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Redrocket
Phoenix
Joined: May 20, 2007
Age: 33
Posts: 616
Location: New York City
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 Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:32 pm Post subject: |
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| zer0netgain wrote: | | Redrocket wrote: | When shopping for a new computer, whether it be Mac or PC, what should one look for in a processor, hard drive and memory besides capacity? I'm aware of there's something else but I don't remember what its.
By the way, what kind of internet services does everyone here have (DSL, Cable...)? I have Verizon DSL, I'm from NYC by the way.
Thanks again for everyone's help with this! |
Boy, you know how to ask a loaded question, don't you? 
There is NO SINGLE BEST ANSWER for your question, and I just bought the hardware for a new system.
I wanted a powerful PC that would last me 5+ years easily. I do video production work so power is key. I went with an Intel i7 Quad because it's at the top. Didn't buy the $1,000 CPU, but the $250 one. When the high end ones come down in price, I could always upgrade the CPU with a faster one. The slowest Intel i7 Quad will blow the doors of most anything else out there.
However, if you do nothing but basic office software and web surfing, that's overkill.
Clearly, since they went to dual core CPUs to get more speed at less power, you'll want to go with a dual core CPU, but I'd need to do a lot of research to see what is more than enough BASED ON YOUR NEEDS. If you like doing PC games, you'll need something on the higher end, otherwise something on the low end might be great for many years of use.
Hard drives should be at least 7,200 rpm because that does matter. They have 10,000 rpm models, but they are pricey. SATA is the minimum interface you want because 3.0 GHz/sec transfer rates really cut lag time in loading documents and doing stuff that caches to the HDD.
Memory should be a brand that is rated as quality. You don't have to spend $$$, but dirt cheap memory is often not that good deal. If you plan to overclock your system (up the power settings to get faster speeds) you have to pay for better quality parts which will withstand the stress of that being done.
Now that Windows 7 is out, here's the skinny....
RAM - Have at least 3 GB. Under XP, having 2 GB was more than enough. If you run a 32-bit OS (Vista and Win7 come in both 32 and 64-bit platforms), you can not employ more than 4 GB of total RAM in your system. If you want to be able to use more than 4 GB, you must go with 64-bit. For Win7 and Vista, 3 GB is enough for the system to run well without exhausting the RAM on the board to do most common functions.
OS - Might as well go Win7 on a new system. Get the 32/64-bit version based on the amount of RAM you plan to install.
HDD - Have at least 500 GB. 1TB might be overkill and impossible to backup. Unless you have LOTS of music, video, etc. on the HDD, 500GB is quite a bit to fill up.
VIDEO - You didn't mention this, but video is tied to what you plan to do. Gaming requires a better card than most MBs will come with if the video is integrated onto the board. How good a card depends on how much you like in terms of quality and what size monitor you are using. LCD displays have fairly fixed resolutions and a more powerful card is needed to get quality on a larger display.
If you post up what kind of purposes you have in mind for a PC, we can better suggest what type of hardware you should look for. |
Right now I have a Intel Pentinum 4 1.9 GHZ in 8 year Dell Computer. I have a 80 GB Hard Drive and 512 MB of RDRAM. I'm currently using Windows XP Home Edition SP3 and have Verizon DSL. I'm not too sure of the specifics of the processor and the hard drive. I use my computer daily when I'm at home. I surf the web on various different types of websites, I do play games (on-line games in particular), I do use Microsoft Office from time to time, I look at PDF files, I'm not too much into pictures and videos but do occasionally look at short movies on the web, I do listen to music on-line, I look at my work e-mail using a Novell based system. As stated in previous postings I'm looking at getting a new PC or maybe even a Mac. If I get the new PC I will definitely get one with Windows 7 since Vista is a horrorshow. If I decide to go with Mac I'll probably get a Imac with the new OS system in it, I would have to play around with one before I make a final decsion.
I hope this helps. |
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zer0netgain
Phoenix
Joined: Mar 03, 2009
Posts: 1349
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| Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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Well, in your case, any number of the dual-core CPUs will probably be a massive improvement but that you'd likely never take advantage of what the quad-cores will be doing. Which one to go with? I can't say as they've been out for so long. It is wise to say you should get the most powerful one your budget will afford because that extends how long your new PC will be able to run stuff in the future.
Windows7 will need at least 2 GB of RAM for optimal performance. Be safe and get 3 GB.
HDDs are cheap nowadays. 500GB is not that expensive.
