capitalman 3861 Report post Posted March 16, 2010 I'm in need of a new desktop computer. I prefer a floor standing tower case. I surf the web, do some graphics editing, touch ups, etc and program a bit of html and javascripting and stuff like that. I store lots of photos, videos, etc. A good general computer. I haven't bought a new one in a few years..quite a few. What's out there now? What should I be looking for? I want to spend about $500-750. No monitor required. Dual processors? How much memory should I be getting? How much HD is standard now? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bassnut 178 Report post Posted March 16, 2010 If I was you I would take a run over to RB Computing and see what they can put together for you. Either one of the AMD's new AM3 Core's or the new Intel i5 core, your choice dual, triple or quad for the AMD and the i5 is a quad core. For graphics I would be looking for one of the ATI 4870 or 4890 which will do anything you want. Prices are down and you can get something real good for the money you want to spend but will have to add an opperating system on top when you buy your parts you can get an OEM version of Vista or Windows 7 allot cheaper than if you were to buy it seperatly. The AMD system would probably be the slightly cheaper though you will get a bit more preformance form the i5. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buggernot 588 Report post Posted March 16, 2010 Dual/Quad processors are pretty much the norm now. In that price range you should be able to get a dual processor PC, with a hard drive between 750GB to 1TB, memory up to 8GB, and Windows 7 preinstalled. Most computers are smoking fast now and it really is easier to just pick something from Future Shop or Best Buy and run with it. Just make sure you tell them to shove any extra warranty packages up their ass. If you have a computer that's 5+ years old, you'll be floored with the performance boost. You don't have to go crazy and get the most powerful system out there...you do have some power user needs, but unless you want to be a cutting edge gamer or do serious video/3D graphic rendering, anything you get in that price range will be more than satisfactory. You might even want to take a look at a refurbished unit where you'll get a better value and there's absolutley nothing to worry about as far as quality goes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ragnaglar 440 Report post Posted March 16, 2010 The real question to ask is what are you doing with said pc? This will determine what components are required as much as I like to build my own, I recommend to most folks is get the basic what you need pc. Most people do not game, make full length movies for Hollywood, make autocad drawings on the home pc. Pm me if you'd like I like helping people with pc buying. Posted via Mobile Device Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
A***** A***** 510 Report post Posted March 16, 2010 When you do get it if and when from any big box store, be sure to remove all the pre-installed crap. Nothing like having something there that doesn't need to be. My personal favorites are AVG, Ad Ware, And CC Cleaner. Never had a virus or any problems with those. BTW, wondering where the mod is? He's great for info! Thought he would have replied already :lol: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
capitalman 3861 Report post Posted March 16, 2010 Thanks for the input guys. I'm not a complete PC newbie, having owned computers since the late 1970's and being a programmer in the mid 1990's as well. I was once MCSE certified too....but that's another story! I'm kinda outta the loop now though and my current PC is at least 5 years old. I do hope to connect my turntable to my PC and cut some digital versions of my favourite long lost albums and even get my old 8mm movies on here too. I didn't realize dual processors were common place now. I know for one that I don't want a proprietary PC like a Compaq or anything that requires special software to boot it up and manage it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mod 135640 Report post Posted March 16, 2010 My current preferences Intel (Not amd) I have quads and duo's (Obviously quad is better but not that noticeable for standard use) LOADS of memory if running windows. Windows7 is far improved over vista and xp (Get the "Home Premium" or better version) 64bit allows you to go higher than 4gb of ram (64bit Home premium version of windows7 lets you run up to 16GB of ram - FYI the ultimate version can bank 192GB apparently!!) I like brand names these days (and I was a big custom PC person for MANY years). I love HP, Dell and of course stuff like alienware but the dell xps and alienware stuff is very expensive. I think for brand names the HP stuff is the best bang for the buck. I stay clear of gateway, msi and even acer (The low end brand name stuff) - I have seen more broken gateway e-machines than any other PC!! 1TB is pretty much the normal drive these days. It's a insane amount of drive space for just photos (If you do video or audio recording you will appreciate the space for sure). HP at futureshop for 599.97 (Click Links) HP Quad for 799.95 the HP Canada site usually has some wicked deals too for online ordering and I have had the computer show up the next business day! That is all I got for ya. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apex2006 1071 Report post Posted March 16, 2010 Get a Mac! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
antlerman 17064 Report post Posted March 16, 2010 if you are in Ottawa...got to sprint computers..... http://sprintcomputer.com/ tell them what you want...have one built......best way I have found....you get the perks you want and not the bells that they try and sell at big box stores..... great service and no big sales staff things to worry about. bought most of my PC's from them........ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
