Computers - Planning My Next Build

[NW-Bound]

The last PC I built was 6 years ago. Its quad core Intel Q6700 chip was rated at 3328 CPUMark. That A8-7600 CPU that you pick delivers 5154 CPUMark for $70. Amazing.

I will not be building any new PC anytime soon. Still have 2 quad-core PCs like the above, plus 4 dual cores. The PC I use the most now is the lowly laptop I use for Web surfin'.

I don't play games. I used to do some home video editing, but man that is too much work for something I never watch again. And I do not do engineering work anymore to run simulation and analysis.

 

[NW-Bound]

By the way, the Athlon 64 X2 5000+ has a rating of 1314. It's slower than many bitty netbooks now, let alone a real laptop. Time to retire it, or use it to run a file server or something.

 

[easysurfer]

By the way, the Athlon 64 X2 5000+ has a rating of 1314. It's slower than many bitty netbooks now, let alone a real laptop. Time to retire it, or use it to run a file server or something.

I guess the question for me is when I hit the send button to e-file from Turbotax, can I tolerate 2 seconds for a response vs 1 second .

 

[walkinwood]

Spec an SSD for the OS and applications. The smaller ones (256GB) are quite affordable. You'll be amazed at how fast the system boots and programs load.

 

[easysurfer]

Spec an SSD for the OS and applications. The smaller ones (256GB) are quite affordable. You'll be amazed at how fast the system boots and programs load.

Great idea. My system and data together so far only takes less than 80GB total.

 

[NW-Bound]

I guess the question for me is when I hit the send button to e-file from Turbotax, can I tolerate 2 seconds for a response vs 1 second .

New software is written so inefficiently that I often need a faster machine just to be able do the same thing as fast as I used to be able to do. It irks me when I click on something, and it takes a few seconds just to acknowledge my input. Back in the Windows 3.1 days, the machines were 1/100th the speed of the current CPUs, and the response was about the same.

Just two days ago, I needed to print out a form in pdf format. It took 5 min to print one page on my trustworthy HP Laserjet 6MP! What the hell happened? I think if I buy a new printer, it would work a lot faster, but why did this same printer work so well back in Win XP days and not now?

 

[REWahoo]

... but why did this same printer work so well back in Win XP days and not now?

I look in the mirror and ask myself the same question*.







* I spent most of my working years in the printing industry.

 

[naggz]

You will not notice the difference between 8 and 16 GB of ram. Get 16 only if you need heavy picture / video editing or for gaming (which you won't be doing with that CPU / video card).

I highly recommend an SSD for your OS and programs. 240GB is likely enough, and will be well worth the money. It will have the single biggest impact for the speed and responsiveness of your day-to-day computer use.

 

[Ian S]

Great idea. My system and data together so far only takes less than 80GB total.

Definitely time for an SSD then. Best single improvement you can make to a desktop machine. However, it's best to use with a newer OS that is designed with SSD's in mind. At least Win7. Otherwise, you have to make manual tweaks to optimize SSD usage. Prices are pretty reasonable: just last weekend, Fry's Electronics had a 256 GB AData SSD for $60 after promo code and MIR. Even if you don't have a Fry's brick and mortar nearby, at this time of year they offer free shipping on pretty much everything. Here in Phoenix, we're blessed with two stores so I usually can get what I want and it makes for easy returns.

 

[REWahoo]

easysurfer, you may have backed off on your plan but this thread has inspired me to take a shot at speeding up my 6 year old desktop with a new SSD. Ordered one from Newegg for $55 after rebate (256GB) and spent some time on YouTube checking out how to make the swap. Another self-inflicted adventure in the making...

 

[easysurfer]

easysurfer, you may have backed off on your plan but this thread has inspired me to take a shot at speeding up my 6 year old desktop with a new SSD. Ordered one from Newegg for $55 after rebate (256GB) and spent some time on YouTube checking out how to make the swap. Another self-inflicted adventure in the making...

I've decided to hold off on the build right now as I actually am okay with the performance of Win 7 on my old Dell. But when Win 7 comes closer to the end of it's life, I'll surely build.