Video cards are hard to go by. Sounds like you don't do too much serious gaming, so perhaps onboard video will be good enough (a MB with the card built in). Or you can just buy any number of the gaming video cards that are 2 or so years old (been in the market that long). You could get a video card you never will outgrow for under $50 because a state of the art card is around $500.
If you aren't building the PC yourself, there are many places the custom build (perhaps in your own town) and if you give a budget and what you want to be able to do, they'll pick what they know to be good parts and put it together for you. It's better (my 2 cents) than buying online because most online shops save you money by using cheaper components, and you're supporting a local business. |
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CloudWalker
Deinonychus
Joined: Mar 27, 2009
Posts: 314
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| Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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It's really hard to give advices without knowing your rough budget.
Generally at the low end, AMD platforms (CPU+Motherboard) give better value than Intel's, especially with integrated GPU. As the target price goes up, AMD becomes less and less attractive.
If you do any gaming, then add-on GPU is almost a must. AMD currently has better product than NVIDIA at every price point but you still have to decide how much you want to spend on it. And if this aspect is important, you'll also want to balance the $ spent on CPU vs GPU.
Harddisk is pretty boring nowadays. Just buy one large enough for you. That is unless you want to go SSD.
RAM is always the more the better. However, if you plan to use 32-bit OS then 4GB is the max you can use. That figure includes the amount of RAM on your display card if you buy one.
(There are unspported ways to really use PAE or use the extra as RAM disk, but that's additional work)
If sound quality is important, then there are also plenty of high quality sound cards available.
(Auzentech and Asus are famous in the HTPC world)
Brand name PCs may actually be cheaper than DIY if a model happens to fit your needs exactly. Once you customize though, it tends to be more expensive but still not as much as Apple. And of course DIY gives you all the options in the world. |
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Fuzzy
Ack! Thbbbt!
Joined: Mar 31, 2006
Posts: 3695
Location: Alberta Canada
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| Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 3:32 am Post subject: |
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| CloudWalker wrote: | It's really hard to give advices without knowing your rough budget.
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Yup.
| Quote: | | Generally at the low end, AMD platforms (CPU+Motherboard) give better value than Intel's, especially with integrated GPU. As the target price goes up, AMD becomes less and less attractive. |
Yup.
| Quote: | | If you do any gaming, then add-on GPU is almost a must. AMD currently has better product than NVIDIA at every price point but you still have to decide how much you want to spend on it. And if this aspect is important, you'll also want to balance the $ spent on CPU vs GPU. |
I think nvidia gives better performance though. And the price isnt that much more.
| Quote: | | Harddisk is pretty boring nowadays. Just buy one large enough for you. That is unless you want to go SSD. |
Yup. Non issue. As long as its 7200 rpm, one brand is the same as another.
| Quote: | RAM is always the more the better. However, if you plan to use 32-bit OS then 4GB is the max you can use. That figure includes the amount of RAM on your display card if you buy one.
(There are unspported ways to really use PAE or use the extra as RAM disk, but that's additional work)
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Just get 64 bit. Plain and simple. 32 is going away.
| Quote: | If sound quality is important, then there are also plenty of high quality sound cards available.
(Auzentech and Asus are famous in the HTPC world) |
Most motherboards have nice sound cards built in. Unless you are an audiophile, dont worry about it. And you can always add one later. Differ this cost I say.
| Quote: | | Brand name PCs may actually be cheaper than DIY if a model happens to fit your needs exactly. Once you customize though, it tends to be more expensive but still not as much as Apple. And of course DIY gives you all the options in the world. |
Agreed, tentatively.
_________________
davidred wrote...
I installed Ubuntu once and it completely destroyed my paying relationship with Microsoft.
"careful observation of reality is a holy book unto itself" - techstepgenr8tion |
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zer0netgain
Phoenix
Joined: Mar 03, 2009
Posts: 1349
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| Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:42 am Post subject: |
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| Fuzzy wrote: | | Quote: | | Harddisk is pretty boring nowadays. Just buy one large enough for you. That is unless you want to go SSD. |
Yup. Non issue. As long as its 7200 rpm, one brand is the same as another.
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True, but brand does matter. Some have an awful reputation for HDD failure without warning. The few $$$ you save isn't worth it. Western Digital and Seagate are among the better ones currently. |
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Fuzzy
Ack! Thbbbt!
