Opinions On New PC For Son, Please ?

Hi Folks,

I have an iMac, but my son uses a HP Desktop Pavillion.
9 years old now, and has just quit.

PSU (Green light in back is steady on), Battery, and on/off switch seem fine, so likely something fried.
Probably can be considered a really good lifetime

So, being a good daddy, will get him something new.

Haven't looked at, or considered, W10 pc's in a very long time.
Questions, please:

Is there any brand these days that really stands out for quality ?
Or, is it still pretty much a matter of luck ?
Go with HP again, or...?

Any to stay away from ?

How popular are all of these "all-in-ones" styles ?
I can see both pros and cons to this style.

Are they (very) popular these days ?

Any and all opinions would be most appreciated.

Much thanks,
Bob

The only advice that came to my mind is "all-in-one" are not desktop, so if you look for a desktop ...

You have an HP that is 9 years old so you have had good luck with them. I use Dell, have owned 5 of them over the years and obviously had good luck with them or I wouldn't keep buying them. Dell consistently ranks in the top 5 slightly above HP. Both Dell and HP are usually in the top 5 for sure.
Everyone has their own opinions really.

Here is a good explanation of All-in-one computers.

What Are All-In-One Personal Computers?

Any thought to building your own? Would be a good project to do together

If you're capable, @NavyLCDR has a great suggestion. Otherwise, being creatures of habit, we (I) usually tend to stick with something we like and are comfortable with. Since 2000, all of my computers, except for one Dell and one Lenovo, have all been HP All-In-One's and I've had excellent history with all of them. HP makes a few lines in the A-I-O design and my current machine is a 27-inch Envy which can be upgraded (or serviced) as the rear panel is easily removed. That's not the case on a lot of the others. I customized my machine and that can really jack the price up. But I use it constantly so the I-7 processor and 16GB memory was worth it. My only regret -- I did not get a solid state drive. That can be remedied when I'm ready.

As for reliability, like I said I've had excellent luck with HP but it's always possible to get one with problems, regardless of brand. In the end, it's really a case of your familiarity with the brand, the specs you desire and whether you like the looks and the price. And, find out about the warranty before you buy.

One suggestion -- the keyboard and mouse that come with most of these computers is usually plastic junk -- some are better than others. I got a mechanical keyboard (which is a dream to type on) and a good quality wireless mouse. Makes a big difference.

Best of luck with your decision.

At 9 years old, I would expect a son to grow out of a computer like he might grow out of clothes. What about a Kindle Fire? (Loud hissing from other readers). I own one, in addition to a powerful PC. The Fire is portable, rugged and does nearly everything a bigger computer can do. Might want to add a bluetooth keyboard, but that's about it.
Very much cheaper and replaceable as your son grows into more complex computing needs.
Check it out.
Regards.

Kupuna said:

At 9 years old, I would expect a son to grow out of a computer like he might grow out of clothes.

I believe the computer was 9 years old when it died, not the son.

This can't be answered without knowing what he is going to use it for. You don't buy a honda civic to go formula one racing and vice versa, you don't need a Ferrari to go grocery shopping.

If he's a gamer your going to need a powerful video card and Windows 10.

Prebuilt systems usually suck unless you spend a truckload of cash on them.

If you take the time to do the research and learn for yourself what all the different new technologies are all about, and find components that are truly compatible, you can build a very powerful pc that is upgradeable and will run the most demanding titles for many years with no more then a vid card and cpu upgrade in a few years.

I'm a gamer, and I do this. My current PC is over 5 years old and puts those "but I have a $2000 video card" whiners you find in all the game forums to shame.

That being said, I prefer Intel, Nvidia, and everything MSI. You can go to the MSI website and go through a "configurator" to design your perfect system but again, unless you know what all the different specs mean, your flying blind.

The display is also a big deal and needs to be matched with the vid card. AMD and NVidia use different technologies that are not compatible. On top of that there's new color and contrast technologies that are just now hitting the market and are only available in a few, very expensive, products. You need to plan ahead so that the PC will be able to make full use of the new technology once more monitors are available which always drops the cost.

Every time I build myself a new PC I stick my old one on the living room. We use it as the core of our infotainment center and if the kids want to get on the PC, they are going to do it in a public area of the house, not in their private rooms, so that they can be randomly supervised at any moment without knowledge or warning (our oldest it 10, eventually they will be given some limited privacy)

Sqrly said:

(snip)

The display is also a big deal and needs to be matched with the vid card. AMD and NVidia use different technologies that are not compatible. On top of that there's new color and contrast technologies that are just now hitting the market and are only available in a few, very expensive, products. You need to plan ahead so that the PC will be able to make full use of the new technology once more monitors are available which always drops the cost.

(snip)

That's referring to nVidia's G-Sync and AMD's FreeSync, which are adaptive frame rate systems used in gaming, and other new technologies like HDR.

Unless you're trying to build a cutting-edge gaming system, or you are a PC hobbyist, or both, ignore this stuff. It can be expensive, and limits your hardware choices.

As regards appliance PCs (Dell, HP, etc.), I doubt that it matters a lot. My employers from the late 90s on used Dells exclusively. Most were on 3 year leases, though, so longevity wasn't a real issue. My main suggestion would be to get a PC that includes a discrete graphics card, mainly because Intel's driver support of onboard graphics is confusing at best.

Dell PCs used to have proprietary elements, which I didn't like. (Mainly from the point of replacing the guts of the PC, which probably doesn't matter to most people.) I believe they've gotten away from that in recent years.

I have a question for the OP: The battery is fine? Aside from the CMOS backup battery, desktop PCs usually don't have batteries.

All-in-ones typically are desktop-like units that use laptop components. They may have larger displays than laptops, but it's possible to buy "desktop replacement" laptops with fairly large screens. (The downside is increased weight.) I can't recommend an all-in-one.