| Author |
So, I need a new computer |
Talien
Marshal
Templar Knights
Joined: May 11, 2010
Posts: 2044
From: Michigan
|  Posted: 2013-08-13 18:10
My current one is having a lot of issues, but I've had it for a little over 8 years so it's about time for an upgrade anyway.
I've got around a $350 budget and did some looking on Newegg and picked out some likely candidates, I know there's people here who are more knowledgeable than I am about this stuff so why not get some advice?
I have a 650 watt power supply and I'm fairly sure it can handle what I have my eye on. I don't need a new video card as my current Radeon HD5700 will run anything I'm interested in, even if not at full settings. Basically I'm just looking at Motherboard, Processor, and Memory.
Board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130677
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131874
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131851
Processor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103962
Mem:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148544
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148718
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148562
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313394
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460
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Pantheon
Marshal
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Joined: May 29, 2001
Posts: 1789
| Posted: 2013-08-13 18:28
Apparently the FX-6350 is the one to get (even beats out the 8120). If you can stretch out a few extra bucks it'll be worth it. To get a marginally better CPU you'll end up paying $150 extra for an Intel equivilant.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113327
However, there is currently a FX-8320 on sale for about $135 (there's a 15% off deal on on Newegg), which blows everything out of the water for its price. If you're getting it before the 19th, go for that processor. It's only $15 more, and it scores 25% more in benchmarks. For the same performance in the Intel range you're looking at $250-$300.
Boards are generally boards when it comes to AMD. Look for any AM3+ socket with some decent features that has good reviews. Google the model and "problem" to see if anything comes up that makes you feel a bit iffy about it.
There used to be a time when people really, really cared about timings on memory, but as speeds have increased latencies less than 1 ms aren't really that big of a deal anymore. Things to look for first:
Capacity.
Speed (frequency).
Timings.
Above all else, check the supported memory frequencies of the motherboard you select. Not all motherboards can go up to and above 1866. Once you've selected the motherboard to go with the CPU, check what max frequency it supports, and select the memory after that. The last one you selected for $75 looks decent, but don't be fooled into paying more for the same.
[ This Message was edited by: Pantheon on 2013-08-13 18:29 ]
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-Shadowalker-™
Admiral
Galactic Navy
Joined: September 23, 2007
Posts: 709
From: Shadows
| Posted: 2013-08-13 18:38
If you have a reddit account, there is a sub-reddit for building pc's, check it out here: http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc
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Talien
Marshal
Templar Knights
Joined: May 11, 2010
Posts: 2044
From: Michigan
| Posted: 2013-08-13 19:14
Quote:
On 2013-08-13 18:28, Pantheon wrote:
However, there is currently a FX-8320 on sale for about $135 (there's a 15% off deal on on Newegg), which blows everything out of the water for its price. If you're getting it before the 19th, go for that processor. It's only $15 more, and it scores 25% more in benchmarks. For the same performance in the Intel range you're looking at $250-$300.
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Thanks for pointing that out, it'd definitely give better performance than anything I was looking at. I wouldn't have even noticed that one as the base price is outside my budget, but with the discount code it's doable.
I was also thinking about that last chip but honestly I'd rather go with a 1x 8GB stick than 2x 4GB sticks, though having a discount code attached to it helps. It's probably going to be between that one and the 4th one down, I'm not too concerned about timings because as you said speeds are fast enough it's not that big of a deal, and both have the same latency.
Going with either of those it seems like this board would be the best fit since it can handle 1866 without overclocking.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131851
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Pantheon
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Joined: May 29, 2001
Posts: 1789
| Posted: 2013-08-13 19:26
Go with x2 sticks. Dual Channel means the system can write to both sticks at once rather than just one. You effectively double your memory read/writes. It gives you more performance than anything else you could do.
[ This Message was edited by: Pantheon on 2013-08-13 19:29 ]
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Talien
Marshal
Templar Knights
Joined: May 11, 2010
Posts: 2044
From: Michigan
| Posted: 2013-08-13 20:47
Quote:
On 2013-08-13 18:38, -Shadowalker-™ wrote:
If you have a reddit account, there is a sub-reddit for building pc's, check it out here: http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc
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Missed this before. I don't have a reddit account, but that looks like it should have some decent info even without signing up and just browsing through other people's posts.
Quote:
On 2013-08-13 19:26, Pantheon wrote:
Go with x2 sticks. Dual Channel means the system can write to both sticks at once rather than just one. You effectively double your memory read/writes. It gives you more performance than anything else you could do.
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That's true, but I'd likely be upgrading to 16 GB later so wouldn't 2x8GB sticks be better than 2x4GB+1x8GB? I recently heard that mixing different capacity chips can cause problems even if the frequency is the same. Of course, I suppose I could just add another 2x4GB when the time comes as I can't really see myself doing anything that needs more than 16 GB of memory even if the board can handle up to 32GB.
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Kenny_Naboo
Marshal
Pitch Black
Joined: January 11, 2010
Posts: 3823
From: LobsterTown
| Posted: 2013-08-13 21:34
May as well just shell it out for the 2 x 8GB now than later. Saves you the "pain" of living with 1 x 8GB now, or getting 2 x 4GB now, and another 2 x 4GB later.
