Need a new desktop

Do you want to go ahead and build one or go the route of buying a basic desktop and adding the SSD yourself? There's certainly no shortage of i5/8GB RAM desktops for office use, but SSDs are still mostly absent from the off-the-shelf desktop scene.

What kind of work do you do and what's your budget?

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Good question

I know I can get a lot more bang for buck if I build it, problem is I don't know how. Lol

It's for personal and home use so basic web browsing and videos. Streaming ESPN and Netflix.

Budget is a tough one. I don't mind spending 1,000 give or take a few hundred

I just see all in ones, touch screens, Etc and I'm overwhelmed.


I want a big screen, fast processor, plenty of memory and good graphics. Faster is always better so I gotta have a SSD.

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I have to say, for that budget, I'd build one. Check out some YouTube videos of how to build them and decide if it's something you could or want to do. They are really simple to build these days.

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Yeah honestly I wouldn't mind doing it.

I love projects and this would be something cool


I would need some recommendations so y'all might get tired of me. Lol

What's the best place to get all of this? Newegg? Amazon?

LSUtoo was a huge help on my dads desktop, so I might be hitting you up again soon.

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In that case, I wouldn't recommend anything but building one. I had fun building my first and wouldn't get tired of helping out at all.

I like Newegg, Amazon, and TigerDirect. I buy parts from whoever has the cheapest prices though.

Yeah, you could build a good one for that budget, but the issue is whether you really need a $1,000 PC for basic home use, even keeping in mind the fact that you want it to last a long time.
Speaking of longevity, go ahead and stop looking at all-in-ones. They are basically big-screen laptops without a battery.

Home/Office PCs aren't inherently better when custom-built, but you can certainly make them better (meaning, a lot of those basic $500 i5/8GB/1TB HDD desktops are not much cheaper as a DIY build, and you don't get tangibly higher-quality parts if saving money is the primary goal).

That said, you've already demonstrated an ability to follow directions, and having even the slightest interest in learning to build one yourself is a good enough reason to do it.

Here's a part list using just Newegg and Amazon inventory:

PCPartPicker part list: LINK
Price breakdown by merchant: LINK /

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4S ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 330R Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($96.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $705.92

This is essentially a gaming PC configuration minus the graphics card. This build could be scaled back with no perceptible loss in performance, but consider this a "premium" office build that gets you a few perks you normally won't find in an off-the-shelf. Low noise is one perk...not that your usage will likely ramp up the CPU much, but all of those off-the-shelf desktops use stock coolers that tend to get loud under load. The acoustics of the case and the after-market CPU cooler will make it near silent (but feel free to pick a different case if you want). Also, the motherboard has an M.2 slot that supports PCIe 3.0 x4 (which means, when they come down in price, you could buy something like the Samsung 950 Pro SSD, which are several times faster than the SSDs you've worked with).

It also includes a legit copy of Windows, so that's $90 you could chop right away, if desired.

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how much of a difference would it be going to an i7 and do you think its worth it?

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With the tasks you outlined, you won't see much benefit with going to an i7. I installed an i7 in my newest build, but I probably didn't need it and my tasks are much more demanding on the CPU.

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also, 8GB of RAM, thats it? i was looking at at least 12, preferably 16. do you think thats enough?

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I went with 16GB in this build, but again, you probably don't need that. I typically have several browser tabs, text editors, spreadsheets, PowerPoints, etc. open at once. If you aren't using this as your main work computer, stick to 8GB.

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also, since you didnt recommend a graphics card, where is a good place to start? i have an older version of a flight simulator i use to like to play but it got too choppy and i had to turn down the graphics all the way. id like to be able to whip that out again if i had something that could support it

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Again, I went with a Titan, but that's probably not something you need. I like to play RTSs at the highest setting, and figured I'd future-proof while I was at it. Honestly, I think the onboard graphics are probably enough to play an older flight simulator.

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There's certainly no shortage of i5/8GB RAM desktops for office use, but SSDs are still mostly absent from the off-the-shelf desktop scene. 

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If he orders from a place like CDW he can get a business desktop with an SSD at a decent price.

ETA... Nevermind. I see he wants to build one.