Joined: Mar 31, 2006
Posts: 3695
Location: Alberta Canada
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| Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:09 pm Post subject: |
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| zer0netgain wrote: | | Fuzzy wrote: | | Quote: | | Harddisk is pretty boring nowadays. Just buy one large enough for you. That is unless you want to go SSD. |
Yup. Non issue. As long as its 7200 rpm, one brand is the same as another.
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True, but brand does matter. Some have an awful reputation for HDD failure without warning. The few $$$ you save isn't worth it. Western Digital and Seagate are among the better ones currently. |
Not that anything other than seagate and WD are easily found.
_________________
davidred wrote...
I installed Ubuntu once and it completely destroyed my paying relationship with Microsoft.
"careful observation of reality is a holy book unto itself" - techstepgenr8tion |
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Orwell
Outer Party Member
Joined: Aug 09, 2007
Age: 20
Posts: 8369
Location: Room 101
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| Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:30 pm Post subject: |
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What are people storing that takes up half a terabyte? I'm sitting here with a feeble 160GB, 5400RPM hard drive, and even when I triple-booted (dividing HD space evenly between Mac, Windows, and Linux) I was able to replicate all my files and documents in each partition and still had plenty of space left. I suppose if you had a crapload of pictures or videos saved, that would start to add up, but still, terabyte hard drives just seem ridiculous.
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WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH |
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Fuzzy
Ack! Thbbbt!
Joined: Mar 31, 2006
Posts: 3695
Location: Alberta Canada
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| Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Orwell wrote: | | What are people storing that takes up half a terabyte? I'm sitting here with a feeble 160GB, 5400RPM hard drive, and even when I triple-booted (dividing HD space evenly between Mac, Windows, and Linux) I was able to replicate all my files and documents in each partition and still had plenty of space left. I suppose if you had a crapload of pictures or videos saved, that would start to add up, but still, terabyte hard drives just seem ridiculous. |
I have 13.6 gigabytes of photos that I have taken.
_________________
davidred wrote...
I installed Ubuntu once and it completely destroyed my paying relationship with Microsoft.
"careful observation of reality is a holy book unto itself" - techstepgenr8tion |
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matt
Sea Gull
Joined: Dec 21, 2007
Posts: 231
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| Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 12:45 am Post subject: |
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| Orwell wrote: | | What are people storing that takes up half a terabyte? I'm sitting here with a feeble 160GB, 5400RPM hard drive, and even when I triple-booted (dividing HD space evenly between Mac, Windows, and Linux) I was able to replicate all my files and documents in each partition and still had plenty of space left. I suppose if you had a crapload of pictures or videos saved, that would start to add up, but still, terabyte hard drives just seem ridiculous. |
My hard drive has several virtual machines(Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 2008 Server x64 Edition, Snow Leopard Server, and Mythbuntu, all legal).
I also keep video files from the past several years(including a lot of television shows) and many years of images, music and other videos.
276.1GB are used on my hard drive. I have a 500GB hard drive, so I have enough storage for now, but a 1TB hard drive costs around $100 now so I'd like to get a new drive for the extra free space.
My next computer-related purchases will probably be a 2TB external hard drive and a new router. |
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zer0netgain
Phoenix
Joined: Mar 03, 2009
Posts: 1349
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| Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:33 am Post subject: |
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| Orwell wrote: | | What are people storing that takes up half a terabyte? I'm sitting here with a feeble 160GB, 5400RPM hard drive, and even when I triple-booted (dividing HD space evenly between Mac, Windows, and Linux) I was able to replicate all my files and documents in each partition and still had plenty of space left. I suppose if you had a crapload of pictures or videos saved, that would start to add up, but still, terabyte hard drives just seem ridiculous. |
In principle, I agree. But on trips I shoot a LOT of video, and I take a LONG TIME to get around to cutting it into a video production of my trip, so I already have two external HDDs for saving that data (my laptop only has a 80GB HDD). |
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CloudWalker
Deinonychus
Joined: Mar 27, 2009
Posts: 314
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| Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Fuzzy wrote: | | I think nvidia gives better performance though. And the price isnt that much more. |
That was the case for the last few generations but right now NVIDIA isn't competitive at all.
AMD has already released 5870/5850 for the high end and 5770/5750 for the middle segment. 3 out of 4 of these cards yields landslide victory for AMD. The 5770 isn't too much faster but it still wins in terms of features. On the low end, AMD already had the upper hand with the 4000 series. (There has yet any G200 based mainstream parts from NVIDIA)
On the other side, NVIDIA's Fermi is still nowhere to be seen. Even the most optimistic analysts believe that they can at best paper launch a high end part before the end of the year. And don't expect real availability for upper mainstream parts before Q2 next year.
| Fuzzy wrote: |
Most motherboards have nice sound cards built in. Unless you are an audiophile, dont worry about it. And you can always add one later. Differ this cost I say.
