Looking for a Good Desktop

[Ensyo Phinilind]

I'm interested in buying a new desktop, and I have a budget of $400-$800 or less. I've been on a bunch of different websites, but I'm having a hard time finding something good within my budget. I'm more interested in gaming desktops than any other kind, and I'm trying to avoid touch screen desktops. I'm definantly more interested in Windows 7, but I could give Windows 8 a shot. sweatdrop -.-; Anyone have any ideas or company names to recommend?

I have plans to use it for
-Work purposes (documents and stuff)
-Art Programs (Paint Tool Sai, Photoshop, etc)
-Heavy Gaming Files

I'm looking for something I can put several files on and have the computer not lag or mess up.

[malwareUFO]

This should be good. Desktop

[malwareUFO]

This is one is even better.

[Thirteenth King]

Oowl

This is one is even better.

I got that exact same case! Love it!

[L33t Mule Pants]

Do not buy iBuypower, CyberpowerPC, etc. They are known to ship faulty parts, horrible wiring, things not connected correctly (or at all), and so on.

I am going to assume $800.

If you want the pre-built route, which is always inferior to a self-built computer, then check out the Digital Storm Vanquish. You can edit it a bit and change the price tag around.

If you want a self-built, then this is a great way to start it.

[Ensyo Phinilind]

Oowl

This is one is even better.

ooh, this looks really good. biggrin

[Ensyo Phinilind]

L33t Mule Pants

Do not buy iBuypower, CyberpowerPC, etc. They are known to ship faulty parts, horrible wiring, things not connected correctly (or at all), and so on.

I am going to assume $800.

If you want the pre-built route, which is always inferior to a self-built computer, then check out the Digital Storm Vanquish. You can edit it a bit and change the price tag around.

If you want a self-built, then this is a great way to start it.

thank you for the info. :0 I'll be sure to check other product reviews too, thanks for the warning whee

[WhiteHatCat]

What are you using the computer for? People will better be able to recommend you computers you should consider buying if they know your intended purpose/purposes.

[Ensyo Phinilind]

WhiteHatCat

What are you using the computer for? People will better be able to recommend you computers you should consider buying if they know your intended purpose/purposes.

oh yes,I should edit my post and add that. I have plans to use it for
-Work purposes (documents and stuff)
-Art Programs (Paint Tool Sai, Photoshop, etc)
-Heavy Gaming Files

I'm looking for something I can put several files on and have the computer not lag or mess up.

[Henry Hobo-Master]

You could always build a PC yourself. I'm actually building my first PC today. There are various pros and cons with PCs, and a lot of people don't really want to waste their time on that sort of thing. I can tell you however, that it's nice knowing what's in your PC, and being able to customize it.

For $500-600, you could get yourself a pretty decent tower with an OS. For the remaining $200, you could probably get yourself a monitor, keyboard and mouse. It just depends on your build as well. If you plan on gaming with a desktop (or any computer), you need to look at the graphics card. Most prebuilts come with terrible GPUs. And it's hard to upgrade your GPU because of your PSU.

That's just my experience however. If you do decide to get a pre-built (or even a self-built), you could always look into SDDs. They can get expensive, but they are known to quicken loading times when it comes to certain programs (much faster than hard-drives). I'm not sure how relevant that is for you, but that option is always there.

Building your own PC could be advantageous because of your ability to upgrade it as well (as opposed to some, or many pre-builts). That, and it's a little cheaper to just buy parts for a gaming PC, rather than going and buying a gaming desktop (one that is quality).

[Ensyo Phinilind]

Henry Hobo-Master

You could always build a PC yourself. I'm actually building my first PC today. There are various pros and cons with PCs, and a lot of people don't really want to waste their time on that sort of thing. I can tell you however, that it's nice knowing what's in your PC, and being able to customize it.

For $500-600, you could get yourself a pretty decent tower with an OS. For the remaining $200, you could probably get yourself a monitor, keyboard and mouse. It just depends on your build as well. If you plan on gaming with a desktop (or any computer), you need to look at the graphics card. Most prebuilts come with terrible GPUs. And it's hard to upgrade your GPU because of your PSU.

That's just my experience however. If you do decide to get a pre-built (or even a self-built), you could always look into SDDs. They can get expensive, but they are known to quicken loading times when it comes to certain programs (much faster than hard-drives). I'm not sure how relevant that is for you, but that option is always there.

ooh, thank you. I've considered building my own, but I've been intimidated I'll break something or what not... sweatdrop

[Henry Hobo-Master]

Ensyo Phinilind

Henry Hobo-Master

You could always build a PC yourself. I'm actually building my first PC today. There are various pros and cons with PCs, and a lot of people don't really want to waste their time on that sort of thing. I can tell you however, that it's nice knowing what's in your PC, and being able to customize it.

