Building up a new PC, whats your thoughts please....

[marcwang]

I'm looking to spend between $800-$1,200 on a new CPU (excl. screen).

I'm currently running an Acer desktop, with Q8300 processor, but keeps getting blue screen (fatal error) every other day.
Anyway its 3 yrs old now, its about time to replace it.
I'm a complete novice when it comes to PC, which is why I bought an off the rack Acer for its ease, and I found it
rather cheap even when compared to those at Fuwell.

Firstly, in this age and time, should I buy a brand name CPU ? It seems pricing is not too far off, even with similar specs to
those at SLS.

If you still feel I should do a DIY setup, could you recommend me the key specs I should be looking at for the budget above ?

My usage - 50% web, 40% Adobe PS, 10% Sony Vegas (HD video edits). No gaming.
If it matters, I work with Raw images & Video files on for a Canon 60D.
Frankly I find my current Acer adequate for web and photo editing, laggy for Video, but still bearable since
I dont do it so often. If it is still reliable, I'll be happy to use it for the next 2-3 years.

I was also actually thinking of buying an iMac. But rather afraid to jump to Mac, no experience. And I dont
have the software for Mac.

Thanks for your help!

 

[hanzohattori]

I'd DIY myself if I were you. I have a 3 yrs old Dell myself, apart from the RAM chips which eventually fail one by one every year, I think its mostly problem free.
Thinking of upgrading but unfortunately the motherboard mount does not fit the standard mount in the market, so I have to throw the case altogether.

Get a quad core processor, with at least 8 GB of RAM

PS: you can try replacing your RAM too.

 

[fmeeran]

You can try reinstalling the OS to see if it helps the BSOD.
I would suggest an i5 with z77 motherboard, nvidia gpu (for cuda) and 8 to 16gb of ram with a 520w psu.

 

[silencer13]

It really depends on how confident and competent you are to DIY.
Of course DIY is the more cost-effective option, but it's not for everyone.
If you encounter technical problems, would you know how to troubleshoot?

Brand name is safe and easy, but you don't really get the best parts.
But at least you get peace of mind of getting a working item with warranty.

An alternative is to get this guy, who will recommend the parts for you, then bring them to your place and DIY for you on the spot. Heard he's reliable and his price is good.
Just search the Hardware Zone hardware forums for Fortran.

 

[yrh0413]

For non-techie users I strongly recommend you go for major OEM builders like Lenovo/HP/Dell. Skip their consumer range, go direct for their business-class desktops like Lenovo ThinkCentre series. The business-class desktops come with 3yrs next business day onsite warranty, save you the trouble of bringing individual parts for RMA.

 

[giantcanopy]

U can try an i5 / lower end i7 with plenty of RAM, DIY
( assuming u recycling harddisks etc )

 

[lenslust]

You need..


i. SSD, at least 2 pieces
ii. HDD at least 1-2 TB for storage
iii. 16GB RAM
iv. 64bit Windows
v. 2GB RAM graphics card

 

[marcwang]

You need..

i. SSD, at least 2 pieces
ii. HDD at least 1-2 TB for storage
iii. 16GB RAM
iv. 64bit Windows
v. 2GB RAM graphics card

Thanks for your input guys

Why is there a need for 64bit windows ? I know vista 32 bit only recognise 4gb ram, but windows 8 also ? My adobe ps dunno can use for 64bit or not.

 

[Deyeno]

Thanks for your input guys

Why is there a need for 64bit windows ? I know vista 32 bit only recognise 4gb ram, but windows 8 also ? My adobe ps dunno can use for 64bit or not.

Also need iCore 7 Quad Core Processor.

Because 64Bit is the way to go. All 32bit programs will run inside a 64Bit OS. Stay with W7, much safer as at present W8 not much support from vendors on drivers.

I am also market for a new PC/Laptop, but, after seeing my colleagues new MacBook, even at the cost I am very tempted to change, because it is simply so fast, screen display is awesome and you can run Mac OSX and XP/7/8 all at the same time and still have 6gig of memory left.

Windows actually runs faster inside Mac using Parallels or VMWare than it does on a PC/Laptop. Bootup time for XP/7/8 on the mac was less than 20seconds. XP on my iCore 3 laptop takes close to 90seconds.

SO now :think: :what: to do .....

 

[Basu1]

32 bit version of any Windows will only recognize 3.25 GB of RAM even if you plug in 16GB of RAM. 64 bit is the way to go now.

 

[hanzohattori]

Windows actually runs faster inside Mac using Parallels or VMWare than it does on a PC/Laptop. Bootup time for XP/7/8 on the mac was less than 20seconds. XP on my iCore 3 laptop takes close to 90seconds.

SO now :think: :what: to do .....

Its just a myth.. the faster bootup time is actually because MacBook using SSD storage. Everything that runs natively is always faster

 

[yrh0413]

Windows actually runs faster inside Mac using Parallels or VMWare than it does on a PC/Laptop. Bootup time for XP/7/8 on the mac was less than 20seconds. XP on my iCore 3 laptop takes close to 90seconds.

;p Windows runs even faster on a Mac, on Bootcamp. Again as what Hanzohattori has mentioned this performance boost is solely due to SSD hard drive. You can get the same performance on a Windows laptop running on SSD.

 

[Big Kahuna]

For your requirement....a mid range will suffice....check it out below....a lot of possibilities and you won't go wrong with any...

Personally I am bias against AMD so I will stick around Intel for better driver support and compatibility FYI I have very similar usage pattern as yours and I am running a <$1000 3 yrs+ DIY i3-530 with SSD and on board Intel graphic.....good enough for everything I need and occasion monster slaying in Diablo 3 PC show is just round the corner so you will get plenty of ideas after 1 round of walking

Buyer's Guide II: Extreme, High-End, Mid-Range, Budget, and Entry Level Systems - Part 2 - www.hardwarezone.com.sg

 

[Rashkae]

Personally I am bias against AMD so I will stick around Intel for better driver support and compatibility

There are NO driver or compatibility problems with AMD, nor have there ever been. It's Intel that needed to have massive CPU recalls because they couldn't even divide correctly! Also, Intel's 64-bit chips use AMD's 64-bit instructions.

For video, the i5, i7 or the 8-core AMD chips are good. You don't need dual SSDS, etc, but I would recommend 2x3TB drives in RAID1 for storage and backup.

 

[ninelives]

You need..


i. SSD, at least 2 pieces
ii. HDD at least 1-2 TB for storage
iii. 16GB RAM
iv. 64bit Windows
v. 2GB RAM graphics card

1.2k can get this?? i chop.

 

[Fudgecakes]

If you really wanna build your own pc, check out newegg's video on YouTube: how to build a computer. There are 3 parts bringing you through from parts required to building and finally, installing the OS

 

[BBTM]

1.2k can get this?? i chop.

Ha ha! He mentioned those things, never says abt cpu n mainboard, so, u going to chop? ;p