Desktop Shopping Advice

[Noe]

In the spirit of the Laptop Shopping Advice, I present to you the "Noe wants a new desktop" thread, so I am seeking your opinions.  Here is the backstory and the requirements:

1. Backstory: We have a family desktop, centrally located, easily accessible, ethernet connected to the cable modem, an account for four people, three seperate drives in said desktop (one for operating system and sundry items that go with it, one drive for media items and one drive for individual family member storage).  The desktop is one built by my friend for our family and it's been a great machine.  However it is 7 years old and lacks power, performance and capabilities to match today's much needed multimedia enable content.  So great machine, time has made it's services limited (severely).  My oldest son calls the machine a "fossil" because it cannot handle his multimedia surfing and connectivity needs... even for homework assignments (not kidding).  Wife loves the machine, it handles everything she needs it to handle and the youngest son and I really don't use it as much.

2. Requirements:

• Must be able to handle multimedia easily.  The "easily" is not a misnomer, it must be a little more forward thinking in terms of handling multimedia (example 3-D, so a excellent video card is a must).
• Windows 7 machine, nothing else will do.  Too much of a need to fully integrate with business computers and laptops along with other needs.  A VM in a Mac won't do.
• Price points: low end - 700, high end - 900
• Cannot be strictly a gamer machine that doesn't do much of anything else.  I am going to need to do some video editing and other multimedia on this hog, so I don't want a gamer specific machine, although I won't turn away from one if it meets the overall multimedia needs

There you have it, the old "fossil" will be retired to a centralized server status, the new machine an across the board family used machine with a high emphasis on multimedia needs.  It doesn't need to be a blue-ray machine either just because it is a neat feature for a desktop/laptop, we have an entire entertainment system for that about ten feet from the same centralized location for this machine. Same goes for gaming, we have a Wii and an XBox 360 Pro, we don't need a third gamer specific machine.

I've been looking at the Dell XPS 8100 or 9000 and the HP multimedia machines (leaning towards the HP), but I need your opinions if you've been down this road already.

Thanks...

[Waldo]

I have little experience with HP, but the HPE-150t (I'm assuming that's the one you were looking at) is tough to beat.  Core i5, 6GB DDR3, 640GB HDD, and a Radeon HD for $799 is insane.  However, you're only getting Win7 Home and a one-year warranty at that price.  I also have to wonder about the potentially mind-boggling amounts of crap that are preinstalled on that system in order to keep the price that low.

I'm a fan of the Dell OptiPlex 360/740/960 myself (they give us zero trouble at work), and they all come with 3-year, next-business-day on-site support, but they can't get anywhere close to those specs in your price range.

[Noe]

I have little experience with HP, but the HPE-150t (I'm assuming that's the one you were looking at) is tough to beat.  Core i5, 6GB DDR3, 640GB HDD, and a Radeon HD for $799 is insane.

Precisely the one I'm looking at.  I'm impressed so far with what I'm reading, but now it's time to go test it out somewhere and take a closer look at it for durability shake.  It does, however, at this point beat the pants off the Dell XPS 8100.

However, you're only getting Win7 Home and a one-year warranty at that price.  I also have to wonder about the potentially mind-boggling amounts of crap that are preinstalled on that system in order to keep the price that low.

I've never worried about tinkering with a Desktop's hardware and software config to get what I need just right.  However I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who fears going against a manufacturers warranty is said case.

I'm a fan of the Dell OptiPlex 360/740/960 myself (they give us zero trouble at work), and they all come with 3-year, next-business-day on-site support, but they can't get anywhere close to those specs in your price range.

We use the Optiplex 740 (Slim) series for our computer farms (training room setup) because they are hogs that can handle a huge amount of performance hits (VMs, Application sharing, etc.)  Once I start upgrading the base machine to 8 Gig Memory, Windows 7 and HD Radeon Video card, I'm pretty much at or near 1200 dollars for the machine.  I agree on the durability aspects of the Optiplex, I see it everyday at work holding up like a charm, but that is beyond my price point.

