- May 19, 2014
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- 4,510
Hello all,
I'll soon be building a new PC and I am looking for a little bit of input if at all possible regarding a few issues.
First let me state what I currently have as a system, what I will be doing with new PC and ideal budget.
My current system, which is rather dated but has served me well is as follows:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300
Basic Intel motherboard (cannot remember the model)
3gb pc-3200 ram.
250 Sata II hdd
256mb Nvidia 7600gs
430 watt thermaltake psu
My usages with this PC are as follows, in order of priority:
1) Music - Movie playback. I run a small custom loudspeaker business and value quality audio reproduction. This PC is/will be connected to a 46" 1080p display.
2) Photo editing via Lightroom and Photoshop. I am a hobbyist photographer and edit a few dozen photo's a week, nothing to major. Keep in mind I currently edit on the above mentioned core 2 machine as well as a single core AMD based netbook!
3) Gaming. I confess, I am a console gamer. I would be interested in PC gaming however if at all possible. I must say that I am not overly concerned with bleeding edge graphics. I would be happy playing at 720p - medium/low settings on any game so long as frame rates are smooth and playable.
4) Various odds and ends: Youtube, Office suite, a few simple speaker modeling programs, nothing to demanding.
So, with that out of the way, here is where I sit.
I'm working with a budget of around $600 CAD. I can move up a bit if needed, but would prefer to stay at or bellow this amount. I can re-use the case and dvd drive from current PC, but would prefer to keep it usable as a bedroom HTPC.
I am struggling on the issue of which CPU to purchase. I am torn between the FX-6300, FX-8320, X4 760k, A8/A10 apus, and the recent Haswell i3.
I believe the APU's may be the most well rounded option in their ability to play some recent games at low resolutions while providing a quad-core cpu for some every day tasks. Of course the promise of HSA being on the horizon also has me leaning towards the Kaveri APU's as it seems like promising tech and may help to extend the life of this PC if it takes off as AMD hopes.
On the other side, the FX series processors seem to offer a lot of speed for the dollar. Since gaming ranks low on my list of priorities I believe the Intel counterparts may be more horsepower than I really need. Correct me if I am wrong.
Lastly the lowly X4 760k may be all I need, while utilizing a modern socket for possible future upgrades (no igp though).
Otherwise I will be using a SSD (120-240gb) as an OS drive with a conventional HDD for storage. I am shooting for 8 gigs of ram and will be purchasing a high-end soundcard (xonar essence) as audio playback is my single biggest priority.
Can anyone pipe in on which CPU may be best for my needs? Again, I would like to find a CPU that wont break the bank (ideally $100-$200 Canadian), but will offer a generous amount of performance. Built in graphics for some light gaming is purely an added(but appreciated) bonus.
I'll soon be building a new PC and I am looking for a little bit of input if at all possible regarding a few issues.
First let me state what I currently have as a system, what I will be doing with new PC and ideal budget.
My current system, which is rather dated but has served me well is as follows:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300
Basic Intel motherboard (cannot remember the model)
3gb pc-3200 ram.
250 Sata II hdd
256mb Nvidia 7600gs
430 watt thermaltake psu
My usages with this PC are as follows, in order of priority:
1) Music - Movie playback. I run a small custom loudspeaker business and value quality audio reproduction. This PC is/will be connected to a 46" 1080p display.
2) Photo editing via Lightroom and Photoshop. I am a hobbyist photographer and edit a few dozen photo's a week, nothing to major. Keep in mind I currently edit on the above mentioned core 2 machine as well as a single core AMD based netbook!
3) Gaming. I confess, I am a console gamer. I would be interested in PC gaming however if at all possible. I must say that I am not overly concerned with bleeding edge graphics. I would be happy playing at 720p - medium/low settings on any game so long as frame rates are smooth and playable.
4) Various odds and ends: Youtube, Office suite, a few simple speaker modeling programs, nothing to demanding.
So, with that out of the way, here is where I sit.
I'm working with a budget of around $600 CAD. I can move up a bit if needed, but would prefer to stay at or bellow this amount. I can re-use the case and dvd drive from current PC, but would prefer to keep it usable as a bedroom HTPC.
I am struggling on the issue of which CPU to purchase. I am torn between the FX-6300, FX-8320, X4 760k, A8/A10 apus, and the recent Haswell i3.
I believe the APU's may be the most well rounded option in their ability to play some recent games at low resolutions while providing a quad-core cpu for some every day tasks. Of course the promise of HSA being on the horizon also has me leaning towards the Kaveri APU's as it seems like promising tech and may help to extend the life of this PC if it takes off as AMD hopes.
On the other side, the FX series processors seem to offer a lot of speed for the dollar. Since gaming ranks low on my list of priorities I believe the Intel counterparts may be more horsepower than I really need. Correct me if I am wrong.
Lastly the lowly X4 760k may be all I need, while utilizing a modern socket for possible future upgrades (no igp though).
Otherwise I will be using a SSD (120-240gb) as an OS drive with a conventional HDD for storage. I am shooting for 8 gigs of ram and will be purchasing a high-end soundcard (xonar essence) as audio playback is my single biggest priority.
Can anyone pipe in on which CPU may be best for my needs? Again, I would like to find a CPU that wont break the bank (ideally $100-$200 Canadian), but will offer a generous amount of performance. Built in graphics for some light gaming is purely an added(but appreciated) bonus.
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