technology Looking for a Better Computer

[Scratched Disk 48]

I know that I have a decent computer... however I want a better one! Currently, I have this:

System:
Microsoft Windows XP
Professional
Version 2002
Service Pack 3

Computer:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual
Core Processor 4200+
2.25 GHz, 3.00 GB of RAM
Physical Address Extension

I'm looking for something with Quad Core, 4+ GB of RAM, Desktop Computer. Basically, I need Processing Speed. I'd love the ability to play games/draw, and run Livestream. Any suggestions?

[Skeleton Kin 385]

you can always get a custom built one, for instance I got mine custom built to never overheat with good parts such as a great graphics card a good processor and a large amount of memory, it only costed £600 for all that.

but for pre-built ehhh I got no ideas

Edited December 12, 2013 by XCOM Commander

[Jokuc 8,174]

Custom builds are the cheapest but if you don't have the knowledge or doesn't want to learn, I can't really help. Anyways, what's your budget to begin with?

[MLPForums Phanact 1,374]

I'd get a custom built AMD machine. AMD is a lot cheaper than NVIDIA + Intel so you'll get more bang for your buck.

 

If you're planning to drop a serious amount of money into a system though, always go Intel + NVIDIA.

[Oblivion 20,279]

Dude, from what I can tell, just add more ram to your current system if possible, and upgrade the video card and power supply if you have to! Your processor being a dual core and all should be able to handle a fairly powerful video card without bottle necking, and in all honesty, very few games even today use more than 2 gigs of ram. So just at another stick of ram and call it good....

 

     But if you still have your heart set on getting a new system, then I would have to agree with some other members here, and say to custom build a PC, due to the fact that you can make it MUCH more customizable to you liking, and also ensure that you have much higher quality parts...

 

    Just saying, I got a somewhat decent system 5 gigs of ram and a Nvida gt620 with a entry level pentium dual core processor, and I can actually play most games on medium setting fairly decent, and that's with a very low end video card, just imagine what you could do with your current system with a top tier video card!

Edited December 12, 2013 by ~SadisticOblivion~

[Scratched Disk 48]

Dude, from what I can tell, just add more ram to your current system if possible, and upgrade the video card and power supply if you have to! Your processor being a dual core and all should be able to handle a fairly powerful video card without bottle necking, and in all honesty, very few games even today use more than 2 gigs of ram. So just at another stick of ram and call it good....

 

     But if you still have your heart set on getting a new system, then I would have to agree with some other members here, and say to custom build a PC, due to the fact that you can make it MUCH more customizable to you liking, and also ensure that you have much higher quality parts...

 

    Just saying, I got a somewhat decent system 5 gigs of ram and a Nvida gt620 with a entry level pentium dual core processor, and I can actually play most games on medium setting fairly decent, and that's with a very low end video card, just imagine what you could do with your current system with a top tier video card!

The thing is that I seem to max out my CPU just by playing games on the lowest settings. When I play LOL my CPU is around 80's and when I draw my photoshop takes around 40's.

Custom builds are the cheapest but if you don't have the knowledge or doesn't want to learn, I can't really help. Anyways, what's your budget to begin with?

I'd prefer not to go over 1,200 but can if I need to.

[Oblivion 20,279]

The thing is that I seem to max out my CPU just by playing games on the lowest settings. When I play LOL my CPU is around 80's and when I draw my photoshop takes around 40's.

I'd prefer not to go over 1,200 but can if I need to.

What!!! Do really shouldn't have to pay more than 700-800 dollars for a decent rig now days, heck you can buy a cheap i5 desktop for around 550-650 and then upgrade it later!

[MLPForums Phanact 1,374]

What!!! Do really shouldn't have to pay more than 700-800 dollars for a decent rig now days, heck you can buy a cheap i5 desktop for around 550-650 and then upgrade it later!

Or you could just spend 1200 and then not upgrade for a few years... If he has the money to spend then max out your rig to the max of your budget. The worst thing you can do is sacrifice performance for a few extra bucks.

