Hi everyone,
My 4 year old Lenovo Laptop is becoming so slow that I cannot take it anymore. Over the last decade, I owned two laptops (each one lasting between 4 and 5 years). I realized that I never take them out of my room, so the next one I'm going to buy is a "normal" PC, not a laptop. I do not have much experience with buying PCs, so I browsed the internet some and I must say I really like this forum, so I thought I'd give it a shot. So here's what I'm looking for:
Approximate Purchase Date: next week
Budget Range: $1000 before rebates (plus $200-$300 for monitor plus $150 for Windows 7).
System Usage: Most of all for browsing the internet. Also, I want to be able to play Diablo 3 on it. Finally, I'd like to use it for some video editing (clips from holidays).
Parts Not Required: Need everything except mouse and keyboard.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I live in Switzerland and I still have to figure out where to order the stuff. I'll probably try www.digitec.ch, or www.pcp.ch. I think it's ok if any of your advice is based on prices on newegg.com, just don't pick special offers (and maybe parts which are available in other online stores as well, as this increases the chance they'll be available in Switzerland).
Country: Switzerland
Parts Preferences: Intel CPU (i7 if possible, but i5 would probably do as well). 24" LCD. Small SSD (250GB) and larger HDD (1-2 TB, I do need a lot of space for the video editing, but it would be ok to start with 1TB, then extend it to 2TB (or more) if necessary).
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: No (had to look that up and I think it means you can use multiple graphics cards?)
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200 (24'' monitor)
Additional Comments:
- The most important thing is that it has to do the basic stuff fast, like opening folders and browsing (I usually have about 30 tabs open in a browser. I also usually have about 10-20 windows open (browser windows, folders, one or two programs). It also needs to start (or wake up) fast. For example I want to shortly check the weather before I leave the flat, so I need the PC to wake up and be ready to browse in at most 30 seconds. Up to now I achieved this by never shutting down my laptop (the monitor went black after a certain time, but it did not hibernate or go to sleep, so it was quite quick to go there and start browsing. Restarting it takes about 5-10 minutes, no kidding). Anyway, I guess this means I certainly want an SSD. Will there be a notable difference between an i5 and an i7?
- It should be quiet (I'm used to my laptop, so I don't want my PC to sound like a truck going uphills).
- I'm by no means a hard-core gamer. I know I want to try Diablo 3. I would like to be able to play games from time to time, because sometimes one of them catches my eye. However, I'm fine if it doesn't run on the highest resolution. As long as it doesn't lag all the time or crash during the final battle.
- The PC should last at least 2-3 years (with possible upgrades). Better yet 4 years like the laptops.
I first checked out some prebuilt systems. I really do like the Dell XPS 8500 on www.digitec.ch (sorry but I cannot find a direct link to it, but I printed out the overview which you can find here: http://freepdfhosting.com/4ff9408c5d.pdf ), which has the following specifications:
Intel Core i7-3770
8GB RAM (2x4GB)
Mobo: Intel H77 (don't know which brand)
1TB HDD
Graphic: AMD HD7570
Power Supply: 460W (don't know which brand)
Features: 2x S-ATA III, 2x S-ATA II (4 ports, 2 occupied), 1x eSATA
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit (recovery disc)
2 (out of 2) reviewers say its a quiet PC.
cost: $960
Well, I like the processor. If I bought this computer, I would probably exchange the graphics card (which one would be recommended? Or would the provided card be enough for Diablo 3, so I could leave it at that and upgrade when I want to play a more "hungry" game?). Furthermore I'd install an SSD (however, one of the reviews on www.digitec.ch said that there are no more SATA slots, which I find does not match the description, so that's kind of strange. Also, I don't know whether I'll be able to do a clean install of Windows on the SSD with the provided recovery disc, so I might to still need to buy the OS separately). This would probably exceed my budget by $100-$200, so after all, this doesn't sound like a good idea, plus I don't like the fact they don't tell me which brand the components are.
So I'd also be willing to assemble my own PC, I've done that with two small $300 computers that I use for backups. I'd be really grateful for some pointers on what to buy though, as I'm a bit lost right now.
