# Building a new computer!



## Conky (May 16, 2014)

I built my old computer about 6 years ago from a TigerDirect barebones kit that came with all the parts needed for the build. It was okay at the time but now I kind of want to build something better, trouble is I don't keep up with hardware anymore and don't know what would be good.

Can you guys recommend me some hardware for a desktop PC build? I want to run both Windows and Linux on it. I'm thinking something like 8-12GB of RAM and a Core i5 or greater processor, but hard to tell what it is exactly I would need. I just need something that I can use for media streaming, general web browsing, tinkering, and perhaps some light gaming and video/graphic editing. So what would you suggest?

I'm thinking:

SSD Drive for the OS (unsure about brand)

2X 2TB drives for storage (unsure about brands)

Intel CPU .... unsure about model.

Graphics card... no idea... but now that HD streaming is popular and I've got several monitors I want something that can support HD and a couple of monitors (or more) if needed.

RAM ... 8-12GB, though unsure what the 'good' brands are now.

Spec wise, this would be a big step up from my slowly get slower AMD machine with 4GB of RAM.


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## WebSearchingPro (May 16, 2014)

A specified budget would be nice to know, otherwise I'd say Intel i7-4960X + Nvidia Titan Z


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## drmike (May 16, 2014)

Quit going wimpy on RAM....  Just buy a considerable amount of RAM.   I wouldn't go under 16GB these days.

I'm fond of proper workstations.   Units pre-made for performance and demanding users.  Have two Dell's right now, both used - properly devalued.

HD streaming and the PC, sure.  I prefer a device for workloads like that so it doesn't step on computing (too many eggs in one computer basket).  Lots of Android sticks, Roku, nice TVs, etc. with apps for that stuff these days.

SSD, on the cheap and available - Kingston.

Get your CPUMark for current PC and look at same for CPUs you consider.


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## 5n1p (May 16, 2014)

I have ordered parts for my new pc (mainly work station) after 4 years with my last one. Not sure if this specs are good but it should be for next few years.

Processor: Intel i7-4771

MB: ASUS MB Z87-PLUS

HDD: Kingston 120GB HyperX SSD, and WD 1TB SATA3 64mb, Caviar Blue 6gb/s (all ready have 2 640GB WD Caviar Black from old pc, vary happy with them, one I will use in new build and upgrade at some point)

MEM: Kingston HyperX DDR3 8GB 1866MHz, Beast Series XMP, kit 2x4GB (already have 8 gb on old pc and I realy don't have need for more then that, even if new MB and i7 can take up to 32)

VGA: ASUS R7 250x, 1GB GDDR5 (don't play games latly so it will be good for what I intend to use it, even thought that MB has integrated card, this card is prolly the bottleneck of this build but it can also be upgraded if needed).

CASE; Spire Case Maverick and Master PSU GX 550W

Anyway hope to be happy with this build for next 3-5 years like I was with last one.


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## nunim (May 16, 2014)

I built a workstation around Christmas time for under $400 CAD total.

CPU - AMD A10-5800K - $109.99

Motherboard - MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 - $64.99

Memory - 8GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz) -  $52.99 - Should have gone 16GB, but I honestly thought 8 would be more than enough

Storage -  Samsung SSD 840 EVO 120G - $119.99

Case - ROSEWILL| FBM-01-450P RT $49.99

No HDD or DVD Drive as this is a work only computer really.  I'll likely add some 3TB drives a bit later in the year for some extra storage on the Network.

Works extremely well, I'm super impressed with the performance of the AMD A10, it's fast for work and has enough graphical horsepower for some light gaming.  The only change would be adding additional memory, since I opted for mATX I'll need to buy 8GB dimms   Who knew Chrome would eat so much memory..

I'm only using a 1 monitor via DVI right now but I will be adding a second via HDMI shortly.  It's got a PCI-E slot if I feel like adding a real graphics card in the future but it's extremely unlikely, I'm quite pleased with the on-board/on-chip GPU.


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## Xenfinity (May 16, 2014)

I initially thought that I could be useful in this post, but it turns out that the last computer I assembled was longer ago than I had remembered.

It was 04 September 2012 when I bought the parts.

An offer caught my attention.  This bundle:

  • AMD FX-4100+ CPU (normally $105 at the time)

  • 1TB Western Digital Caviar Green (normally $100 at the time)

  • 2 × 2GB Patriot DDR3 1333MHz RAM chips (cost approximated at $20)

This bundle cost $158.00.  Checking my logs, apparently, there was probably not a better deal at the time.

I recorded the PassMark ( http://cpubenchmark.net/ ) score of my laptop (2011 Q1) at the time and the CPU that I had bought:

  • Intel Core i7 720QM @ 1.60 GHz: 3,350 points

  • AMD FX-4100 Quad-Core: 3,969 points

Other parts:

  • GIGA-BYTE 970A-DS3 motherboard ($79.99)

  • 1GB DDR3 MSI N8400GS-MD1GD3H graphics card ($39.99)

  • Thermal Master TC-101B chassis with 500W power supply ($37.99)

$315.97 total.  (Texas sales tax: 8.25%)



Oh, also at the time, there was a sale on CompUSA for the 120GB OCZ Vertex 3 SSD at 50% off, so I bought two for $60 each.  I gave away one of them as a present and fitted the other into this new computer.

For 2012 specs, this was a great setup, and it actually did everything you specified.



> I just need something that I can use for media streaming, general web browsing, tinkering, and perhaps some light gaming and video/graphic editing. So what would you suggest?


I used to watch videos, browse websites, try overclocking, play Minecraft, splice videos, and use the GIMP on that machine.

Here's what I took from this experience in purchasing computer parts in 2012:


The CPU makes a huge difference.  I later upgraded the CPU from an AMD FX-4100 to an AMD FX-8350.  Boot time drastically decreased (sorry, didn't measure), and compiling programs became a lot faster.
The CPU fan also gets louder with more powerful CPUs and compiling on all eight cores.  This didn't bother me, but you should be aware of it.
Don't buy GIGA-BYTE motherboards, or you might need to deal with this.
The computer I built is still very reasonable in specs, even for today.  I have no buyer's remorse.
Don't bother with changing the timings of or overclocking your RAM.  Kernel panics.
4GB of RAM isn't fun enough to run a bunch of Xen virtual machines.  (That's why Xenfinity orders host nodes with 128GB of RAM...)
zRam on Linux allows you to use quite a bit more RAM than you actually have with a tolerable performance impact.
A graphics card with 1GB of RAM is sufficient for one 1920×1080 monitor.  For multiple monitors, you might want more video RAM.
Western Digital Caviar Green is even cheaper now.
I'm not sure what you are looking for in a new computer, but if you could provide a better budget range, I'd be able to offer more specific suggestions.

Nick


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## perennate (May 17, 2014)

new computer -- http://www.raspberrypi.org/


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## WebSearchingPro (May 17, 2014)

perennate said:


> new computer -- http://www.raspberrypi.org/


I actually had the pleasure of going on vacation with only a rpi in my backpack as my only computing device, was an interesting experience. It works if you have patience


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## Conky (May 19, 2014)

Thanks everyone! Ideally I want to keep the cost less than $700, which I think is well doable. That is more than I originally wanted to spend but I think now I want to build something pretty great to be good enough for the next 5+ years. Thanks for the suggestions I will look into those!


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## matt[scrdspd] (May 19, 2014)

I would suggest Intel i5-4670 + ASRock Extreme4 Z87. If you can fit an SSD in your budget, I would go with a Samsung 250GB 840 EVO.


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