Recommendation on Buying a Desktop Tower for casual browsing & semi-pro Photo/Video editing

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dennismv

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Hio! I am looking for some assistance as far as acquiring a new system. Wanted to get some advice.

I want to get a system fairly soon, as in within this week. My budget being $1200-1600. I am looking for Desktop only (CPU + Mem + MB + Video, etc). Do not care about things outside of that (like keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, etc) at this point.


Using computer for general things like youtube, music, browsing, but also photo/video editing, and transcoding - things like Adobe suite - photoshop & premiere. Computer is for home use. I do want it to be responsive but not cray cray to where I'm just burning cash on things. Basically I am trying to find a good match for me.

Also I'm a photographer & not a gamer if that matters. I do not play games, and I never dabbed into overclocking, nor care much about pushing my system to a limit. I rather it be good & stable.

Typically I have built my own systems in the past and enjoyed doing so. But now I just want to a system reasonably quickly, without doing much research (as I usually do when buying my own), and I want something cool.

And so I went to Best Buy and saw this: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypo...-hard-drive-black-red/5727100.p?skuId=5727100
I thought it was cool.

However, I do *not* need another HDD or SSD (I already have those). I also do not need another computer case (happened to have one already), which is *why I am thinking of building my own* as a possibility, but *do not want to spend time doing that*.

I have also seen a decent system for $700 without a dedicated video card for which I can get a card myself.

So, some questions - do you think the above-linked system fairly priced?
Would you advise buying one at Best Buy?
Would you recommend any other options?

TL;DR: I don't feel like building my own (tower) right now, so I want to buy one. But before going out and buying something like the above-linked system, I wanted to check if there are some obvious cheaper/more performant/other options available that I am not considering.

Looking for your thoughts! Thanks!
 
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what are those attached pics for? they don't make any sense.

What percentage of your usage is video editing and encoding? What resolution videos?

I wouldn't buy that one listed, price seems high for what you are getting and it's generic. If people aren't building I usually tell them to build something at the online Dell store.

I'd say at this point if you can wait until next month get something with the new 6/12 coffee lake that will be coming out. It will be a fantastic all-rounder that will last for years. If you are very hardcore into video work though then you can go Skylake-X right now if you want.
 
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I'd say video is less than 10% of my usage. Resolution typically 1080p, 60fps. I have cameras capable of doing 4K, but I haven't used it much really. I may at some point.

I am not very hardcore into video. My situation is that ..my roommate's computer was given away, and he has no computer. The plan is to give my current system I am using, to him, and get me a new system. As such, I cannot really wait, or.. he cannot really wait a month without having a computer. I mean he won't die, but then it will be inconvenient.

So I wanted to get something within the next 2-3 days, or this week. That is, it doesn't have to be today, but something fairly soon. I'm also looking at NewEgg systems, where maybe I can find something that suits me.

But ... why do you say the on linked was high priced for what I'm getting? If I price one out on Dell, will it be cheaper? Or rather will it be more specific to my needs? That is,, .is Best Buy Overcharging for their systems?
 
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Do you live near a Microcenter?
So you don't want to build one but you have a case, ssd, and hdd already? Well you can't get around not buying a case without building it yourself...
What about OS? If you have to buy I'd look for a cheap OEM key on ebay.

Based on these numbers though a 1050 ti is more than enough for your needs:
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Photoshop-CC-2017-NVIDIA-GeForce-GPU-Performance-899/

This seems like a better deal.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-v...e-1tb-hard-drive-gray/5738000.p?skuId=5738000
Toss a $150 1050 ti in it and your good to go.

If you did want to build you could go cheap:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fFfRcc

Or very nice:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/L2RMsJ
 
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I am at the Microcenter now it's about half an hour away from me. Operating system is Windows 10 probably professional version.

That's right, I don't want to build one because I want it now and building my way will take a little bit of time. Because if I build one myself I will take some time to choose my parts at little bit and then spend a good 2-3 days assembling at probably so basically I want it now and buying it is the way to go even if I have some parts already.

I'm going to go to the Microcenter and I hope I get something good enough. I'm mostly concerned about getting something good. I think I won't bother to try to squeeze out the absolute best price and just get something.

Attached deal is getting my attention now.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/473495/g419_desktop_computer

Going with Powerspec g419. I'm thinking the case looks pretty plain and the video card is a little too powerful for my needs, debating whether to just build it from parts.

Components are "brand name" but proprietary. For example, try to find a PowerSpec case (only) on Amazon. .. or Newegg (nope). Video card is not EVGA, but proprietary I forgot what name.
 

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One of the reviews from last week posted they got it on sale for $1299, which at that price its very good. I count up over $1300 worth of parts. Evga 750 psu, cooler master hsf, and case looks pretty decent. I guess just up to you if you want to spend the extra for more gaming power than you need.
 
Daleon said:
One of the reviews from last week posted they got it on sale for $1299, which at that price its very good. I count up over $1300 worth of parts. Evga 750 psu, cooler master hsf, and case looks pretty decent. I guess just up to you if you want to spend the extra for more gaming power than you need.
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I'll have to look for it & read it. I got the box from the store, still packed, while I am giving myself a grace period while I decide if I want to keep it.
I am used to building my own from parts where I select each part, and thus can pick my case, my video/etc. Here I get everything packaged up without per-part choice.
I am concerned I might miss that "personal connection" you get with a machine when you build it yourself. It's like I am adopting foster machine.
I will be unpacking likely tomorrow.
 
Nice, once you get it opened up confirm the parts. Looks like it should have 2x8GB Gskill 3200. Prolly not C14 though. Zotac's are fine as long as you don't hear any coil whine. Can't tell what brand SSD, but its SATA3 not NVMe so very minor neg. A 500GB instead of a 250GB would be nicer also. Can't really find much to ding about it other than AIO cooler would be much better for a 7700K.
 
Hey, before I go ahead and open it, is there any reason to not like the system? I'm asking, because once I open it it's much harder to return it.

For example let's say I won't care about cash difference for up to $300 , as far as saving money goes, but other than that, is there any reason to dump the system and look for something else?

For example, is coffee Lake worth waiting for? Is getting a better case or video card or power supply or something else, worth the hassle of building your own system? Etc
 
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Not really. To build something better with just the parts you need it would still cost this much or more.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kZCQkT
And that is without Windows and its doubtful you would make use of a 1080 over a 1070 unless you get a higher end monitor.

As for waiting for Coffee, thought you were in a hurry heh. Its always worth waiting 1 month for new cpu's. You could get quite a boost in performance and longevity for the same price or get the same or better performance for lower price.
 
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