[Brian B]

Hi all,


I'm looking to upgrade my home office desktop and was hoping to get some advice from you computer experts. I started to do some research online, but almost all of the recommendations seem to be gaming driven.


I will be using Windows 7 w/ a 24" monitor with DVI. I frequently run video, music and other apps simultaneously.


The current system is running a Core 2 Duo E7400 @ 2.8GHz


I have:
Tower case
Power Supply
750 GB HD
Bluray drive
Nvidia GT430 1MB video card
peripherals


I was looking at getting:
new MB
w/ processor
8 GB RAM
SSD


My questions are:
1) Should I forget the Nvidia graphics card and use on-board?


2) Which MB and processor will give me an upgrade but not be overboard? I have space for full ATX.


3) I was looking at: Crucial MX100 256GB SSD @ $110 on Newegg. Should I just get 128 instead and use the HD for data storage or is the cost differential not worth it to go down?


4) I was looking at: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 @ $70 on Newegg. Is this over/underkill? Something cheaper/better?




I realize this isn't HTPC related, but thought a quick recommendation might be easy? With Newegg links?


Thanks in advance and open to suggestions...


Brian

 

[ChairTwo]

You can get a Samsung 850 SSD for the same price and it's a little faster. Go with the larger SSD 128 will fill up fast.

Figure out the motherboard and processor before even looking at ram. You may even end up needing DDR4.

 

[Dark_Slayer]

I have one of these http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ffiliateID=lw9MynSeamY-ugd6cvzCeszHju3qjfl9cg

Cheaper and still fast

IMO, the difference between a fast, very fast, and lightning fast SSD should be kept in your wallet because you aren't going to end up seeing a good enough distinction in general OS usage. If going for all-out high end performance, PCIe based SSDs should be the only thing considered

 

[Shadowed]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=19-117-302

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157512

 

[ikkuranus]

Unless your current system is dying a slow death I would say just install Windows to a ssd and keep using it. Yes it is fairly old and the new ssd wont achieve full speeds but it should still feel noticeably more responsive. Now is also probably a good time to blow out all the dust and apply some fresh thermal paste to your cpu. I repasted my 2500k this morning as video encodes were bringing it up to to 92c.

If your current system is dying or the money is burning a hole in your wallet then the following would be a good start.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($63.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.78 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.56 @ OutletPC)
Total: $240.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-13 00:23 EDT-0400

I only added the psu just in case you had a dying system as the psu is one of the bigger culprits in causing systems to fail. If you decide to upgrade motherboard/cpu then I would suggest to exclude the gt 430 as it really isn't needed for a basic office system.

 

[Brian B]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=19-117-302

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157512

Thanks for the recommendations everyone.


Re: the motherboard above...it doesn't seem to support the RAM I listed. Is it okay to go with 1600 vs. the 2133 ? Does it make any difference?


I was hoping to spend less than $190 on the CPU. Is this really the one to get? Is there anything in the $100+ range that makes sense or would it just be a waste to not spend more?


B.

 

[Brian B]

Unless your current system is dying a slow death I would say just install Windows to a ssd and keep using it. Yes it is fairly old and the new ssd wont achieve full speeds but it should still feel noticeably more responsive. Now is also probably a good time to blow out all the dust and apply some fresh thermal paste to your cpu. I repasted my 2500k this morning as video encodes were bringing it up to to 92c.

If your current system is dying or the money is burning a hole in your wallet then the following would be a good start.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($63.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.78 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.56 @ OutletPC)
Total: $240.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-13 00:23 EDT-0400

I only added the psu just in case you had a dying system as the psu is one of the bigger culprits in causing systems to fail. If you decide to upgrade motherboard/cpu then I would suggest to exclude the gt 430 as it really isn't needed for a basic office system.

Thanks for the advice. The ps seems to be okay and temperature doesn't seem to be an issue.


1) I already have the graphics card, so you are saying that it won't perform any better, so don't even install it?


2) I have 4GB - 2x2GB so slots are full. Would it make sense to just upgrade memory on the current board rather than buy a whole new board and cpu?


3) How does the processor you are recommending compare with the i5 above that Shadowed suggested?


B.

 

[ikkuranus]

Thanks for the advice. The ps seems to be okay and temperature doesn't seem to be an issue.


1) I already have the graphics card, so you are saying that it won't perform any better, so don't even install it?


2) I have 4GB - 2x2GB so slots are full. Would it make sense to just upgrade memory on the current board rather than buy a whole new board and cpu?


3) How does the processor you are recommending compare with the i5 above that Shadowed suggested?


B.

1. The 430 does perform better but I was going for a more energy efficient system. If you want to use it for some light gaming then it would be worth keeping.

2. I wont recommend buying ddr2 since it has been out of production for a while now and all the remaining stuff is pretty expensive. That being said, if you stick with the older system only upgrade the memory if you are constantly running out. Personally I think 4GB is plenty for a general purpose office machine.

