"f86sabre" (f86sabre)
07/01/2020 at 19:59 • Filed to: Computers
1
18|
"f86sabre" (f86sabre)
07/01/2020 at 19:59 • Filed to: Computers | 1
| 18 |
With two minions in school, and the likelihood of digital learning being a thing for a while, I am thinking about getting an off the shelf desktop machine.We have an aging machine that I built a number of years ago, so we are about due.Having a second computer will allow both of them to get their work done with limited conflicts. What are the specs That I should be looking for a homework machine that could handle some middle of the road gaming? I’d prefer to keep it under $500.
Note: I get a discount with Dell and HP for work.
Edit: purchase made! Thanks for the notes.
Phyrxes once again has a wagon!
> f86sabre
07/01/2020 at 20:10 |
|
Full desktop setup needed? Keyboard, mouse, monitor, and the desktop all at that price poi nt ?
|
f86sabre
> Phyrxes once again has a wagon!
07/01/2020 at 20:11 |
|
Just the desktop. I have accessories and monitors.
Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
> f86sabre
07/01/2020 at 20:23 |
|
My kids have been using chrome books for school. They are cheap, reliable and for our needs work really well.
chaozbandit
> f86sabre
07/01/2020 at 20:24 |
|
If they don’t need the absolute newest hardware and you can forsee light computing in their future, have a look at off-lease business desktops. Lenovo, HP, Dell all have plenty of cheap computing available though GPU upgradability is fairly limited. The plus side is you can pick up a small form factor for cheap to get you by for a few years. The other vendors might take a bit of scouring, but Dell has a portal and here’s a link to get you started. You’re looking at ~300 usd for up to a 4th gen i7, or ~500 for up to a 6th gen i7; look for the Optimex 9000 3020 chassis if you want to toss in a GPU down the road.
https://www.dellrefurbished.com/desktop-computers
Nom De Plume
> f86sabre
07/01/2020 at 20:28 |
|
Through work as in on Z/Elitedesk or any HP computer? You might also consider looking at HP Business Outlet to see if Pandemic discounts are better than work ones. With current business needs leaning heavily towards online video meetings the previous major downfall of these is almost nonexistent anymore .
Ebay for new or gently used surplus with majority of warranty remaining can also be a good place to look.
My personal choice would Microcenter/Craigslist/already owned custom desktop without any HP bloatware. $3 W10 Pro license off ebay and away they go for well under $500.
Gone
> f86sabre
07/01/2020 at 20:29 |
|
I am of no help but I did just b uy some parts to upgrade my kid’s circa 2009 box though lol. I might put the old parts in my my old 2006 box even .. . I am curious to the answers you get.
|
f86sabre
> chaozbandit
07/01/2020 at 20:29 |
|
Cool. Thanks
|
f86sabre
> Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
07/01/2020 at 20:30 |
|
These basically save everything to the cloud, right? No issues with durability? My son is 13 and things tend to break.
|
f86sabre
> Nom De Plume
07/01/2020 at 20:33 |
|
Good notes. Thanks. The outlet is a good idea.
|
Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
> f86sabre
07/01/2020 at 20:44 |
|
Yes they use google apps for your programs and that is saved on the google cloud online. You can access this from any computer with an internet connection.
someassemblyrequired
> f86sabre
07/01/2020 at 20:56 |
|
Costco has good deals on mid-range desktops from time to time. A good used CAD workstation can also be a good option, especially with a graphics card.
Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
> f86sabre
07/01/2020 at 21:43 |
|
That is solid advice, but as a teacher, I have been on both ends of the distance learning and teleconferencing deal using Chromebooks and in my experience, they fall flat quickly, especially if multi-tasking. There are a number of very knowled geable subscribers here and I am not their level of geekness, but I have a lot of experience helping friends purchase computers and then supporting them after the fact. The sweet spot I’ve found has been used Dell laptops that I buy on Ebay. $350 can buy you a really nice one, something robust, something off lease, something that is about five years old and cost three or four times that much when new. Plenty of horsepower for streaming video, for multi-tasking, for web conferencing, for running real computer applications like Office. The web camera and video output will likely be significantly better than on offer with a Chromebook. Just for giggles, you might look on Ebay at Dell Latitude — it’s what I always recomment — at the price point where you want to be. If you see something, shoot me a reply or an email; I’ve had good results from the hunt.
|
f86sabre
> Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/02/2020 at 09:06 |
|
Is there a seller that you recommend?
|
Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
> f86sabre
07/02/2020 at 09:45 |
|
I don't have one that I stick with. When I'm working with someone, usually what I'll do is ask them what their budget is. Then I'll add maybe 50 bucks to that for my time and effort, which is usually on the order of 2 to 4 hours, and then look online at eBay at Dell latitudes in the $300 price range. See what I can find then study the listing. So it takes a bit of effort on my part tucking into the listings to find one that looks good. And then it's just using my own sense of whether I think the seller comes across reasonable or not. Make sure they have a lot of previous deals, unless they don't, and it's obviously something like a guy selling his grandfather's camera or something like that. I don't know, I guess this is kind of a ramble... But to your question, no, I don't have a particular seller. Would you like me to poke around and see what I can come up with?
|
f86sabre
> Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/02/2020 at 12:24 |
|
I appreciate it, but I’ve got it. Spent some time bouncing eBay ads off of Dell and HPs outlet/factory stores so it is getting clearer. I was looking at seller numbers as well as you mentioned along with return policies.
|
Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
> f86sabre
07/02/2020 at 13:21 |
|
The key thing is to look at, and look for, very good images. Study the corners of the laptop case, in particular. Look closely for dings and dents and cracks. Look at the condition of the keyboard. Personally, I like cosmetic issues that lower the price because of condition, but I look for banged-up corners indicating the thing’s been dropped. I don’t have to remind you of this, but don’t forget about a COA for Windows, and think about what you want for a hard drive: do you want the speed of an SSD, and also the reduced power consumption, or do you need storage space? (I always take speed over storage because cloud, et cetera.) I’d be curious to see what you wind up with. I’ve stuck faithfully with Dell for many years and many computers. Dell Latitude for lappies... Minimum 8 GB of RAM, 16 preferrabe.
|
f86sabre
> Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/02/2020 at 15:46 |
|
Made a purchase. Went with a Latitude E6420 with 16GB, 1TB SSD and Win 10 Pro. It’s probably more than he needs, but hopefully the RAM and HD will serve him well for a while. $469. Seller was kyman1530 with 16535 positive ratings. I had to double check that it has a webcam after I bought it. Looks like it does.
|
Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
> f86sabre
07/02/2020 at 16:58 |
|
That sounds like a very sound purchase. It’s lots of computer should serve him really well and then if he takes it over to his friend’s house or whatever it’ll have more capability and I shouldn’t be at all surprised if it was even part way decent at playing a game or two. That’s a good price point. You probably got yourself a lot of computer there. In my experience, by and large, sellers on eBay are pretty all right. And the one time I got screwed around here recently, I could have been more diligent but I was in a hurry. I came out ahead in that deal, though, it looks like... actually, folding at home came out ahead in that deal because the only reason I purchased the thing was to fold.