RAM is pretty cheap these days, no?
Oh and dual channel requires a specific combination, and even how you slot them in. Gotta look at your mobo manual for that. You can't do 1x8 and 2x4. It's gotta be similar types. Paired/matched RAMs supposedly fare better.
[ This Message was edited by: Kenny_Naboo on 2013-08-13 21:36 ]
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DiepLuc
Chief Marshal
Joined: March 23, 2010
Posts: 1187
| Posted: 2013-08-14 00:14
Quote:
On 2013-08-13 20:47, Talien wrote:
That's true, but I'd likely be upgrading to 16 GB later so wouldn't 2x8GB sticks be better than 2x4GB+1x8GB? I recently heard that mixing different capacity chips can cause problems even if the frequency is the same. Of course, I suppose I could just add another 2x4GB when the time comes as I can't really see myself doing anything that needs more than 16 GB of memory even if the board can handle up to 32GB.
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2 x 4 GB is enough for everyday task.
4 x 4 GB is not recommended because the more slots you insert RAM, the more electricity the board uses to supply them. Think of raising 2 children vs 4 children.
If your budget allows, then just buy 2 x 8 GB RAM.
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Walrus of Apathy
Admiral
Templar Knights
Joined: August 07, 2005
Posts: 466
From: Dorans Basement
| Posted: 2013-08-14 00:25
Quote:
On 2013-08-13 21:34, Kenny_Naboo wrote:
Oh and dual channel requires a specific combination, and even how you slot them in. Gotta look at your mobo manual for that. You can't do 1x8 and 2x4. It's gotta be similar types. Paired/matched RAMs supposedly fare better.
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The Dual Channel slots on my Mobo are colorcoded so you know which ones work together.
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Kenny_Naboo
Marshal
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Joined: January 11, 2010
Posts: 3823
From: LobsterTown
| Posted: 2013-08-14 02:36
Quote:
On 2013-08-14 00:25, Walrus of Apathy wrote:
Quote:
On 2013-08-13 21:34, Kenny_Naboo wrote:
Oh and dual channel requires a specific combination, and even how you slot them in. Gotta look at your mobo manual for that. You can't do 1x8 and 2x4. It's gotta be similar types. Paired/matched RAMs supposedly fare better.
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The Dual Channel slots on my Mobo are colorcoded so you know which ones work together.
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Yeah. Almost all boards have that. It's almost always slot 1,3 and 2,4.
That said. Some board prefer Slots 2 & 4 if you only have 2 sticks of RAM, and won't boot or work properly if you put them in 1 & 3. There're always idiosyncracies with some boards...
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Doran
Chief Marshal
Galactic Navy
Joined: March 29, 2003
Posts: 4032
From: The Gideon Unit
| Posted: 2013-08-14 09:56
Quote:
On 2013-08-13 18:28, Pantheon wrote:
Apparently the FX-6350 is the one to get (even beats out the 8120).
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im a bit surprised at that
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DiepLuc
Chief Marshal
Joined: March 23, 2010
Posts: 1187
| Posted: 2013-08-14 11:23
At around $350, this is the best computer I can find on Newegg:
Being a normal consumer, I myself find out buying a brand computer is much safer and more comfortable for a long time. When it crashed, just send it back to the manufacturer and they'll fix it for you. At least you get the warranty from the brand manufacturer for the first year and support later on.
After 8 years, you may want to replace your monitor. In such case, buy AiO:
DELL Inspiron One Intel Core i3 6GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity 20" Desktop PC Windows 8
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Pantheon
Marshal
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Joined: May 29, 2001
Posts: 1789
| Posted: 2013-08-14 15:54
Quote:
On 2013-08-14 09:56, Doran wrote:
Quote:
On 2013-08-13 18:28, Pantheon wrote:
Apparently the FX-6350 is the one to get (even beats out the 8120).
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im a bit surprised at that
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Clock per core and all that jazz. Same with me, but the 8320 is a good get for less than both.
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Talien
Marshal
Templar Knights
Joined: May 11, 2010
Posts: 2044
From: Michigan
| Posted: 2013-08-26 12:15
So I got my components Friday put everything together and it failed to POST. All the LED lights on the board light up, the fans spin up, and the HD spins up for a moment then shuts off, no video signal, and no POST. After 2 days of reseating components and testing them 1 by 1 I've pretty well narrowed it down to the board or processor, but since I have no way to test them separately I'm at a loss on how to tell which it is, or if it's both. I also have no way to test the ram as I have no other board that will take DDR3.
Any suggestions on a next step? Someone suggested I just get both replaced, but I really don't want to do that when it's likely only one of them is the problem.
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Pantheon
Marshal
Palestar
Joined: May 29, 2001
Posts: 1789
| Posted: 2013-08-26 17:59
Does it beep? The # of beeps will tell you what's at fault.
No beeps could mean that your processor possibly isn't seated right.
[ This Message was edited by: Pantheon on 2013-08-26 17:59 ]
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