New Desktop PC or New smartphone?

[Harry_Wild]

I am torn between upgrading my desktop PC with a new gaming PC vs. buy a new high end smartphone. Both are working well! My desktop is using for internet surfing and videos mostly - it is a IBM ThinkCentre M58p that been upgrade with a 256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD and 4GB RAM and a 1GB R6570 graphic card. My current smartphone is a Noki Lumia 521 that is less then a year old.

I am now thinking about the iPhone 6 Plus since I just got done visiting the Apple Store and was drawn to the 5.5" Plus model Space Grey. I thought I was the only one; but most people who had the 4" 5/5S commented that they going get the 5.5" model. I was going look at the 4.7" iPhone 6 but after spending about 10 minutes on the smaller model; I spend about 30 minute with the 5.5" and it feel great. I have small hands too! Most of the kids - 14-18 year olds; went for the 5.5" too! So, the price is about $1,100 for each including sales tax; accessories and 128GB for the 5.5" model.

The Desktop PC I am looking at is a Dell XPS 8700 Special Edition with a 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-4790 Processor (8M Cache, up to 4.0 GHz),
32GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz - 4 DIMMs, 3TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 6.0 Gb/s + 256GB SSD, AMD Radeon™ HD R9 270 2GB GDDR5, Blu-ray Combo Drive (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD), Integrated 7.1 with WAVE MAXXAudio 4, Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260. Price would be $1,800 with sales tax and shipping included too.

Which one should I get?

 

[Seba]

Both are bad choices (much to expensive for what you get).

Build your own PC.

 

[corkyg]

Sounds like you are afflicted with technolust. What is it you can't do with what you have? If money is no object, get both.

 

[Harry_Wild]

Sounds like you are afflicted with technolust. What is it you can't do with what you have? If money is no object, get both.

Yes! Maybe I will! Have to have a reason to do that! But I think I going to be getting the iPhone 6 ..... not the Plus! I have to wait for that too since the unlocked version is released around Thanksgiving. I just have to admire it in Apple Store until them.

On the desktop computer; I think I going to wait till Spring to replace that with the new DDR4 RAM and the new Haswell-E and Broadwell CPUs get cheaper! Maybe even Summer/Fall! I no hurry for the desktop computer.

I like to get back to a high end smartphone again! So, I am more impulse on this item. I was looking forward to the Nexus 6 or X but it looks like going to be a carbon copy of the Moto X 2014 design with the 805 inside and 420 Adreno?, so I might jump the gun and buy the T-Mobile version of the iPhone 6. Just saying! Thanks for replying! LOL!

 

[Harry_Wild]

Just to update this; I am now taking a wait and see on the iPhone 6; and will look closely at the Moto X and Nexus X when it comes to the retail stores or online reviews. May stick with Windows Phone if Microsoft - every has a release date on the 730/830 and is a T-Mobile version or even better an unlocked version. So everything is back on the table in regard to smartphones.

I reading up on the new CPUs and DDR4 and there no way I would buy a computer now unless it is a custom built! I will look at this replacement computer about the same time next year! Save about $1,000 by waiting a year and increase the performance by 50% too!

 

[Harry_Wild]

Went back to my old iPhone 5S model. I purchased a new 64GB space grey iphone 5S! I like a smaller phone since I also have an iPad Mini Retina to use. I don't need a bigger phone; since I use a phone pretty much for phone calls and just time killing functions.

 

[escrow4]

Why would would you stick with Apple who are still stuck in 2011/2012 for their phones? Android and some Windows phones have far surpassed them. Locked down ecosystem, pffft display and STILL 1GB RAM despite a 64-bit OS. A Galaxy Note 4 say murders any of them. If you use a phone for calls you may as well just buy a $30 burner.

 

[krnmastersgt]

If you're not in a huge hurry for the computer sounds like you're not a real power user, in which case the system you have specced there is way overkill. You could easily feel just as satisfied with a system almost half that budget, and if you're okay with used parts there's always a cheap system out there waiting for you.

As for the smartphone, the iPhone 6 Plus is pretty big, while it might be fun to play around with in a store environment I think most people forget it will be your primary phone (for most) and thusly you will use it for everything, great for watching movies and reading stuff online, not so great for 1 handed texting or calling. This is coming from an owner of a Galaxy Note 2 (about the same size, the Plus is slightly larger than mine). 2 of my friends got the Plus and one is already heavily regretting the size difference since it doesn't fit in his pocket very well and its a bit awkward for his texting.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Why would would you stick with Apple who are still stuck in 2011/2012 for their phones? Android and some Windows phones have far surpassed them. Locked down ecosystem, pffft display and STILL 1GB RAM despite a 64-bit OS. A Galaxy Note 4 say murders any of them. If you use a phone for calls you may as well just buy a $30 burner.

I would strongly disagree. The Snapdragon 805 and the Apple A8 are competitive in tests. And the 1GB of RAM has yet to hold any device yet. Even if apps begin to utilize 1GB+ of RAM, there will be a new generation in 12 months so it's nothing to worry about. Furthermore, a 64 bit OS has advantages beyond increasing memory addresses, like extra registers. And there is no way you can disparage Apple's screen, which has one of the highest accuracies out there and easily goes head-to-head with current AMOLED technology.

