Need advice re: getting a new computer

[VintageGeek]

Okay so our one-computer household is about to turn into a three-computer household. The kids have been gifted their grandparents old machine (which is still pretty nice), and we've decided it's time for me to get one of my own.

Here is what I want to do with it:

-Work on my proofreading/virtual assisting business

-Play LOTRO with my husband (and other games as well)

Originally we'd planned on getting a laptop, but then I realized I wanted to be able to game as well. So here are the choices:

DESKTOP:

Pros:

-Could buy or build one that can handle the games I want to play with no problem and little cost (as in, less than $1000)

-Would be more comfortable

-Would be easy to upgrade, making it more economical in the long run

Cons:

-Obviously, I can't take it with me anywhere I want to go (for instance, into a quiet room to work if the kids are acting up)

-Would need to get a new desk and find the space for it (space is very limited)

LAPTOP:

Pros:

-Could easily manage my entire business from anywhere I want to go

-Wouldn't need to set up a permanent space in the house for it

-Could just pick one and go, without any need for hunting down parts and building myself

Cons:

-Would be too expensive to purchase one powerful enough for gaming

-Not comfortable - I don't really enjoy using laptops

-Could easily be broken/lost, and if something breaks after warranty it's harder to replace (or so I understand)

The only solution I've come up with so far is to go ahead and get a desktop, then wait a few months and save up for a netbook, which I could use for work in a pinch if I have to get away. But I don't know if I like that idea or not.

Any thoughts from fellow nerds?

[theanne]

I personally feel like desktops are useless since they're not mobile and I never am working in the same place.

That said it seems like with your lifestyle a desktop might make sense?

However, if it were me in your specific case I'd be not getting the desktop and saving up for a few months to get a legit powerful laptop. You can always get an extra keyboard/mouse to plug in when you're at your desk and then it's still portable when you gotta get places.

I'm a Mac person or I'd have more advice on the matter as far as specific thoughts for a powerful but affordable PC.

[bigm141414]

I'd say get a desktop and then setup a VPN so you can use a cheap netbook while on the go. Just remote in to your desktop at home and use your netbook as a mobile screen. Only downside would be you'd have to find a wifi spot or tether to your (jailbroken) phone in a pinch.

I enjoy building computers although I had to stop as it got a little out of control (gaming desktop, low power desktop, HTPC, and laptop to control them all, bwahahaha!). You save a lot of money by doing this.

[VintageGeek]

If I could afford a Mac, I almost wouldn't be having this conversation at all - it'd be a MacBook, no doubt. I don't know too much about the newer Macs, but I've always preferred them.

But yeah, it'll be a PC if we go the desktop route.

[VintageGeek]

@bigm: I've never even heard of a VPN, but Wikipedia tells me it's awesome, so I'll definitely consider that.

I've never built a computer before, but it's on my bucket list, so the idea of hunting for parts and putting them together myself fills me with great joy. I gotta tell you...my current day job is hugely unfulfilling. So much so that building my own computer would be a really top-tier accomplishment that would make me feel better about myself as a person.

[kahn265]

The cost of laptops that can do moderate gaming has come down a great deal recently.

I'm looking at this one for my next laptop which will pretty much be a dedicated "Star Wars: The Old Republic" system:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/series/category/notebooks/dv6t_series/3/computer_store

Specced for what I want: $768

Colordark umber

Operating systemGenuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

OS and recovery mediaSystem Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Processor2nd generation Intel® Dual Core i5-2410M (2.3 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz

Graphics card1GB GDDR5 Radeon HD 6490M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]

Memory4GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)

Hard driveFREE Upgrade to 640GB 5400RPM Hard Drive

Office softwareNo Additional Office Software

Security softwareNo additional security software

Primary battery6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 5.5 hours of battery life

Display15.6" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366x768)

Primary optical driveSuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support

PersonalizationHP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader

NetworkingIntel 802.11b/g/n WLAN with Wireless Display Support

KeyboardStandard Keyboard with numeric keypad

What price range are you looking at?

