Computer guys GTFIH

[Fix.it.again.Tony]

It's about time to build a new desktop machine after 7 years with the current setup. I'm not gonna do hardcore gaming but still want a decently performing machine.

I want a new mid size tower, power supply, mobo, processor, RAM, vidcard, and 2 HDDs

-I would prefer Newegg and would like to keep it under 1k dollhairs

Side note: I am thinking of mirroring my O/S hdd to a SSD for quicker load time and running a separate HDD for media.

If any of you get bored and can toss out some suggestions for a good build I'd be grateful.


:party2:

[theAngryMarmot]

Asus motherboard, Intel core 5 or 7 processor, mid range graphics card, 8GB ram, 1TB conventional drive, smaller SSD.

Frys will have everything.

Do we need to have a computer build pow-wow one day?

[DrDanni]

Asus motherboard, Intel core 5 or 7 processor, mid range graphics card, 8GB ram, 1TB conventional drive, smaller SSD.

Frys will have everything.

Do we need to have a computer build pow-wow one day?

Down.

[die in a dick fire noob]

I like the list Paul made but depending on use id opt for 16gb of ram

[Fix.it.again.Tony]

I wonder if my Fry's card will count for electronics, I could use more Fuel points

in for Powwow

[die in a dick fire noob]

not the same company.

[usdm420]

I like the list Paul made but depending on use id opt for 16gb of ram

For what?
I highly doubt he's doing anything that'll require 16GB of RAM.

[die in a dick fire noob]

For what?
I highly doubt he's doing anything that'll require 16GB of RAM.

for the fact that another 8gb of ram will help down the road since he's already admitted that it's been 7 years since he last upgraded anything. Why not spend an extra 50-100 for the usability now and not worry about it for the future. I can't think of a logical argument against doing it other than the money, and it's not like i suggested he buy a gtx980 or anything...

[DrDanni]

Don't forget Fry's electronics price matches newegg

[die in a dick fire noob]

I did a quick workup with an i5 haswell with mobo, 750w psu, 1tb hdd, 120gb ssd, an nvidia evga 750ti 2gb video card, 16gb of ram and a cooler master mid tower and it came out to 880 with about 100 in mail in rebates, so about 800 after that.

on newegg that is

[Fix.it.again.Tony]

I did a quick workup with an i5 haswell with mobo, 750w psu, 1tb hdd, 120gb ssd, an nvidia evga 750ti 2gb video card, 16gb of ram and a cooler master mid tower and it came out to 880 with about 100 in mail in rebates, so about 800 after that.

on newegg that is

I am liking this


I stream a lot of movies from my HDD to the living room TV, so I am thinking a strong processor/mobo/ RAM is gonna be necessary for decoding and processing the vid files for streaming?

[die in a dick fire noob]

Less than you'd think, I'm running about a 4 year old processor with updated ram and video card, i've never had an issue doing the same. It's actually how i watch tv entirely, i don't have cable.

If you want a link to the cart i can email you one i still have the page open, just send me your email.

[usdm420]

I am liking this


I stream a lot of movies from my HDD to the living room TV, so I am thinking a strong processor/mobo/ RAM is gonna be necessary for decoding and processing the vid files for streaming?

Nah, streaming an already downloaded file is super easy, and not very load bearing at all on the CPU/RAM.

[advert]

i have a pretty much top of the the line pc. Intel i7 4790k 32 gigs of ram the list goes on. the one best single upgrade i like on my computer is running dual ssd's in a raid 0. id highly recommend getting two smaller ones and putting them in a raid. your load times will be unreal.

[Fix.it.again.Tony]

i have a pretty much top of the the line pc. Intel i7 4790k 32 gigs of ram the list goes on. the one best single upgrade i like on my computer is running dual ssd's in a raid 0. id highly recommend getting two smaller ones and putting them in a raid. your load times will be unreal.

How long have you had the configuration? Last time I looked into SSD they were not suitable for high write/rewrite cycles

[Fix.it.again.Tony]

Less than you'd think, I'm running about a 4 year old processor with updated ram and video card, i've never had an issue doing the same. It's actually how i watch tv entirely, i don't have cable.

