Prebuilt advice!

[Toothless]

Okay guys, I'd hate to ask this but I need some help finding a good prebuilt rig for someone who knows next to nothing about computers. (they didn't know what a GPU was while physically looking at it.)

Budget is between 800-1200 USD, and I was looking at something pretty well balanced with in Intel CPU being the only real requirement.

Don't post in saying "build ur own" because that is NOT an option for this person. They live too far away and no one around them can even replace a HDD. Don't post in saying "watch utube vids" because this person is simply hopeless and an honest prebuilt is their best option.

 

[Solaris17]

Some of the lenovo rigs iv come across are nice. Asus makes some ok specd desktops but I have had several of the essentio machines come back with physically bad power switches. I'd take a look at those. I dont really reccomend the HP units. The Dell optiplexs are nice, even the slim lines if your into that.

 

[Toothless]

Some of the lenovo rigs iv come across are nice. Asus makes some ok specd desktops but I have had several of the essentio machines come back with physically bad power switches. I'd take a look at those. I dont really reccomend the HP units. The Dell optiplexs are nice, even the slim lines if your into that.

Hear anything about the CybertronPC Palladium line?

 

[Solaris17]

Hear anything about the CybertronPC Palladium line?

I have dealt with or with customers that have had the pre-builts from the various "builder" companies. The only one I cant really complain about is falcon northwest. Cyberpower, ibuypower and some other company I delt with had pretty bad customer service. the cyberpower machine I worked with came too me from a customer who had ordered it. apparently they had already had it RMAd and the issues persisted. In his case it was a bad PSU but the build quality of the machine was not fantastic too me. no wire hiding or even restriction got really close to touching fans etc.

I would go OEM before I went with a build company.

 

[nomdeplume]

You could get an Elitedesk 800 G2 for well under budget and well equipped direct from the factory. It's hard to link to one in the mess of them but stick to the 800 and pick your form factor. These are idiot proof, dead cool and silent, and last forever.

Example: HP EliteDesk 800 G2 W10, i5 6500 3.2GHz, 128GB SSD, 8GB(1x8GB) DDR4 2133 DVDRW = $617

 

[Toothless]

Does need a dGPU.

 

[nomdeplume]

What are they going to do with this computer? For most programs and web browsing you don't need it. Worse case you can pay a couple hundred more and get a retail one off the main site since they are closing them out in preparation for Kaby Lake models. Or get a brand new one off ebay with a dGPU.

Actually I just noticed they have a category on that business outlet page called desktop options. I'm betting they would install one of the cards in there before shipping it.

 

[alucasa]

Do you really require a GPU? Because a NUC would be fine. I just buy NUCs for old couples nowadays. It's easy to maintain and they last long.

Iris powered NUC could be an option.

 

[Toothless]

I mean they're going to play games so I'd think a dGPU would be needed. Games vary in requirements.

 

[alucasa]

What kind of games? How old is this person?

 

[Toothless]

Early 20's, and it ranges from MMOs to FPS to god knows what. They also create digital art and sometimes work on music editing. I was thinking something like a locked i7 and a 1060 but finding a good combo is hard.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

So a mainstream gaming system. i5/RX480-GTX1070?

I would go OEM before I went with a build company.

What about ABS from Newegg?

 

[alucasa]

Early 20, huh. So, it's basically you and everyone around here.

Grab a pre-built and add a 1050ti or low profile 1050. I am suggesting 1050 and ti for their low TDP.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167142
(just a suggestion, no experience with this)

 

[Toothless]

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167142
(just a suggestion, no experience with this)

If it had a better i5 then it would be perfect.

I heard NewEgg has a service that puts together parts, that true?

 

[AsRock]

I would pick a DELL, reason being if there is any issue's under warranty they will send some one to replace faulty parts.

Rest is down to you picking a suitable system for said person, not sure they offer the same service for Alienware.

 

[Toothless]

I would pick a DELL, reason being if there is any issue's under warranty they will send some one to replace faulty parts.

Rest is down to you picking a suitable system for said person, not sure they offer the same service for Alienware.

Dell has configs that you can't config which is weird.

 

[Komshija]

I wouldn't bother too much about choosing some specific brand. Go to the nearest store which has acceptable prices and order all components from them. They should built the system for free - at least that's what they do over here.
I suggest going with Sky Lake instead of Kaby Lake, because SL offers almost similar performance at slightly cheaper price.