A***** A***** 510 Report post Posted March 16, 2010 www.ncix.com my brother was looking for a $700 video card, and they didn't have it. (yes, my baby bro is a gamer) that was the only downside of dealing with them I come from a family of computer geeks, woot! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bucken 1479 Report post Posted March 16, 2010 I agree with Mod on this one. I always buy HP and have had great experiences. As far as OS, Windows 7, 64-but is the way to go, IMHO. Sounds like you have some more than basic requirement, so quad proc would probably be the best bet, avoid issues later on. As far as a Mac, never owned one or used one, so no comment. I also used to build my own, but got away from that. It is simpler to get one already built. Good luck. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mod 135640 Report post Posted March 16, 2010 Get a Mac! YEAH! I agree with this... and you know... it's not a bad idea!! For under 750.00 your stuck with a mac mini (but really they are not too bad) they have a intel 2.25gh Core2duo chip a decent video card but the hard drive is only 160gb so if you need more you have to go external.... but... you can install windows7 on the mini and even use something like Parallels (I love cohesive mode) to run both Mac and Windows on the same box (in cohesive mode they run together you just have to have a shared drive - been a while since I set that up but I think it's a fat32 shared folder that is needed but don't quote me on that). For a little bit more you can get the 2.53gz mini with the 320GB drive but speed you wont notice a huge difference so you are better off getting an external 1TB drive but upping the ram to 4GB Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
capitalman 3861 Report post Posted March 17, 2010 Do Macs run PC stuff nowadays or what? I always thought that once you bought into a Mac you were buying into all their proprietary stuff like Mac software, all their specific hardware etc.? have things changed? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buggernot 588 Report post Posted March 17, 2010 Do Macs run PC stuff nowadays or what? I always thought that once you bought into a Mac you were buying into all their proprietary stuff like Mac software, all their specific hardware etc.? have things changed? There's software that will allow you to run Windows, but it takes a performance hit. Your best bet is to stick with what you're familiar with. Besides, you will pay much more for a Mac than a PC...with your price range, you should be able to get a great PC that does everything you want very well. The cheapest iMac is like $1300. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mod 135640 Report post Posted March 17, 2010 Mac MINI is 649.00 Canadian http://store.apple.com/ca/browse/home/shop_mac/family/mac_mini/?cid=WWWCA-MACMINI-HEAD-BUYNOW They are INTEL based so you can either DUAL BOOT (when you power on choose windows or mac) or you can install it and run in cohesive mode allowing you to run Windows and Mac (with yes, a slight performance hit but I don't really see much of a hit personally - Photoshop runs better as a MAC application than a windows application and that is really the only thing I use that chews massive resources up) If your afraid of dual booting or afraid of new technology you should really take buggernot's advise and stick to what you know. It does take a little work to set up windows on a mac (But the end result is very good as you get the best of both worlds). When you are in Windows on a MAC it makes the MAC vulnerable to all the Windows virus's and crap... just like a PC but you can surf the web, open email, etc.. etc.. on the MAC side of the system and be worry free (No need to run a virus scanner on the MAC side so it's actually MUCH faster as virus scanners consume a lot of horse power and are the reason for many lagging windows systems! You could however just buy a PC and install linux (FREE) and do the same (Surf the web in linux and don't worry about the virus's either).... but mac is MUCH more user friendly and has much more support. I have all three OS's installed on one system! LOL... I like choices. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
etasman2000 15994 Report post Posted March 17, 2010 Do Macs run PC stuff nowadays or what? I always thought that once you bought into a Mac you were buying into all their proprietary stuff like Mac software, all their specific hardware etc.? have things changed? Mac's run Mac software and some cross-platform software (these run on Windows/Mac/Linux/Unix). However it really depends on what you are doing. For an Office Suite just download and use OpenOffice, its free and compatible with most Microsoft Office files. Heck it even looks like Office. Which is why I prefer using Pages and Keynotes. For browsing the web try either Firefox or Chrome, both free. I personally use Safari and Firefox. Music and movie creation with burning to the CD/DVD all come built in on the Mac. Organizing photos with iPhoto is really easy especially with all the new features (faces & geotagging). For hardware long gone are the days of SCSI. The four common interfaces for hardware these days are USB, Firewire, Ethernet and Wifi all supported on the Mac. The main issue you would face are drivers but with most consumer products you will do fine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mod 135640 Report post Posted March 17, 2010 What people don't realize is the NEW intel based MAC's are really what we all know as PC's! The mac's are now built with pretty much the same stuff as the pc's - this is why you can run windows as a native OS. They are no longer powered by the MAC specific processors and chipsets. The only thing different is the bootloader sequence - and MAC is not bloated so it only had drivers for specific PC hardware. The VIDEO cards, Ram, etc... are all the same as standard PC's so drivers are not really an issue. You can install windows on a mac and it runs just like it would on a HP.. Hell if you know how to you can actually install the new MAC OS on a PC (This is often much more difficult because the MAC does not have drivers for all the bloated PC hardware).... so if you don't put the same hardware in your PC (such as a video card or a intel core2duo for instance) you will need drivers... Also... you need to use something like chameleon as your "Boot loader" to pre-load the mac boot loader stuff before the OS loads. (This is how the mac os makes sure you are running your MAC OS on a actual MAC and not a PC). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leber 1328 Report post Posted March 17, 2010 I would recommend to get a Windows PC. With MAC, the OS is a hardware resources hog. From your use of this computer, you can get one with 4GB RAM. I also agree with MOD's list of stay away manufacturers. In recent years, HP is a more reliable brand out there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buggernot 588 Report post Posted March 17, 2010 Everytime this question comes up, it always feels like walking in a car dealership asking about a Honda and 4 salesmen tell you all about the Acura's. Posted via Mobile Device Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mod 135640 Report post Posted March 17, 2010 With MAC, the OS is a hardware resources hog. I actually find the complete opposite is true. I find that the MAC OS (Being based on a unix kernal - Darwin) is much less of a resource hog than windows. When you add the fact that you need a live anti virus scanner on top of the windows OS it's really a complete slug.... the only thing these days that saves windows is the fact the PC's have HUGE amounts of power. Yes, the mac has a learning curve.... but it's worth the effort!! Is it a better computer? I think so... actually I know so! Is it for everyone? No. (Accountants should stick with a PC) and people who do not like to learn new things! If change scares you... you will hate the mac for at least 3 months and slowly learn to love and appreciate it more and more. Who should consider a mac? Anyone doing large amounts of home photos (The facial recognition software is to die for), video editing, audio recording. Music lovers, artistic people... Anyone who does not already have a computer (New PC users), web programmers, graphic artists, designers, web designers, people who like to open email attachments, people who primarily use the computer to surf the web (Antivirus reasons).... (Really everyone except accountants - lol) - Anyone who likes to surf porn on the internet!!!!! (Seriously, the porn sites are the number one place to pick up viral/malware/etc.. anyone who does P2P file sharing (But you still need to be careful with MAC executable programs as they can have what is called a rootkit - it's rare but could happen and a rootkit compromises the security of a mac and someone could gain unauthorized access to your mac if this happens - rootkit checkers exist however and you run them each time you download and install something that may be high risk) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twoblues 258 Report post Posted March 17, 2010 Honestly, these days it doesn't really matter what you get if you are just doing what you are asking for. Just look for a computer in your price range and it will do everything you want it to do. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
etasman2000 15994 Report post Posted March 17, 2010 Everytime this question comes up, it always feels like walking in a car dealership asking about a Honda and 4 salesmen tell you all about the Acura's. Part of the problem is there is no standard Window Vista 7 PC out there. Every vendor has their own hardware mix be it Dell, Acer, Asus, IBM, Toshiba, HP, AlienWare etc etc The $500 eMachine does not run nor act like the $500 HP. This makes it hard to make a recommendation for a PC without stating vendor and model. The Mac has one hardware and OS provider. The 21" iMac has a fixed configuration (varies only with respect to HDD and RAM) and if I say it works well with Adobe Premier for editing a 1.5 GB movie file you have a better assurance that purchasing it would give you the same experience. There is also the out-of-the-box factor. For the money the Mac has a better mix of software out of the box. PhotoBooth, iPhoto, iMovie, iDisk, GarageBand, TimeMachine are all included. Ultimately its down to: how much do you want to spend, what do you want to do. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buggernot 588 Report post Posted March 18, 2010 Ultimately its down to: how much do you want to spend, what do you want to do. Hence the Acura comment. Both cars will do what the majority need, but one has more bells and whistles and naturally costs more. Besides, if you spent $1500 on a PC, you'd get a damn good system regardless of the vendor. And FWIW, Apple has the same price protection scheme as Sony - no matter where you go, the products all cost pretty much the same. Ever see what an iPhone costs to buy it with no contract? There's no way it is really worth double an iPod Touch for that extra phone chip. Crazy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
omehgosh 736 Report post Posted March 18, 2010 I've been buying my computers from PC Cyber on Wellington Street for years now, and I've always been very happy with them. Usually I've built my own systems with components purchased from them, however I've purchased a few of their pre-built packages and have been very happy too. I'd agree with MOD with respect to the operating system - I think it'd be unwise not to go with Windows 7 (unless of course you're happy with current OS and can re-install it yourself onto the new system). I'm running vista and if I had to replace my system right now I'd probably not purchase 7 just yet). That being said, I heard something about Microshaft not upgrading IE for XP any longer... If you're still on XP maybe an upgrade's in order? I disagree with the brand-name thing though... I used to be all brand name, in fact there was a time when I'd never purchase a video card that wasn't a Matrox, had to have a Samsung monitor, and Intel was a must (I do a lot of high-end graphics, video, multimedia stuff)... but not anymore, I've been using AMD for a while and can't complain at all (that's not to say you won't run into problems yourself... I'm just speaking from my own experience)... You pay more for a brand name, period - whether or not that's always justified is debatable in my opinion. I'd also recommend avoiding the brand-name complete systems like HP or Acer, etc. I've always had problems with propietary stuff... again, my personal experience. Make sure you go with stuff that can you can upgrade for a couple of years. Make sure you end up with a system that can support the 64bit OS (if that's what you want... more RAM is never a bad thing though...), see how much RAM the motherboard can take... USB 3? I haven't bought a computer in the last year, but isn't USB 3 out now? Check for that... Good luck! I'm sure whatever you end up with you'll be happy with (at least for a while) - a smokin' new computer is always a good thing!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
capitalman 3861 Report post Posted March 30, 2010 Here I am ready to click BUY and the deals you guys posted are no longer available! :roll: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
