New desktop PC required.

[Piff]

Current desktop pc is getting on a bit. I built it with components bought from Aria.co.uk.
Have had to replace hard disc a few years ago, power supply last year and have upped RAM to 8GB. Processor is an AMD Athlon 64 x2 dual core 5600+ 2.9GHz. Hard disc is 500GB of which I use approx 150GB. I also run 2 monitors.

I have a feeling that it's on its way out. Frequently one of the monitors fails to start and only rebooting kicks it into life. Recently the PC is freezing occasionally through the boot process. This evening for example, on first start up only one monitor started. Then on rebooting it froze completely 2 times before starting normally.

I'm out of touch with current specifications so looking for pointers to a reasonably priced machine.
The most taxing use I give it is occasional use of a CAD type program which can take over a minute to load/open a drawing.

Suggestions invited.....................

 

[MancMike]

aria.co.uk is just up the road from me.

As for specs, aim for an i7 which isn't far to reach these days, a solid state drive, no hard disk drive and 16GB of ram.

Without your budget it's difficult to be more specific. To be honest, unless you're a big Apple hater, I'd suggest a low end iMac. Silent, simple and reliable.

 

[Piff]

Not an Apple fan though I do have an Ipad.
Not sure how software I have (particularly the CAD) would cross over.
Dual monitor support is important to me.
Budget is tricky. My current pc was component built, also built for 2 sons in the last 5 to 10 years so have only bought budget in the past (from Aria). Tend to prefer to go reasonably high spec though for future proofing cos I can't be ar55ed to change every couple of years

 

[MancMike]

In that case, just get back on Aria, choose an i7, as much storage in SSD format as you think you need and a mid-range graphics card like a GTX 1050, and just work everything else around your budget. There's no need for optical drives anymore, or massively powerful PSUs as everything's more efficient and you're not running two Teslas in the thing, so no need for mega-watts of power.

If you're not after building it yourself anymore, then gladiatorpc.co.uk will sell you a machine.

 

[gaz_l]

I bought a second-hand HP SFF machine from eBay to work from home recently (I haven't had a Windows machine at home in years, but needed it to be compatible with the office). 6th gen i5, 12GB RAM. I popped in a 120 GB SSD I had knocking about (don't need a lot of local storage) and got a second hand NVidia Quadro graphics card for using Solidworks, again from the 'bay. With that and a wireless keyboard/mouse/webcam package from Currys, I'm sorted and the total outlay was c. £400. At lot of kit for the money, and it flies. As quick as the workstation I have on my desk at work, for sure.

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[Piff]

Thought more about it.
I would need a dvd writer as I use/store a lot of data on discs. This alone probably excludes iMacs.
I need to look into my current pc to see if any components are reusable. Potential bits are:-
Case
DVD writer
Power supply
Card reader
Hard disc (potential additional on board storage/backup)

New components:-
Any of the above if not compatible
Motherboard & i7 processor
SSD
Mid range graphics card

I have a windows 7disc/licence which I presume I can reuse then upgrade to windows 10. Or is there an easy way to go straight to 10 (I don’t have 10 media)

 

[br1anuk]

Apple iMac.
Older model with disc drive
Newer model with separate disc drive.

 

[Piff]

Plus some new RAM!

 

[clk320x]

Plus some new RAM!

I can help pick out components for you.
How much are you looking to spend? A ball park figure will do.
For power supply use a good Gold rated unit from a decent manufacturer like EVGA or Corsair. You shouldn’t have any problems. I would also go modular if possible to avoid having tonnes of cables lying around inside the computer.

 

[Piff]

I can help pick out components for you.
How much are you looking to spend? A ball park figure will do.
For power supply use a good Gold rated unit from a decent manufacturer like EVGA or Corsair. You shouldn’t have any problems. I would also go modular if possible to avoid having tonnes of cables lying around inside the computer.

Initially I’ll try to find out if any of the current components are reusable. That means digging out old receipts & perhaps contacting Aria.
I’ll then post up what I think may be suitable for you to comment on

 

[RonFleet]

Thought more about it.
I would need a dvd writer as I use/store a lot of data on discs. This alone probably excludes iMacs.
I need to look into my current pc to see if any components are reusable. Potential bits are:-
Case
DVD writer
Power supply
Card reader
Hard disc (potential additional on board storage/backup)

New components:-
Any of the above if not compatible
Motherboard & i7 processor
SSD
Mid range graphics card

I have a windows 7disc/licence which I presume I can reuse then upgrade to windows 10. Or is there an easy way to go straight to 10 (I don’t have 10 media)

I could be wrong, but I think the free upgrade period from Win7 to Win10 has expired.

