Question What is a decent sub $1000 pre-built?

[stancymckatt]

Hello everyone.

My mother an I are among the many being forced to get a new PC due to the Windows 10 cut off later this year. We're looking for something that will hopefully last another 8 years like our ASUS G11CD (Link to our old PC's Specs on Newegg) has. I'd love to get an i7 and stick it in the Asus, but 8 years old tends to be when I have PSU failure and I don't want to risk it with such a tight budget. (Maybe I can do that later?)

I'm hoping for something that Windows 11 will run well on.

Our main usage is as follows:
Mom likes watching craft and cooking videos on YouTube.
LibreOffice.
Light image editing (It's very rare that I go over 15 layers in Paint.net, or GIMP, usually images 1000px or smaller.)
I'm a casual gamer. The most resorce intensive game I play on the PC is Sims 4. (Pokemon TCG Live, and a 20+ year old game that will run on just about anything, are my other main games).

The most important thing for us though is our bi-weekly Zoom meetings with an average of around 30-50 participants. Occasionnally we end up in a zoom meeting of 50+.


Hardware preferences (Not set in stone):
Intel over AMD.
Nvidia over AMD.
A video card, over intergrated.
Desktop towers, over laptops. (I'll do a laptop if we have too though.)


Here's the probable hard part: We need it to be less than $1000.
Here's the really hard part: Mom (in her 80s) would prefer buying it off the shelf at Walmart, if push comes to shove Best Buy, or Office Max (1 hour + away... We won't get there until October odds are as we live in a rual area).

We're more than willing to wait for something to come out later this year, or back to school sales in July, August, or September. We're hoping to get something by the time Windows 10 support ends October 25th... So not a big rush.

Could anyone please point me to what specs I should be looking for, and what manufactures in my price range are good these days?

 

[COLGeek]

Is ordering from an online source really out of the question?

 

[Ralston18]

This:

"My mother an I are among the many being forced to get a new PC due to the Windows 10 cut off later this year."


Source/reference?

 

[COLGeek]

@Ralston18 brings up a good point. When Win 10 support ends, it won't just die on you. Your system will continue to operate, just without updates from MS.

I don't expect that your local Walmart will have a wide selection of desktop PCs on the shelf.

Go here and put your budget into the filters. This will get you a bunch of options to choose from.

https://www.walmart.com/browse/elec...32982_1231618?povid=ETS_browse_alldesktop_WEB

If you see something you may like. Copy a link to it and paste it here for a second opinion.

Ordering from an online source, like Newegg, will give you more options.

Sounds like upgrading your current system is not desirable for you, but that is an option and could keep your costs down.

 

[Misgar]

Sounds like upgrading your current system is not desirable for you, but that is an option and could keep your costs down.

I shall be upgrading my mother's old desktop computers to Windows 11 before October this year. Only one of them is fully Windows 11 compliant. I envisage disconnecting the Windows 10 boot drives and fitting new SATA SSDs, then installing a fresh copy of Windows 11 using Rufus to tweak the TPM, Secure Boot and "obsolete" CPU settings.

https://windowsforum.com/threads/up...r-pcs-bypass-compatibility-with-rufus.345235/

After installing Windows 11 and all her favourite photo editing programs, I'll reconnect the old Windows 10 and data drives. Then she can boot back into Windows 10 if necessary, but of course with the internet disconnected. That way, she gets to keep her old familiar computers, whilst becoming accustomed to the "new fangled" Windows 11 Desktop (which I'll tweak so it looks more like Windows 10).

Two of her three desktops are circa 2015/16, the third is 2022. No point in wasting money on completely new computers (or upgrading all the main components) when a couple of cheap $40 SATA SSDs will extend their lives. She started on MSDOS 6.22, Windows 3.11, 95, 98, XP, 7 and 10. Now it's time for 11. Don't you just love progress?

 

[stancymckatt]

Is ordering from an online source really out of the question?...

Ordering from an online source, like Newegg, will give you more options.

My mom is incredibly stubborn about not trusting paying for anything online. I've been trying since 2020 to talk her round into ordering things from Walmart.com, at this point I don't think it's going to happen.

Source/reference?

@Ralston18 brings up a good point. When Win 10 support ends, it won't just die on you. Your system will continue to operate, just without updates from MS.

Apologies, I phrased it poorly. I'm talking about the end of updates. I used XP Pro for years after the updates were done, but I'm reluctant to use a PC online without it being up to date these days. After all, if I do something dumb on accident and get a virus, I can't just wipe it and reinstall it from the Disk like I could XP.

Can you both recommend some ways to secure it? I already have No Script,and U Block Origin installed in Firefox. Avast free for antivirus. What else do you recommend?