[Lurch]

Would you consider having some fun (perhaps with your son, too) and build your own?  All the parts can be had at Fryes

[S.P. Rodriguez]

Would you consider having some fun (perhaps with your son, too) and build your own?  All the parts can be had at Fryes

I was going to make the same suggestion.  My cube-mate built a system with parts from Fry's late last year, and the machine is smokin' fast.  I don't remember the final price tag.  Will talk to her on Monday and find out.  If I recall, she added a raid adapter w 4 drives in a raid 10 config and a full 8GB memory... Did I mention the thing was FAST!?  She does a fair amount of graphic work as well.  Not sure about video editing but pretty sure this machine could handle that workload. 

[Craig]

I was going to make the same suggestion.  My cube-mate built a system with parts from Fry's late last year, and the machine is smokin' fast.  I don't remember the final price tag.  Will talk to her on Monday and find out.  If I recall, she added a raid adapter w 4 drives in a raid 10 config and a full 8GB memory... Did I mention the thing was FAST!?  She does a fair amount of graphic work as well.  Not sure about video editing but pretty sure this machine could handle that workload. 

Another benefit to building his own, is that if Noe wants to still use all his existing hard drives, he could get a big-ass case at Fry's and they'd probably fit a lot better than they would in some proprietary case. Of course there goes more money from his budget at the same time. Not to mention buying a Windows license.

Also, are you going to re-use your old monitor? Surely you want a sweet new monitor to go with your new multimedia machine.

[Waldo]

I was going to make the same suggestion.  My cube-mate built a system with parts from Fry's late last year, and the machine is smokin' fast.  I don't remember the final price tag.  Will talk to her on Monday and find out.  If I recall, she added a raid adapter w 4 drives in a raid 10 config and a full 8GB memory... Did I mention the thing was FAST!?  She does a fair amount of graphic work as well.  Not sure about video editing but pretty sure this machine could handle that workload.  

DIY certainly provides more flexibility down the road, but using the specs on the HP he is considering, a custom build would far exceed his stated price range ($900).  Just the Windows 7 Pro license will run $150 or so by itself.  Also, a good hardware RAID card could run $300-400; most of the cheaper ones are software RAIDs.  Not that a software RAID won't be good enough, but if you're going to build a real blowtorch then you go all out, IMO.

I may be way off on my prices, but I'll play around on Newegg later to get a price comparison.

By the way, speaking of cases, the Antec P182 is hard to beat.  I have five hard drives in it and still have room for more.  Plus, the case is completely toolless.   

[Waldo]

Well, I just priced the HP system from scratch on Newegg and came out with a total of $1035.  Not bad...

[Noe]

Our current machine was built by my friend and of course because of our need we need to upgrade (yes, it's about games for the kids, and intense multimedia dev for me... including graphics and videos production).  Most if not all my fellow media producers will always point to a MAC of course and I don't doubt them.  I've used a MAC many a time and even had one for home use waaaaaay back when.  The cost of MACs for *home* use does not usually mitigate what I need, so I quickly took that off the list of options.

So I went to my friend and offered to come along with him (with my oldest son who is interested in building the hog too) and have him consult for me as I get the parts I need.  I told him what I wanted, what I wanted to spend and all my specs.  He said to me "Well, why not start with the manufacturer built multimedia machines first and save yourself the build time?" I couldn't argue with his logic of course, it made sense to me, so this is where I'm starting.  

The option of going to Frys and getting parts is still an option once I exhaust whether I can't really get what I need (and want) from an HP or Dell machine.  I really like this HP machine so I'm hoping to take a serious look at it somewhere (like Best Buy) to make sure.

[Noe]

Also, are you going to re-use your old monitor? Surely you want a sweet new monitor to go with your new multimedia machine.

I have an HDMI 24" monitor awaiting the new machine, compliments of my company wanting me to have a home office (most of us work on dual monitors, so I can afford to break up my set at work and bring one home with me).  All the more reason to have a serious machine as backup for company work just in case.  I will need to seriously upgrade the Lenovo T400 they issued me though for both home and office multimedia work, it would be sad to have a better home machine than the office issued laptop.

[Waldo]

The option of going to Frys and getting parts is still an option once I exhaust whether I can't really get what I need (and want) from an HP or Dell machine.  I really like this HP machine so I'm hoping to take a serious look at it somewhere (like Best Buy) to make sure.

Craig made a good point about the HP/Dell proprietary cases, though.  I think they usually have, at most, two 3.5" drive bays and two 5.25" bays.  That could be a headache later on if you need to add drives.  The $1000 system I put together on Newegg includes an Antec P183 case, which has six 3.5" bays and four 5.25" bays.  Plus, the proprietary cases haven't always been compatible with the ATX form factor for motherboards, so if you need to swap out the board later on you will need to find another HP.  (They may have gotten better nowadays, though.)