[bigm141414]

I've never built a computer before,

Newegg.com will be your friend.

[MrHyde]

It's probably not the answer you are looking for but I generally go for a split approach. I have a fairly large workstation at home (though not extremely expensive) and a fairly low-end laptop for mobility. The laptop will be fine for most of my work needs (save for some computationally intensive tasks, which I can offload to some server as needed), while remaining cheap enough so I won't worry too much about it being stolen, or falling on the ground, not to mention I can make the 6-cell battery it comes with last about 5 hours since it consumes very little power. And the desktop workstation will allow me to be more productive and do computationally intensive stuff if required, not to mention I get a lot more screen real state and a bigger keyboard.

Martín.

[VintageGeek]

@bigm: We also have this place called Altex - I love Altex. Yeah, newegg and Altex. Mmmm, good times.

@kahn: That's actually really good information to have - the last time I seriously looked for laptops I was pretty discouraged by the prices, but that sounds pretty doable. Price range, well...it really has to be less than $1000. The lower the better, obviously. And I'd like it to last more than a few years if possible.

[caithnard]

If you go the laptop route, I'd suggest getting an extra monitor (and keyboard/mouse, for gaming). I'm not a gamer, but I do do a lot of CAD and graphics on my laptop without any problems--laptops have come really far in the last five years in terms of processor power/graphics cards.

For me, I need something portable, so a desktop isn't possible (I actually have two laptops, a 14 inch that I use for CAD and a netbook that I use for school).

If you decide to get a desktop, and end up building your own, you should see if there's a Fry's Electronics nearby, it's a great resource for building a computer (it's like a store version of Newegg).

[67alecto]

If you're looking for a mid to high end gaming system, I highly recommend Digital Storm. They are located in California, but obviously ship anywhere.

Their warranty program is awesome...3-years included, even for things like overclocking. I had my system almost 2 years when the motherboard failed...they replaced the MB, video card (with a new one), RAM, and Harddrive all under warranty while they had it (copying my old HD over automatically).

For a long time, if you registered on their site (you can use their forums to get advise on the system you need from both other users as well as the DS people), they would send you a coupon for 10 or 15% off, too.

www.digitalstormonline.com

[VintageGeek]

@67alecto: Awesome, that sounds great! I will definitely check them out, thanks!

[zielperson]

Get a friend who knows this stuff and build your own desktop.

Not only is it (very, very nerdy) fun, it is also cheaper than buying pre-assembled ones.

I spend around 1K every 3-4 years on a new rig that is very, very decent.

If you are looking to game, laptops are out IMHO.

::zielperson::

[Brometheus]

Check out these threads 2 threads (links below). Arstechnica walks you through how to build your own. It's actually not that hard. I do it every 2-3 years. You (on average) save $300-500, or even more depending on how serious your build is.

Granted, you have to do your own tech support, but if you join a good forum (arstechnica's forum is pretty newbie friendly), there's no real issue with people walking you through it. Granted, this is my 4th build and I've been working with computers for about 15 years, but the new hardware is very user friendly compared to the good ol' days.

http://arstechnica.com/ask-ars/2011/04/how-to-build-your-own-computer-ask-ars-diy-series-part-i.ars

http://arstechnica.com/software/guides/2011/04/ask-ars-computer-building-diy-series-part-ii-software.ars

If you want to buy a computer, I know that there's a ton of options. But for under a grand, I'd just buy it from Costco.

90 day return policy, and 2 year warranty. Their own in-house tech support based in the US. Hard to go wrong with it. Though

I admit I'm biased, seeing as how I work for them.

[67alecto]

Everyone should build their own computer once. One, you'll be able to say you did it...that's instant geek-cred right there.

But more importantly, anytime you can learn how something is supposed to work, it makes it a lot easier to figure out why it isn't working. It will save you untold money down the road if you can do more than the basics for yourself.

That being said, having a 3-year warranty on a high performance machine is like a warm blanket at night

The one that I built was back around 2000. It was a P3 733Mhz with a Hercules Prophet video card (the first with DDR). I was cutting edge for about 3 months.