Looking for help for new pc - whats the best value in desktop pc's today?

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MrCrispy

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I used to build my own pc's like most enthusiasts, it was a fun hobby. Then I got busy with life and moved all gaming to consoles, ~5 years I got a Dell XPS on one of their really good sales (which end up costing almost less than parts) and its still running great, but I'm looking to upgrade.

I don't need to game so integrated gpu is what I'd prefer. Since I've been out of touch, my guess is that AMD Ryzen is the better value thes days? It has better perf/dollar (except single core I think?) and much better gfx, correct?

I don't mind building, and I have an old Corsair PSU lying around, though I don't know if its still good enough. Researching/buying parts is fun.

But budget is also a concern. Are there any prebuilts that end up costing same/less? e.g. I looked at Dell's current XPS 8940, it seems to have a worse design internally than my XPS 8700 (its less expandable, worse cooling) but they have had coupons with which you can get a full pc with a modern gpu for $700-1000, and then sell the gpu, which seems to go for $400-500. I have no idea if gpu prices are going up/down though. That seems like a really good deal with compromises of course.


1. Are there any other prebuilts (HP, cyberpowerpc etc) that have really good value, same as buying/building?
2. is this a good time to buy a pc, or should I wait?
 
Generally AMD 3xxx and 5xxx chips are a little more bang for the buck, but if you need an igpu then you should really stick with Intel chips at least until the 5xxx chips with APUs are available to retail / or if you go prebuilt they offer great value like the 5750g.
 
I prefer ryzen for bang for the buck. Prebuilts can be better deals if you buy it on sale with coupon codes/student discounts etc. If you don't game or do any computing intensive tasks, you don't really need a desktop.. a laptop would work just as well. GPU prices are going down as more supply is becoming available.
 
Even though I usually run Intel, I'm a fan of AMD. They usually give you more power for your money, and as a company, try new ideas and make new technologies open to everyone.
 
The AMD 3XXX and 5XXX 6 core chips seem to be a really good price/performance option. is your current computer not up to your standards, or are you just looking to upgrade for fun? Depending on why youre looking for a new machine, you may be able to upgrade the CPU/RAM/SSD in your current one and get more performance while saving a few $$$.
 
Really not sure AMD has any bang for the buck argument right now, specially not if you do not have a GPU and would like an IGPU, Intel seem a clear front runner.

AMD right now is more the deluxe if you want the best performance than the budget one, no ?

A 10600K with nice integrated graphic goes for around $215 USD right now, 10400 for $165, that hard to beat in easy to find chips.

If it is not to game, what the upgrade for, do you compile large project for example ? Where more core but slower can be a better option than less but faster (i.e. going 12core 3900x instead of 6 core 5600x and so on) ?
 
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