If you want a link to the cart i can email you one i still have the page open, just send me your email.


PMed

It'll be nice to actually have USB 3.0 lol

[advert]

How long have you had the configuration? Last time I looked into SSD they were not suitable for high write/rewrite cycles

i have been doing it for a while with no ill effects.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2365767/feed-your-greed-for-speed-by-installing-ssds-in-raid-0.html

[Fix.it.again.Tony]

i have been doing it for a while with no ill effects.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2365767/feed-your-greed-for-speed-by-installing-ssds-in-raid-0.html



I like it, but my concern would be that which they brought up in the article:

"One final word of advice: Be sure to have a routine backup plan in place. If any drive in a RAID 0 configuration fails, you could lose all your data."

should I have a 3rd HDD for backup? lol

[advert]

I like it, but my concern would be that which they brought up in the article:

"One final word of advice: Be sure to have a routine backup plan in place. If any drive in a RAID 0 configuration fails, you could lose all your data."

should I have a 3rd HDD for backup? lol

I back up anything important to my nas, with raid 0 you run the risk cause if one drive fails they both fail. but at the same time if your ssd fails and you only have 1 you are in the same boat.

or just back up your important files to your 1tb drive.

[Fix.it.again.Tony]

I back up anything important to my nas, with raid 0 you run the risk cause if one drive fails they both fail. but at the same time if your ssd fails and you only have 1 you are in the same boat.

or just back up your important files to your 1tb drive.

so I should run the O/S and games on RAID0 or the Movie files? the quick load time would benefit both

[theAngryMarmot]

As cool as a Raid setup is, I wouldn't bother for average use.

[Fix.it.again.Tony]

As cool as a Raid setup is, I wouldn't bother for average use.

So using a SSD for my O/S and games then a high RPM HDD for the movie files should work?

[theAngryMarmot]

Should be more than enough

[Broskiballa]

Hey buddy!

This is TOTALLY do-able. I would be happy to help out with this build :)

I would highly suggest an AMD build. AMD as you might know are still in the lead for processing power for the buck. Cheap, reliable, and performance all in one pack. Here's a list I compiled below that may suffice for your needs. Let me know if you want to swap something out. I would be happy to come over and build/ configure for you.

In addition, I would highly suggest against having raid 0 with 2 SSDs. Sure, it will be fast, but reliable... ehhh. lol. I just wouldn't get that greedly unless you plan to have a 0+1. (2x SSDS with a 3rd drive that equals the total sum of the SSD's for a backup.) However, no need to get that ridiculous for a home build. Single SSD + 2TB WD drive will rock your titties.


CPU: AMD 8 core AM3+ sock - $179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284

Mobo: GIGABYTE AMD 990FX AM3+ socket (supports both Nvidia and Radeon) - $129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (1600Mhz matching Mobo and CPU) (2 x 8GB) - $149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231568

SSD: SAMSUNG 850 EVO 120GB - $94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147371

Internal Storage: Seagate Barracuda, 7200 RPM, 6 Gbps, 64mb cache - $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148834

Graphics Card: EVGA (Nvidia) GTX 750 - $165. 99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487028

Power supply: Corsair CX750M 750W - $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139051

Mid tower Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed Black ATX Mid Tower Case - $84.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139016


I couldn't link you the full cart, but the total came out to $975.92 before shipping. There are also a hand full or rebate deals with those pickings. This would be a pretty epic gaming/ work station/ production pc. It would be pretty boss as a matter of fact. lol :)

Cheers!

[Broskiballa]

Oh P.S., there is other things you can swap around and find cheaper parts. I quickly just threw all that together based on reviews and reliability from customers.

[Fix.it.again.Tony]

Oh P.S., there is other things you can swap around and find cheaper parts. I quickly just threw all that together based on reviews and reliability from customers.

thanks giraffe!

glad to see you're still around!

[crx3]

I recently needed a new desktop and bought a Hewlett-Packard 500-314 at Best Buy for $460 on sale. It does everything I need a PC to do, and has been very stable. I don't think I could have built this machine for this price, and have been very pleased with this HP.

