Finally Ready! suggestions for family PC?

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57vroom

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Lots of lingering..... lots of reading..... a few posts...... Finally Ready!!...but I am clueless on what to pick/ what to focus on :??:

Here is what we are looking to get:

1. $400-500 after rebates [or less if that is possible?]

2. Computer will run 24/7 to support magic jack

3. Computer will be used primarily to surf the internet and watch videos/ secondary uses will be to edit pictures and home movies

4. Two hard drives if possible [1.5tb min between the two].... habit of family accessing coupon and survey sites that require a reformat... yeah it sucks!

5. minimum of 6 USB ports.... couple extra on the front of the case would be a plus!


I am not a favorite of Intel or AMD, though I had waited for the bulldozer thinking it would drive prices down which doesnt seem to be the case.

I have looked at lots of systems on newegg and on here and cannot tell what we really need and don'tt, so open for advice!
 
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You are over thinking it .

Faster spinning drives transfer more data quicker . Larger caches are generally better but wont compensate for a slower spinning hdd .
But the best mechanical hard drives can only read and write data from the disk surface in the range of 120 M/bits

That means 300 M/bit controller on the motherboard is always enough , and a 600 M/bit pipeline from the disk a...
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Outlander_04

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AMD A6-3650 Llano 2.6GHz $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103943

ASRock A55M-HVS FM1 $66 [ shipped]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157277

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231427

Antec NSK 4482B Black w Antec 380 green PSU $110 [ shipped]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129072

Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM $55 [ x2 ] $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697

Any dvd drive $20

$456 shipped .

Llano is a good multipurpose quad core processor with a great graphics system built in

The motherboard has 6 rear USB ports and additional connectors for the front USB

The case is a quality unit with a very good quality power supply that should last for many years .
Its possible to use a cheaper unit here and save some money , and if you need to economize further then this is where I would look first

The hard drives are not the quietest , fastest , but they are good quality and they are cheap

You also need a copy of windows . Preferably Win 7 64 bit
 
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coffeecoffee

coffeecoffee

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I agree with Outlander_04s suggestions except for the Computer Case and Power Supply. This is what I would suggest;

Antec 300 Illusion [$69.99 Free Shipping] http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

Corsair Builder Series 430W V2 [$44.99 Free Shipping] http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

Total: $114.98

It's only $5 more than the Case/PSU combo that was suggested earlier; you get a better case and better power supply. There is also a nice rebate on the PSU - making it $24.99. Bring the Final Total Price to $94.99


~Coffee

 
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Outlander_04

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I really like the Antec 300 , but a gamer case is not appropriate for a family computer . There are a lot of unneeded fans making unwanted noise , and having the front fans of the Illusion lit up 24/7 would be something I would grow to hate .

Te corsair might be rated at a higher wattage , but it is not as good a quality as the Antec Green psu and since the computer is going to pull about a 120 watts maximum the extra wattage is just not needed .
 
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008Rohit

008Rohit

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You could just get a power saver Intel hyperthreaded dual core in that budget. :)

Processor : Intel Core i3 2100 - $125
Motherboard : ASRock H61M-VS - $55
RAM : Gskill Value Series 4GB DDR3 1333 - $20
Storage : Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm - $55
Boot Drive : OCZ Onyx 2.5" 32GB SATA II Internal SSD - $55
Optical Drive : DVD R/W - $20
Case : Xigmatek ASGARD II - $30
PSU : Corsair CX430 V2 - $45

Total : $405 before rebates
 
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Outlander_04

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The difference between A55 and A75 is that A75 has USB 3 , External SATA port and support for the fastest hard drives .

The hard drives I suggested [ and every other conventional hard drive ] will not be limited by the A55 .
USB 3 could be useful , but do you have any USB3 peripherals?
E -SATA , again not useful unless you have an external e-SATA drive
If you did wish to add USB 3 later you can add an expansion card .

