Scientist on the Roof asks:
My second Dell desktop in a row has died after about 5 years of use.
Any recommendations for a desktop computer that’s not super expensive (I think $1200 is the max I’m willing to pay) but good quality (and will last more than 5 years)? It will be mostly used for storing and editing photos and videos, web stuff, writing, schoolwork, and video games.
Printer: we need a reliable color printer with a built-in scanner. Doesn’t have to be super-fast or super-quiet, but prefer good-quality printing for occasional artsy stuff. We probably print, on average, 5 pages a week. Inexpensive ink refills would be ideal. Any suggestions?
I do not actually have a great answer for either of these. We haven’t bought a desktop since pre-pandemic so things have likely changed since then. (DH does have laptop suggestions– he has a relatively new Lenovo and it has been working out just fine.)
We have never purchased a color printer, so have no suggestions there either.
Generally my first stop when I want to know if something hardcore electronic is good is Tom’s Hardware. I don’t *think* they’ve been taken over by evil corporations (Better Homes and Gardens has– which is why their recommendations are completely garbage), but I’m not 100% sure. Here’s Tom’s Guide to printers (Tom’s guide is the consumer-oriented portion and Tom’s Hardware is more technical– same company). Here’s Tom’s Guide to all-in-one printers. They recommend the Brother INKvestment MFC-J995DW for $325 used or $250 for the newer model (not sponsored because I was too lazy to log into amazon)? It’s a bit confusing. Here’s Tom’s Guide to desktop computers. Of that group, it looks like ACER fits your wants/needs best, so you may want to do some more research into that company. PCMag may be a good place to look next. (Here’s their list.)
Grumpy Nation Do you have any desktop/printer suggestions? Where do you look when you need new expensive electronics?
Grumpy Rumblings (of the formerly untenured) 
April 19, 2024 at 4:20 am
I have no specific suggestions for desktops or AIO printer/scanners. What I do suggest, however, is that when costing printers, the purchase price is mostly irrelevant & it’s the ongoing ink cost that matters.
April 19, 2024 at 7:26 am
If you want an ink printer (as opposed to a laser printer), another option besides a conventional ink jet printer is a tank printer, which has reservoirs for ink. The ink is cheaper and the bottles will print many more pages than a cartridge. I recently bought an Epson EcoTank all-in-one. Epson first developed this style of printer although other brands also now make them. So far, I’m happy with mine, but I’ve only had it for a few weeks. The printer does cost more upfront than a conventional inkjet printer.
Another thing to watch out for if you’re buying a conventional inkjet printer is that some companies are now pushing automatic ink refills that can brick your printer if you use ink cartridges that aren’t theirs. I think they will also overcharge if you print more pages per month than the subscription.
I’m a Mac user and I think the baseline iMac is slightly above your price limit. In my experience, they do tend to last longer than 5 years.
April 19, 2024 at 8:08 am
We switched to a laser printer several years ago and have been happy with its performance and longevity. When we had inkjets it seemed like we were constantly having to buy more ink. FWIW we have an HP Color Laserjet. I assume it was the best-reviewed one of its time, since that’s how DH rolls, but it’s pretty old so I don’t know what the best ones are now.
April 19, 2024 at 8:28 am
I do love our brother laser printer. But it is black and white.
April 19, 2024 at 9:14 am
I am a longtime Mac user and I always get more than 5 years out of my computers. The base model iMac is $1250 through campus, and you can get an older model for around $1000. My desktops usually last at least 7-8 years, and I have a 2017 macbook laptop that I keep thinking I should replace but it keeps working well, so I may get another year out of it. No printer suggestions, but I’ve had good luck with the Wirecutter recommendations on things in general (are they owned by evil corporations? They’re part of the NYTimes).
April 19, 2024 at 10:21 am
For the computer – my husband and I both bought Lenovo laptops last time they were on sale. I can’t remember how long ago that was. I wouldn’t have spent more than about $1200 on it, though, since I don’t do anything serious on my home computer these days. For work I have a hefty Dell that I didn’t get to choose and didn’t pay!
For the printer – about 4 years ago we bought a color printer/scanner/copier combo. It was in the Epson eco series, which we liked because we buy ink to refill ink tanks instead of cartridges. It has given us no problems. My exact model is the ET-4750.
April 19, 2024 at 10:25 am
Oh, and I should say I also have an old mac laptop (back when I had my own company I needed to have both a PC and Mac for reasons not worth going into) and the Mac was bought refurbished in 2014 and still works fine but also gets very light usage. My only complaint with it is that the printer stopped working with it, probably because the Mac OS it pretty out of date now (I did do some updates but can’t take it to completely up to date because it is so old).
April 19, 2024 at 4:49 pm
I haven’t bought a desktop ever, I only use laptops, so can’t offer help there but friends have all recommended this article for the past couple years: https://www.theverge.com/23642073/best-printer-2023-brother-laser-wi-fi-its-fine
April 19, 2024 at 10:12 pm
Curious: Why would a newer model printer be cheaper than the older one? Are features different or is it made of less durable materials or?????
April 22, 2024 at 3:19 am
We are very light printer users and I’m finding the ink cartridges dry out faster than I use the ink and I’m always like…but I just replaced the ink. (We use HP inkjet). Next printer will be a laser jet I think.
With the exception of me, the rest of my family are gaming nerds and they still often build their desktops from scratch. This didn’t make sense to do during the pandemic when there were parts shortages but that’s what we normally do to customize the PC to what is needed most.
April 23, 2024 at 12:57 pm
On the printer, this Verge piece is a classic for a reason:
https://www.theverge.com/23642073/best-printer-2023-brother-laser-wi-fi-its-fine
(It comes in a color version)
April 26, 2024 at 7:23 am
Thank you all for suggestions!!!
We got an Epson Ecotank printer. Too early to tell about reliability, but so far we are all loving it. Mostly because it’s freaking amazing to have something that actually works… and we don’t have to stand over it like we did with the old printer that was not able to pick up paper from the feeder without manual help. The printer is pretty much everything we need: it can print, copy, and scan. It’s fast, the quality of printing stuff for school and personal use is fine, it connected easily to the kids’ school Chromebooks (so now they can print their assignments) and the new desktop. I haven’t tried printing any artwork or photos (we don’t usually do that, anyway). We’ll see how long the ink will last…
We got an HP Victus computer. It’s… fine. I mean, it’s a computer and it works… My son said that playing Minecraft is WAY BETTER now (whatever that means?). No one in the family is into building computers (at least not yet), but if need be, this one has room for upgrades to make it even faster/fancier. It was a pre-built gaming computer and I got it because it was within my price range, came with a fast-ish processor (although not top speed), decent video card (according to my limited research), I liked the memory specs, and, like I said, – there is a possibility of upgrading the hardware if we ever have the time or interest in that sort of thing.
We purchased both things through Costco – because of the return policy, discounts, 2 extra ink bottles for the printer, and a 1-year antivirus protection for the computer.
Thanks again, grumpy nation!