My 4 year old Lenovo Laptop is becoming so slow that I cannot take it anymore. Over the last decade, I owned two laptops (each one lasting between 4 and 5 years). I realized that I never take them out of my room, so the next one I'm going to buy is a "normal" PC, not a laptop. I do not have much experience with buying PCs, so I browsed the internet some and I must say I really like this forum, so I thought I'd give it a shot. So here's what I'm looking for:
Approximate Purchase Date: next week
Budget Range: $1000 before rebates (plus $200-$300 for monitor plus $150 for Windows 7).
System Usage: Most of all for browsing the internet. Also, I want to be able to play Diablo 3 on it. Finally, I'd like to use it for some video editing (clips from holidays).
Parts Not Required: Need everything except mouse and keyboard.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I live in Switzerland and I still have to figure out where to order the stuff. I'll probably try www.digitec.ch, or www.pcp.ch. I think it's ok if any of your advice is based on prices on newegg.com, just don't pick special offers (and maybe parts which are available in other online stores as well, as this increases the chance they'll be available in Switzerland).
Country: Switzerland
Parts Preferences: Intel CPU (i7 if possible, but i5 would probably do as well). 24" LCD. Small SSD (250GB) and larger HDD (1-2 TB, I do need a lot of space for the video editing, but it would be ok to start with 1TB, then extend it to 2TB (or more) if necessary).
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: No (had to look that up and I think it means you can use multiple graphics cards?)
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200 (24'' monitor)
Additional Comments:
- The most important thing is that it has to do the basic stuff fast, like opening folders and browsing (I usually have about 30 tabs open in a browser. I also usually have about 10-20 windows open (browser windows, folders, one or two programs). It also needs to start (or wake up) fast. For example I want to shortly check the weather before I leave the flat, so I need the PC to wake up and be ready to browse in at most 30 seconds. Up to now I achieved this by never shutting down my laptop (the monitor went black after a certain time, but it did not hibernate or go to sleep, so it was quite quick to go there and start browsing. Restarting it takes about 5-10 minutes, no kidding). Anyway, I guess this means I certainly want an SSD. Will there be a notable difference between an i5 and an i7?
- It should be quiet (I'm used to my laptop, so I don't want my PC to sound like a truck going uphills).
- I'm by no means a hard-core gamer. I know I want to try Diablo 3. I would like to be able to play games from time to time, because sometimes one of them catches my eye. However, I'm fine if it doesn't run on the highest resolution. As long as it doesn't lag all the time or crash during the final battle.
- The PC should last at least 2-3 years (with possible upgrades). Better yet 4 years like the laptops.
I first checked out some prebuilt systems. I really do like the Dell XPS 8500 on www.digitec.ch (sorry but I cannot find a direct link to it, but I printed out the overview which you can find here: http://freepdfhosting.com/4ff9408c5d.pdf ), which has the following specifications:
Intel Core i7-3770
8GB RAM (2x4GB)
Mobo: Intel H77 (don't know which brand)
1TB HDD
Graphic: AMD HD7570
Power Supply: 460W (don't know which brand)
Features: 2x S-ATA III, 2x S-ATA II (4 ports, 2 occupied), 1x eSATA
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit (recovery disc)
2 (out of 2) reviewers say its a quiet PC.
cost: $960
Well, I like the processor. If I bought this computer, I would probably exchange the graphics card (which one would be recommended? Or would the provided card be enough for Diablo 3, so I could leave it at that and upgrade when I want to play a more "hungry" game?). Furthermore I'd install an SSD (however, one of the reviews on www.digitec.ch said that there are no more SATA slots, which I find does not match the description, so that's kind of strange. Also, I don't know whether I'll be able to do a clean install of Windows on the SSD with the provided recovery disc, so I might to still need to buy the OS separately). This would probably exceed my budget by $100-$200, so after all, this doesn't sound like a good idea, plus I don't like the fact they don't tell me which brand the components are.
So I'd also be willing to assemble my own PC, I've done that with two small $300 computers that I use for backups. I'd be really grateful for some pointers on what to buy though, as I'm a bit lost right now.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram