New Computer: Laptop, Desktop or Barebones/Self Build?

Mr.Azim

Mr.Azim

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It's time to hand down my 7 year old laptop to my tech-not-so-savy Dad so he can have a decent PC compared to the junk he refuses to let go of because "it still works" and get myself something fancy that I can use/share with the household until I move out next winter.

Option 1: Wait for a good deal on a laptop

Option 2: Buy a ready Desktop bundle

Option 3: Barebones/Self-Build... hardware installs aren't new to me and I do software all the time and have the programs I need and like already.


I'm willing to spend between $300-$500... I don't game much on the computer (Counterstrike: Source is probably the last thing I played for more than an hour), and the cheapest thing available will be better than what I have been using. But I want something decent that has a lot of space and can handle some advanced editing for pictures, videos and movies.

Any recommendations on what to look or or what to avoid? In order of preference, I like Option 1 and then Option 3 but I'm not familiar with the barebones products and their reliability. I can pick out a laptop or desktop fine, but Barebones reliability isn't something I have knowledge with. I choose that second because I don't really like the clunky desktop thing.

The only games I play are on PS3 and Netflix will work with practically anything...

Your thoughts/opinions are appreciated.
 
Cheap laptop. Comes with everything and a warranty. If you're not gaming you dont need the power. For extra space by an external drive.

You wont be building an amazing desktop for $500 if you're building from scratch. You'd also have to factor in buying a monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc. if you dont have them since you came from a laptop.

I went through this at christmas replacing the old PC my parents were using. I just bought them a cheap laptop on Boxing Day and they are much happier.
 
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most of the sales just ended after boxing week, so you might be waiting a long time. If you build your own i'd get at least an intel i5 (or amd equivalent) if you want to edit movies. Encoding is one of the most cpu taxing things you can do, after gaming and 3d rendering. Graphics card doesn't need to be fancy, unless you want gaming to the extreme!!! or if you want a 3d display or multi-display. Cheep and cheerful is good enough. Ram -lots. Hard drives are around a dollar a gigabyte for the magnetic kind. SSD's are fast but not that fast unless you stack them in a RAID. (I wouldn't bother with them unless your going to stack 3 or 4 together)

You might also want to look at refurbished computers or off lease. from what you say you don't need too much.
 
A solid desktop that will cover you for a few years will cost about $700-800 to build properly. I recently built one with 3770, 32GB, just 1TB, built-in graphics, about $50ish in cpu cooler and quieter casing fans, middle-class mobo. Better graphics at least another c-note and so will extra storage if you decide to get an ssd.
 
dasiffy said:
If you build your own i'd get at least an intel i5 (or amd equivalent) if you want to edit movies. Encoding is one of the most cpu taxing things you can do, after gaming and 3d rendering.
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Thanks, that's the #1 concern for me: I want to be able to store, edit, convert movies (Go Pro and other stuff), pictures and things like that. That's the most taxing thing I'll be doing other than revisiting some oldschool Counter-Strike :p
 
I like building computers so my opinion might be slightly biased.

Oh yeh, most parts come with 1yr warranty from the seller & 2yr from the manufacturer
 
laptop is the most versatile. Something to take to the track/road trips when you get bored or dump photos, etc. Everything is so powerful these days, you don't have to spend much to make it worth it.
 
oh, and to put things in perspective....

my current laptop is from 2009 and it's a intel core duo 2.00 GHz
i can transcode (ex: h.264 to divx) SD movies at about 2:1 ratio. (it takes 30 second to transcode a minute of movie.)
I have transcoded a 720p movie, but it was painfully slow.

Anything you can get now will work... it's just how long are you willing to wait.
 
Do you have a Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, and Speakers already?

That would be influencing my decision.

No - Laptop
Yes - Desktop

The cost to buy all that crap will be half your build money.

When my parents needed a new rig they were using a CRT, and an old PS/2 keyboard and mouse. The cost to buy some decent components was the price I paid for a whole laptop for them.
 
@N3WMAN: Good note on the peripherals.. Already had a monitor, keyboard and mouse handy, even though I spent $13 and got myself a more modern, quiet keyboard with short strokes (was willing to spend up to $100 for the right one but this one came out to be the best for my needs). That's why I didn't mind doing a desktop build for my personal/work computing needs and I still got my old lappy for when I need to travel. I would have kept my old lappy if I could have gone over the 4GB in it.
 
Something to consider is that laptops are breakier than desktops. Also desktops are easier & cheaper to repair.

That said, computers in general are still ridiculously cheap these days. New cheap laptop (if you don't mind Windows 8) is probably fine ... HP laptops still make my blood curdle, would recommend going Lenovo if possible.
 
TwistedKestrel said:
Something to consider is that laptops are breakier than desktops. Also desktops are easier & cheaper to repair.

That said, computers in general are still ridiculously cheap these days. New cheap laptop (if you don't mind Windows 8) is probably fine ... HP laptops still make my blood curdle, would recommend going Lenovo if possible.
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That's why I went the desktop route. I don't travel as much as I used to, so most of my computing is done at the desk.. Couldn't upgrade the lappy for more ram as the mobo didn't allow it, the network adapter developed a packet loss issue and I couldn't replace it so I had to use a much slower USB adapter.. At least the keyboard replacement was relatively cheap and easy. Desktops are wide open, easily upgradeable and work great, plus you can put in EXACTLY what you want without the extra fluff and in my case I also saved on the Microsoft tax as I don't run windows.
 
FiReSTaRT said:
That's why I went the desktop route. I don't travel as much as I used to, so most of my computing is done at the desk.. Couldn't upgrade the lappy for more ram as the mobo didn't allow it, the network adapter developed a packet loss issue and I couldn't replace it so I had to use a much slower USB adapter.. At least the keyboard replacement was relatively cheap and easy. Desktops are wide open, easily upgradeable and work great, plus you can put in EXACTLY what you want without the extra fluff and in my case I also saved on the Microsoft tax as I don't run windows.
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The Microsoft tax is a non-starter these days - the cost of the OS is subsidized by all the crapware that comes on a new computer. I can not build a new machine cheaper than an OEM, even if I were to do it in volume.
 
TwistedKestrel said:
The Microsoft tax is a non-starter these days - the cost of the OS is subsidized by all the crapware that comes on a new computer. I can not build a new machine cheaper than an OEM, even if I were to do it in volume.
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That's a good point, so I'll make another.. I make sure that a very slimy corporation doesn't get any money for a product I don't use because of my computer purchase :D
 
FiReSTaRT said:
That's a good point, so I'll make another.. I make sure that a very slimy corporation doesn't get any money for a product I don't use because of my computer purchase :D
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Why do u hate microsft so much?

Sent from my Phone, dont judge the grammar
 
best buy, futureshop ect all have laptops on sale all the time, you can get a reasonably powerful unit at a decent price, SD card reader for photos and most programs all in for under $500.
I like my laptops because you can take it from room to room, I work nice mornings from my deck and nice afternoons from my boat. Desktop won't do that.
The build it yourself is a cool idea if you have a need or like that sort of thing, but its never going to be cheaper than opening a box.
 
crankcall said:
best buy, futureshop ect all have laptops on sale all the time, you can get a reasonably powerful unit at a decent price, SD card reader for photos and most programs all in for under $500.
I like my laptops because you can take it from room to room, I work nice mornings from my deck and nice afternoons from my boat. Desktop won't do that.
The build it yourself is a cool idea if you have a need or like that sort of thing, but its never going to be cheaper than opening a box.
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A few months ago I wanted a cheap lightweight laptop I could use for gaming/software development on the go and picked up an HP Pavilion M6 from future shop for like $600, I know people hate HP for some unknown reason, but it fit all of my needs while looking sleek and fell into my price range.

Edit:
Before anyone flames me for buying an HP...
AMD quad core a10 (@3.2 GHz)
Radeon 7670
8GB DDR3 RAM

Bottom line, don't avoid a particular manufacturer just because someone told you to, look at the reviews and system specs.
 
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Zaneris said:
A few months ago I wanted a cheap lightweight laptop I could use for gaming/software development on the go and picked up an HP Pavilion M6 from future shop for like $600, I know people hate HP for some unknown reason, but it fit all of my needs while looking sleek and fell into my price range.

Edit:
Before anyone flames me for buying an HP...
AMD quad core a10 (@3.2 GHz)
Radeon 7670
8GB DDR3 RAM

Bottom line, don't avoid a particular manufacturer just because someone told you to, look at the reviews and system specs.
Click to expand...

It's mostly because I've had to look many a tearful HP owner in the eye and tell them that while we could try fixing it, it's pretty broken and that maybe the best option is to put it down. Also because the all the crapware on them throws me into a screaming rage after about 10 minutes. Sure I could take it off if it was my own, but how do I know the owner doesn't use any of it? (Breaking someone's workflow is the fastest way to piss them off).
 
Zaneris said:
A few months ago I wanted a cheap lightweight laptop I could use for gaming/software development on the go and picked up an HP Pavilion M6 from future shop for like $600, I know people hate HP for some unknown reason, but it fit all of my needs while looking sleek and fell into my price range.

Bottom line, don't avoid a particular manufacturer just because someone told you to, look at the reviews and system specs.
Click to expand...

I had an HP laptop where the motherboard went after 10 months; they replaced it. Replacement computer had the motherboard go after 8 months, they replaced it. The replacement computer had the motherboard go after 10 months - their VP told me that although the computer is under warranty, restarted with each one, they were not going to replace it anymore. These computers were part of the massive problem HP had with AMD motherboards with built-in video chips.

Dumped the HP then and there, threw out an HP printer, sold another and vowed that I will never use an HP product, regardless of quality/deal, till the day I die. You don't stand behind your product or your warranty, I don't stand in front of your product.
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