I might have to buy a new computer in the near future. This one cost between $600-$800. What’s the price range for a GOOD computer?
I use my computer mostly to go online, maybe do schoolwork. I want a desktop computer.
What would be the best computers for me?
The cheapest Walmart piece of crap computer will do that. It doesn’t take much computing horsepower to go online and do e-mail, watch videos, access social media, etc.
What’s your definition of “schoolwork”? Someone who is an engineering or computer science student will have significantly higher needs than someone who is a high school student or a business major doing spreadsheets and the like.
If you play games, a good graphics card will be a significant part of your budget.
Are you building the system yourself, or are you buying it off-the-shelf?
There are some places that can build you a “custom” system for a fairly reasonable price. They have a basic system that has several different options, depending on where you want to spend your money, i.e. more RAM, better graphics card, larger disk drives, smaller but faster solid state drives, multiple disk drives, etc. If you don’t want to (or are unable to) built it yourself, sometimes these types of systems give you more bang for your buck for your specific needs.
We also need a definition of what you think is a “good” computer, and whether you will be re-using your existing keyboard/mouse and monitor or if you need to factor those into your budget as well.
What’s wrong with your current computer?
You need to provide more specifics of what software, etc you need to use on it.
I just buy refurbished used ones on eBay. The last one cost $175 a year ago.
I might play some games like Oblivion or Fallout 3.
I’m buying it off the shelf.
By schoolwork, I mean taking an online class. I might take a computer programming class.
This is key. Particularly if your current computer is a desktop, as that increases the likelihood of being able to upgrade components rather than replace the entire thing.
Read this thread: https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=888789
The other day, it didn’t shut off when I was at church. Then, the next morning, it went to the boot screen, then shut off.
Today, while I was at the store, it shut off. I turned it back on, but it just stayed at the boot screen. I turned it off again, and it booted like normal.
Get on PCPartPicker, watch some Youtube tutorials, and roll your own.
Not clear from the other thread whether you opened it up and it’s not caked with dust inside? But I’d install SpeedFanor something and see if you’re having heat issues.