New Computer Advice

[Ghostlady]

Desktop or Laptop?
Built or Big Box Store?
Specs?

I had my current one built and it has lasted me a looooong time. I did change the graphics card once and the Windows OS to Windows 10 but that's about all I ever did.

[draclvr]

Desktop or laptop is strictly your preference. I just can't do much on a laptop... I need a full sized keyboard and a large monitor. But I know lot of people who game and do everything else on a laptop.

If you go desktop, then built is the best way to go. Did you have eCollegePC build yours? I've sent at least 20 people to them to have them built, mostly because of the personal customer service.

Specs will all depend on your budget!

[Ghostlady]

Yes eCollegePC were the ones who built it and also for my grandson and he's had his for years also.
What are minimum specs for current games? And I don't play shooters.

[colpet]

I just had a new computer tower Win 10 custom built. All mine have been custom, from my Win 98 on. I used a local, small business after talking to a couple of people and getting quotes.
Personally I find the custom built ones last the longest, and suit me best. I can make sure I get the trays I need, and that they understand the kind of games I play and that I want to play older games as well. My new rig can accommodate VR games, and should not have to be upgraded for a while.

[JKEerie]

I started with one Desktop...my first machine, Win 98SE. Then I went with a Dell laptop, XP, with a docking station and some Belkin switches, etc so I could alternate using my Desktop and my laptop with the same monitor, mouse and keyboard. I needed better graphics, so I purchased an HP laptop with XP installed. I liked the portability of laptops, since I would spend occasional weekends with my folks. I needed to upgrade to Windows 7, so the ASUS laptop was purchased. It had AMD graphics and I could not upgrade the graphics driver beyond what was provided by ASUS which wasn't much. Even though I'm no longer migratory and am permanently parked, when I needed to upgrade to Windows 10, I got another ASUS laptop...this one with Nvidea graphics for which I readily receive driver updates directly from Nvidea. In this one, the display proper (resolution, scale) is governed by Intel graphics. Driver updates come via Windows update. I think this may be why I can readily update the drivers. At first I was annoyed that I couldn't alter the resolution easily and the scaling...until I discovered that there is a Intel graphics control panel (as well as my Nvidea control panel).

My desktop I got from a local business computer place. I got it when I needed to work from home after having surgery. I was able to log into the bloodbank system at night and do my reports, etc. First laptop I ordered from Dell. HP and first ASUS were Bestbuy off the shelf. My latest was a Walmart deal...Black Friday in 2019. They've all lasted me quite a while, my ASUS laptops being the best experience.

[draclvr]

Even new adventure games require pretty hefty video card specs. I just did an HTML workup of a review of The Fabled Woods, which was released last week. These are the video card specs:

Processor: Minimum, 3.2 Ghtz Dual Core CPU; Recommended, 3.2 Ghtz
Memory: Minimum, 6 MB RAM; Recommended 12 GB RAM
Graphics: Minimum, GeForce RTX 1060/Raedon RX 580; Recommended, GeForce
2060/AMD RTX 5600XT

Syberia 3 which was released a few years ago required an AMD R7 260X - Nvidia GTX 550 Ti. But that is already outdated even for new adventure games.

[Ghostlady]

Good to know

[Jen]

Last time I bought a computer was about 10-12 years ago. It was an MSI gaming laptop, one step below the very top of what was available at that time (much easier on the budget). That is the computer I still have, although I only turn it on about twice a year to update my playlist. I upgraded it to Windows 10 last time I turned it on, and it surprisingly is not terribly slow. I would never have a desktop again because of their bulk and need for additional furniture. Long story short, my advice is, whatever you get, try to max out the specs to whatever your budget will accommodate, so you don’t have to buy another for a really long time.

[draclvr]

Yup! You can always add RAM, but the CPU and the video card need to be the best you can afford.

[Phlebas]

And more so if you're getting a laptop since you can't just whip out the graphics card and put a fancier one in! You can always get a docking station and plug in a proper keyboard, monitor etc so I wouldn't worry too much about those - but the modularity makes a difference to me.

[Ghostlady]

My computer holds a ton of data. The whole website and all those screenshots and music. With the laptops i’ve had, it’s always been a hard drive crash that did it in. Based on amount of data, is a PC better than laptop or no difference.

[skeeter]

I really prefer a desktop over a laptop. I like that I can upgrade parts, and they always seem to run better for me. I do need a monitor for playing games, small screens are tricky.

[draclvr]

Your storage is all about the size of your drive. I don't know what size your drive is, but if it's 1 TB, then that's a ton of storage. You will want to get at least that in a new computer if you plan on using it for everything. Almost all new computers come with a solid state drive - SSD - rather than the old HDD - hard disk drive. SSDs are much faster. One thing about a desktop over a laptop is what skeeter says. Another is that a laptop with similar components will be vastly more expensive.

And yes, you can get a dock and plug in a monitor. However, this assumes you have a video card or chip that has enough "oomph" to display on a large monitor. Most new ones - even the ones integrated into the CPU - could do this.

It's all a matter or your budget and your preference.

[Faust]

Building a new desktop theses days , can get quite expensive , especially in the gpu (video card) market . IF you're lucky , you can find a half decent card . Most of the higher end cards are constantly out of stock , & one of the main reasons , is the resurgence of bitcoin mining .Even on ebay , half decent cards are going for two or three times their suggested sale price . For example , I looked at rtx 3070'a a few days ago . Couldn't find one for less than $1000 . I did see a couple of rx5700 xt's for about $800 . Even my old gtx 1070 was running over $300 . Another part to consider in a new desktop , is a quality psu (power supply) . Personally , I would use a 750 watt or better , brands such as Corsair , EVGA , Thermaltake , & Seasonic .

[Ghostlady]

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I am still looking.

My current computer was bought around 2012 and I've changed the video card twice. So that's a pretty long time for a computer to still play current games. I am pretty sure what happened, my video card went on the blink. I been getting black out screens for about a year, on and off. Recently when I was trying to play Cliffhouse the graphics got weird on me which made put on a video card update and then a second one on top of that. I've updated the card before with no problems. But now, it can't handle the 640 x 480 resolution and forces the game into a 'windowed' mode. I've spent hours googling about this problem and the best that I can come up with is that my hardware is not compatible with the video card. I've been frustrated beyond belief. Right when I was getting to release the game to Steam this all happened and I needed to test things. &*^%(*&^#$@