Thinking about buying a new PC? Here are some tips to help you make the right choice for your needs.
Thinking about buying a new PC? Here are some tips to help you make the right choice for your needs.
Hi, I'm hoping for some help picking a new computer. I've only ever bought laptops because I really like my current one, but it's been acting wrong. So now I'm thinking about getting a desktop since people say you get more bang for your buck (maybe that's not true with extra stuff?). I do play games, but not hard ones. I don't mind the flashy boxes though. I also want as much memory as possible because laptops are slow. My old laptop cost me $1000 to $1500 before prices went up, so I probably need to spend more now. I'm not sure how much is fair. I know nothing about mixing parts or where to look for them. Any advice on what I should check? Thanks a lot!
So I still have my current one, but it's in bad shape right now. Are you asking what causes the laptop to fail or break down? I mean specs like make, model, operating system, memory, hard drives, and how old is it? How do you use your computer day-to-day? Which apps are on top of your list? What kind of budget are you working with if you're planning to get a new one? If you want more details or specific requirements, just ask away.
My laptop screen is not working right anymore. When I turn it on, nothing happens even though everything else works fine. I have to press the power button and hit "on" again just to make the picture appear. I'm not sure why this has ever worked, but lately it's happening less often (I know this is bad for my laptop). I guess it might be the graphics card? There are also black bars at the bottom of the screen and sometimes pictures will float in the air even when I turn off whatever program they were watching. It is still covered under a separate warranty, but I think once they get the computer back, they will give me my money for the cost (which is why I bought this computer before that).
My current laptop is an MSI GE76 Raider 11UG with 32GB RAM, an Intel Core i7 processor, and about three years old. It is mostly a work machine, but gaming is what uses it most. I like it mostly because (until recently) it never made me feel like the computer wasn't doing enough for whatever I wanted to do other than having not much memory. My budget when buying this one was $1000-1500. I don't know if that price is still a reasonable range with rising costs, though I honestly don't think I need much more than what I have now. (Also don't know if buying a desktop would make the computer run even faster once I add in extra parts). Also, I apologize if I am posting in the wrong place - I do not have the technical skills to build my own PC, so I am looking for one that is already made like this. (Thank you for the response!)
Look for an all-in-one PC. A good choice is StarForge. You can find them at https://starforgesystems.com/. They make systems that fit different prices. Check your budget and pick one. You even talk to them first before buying. For example, Horizon III Pro fits right in the middle of what you have, link: https://starforgesystems.com/products/horizon-iii-pro. The Elite version costs a little more but has better performance (check that on the page).
If you want the best price to performance ratio, buying everything yourself with your own parts is the only way. This means getting all pieces and putting them together yourself plus installing the operating system. With prebuilts, you always pay extra because someone else put it together, installed the OS (sometimes for free), and they take care of customer support for you too. For a DIY build, YOU are the customer support. Now, what makes StarForge good? They are one of the few places that actually assemble things properly without any tiny or big problems. GamersNexus buys prebuilts in secret and writes deep reviews so people know which companies to trust and which ones to skip like a bad disease. Here is their YouTube playlist with all their prebuilt PC reviews: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...bE_R5EnCLM StarForge has been on the news twice now. The first time, some screws were a bit loose but the second time everything was perfect and it was one of the few things built right. Another thing I like about StarForge is that they tell you exactly which power supply (PSU) comes with each PC. This is very rare because most other brands just list wattage and sometimes even efficiency, but nothing more. When a PSU is bad, nobody ever says its make/model name. But if the PSU is actually good, saying it helps sell the PC more. For example, a random Asus prebuilt has these specs: https://rog.asus.com/desktops/mid-tower/...ries/spec/ If you look at just the PSU info, it only says wattage and efficiency. Nothing else. But if that same info applied to CPU or GPU, the listing would say something like "CPU - Intel Core i7 (16 cores)" instead of just listing watts. Yet, StarForge's PC with their Horizon III Pro i has a detailed list on the box saying it comes with an MSI MAG A650GL PSU. That is Tier B level for PSUs. Here is what they mean: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...aS...973454078# While I'd love to see a Tier A or A+ PSU in prebuilts, it would raise the price and only very few people are willing to pay for great quality PSUs (including mine!). Most people like to cut corners on power supply units. But there is a catch: since the PSU powers everything inside the PC, it is the most important part. So NEVER cheap out on the PSU! Also, never buy used ones either. It comes down to what you want to do with your computer. 1. Office work (just web browsing) 2. Gaming 3. Using it as a workstation for things like 3D rendering or math. Once you know your main goal, looking at the monitor helps narrow down parts, especially the GPU. Since you need 1080p resolution, spending money on a GPU that only handles 60+ FPS on 2K (or even 4K) in games is a waste of time. It's better to look for something good at 1080p. When it comes to gaming, think about how many frames per second you want. 20 FPS is like slideshow mode. 40 FPS is kinda playable. 60 FPS is fine and great for most people. But if you have a monitor that can show up to 120 or 144 FPS, then those higher numbers are smooth and usually preferred by serious gamers. Of course, your target number also depends on how many frames per second your own monitor shows (measured in Hz). If your monitor is set to 60Hz, you'll only get up to 60 FPS regardless of the GPU speed. Anything higher is pointless because your eyes can't see it. Heck, most people just watch 30 to 60Hz range and ignore monitors that are 120Hz or even 144Hz. I'm not going to talk about those super high refresh rates either (there are some out there, yes). All-in-all, here is a list of questions you can answer and post your results here so we know what kind of PC specs you need. Link: https://forums.