Recommend new computer for Win10: What’s out there?

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I’m looking to upgrade my computer now that Windows 10 is out, and I prefer to configure my own machine, preferably from a major vendor. The last time I did this was around 2008 and I ended up with a Dell XPS. (It was upgraded to an Aurora by Dell when I had a lot of problems with my XPS in 2010. I quickly fell in love with Alienware.)

It seems that there are very few places that will allow you to do this with any real choices. Dell is useless. HP isn’t much better. I want to be able to select the amount of memory and type of storage at a minimum. (512 SSD + 7,2000 4 TB drive or a pair of 2 TB, e.g.) The only thing close is Alienware, but the Area 51 weighs in at a whopping 65lbs. Wow!! And even they don’t offer a Blu-ray burner anymore.

Any other options that I’m missing?

Thanks.

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I went to a local PC technician who I had already had dealings with and felt was good. I specified what I wanted, 16Gb, SSD, Win 8.1 Pro, etc. etc. and he produced the box. So far I’m very pleased with it. I will upgrade to 10 before too much longer.

Of course you can specify 10 from the get go – no upgrades to worry about then (perhaps I should have waited a couple of months!).

Like you, I went through various sites, but didn’t see how I could get what I wanted from them.

Eliminate spare time: start programming PowerShell

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Build it yourself from components. As long as you choose reasonable kit it will be great, not to mention the satisfaction of a self build.
See this Tom’s article for a guide to systems – from $700 to $1700.

cheers, Paul

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I thought about self build, but decided I didn’t have the time – did I say I’m retired ? But it is certainly another option, and there seem to be plenty of guides on how to do it out there. Not to mention asking on this rather good lounge!

Eliminate spare time: start programming PowerShell

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Interesting ideas. I’m so not mechanical; far more of a software person than hardware, so a self-build wouldn’t be my first option. On the other hand, I’m not seeing any other major producers being mentioned, which does seem a bit odd. Dell used to offer all sorts of build options. I think HP did too. I guess it’s just not cost effective.

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Are there any other providers of reputation that will build PC’s as Dell used to?

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Most of us don’t like

major producers

as you phrase it. It does have its advantages, one guy to blame when things go south. oops you are from VA did not mean anything derogatory by that. I am out of that loop but it’s hard to believe the big boys don’t offer that any more especially if you are in the Alienware price range Maybe the local VAR is a good bet,
:cheers:

ps and w/ a local you know where he lives :;)::;):

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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If you like Alienware and can’t find a configuration you like you might have better luck calling them than trying to configure it online.

Joe

--Joe

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Wavy: Yep, I may have to do that.

JoeP517: A call might be a good idea too. I usually do that anyway, esp. before I lay down any large amount of money on the final product.

BTW: On a second search, I did come across the HP Envy 750qe which is closer to what I want than I thought.

http://store.hp.com/us/en/ConfigureView?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&catEntryId=978654&quantity=1

I wonder how you tell if one of these models is the last one for the current year? The 750qe has potential, but maybe there’s a newer model close to release, especially now that Win10 is out…..

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There’s always a newer model close to release!

cheers, Paul

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Not quite right Paul, there’s always a new model just after you’ve bought the latest!

Eliminate spare time: start programming PowerShell

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From the Wall Street Journal today: “Dell gave me an early peek at its smokin’ new XPS 8900, a soon-to-be-launched top freestanding tower computer. It contains Intel ’s Core i7-6700K processor, one of the new chips awesomely code-named Skylake.” http://www.wsj.com/articles/your-next-computer-should-be-a-desktop-1439316558

I’ve read less authoritatively that all the manufacturers are planning new fall releases due out soon.

The article is an interesting read. I’d be interested in your thoughts.

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> awesomely code-named Skylake

What’s awesome about that weird image of water held aloft? Will it rain on your parade? Maybe flood you out…

cheers, Paul

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I think I’d hang slack on buying any Win 10 machine as for me, Win 10 is still a work in progress and I think MS have rushed its release by giving themselves a deadline for its release date.

As for their flagship browser Edge, I think MS have already said there will be an update to fix some problems that have been reported – they should have tested it more thoroughly themselves so that it didn’t need a software update, but they seemed to have shot themselves in the foot with all of the hype on that.

There are tv ads on for Win 10 where it shows kids who’ll no longer have to do what those with older systems have to because when they grow up, they will have Win 10 – hope it doesn’t take them that long to get it right :D:

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Yeah, i won’t buy a new PC until they come with W10 already installed, and I want to give them a couple of months to work out some more kinks. I’ve read about Edge. I’ll stick with Mozilla for now.

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I’d stick with Firefox regardless.