I still tinkered a bit over the weekend. Not with the new build, but deciding to keep an old build to run Linux on. I posted that build on that pcpartpicker site. Feel free to check out:

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/xPm8TW

The SSD idea sounds like a good idea. There's a good video I saw on youtube the other day of cloning your current system, to then put back on the SSD.

 

[REWahoo]

The SSD idea sounds like a good idea. There's a good video I saw on youtube the other day of cloning your current system, to then put back on the SSD.

Yes, that's what gave me the courage to give it a shot.

I didn't realize how slow my desktop was to boot up and how sluggish it was in general until a couple of weeks ago when I got my new (to me) refurb laptop with a SSD. ( My old laptop suffered some ugly damage when I dropped it on the pavement while getting it out of my car T-Giving day.)

Why not stick a SSD in your current desktop? You can use it for your future build as well, plus get some immediate benefit.

 

[easysurfer]

Yes, that's what gave me the courage to give it a shot.

I didn't realize how slow my desktop was to boot up and how sluggish it was in general until a couple of weeks ago when I got my new (to me) refurb laptop with a SSD. ( My old laptop suffered some ugly damage when I dropped it on the pavement while getting it out of my car T-Giving day.)

Why not stick a SSD in your current desktop? You can use it for your future build as well, plus get some immediate benefit.

Yes. One of the pros of SSD in a laptop is since no moving parts, if dropped. At least the data storage part .

I'm probably lazy, cheap or most likely some of both, but way I figure when I do that computer build, SSDs will be even cheaper then and will feel more "new" if I stay with hard drives (I have plenty spares from old systems) in the meantime.

But I know what you are saying. I was thinking in the build to just get a SSD and stick with an old extra CPU I have. But 2 years or so in computer time is a lifetime so who knows what minimum requires are by then.

 

[Sunset]

Another encouragement to go with an SSD

I just "finished" putting an SSD into my Linux box, it's a 6 core machine I build ~4 yrs ago.
I often run virtual machines on it, and now even they are snappy and fast with the SSD, the whole machine really pops

It's easy to replace an SSD, there is cloning software usually available with the SSD to make it simple regardless of the OS. I did my Win 10 6 months ago, and now it's nice and fast.

If you think about it, and SSD is like adding a LOT of slow ram which is always faster than a disk.

 

[easysurfer]

Another encouragement to go with an SSD

I just "finished" putting an SSD into my Linux box, it's a 6 core machine I build ~4 yrs ago.
I often run virtual machines on it, and now even they are snappy and fast with the SSD, the whole machine really pops

It's easy to replace an SSD, there is cloning software usually available with the SSD to make it simple regardless of the OS. I did my Win 10 6 months ago, and now it's nice and fast.

If you think about it, and SSD is like adding a LOT of slow ram which is always faster than a disk.

What size SSD did you decide to get for the Win 10 machine? If I was to get one, I'd think for me 250GB would do for the drive to hold the system and my data. But 500GB sounds like a nice, rounder number .

 

[easysurfer]

Okay, I'm still playing around with planning out my next computer build figuring if I don't go the cheap route, I could get a better processor than what I have now. So, with that thought, here's my current part picks (which may very well change between now and build time--in a couple of years):

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8N3QKZ

I did put down a 500GB SSD drive. I'll still will have at least two additional hard drives. One 1TB for daily backups, the other an extra 320GB for plenty of backup room of my data.

 

[NW-Bound]

So, with that thought, here's my current part picks (which may very well change between now and build time--in a couple of years):

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8N3QKZ...

In a couple of years ?!? By that time, you should go look for the components on eBay.

I recently needed to get some DDR2 RAM to replace a stick in an existing desktop that was getting flaky, causing crashes. The price was ridiculously high for this obsolete part compared to the newer DDD3 RAM wherever I looked.

So, it occurred to me to look on eBay. There's a vendor out of HongKong selling them dirt cheap. Brand new too, from Kingston (manufacturer) with sticker by Avnet (distributor). Maybe fake? They seem to work fine so far.