Sounds like upgrading your current system is not desirable for you, but that is an option and could keep your costs down.

My system meets all requirements except for the processor. I have a i5-6400 2.70Ghz "Which currently isn't supported for windows 11."

I've thought long and hard about this. The question that I keep coming back too: Is it worth paying $400 for an i7 to put in this computer with 8 year old hardware? How much life does the PSU have left, or Hard drive?

I don't know what to do.


Now on to walmart PCs.. There's only towers available locally.



Brand CyberPowerPC
Model GMA6900WST
Processor Brand AMD
Processor Type AMD Ryzen 5
Processor Speed 3.8 GHz
RAM Memory 16 GB
Maximum RAM Supported 128 GB
Operating System Windows 11 Home 64 Bit
Assembled Product Weight 28 lb
Manufacturer CyberPowerPC
Inputs & Outputs HDMI (will have to remember to pick up a converter cable. My monitor has a VGA hookup. Currently using a converter anyway.)
Video Card AMD Radeon RX 7600
Video Memory 8 GB
Hard Drive Capacity 1 TB
Solid State Drive Capacity 1 TB


The other one:
Brand HP
Model S01-pF2033w
Processor Brand Intel
Processor Type Intel® Core™ i3-12100
Processor Speed 4.3 GHz
RAM Memory 8 GB
Maximum RAM Supported 8 GB
Operating System Windows 11 Home
Assembled Product Weight 6.66 lb
Manufacturer HP
Edition Standard Edition
Manufacturer Part Number 7Z6X4AA#ABA
Wireless Technology Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Inputs & Outputs USB
Hard Drive Capacity 512 GB
Solid State Drive Capacity 512 GB

 

[beyondlogic]

My mom is incredibly stubborn about not trusting paying for anything online. I've been trying since 2020 to talk her round into ordering things from Walmart.com, at this point I don't think it's going to happen.





Apologies, I phrased it poorly. I'm talking about the end of updates. I used XP Pro for years after the updates were done, but I'm reluctant to use a PC online without it being up to date these days. After all, if I do something dumb on accident and get a virus, I can't just wipe it and reinstall it from the Disk like I could XP.

Can you both recommend some ways to secure it? I already have No Script,and U Block Origin installed in Firefox. Avast free for antivirus. What else do you recommend?



My system meets all requirements except for the processor. I have a i5-6400 2.70Ghz "Which currently isn't supported for windows 11."

I've thought long and hard about this. The question that I keep coming back too: Is it worth paying $400 for an i7 to put in this computer with 8 year old hardware? How much life does the PSU have left, or Hard drive?

I don't know what to do.


Now on to walmart PCs.. There's only towers available locally.



Brand CyberPowerPC
Model GMA6900WST
Processor Brand AMD
Processor Type AMD Ryzen 5
Processor Speed 3.8 GHz
RAM Memory 16 GB
Maximum RAM Supported 128 GB
Operating System Windows 11 Home 64 Bit
Assembled Product Weight 28 lb
Manufacturer CyberPowerPC
Inputs & Outputs HDMI (will have to remember to pick up a converter cable. My monitor has a VGA hookup. Currently using a converter anyway.)
Video Card AMD Radeon RX 7600
Video Memory 8 GB
Hard Drive Capacity 1 TB
Solid State Drive Capacity 1 TB


The other one:
Brand HP
Model S01-pF2033w
Processor Brand Intel
Processor Type Intel® Core™ i3-12100
Processor Speed 4.3 GHz
RAM Memory 8 GB
Maximum RAM Supported 8 GB
Operating System Windows 11 Home
Assembled Product Weight 6.66 lb
Manufacturer HP
Edition Standard Edition
Manufacturer Part Number 7Z6X4AA#ABA
Wireless Technology Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Inputs & Outputs USB
Hard Drive Capacity 512 GB
Solid State Drive Capacity 512 GB

total budget ?

avoid hp like the plague.

go with the cyberpower pc

1. it uses ryzen ( you dont have to deal with intels lga 1700 chip issues lol)
2. for new people to adapting prebuilts later on its easier to upgrade parts.
3. hp uses proprietary psus that you cant find replacements for if it goes. this makes upgrading your pc a royal pain.
4. the cyber power you can tweak and probly make it last years.

if you have a link to the cyberpower it help more.

the hp
is pretty much lock down and you wont get much expandability out of it.
zero upgrading potential down the road and a paper weight in a year or 2.

