Which pre-built desktop is suited for my needs?

amendashley · Jan 4, 2014

I am taking my info from a previous post, and re-posting with new information.

I am asking this question in regards to processor, ram, hard drive space, video and graphic cards. I have done a lot of research myself, but still cannot come to a decision and need a little help. I have several computers here (of which I am not even sure if I can find them cheaper or even something better, but this is just a start) that I will probably choose from. I am an aspiring photographer and already have about 12 gbs worth of photos on my laptop, I store movies on it also, which probably has me in about 50 gbs or more, and I love having multiple windows open. I need something fast, but with good graphics for my photos and also something I could run like a SIMS game on and several photo editing softwares. I don't do much video editing, but every once in a while. Nothing professional. Please help me in my choice, and why it would be the best choice for the money and value!!! ** I am not currently able to build my own, but may eventually. I would however be willing to make a select few upgrades, and I believe each computer has room for upgrade, just not sure how much. A video card could be in my future. I HAVE ALSO INCLUDED SPECS AND POSSIBLE UPGRADES, but I have no idea what I am looking at, honestly! I am leaning towards the ASUS, because I think I could upgrade it better, but I am not sure. Please help! **

P.S. I am currently using a toshiba satellite L645-S4102 w/ 4 gb ram, 500 gb hd , intel pentium processor

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/pavilion-500-desktop-8gb-memory-1-5tb-hard-drive/8998102.p?id=1218968343934&skuId=8998102&st=pcmcat143400050013_categoryid$abcat0501000&cp=1&lp=12#tab=specifications

SPECS: http://h20565.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/template.PAGE/public/kb/docDisplay/?sp4ts.oid=5358992&spf_p.tpst=kbDocDisplay&spf_p.prp_kbDocDisplay=wsrp-navigationalState%3DdocId%253Demr_na-c03769164-6%257CdocLocale%253D%257CcalledBy%253D&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/pavilion-desktop-8gb-memory-2tb-hard-drive/1682356.p?id=1219060353967&skuId=1682356&st=pcmcat143400050013_categoryid$abcat0501000&cp=2&lp=15#tab=specifications

SPECS: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03933829&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en#N90

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/desktop-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive/1306374710.p?id=mp1306374710&skuId=1306374710&st=pcmcat143400050013_categoryid$abcat0501000&cp=2&lp=9#tab=specifications

COULD NOT FIND EXACT SPECS FOR THIS

REVIEWS: http://shop.amd.com/us/All/Detail/Desktop/CM1745-US006S#Reviews

jtenorj · Jan 4, 2014

There are a lot of similarities between these. I notice the hp builds each have a built in wireless networking card while the asus does not. Obvious differences are 1.5TB for 500, 2TB for 550 and 1TB for ~530. The $500 model has the slowest combo of cpu and graphics. The $550 model has the fastest cpu(slightly, like by 100 mhz on both the base clock and the turbo clock) and the graphics are slightly faster than the $500 model( 800mhz vs 760 mhz). The Asus pc cpu is almost the fastest(can boost to 4ghz) and the graphics is the fastest of the three by far(384 shaders vs 256 on the other two). If you intend to add a graphics card in the future, there are several ways you could go about it(though I think any of these integrated graphics should handle any Sims game fine depending on your desired resolution and quality settings). You can actually add a card to the included graphics for some hybrid crossfire performance. The best would be a hd6670 ddr3 with the apu(accelerated processing unit aka cpu and gpu on the same piece of silicon) in the Asus pc. If you were to choose to go with the $550 model with the fastest cpu and middling graphics, you could pop in the likes of a hd7750(preferably a gddr5 model) to use in place of the integrated graphics. Finally, you could pair a slower card like a hd 6570 ddr3 with the integrated graphics in either hp. All of these have a 300w power supply which will limit what gpu you can add(hd7750 at the max) unless you were to upgrade the power supply as well. Also, higher end cards than those are longer and might not fit in your case. I generally recommend the most powerful single gpu card versus 2 lesser chips.

tldr: the $550 pc has fastest cpu, largest hdd and wifi, will let you use igpu for Sims now and add a similar level card like hd6570 ddr3 for crossfire or pop in the likes of a hd7750 gddr5 to run in its place(if you want). Hope this helps.

amendashley · Jan 4, 2014

jtenorj :

