New PC build, revisited (yet again)

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  • Kevin P
    Member
    • Aug 2000
    • 10809

    New PC build, revisited (yet again)

    Yes, I post these threads annually, tossing out ideas for my next desktop and then it ends up not happening, so now we're clunking by on an almost 8 year old "Trevor Trouncer" that can't handle HD Youtube video, or even SD Youtube full screen among other things.

    Instead of going cutting edge, mid range price/performance is ideal. I don't game so no need for a high powered gaming system. Money is an object as it always is.

    Is the AMD FX series still the way to go? I see there's an A series CPU+GPU combo chips now, are those the way of the future?

    I figure 8 GB RAM, and Windows 7 64-bit (NOOOO Windows 8!!), and a 500 GB-1TB HDD depending on what the prices are like. 27" monitor would be a nice thing to have too.

    I'll post part ideas after I spend some time on Newegg, but figured I'd toss this out to get ideas.

    Thanks,
    KJP
  • Hdale85
    Moderator Emeritus
    • Jan 2006
    • 16075

    #2
    I don't know, I think you can get an i5 similarly priced to the upper FX series. I'd go that route personally especially if you aren't gaming as the Intels are much faster in office stuff, they are still faster in gaming but the margin is much smaller.

    Comment

    • Chris D
      Moderator Emeritus
      • Dec 2000
      • 16877

      #3
      Yeah, I'm interested to see what chipset you decide, Kevin. Why no Windows 8?
      CHRIS

      Well, we're safe for now. Thank goodness we're in a bowling alley.
      - Pleasantville

      Comment

      • Kevin P
        Member
        • Aug 2000
        • 10809

        #4
        I don't like Windows 8's "ewwwser interface". :gah:

        The Intel Core series are nice, my lappy has a Core i7 and it screams. They tend to be pricey and AMD has always been great bang for the buck CPUs and have been happy with them, which is why I tend to lean that way in my builds. But if a Core i5 would suit me better I could always go that route too.

        Although I don't game, I like to go fairly high end just so the machine stays viable longer, since I often go 4+ years between upgrades. Heck, the desktop now is pushing 8 years and still ticking. It shows its age though, in boot time as well as choking on HD videos. Heather uses it more than I do and she's always on Facebook and watching videos people post.

        Comment

        • Hdale85
          Moderator Emeritus
          • Jan 2006
          • 16075

          #5
          Well can't go wrong either way. The APU series is more for integrated small computers and what not. The i5 3570k is generally faster then the high end FX, but a lot of that is due to lack of multi threading applications. If you do go for the FX series make sure you grab one of the newest generations as it was actually about 15% faster then the last one. I can't think of the core code name currently.

          Comment

          • PewterTA
            Moderator
            • Nov 2004
            • 2901

            #6
            I have two AMD FX seriews CPUs (6 core on both) and they run things perfectly fine and run around 3.2GHz. Do they scream... well no.... I can tell where the Intel CPUs are still superior, especially in the i7 higher end speeds. I notice it a lot when encoding FLAC files.... but my i7 only has 4 cores and the 6 cores keeps up nicely. Extra two cores helps, otherwise a 4 core AMD would definitely not be as fast.

            If you're looking for price friendly then AMD is definitely the way to go in my opinion. IF you were playing games and wanted the best then I'd say go with Intel.

            The AMD FX CPU/GPU series just means it'll work with the GPU to get better performance, not all FX supported motherboards have video cards built in...so you may or may not still need a graphics card to be added to your motherboard. One of my servers has built in video, the other I had to add a video card (I went with Nvidia just cause. lol
            Digital Audio makes me Happy.
            -Dan

            Comment

            • Hdale85
              Moderator Emeritus
              • Jan 2006
              • 16075

              #7
              He was talking about the AMD A series platform which is based on the APU's which have on chip video (actually built into the CPU).

              Comment

              • Alaric
                Ultra Senior Member
                • Jan 2006
                • 4143

                #8
                Originally posted by Hdale85
                Well can't go wrong either way. The APU series is more for integrated small computers and what not. The i5 3570k is generally faster then the high end FX, but a lot of that is due to lack of multi threading applications. If you do go for the FX series make sure you grab one of the newest generations as it was actually about 15% faster then the last one. I can't think of the core code name currently.