 

[easysurfer]

In a couple of years ?!? By that time, you should go look for the components on eBay.

I recently needed to get some DDR2 RAM to replace a stick in an existing desktop that was getting flaky, causing crashes. The price was ridiculously high for this obsolete part compared to the newer DDD3 RAM wherever I looked.

So, it occurred to me to look on eBay. There's a vendor out of HongKong selling them dirt cheap. Brand new too, from Kingston (manufacturer) with sticker by Avnet (distributor). Maybe fake? They seem to work fine so far.

Yeah, 2 yrs from now, might be looking at ebay for the parts.

If I go the not cheap route I can either sell the old cpus at ebay for about $5 each or just keep them as they make nice looking paper weights .

 

[aja8888]

I still have one of my first processors I used to build a machine and now use as a paperweight:

 

[EastWest Gal]

Part of my recent excitement of doing a build is I found this really cool site (for those who like this sort of thing ) that allows you to pick and choose what parts you have/want and get an idea of a system build before actually going and buy parts.

I haven't put in all the parts to a possible system build yet, but there is a nice parts compatibility checker.

Also, fun to look at what other folks built (from very bare and cheap to nice and fancy).

Feel free to take a look:

https://pcpartpicker.com/

DS, his best friend, and I just built his desktop computer. It was a first for him and for me. I know nothing about computers but have a steady hand and patience.

PC part picker is a fantastic site. It also lists places to order the parts and the prices. Using my Amazon prime we saved almost $100 in shipping. 90% of the parts from Amazon, 10% from Newegg. DS is a gamer and loved the result. He also streams and does some video editing.

I might get to help with his friend's computer build next week.

 

[jollystomper]

Okay, I'm still playing around with planning out my next computer build figuring if I don't go the cheap route, I could get a better processor than what I have now. So, with that thought, here's my current part picks (which may very well change between now and build time--in a couple of years):

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8N3QKZ

Thanks for informing me of this site. All of our home servers (currently 10) are home built (hey, we all have our hobbies ). I haven't built a new system in over a year, but I might get the itch again next year based on the January (and probably my last) work bonus.

 

[easysurfer]

DS, his best friend, and I just built his desktop computer. It was a first for him and for me. I know nothing about computers but have a steady hand and patience.

PC part picker is a fantastic site. It also lists places to order the parts and the prices. Using my Amazon prime we saved almost $100 in shipping. 90% of the parts from Amazon, 10% from Newegg. DS is a gamer and loved the result. He also streams and does some video editing.

I might get to help with his friend's computer build next week.

Sounds like your DS, his best friend and you had a nice successful build. A steady hand and patience are two very important skills needed. I nice result from building too is when something goes wrong, you just may be able to fix the problem on your own .

I remember, used to go and attend computer shows (where vendors sell software and hardware) and be both confused and a bit envious as other folks would go and do hardware computer talk (motherboards, RAM and such) and I didn't have a clue what they were talking about. Then one day decided to just dive in and build my own -- mistakes and all (oh, I've fried a couple of cpu's in my time during a build).

I'm having a blast at that PC part picker site and did see the breakdown of prices. Even by vendor for better comparisons.

 

[easysurfer]

I still have one of my first processors I used to build a machine and now use as a paperweight:

View attachment 25128

That's a nice looking paperweight.

 

[Jerry1]

I've never built a machine, however, the last one I bought, I had built. There were two things I was going for that I'm very happy with. The first is the solid state hard drive. Doesn't have to be too big as it's just for the programs. I still keep data on a large secondary hard drive. Machine starts up in a few seconds. The other thing I love is a high performance machine with no fans. The case is basically a heat sink. It is dead quiet unless the internal hard drive is operating. I love quiet.

 

[NW-Bound]

I still have 4 of those Pentium Pro CPUs, but they are still installed in their PCs. They are stacked up in the garage.

I need to do an inventory of the PCs that I have built over the years, starting from a 386SX CPU. It's more than 15. Prior to that was a PCXT, but it was bought off the shelf. I have lost only one CPU and board to failure, an AMD Duron.