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[Lord Shonus]

I'm using an ASUS prebuild now (I did upgrade the GPU after a year and add a hard drive, but the former was an indulgence rather than necessary, and I could have avoided the HDD by not downloading so many "movies"). They are superb for the price.

In the case of the specific machine linked, it is a really good machine, but I don't know what 19,990 somethings is in any currency I'm familiar with, so I don't know if it's a good price.


EDIT: As for the comparison, they're actually pretty close to the same specs. The more expensive one has a much worse case, a larger hard drive, and integrated USB 3.0, while the cheaper one has more video ram (but possibly a slightly worse video card). Again, it's hard to judge without being familiar with the currency, but the larger hard drive and USB 3.0 would be very, very handy.

[Sappho]

Yes, it would be easier to convert the currency, wouldn't it. Those are Czech crowns. The cheaper one is about $1000 and the more expensive one is about $1400. By way of comparison, my monthly salary is about $1500 during the school year, $1000 now, and I still have rent and other bills to pay, so this is really a big purchase for me.

In general, electronics tend to be more expensive here than elsewhere, though that has gotten better in recent years. I have no idea how much this would cost in another country, but this electronics store, Alza, is widely regarded as the cheapest around. I might be able to save a few hundred crowns if I really dig around elsewhere, but it's not likely, and this store also has pretty good service in case anything goes wrong, so I'll probably go with them. At the very least, if I get a machine and it turns out to be garbage, I can easily return it or exchange it there.

[Lord Shonus]

That's not as bad a markup as I thought it would be, actually.

Well, either would probably run the majority of games in a playable state, so it comes down to whether or not you need the higher USB speed or the hard drive capacity. If those aren't useful to you, get the cheaper one. Either should suit your needs well enough for a few years.

[Sappho]

I don't need the hard drive. I've already got an external one. I'm not even sure what kind of USB slots I have now. I primarily use them for keyboard, mouse, cooling pad (which won't be necessary), and my external hard drive (which I sometimes run video off of). I think watching the video would be the only thing that might need higher speed, and right now I've got the hard drive hooked through a USB splitter along with my mouse, going to one of the slots which I think is only 2.0... So I'd say I probably don't need the 3.0. What sorts of things would that normally be used for, in case I ever decide I want one?

I do plan to get a drawing tablet eventually. But I would imagine that 2.0 would be enough for that...?

Thanks very much for all the helpful replies. The end of my laptop nightmare is in sight!

[Lord Shonus]

The biggest thing you would want USB 3.0 for is file transfer to an external hard drive, as it takes about a tenth as long to transfer with a USB 3.0 device and port as it does with the 2.0 standard (which you probably have currently). Sounds unlikely that you have a use for it at this time that justifies paying that much extra.

[Sappho]

In that case, the cheaper computer wins! Hooray!

I think I'll be able to afford it in October, unless I can persuade my boss to help out in some way. Many, many thanks for all the patient answers to my questions. I will dream of my new computer every night until i finally have enough money to buy it...

[MaximumZero]

What about Acer makes them no good?

It's mostly quality of parts used, but there are other issues. They're also e-machines, the revamped Gateway, Escom, and the revamped Packard-Bell. Acers are cheap because they cut so many corners that their boxes should be spheres. I've seen several machines, not just a few, with missing/screwed up drivers right out of the box when setting them up on the shelves. Their customer service is beyond terrible (although you have B12 tech support.) Acer machines are built to be fairly inexpensive when compared to similar builds. Since you're going desktop, I'd look into ASUS, iBuyPower, MSI, Lenovo, and HP (although I will admit that I'm biased toward HP. Take this recommendation with a grain of salt. My HP has been a real workhorse, although I have upgraded the power supply and video card.)

[Gentlefish]

Woooo I have a GateWay. It works okay but for a $600 you'd have expected it to have a goddamn decent videocard.

[gigaraptor487]

Any body ever had a Viglen? They were worse than an simple Acer. I had to reinstall the OS from scratch (Windows XP Professional) because there was a lot of bloatware and it functioned rather poorly on what was then a fast Pentium 4 CPU. Also, the build quality is terrible, the case seems almost to be designed to irritate me.

[Gentlefish]

Oh yeah here's where I... Think? The video card would go? I'll hunt down the specs just to be certain what kind of MOBO it is but is this correct?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Rose]

Correct. That's a PCIe slot, where the videocard would go. You can get a decent one for about $200 or so.

[MaximumZero]

That really depends on your definition of decent. Mine was $140ish, if I remember correctly.

[Rose]

True, but above that, the value for money tends to go downwards. I was just going by how much my GTX460 costed when I got it. (1400 rupees)

[MaximumZero]

Definitely agree with you, there. Unless you're doing something like cryptography, you don't need a $400 video card.

[Sappho]

What about Acer makes them no good?

It's mostly quality of parts used, but there are other issues. They're also e-machines, the revamped Gateway, Escom, and the revamped Packard-Bell. Acers are cheap because they cut so many corners that their boxes should be spheres. I've seen several machines, not just a few, with missing/screwed up drivers right out of the box when setting them up on the shelves. Their customer service is beyond terrible (although you have B12 tech support.) Acer machines are built to be fairly inexpensive when compared to similar builds. Since you're going desktop, I'd look into ASUS, iBuyPower, MSI, Lenovo, and HP (although I will admit that I'm biased toward HP. Take this recommendation with a grain of salt. My HP has been a real workhorse, although I have upgraded the power supply and video card.)

Sounds like Dell, then. I'm glad I asked on here. I might have gotten that Acer.

I'm definitely going to get the cheaper ASUS, in that case. I keep the store page for it open in a tab for me to look at hungrily whenever I have to put a damp cloth on top of my computer and use a fan to blow cold air over it (ie whenever I play a game).

Mmmmmm, delicious future computer...