                Vishera is the current best FX chips. They can be spotted by the '3' as the second digit in the model (8350 ,8320 , 6300 , 4300). The i53570K is a nice chip. It's currently $30 more than AMD's top CPU (8350) at Newegg , but for multi-threaded tasks it will outrun the Intel. The FX has 8 cores and an architecture that just does multi-threaded tasks better. To equal it you have to go i7 with Hyperthreading-starting at almost $300! If you don't plan to overclock you can save a few bucks by not getting a 'K' Intel. If you do want to overclock my pick would be the FX 8350. Easy 4.5-5.0 GHz and 8 cores for under $200 wins the bang-per-buck war , IMO.
                The APU series , however , is great. The A10 5800K (Trinity) is a 4.2 GHz quad core with a very nice AMD GPU to handle graphics on the same die. And it's $130. Bonus points for being able to overclock the CPU and the graphics processor , and allows you save money on a graphics solution via add on card or embedded in the mobo.
                These days are the 'musclecar" days for DIY PC building. Everybody makes good stuff and it's hard to choose!
                Lee

                Marantz PM7200-RIP
                Marantz PM-KI Pearl
                Schiit Modi 3
                Marantz CD5005
                Paradigm Studio 60 v.3

                Comment

                • aud19
                  Twin Moderator Emeritus
                  • Aug 2003
                  • 16706

                  #9
                  Yeah I'd say it's a tossup between the 4 core Intels and the 6-8 core AMDs depending on what you want to do.

                  On board video is probably plenty for what you want.

                  Only 8gb of RAM? I've got 16 in my new machine at work :lol: RAM's practically free these days

                  Personally I'd go SSD for your OS. Heck, if you want to splurge, Raid a couple...your load times will be near instant. Don't you have a server/NAS Kevin? What the heck do you even need an archaic 500GB spinning disk for? Grab two 60-80GB SSD's and have fun I say!
                  Jason

                  Comment

                  • Kevin P
                    Member
                    • Aug 2000
                    • 10809

                    #10
                    I've revisited this (yet again). Here's a tentative parts list. I decided to go Intel this time since AMD's offerings seem rather fragmented right now with socket FM1/FM2/AM3+ etc. and no clear direction to go there, and Intel's cheaper offerings seem to offer enough bang for the buck right now, plus being lower power (and thus cooler). In order to keep cost down I've slimmed down my build compared to in the past. No more "Trevor trouncing" for me.

                    LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM Yes I know I should get a BD burner, but those are a lot more expensive and cost is a primary factor in this build.

                    Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM Yeah I know, I should go SSD, but it's too expensive.

                    Rosewill CAPSTONE Series CAPSTONE-450 450W Continuous @ 50°C, 80 PLUS GOLD Certified, Single +12V Rail, ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V Went with an 80 Plus Gold PSU since I won't be using most of those 450 watts. Trying to keep the electric bill down too.

                    CORSAIR 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMV8GX3M2A1333C9 Gotta have RAM.

                    Intel BOXDH67GDB3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard Nothing too fancy.

                    Intel Pentium G630T Sandy Bridge 2.3GHz LGA 1155 35W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G630T Went with a 35W CPU, to keep fan noise and electrical bill down. I skipped the Core i3 to keep total cost under $400.

                    Additionally to save cost, I'm recycling an old case and instead of Winblows 8 I'll put Win7 on there as I have a couple unused OEM copies I bought a few years back. Plus 8 is too much of a change for my wife, who will be using this system more than I will. Thus another reason I've scaled down the build, don't need a screamin' meanie for Facebook, email and Quicken.

                    Comment

                    • aud19
                      Twin Moderator Emeritus
                      • Aug 2003
                      • 16706

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Kevin P
                      You can get any number of ~120GB SSD drives for just under and over $100. That's $40 I'd spend IMO.
                      Jason

                      Comment

                      • Kevin P
                        Member
                        • Aug 2000
                        • 10809

                        #12
                        Would ~120GB be enough for OS and programs with today's bloat? With user data too, since if I put an SSD in it'll be the only drive.

