My current desktop has been having some issues lately and I think its time to consider replacing it. Ive been having trouble finding exactly what I want, even tho' this is straightforward, so i though I'd ask here to get some advice, maybe even about building my own machine (which Ive never done but am willing to learn).
This is to run Wheezy for simple desktop use--web surfing, running home music network, some videos, some coding, but no gaming, no video/sound editing, no real storage needs.
I DO want:
Small or smallish form factor (currently using a slim tower), attractive
SSD (small capacity--everything impt is on a NAS elsewhere, i just want the system to run fast)
Ability to have two monitors (currently using VGA and HDMI 'cause that's the ports i have)
Optical drive
Lots of USB ports (3.0 not really necessary but wouldnt hurt I
guess)
Gigabit Ethernet
Relatively quiet, energy efficient
8 GB RAM (for future-proofing, don't normally need much)
I DON"T want or don't care about:
Massive speed and 16 cores (but want enough that I wont need to replace in a year)
Fancy video card (built-in has always been fine, if I
can watch movies that's all i need)
Fancy sound card (I use USB into a DAC for serious things)
Massive mechanical HD
When i look at computers from
HP or Lenovo, it looks like it costs a fortune to add a SSD (and i dont want to buy a separate one from Crucial and then have the original one in a box on my shelf) and memory. The cheaper machines seem to be worrisomely basic, like in a year they won't be able to run YouTube, and the more expensive ones still need upgrades of SSD and RAM. And in particular the smaller form factors tend to be pretty spendy.
But i have literally no idea how to assemble a machine from scratch, and in trying to browse i dont even know how to find a smaller form
factor--i cant find an elegant slim case, just huge fancy gaming ones, or dull ugly boxes of various sizes.
All advice appreciated, thank you!
Jen