Is this a good computer to buy?

[RustedBot]

I think I've found something good but can I get your feedback on it?

https://www.komplett.ie/lenovo-ideacentre-510s-90gb00fs...

It's got:
* 8GB DDR4 RAM
* Intel Core i5-7400 (4 cores), 3GHz
* 128 GB SSD
* 1 TB HDD 7200 RPM
* NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 GPU
* Windows 10 64-bit

and it costs €629 on sale.

What do you think, is it a good deal? The only thing I'm wondering is whether or not the OS is installed on the SSD. It should be right? It would make sense to me that it is but the product description doesn't say either way. Anyway, could you please advise me on whether or not this is a good PC to get at this price? Thank you.

 

[superninja12]

No way man.

build your own

 

[RustedBot]

Making my own with roughly the same specs ends up being more expensive. Is it really not a good deal? What would you recommend otherwise?

 

[madmatt30]

The gt 730 is an absolutely waste of time, it's no good for gaming & for desktop work the Igp is good enough.

Its Adding €60-70 to the price.

The i5 7400 is ok but a €100 i3 8100 now beats it hands down.

That is an ok general use desktop but it's old stock they're getting rid of But at full price.

 

[RustedBot]

Where would you recommend I go to get a desktop or have one built for a good price? No GPU is necessary as it's not for playing games, the one I showed just happens to have one. I live in Ireland if that matters.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Not sure what prices are like where you are, but if you tried to create a build using similar components and the price came out higher than the one you linked, then it's probably not a bad deal. Not ideal, but not bad.

For non-gaming systems, the main concerns are going to be your processor and RAM. To a lesser extent, your storage space. Personally, I'd opt for 16GB of RAM and a larger SSD (256GB minimum).

-Wolf sends

 

[RustedBot]

Would you say to try to build the PC myself from individual components? Would you have a complete list of components that you'd recommend? I just want a generally good, fast PC with good sound capabilities. No dedicated GPU is necessary. It's something I'd rather not do as I'm not confident in my ability to do it and I have no idea what parts to get, but I keep seeing people saying how easy it is. What do you think?

 

[Wolfshadw]

Personally, I'd always recommend building yourself, but if there is a budget issue, there's nothing wrong with getting a pre-built. As for your audio requirements, I'd probably look to budget a discrete sound card as well (but check the on-board audio first).

If I were building, I'd probably start with something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor (€192.95 @ Komplett)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B360M Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€93.44 @ Custompcparts)
Memory: Kingston - FURY 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€178.95 @ Komplett)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€80.43 @ Custompcparts)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€46.16 @ Custompcparts)
Case: NZXT - S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (€74.90 @ Komplett)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (€79.90 @ Komplett)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit (€118.95 @ Komplett)
Total: €865.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-20 21:17 IST+0100

For your usage, it's a step up over the pre-built specs you listed. If you're really not that comfortable with trying your first build (yes, it is fairly easy), then you'll want to be looking for a pre-built system with:

- Intel Core I5/I7-7xxx or 8xxx series processor. You could also go with an AMD Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 processor.
- 8GB minimum DDR4 RAM (16GB Recommended)
- A motherboard with 5.1 audio capabilities and possibly optical audio
- An SSD of at least 250GB in size

-Wolf sends

 

[madmatt30]

Take the ccl storm 500

https://www.cclonline.com/pc/specialist-gaming-pcs/cobra/ccl-storm-500-gaming-pc/07/

open the change configuration tab.

Change the cpu to the ryzen 2400g,the ram to 2 x 4gb dual channel, remove the discrete gpu.

This comes in at £449 with windows 10,ccl charge £9.95 delivery to EIRE.

So £460 total = 530 euro or thereabouts.

Cpu & gpu are both stronger than that lenovo by a fair stretch.
Its missing an ssd but If you feel the need you can add one yourself for around 60 euro

 

[RustedBot]

Thank you very much Wolfshadw and madmatt30 for your recommendations.

Wolfshadw:
That's really too expensive for me. Preferably I would like to keep it in the €500 - €650 range.

madmatt30:
I don't know if it's an unfair stigma at this point but I remember AMD processors being pretty much always inferior to Intel ones, with worse reliability and efficiency and being more prone to overheating. Is that no longer true? I've basically been ignoring AMD processors in my searches so far but perhaps I should take them into consideration.

Would no SSD make much of a difference for general operational speeds? I don't think I can use that computer anyway due to form factor. Its dimensions are too great for the space I have. Do you know anything good in the size of a mini tower or something similar to the Lenovo?