K

Yeah, i won’t buy a new PC until they come with W10 already installed, and I want to give them a couple of months to work out some more kinks. I’ve read about Edge. I’ll stick with Mozilla for now.

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After installing Win10 several times on different machines I would have this to say: Any machine that runs Win 7 at any speed will run Win 10 slightly better. I don’t think anyone needs to hugely update any machine that runs well with Win 7 or Win 8.1.

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Any machine that runs Win 7 at any speed will run Win 10 slightly better

The web would disagree with you – this site has plenty of posts reporting problems.

cheers, Paul

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The best reason for people to update PCs is the Win10 EOL (End Of Life) date. I will upgrade eventually…just do NOT want to do it now. Even then, I may run Classic Shell under Win10 (http://www.classicshell.net). It works great under Win8.1 for those out there that like the Win7 “look”.

K

After installing Win10 several times on different machines I would have this to say: Any machine that runs Win 7 at any speed will run Win 10 slightly better. I don’t think anyone needs to hugely update any machine that runs well with Win 7 or Win 8.1.

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Why not try Micro Center in Fairfax, VA? See what they have to say. I know several people are happy with Micro Center in St. Louis (thousands of people probably). Or, other small shops work with dozens of customers who have hundreds of computers between them.

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I think that waiting is the best option as long as you are not desperate. The new Intel motherboards and chipsets are due out in the fall. That would be the time to buy IMO.

Joe

--Joe

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If you decide to self build we will be glad to assist in any way we can.
…After all, when you build, you get everything you want and nothing you don’t.

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Self build is actually very easy, you just have to take your time and triple check everything.

cheers, Paul

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I have used this site for servers, but they also let you build desktops.

http://www.portatech.com/

Ron

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Personally, I tried Windows 10 last week, didn’t like it because it removed many of the admin options available in earlier editions, ( such as ” run, from Start Menu”, ” disable Windows Defender” ). The one category I would recommend you MUST make sure you cover, is to get as much R A M as you can, preferably four slots.
Windows 10 is greedy, especially as a lot of the ” app/programs” it installs can’t be removed, or even turned off. Once my Windows 8.1 finally becomes redundant, I’ll have switched to a Linux flavour, as Microsoft seem hell-bent on making sure any apps or programs you want to use can only be accessed online from their Store. Remember, R A M !

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Personally, I tried Windows 10 last week, didn’t like it because it removed many of the admin options available in earlier editions, ( such as ” run, from Start Menu”, ” disable Windows Defender” ). The one category I would recommend you MUST make sure you cover, is to get as much R A M as you can, preferably four slots.
Windows 10 is greedy, especially as a lot of the ” app/programs” it installs can’t be removed, or even turned off. Once my Windows 8.1 finally becomes redundant, I’ll have switched to a Linux flavour, as Microsoft seem hell-bent on making sure any apps or programs you want to use can only be accessed online from their Store. Remember, R A M !

Right click the Start button for Power Menu. Run is there. If you install a proper third party a/v solution Defender will be automatically disabled. Why do you need to disable it otherwise? If you are running a personal PC you can install anything you want.

Joe

--Joe

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Try http://www.classicshell.net. Although I have not tried this on Win10 yet, their forums indicate that it works under Win10. I do use it on a laptop and desktop under Win8.1. Excellent product…makes Win8.1 looks like Win7.

K

Personally, I tried Windows 10 last week, didn’t like it because it removed many of the admin options available in earlier editions, ( such as ” run, from Start Menu”, ” disable Windows Defender” ). The one category I would recommend you MUST make sure you cover, is to get as much R A M as you can, preferably four slots.
Windows 10 is greedy, especially as a lot of the ” app/programs” it installs can’t be removed, or even turned off. Once my Windows 8.1 finally becomes redundant, I’ll have switched to a Linux flavour, as Microsoft seem hell-bent on making sure any apps or programs you want to use can only be accessed online from their Store. Remember, R A M !

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Dell still has couple of configurable models available. Check it out here: http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-8700-se/pd?ref=PD_Family

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If you do self-build, make sure you create an account at the excellent PCpartPicker[/url], their incompatibility and mismatch checks seem very solid. Check parts reviews on Newegg and Amazon, Newegg’s site has better selection fine-tuning than Amazon.

If you don’t build, I’ve always found Computer Renaissance stores pretty good and friendly. Worth a chat if there’s a store near you, and they’d probably install Win7 or 8.1 so you can wait for Win10 to be fixed. It’s always a good idea to build a relationship with your local smaller but good computer store–there should be reviews on Yelp and all other such sites.

Lugh.
~
Alienware Aurora R6; Win10 Home x64 1803; Office 365 x32
i7-7700; GeForce GTX 1060; 16GB DDR4 2400; 1TB SSD, 256GB SSD, 4TB HD

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I wonder how many people use pcpartpicker to build a server (at least for home use). Looks pretty expensive way to go to me.

