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I've decided it's time to buy a new "primary" computer for myself. The budget I've set aside for this is $1,500 or less. I do not know very much at all about computers, so I could use all the advice I can get, and I'm hoping some of the computer-knowing people here will be kind enough to give me a buying tip or two.

My main problem is that I have two conflicting desires that I probably won't be able to reconcile in my price range. On the one hand, I kind of want one of those pretty all-in-one computers with a nice big touch-screen. On the other hand, I kind of want to be able to play new-ish games, and I understand that all-in-ones generally don't come with graphics cards and other specs that are as good as what you'd get in a tower for the same money. I mean, I'm not a heavy duty gamer, and I'm not likely to go out there and buy all the latest hyper-realistic first-person-shooters. Still, once in a while it's fun to try something new and flashy. And I would like a computer I can keep for a while without worrying about it immediately becoming obsolete.

I would appreciate any advice anyone here can offer me. Is there an all-in-one with a touch-screen I can get in this price range that could still run modern games? Or should I really just get a reasonably decent tower, and leave it at that? (That way I also have a monitor I can re-use. And if I went this route, I was thinking a Dell XPS 8300 -- within my price range I could get an i7 processor with one of these "sandy bridges" I keep hearing about and a Radeon 6870, which I am told is something what makes graphics not suck too bad. But then I'd be giving up on my desire to own a pretty all-in-one. ).

all in ones are a waste

$1500 can go a long ways if you build your own. I'm not saying prebuilt is bad, but you can usually go up a tier component wise when you purchase everything and assemble it. It's also easier to upgrade select parts(like the gpu) in the future.

An intel i5 2500K, nvidia 570/ati 6950, an 1155 motherboard, 8gb ddr3 ram, a good 750ish watt psu, 2tb hdd, aftermarket heatsink, and case should be pretty easy to fit in under $1500. If you do decide to go this route, there are usually people on irc who would be more than happy to help out.

Broodwich wrote:QUOTE (Broodwich @ Aug 27 2011, 09:02 PM) all in ones are a waste

That's kind of the impression I'm getting everywhere I look online, it seems. >_< But still, could someone tell me -- if, hypothetically, I was going to get an all-in-one, what would be, so to speak, the least sucky one I could get for $1,500 or less? What would be the one with the best (least bad?..) graphics card, for example?.. (So far from my own research this seems to be a Sony Vaio, which can get a NVIDIA GeForce 315M... Which is an entry-level laptop card, from what I can tell. Is there anything better available?)

Commander101 wrote:QUOTE (Commander101 @ Aug 27 2011, 09:02 PM) $1500 can go a long ways if you build your own. I'm not saying prebuilt is bad, but you can usually go up a tier component wise when you purchase everything and assemble it. It's also easier to upgrade select parts(like the gpu) in the future.

An intel i5 2500K, nvidia 570/ati 6950, an 1155 motherboard, 8gb ddr3 ram, a good 750ish watt psu, 2tb hdd, aftermarket heatsink, and case should be pretty easy to fit in under $1500. If you do decide to go this route, there are usually people on irc who would be more than happy to help out.

I know there are resources and help available out there, but I'm not sure I'm ready to go this route. My knowledge of computery things is really limited here. More importantly, I'm not sure I currently have a ton of time for this, so it'd be appealing to, like, just take the machine out of a box and start enjoying it right away. Still, since this is kind of a "fun/hobby" purchase to begin with, I guess I really should consider this route. It'd be a good learning experience if nothing else.

But tell me, why do you recommend these specific components? I know I can get an i7 2600 in a pre-built computer in my price range -- I've been assuming that this is better than an i5 2500... Do I have it completely backwards? And could you tell me, how does a Radeon 6870 compare to the graphics cards you mention?.. (I can tell "6950" is a bigger number than "6870", but that's about it. )

girlyboy wrote:QUOTE (girlyboy @ Aug 27 2011, 09:10 PM) That's kind of the impression I'm getting everywhere I look online, it seems. >_< But still, could someone tell me -- if, hypothetically, I was going to get an all-in-one, what would be, so to speak, the least sucky one I could get for $1,500 or less? What would be the one with the best (least bad?..) graphics card, for example?..

