Which PC...

[Aniallation]

So the current PC I have in my bedroom for just general internet browsing and homework use is literally the bottom portion of a laptop that's hooked up to a monitor and a keyboard. As compact and efficient this setup is, it looks ugly and awkward, is quite slow since it's a first gen i3, presents zero upgradability, and gaming is out of the question.

 

I'm thinking of picking up a second hand desktop locally. I'll be putting in a bit of for more RAM, to upgrade the PSU and add a GPU. So total price for these three is around 300 for the tower. Here's what I've found that I've liked. 

 

HP Pavilion 

AMD Athlon II X4 630

2GB DDR3

250GB HDD

Radeon HD 7850

 

Acer Veriton 

Intel Core i3 530

2GB DDR3

250GB HDD

Radeon HD 6870

 

HP Compaq

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400

3GB DDR2

320GB HDD

Radeon R9 270X

 

If I can wait a bit longer to save up for a GPU and just use integrated for now, then another option would be a custom built server with dual quad-core Xeons, 14GB of DDR2 and a 500GB HDD. 

 

Which PC do you guys think is the best for the price? Do you think it's worth it to get more CPU power and RAM now and get a GPU later?

[79wjd]

The Acer, assuming you can fit a gpu in it. 

 

Although, you could easily build a better computer for $300. 

[Archangel1994]

You complain about a first gen I3 then one of the builds you like has a first gen I3. I'm sorry, I don't follow that logic.

[Firearm2112]

all crap. build your own

[Aniallation]

You complain about a first gen I3 then one of the builds you like has a first gen I3. I'm sorry, I don't follow that logic.

Read the post. I use half of a laptop connected to an external display because the LCD cracked. It's a mobile first gen i3, which also gets heavily throttled due to the horrible cooling that also sounds like a vaccum. 

[79wjd]

You complain about a first gen I3 then one of the builds you like has a first gen I3. I'm sorry, I don't follow that logic.

Well, first gen mobile i3 vs. desktop i3. 

 

Although, you could easily build a better computer for $300. 

[Manny Calavera]

300 dollar you say. let me build it for you and you judge

[JuTheBarbarian]

It's a little bit higher than the 300$ price range, but the motherboard has on-board video to tide you over if you can't get a video card right away. Other than that, you could easily save money on the OS if you already have a reusable OS laying around. Anywhoo, if you build it yourself you can have a pretty good pc here for a pretty cheap price.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($106.01 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: MSI 760GMA-P34(FX) Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($59.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.26 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($25.49 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GT 640 2GB Video Card  ($89.98 @ OutletPC) 

Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($24.99 @ NCIX US) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($90.26 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $485.96

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-19 20:21 EDT-0400

 

I HOPE THIS HELPED!!!

[Aniallation]

 

It's a little bit higher than the 300$ price range, but the motherboard has on-board video to tide you over if you can't get a video card right away. Other than that, you could easily save money on the OS if you already have a reusable OS laying around. Anywhoo, if you build it yourself you can have a pretty good pc here for a pretty cheap price.

 

-snip- 

 

I HOPE THIS HELPED!!!

 

Thanks for taking the time to do that for me, but I live in Canada, so it'll need a bit of adjusting, but I'll definitely look into building my own.

[JuTheBarbarian]

Thanks for taking the time to do that for me, but I live in Canada, so it'll need a bit of adjusting, but I'll definitely look into building my own.

 

Yupyups, no probs. Just try to find parts within that price range that are available to you. Since you've got a lower budget, you probably won't be able to get a super computer but you can still get some pretty decent tech.

 

Anyways! Happy to helps!

[Aniallation]

Yupyups, no probs. Just try to find parts within that price range that are available to you. Since you've got a lower budget, you probably won't be able to get a super computer but you can still get some pretty decent tech.

 

Anyways! Happy to helps!

Yeah, but I really like that Xeon tower though. $250 for eight Xeon cores and 14GB of RAM... 

[JuTheBarbarian]

Yeah, but I really like that Xeon tower though. $250 for eight Xeon cores and 14GB of RAM... 