 

[stancymckatt]

total budget ?

avoid hp like the plague.

go with the cyberpower pc

1. it uses ryzen ( you dont have to deal with intels lga 1700 chip issues lol)
2. for new people to adapting prebuilts later on its easier to upgrade parts.
3. hp uses proprietary psus that you cant find replacements for if it goes. this makes upgrading your pc a royal pain.
4. the cyber power you can tweak and probly make it last years.

if you have a link to the cyberpower it help more.

the hp
is pretty much lock down and you wont get much expandability out of it.
zero upgrading potential down the road and a paper weight in a year or 2.

Budget is $1000 max I might get away with going a few dollars over on sales tax (or a super good sale), but not by much. Mom doesn't want to spend that, except I told her we didn't have much choice due to inflation.

Apologies for not including the link. Click here to go to the page for the cyberpower PC.

When getting the link for the cyberpower above, I found a higher powered PC at a diffrent local walmart that I don't go to as often.... Here. It's listed for $999.00. I doubt if it's worth the extra expense, for our usage, because the sales tax would put us over budget by nearly $100 I don't know how long the sale will last either (if you see a date for the end let me know how to tell please). I've looked and looked.

I suspected that the HP was like that, a 'throw away when broke' PC. Thank you for the comfermation. The 'slim' tipped me off. I remember someone years ago (probably on here) that recommended sticking with gaming PCs as they can be worked on if necessary.

Thank you for pointing out the ease of modifying if nessary, I just wish it had a slot where I could put an internal DVD drive... I guess I'm showing my age! 🤣

 

[beyondlogic]

Budget is $1000 max I might get away with going a few dollars over on sales tax (or a super good sale), but not by much. Mom doesn't want to spend that, except I told her we didn't have much choice due to inflation.

Apologies for not including the link. Click here to go to the page for the cyberpower PC.

When getting the link for the cyberpower above, I found a higher powered PC at a diffrent local walmart that I don't go to as often.... Here. It's listed for $999.00. I doubt if it's worth the extra expense, for our usage, because the sales tax would put us over budget by nearly $100 I don't know how long the sale will last either (if you see a date for the end let me know how to tell please). I've looked and looked.

I suspected that the HP was like that, a 'throw away when broke' PC. Thank you for the comfermation. The 'slim' tipped me off. I remember someone years ago (probably on here) that recommended sticking with gaming PCs as they can be worked on if necessary.

Thank you for pointing out the ease of modifying if nessary, I just wish it had a slot where I could put an internal DVD drive... I guess I'm showing my age! 🤣

so theres good points with the more expensive 1 here it is

1. nvidia gpu if your not 1 for tinkering pcs go with the more expensive 1 with the 4060 ti mainly because nvidias driver support is generally better.
and nvidia gpus tend to have better support for older games as ive had some issues with rdna cards working on older games.

2. water cooled pc better overall temps with con of potential failure down the road but due to fact that its mounted in the top thats highly unlikely.

3. front venting allows for better airflow. meaning cooler components which means pump isnt going to work that hard to keep the overall cpu cool.

4. more cores better for gaming at 8 cores.

5. one for 100 usd more to me is worth it just for the fact that your not going to be changing the cpu at least for a while.

6. all the fans slots are full so no need to add extra fan cooling.


7. there isnt really much competition between the 2 the 1000 stomps the other 1.

100 more your saving
on upgrades.

both machines need better ram for fluid gaming.
1 stick in both machines which cuts your framerate down.


kit that ive had the most luck with amd machines below.

in bios cancel xmp if its enabled then update memory to ones below.
after removing the old ram stick ( sell it)

put new ram in slots 2 and 4


https://pcpartpicker.com/product/t6...-16-gb-ddr5-5200-cl36-memory-kf552c36bbek2-32

then you should have a decent pc for a good few years.

 

[logainofhades]

Cyberpower has a history of using junk PSU's, and poor build quality, though I would agree they are probably better than HP. Do you have anything other than Walmart nearby, like say a Best Buy perhaps?

 

[stancymckatt]

so theres good points with the more expensive 1 here it is

1. nvidia gpu if your not 1 for tinkering pcs go with the more expensive 1 with the 4060 ti mainly because nvidias driver support is generally better.
and nvidia gpus tend to have better support for older games as ive had some issues with rdna cards working on older games.

I prefer Nvidia anyway 😉

2. water cooled pc better overall temps with con of potential failure down the road but due to fact that its mounted in the top thats highly unlikely.

3. front venting allows for better airflow. meaning cooler components which means pump isnt going to work that hard to keep the overall cpu cool.

6. all the fans slots are full so no need to add extra fan cooling.

Thank you for explaining the front venting, and why that's important. Can you recommend a good article about the basics of Water cooling ? I don't know anything about it, and would like to learn more.