I know there are resources and help available out there, but I'm not sure I'm ready to go this route. My knowledge of computery things is really limited here. More importantly, I'm not sure I currently have a ton of time for this, so it'd be appealing to, like, just take the machine out of a box and start enjoying it right away. Still, since this is kind of a "fun/hobby" purchase to begin with, I guess I really should consider this route. It'd be a good learning experience if nothing else.

But tell me, why do you recommend these specific components? I know I can get an i7 2600 in a pre-built computer in my price range -- I've been assuming that this is better than an i5 2500... Do I have it completely backwards? And could you tell me, how does a Radeon 6870 compare to the graphics cards you mention?..

I do a fair but of browsing computer knowledge, so I have rough ideas for the prices of components. When you spec out a computer for purchase, you start with how much you are willing to spend. Next, you pick out your cpu and gpu. I chose the 2500K and 570/6950 because I have a rough idea how much much they cost, and that their price points would fit nicely into $1500. Once you've chosen your cpu, you can then find the motherboard with the appropriate socket (1155 for the 2500/2600 cpus), and a power supply that is appropriate for the cpu and gpu, as those are the main power draws. While the components I selected below could be powered off something as low as a 500 watt psu, I like to have a little headroom, and since the psu is the heart of your system, you don't want to cheap out on this. Harddrives, ddr3 ram, cpu cooler(if you even want an aftermarket one, you can always buy one later if the stock heatsink included with the cpu isn't cutting it for you, namely, should you decide to get into overclocking), dvd drive, and case are for the most part compatible with anything you can buy today.


I've even put together a sample, everything inside and including a case for $1264 not including shipping!

Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB
ASUS Radeon HD 6950 DirectCU II 810MHZ 1GB 5GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI 4XDISPLAYPORT HDMI PCI-E DX11 Video Card
ASUS P8P67 Evo REV3.0 P67 ATX LGA1155 DDR3 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI Sandy Bridge B3 Motherboard
Liteon IHAS124 24X DVD Writer SATA Black OEM
Corsair XMS3 CMX8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-27 240PIN Core i5 i7 AMD Memory Kit
Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green SATA3 Intelli Power 64MB Cache 3.5IN Internal Hard Disk Drive HDD
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M 750W ATX Modular Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan 5 Year Warranty
Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H60 High Performance CPU Cooler System LGA1155 LGA1366 LGA1156 AM2 AM3
Corsair Graphite Series 600TM Mid-Tower Case ATX 4X5.25 6X3.5INT 4 Channel Fan Ctrl No PS MESH Panel

This was all just off the top of my head in about five minutes, looking around at NCIX.com, which is a popular Canadian computer parts retailer. There's also newegg.ca. I don't know of any other Canadian retailers, but I've never needed to.

Note: I wouldn't just go out and purchase this list, but it is a good place to start, and it gives an idea of the sort of stuff i'm looking for in the price range. Things like the motherboard are harder than the cpu or gpu, as there are lots of manufacturers and models and chipsets out there. That would take a little bit of looking into.



A lot of knowledge about components you just have to pick up over time, or sit down and do some research. While I don't have exact answers to some of your questions, as I have a computer built from last generation parts, and so I won't be looking to upgrade for another year or two, I can still help.

The main difference between the i7 2600 and the i5 2500 is the hyperthreading. Each has four discrete precessing cores, but the i7 has a feature called hyperthreading available. Hyperthreading splits each discrete core up into two virtual cores, which gives you something like 15-20% increased performance with applications that can take advantage more than four processing cores. Whether this is worth the extra $100 is individual preference. The K ending means the processor has an unlocked multiplier. For example, an i7 2600 would be unable to overclock, while the 2600K would be able to.

For graphics cards, usually the higher the number the better, within the generation. For example, on ati's lineup, from greatest to least performance: 6990, 6970, 6950, 6870, 6850, etc. Nvidia does a similar thing, 590 is the best, then 580, then 570, 560ti, 560, 550, etc.

