My wife needs a new computer. She builds websites, uses word documents, and other then that things like youtube and social media. She prefers to get a desktop, and she's leaning towards an all in one type. Her needs are pretty simple, but I have not bought a computer in years and I usually go more high end. Budget is about $600-$700.

 

Can anyone shed some light on good buys for her? Thanks in advance!

Ah well.... gl :D

Seeing what she does, I guess the doesn't need anything graphics intensive? Once you can confirm this, I will look at what I can recommend, but it should be pretty easy to get it in the budget stated above.

Does she play Runescape on the side ? :D

My wife needs a new computer. She builds websites, uses word documents, and other then that things like youtube and social media. She prefers to get a desktop, and she's leaning towards an all in one type. Her needs are pretty simple, but I have not bought a computer in years and I usually go more high end. Budget is about $600-$700.

 

Can anyone shed some light on good buys for her? Thanks in advance!

 

She will regret buying an AiO, vertical touchscreens are unergonomic and you pay a lot more for worse specs. Unfortunately there really aren't any great prebuilt brands these days. They all install tons of bloatware on your computer and will be designed to fail within a few years. I'd recommend building one for her, or even better, with her. If she does websites she's probably tech savvy enough to learn how, it's really simple. But if you aren't comfortable with that, I recommend something from Dell's business line. 

Even Dell's business line is not top notch. If you'd see the number of Latitude laptops and Precision desktops I put on warranty per month out of the 150 computers I'm in charge of where I work, you wouldn't touch a Dell.

Buy an i3 and a gtx 750 and call it a day. You could build it within your budget easily. Hell, you could even go with mini itx case/mobo and make a small build. Building the computer is the smartest option, however if you aren't comfortable with that you'll pay a bit more for a reliable brand.

In my experience, I suggest buying Dell.

 

Dell is the most durable computer.

LOL Dell durable... This week I put 4 Dell computers on warranty. 2 Latitude Laptops, 1 Precision laptop, and a Precision Desktop. Those are professional grade which usually are more durable and have more quality than consumer models.

I used to play Runescape classic on a Dell...

 

Its good with Java me thinks.

They used to be awesome and good computers but in recent years their quality has diminished so much that I don't recommend Dell.

I used to play Runescape classic on a Dell...

 

Its good with Java me thinks.

The fact it is a Dell does not mean it would be good with Java. It would be down to the hardware inside the Dell and even then all computers should work well with Java.

 

 

Bulding your own would be a good way to keep the cost down and also assure that nothing is 'skimped' on, which consumer companies always tend to do.

 

For example you can buy a reliable Corsair power supply rather than having the generic japanese built one that will no doubt come with an off the shelf buy. It may seem a little daunting but with the internet it is so easy to teach yourself how to put one together, it is very easy and rewarding.

 

I'm guessing you are American as you used dollars as the currency so I would look around on Newegg, a Core i3 or i5 would be plenty, for what she is going to be using it for you won't need a particularly fast one.

 

For RAM anything over 8GB is still overkill unless you are video editing at a high level or something.

 

I would always recommend a solid state drive as well as a second harddrive but it's not by any means needed, so just a simple 1TB would suffice no doubt.

 

Motherboard - something simple to keep those in, as you won't NEED to overclock a fairly budget one while keeping to brands like ASUS and Gigabyte.

 

Sound Card not necessary, most motherboards on-board audio is pretty decent, but they are cheap also so whatever you feel like.

 

Graphics Card, to be honest I only really know GeForce well, something like a GTX660 or 680 would be plenty, keep in mind a 740 is not actually better than a 680 just because it is a higher number. While a 740 might have updated shaders etc. the 680 will be a more powerful card in the 'top end' of the range of it's time... if that makes sense! Basically go for the 660/680 versions and you can't go wrong!

 

And to power all of that anything above a 600w will be plenty. Corsair are particularly good for PSUs, don't go for a cheap PSU just because it's 700w and the 500w corsair is more expensive.. it will be less sufficient in other areas. Go for a reputable brand.

 

I hope this helps.

 

 

 

What do you guys think of the new apple computers ? I heard that they can run Runescape now. Of course I was thinking of buying one.

You can probably get a better machine for less money

Considering my friend's $3000 macbook pro was equivalent to my $1200 ROG laptop, I'm against getting an apple computer.

 

And seeing my old post, I'm even further from recommending Dell than I was when I posted that. We have all Dells at work and we're probably switching to HP  because they're much more optimized for Autodesk applications. We'll probably put much less of them on warranty too! Out of a 2000 computer park we put several of them on warranty repairs every week.