Looking for what’s in the title basically.
Is it better to buy this “barebone” and install parts myself?
Just looking to make a change / upgrade from my 10 year old MacBook to something desktop.
Sorry quite vague, don’t know too much about computers.
TIA
If you want an even lower price point/simplier to start off with, you could probably go with a refurbished 8th/9th gen Intel Dell Optiplex Micro.
I'm a fan of these, they are solid little machines:
Base model, $389 with coupon, i3 1220P, 10 cores/12 threads, very capable little machine, will be fine for normal "home" usage.
https://amzn.asia/d/6AFF4Nn
Mid spec, $469 with coupon, i5 12450H, 8 cores 12 threads, which sounds "less" than the 1220P but the 12450H has 4x performance cores compared to 2 performance cores in the 1220P and 4x low performance cores compared to 8x low performance cores in the 1220P, so while it has less overall cores they are higher performance thus it will perform about 15-20% better than the 1220P
https://amzn.asia/d/cxZ3hfz
High spec, $559 with coupon, i5 12650H, 10 cores 16 threads, has 6x performance cores compared to the 12450H so will be another 15-20% better.
https://amzn.asia/d/aQRQStJ
All of these will be fine for normal use, not much chop for gaming so hard to give a proper recommendation without knowing what your needs are.
+1 for Beelink. They are quality "budget" units.
I'd be going for the first one. Beelink EQi12. 1220P is very good for what it is.
Yep, I have an EQi12 1220P that I use as a Ubuntu build box, 10 cores in a sub $400 machine is an absolute bargain!
Thanks for these replies! Should definitely have mentioned: budget would be around $500.
In terms of usage, I do some ecommerce so just editing and managing shopify stores really, but not absolutely tonnes. Other than just general usage, with some video editing (Capcut) here and there for adverts.
I'd recommend stretching for a unit with 32GB ram. Ram is pretty cheap at the moment and will last for years.
You're better off buying a complete unit, it's cheaper overall than buying a barebone kit + the parts retail.
A little Beelink or GMKtec or Minisforum minipc for $600-800 would serve your needs for a long time.
Check the CPU performance on https://www.cpubenchmark.net/ to make sure you're not getting anything too slow.
If you wanna keep to apple ecosystem since your going from a MacBook, and a self-proclaimed "don't know too much about computers" a Mac Mini M4 16GB/256GB is quite affordable at around $850 for very decent hardware. I know it's not exactly your criteria but I'd consider it if I was in the same position.
Mac Mini Education Pricing
That's my quick and easy recommendation, however lots of i5 NUCs out there if you wanna go that route, I'll leave for other people to recommend.