4. more cores better for gaming at 8 cores.

5. one for 100 usd more to me is worth it just for the fact that your not going to be changing the cpu at least for a while.

That's a really good point.... Longevity is the most important factor on CPU choice here. It'll make it easier to start stocking a few dollars back here and there for the next PC in a few years.

100 more your saving
on upgrades.

both machines need better ram for fluid gaming.
1 stick in both machines which cuts your framerate down.


kit that ive had the most luck with amd machines below.

in bios cancel xmp if its enabled then update memory to ones below.
after removing the old ram stick ( sell it)

put new ram in slots 2 and 4


https://pcpartpicker.com/product/t6...-16-gb-ddr5-5200-cl36-memory-kf552c36bbek2-32

then you should have a decent pc for a good few years.

Could I get the ram from

Cyberpower has a history of using junk PSU's, and poor build quality, though I would agree they are probably better than HP. Do you have anything other than Walmart nearby, like say a Best Buy perhaps?

Thank you for the heads up.

There is... It's just that I won't be able to get there until October probably... So what is on the shelf now, is probably going to change by then. (If I go with a little over $1000 dollar computer, like @beyondlogic recommended, I'll have to wait a few months anyway 🤷‍♀️)

So I'll probably have to revive this thread closer to then when I see what's on the shelf in the fall, but anything I can learn now will make it easier then.

Here's what's currently on the shelf at best buy in my budget.
iBUYPOWER - Scale Gaming Desktop PC - AMD Ryzen 5 8400F- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB- 16GB DDR5 RGB RAM - 1TB NVMe SSD

There's also an OfficeMax? But I'll have to look at that later. There's a thunderstorm and mom's telling me to shut the computer off. XD

 

[COLGeek]

I prefer Nvidia anyway 😉



Thank you for explaining the front venting, and why that's important. Can you recommend a good article about the basics of Water cooling ? I don't know anything about it, and would like to learn more.


That's a really good point.... Longevity is the most important factor on CPU choice here. It'll make it easier to start stocking a few dollars back here and there for the next PC in a few years.



Could I get the ram from



Thank you for the heads up.

There is... It's just that I won't be able to get there until October probably... So what is on the shelf now, is probably going to change by then. (If I go with a little over $1000 dollar computer, like @beyondlogic recommended, I'll have to wait a few months anyway 🤷‍♀️)

So I'll probably have to revive this thread closer to then when I see what's on the shelf in the fall, but anything I can learn now will make it easier then.

Here's what's currently on the shelf at best buy in my budget.
iBUYPOWER - Scale Gaming Desktop PC - AMD Ryzen 5 8400F- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB- 16GB DDR5 RGB RAM - 1TB NVMe SSD

There's also an OfficeMax? But I'll have to look at that later. There's a thunderstorm and mom's telling me to shut the computer off. XD

Not an awful PC on paper. Like the aforementioned CyberPowerPC, these computers often come with substandard PSUs. Just something to be aware of. A significant upgrade over the current system.

 

[beyondlogic]

I prefer Nvidia anyway 😉



Thank you for explaining the front venting, and why that's important. Can you recommend a good article about the basics of Water cooling ? I don't know anything about it, and would like to learn more.


That's a really good point.... Longevity is the most important factor on CPU choice here. It'll make it easier to start stocking a few dollars back here and there for the next PC in a few years.



Could I get the ram from



Thank you for the heads up.

There is... It's just that I won't be able to get there until October probably... So what is on the shelf now, is probably going to change by then. (If I go with a little over $1000 dollar computer, like @beyondlogic recommended, I'll have to wait a few months anyway 🤷‍♀️)

So I'll probably have to revive this thread closer to then when I see what's on the shelf in the fall, but anything I can learn now will make it easier then.

Here's what's currently on the shelf at best buy in my budget.
iBUYPOWER - Scale Gaming Desktop PC - AMD Ryzen 5 8400F- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB- 16GB DDR5 RGB RAM - 1TB NVMe SSD

There's also an OfficeMax? But I'll have to look at that later. There's a thunderstorm and mom's telling me to shut the computer off. XD

some background on water cooling.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ3c0kspOb8


where were you wanting to get ram from ?

and while both ibuypower and other system vendors usually use cheaper psus its hard to tell what psu from that budget segment usually if its standard box no branding its probly a high power psu which are budget psus but not terrible some.

if you have alot of pets just make sure the psu filter on the case is removed every few months and give it a good spray of canned air on the filter not the psu. it will help with life of the system.

if you need any help or tips feel free to reach out threw a pm.

also when are you planning to purchase the pc.