                        Comment

                        • aud19
                          Twin Moderator Emeritus
                          • Aug 2003
                          • 16706

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Kevin P
                          Would ~120GB be enough for OS and programs with today's bloat? With user data too, since if I put an SSD in it'll be the only drive.

                          Should be plenty for OS and software. I thought you had a server...WTH are you saving data locally for? Even then, don't you have a spare drive kicking around you could use for data? The old computer?
                          Jason

                          Comment

                          • Kevin P
                            Member
                            • Aug 2000
                            • 10809

                            #14
                            I do have a server but not all data winds up there. Lots of applications store data locally, email clients for example. "Temp" folders, Windows updates, browser caches all conspire to fill up all available space usually at the worst possible moment.

                            The old machine has 2 160GB drives and I haven't had space issues. User folders (documents, pictures etc) are on the 2nd drive. It's running XP though, not as bloated as 7, or newer versions of Office, etc.

                            Certainly documents and pictures are (mostly) kept on the server now. The old computer still has a bunch of old pictures but those can be moved to the server.

                            All my spare hard drives are ancient and slow. The old computer has SATA drives, not SATA II or III, they would handicap a newer machine. Plus they're going on 8+ years, they aren't going to last forever.

                            I don't think Heather's going to care if it boots in 1 minute or 10 seconds. Anything I do is going to be faster than the old one, and since I'm not getting richer as I get older, I have to cut corners anywhere I can. Heck, the only reason I chose a 500 GB drive is because it was the same price as a 250 or 320. I don't actually need all that space (yet).

                            I may even re-use the case and just put new innards in. Then I could reuse the PSU and optical drives. Well, if I can find a motherboard with an IDE header... or find SATA-to-IDE adapters.

                            Comment

                            • aud19
                              Twin Moderator Emeritus
                              • Aug 2003
                              • 16706

                              #15
                              It's your call but 120Gb should be plenty for OS/software/temp files. Especially as it doesn't sound like you'll need a TON of software. If you think you need more space, you could always use one of those older "slow" drives as their speed wouldn't really matter for occasional data storage but whatever floats your boat. That's just what I'd do...YMMV.
                              Jason

                              Comment

                              • Hdale85
                                Moderator Emeritus
                                • Jan 2006
                                • 16075

                                #16
                                Well because of the page file Windows 7 takes up like 20 or so gigs, sometimes more if you have a lot of ram. I guess it depends on how many games you are going to throw into it. SSD prices have been dropping like crazy, I think I saw a 256gb for like 180 the other day.

                                Comment

                                • aud19
                                  Twin Moderator Emeritus
                                  • Aug 2003
                                  • 16706

                                  #17
                                  My previous work PC (Win7) had two RAID'd 40GB SSD's (80GB total), a ton of rendering, CAD, graphics and word processing software on it and only started to get full after a couple years of bloating and a few double instances of software (3DS Max 2011 and 2013 for example).

                                  A W8 or W7 PC with MS Office, a browser and a couple other miscellaneous programs should be more than fine on 120GB.
                                  Jason

                                  Comment

                                  • Hdale85
                                    Moderator Emeritus
                                    • Jan 2006
                                    • 16075

                                    #18
                                    Not sure if this link will work,



                                    250gb Samsung 840 SSD which has been one of the most popular on the market for 160 bucks.

                                    Comment

                                    • aud19
                                      Twin Moderator Emeritus
                                      • Aug 2003
                                      • 16706

                                      #19
                                      I think that's the drive my father in law just gave me for free I'll be putting that in our PC when I get a few hours to format the damn thing (about 18 years from now at this rate :rant: )
                                      Jason

                                      Comment

                                      • talladega
                                        Junior Member
                                        • Jan 2012
                                        • 21

                                        #20
                                        I run a 128GB SSD in my system. Currently sitting at 94GB free space.
                                        One thing you'll want to do is shrink the hibernation file or disable it completely.
                                        My wife's laptop and our mediacenter run 60GB SSDs. No space issues for me.

                                        Comment

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