[Oblivion 20,279]

Or you could just spend 1200 and then not upgrade for a few years... If he has the money to spend then max out your rig to the max of your budget. The worst thing you can do is sacrifice performance for a few extra bucks.

Idk, my PC right now is about 2 years old, and I got a new video card about a year ago, and it can still do everything I want it to just fine...plus I added a couple more gigs of ram to it since then also.....I guess you are right though, buying for the future is a good idea most of the time if you can afford it...

[MLPForums Phanact 1,374]

Idk, my PC right now is about 2 years old, and I got a new video card about a year ago, and it can still do everything I want it to just fine...plus I added a couple more gigs of ram to it since then also.....I guess you are right though, buying for the future is a good idea most of the time if you can afford it...

 

Future-proofing a system is always the best bet. Especially if its your first build and you aren't confident about swapping out parts.

 

I always upgrade my CPU, Motherboard, GPU and HDD's every year just to keep my system at its best.

[Retro*Derpy 3,203]

Honestly, this is a pretty good build. If you feel uncomfortable building it you can bring it to almost any PC shop and they'll build it for you for a rather low price. Though there are TONS of youtube videos on building newer PCs.

[MLPForums Phanact 1,374]

Honestly, this is a pretty good build. If you feel uncomfortable building it you can bring it to almost any PC shop and they'll build it for you for a rather low price. Though there are TONS of youtube videos on building newer PCs.

That'd be a good build but I'd stick a beefier GPU in there. Something like a GTX 760 or GTX 770 cause they're both quite cheap now.

[Scratched Disk 48]

Honestly, this is a pretty good build. If you feel uncomfortable building it you can bring it to almost any PC shop and they'll build it for you for a rather low price. Though there are TONS of youtube videos on building newer PCs.

 

For some of these parts, wouldn't I be able to swap out what I currently have in my computer? Such as the case and my power supply? I have a Corsair CX430 ATX Power Supply.

[A Blithering Div 247]

If you aren't afraid of building it yourself:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard:  ASRock B85 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($82.55 @ Newegg)
Memory:  G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card  ($335.30 @ SuperBiiz)
Case:  Antec Nine Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case  ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:  SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($137.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive:  Lite-On IHAS324-07 DVD/CD Writer  ($24.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (32-bit)  ($129.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1150.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-13 21:24 EST-0500)

 

Under $1,200 and will be beastly for quite some time.

[CMQuickfireTK 751]

The above looks good, minus the OS... ... and the fact that it is 32-bit! Get a 64-bit at least!

[Milk Wave 454]

@,

 

Heyo, so you're looking for a nice computer? :3

 

If you want, I can put together an AMD Build for you, it'll be around 800+ maybe and performs well. Games will run good, multitasking will be good too.

 

Case is NZXT Phantom 410 ATX Mid Tower. It's sweet since it looks more, futuristic :3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146086

 

Processor is AMD FX-6300 6 core processor, clocked at 3.5 Ghz. It's a nice guy, runs well too!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286

 

Motherboard is by ASUS. It's an AM3+ Motherboard so it supports the processor, as well as being loaded with awesome stuff. Also supports dual channel RAM.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131874

 

GPU is by ASUS as well. It is the Radeon R9 270x, 2GB edition, and it's a hunk of cooling. Also comes with Battlefield 4 :3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121802

 

RAM is Corsair Vengeance Series, 8GB of DDR3 1600 dual channel kit. And it matches with the Mobo color~

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

 

Power Supply is a nice Corsair CX 750 watt PSU. Mind you some things are out of stock, but they restock just about all the time. It's a nice, reliable brand with 80+ Bronze.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139040

 

And HDD, is a Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB Hard Drive at 7200RPM. It's like, the top competitor against Segate's Barracuda 1TB HDD.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W00ZD1577

 

And there you have it! 7 Parts to put together, making a nice machine. It comes up to $818 without sales I believe, so if there ever is sales plus rebates you can get it cheaper.

