Can someone give some suggestions for new computer?

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dm76

New Member
Hello again. I posted last week trying to decide if I should buy a prebuilt or make a computer. It didn't seem worth it to build when I could buy a pretty nice Dell for around $1000 and it seemed like building one was near that price. But if building one yourself really is better, I might be open to the idea, but just am really having trouble trying to pick out parts at places like newegg. I mean, I pick a CPU or a motherboard and just kinda go through the lists it suggests, but I don't know what is what really. So if someone doesn't mind putting together some parts that would be good so I get an idea, maybe one around the $1000 price (I was looking at a Dell with an i7-860, 5750 graphics card, 8 GB RAM, 1TB HD), and then if there is something that might be quite a bit cheaper but also suit my needs, that would be great too. Again the most demanding thing I will be doing is editing photos and some HD video. Thank you in advance.
 
That Dell would enough for what you need. However, list from BillOhio is better as GTX 460 >> 5750.
And will dell, 8 GB RAM is useless as 4 GB unually enough for most application.
 
I edited the post while Daisy was replying. Since you don't mention gaming I wasn't sure if you'd want to spend the cash for a 460. If $1000 is your budget though, and you have any interest in gaming, you could switch the 5770 for a 460 and still be under budget.
 
BillOhio said:
I edited the post while Daisy was replying. Since you don't mention gaming I wasn't sure if you'd want to spend the cash for a 460. If $1000 is your budget though, and you have any interest in gaming, you could switch the 5770 for a 460 and still be under budget.
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Video editing. I believe GTS 450 is out soon.
 
Thank you Bill, that is very helpful. I guess what I was thinking that if I am only saving a hundred dollars so that it might not be worth it at first and I realize that Dell would be fine for what I need, but would I be getting a much better system by building what you suggested? From browsing the forums here, what I gather from it is that the power supplies and the memory are not very good with the prebuilt systems. Is that true? That being said, I have had 3 Dells in the past 12 years and have not had any problems with them.

I have always had Intel processors and don't know much about the AMD. How does that one you suggested compare to the Intel? And finally, I did go to school for IT related fields and did assemble a computer back then so I feel like I can handle it. Besides those parts listed, would I need anything else? (Fans, cables, etc.)
 
dm,

I'm pretty new to all of this myself as I started looking around for my own first build earlier this Summer. As far as building, though, as 1 newb to another, it's really not very difficult to snap the components together and run the cables. Components won't fit in anyway except the correct way, and the same is true of the power cables.

As far as the advantage? Flexibility, upgradability and probably about 10% less cash for better parts overall. You could, for instance, buy an ATI card with that setup and add (crossfire) another down the road and have a system with 2 cards. You can add a Blueray, an SSD, or other components at your discretion.

I don't think that that CPU is as powerfull overall as an i7 but my understanding is that the 6 cores will lend them selves better to video. Also, an AMD chip meshes with less expensive components than the i7's. The power supply listed is pretty much guarunteed to be a better unit than anything you'd expect to find from Dell or Hp. Another nice thing about buying components is that you can carry them over to subsequent builds. You've paid for 3 power supplies in the last 12 years and may not need to do that again by buying a respectable component now.

Like I say, I'm pretty new to this. I'm confident that the listed components are better than what is in the prebuilt. I would expect more experienced builders will have suggestions as well.
 
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As far as warranty, I notice the components seem to have 3 year warranty with them, so that too is better than what you get with the prebuilt. But I suppose if something goes wrong, it is a lot easier to call Dell or HP than to figure out what is wrong with what you got. I will look into it more, it might be fun and worth it to build my own afterall.
 
I really like the the build that BillOhio brought up but just for more input I'll take a shot at one too. What components do you have? Do you need another monitor, keyboard, mouse?
 
Actually I will need all components because I am going to keep the current setup for a second computer in the house. So I will need another monitor, keyboard, etc. but I want a larger monitor anyways (23-24").

The other thing I thought about was this. I need to get another external drive anyways for backups of my pictures and stuff cause I have an older smaller one. I was thinking, would it be cheaper and possibly better if I just put a second internal drive in the computer to use to backup to? I know it won't be portable, but it would be simpler. And I probably would get an external one too just because I am paranoid and keep extra copies of pictures in multiple places.

salvage-this said:
I really like the the build that BillOhio brought up but just for more input I'll take a shot at one too. What components do you have? Do you need another monitor, keyboard, mouse?
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I took my 1tb external and turned it into an internal. Bummer that it is not so portable now but I have all that space that ca be used for my system.
 
1055t
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851
MSI 870A-G54
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130275
RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052
OS unless you use a free one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873
CD/DVD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533
keyboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109198
mouse
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109198

That comes out to ~$1105. Sorry about that being over budget. with the mouse keyboard monitor being thrown in there It was kinda hard to fit.
 
Oh dont worry about it, I dont have a strict budget. I was just giving that $1000 as an example of a Dell I found with similar specs, and that did not include a monitor anyways. I have never bought anything on newegg, but I notice when I was browsing around there, and also in Bill's setup, there are those combo discounts. Is that a pretty good way to go to save a little bit?
 
Combos are great if you like both of the products individualy. I generally don't get anything from the combo deals because I am very picky about my own components. If you find a combo that has what you want, by all means go for it.
 
dm76 said:
The other thing I thought about was this. I need to get another external drive anyways for backups of my pictures and stuff cause I have an older smaller one. I was thinking, would it be cheaper and possibly better if I just put a second internal drive in the computer to use to backup to? I know it won't be portable, but it would be simpler. And I probably would get an external one too just because I am paranoid and keep extra copies of pictures in multiple places.
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That isn't paranoid, that's smart. A backup internal drive plus an external is a good plan.

Rather than buying an external, though, buy a good internal drive and get an external enclosure for it. You'll get a higher quality product like that, for about the same price. (externals just have regular hard drives inside them anyway, but this way you get to pick what model)
 
salvage-this said:
1055t
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851
MSI 870A-G54
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130275
RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052
OS unless you use a free one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873
CD/DVD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533
keyboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109198
mouse
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109198

That comes out to ~$1105. Sorry about that being over budget. with the mouse keyboard monitor being thrown in there It was kinda hard to fit.
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mius the monitor would that be a good gaming computer? for direct 11 new cames
 
Ok so back to the backup issue, I am thinking now since I got a new camera with more MP and will start shooting in RAW so the files will be bigger add up quickly, and also an HD camcorder, that I will need a lot of space for them. So, should I partition the main drive and create a huge partition to store all the photos and videos there, and then create a backup of that partition onto the other internal and external drive? Will that make it faster if the OS and programs have its own partition? And if so, how much should I leave for the C partition?
 
it is a good idea to partition your OS away from your other files. It won't make your computer faster but if you decide to move to a different drive, like an SSD, you will not have to re install your OS. For size? well I would guess somewhere around 30gb should be enough.
 
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