Nvidia's current generation is the 500's, ati's is the 6000's. You can still buy last generation (400 and 5000 respectively) cards that may have greater performance than current generation, but i'd get something from the current generation.

Ahh, I see. Thank you for the information and for that list. It looks intimidating but the items in it seem to almost make sense... It looks like going this route I would be able to get something a bit better than the pre-built towers I've been looking at at roughly the same price. Also it's nice that I'd be able to customize everything, like say a 1 TB HD instead of 2TB, and then use the money to upgrade something else instead. But still, I'm not sure if that'd be worth the extra time and effort it would take to assemble everything, not to mention the risk of doing something wrong and possibly ruining some expensive component. >_< I'll call this "plan B" for now, but still, thank you for the information and the encouragement.

girlyboy wrote:QUOTE (girlyboy @ Aug 27 2011, 09:36 PM) Ahh, I see. Thank you for the information and for that list. It looks intimidating but the items in it seem to almost make sense... It looks like going this route I would be able to get something a bit better than the pre-built towers I've been looking at at roughly the same price, but I'm not sure if that'd be worth the extra time and effort it would take, not to mention the risk of doing something wrong and possibly ruining some expensive component. >_< I'll call this "plan B" for now, but still, thank you for the information and the encouragement.

If Cookie Monster/Cadillac/Wurflet can do it, you can too!

I am now getting increasingly confused about processors. So far I've been (ideally) wanting an i7 2600k, which has, it seems, 4 cores. Now someone's told me that I should get an AMD Phenom II with six cores instead. Now I'm assuming that just like everything with computers there is no simple "more X = better Y" relationship here when it comes to number of cores and computer performance... But will getting a six-core processor pay off? Especially if I end up going with a boring ol' tower instead of a pretty all-in-one, I want to at least keep this computer for as long as possible before it becomes painfully obsolete -- will more cores "future-proof" it better? If the most resource-intensive task I'm going to be doing on the computer is gaming (obviously I'll be doing many other things too, but I doubt I need to worry about getting the fastest processor to run Word or watch YouTube ) is the i7 2600 the best choice, or is something with an "x6" in its name a better option?

girlyboy wrote:QUOTE (girlyboy @ Aug 28 2011, 02:17 AM) all-in-one computers with a nice big touch-screen

vertical touch-screen = very bad and useless. you get the 'gorilla arm' syndrome after a minute of using one. It's only good for dedicated usage like a living room media-player or whatnot.

None of the desktop OS (Win, Linux) really support touch-screen interface and even more important: applications don't at all.

Also most PC touch-screens are limited to max 2 simultaneous contacts (yeah the put the cheapest stuff in there). it's really a scam. I've been using an Acer laptop with touchscreen every day for 2 years now, I never, never touch the screen)

With a $1500 budget I'd recommend a $1000 gaming PC (prebuilt) and a $500 tablet (Galaxy tab or Asus Transformer not an IPad toy) rather than a $1500 whatever PC. They're really great together, very complementary. Casual, short session, small fun games on the tablet, longer session, more serious gaming on the PC. Web browsing,books & comics reading on the tablet, everything else on the PC.etc.

Also with upcoming Cloud gaming like OnLive(check it out it's free to try), if you have a good home Internet connection you don't even need a new gaming PC (hard core purist gamers will say otherwise but try it out 1st, you'll be surprised).
In that case, just put your money in a state-of-the-art monitor and a tablet.

Ah, thank you, that's helpful advice. >_< I guess I indeed had a "failure to understand the ergonomics of vertically mounted touchscreens for prolonged use" as your link says... Perhaps I was just suckered in by how pretty and awesome all-in-ones look at first glance. I haven't been thinking about tablets as a purchase very seriously, but now that you bring it up, the option you present could be a better way to get something pretty and fun, while still getting a PC more focused on performance and longevity...

The cloud gaming thing is interesting. O_o I'm not sure what to make of it. Perhaps it will still be a while before it really takes off, though?..