Personal computing discussed
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twups wrote:___
Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160
NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT (512MB)
Intel P31 (Bearlake) + ICH7 chipset
2GB ram
Windows XP
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Current System Guide wrote:This sample config is similar to the Econobox from our previous System Guides. It should offer solid CPU performance, enough threads and memory capacity for light to medium multitasking, reasonably good GPU performance at 1080p, and adequate storage. The nice Corsair case and modular power supply should make the build process very easy—great for a first-time build.
The Egg wrote:I can't recommend putting any money into that machine, beyond a max of $50 for a used card. The killer is that you're still running Windows XP, which is dead in less than a month. Save that $200-300 and put it towards a new system.
superjawes wrote:Take a look at The System Guide. The recommended builds come in well above your budget for a graphics card, but it should give you a good snapshot of the hardware market.
vargis14 wrote:If you live near a Micro Center...
twups wrote:Core i5, along with mobo, RAM, and GPU. You can do all of this for about $550 ($200-ish for the i5, $125-ish for mobo, $150-ish for GPU, $100-ish for RAM) give or take $100 depending on what you choose. This will give you the "maximum bang-for-buck" that you seek, and will last you for years. Then pick your OS. I'm using Windows 8 and recommend it, but others may strongly disagree.A new system is no problem money-wise, I just don't like spending so much on any single component or buying myself a heat box with diminishing returns for maximal cost. With the rate of change in the industry, I prefer to get a mainstream machine rather than a top-end one. I tend to like maximum bang-for-buck.
flip-mode wrote:twups wrote:Core i5, along with mobo, RAM, and GPU. You can do all of this for about $550 ($200-ish for the i5, $125-ish for mobo, $150-ish for GPU, $100-ish for RAM) give or take $100 depending on what you choose. This will give you the "maximum bang-for-buck" that you seek, and will last you for years. Then pick your OS. I'm using Windows 8 and recommend it, but others may strongly disagree.A new system is no problem money-wise, I just don't like spending so much on any single component or buying myself a heat box with diminishing returns for maximal cost. With the rate of change in the industry, I prefer to get a mainstream machine rather than a top-end one. I tend to like maximum bang-for-buck.
twups wrote:I just don't like spending so much on any single component ....... I prefer to get a mainstream machine rather than a top-end one. I tend to like maximum bang-for-buck
Concupiscence wrote:flip-mode wrote:twups wrote:Core i5, along with mobo, RAM, and GPU. You can do all of this for about $550 ($200-ish for the i5, $125-ish for mobo, $150-ish for GPU, $100-ish for RAM) give or take $100 depending on what you choose. This will give you the "maximum bang-for-buck" that you seek, and will last you for years. Then pick your OS. I'm using Windows 8 and recommend it, but others may strongly disagree.A new system is no problem money-wise, I just don't like spending so much on any single component or buying myself a heat box with diminishing returns for maximal cost. With the rate of change in the industry, I prefer to get a mainstream machine rather than a top-end one. I tend to like maximum bang-for-buck.
The OP's said he's interested in a mainstream machine rather than an ogre.
twups wrote:I agree about keeping the option of future expansion to 32 GiB of memory open so I chose motherboards with four DIMM slots. Each of those micro-ATX motherboards has four PCIe slots. The gaming graphics card will occupy the first slot and its cooler will overhang the second one. What are you going to install that requires more than two additional PCIe slots? I believe that micro-ATX's four or five slots are sufficient for a single-GPU enthusiast's PC.A larger mainboard with lots of slots at 4x RAM slots is what I normally go for, just to keep the options open.
twups wrote:SeaSonic, Channel Well Technology, etc. actually manufacture the power supplies. Corsair puts their brand on them.Corsair making PSUs is new to me.
twups wrote:Here's where you really do need to catch up. You definitely want your operating system, your device drivers, your browser and your other most-used programs to run from an SSD. The decreased latency makes your system feel more responsive. As for longevity, the folks at the Tech Report have been testing that, too:SSDs. I"m not totally convinced on their longevity (or smaller sizes, or bang-for-buck).
twups wrote:SSDs. I"m not totally convinced on their longevity (or smaller sizes, or bang-for-buck) so I'll be sticking to maybe 2 units of 'olde world' traditional spinning platter models; one for OS and one for general file storage and apps (I am currently doing this now too). Though I like the shock resistance and silence of SSDs, I'm not ready to buy them yet. 64 bit windows is probably a must at this point of course. I think I have resisted long enough
twups wrote:vargis14, I like big cases and adequate cooling (but low noise), even though I won't be overclocking or running particularly hot components. My main concern is keeping the hard drives cool since they are sensitive creatures and I don't want them failing due to heat stresses. My current case is internally a lot like your Coolermaster in the sense that it has drive bays going from the top pf the case to the bottom, so there is lots of room to reposition, wiggle and jiggle. I like those sorts of cases.
twups wrote:SSDs. I"m not totally convinced on their longevity (or smaller sizes, or bang-for-buck) so I'll be sticking to maybe 2 units of 'olde world' traditional spinning platter models; one for OS and one for general file storage and apps (I am currently doing this now too). Though I like the shock resistance and silence of SSDs, I'm not ready to buy them yet. 64 bit windows is probably a must at this point of course. I think I have resisted long enough