<p>I’ve been contemplating a new PC Tower. My current one is a Sony and I bought it just about 5 years ago. It’s not horrible but I do think soon it will be time for an upgrade. I own a Toshiba laptop that I use for portability, so this will just be a stationary tower that sits on the floor at my desk. It’s been suggested that I should just plug my monitor and whatnot into my laptop but I’d rather not do that.</p>
<p>I like the one that I have but it’s had its issues in recent years. I replaced the power supply when that went bad, have upgraded the ram due to slowness, etc. I tried to install a new video card that was capable of doing HDMI out… I wound up returning card after card that seemed not to work before I realized it was the actual slot that I was putting it in that doesn’t work. Also, my dvd/cd burner no longer will let me burn things. Read’s them just fine though. Lately it seems to be putting itself into some sort of fake sleep that it won’t let me bring it out of without manually re-starting the computer. I’m a quasi-computer geek and even I can’t figure out why it’s doing this. It seems like it’s time to stop fixing and think about replacing it.</p>
<p>My boyfriend and I talked about building a new PC for each of us, which seems to be my leading option at the moment.</p>
<p>Does anyone else have any suggestions as far as companies are concerned for a pre-built pc in case I decide to go that route? I won’t buy an HP nor a Compaq, so those are out. Not a fan of e-machines either. I like Dell Towers much better then Dell laptops but that name still scares me so I try to avoid it.</p>
<p>I’d probably go for the Dell but I’ve had a number of them both at home and at work and had good luck with them. I also have a Lenovo and have had no issues with that one. I’ve ‘built’ literally hundreds of PCs from components (not all for personal use, obviously) but the prices are so competetive I’d just by a name brand one.</p>
<p>A suggestion - at least compare 2-3 brands you’re open to (like Dell and Lenovo) as apples/apples (I meant apples - not Apples 
) as you can get and see how the prices compare and how the warranty/support compares.</p>
<p>The advantage with desktops is that they usually have much less exposure to the issues that plague laptops since they sit in one spot and things like KBs and displays can easily be replaced and they inherently have the advantage of more ventilation and larger fans which is good for reliability.</p>
<p>Another thought - since HDDs are so inexpensive nowadays and since it’s usually the top failing item, consider buying 2 HDDs and mirroring them to guard against data loss if/when one breaks.</p>
<p>The last desktop I bought was a semi-custom build from an outfit called ecollegepc.com . They have several different preset builds at different price points and then you can customize them,or you can go full custom if you want.</p>
<p>They use name-brand components, no Dell or HP non-standard junk.</p>
<p>I am typing this on a machine I got from them, it is 6.5 years old and still runs fine. I priced out all the components that went into this computer on newegg, and it added up to only about $20 less than what I paid (i.e., I essentially got the build for $20.) Pretty good deal.</p>
<p>I haven’t used them in a few years, but they are worth checking out.</p>
<p>Mine is by no means slow or anything (since I added another 2 gigs of ram it’s much better), it’s just those quirky little things that are starting to annoy me.This recent ‘sleep’ thing that it seems to be doing really has me worried. I’m afraid one day it just won’t come back alive to me!! My mom wants a computer for her guest room/office, so if I get one I may wind up formatting this one and giving it to her since it does still work… I’m wondering if this recent sleep thing has anything to do with the power supply… I alread replaced it once… but this is a different issue from when it went bad a few years ago…</p>
<p>I like the idea of mirroring hard drives to protect against loss. I recently lost a ton of data that I had stored on my external drive. Does anyone know a place that can restore data without breaking my bank? I got some quotes and they went as high as 1k+. If anyone does this and would be willing to help me out, please send me a PM. I think something may have physically broke as no computer can read it. </p>
<p>Notrich, I used a similar site when I got my PC for college. It was a nice idea but considering I’m dating a geekoid I’d rather him just put it together for me (or rather, with me).</p>
<p>We have an EPP with Dell through work which I guess I could look into… I really dislike their laptops but i haven’t heard too many complaints in regards to their desktops.</p>
<p>If I do this it needs to be a nice mix between price and specs. I bought a top of the line computer years ago, and even now I think it rivals the low end ones for sale at Best Buy. </p>
<p>Anyone know anything about these new i3, i5, etc processors? Worth the extra money? I do most of my web browsing and such on my laptop… but my desktop I use for photoshop, web development, etc so at times I run quite a few intensive programs at the same time.</p>
<p>I built a system in January with a Core i5 2500K, Gigabyte motherboard with lots of slots, USB 3.0, SATA 2.0+3.0, 24 GB RAM capacity, room for about 8 3.5 inch drives, two SSDs, and three 5 1/4 slots, 750 Watt PS, SSD + 1.5 TB HDD, 8 GB RAM and and ATI 6550 + an old video card from an old machine. It’s hooked up to a Dell 24 inch display + Samsung 21.5 inch display + Dell 17 inch display. The machine flies and it’s not even overclocked or the fastest processor. It is nice to pick your own components. I did have to replace the motherboard due to the Intel chipset recall but am past that now.</p>
<p>For prebuilt, I’d go with Dell. Yeah, many of their components are crap but they typically work well enough unless the really get a bad batch of components (which does happen every once in a while).</p>
<p>Core i3, i5, i7 are model families with the feature-set going up as the number goes up. There are two architectures with these model families called Nehalem (the older architecture) and Sandy Bridge (the newer architecture). For maximum longevity, I’d recommend Sandy Bridge, or if you can wait a year, Ivy Bridge which will be built on a 22 nm process and which should have markedly better graphics including triple-monitor support.</p>
<p>Hardware performance is outstripping software bloat which is a remarkable thing to say. Disks are getting bigger while SSDs are getting faster. You can get 20 second boot times with an SSD and a fast CPU these days. System bus speeds are faster, 8 GB is the sweet spot for RAM, and the performance/buck on video keeps getting better and better.</p>
<p>One thing that I do like about building it from scratch is that you can reuse many of the parts if you want to upgrade.</p>
<p>BC, this is what I have right now:</p>
<p>[VGC-RB50</a> | Sony® VAIO® RB50 | Sony | SonyStyle USA](<a href=“http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10551&langId=-1&productId=11038535#footNotes]VGC-RB50”>http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10551&langId=-1&productId=11038535#footNotes)</p>
<p>Except I changed the ram to 2GB.</p>
<p>I was thinking if I built one I would just throw my current HD in there as a second drive. That’s one thing with my current computer, not much can be saved for re-use.</p>
<p>I have had very good luck with both laptops and desktops from the Dell Refurbished Outlet Center. Browse around and figure out the model that interests you and then just keep checking for a few days as different models come and go quickly, literally hour by hour. Usually you can get something configured the way you want it and save about $100 or so. All of the computers I’ve bought from them look brand new. I think it’s just their way of clearing out the returns, cancelled orders, or stuff that was repaired (like a new disk drive or whatever). The refurbs actually ship much faster than ordering a new one – within 24 hours, because they are already built and tested. Free shipping.</p>
<p>I tend to go with the semi-large mini towers with easy access to plug in extra drives or cards. I’ve been pleased with the quality of their cases, wiring, etc. Parts is parts, but the do a nice job on assembly. This latest one is kind of cool – it has a little shelf and two USB ports on the top of the case (great for iPod syncing) and has built in optical digital audio output, so I don’t have to put in my audio card with digitial out. I have an outboard D/A converter and headphone amplifer that is way better than the built-in sound from any sound card.</p>
<p>[Dell</a> Studio XPS 7100 Desktop with new AMD Athlon and Phenom processors | Dell](<a href=“Shop: Dell Site Map of All Products, Solutions & Services | Dell USA”>Shop: Dell Site Map of All Products, Solutions & Services | Dell USA)</p>
<p>I don’t see anything wrong with the components Dell is using. The 1 gig harddrive in my new one is a Samsung, which is supposed to be a really fast drive. I went with an AMD quad core processor this time, just because the price/value point was where I wanted to be – but you can pretty much pick your configuration. The outlet store stuff often has larger drives or wireless cards or other popular upgrades.</p>
<p>I think that I’d toss the old machine - it’s running a Pentium 4 which were known to run hot and consume a lot of power. Performance per watt of modern CPUs is far better than something of that generation so you’ll be saving money on your electricity bill and not have to deal with excessive heat from your PC. I replaced a 6-year-old system with my new one - it performed okay once it was booted up but it took a long time to get started.</p>
<p>With memory, you can get 8 GB for about $100 from Newegg. Getting less memory probably is more expensive in terms of $/GB.</p>
<p>Newegg will sell you bundles where you get the parts for a PC and build it yourself. Unfortunately a lot of these bundles are in short supply. It looks like there are just QuadCore Sandy Bridge models for sale and I’d guess that you’d be fine with a dual-core over a quad-core. Intel launched Sandy Bridge in January and then hit a chipset bug so they had to recall systems and motherboards for replacement. This has led to motherboard shortages. Intel is also selling high-end stuff first and should come out with their less inexpensive stuff as the year rolls on. You could buy the previous generation stuff but I think that I prefer the improvements in Sandy Bridge. They will become more noticeable as the software catches up with the hardware.</p>
<p>I don’t think that you’d have to spend very much to get something better than what you have now but I like to hang onto my desktops for a long time so getting something with a little more is recommended.</p>
<p>Yeah, if I build it I’ll get everything from new egg. They are great and their shipments always arrive the next day no matter what I buy.</p>
<p>Something like this?</p>
<p>[Newegg.com</a> - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!](<a href=“Are you a human?”>Are you a human?)</p>
<p>[Newegg.com</a> - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!](<a href=“Are you a human?”>Are you a human?)</p>
<p>[Newegg.com</a> - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!](<a href=“Are you a human?”>Are you a human?)</p>
<p>Is it worth the extra money for the i5 over the i3?</p>
<p>The I5 is definitely worth it, if you are not interested in overclocking you can save a few bucks by getting the 2500 vs. the 2500K.</p>
<p>is it worth it to bump up to the i7? That seems like a much bigger price jump. Don’t care about overclocking. Just want a computer that works.</p>
<p>Lol, thanks. I haven’t scratched my geek itch in awhile… correct me if I"m wrong here… but to mirror hard drives and have them copy each other… you need a motherboard that supports raid, correct? Or is there some new fangeled terminology for that? or maybe it’s the drives that determine if you can do that or not? Never set that up before.</p>
<p>The main feature of the i7 over the i5 is Hyperthreading. This essentially turns four cores into 8 virtual cores (or threads). This is accomplished by sharing execution resources in individual cores by two threads. This works really well in some applications (almost doubling performance) and not well in others. My guess is that you’d be fine with the Core i3. The Core i3 you linked to is dual-core with hyperthreading and it runs at a pretty high clock rate. Total CPU power consumption is 65 Watts (it is probably 130 Watts for your current system). Power consumption on modern processors is much better as it is dynamic based on load.</p>
<p>I have two Core i7 systems and one Core i5. The Core i7s are nice but in actual performance, the differences in responsiveness are in small fractions of seconds. You may notice the difference but it makes no difference in the actual work that you are doing. There’s only a difference if you have applications that require a lot of CPU horsepower.</p>
<p>On RAID, yes, you need MB support but I prefer the traditional backup approach. With RAID redundancy, you are protected in the case of a hardware drive and reads can be faster because you can read things from both disks. What RAID doesn’t provide you with is a write failure that hits both disks. If your system gets a virus that corrupts your system, both drives will be corrupted. Traditional backups have the advantages of going back in time with the ability to do offsite storage.</p>
<p>I “traditionally” backed up to my external drive which worked great till my external drive crashed and burned within days of when pc wound up needing to be reformatted as well and I lost all my data… By the time I realized the external had deceased, my internal was already wiped clean.</p>