You may be happy to hate on Apple, and while it is true that other smartphones have caught up and begun to be better than the iPhone in areas, Apple has yet to truly fall behind.

 

[Seba]

Even if apps begin to utilize 1GB+ of RAM, there will be a new generation in 12 months so it's nothing to worry about.

So how the current generation of hardware will benefit from improvements in future generations?

 

[jaydee]

I am torn between upgrading my desktop PC with a new gaming PC vs. buy a new high end smartphone. Both are working well! My desktop is using for internet surfing and videos mostly - it is a IBM ThinkCentre M58p that been upgrade with a 256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD and 4GB RAM and a 1GB R6570 graphic card. My current smartphone is a Noki Lumia 521 that is less then a year old.

I am now thinking about the iPhone 6 Plus since I just got done visiting the Apple Store and was drawn to the 5.5" Plus model Space Grey. I thought I was the only one; but most people who had the 4" 5/5S commented that they going get the 5.5" model. I was going look at the 4.7" iPhone 6 but after spending about 10 minutes on the smaller model; I spend about 30 minute with the 5.5" and it feel great. I have small hands too! Most of the kids - 14-18 year olds; went for the 5.5" too! So, the price is about $1,100 for each including sales tax; accessories and 128GB for the 5.5" model.

The Desktop PC I am looking at is a Dell XPS 8700 Special Edition with a 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-4790 Processor (8M Cache, up to 4.0 GHz),
32GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz - 4 DIMMs, 3TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 6.0 Gb/s + 256GB SSD, AMD Radeon™ HD R9 270 2GB GDDR5, Blu-ray Combo Drive (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD), Integrated 7.1 with WAVE MAXXAudio 4, Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260. Price would be $1,800 with sales tax and shipping included too.

Which one should I get?

Why do you need 32GB of RAM?

 

[Sleepingforest]

So how the current generation of hardware will benefit from improvements in future generations?

I'm saying that either you can get the 6 now and take the risk of being limited, or you can wait a relatively short period of time for the next revision, which usually addresses whatever issues the first had.

 

[escrow4]

I would strongly disagree. The Snapdragon 805 and the Apple A8 are competitive in tests. And the 1GB of RAM has yet to hold any device yet. Even if apps begin to utilize 1GB+ of RAM, there will be a new generation in 12 months so it's nothing to worry about. Furthermore, a 64 bit OS has advantages beyond increasing memory addresses, like extra registers. And there is no way you can disparage Apple's screen, which has one of the highest accuracies out there and easily goes head-to-head with current AMOLED technology.

You may be happy to hate on Apple, and while it is true that other smartphones have caught up and begun to be better than the iPhone in areas, Apple has yet to truly fall behind.

Apple has never shifted beyond 1GB RAM so far. And the screen res is still 2012 level when compared to Android. Look at the screen on the Galaxy Tab S - Apple can't compete. And who wants a phone that bends with pressure? Or is bricked with updates? Apple is fast fading. Its a fad that is passing.

 

[Davidh373]

Fanboyery aside on the phone discussion, what will you be using the computer for beyond what you use your current one for? 32GB RAM and a R9 270 seems excessive to an extreme for someone with basic usage. What games will you be playing, and what
new software will you use?

 

[Harry_Wild]

Why do you need 32GB of RAM?

I learn from the past to get as much memory as you can; since down the road; it will cost you to upgrade to maximum. 32GB much seem excessive now; but back 6 years ago; 4GB was considered excessive too!

 

[Harry_Wild]

Fanboyery aside on the phone discussion, what will you be using the computer for beyond what you use your current one for? 32GB RAM and a R9 270 seems excessive to an extreme for someone with basic usage. What games will you be playing, and what
new software will you use?

My theory is to buy the best high end machine that you can afford! It last a lot longer and you will not have to upgrade every few years. Plus, you will enjoy the power and high end stuff in the machine before it become common to every other machine in two or three years from now.

 

[escrow4]

My theory is to buy the best high end machine that you can afford! It last a lot longer and you will not have to upgrade every few years. Plus, you will enjoy the power and high end stuff in the machine before it become common to every other machine in two or three years from now.

It doesn't. Spend $1000 now and there will be a $500 part next year that is faster and cooler/quieter. Best spend slightly more than you need and that is it.

 

[mfenn]

I learn from the past to get as much memory as you can; since down the road; it will cost you to upgrade to maximum. 32GB much seem excessive now; but back 6 years ago; 4GB was considered excessive too!

If you're holding on to a single memory configuration for 6 years, then your general buying strategy is incorrect. Waiting until your memory technology is out of production to upgrade will of course cost you a ton of money, that's why you upgrade incrementally as-needed. You should buy the amount of memory that you need and upgrade when you need more or when memory gets inexpensive.

It doesn't. Spend $1000 now and there will be a $500 part next year that is faster and cooler/quieter. Best spend slightly more than you need and that is it.

Absolutely correct. Putting yourself off the deep en of the price/performance curve just means that you'll want to hold onto your "high end" rig until it's well past its expiration date.

 

[mistersprinkles]

Don't get an iphone 6. They are bending in people's pockets.

Can't understand getting an iPhone 5s when you already had a relatively current Windows phone. Seems like a waste of money to me.