 

Also note, if you're not from the US, then I don't think you can order from here :c

Oh well :3

[Luffstups 150]

The thing is that I seem to max out my CPU just by playing games on the lowest settings. When I play LOL my CPU is around 80's and when I draw my photoshop takes around 40's.

I'd prefer not to go over 1,200 but can if I need to.

I don't think you're maxing your CPU, just overheating it. You need to put a better fan in.

 

I built my computer and was using the stock heatsink that comes with the processor and may very well be what's in yours. They're clunky little palm-sized fans that don't do crap. I overheated (and subsequently auto-shutdown) my AMD FX-4100 (Quad-core, 3.6 GHz) just playing Minecraft.

 

Then I bought a $20 heatsink about the size of a softball and replaced the other one. Now I can play Skyrim on Ultra without my CPU ever rising above 40C.

 

Your current CPU is not the best ever made or anything, but it probably has a lot more power than you're giving it credit for. Open the case, blow out all the dust with a can of compressed air, and try it again for awhile. That will probably help out a lot.

 

Failing that, try a new fan. They're not hard to install, and that $20 could save you a $500-1000 purchase in the long run, if you're playing LoL and not trying to play Battlefield 3 in 4K resolution or something crazy.

 

 

Or you could just spend 1200 and then not upgrade for a few years... If he has the money to spend then max out your rig to the max of your budget. The worst thing you can do is sacrifice performance for a few extra bucks.

Also, listen to this guy; this is really very correct. I built my computer for $600 in 2011, and since then I've sunk in about $500 more just upgrading parts.

 

I'm about to do a massive CPU and GPU shift again, and that's going to be costing something like $700 over the next year. Get what you want now, or you're just going to spend money trading parts later. That's fine for someone like me, because I like to save money and I won't ever use it on anything else because I have no social life.

 

But you might want money for... other stuff.

Edited December 14, 2013 by Lifeinsteps

[Retro*Derpy 3,203]

 

 

For some of these parts, wouldn't I be able to swap out what I currently have in my computer? Such as the case and my power supply? I have a Corsair CX430 ATX Power Supply.

 

I don't believe your power supply has enough watts to support a dedicated video card, though you could always gamble with that. 

The things I've listed are Intel, not AMD, so they will not mix. I don't know but I'm guessing you have a AMD2+ socket on your motherboard, so that entirely needs to be upgraded as well if you want high speed Quadcores. Though, things like your hard drive, DvD, and case can be switched over as long as you have a ATX case. I would highly suggest just getting the listed mobo, video card or better(I don't believe the Mobo supports PCI 3.0 so I'd stick with PCI 2.0 video cards), RAM, Processor, and PSU. 

[A Blithering Div 247]

The above looks good, minus the OS... ... and the fact that it is 32-bit! Get a 64-bit at least!

 

 

Honestly I didn't even notice it was 32-bit. The only reason I opted for Win8 was better multithreading.

[TorqueEffect 112]

@,

 

Processor is AMD FX-6300 6 core processor, clocked at 3.5 Ghz. It's a nice guy, runs well too!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286

 

 

I can vouch for that CPU. I JUST upgraded my computer, and I bought that exact CPU. Also without even doing anything other than changing the multiplier, I am running it at 4.0GHz now and runs maybe 1 or 2 degrees hotter, and that is it.

Edited December 16, 2013 by TorqueEffect

[Milk Wave 454]

@@TorqueEffect, 

 

That's quite a nice breeze then, upping it to 4 Ghz. If you're playing a game which uses 4 cores, then you have the other two as backup for whatever :3

 

That's how I look at AMD as, hence why I don't find 8 core processors useless.

[TorqueEffect 112]

@@TorqueEffect, 

 

That's quite a nice breeze then, upping it to 4 Ghz. If you're playing a game which uses 4 cores, then you have the other two as backup for whatever :3

 

That's how I look at AMD as, hence why I don't find 8 core processors useless.