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Won't call myself an audiophile but I'm pretty disappointed by the on board Realtek ALC889A. It's tolerable in stereo mode. The multi-channel mode though is a total mess up.
| Fuzzy wrote: | | I have 13.6 gigabytes of photos that I have taken. |
Raw? It will be a whole lot of photos if they're jpeg.
| Fuzzy wrote: | | Not that anything other than seagate and WD are easily found. |
If you insist on buying from local shops then I've found the choices are usually very limited. You may have a hard time finding the model you want even if it's a Seagate or WD.
| zer0netgain wrote: | | Western Digital and Seagate are among the better ones currently. |
I'm still a bit skeptical about Seagate after the massive firmware failure earlier this year. So I'm sticking with WD for now. I'm quite satisfied with my WD Caviar Black and won't hesitate to recommend it. |
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Fuzzy
Ack! Thbbbt!
Joined: Mar 31, 2006
Posts: 3695
Location: Alberta Canada
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| Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:08 pm Post subject: |
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| CloudWalker wrote: |
| Fuzzy wrote: | | I have 13.6 gigabytes of photos that I have taken. |
Raw? It will be a whole lot of photos if they're jpeg.
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Yup. In fact, its both. My canon is set to produce a raw and jpg with every shot, and I keep all my pictures. I should start backing them up to dvd perhaps.
| Quote: | | Fuzzy wrote: | | Not that anything other than seagate and WD are easily found. |
If you insist on buying from local shops then I've found the choices are usually very limited. You may have a hard time finding the model you want even if it's a Seagate or WD. |
I have a bestbuy right next to a futureshop, nearby costco carries some parts, walmart, london drugs has an okay computer department, and then there are the locally owned repair shops. Lots of selection. If I want something special like a 10k rpm drive, I'll get it online.
| Quote: | | zer0netgain wrote: | | Western Digital and Seagate are among the better ones currently. |
I'm still a bit skeptical about Seagate after the massive firmware failure earlier this year. So I'm sticking with WD for now. I'm quite satisfied with my WD Caviar Black and won't hesitate to recommend it. |
[/quote]
I tend to favour WD myself, but I have a few seagates as well.
_________________
davidred wrote...
I installed Ubuntu once and it completely destroyed my paying relationship with Microsoft.
"careful observation of reality is a holy book unto itself" - techstepgenr8tion |
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zer0netgain
Phoenix
Joined: Mar 03, 2009
Posts: 1349
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| Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 8:44 am Post subject: |
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What's the deal with AMD?
I thought ATi and nVidia were the only real names when it came to GPU chipsets. When did AMD start making graphic cards? |
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Fuzzy
Ack! Thbbbt!
Joined: Mar 31, 2006
Posts: 3695
Location: Alberta Canada
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| Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 8:14 pm Post subject: |
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| zer0netgain wrote: | What's the deal with AMD?
I thought ATi and nVidia were the only real names when it came to GPU chipsets. When did AMD start making graphic cards? |
AMD owns ATI.
_________________
davidred wrote...
I installed Ubuntu once and it completely destroyed my paying relationship with Microsoft.
"careful observation of reality is a holy book unto itself" - techstepgenr8tion |
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Keith
Guarding my post here
Joined: Aug 13, 2008
Age: 26
Posts: 2154
Location: East Sussex, UK
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| Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:00 am Post subject: |
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I use up over 500GB worth of a hard drive separated on two computers, RAIDed and gaming I just do not like uninstalling/reinstalling where I could just switch on, boot, log in, play. Saved games and configuration files there anyway.
I also like to keep a few versions of my graphics drivers, in case a newer version stuffs up and I get low colours. I also download the drivers for other Operating Systems, I can never tell when someone will need a driver for a card that they can't download for some silly reason and I can just copy to their computer quickly.
I also have a VERY large backup taking 42DVD's, I've tried inserting one at a time, but this takes forever, so I use my RAID to copy all the images on there and run much faster.
A larger hard drive is justified if you are willing to, and know how to use it. For why purpose, I would be looking at a laptop/notebook with a massive hard drive for business use which will make use of the larger size. |
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