K

If you do self-build, make sure you create an account at the excellent PCpartPicker[/url], their incompatibility and mismatch checks seem very solid. Check parts reviews on Newegg and Amazon, Newegg’s site has better selection fine-tuning than Amazon.

If you don’t build, I’ve always found Computer Renaissance stores pretty good and friendly. Worth a chat if there’s a store near you, and they’d probably install Win7 or 8.1 so you can wait for Win10 to be fixed. It’s always a good idea to build a relationship with your local smaller but good computer store–there should be reviews on Yelp and all other such sites.

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I wonder how many people use pcpartpicker to build a server (at least for home use). Looks pretty expensive way to go to me.

I recommend pcpartpicker for the compatibility and mismatch checks it does. I buy most computer stuff thru Newegg, or locally. I remember I didn’t even consider the place for buying, so I probably arrived at the same conclusion as you did. Mine’s not a server though.

Lugh.
~
Alienware Aurora R6; Win10 Home x64 1803; Office 365 x32
i7-7700; GeForce GTX 1060; 16GB DDR4 2400; 1TB SSD, 256GB SSD, 4TB HD

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I prefer to deal with my local supplier Microcenter because it a lot easier to return a defective or non compatible part than mail order. They are also pretty good at determining compatible parts.

Jerry

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I bought my first computer 15 years ago and it was a Dell. When it came time to replace the Dell seven years ago I saw the same problem I see today, which was a lack of customization. So, I designed the replacement computer myself and had it assembled by a small, local computer shop. I couldn’t have been happier about its performance. No hardware failure of any kind, it was quiet, and used a relatively low amount of electricity. Sadly, that local computer shop closed last year. Earlier this year I decided to replace that second computer, so I needed a new assembler since I’m not interested in doing that myself.

After doing some research I settled on two companies: AVADirect Custom Computers (http://www.avadirect.com) and Puget Custom Computers (http://www.pugetsystems.com). You can see some of their customer feedback, along with Dell and HP, here: http://www.resellerratings.com/store/AVA_Direct , http://resellerratings.com/store/Puget_Custom_Computers , http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Dell , and http://resellerratings.com/store/Hewlett_Packard . At least take a look at both of these companies and play around with their system configurators. It may be confusing because you’re working with brand name components instead of a brand name computer with unknown components. If you find the configurators too daunting, then e-mail or telephone either company and explain what you need. They will work with you to design a computer that fits your needs.

Both of these companies are probably going to be more expensive than a mass market computer and that’s primarily because they use brand name components, assemble in the USA, have significant, time consuming stress testing, provide you with the operating system media (excluding Windows 10), offer superior customer service, and include lifetime technical support and repair labor. But, you’ll get a computer that’s likely to be more reliable than any mass market computer, and probably quieter and more energy efficient.

I decided to buy the new computer from AVADirect a few months ago. I used their online system configurator to create the parts list and they assembled it. So far, it’s been a terrific computer.

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Or another idea check out MaximumPC mag. They typically have 3 builds listed depending on budget, saves a bit of research. http://www.maximumpc.com/build-a-pc/

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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Thanks cloudsandskye for the tip about avadirect. Never heard of them but it is incredible the number of options that they have for their configurations. In addition they have a three year warranty included in their price. I am familiar with Puget; I think their prices are somewhat high. I was going to buy a new HP with the 6700K chip and a NVIDIA 980 GPU, (actually bought it then cancelled it on Monday) and avadirect prices seem fairly comparable. I have read that HP uses cheap motherboards. Two Dell desktops I had each lasted three years when the motherboards failed. So I now want a name brand.

A plus for avadirect is the option to order the NVIDIA 980 ti as this GPU which is unavailable for the HP at about the same price. Have also been looking at Maingear, who can arrange financing for me, but their primary product, the Shift is too big to fit under my desk. I did notice that the Intel Series 750: 400 GB is higher than Maingear’s price.

Gigabyte just announced yesterday its Z170X-UD5 TH motherboard. This has Thunderbolt 3. Not that I really need it but probably wait to see if avadirect will have it as an option or preferably I will contact them.

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WOW I never even heard of the Z170 chipset! Sounds cool. I am obsolete once again!

:cheers:

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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WOW I never even heard of the Z170 chipset! Sounds cool. I am obsolete once again!

:cheers:

Yes it is for the Intel Skylake chips, has more stuff such as U.S.B. 3.1 on some of the boards. Actually the consensus by the “experts” seems to be that this new motherboard, the Z170 is the best thing about Skylake as the increase in speed, etc. isn’t that significant.

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Well I feel a little better

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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Glad to hear that!

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