they help me? or...?
[quote=hessamgol]Can you elaborate on what fry is?[/quote]
A store in the United States. It's completely useless to you.
[quote=spartanwiz]I know you already asked, but you can go to a Fry's and they will BUILD it for you.
You'd save money alot by doing this.[/quote]
Can you elaborate on what fry is?
[quote=hessamgol]Oh really? Well thats great, but honestly idk i feel unsure of building one and i dont even know how to do it. I searched on newegg.com and im confused already.[/quote]
It's fine, those people are posting junk anyways. You aren't going to get a or as a good value from building your own desktop since you don't play demanding 3D games.
I'm not sure what your links are supposed to be. Are you asking if the computers are worth buying? Some of those links aren't working.
If you just want to limit your shopping options to your local Staples, Futureshop, and Best Buy stores, that's fine, though keep in mind that in-store inventories may be different than what is posted online.
If you're only looking to be able to play games like combat arms and minecraft on high settings, you'll only need a ~$800 dollar system. If you buy the parts separately and build it yourself, it'll be ~$700.
Building a computer isn't all too hard, everything is clear-cut and color-coded.
[quote=Y0l0SWAG420]You'd have warranty on each part so if one part breaks you can just swap it for a new one[/quote]
Oh really? Well thats great, but honestly idk i feel unsure of building one and i dont even know how to do it. I searched on newegg.com and im confused already.
for 1200$ you can have a decent high quality gaming desktop.
Those pre-built desktop are worth crap and probably have less than 600$ worth of pieces if bought separately.
[quote=spartanwiz]I know you already asked, but you can go to a Fry's and they will BUILD it for you.
You'd save money alot by doing this.[/quote]
But, if i do build one i am scared of warranty? since there isnt any on the desktop. Unless i am missing out on something.