 

More cores doesn't neccessarily mean faster and ddr2 ram is kinda slow methinks. Just because the number are high doesn't mean the performance is, a lot of times when you get tech for cheap it's because it is really cheap. Plus methinks most programs nowadays might actually require ddr3 and won't work well with ddr2.... Also the newer motherboards and processors require ddr3 so if you ever want to upgrade in the future, you'll have to at least replace the motherboard and the cpu. :C

[Aniallation]

More cores doesn't neccessarily mean faster and ddr2 ram is kinda slow methinks. Just because the number are high doesn't mean the performance is, a lot of times when you get tech for cheap it's because it is really cheap. Plus methinks most programs nowadays might actually require ddr3 and won't work well with ddr2.... Also the newer motherboards and processors require ddr3 so if you ever want to upgrade in the future, you'll have to at least replace the motherboard and the cpu. :C

More cores will help me though, because that can finally mean that I can do my video editing here rather then having to take it all to my i7, and the Xeons would probably video edit better then the i7 anyways. I don't really need lots of RAM speed, capacity helps more, since that RAM will just mostly be filled with chrome tabs anyways. 

 

I don't need to upgrade it in the future. All I want to do is add an okay GPU (and possibly upgrade PSU) right now and just have it work decently for another 2 years until I graduate. Then I'll build a whole new rig.

[JuTheBarbarian]

More cores will help me though, because that can finally mean that I can do my video editing here rather then having to take it all to my i7, and the Xeons would probably video edit better then the i7 anyways. I don't really need lots of RAM speed, capacity helps more, since that RAM will just mostly be filled with chrome tabs anyways. 

 

I don't need to upgrade it in the future. All I want to do is add an okay GPU (and possibly upgrade PSU) right now and just have it work decently for another 2 years until I graduate. Then I'll build a whole new rig.

 

Well more core is great for editing, however you will still need cores that will go at good speeds. If you look at the build I posted, the processor has 6 cores and clocks at 3.5GHz which should be just fine for the price of the machine you are getting. Plus when you are video editing a good system (a system in which money were not really a factor) has at least 12gb or ddr3. I'm not trying to argue I'm just trying to save you some trouble. Just because it says Xeon doesn't mean it's the better choice. However, before I make this my definite answer I would like to ask what model of Xeon it is as well as whether or not it is being bought used... Could you post the model of the Xeon perhaps?

[Aniallation]

Well more core is great for editing, however you will still need cores that will go at good speeds. If you look at the build I posted, the processor has 6 cores and clocks at 3.5GHz which should be just fine for the price of the machine you are getting. Plus when you are video editing a good system (a system in which money were not really a factor) has at least 12gb or ddr3. I'm not trying to argue I'm just trying to save you some trouble. Just because it says Xeon doesn't mean it's the better choice. However, before I make this my definite answer I would like to ask what model of Xeon it is as well as whether or not it is being bought used... Could you post the model of the Xeon perhaps?

Yeah I understand, but if I build one myself I'll have to buy parts locally from the PC parts store ( http://memoryexpress.com/ ). So to get the exact same build that you posted it would cost me $620 + tax. Also, I already have a 6-core (real 6-core, vs 3 modules) Phenom II X6, and it doesn't do video editing as well as my i7. The PC I was looking at has two Xeon E5440's. It's being bought used, and was also used as a video editing rig.

[JuTheBarbarian]

Yeah I understand, but if I build one myself I'll have to buy parts locally from the PC parts store ( http://memoryexpress.com/ ). So to get the exact same build that you posted it would cost me $620 + tax. Also, I already have a 6-core (real 6-core, vs 3 modules) Phenom II X6, and it doesn't do video editing as well as my i7. The PC I was looking at has two Xeon E5440's. It's being bought used, and was also used as a video editing rig.

 

I took a look at the processor and saw that each one only has 4 cores, so in total with both processors you are getting 8 cores that are all very slow when compared to the AMD processor. But with the price range you are looking at I think you've just got to accept the things are gonna run a bit slow because as I understand it, rendering and video editing is just slow work. You could beef the processor up to the 8 core AMD FX-8320 (it's about 30$ more methinks) if you really want more cores, but I just really think that you should keep to a ddr3 RAM platform because the ram is 2 times faster and has pretty much become a requirement for new generation computing. Also I've never like the idea of buying used tech because you simply don't know what the previous owner has done to it, as well as how long it's going to last after you purchase it as it has already seen some where and tear (and seeing as it still uses a ddr2 platform it may be over 7 year old which is really old for computers). But anyway, the choice is yours in the end and this is simply my recommendation. Happy Computing!