- MSI MS-7906 motherboard
- 3.1 GHz AMD Kaveri A8-7600 APU, 4 core with 3.8 GHz turbo
- Integrated AMD Radeon R7 GPU, 6 core
- 8 GB DDR3-1600 RAM, upgradable to 32 GB
- Seagate Barracuda 2 TB HDD
- Hitachi-LG SuperMulti DVD Burner Drive
- USB 3.0 ports on front and back
- 7 in 1 multimedia card reader
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- Integrated 7.1 channel audio support
- DVI and VGA outputs
- Windows 8.1

[die in a dick fire noob]

The integrated graphics and a8 CPU are lacking for someone serious about gaming but other than that and windows 8 it sounds like a decent machine capable for any casual user.

[crx3]

I don't game, but I hear that the A8-7600 benefits greatly with faster RAM, such as DDR3-2133. Unfortunately HP doesn't include the high speed RAM with this machine. This chip uses just 45 watts, with a jump to 65 watts in Turbo. It's offers a good bang for the buck for the average user.

I was hesitant to get a Windows 8 machine, but installed Classic Shell, and haven't looked back or at the "Metro" interface since. I read that when Windows 9 is released, Microsoft is going to offer a free upgrade to all Windows 8.1 users. We have Windows 8.1 on an HP laptop as well, and haven't had any issues.

[theAngryMarmot]

I have a couple machines running Windows 8 - with no issues. Seems like most people complain about the Metro interface, and don't actually have any reliability issues. I don't actually mind the Metro interface, once you get it set up and they way you like it - it works well, especially with a touchscreen.

The funny part about Metro is that Ubuntu linux (one of the most popular linux distros) introduced it's "Unity" interface quite a while ago - and it is similar to Metro. It was definitely a total change to the user experience compared to previous window managers (KDE, Gnome, etc.) However the amount of complaints it receives is substantially less than Metro. Granted, Windows has a much bigger market share - but if anyone was going to complain about that style interface it would be the Linux guys (this post is being composed on a machine running Ubuntu Studio.)

People bagged on Windows Vista all the time too - and it was not as horrible as people made it out to be, and all you had to do was replace a couple files and it was rock solid if you had issues. I would have customers that ordered new machines that came with Vista - and zero complaints. Then the media / magazines / etc all started complaining about how it was the "worst OS MS has released" and all these customers started complaining about non existent issues. The biggest problem with Vista - that people don't realize - was that it was an OS developed right before the advent of several now common technologies (USB mainly) and there was not the widespread support of a whole slew of hardware coming out. People viewed this as a Windows problem, but in reality no OS dealt well with it.

When people grow accustomed to something, and something a bit different comes out - they get all upset.

[die in a dick fire noob]

it's less about change and more about the lack of. What are the performance gains in using windows 8 vs 7?

[theAngryMarmot]

These days I feel as the performance is nearly a constant. Back when I was a computer network engineer in the 90s and early 2000s - the software was outpacing the hardware.

Nowadays, it is different. The hardware is so far ahead of the majority of the software - the difference between a 600 dollar PC and a 1200 dollar PC is pretty much invisible.

Granted - I am talking average use here. Not hardcore gaming, or other "heavy" tasks.

I still use a 6+ year old Core2Duo w/ 4GB ram as my desktop PC - it runs all my 3D printing, IDE, etc software just fine. My laptops are much faster (I5s with 8 or more GB of ram - but for normal use I don't even notice.

[Fix.it.again.Tony]

I think I will stick with Win7 x64

I like the HP idea as well, but I still would need hard drives and a few things

[theAngryMarmot]

I would definitely stick with Windows 7.

[Broskiballa]

thanks giraffe!

glad to see you're still around!

I honestly don't have much going on now a days. I am still alive and kicking

[Broskiballa]

I would definitely stick with Windows 7.

I think I will stick with Win7 x64

I like the HP idea as well, but I still would need hard drives and a few things



Double thumbs up!