The A6-3650 is an identical quad core part clocked a little slower than the A8-3850. If a little more performance is required then sure, but otherwise the A6 will handle everything you need it for

The intel system is an option too , but the graphics are a lot weaker, and it wont be as good at running multiple tasks simultaneously because it is only a dual core . It is faster at some tasks and it will use marginally less power .
 
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57vroom

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>> The intel system is an option too , but the graphics are a lot weaker, and it wont be as good at running multiple tasks simultaneously because it is only a dual core . It is faster at some tasks and it will use marginally less power . <<

What type of tasks would I see the difference on? For the most part we will maybe be surfing the internet with multiple browsers and streaming audio at the same time....
 
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steelbeast

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I agree with Outlander_04 an AMD APU is the way to go for your needs. You'll be satisfied. If you need to expand the graphics for playing the occasional games or blu ray expansion, you can do a hybrid crossfire with a radeon 6000 series gpu too. You can't do that with intel.
 
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57vroom

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OK, maybe a couple silly questions:

1. Any advantage of buying 2 x2GB vs 1x4GB? Thinking that might leave the memory slot open if more is needed in the future?

2. Any concerns that the Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM is the cheapest 6.0 1TB drive available?

3. Any need to add additional fans considering this will run 24/7/365? It is in a cabinet that is built into the desk which is 12" wide x 19" high?
 
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Outlander_04

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1 x4 gig of RAM would run in single channel strangling memory access for both the cpu and the graphics system . Dont do it . Its unlikely you will need more than 4 gig anyway , but if you were encoding DVD size files then 2 x4 gig is worth trying to fit in to the budget . No other application you have indicated will put any pressure on even 4 gig even if you are running them all at once .

The seagate are a decent brand . I have no idea why its cheap . It just is

If you were using the case I suggested no you wont need more fans . You have a very low power consumption pc so more air flow wont be required
Different story if you have a huge graphics card and need to vent 500 watts of heat , but not this rig
 
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008Rohit

008Rohit

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Well,

AMD APU's cores are invidually a lot weaker than Sandy Bridge cores. The i3 2100 performs a lot better in single (or two) threaded apps. Hyperthreading basically makes the OS thinks that its a quad core CPU. So, because it has only 2 real cores, invidual cores are weaker if you consider it as a quad core part. So basically thats the same as the AMD APU.
 
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Outlander_04

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Hyper threading does NOT create 4 equal threads . It allows gaps in CPU time to be used to run alternate very weak threads .

Have a look at the benches comparing the 2500k and 2600k . The 2600 is clocked 3% faster and has more L2 cache and generally scores about 6% better . That means hyperthreading makes less than a 3 % improvement .

This is not a substitute for four real cores . It cant improve the performance of a computer that is multitasking much, if at all .

And then there's a graphics where the AMD fusion APU is an order of magnitude better
 
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57vroom

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IT does not appear the ASRock A55M-HVS FM1 can take advantage of the 6.0 aspect of the drives, but then I have not seen much about 6.0 really being a benefit for HDD anyway....

So on the drive what then provides greater speed, the cache or the RPM? Is a 32MB/ 7200 faster than a 64MB/ 5900?

Or am I just over thinking all of this???? :- )
 
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Outlander_04

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You are over thinking it .

Faster spinning drives transfer more data quicker . Larger caches are generally better but wont compensate for a slower spinning hdd .
But the best mechanical hard drives can only read and write data from the disk surface in the range of 120 M/bits

That means 300 M/bit controller on the motherboard is always enough , and a 600 M/bit pipeline from the disk a marketing gimmick
The only drives that are faster than 300M/bit are the very top performing SSD's [ solid state drives ]
 
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57vroom

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:sol:

Thanks for the guidance and insight! I figured it has to be like that since so many mobo that are 3.0....

Off to verifying prices and getting this ordered! Any last minute suggestions/ thoughts?

What to get for a NIC?
 
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