New Desktop for work

[Gunpowder]

got a grant for a new desktop for work (nonprofit) since mine is 10 yrs old :laugh:

hopefully we can replace this one every 3-4 yrs and move it to a secondary duty.

PC

This one looked great considering the price/power ratio. Looks like an Adobe/graphics machine to me.

-i5 is a tier down so it makes it cheaper but not "old"
-Intel vs AMD.
-plenty of memory for those pesky graphics/multitasking, etc.

Comments. Its in my cart :thumbs:

 

[Pipe Smoker]

Not sure if the name brand is important to you, but if not, these are somewhat better equipped and cheaper, and Costco has a much better warranty than Tiger Direct:

i7: http://tinyurl.com/3kzg5zq

i5: http://tinyurl.com/3ccc7ry

Looks like the Lenovo has a discrete graphics card, but it doesn't look like its all that great. You can get a gt 430 on Newegg for ~$70, but if the graphics are a concern for you, you'll probably want something stronger than the 420/ 430 anyway.

 

[Gunpowder]

would be nice if Costco was local.


Regarding graphics, I meant Graphic arts.. sorry. I don't do games. I currently do Desktop publishing as part of my job and plan to be working with photos & video in the near future as we do more with marketing, etc. Seems whenever I am doing a bunch of multitasking something slows me down.

I am sure lesser computers could handle that but...

I have a Lenovo laptop and the customer service sat least speaks english lol

 

[Gunpowder]

Reviews on the i7 machine were not great seems they are experience a lock up. the i5 didn't have any reviews.

Reviews on the i7 machine were not great seems they are experience a lock up. the i5 didn't have any reviews.

 

[JHolmes763]

I got a barebones kit from TigerDirect with basically the same setup plus a better graphics card. It's a speedy machine. I needed/wanted something fairly beefy to run a network simulation tool and it does great. Have fun with your new toy. :thumbs:

 

[Pipe Smoker]

You certainly can't go wrong with Lenovo, their tech support is definitely the best in the business right now. But I wouldn't be too concerned with the reviews of the Costco machine - if it really is a processor problem, that would run across the entire i7 platform and shouldn't be unique to one manufacturer or the other. I do know what your saying about Lenovo. I love my ThinkPad...but the HP sitting on my desk at home has the same spec at 1/3 the price. When I look for a desktop I look more at the components than the manufacturer, but in this case I don't think you can go wrong with the Lenovo or either of the Costco computers.

 

[BlindedByScience]

The "lock up" issue is nonsense, as I drive an i7-975 / 12Gb ram desktop every day and it's a jet. I routinely have 5-10 windows open on my two 24" screens, running very demanding CAD software, browsers, Acrobat documents, spreadsheets, e-mail, etc. All at once. Never an issue. If you've got a PC that locks up, it isn't the processors fault.

Lenovo, Dell, or HP would all be solid choices. Biggest thing with a work ride is the support when something goes wrong. Not sure how good Tiger Direct is in that regard; they have mixed reviews in the enthusiast community. Don't skimp on the monitor; you can get nice 24" panels very inexpensively these days, and it's the interface you'll be looking at everyday.

It's too bad you can't build your own, as for ~$850.00 you could put together a solid, completely reliable, monster of a computer that would make your graphics editing chores a real pleasure.

Good luck - B.B.S.

Edited to add: If you CAN build your own, I'd be happy to work with you every step of the way and be happy to share my knowledge on the subject, for what it's worth.... I was able to build my own work machine, and it's a fantastic partner to have to work with. You do not have to spend the budget that I had to get that kind of performance these days.....

 

[Gunpowder]

From what I read your dealing with TigertDirect for about 30 days (limited return if you get a crapper). Then its Lenovo's baby.

Although the i7 apparently had a recall or something early in its release I am sure if people are locking up the Costco machines it is probably a compatibility issue. Something doesn't like something.

I am the only employee for this nonprofit so am stretched thin so I won't be building. I built a Pentium years ago from used parts in a box. It was outdated when I built it but that new motherboard in the box was calling me. It immediately began running a CD of bird sounds in the Nature Center

 

[NASTY]

It's too bad you can't build your own, as for ~$850.00 you could put together a solid, completely reliable, monster of a computer that would make your graphics editing chores a real pleasure.

Good luck - B.B.S.

Definitely give this idea some thought

 

[throwbacksf]

I've been using a Lenovo for about 4 months now at work. I am very impressed with the quality of product and service.