 

[shyam27]

Build one.

Logical Increments, the PC Builder's Friend

 

[clk320x]

I need to look into my current pc to see if any components are reusable. Potential bits are:-
Case
DVD writer
Power supply
Card reader
Hard disc (potential additional on board storage/backup)

New components:-
Any of the above if not compatible
Motherboard & i7 processor
SSD
Mid range graphics card

The case, dvd writer (standard sata connection), card reader, hard disc. Can all be reused no problem.

What is the form factor of the case? ATX? MIcroATX?

You may want to run the OS off the SSD and use the HDD for mass storage. Although to be honest SSDs have come down in price so much now that you could just get a massive SSD

You would need a new motherboard to go with the new processor if the socket is different.

I would recommend going for a motherboard which can support crossfire/Sli (basically running 2 graphic cards working together) this will future proof the system somewhat? If you wanted to get some more power in the future

Graphics card wise it really depends on the budget.

I’ve built a few of these custom PCs now for family and got them great systems at good prices.

What is your primary use of the computer for?

 

[Piff]

Computer use is mainly internet browsing, photo storage, business & home office, occasional CAD.
I found the original invoice for the components I bought from Aria. The invoice date is December 2008! So it has lasted well.
The case is described as an Arianet Xen MIDI case, which I think is an ATX.
Looking at the total cost in 2008 (which didn't include a graphics card) I think I may buy all new components. The total in 2008 was £317 incl VAT!! This also included Windows XP.
Browse Aria later

 

[moonloops]

If you are buying a new mobo then get one with an M.2 SSD slot. NVMe M.2 SSD drives are much faster than SATA based SSD drives.

I built a couple of high end i7 based mini PC's using M.2 and they are so fast that they boot up before you can touched the power button

 

[shyam27]

If you are buying a new mobo then get one with an M.2 SSD slot. NVMe M.2 SSD drives are much faster than SATA based SSD drives.

I built a couple of high end i7 based mini PC's using M.2 and they are so fast that they boot up before you can touched the power button

I've had a M2 SSD in mine for over 4 years now. Can not beat it, absolute rapid start up and operation without deterioration.

 

[MancMike]

NVMe M.2 SSD drives are much faster than SATA based SSD drives.

Tell me about it. I had to commission a Google cloud machine recently with 8 internal NVMe SSDs in raid 0 for a massively I/O bound job. It was almost like reading from ram.

Where a persistent storage SSD block could manage ~35,000 iops, the local NVMe SSD array could manage nearly 700k.

 

[Piff]

Well, the man at Aria was very helpful.
Have now ordered a new case, Intel Core i5 8600, ASUS Prime B360-Plus motherboard. Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe 250GB SSD, 500W Aerocool PSU, 24x LiteOn DVD re-writer, 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 2400 DDR4 RAM,Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Windforce OC 4GB graphic card & a HDMI to DVI cable.
Just under £750 incl VAT

 

[Piff]

Ok, when the new kit arrives I need to install Windows 10.
Current pc had Win 8.1 Pro, with a licence key. In Jan 16 upgraded to Win 10.
Is there an easy way to install Win 10 on the new machine bearing in mind the old pc will be redundant?

 

[Piff]

New pc built now.
Issues along the way:-
Only one spare usb2 connector on the motherboard which front of case usb2 ports used so no connector available for internal card reader. Could have bought a splitter cable but went for an external usb3 card reader.
Case fan only had a molex connector so couldn't plug onto motherboard. So, fan speed isn't controlled by motherboard but runs full time. May be a future upgrade but new pc is so much quieter than the last one so that might get forgotten
Windows 10 - downloaded an ISO copy for a clean install. Tried using the 8.1 product key which microsoft had advised but it didn't work & said telephone support wasn't available. Persevered and after about an hour on the phone a new product key was issued.
Microsoft office - bought Office 2016 last year with a backup disc and product key. Ditto windows, an hour on the phone to resolve.
Can't get an old TV card to work. Radio works but might have an aerial problem or a broken card.
Network backup drive (NAS) needed new software, new firmware & a Windows setting changing before it would work.

Just need to be sure that I haven't missed anything before formatting & installing the old had disc.