This is my suggestion:
- Intel Core i5 6500
- Arctic Freezer i32 or Zalman CNPS10X Optima
- Gigabyte B150 HD3P or MSI B150 Gaming M3
- 16 GB DDR4-2400 RAM (G.Skill, Team, Kingston...)
- RX 470 4 GB (Sapphire, XFX, Gigabyte...)
- Adata SP 550 240 GB SSD or Transcend TS240GSSD220S 240 GB SSD
- Toshiba P300 1 TB HDD
- Samsung or LG DVD/RW drive
- Some 550W 80 Plus or 80 Plus Bronze PSU (Rosewill ARC M550 or Be Quiet System Power B8 550W or FSP Raider 550W 80 Plus Bronze)
- Zalman R1 or Bitfenix Neos case
- 2 x Arctic F12 PWM fans

This can be considered as upper-middle class PC which will be adequate for every task, including gaming on 1440p on high/ultra settings.

 

[Toothless]

I wouldn't bother too much about choosing some specific brand. Go to the nearest store which has acceptable prices and order all components from them. They should built the system for free - at least that's what they do over here.
I suggest going with Sky Lake instead of Kaby Lake, because SL offers almost similar performance at slightly cheaper price.

This is my suggestion:
- Intel Core i5 6500
- Arctic Freezer i32 or Zalman CNPS10X Optima
- Gigabyte B150 HD3P or MSI B150 Gaming M3
- 16 GB DDR4-2400 RAM (G.Skill, Team, Kingston...)
- RX 470 4 GB (Sapphire, XFX, Gigabyte...)
- Adata SP 550 240 GB SSD or Transcend TS240GSSD220S 240 GB SSD
- Toshiba P300 1 TB HDD
- Samsung or LG DVD/RW drive
- Some 550W 80 Plus or 80 Plus Bronze PSU (Rosewill ARC M550 or Be Quiet System Power B8 550W or FSP Raider 550W 80 Plus Bronze)
- Zalman R1 or Bitfenix Neos case
- 2 x Arctic F12 PWM fans

This can be considered as upper-middle class PC which will be adequate for every task, including gaming on 1440p on high/ultra settings.

Pretty sure a 470 can't do 1440p, and they don't have shops like that in their area.

 

[Komshija]

Pretty sure a 470 can't do 1440p, and they don't have shops like that in their area.

It can. RX 470 has enough power to push all current demanding games at 1440p on high settings and some games on ultra settings. For instance, I know that it can push quite demanding Far Cry Primal at 1440p on high settings without problems.

They have prebuilt systems, but don't sell components? It doesn't cost to ask whether they can order specific components and assemble them. Any reputable and decent seller/shop will assemble components for free (on demand) if you buy the whole system there.

 

[Toothless]

It can. RX 470 has enough power to push all current demanding games at 1440p on high settings and some games on ultra settings. For instance, I know that it can push quite demanding Far Cry Primal at 1440p on high settings without problems.

They have prebuilt systems, but don't sell components? It doesn't cost to ask whether they can order specific components and assemble them. Any reputable and decent seller/shop will assemble components for free (on demand) if you buy the whole system there.

I never said she had a store to buy prebuilts from. To hell with BestBuy crap.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Why dont you consider building it for them and do the support yourself. ?

1. Build it (you will do as good a job as any kid in a warehouse)
2. Test it for a couple of weeks ( probably longer than the kid in the warehouse would)
3. send it, preinstalled with the software they use, AV that you recommend and Teamviewer



The money saved would pay shipping back to you in the event of a hard ware failure and you could use teamviewer for any software problems.


The only problem doing this is is the "inferred" lifetime support that you are now committed to but if they are a friend you would probably do this any way.

 

[Komshija]

In such case your options are very limited.

I don't see why it would be a problem to order the assembled PC with custom-selected components from some other reputable store/seller outside of her city/town/village. Just make sure to note them to handle properly with fragile components. I don't know what's the situation in the USA, but over here pretty much every decent PC shop offers free assemble on demand (if you buy the whole system there) and even free delivery if your order exceeds certain value.

You can order components from the cheapest reputable sellers/stores and assemble them for free. Call it favor-for-favor. Charge her only the costs for the components and shipping fees.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/INTEL_i7_SFF_Configurator

change the CPU to an i5 7600k, stick with the stock Intel heatsink, and change the GTX 1060 to the ASUS GeForce® GTX 1070 Dual-Fan OC Edition 8GB GDDR5, price comes out to be $1162.

 

[AsRock]

Dell has configs that you can't config which is weird.

Well they are for me, how ever i could not upgrade one with a AMD video card