There are a lot of similarities between these. I notice the hp builds each have a built in wireless networking card while the asus does not. Obvious differences are 1.5TB for 500, 2TB for 550 and 1TB for ~530. The $500 model has the slowest combo of cpu and graphics. The $550 model has the fastest cpu(slightly, like by 100 mhz on both the base clock and the turbo clock) and the graphics are slightly faster than the $500 model( 800mhz vs 760 mhz). The Asus pc cpu is almost the fastest(can boost to 4ghz) and the graphics is the fastest of the three by far(384 shaders vs 256 on the other two). If you intend to add a graphics card in the future, there are several ways you could go about it(though I think any of these integrated graphics should handle any Sims game fine depending on your desired resolution and quality settings). You can actually add a card to the included graphics for some hybrid crossfire performance. The best would be a hd6670 ddr3 with the apu(accelerated processing unit aka cpu and gpu on the same piece of silicon) in the Asus pc. If you were to choose to go with the $550 model with the fastest cpu and middling graphics, you could pop in the likes of a hd7750(preferably a gddr5 model) to use in place of the integrated graphics. Finally, you could pair a slower card like a hd 6570 ddr3 with the integrated graphics in either hp. All of these have a 300w power supply which will limit what gpu you can add(hd7750 at the max) unless you were to upgrade the power supply as well. Also, higher end cards than those are longer and might not fit in your case. I generally recommend the most powerful single gpu card versus 2 lesser chips.

tldr: the $550 pc has fastest cpu, largest hdd and wifi, will let you use igpu for Sims now and add a similar level card like hd6570 ddr3 for crossfire or pop in the likes of a hd7750 gddr5 to run in its place(if you want). Hope this helps.

Thank you. So basically you are saying the best option overall is to get the go for 550 and just perform the upgrade on power supply and graphics later?
Also, if I were to get the slightly cheaper ASUS, would it be a waste of money to just buy a wireless adapter or just go ahead with the HP and buy a graphics card later??

jtenorj · Jan 4, 2014

Frankly, the rated throughput of the wireless card included in the hp builds is not that impressive. You might find a usb wireless adapter that would perform better for less than 10 bucks. The Asus build will give you notably better graphics off the bat(with the option to add the likes of a hd6670 ddr3 for extra performance in hybrid crossfire mode later if you want) and still give you relatively good cpu performance. If you want to replace the psu and get a beefier graphics card in the future you can certainly do that, as long as the internal dimensions of the case are sufficient(mainly the distance between the inside back of the case and the hard drive cage in the front). If you did get a much more powerful gpu, you might want to try overclocking your cpu. The A85X chipset in your mobo should allow for that(the hp boards use a less capable A75 chipset). A significant overclock would likely require a better cooler, but I think something like a coolermaster hyper tx3 should fit. It is about 5.5 inches from the cpu heatspreader to the top and the asus case is almost 7 inches wide. They are often on sale for as little as 15 bucks. It is a quite capable cooler for it's size and for the price at which it can often be found.

Edit: I forgot about the hdd the asus ships with(only 1TB vs the 2TB in the $550 hp and the1.5TB in the $500 hp. 1TB should be plenty to get you started and you can always add more hard drive space either via another internal drive or by using an external usb drive.

amendashley · Jan 4, 2014

jtenorj :

Yes, thank you so much for your reply! The hard drive space I am not quite worred about, as 1 TB should be enough to start with, I just wanted to determine for the use I plan to make of the computer which PC would be better. You gave me some good insight. It seems either way I should be okay, as long as I determine what type of upgrading I could do before the purchase. The upgrade for the RAM is also different, varying from up to 32 GB or 16 GB which are both probably more than I need. I just know I wanted something fast, with at least up to par graphics for light gaming (nothing like what I would do on a console like an xbox or playstation or anything) but I always love to see beautiful graphics when dealing with technology. I think you have given me some good information to work with no matter which computer I choose, and I will be looking into the cards and cooler you mentioned. The reviews are overall better for the ASUS, but I want a wireless machine. And if I am correct, you also said that the ASUS is in fact a little faster, just lacking in the hdd, wireless and ram upgrade available. Appreciate all your help. If you have any more info for me, please let me know!!

jtenorj · Jan 4, 2014

the cpu on the asus is slightly lower than the highest of the three but should give you plenty of performance for your particular needs. The graphics on the asus should be considerably faster than the other two, andyou should be able to find a find a wireless adapter quite cheaply(if you really need one. depending o the location of your router and your pc, you could just use an ethernet cable. shouldn't need to worry about ram for a very long time.

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