For $500-600, you could get yourself a pretty decent tower with an OS. For the remaining $200, you could probably get yourself a monitor, keyboard and mouse. It just depends on your build as well. If you plan on gaming with a desktop (or any computer), you need to look at the graphics card. Most prebuilts come with terrible GPUs. And it's hard to upgrade your GPU because of your PSU.

That's just my experience however. If you do decide to get a pre-built (or even a self-built), you could always look into SDDs. They can get expensive, but they are known to quicken loading times when it comes to certain programs (much faster than hard-drives). I'm not sure how relevant that is for you, but that option is always there.

ooh, thank you. I've considered building my own, but I've been intimidated I'll break something or what not... sweatdrop

This being my first build myself, I know exactly how you feel. The worst part I hear is putting the CPU in (it makes a loud noise that sounds like something is breaking).

If you are interested, I can give you some resources. One or two would teach you what the parts are, and how you put them together.

I have other sites where you can ask people to put together a list of computer parts based off of your needs. If you answer a few questions, you might get one or two responses with parts suitable to your needs. If you already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse, it really helps as well. If you spend about 600+, you can get a PC that is basically better at gaming than a next-gen console.

Edit: Also, L33t Mule Pants has also recommended you some parts as well. I didn't notice that.

[Ensyo Phinilind]

Henry Hobo-Master

Ensyo Phinilind

Henry Hobo-Master

You could always build a PC yourself. I'm actually building my first PC today. There are various pros and cons with PCs, and a lot of people don't really want to waste their time on that sort of thing. I can tell you however, that it's nice knowing what's in your PC, and being able to customize it.

For $500-600, you could get yourself a pretty decent tower with an OS. For the remaining $200, you could probably get yourself a monitor, keyboard and mouse. It just depends on your build as well. If you plan on gaming with a desktop (or any computer), you need to look at the graphics card. Most prebuilts come with terrible GPUs. And it's hard to upgrade your GPU because of your PSU.

That's just my experience however. If you do decide to get a pre-built (or even a self-built), you could always look into SDDs. They can get expensive, but they are known to quicken loading times when it comes to certain programs (much faster than hard-drives). I'm not sure how relevant that is for you, but that option is always there.

ooh, thank you. I've considered building my own, but I've been intimidated I'll break something or what not... sweatdrop

This being my first build myself, I know exactly how you feel. The worst part I hear is putting the CPU in (it makes a loud noise that sounds like something is breaking).

If you are interested, I can give you some resources. One or two would teach you what the parts are, and how you put them together.

I have other sites where you can ask people to put together a list of computer parts based off of your needs. If you answer a few questions, you might get one or two responses with parts suitable to your needs. If you already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse, it really helps as well. If you spend about 600+, you can get a PC that is basically better at gaming than a next-gen console.

Edit: Also, L33t Mule Pants has also recommended you some parts as well. I didn't notice that.

that'd be helpful :3 thanks a lot, I'm going to puta lot of consideration into this because this is a desktop I plan to use several times as long as possible :3

[Henry Hobo-Master]

Ensyo Phinilind

that'd be helpful :3 thanks a lot, I'm going to puta lot of consideration into this because this is a desktop I plan to use several times as long as possible :3

I'll just leave a few sources here in case you look at them. These are the sources I've been going back and forth with for a few months now. If you are in no big rush or hurry to get a PC, then you could always browse around and learn a few things about computers. Most of what I have deals with just the tower specifically. If you want to look at both sides of the argument (between choosing a prebuilt or not), you can always look at this.

-This is for learning about the different parts of the computer, and getting an estimation about the different types of builds you can get for each cost.

-PCpartpicker.com is a great place to shop around for parts, or browse. Many computer parts are incompatible. This site will prevent incompatibilities (as long as you do it correctly), and tells you where you can get the part for the cheapest.

-You can try here if you just want a PC generator. You don't really get to customize it, which is a problem for most people.

-If you want to learn more about building a PC, or just to ask questions from people who have built PCs before, you can always ask here on Gaia, or here. The latter may provide more people, quicker. Gaia is much more personal because it's a little slower. The latter also has several really good resources,

-Finally, if you wanted to build a PC, but are unsure about which parts to get, you can ask either here on Gaia (someone previously offered a build), or here. I always repost what I plan to build, and ask people to look over it once or twice just to make sure. It's saved me from getting incompatible parts and parts that wouldn't do what I wanted them to (overclocking).

Obviously it's a lot of information. If you are in no hurry, I would definitely consider it. Chances are, most prebuilts are not going to be very good for gaming (if you are interested in that). A great alternative is building PCs, especially since they always have the option for upgrading. My prebuilt that I bought back in 2012 cannot be upgraded as easily unfortunately. I digress.

[Ensyo Phinilind]

Ugh, everything is windows 8 lately. sad