Opinions for a college student non-gaming computer...Intel NUC or Costco all in one?

[gigahertz20]

My brother (college student) is looking to get a new computer and I need some opinions on what he should get. He doesn't game at all and doesn't want a laptop, price needs to be around $1,000 or lower. He's been using an old 10 year old desktop that I threw an SSD in a year back but it's on its last legs and not completely stable since it doesn't fully support the SSD I put in it.

I bought one of the Intel NUC mini computers a year back and set it up for my mother and it's been a fast little thing with not many issues. So that's why I'm thinking about getting this NUC for my brother (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B018Q0GN60) and throw in 16gb of memory and a 512gb m2 Samsung 850 evo SSD. I was looking at getting the new Samsung 960 pro 512gb m2 SSD drive but for the extra money I don't think you would notice any performance difference for just casual use which is all he uses the computer for.

I was also looking at the HP all in one computers at costco which he liked since he doesn't want a huge tower computer but none of those prebuilt computers have SSD drives. They all have the big slow 1TB traditional 7200rpm/5400rpm hard drives in them which make no sense given how cheap SSD drives are now.

So opinions on a computer? Intel NUC or something else better out there I don't know about?

 

[DaveSimmons]

If I was buying it for myself I'd probably get another Acer i3 mini-ITX desktop like I use for my music jukebox. Mine was $400 but add another $100 for a 480 GB SSD. Or possibly a micro-ATX if no good mini-ITX was available.

Cons: not as tiny as a NUC

Pros:
- Quiet. Better airflow and bigger fans ( = slower RPM = less noise = not whiny noise)
- Easier to repair and upgrade
- Desktop CPU instead of mobile part
- Might be able to keep the platter drive along with the SSD since the SSD can be tucked in somewhere

If you buy from the Microsoft Store (assuming they have a decent deal) their "Signature Edition" PCs have no crapware loaded.

 

[VirtualLarry]

http://www.portvapes.co.uk/?id=Latest-exam-1Z0-876-Dumps&exid=thread...ear-old-pc-a-short-comparison-review.2492178/

Look into the pre-built PC that the OP of that thread upgraded to. It's some sort of HP mini-PC form-factor. I've seen them occasionally on sale at Newegg in their flyer.

 

[gigahertz20]

Thanks for the suggestions, do you guys think Samsung 960 pro m2 SSD is worth it over the Samsung 850 evo SSD? Or would there not be a noticeable performance difference for a casual user?

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[MagnusTheBrewer]

The truth is that college isn't very demanding on computers so, just about any prebuilt machine will do. A decent laser printer is more important .

 

[dave_the_nerd]

The truth is that college isn't very demanding on computers so, just about any prebuilt machine will do. A decent laser printer is more important .

Generally agree.

I'd recommend a laptop over a desktop, though. I'd also hold off on buying the laser printer until you know what the availability and hours of the printers on campus are. (In some circumstances, you might not need one.)

 

[DaveSimmons]

Thanks for the suggestions, do you guys think Samsung 960 pro m2 SSD is worth it over the Samsung 850 evo SSD? Or would there not be a noticeable performance difference for a casual user?

No difference. I doubt I'd see any difference even for development at work use except for once-in-a-while stuff like rebuilding the Chromium source (80 GB of output and several hours run time on an i7).

 

[Torn Mind]

What does he plan to study?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G3WM1532
And a BIG IPS monitor.
I think he should get a Desktop(as in sitting "sideways" with the optical drive being rightside-up) or Tower if getting a prebuilt though. You never know when that expandability will come in handy.

Nothing wrong with paper and penciling through class though, if he really doesn't intend to note-take through a laptop or tablet.

 

[gigahertz20]

What does he plan to study?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G3WM1532
And a BIG IPS monitor.
I think he should get a Desktop(as in sitting "sideways" with the optical drive being rightside-up) or Tower if getting a prebuilt though. You never know when that expandability will come in handy.

Nothing wrong with paper and penciling through class though, if he really doesn't intend to note-take through a laptop or tablet.

Got a big 32" monitor not IPS but VA which should be fine, took advantage of the awesome Costco deal I saw on slickdeals.net (HP Omen 32" Monitor, 2560x1440, 75 Hz VA panel, AMD FreeSync $299.99 ($274.99 with coupon). https://slickdeals.net/f/9418699

 

[Torn Mind]

Nice find.

And the forums had a little issue this afternoon, so we lost of some posts, but I would fathom that criminal justice should not require much in the way graphics grunt as I doubt he'll be using Photoshop or those kind of apps. Just a fast CPU and SSD should get him through those years.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Got a big 32" monitor not IPS but VA which should be fine, took advantage of the awesome Costco deal I saw on slickdeals.net (HP Omen 32" Monitor, 2560x1440, 75 Hz VA panel, AMD FreeSync $299.99 ($274.99 with coupon). https://slickdeals.net/f/9418699

But you didn't answer a critical question. What is Bro's major?

When I "got into" what was then called "micro-computers," I had in mind the ability to do Box-Jenkins Time Series analysis and research on Rational Expectations and the Business Cycle. OF course, one could say nowadays, most all computers would allow you to do those things -- depending on the software. But it's still an important factor.

 

[gigahertz20]

He's majoring in criminal justice, wants to be a cop. I replied with this info before but the post got deleted somehow, forum glitch perhaps.

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[BonzaiDuck]

He's majoring in criminal justice, wants to be a cop. I replied with this info before but the post got deleted somehow, forum glitch perhaps.

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Interesting. You might ask him if he thinks he could build an AI program and AI database system to solve crimes. Ask him if he's familiar with Rappaport's book on "Decision Analysis," or the discussion of "state-space-search" inverted trees in building an AI chess-playing game.

On the other hand, for his major, what you have in mind might be fine.

And if he wants to get into the FBI, he might avoid boinking co-eds in SDS. Of course, those were the days of Hoover. Then -- one may never know for sure in the current climate! I have a friend and retired police detective who blames Hoover for his rejected FBI application. We both knew the same young lady. Nothing wrong with her then.