 

I can probably push it even further. They say you can get it up to 4.5ghz on good air cooling. I do have an aftermarket Rosewill cooler on there so that will probably help. Was originally on my AM2+ board, but THANKFULLY they kept the same design for the bracket on the AM3+.

 

If you aren't afraid of building it yourself:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.99 @ Amazon)

Motherboard:  ASRock B85 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($82.55 @ Newegg)

Memory:  G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($74.99 @ Newegg)

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($84.98 @ OutletPC)

Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card  ($335.30 @ SuperBiiz)

Case:  Antec Nine Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case  ($64.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply:  SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($137.98 @ SuperBiiz)

Optical Drive:  Lite-On IHAS324-07 DVD/CD Writer  ($24.98 @ OutletPC)

Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (32-bit)  ($129.98 @ OutletPC)

Total: $1150.74

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-13 21:24 EST-0500)

 

Under $1,200 and will be beastly for quite some time.

 

You can get a 8 core AMD for $200

and $137 is completely ridiculous for a 650w power supply even if it is modular.

and you can get 8GB of DDR3 for $55 easily

I would never spend money on Windows, you can always get it through *cough* other sources. *cough

Other than that, it looks all good.

[Milk Wave 454]

I can probably push it even further. They say you can get it up to 4.5ghz on good air cooling. I do have an aftermarket Rosewill cooler on there so that will probably help. Was originally on my AM2+ board, but THANKFULLY they kept the same design for the bracket on the AM3+.

 

 

You can get a 8 core AMD for $200

and $137 is completely ridiculous for a 650w power supply even if it is modular.

and you can get 8GB of DDR3 for $55 easily

I would never spend money on Windows, you can always get it through *cough* other sources. *cough

Other than that, it looks all good.

Yeah, if you get an air cooler then it would be so boss! You can probably hit 5Ghz with a nice water cooler, like the NZXT Kraken X60 or the Corsair Hydro H100i.

 

And there are some few flaws pointed out in your comment on that one build.

 

$137 for that Seasonic PSU is actually reasonable. It's 80+ Gold, made by Seasonic (( Good Brand )) and it's fully Modular. I've seen some at that price.

 

Also 8GB of DDR3 1600 RAM is around 70-90 dollars right now, since something about a fire with something and now the prices have gone through the roof.

 

Just wanted to point those out :3

Edited December 16, 2013 by Milk Wave

[TorqueEffect 112]

Quick question, what does 80+ Gold even mean?

 

I am running a basic 500w Dual 12v Rail Thermaltake, non-modular, only cost like $50-$60 5 years ago when I bought it, and it still runs my CPU, and my power hungry old 4870 just fine.

[A Blithering Div 247]

You can get a 8 core AMD for $200

and $137 is completely ridiculous for a 650w power supply even if it is modular.

and you can get 8GB of DDR3 for $55 easily

I would never spend money on Windows, you can always get it through *cough* other sources. *cough

Other than that, it looks all good.

 

First: Single thread IPC is shit on piledriver, not to mention that it A. runs hotter and B. uses quite a bit more power. I picked the non-k as I very much doubt the OP wants to overclock and I wouldn't recommend overclocking on a production rig. Photoshop is one of those apps that will probably see AVX2 adoption. So why settle for a one trick pony when there's a good all rounder for roughly the same price?

 

Second: Its too much until something fries because you couldn't be bothered to spend a bit on some decent power regulation. Seriously, I don't see how you can justify cheaping out on a power supply that will be powering a grands worth of components especially since it will probably be reused many times.

 

Third: G.Skill's warranty (see: lifetime) is worth the money. However I would like to swap it out with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428 as it's cheaper, faster and for some reason not listed at this price on PC Part Picker.

 

Forth: That is entirely your call to make. However as it isn't my computer, I recommend either genuine windows or linux.