Let me know if you want me to send you the spec sheet for the system I put together.

[S.P. Rodriguez]

checked with my old cube-mate.  Spent 1400... but she splurged on storage and processor.  4TB of storage and a quad-core processor.  She had a tool-less case with a ridiculous number of drive bays.  I second the notion that there is a good deal of value in that.  In my experience, the case has to serve three criteria: space, power, and cooling.  If any of those are lacking, you will have problems/limitations. 

The rest of the specs are all based on need.  But a good case will last 10yrs+ and multiple internal builds.  The last PC I built for myself, the case is still in use, only have to replace a failed power supply about 6 yrs ago.  I've swapped the MB and components at least twice, with the origal build back in in '96.  It's limited but still a good machine for what it's used for (web browsing).

 

[remy]

Would you consider having some fun (perhaps with your son, too) and build your own?  All the parts can be had at Fryes

I always build my own... 90% from newegg, 10% from fry's.

[Taras Bulba]

Noe, please do something about those goddamn fucking IBM commercials that feature the smug assholes asserting, "Let's build a smarter world."  Fuck those fuckers.  And, their hip eyewear with 'em.

This is on you, Noe.  Make this shit happen.

[S.P. Rodriguez]

Noe, please do something about those goddamn fucking IBM commercials that feature the smug assholes asserting, "Let's build a smarter world."  Fuck those fuckers.  And, their hip eyewear with 'em.

This is on you, Noe.  Make this shit happen.

Hey now... what's wrong w/ IBM?... what am I saying... I hate'em too.  Just for different reasons!

[Limey]

FWIW, in Q4 09, 90% of PCs sold, priced at over $1,000, we Macs.

[MusicMan]

we Macs

The very definition of a Freudian slip.

[Noe]

FWIW, in Q4 09, 90% of PCs sold, priced at over $1,000, we Macs.

Most *consumer* oriented buyers who are singularily concerned with multimedia home entertainment needs and has discretionary cash to spend would be foolish *NOT* to buy a MAC.  But then again, for much cheaper cost, a PS3 or XBox 360 could also do much to suffice in home entertainment computing.  When asked about the iPad, Ninendo's CEO just laughed at the very thought that Apple wants to venture into *their* world.

The problem I have with a MAC is that they're not quite ready to decide if they're a computer or an entertainment machine. It's the same aversion I have towards pure play gamer machines.  When Apple decides they're no longer a niche product that is quite expensive, I'll take another look.  I bought a MAC early on, I was an advocate for the incredible advantage I got from the graphics applications I could run.  But that was it, nothing more for any member of my family... it was the very definition of *niche*.  I'm looking for home computing with multimedia qualities and output, not a computer that swings way too much towards single minded use.

[Noe]

Noe, please do something about those goddamn fucking IBM commercials that feature the smug assholes asserting, "Let's build a smarter world."  Fuck those fuckers.  And, their hip eyewear with 'em.

This is on you, Noe.  Make this shit happen.

[reapeating mantra] "SMARTER PLANET, SMARTER PLANET... must... not... listen... to... great unwashed non-believers like Taras... SMARTER PLANET!" [/end repeating mantra]

[Waldo]

And, their hip eyewear with 'em.

Would you prefer they go back to the coat-and-tie dress code from the 40s-80s?

[Noe]

Update: I'm starting to really like the idea of "build your own" and using the current hog I have at my house might help.  I will have to change the motherboard, et. al. but this may be doable.  Need to check with my friend/consultant on that.  If so, I think the next thing to do is spec this puppy out.

[Waldo]

Let me know if I can provide any advice/help as well. 

[S.P. Rodriguez]

Awesome... only other recommendation I've gotten lately is go Windows 7 over Vista, even 64bit version.  I have no experience with either... so only relaying what I've been offered.

[Noe]

Awesome... only other recommendation I've gotten lately is go Windows 7 over Vista, even 64bit version.  I have no experience with either... so only relaying what I've been offered.

Absolutely.  I have Windows 7 on the XPS laptop.  It's really a major upgrade from Vista.  Of course, anything that functions have way decently is an upgrade from Vista.