3. Both chips are Haswell (refresh) clocked at 3.2ghz. The biggest difference is the core count. With that in mind, you will only notice a difference when running applications that make use of those extra cores ie video encoders. If you wanted to go even cheaper, you could pick up the slowest Haswell Celeron processor and it would still be a leap ahead of your current cpu in both instructions per clock (IPC) and power consumption.

 

[Slosh]

I recently put a cheap ($60) 120GB SSD in my E7500 Core2 Duo PC and used my former boot drive (500GB) strictly for storage. While this PC is no longer my primary work station, it is plenty fast for general purpose use. This PC like yours also has a 1GB GPU (Radeon 4670HD) and has no issue with 1080p, although I no longer use it as an HTPC (but may again down the road).

I say just get an SSD and see if that alone suits your needs (I'm guessing it will). If that doesn't make your system fast enough on its own you can still use it with whatever new CPU/MB/RAM you choose.

IMO if you're going to upgrade the CPU you should get an i5 or better. The difference between a C2D and i3 is too small to need to replace your MB and RAM too (again, IMO).

 

[Dark_Slayer]

I agree with the SSD upgrade. I also still recommend the same one

If you install windows to the ssd on your existing system and aren't happy with the performance you can always upgrade everything else at that point

 

[Brian B]

I've decided to repurpose the board and cpu for another computer, so I will be upgrading them anyway.


Any more thoughts on i5 vs.i3 and/or motherboard/memory recommendations?


Thanks guys.


Brian

 

[ChairTwo]

The i5-4460 and G3258 are basically the same processor except for the core count like ikkuranus stated earlier. The i5 also has a turbo frequency of 3.4Ghz and supports memory up to DDR3 1600. The RAM you listed earlier will not give much of a performance increase unless you plan on overclocking.


It's hard to recommend a motherboard with such a wide range of manufactures and features offered. The best way to find a motherboard is by going to a place like newegg. Filter by CPU socket type and slowly narrow down the list by the features you want and read reviews.

 

[Brian B]

The i5-4460 and G3258 are basically the same processor except for the core count like ikkuranus stated earlier. The i5 also has a turbo frequency of 3.4Ghz and supports memory up to DDR3 1600. The RAM you listed earlier will not give much of a performance increase unless you plan on overclocking.


It's hard to recommend a motherboard with such a wide range of manufactures and features offered. The best way to find a motherboard is by going to a place like newegg. Filter by CPU socket type and slowly narrow down the list by the features you want and read reviews.

I'll probably go with ikk's list.


Is this the SSD you'd recommend:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9555619&CatId=5300?


B.

 

[ES_Revenge]

You can get a Samsung 850 SSD for the same price and it's a little faster.

An 850 Evo of course, not a Pro. And the MX100 has something the 850 Evo (and even the Pro) doesn't have... Power loss protection.

Go with the larger SSD 128 will fill up fast.

Ehh that all depends on the user. I've yet to fill more than 70GB on any SSD and I have several, in different systems.

Figure out the motherboard and processor before even looking at ram. You may even end up needing DDR4.

Unless he's going for Haswell-E/LGA2011 or waiting to see what unfolds with Skylake, then DDR3 is pretty much a certainty.

Is this the SSD you'd recommend:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9555619&CatId=5300?

Yeah that's an 850 Evo... Newegg actually has it cheaper right now with $20 off code (ends up being $105):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7372&cm_re=samsung_850-_-20-147-372-_-Product

 

[Brian B]

An 850 Evo of course, not a Pro. And the MX100 has something the 850 Evo (and even the Pro) doesn't have... Power loss protection.



Ehh that all depends on the user. I've yet to fill more than 70GB on any SSD and I have several, in different systems.


Unless he's going for Haswell-E/LGA2011 or waiting to see what unfolds with Skylake, then DDR3 is pretty much a certainty.



Yeah that's an 850 Evo... Newegg actually has it cheaper right now with $20 off code (ends up being $105):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7372&cm_re=samsung_850-_-20-147-372-_-Product

So, you agree with the above recommendations, but would get the Crucial over the Samsung SSD? I think I trend +/- 300GB right now on the computer with files, downloads, etc. I can realistically get it down to ~ 250, so I might be able to just forget about the HD. Or is better to just use the SSD for software/OS and have downloads/etc. go the HD?


Thanks,
Brian

 

[Dark_Slayer]

Yes, windows runs a great deal faster on an ssd. Since you have the existing HDD already you can easily just repurpose that to a downloads/recordings drive and use a smaller cheaper ssd for the os

 

[Brian B]

So, right now I'm looking at:


ASRock H97 Pro4 LGA 1150
G3258 3.2GHz Dual Core
Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 1600
Crucial MX100 512GB SSD


Going to take the plunge this evening unless anyone else has any other suggestions/recommendations?


Thanks,
Brian