Need To Get A New PC - Need Some Help

@Lotsofgoats second this.

I guess it has a disk drive rather than SSD - is that a deal breaker?

@KDemo Hard drives are easily the performance bottleneck these days.

If you don’t mind a little tinkering …

$400 gets this Acer …
http://www.microcenter.com/product/463493/Aspire_ATC-710-UR61_Desktop_Computer

• Intel Core i5-6400 Processor 2.7GHz
• Microsoft Windows 10 Home
• 8GB DDR3-1600 RAM
• 2TB 5,400RPM Hard Drive
• Intel HD Graphics 530
• 8x DVD-SuperMulti Double-Layer Drive
• Digital Media Card Reader
• 10/100/1000 Network
• 802.11ac Wireless
• Bluetooth 4.0 LE
• Display Not Included

Nicely, they used a single 8GB DIMM, so add in an additional 8GB for about $30 to bring it up to 16 GB ram.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/385181/Ballistix_Sport_8GB_DDR3-1600_(PC3-12800)_CL9_Desktop_Memory_Module
or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148540

A drawback is that there’s only two onboard SATA ports; you can’t add in an SSD and keep the 2TB for storage and DVD-RW without adding in an PCI-E SATA card. Ditching the internal optical drive is one option, as an external one would run less than $30. Another is to add in a SATA card + cable + splitter for about $20 total.

Decent 240gb SSDs can be readily had for $70 or less nowadays. Keep the OS and programs on the SSD, use the original 2TB for storage.

Wow, thanks, @narfcake. How steep is the learning curve on those modifications for a total technophobe? Suppose there are instructions on YouTube. Every time I try that stuff it sounds easy but the path is never so clear.
So very tempting to try, though.

@KDemo the worst part about the computer linked on the Costco site is there is no actual model number provided and the specs are provided in the most general terms possible. Really horrible.

The computer @narfcake linked is a pretty good contender but I find that Acer tends to be very bare minimum in their part specifications and what @narfcake mentions bears that out in this case with the lack of inherent upgrade potential (having to add a SATA card to get more than two drives in means they were just plain cheap when they specced the motherboard).

All of the modifications he specified are really easy and I’m sure you can handle them but depending on what you’re planning to use the PC for you might be digging a bit of a hole. If you end up having need for a graphics card (gaming, video editing, ?) you’ll need to source one and then the power supply Acer built the thing with may or may not be able to power the additional load. The fact that they only bothered with two SATA ports pretty much says it all, they expect it to be run as delivered and nothing more.

If you can swing a bit more money this offering from Lenovo is a pretty good deal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16883798488

I has the same processor as the one @narfcake mentioned but has basically all of the modifications suggested already complete, minus the RAM upgrade, plus a few other advantages.

The thing is for most users 8GB of RAM is going to be more than enough and RAM is easily upgraded on the cheap, furthermore the Lenovo uses DDR4 which is newer, faster RAM than the Acer has which, if you’re not going to do the upgrade immediately, is a sounder choice in the long run. DDR3 is fast exiting the market and as we’ve seen with DDR2 when you get down to only a handful of offerings you get killed on the price. Buying a PC using DDR4 will give you the most flexibility for upgrading at a reasonable price in the long run.

Another nice aspect of the Lenovo is it has upgraded graphics, the GTX 750Ti isn’t a game changing card, you’re not going to play GTA4 at 4K with ultra settings with it, but it will support decent play of most any modern game at moderate settings. If you’re not a gamer at all and aren’t into photo or video editing it’s not going to be a game changer one way or another but it is a nice feature that adds value.

Edit: One place the one I linked does fall short of @narfcake’s suggestion is the HDD, the HDD itself is only 1TB but if you don’t have a billion photos to store or lots of videos and feature length movies it’s basically a non-difference.

@KDemo Memory upgrade, very easy. Boxed out in this pic are the DIMM slots. On the open slot, unclick the two latches, insert the new memory module (paying attention to the notch on the bottom), and as it makes contact, the latches should start closing up. When it’s almost vertical, lock them in place.

SSD upgrade will be a bit more involved, and I won’t get into that part as of yet since I have a short lunch today and will be on a trip this weekend, but it’s DIY.

@KDemo @jbartus Looking into it, the Acer has an open M.2 slot for a SSD.
http://community.acer.com/t5/Aspire-Desktops/Is-it-possible-to-add-internal-ssd-to-ATC-710/m-p/437680#M7840

That makes things a lot easier on the hardware aspect.

@narfcake definitely saves some cash on the SATA card. Would be nice if we knew more about @KDemo’s use cases.

@jbartus - Thanks for the detailed comparison. My needs are mostly basic, including photo editing but no real gaming. The extra money for the Lenovo really puts it out of reach unless a windfall finds me, but your advice is helpful.

@narfcake - Seriously? I could do that, and people I know would never believe it. Good chance I’ll take that path, probably just so I can say “Oh yeah, I dropped some extra memory in my new computer.”

@narfcake - And have a great trip this weekend!

@narfcake I got tired of fighting with my ancient laptop and netbook when I was using my Silhouette, it was really frustrating.

So, I went onto eBay and looked at refurbed laptops (I can’t leave this stuff set up, because cats; it all needs to be put away when I’m finished). Got an HP 8530p for $125 (which included shipping). No battery, but I don’t plan on traveling. The seller upgraded it to 4GB of RAM and a bigger hard drive. It has the capability of 8GB of RAM.

It’s amazingly fast (compared to what I was using for cutting, it’s lightning speed), but that RAM upgrade keeps calling to me. The only thing that’s holding me back is the 2x4GB RAM would cost more than the laptop. lol

@Bingo Dell has on sale for today and maybe tomorrow their XPS 8900 with an I-7 processor for 699. Use code SAVE10%PC to get an extra 10% off. Newest and fastest processor on market. I am going to buy it tonight.
http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-8900-desktop/pd?oc=smi8900w7pb104&model_id=xps-8900-desktop

@compunaut I ended up getting that one off Woot. Thank you

@Bingo Glad to help. Hope it works well for you

@sligett
/image tru dat

@sligett Classic Shell FTW.

@communist if you really really need 36 gigs of ram

http://dellrefurbished.com//ctl17140/cp61198/si6860220/cl1/dell_precision_t5500_36gb_ram_1184gb_hdd

Model Dell Precision T5500
Operating System 64-bit Windows 7 Pro
Software Microsoft Office Starter
Chassis Tower
Processor 2x Xeon 6 Core (X5650) 2.66 GHz
Memory 36 GB (9x 4GB)
Hard Drive 1184 GB (1x 160GB, 1x 1TB)
Optical Drive DVD
Video(Video cables and adapters not included) Nvidia Quadro 4000 (2048 MB)
LAN 10/100/1000
Ports Serial, Parallel, 2x PS/2, RJ-45, 10x USB 2.0, Audio

$793 after coupon (LAPDESK50) tax and shipping

@G1 whats your budget? do you already have a monitor? need anything gaming ready or just general computing/shitposting?

@communist 1 more towards “lightweight” gaming, 2 less so.
Both for video watching/editing.
I have the peripherals, just need the box and Win 10 (yeah, I’m serious). Really, I need new mother boards, with future-proofing for the next few years. SSD, 1 TB +, best “reasonable” uP, one “great value” video card (for 1), one “lifetime-general” video card (for 2).

I am capable of building one.
I cannot grab the OS from “unconventional” sources. For reasons.
I do not need the best of the best video/gaming capability.

@Bingo looks pretty good, only thing i would add is an SSD since you have an open 3.5in bay

@Bingo
/giphy fingers crossed