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spud (profile) wrote,
on 12-16-2014 at 5:26pm
Music: foo fighters - sonic highways
Subject: I CAN HAS COMPUTER?
so, i'm thinking i want to build a pc.

i've been studying up on stuff, and it seems simple enough.

that being said, the selection of parts available is pretty overwhelming, so any input or suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

this is not a gaming pc, as i'm not a gamer. i would be using it for interwebs and itunes, primarily. normal home computering stuff. about the only thing i might consider doing with it that would demand higher performance is digital audio recording, and even then, that wouldn't really be too strenuous.

i want it to last me a while, so upgradeability is a consideration. if i can get away with replacing a couple components in the future, as things become obsolete, i would much rather do that than replace the whole thing. i don't want to spend top dollar on the absolute latest and greatest shit, because frankly i don't need it, and would be pissed off in a couple years when it becomes dirt cheap. but i also don't want to totally cheap out and get junk. there has to be a happy medium in there somewhere.

i'm thinking an APU makes sense, so i don't have to get a separate video card. i'll probably go with an amd processor, since i don't want to pay intel prices for something with comparable performance.

i like the idea of getting an SSD for the OS, and then having a separate HDD for cheap storage.

i know absolutely dick about motherboards, other than they need to be compatible with the processor, and accommodate whatever crap you're adding on.

RAM: 8GB should be plenty, yes? not sure how much speed i would want. probably just match to the top end of whatever motherboard i wind up with?

PSU: i know it's important. ummm, modular? wattages? i have no idea. again, i'm not gaming, so it shouldn't draw too much juice. just something solid to get the job done.

i'm not overly concerned about peripherals. i'm sure i'll be able to piecemeal that stuff together.

i'm thinking i could get a secondhand case pretty easily. i don't give two fucks what it looks like. just as long as it has enough space for everything, and enough airflow to keep things cool. maybe i'm wrong on this, but it just seems like the easiest place to cut costs. also, fans?

i am planning on going with windows. i'm on XP right now, but support has ended. have i mentioned my laptop is gonna be 10 this year? i didn't like vista at all. 7 was good. i haven't used 8 or 8.1 yet. traditionally, it seems like every other version is good, while the alternates suck a bag of donkey dick. so, that would mean 8 was all shitty, but 8.1 is probably okay? i don't know. this is why i'm asking. if they both suck, i'm okay with just putting 7 on it. not sure where to get a product key on the cheap, but i don't really want to pirate a bogus one. meh.

so, that's where i'm at.

thoughts? feelings? PLZ HALP.
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spud

12-16-14 6:10pm

i forgot i posted about this less than a week ago.

i can't even blame it on the booze anymore.

oh well.

(reply to this)

andy

Re: , 12-16-14 9:18pm

lol.. and here I was going to call you a whiney bitch for posting it twice. :)

(reply to comment)

andy

Re: , 12-16-14 9:30pm

And for what it's worth. I'm pretty much just writing the same entry over and over again since I was 16.

(reply to comment)

spud

Re: Re: , 12-16-14 10:11pm

i've noticed that ;)

thanks for the input, man. yeah, most of the motherboards i looked at could accommodate like 32 gigs of memory, so that shouldn't be a problem.

(reply to comment)

andy

12-16-14 9:26pm

Seems like you have all the logic there.

Most people are still sticking with Windows 7, even though now my desktop and laptop both (bought within the last year) are running 8.1 .. You get used to it. Though I still feel like the government is spying on everything I do. The price of computing in the new age.

I still haven't run an SSD, but when researching my laptop a lot of guys were swapping out stock with an SSD. Supposed to be significant advantage I guess.

8GB is probably good. However if you're going APU then that 8GB is going to be used by the video also. As opposed to having a separate card with it's own dedicated memory.

I'd say go with a motherboard that has the expansion slots you want, and also one that handles more than 8GB.. so you can upgrade in the future if you want. Since that seems to be your focus here.

Despite popular belief, I've never been much of a computer guy. So I don't have a whole lot of geeky advice to give you. When I built all of my servers it was always kind of a "fingers crossed this all works together" moment every time. lol.

In fact.. I did get it wrong one time. Just a month or two ago I threw away a handful of brand new motherboards, processors, and crap from storage. Felt great. Sure someone could have used them, but fuck it. This is my life.

(reply to this)

andy

12-16-14 9:29pm

Oh, and even though I have ALWAYS run on pretty sub-par machines myself.. shit, I still do. Right not my desktop is a $300 walmart special that included the keyboard and monitor and everything. (Kind of regret it, but it still works. No expansion at all. Can only run Lord of the Rings Online with low graphics. Can't do video editing AT ALL)

Which brings me to the point. I didn't plan on doing any of those things when I bought this desktop. So it might be worthwhile to overshoot your goals a little.

(reply to this)

spinder

12-16-14 11:35pm

Your mostly in the right place. A quick suggestion for a budget motherboard that fits your needs is

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132138

Its cheap. It has all the room you need to upgrade with. A Mostly reputable brand.

Slap two sticks of 4gb DDR 1600 in it. 8gb is plenty. Faster ram is rarely worth it unless your pairing it with an equally fast CPU/Motherboard.

The PSU is the thing you want to fit to your computer. High wattage PSUs are expensive and running needlessly big power supplies wastes alot of electricity as well.

A mobo, fans, hard drives, ram, etc will take a max of 100 watts. The APU is going to take a max of 100 watts. You want a little headroom built in because power supplies degrade over time. 300 to 500 watts is probably your target.

This thing is insanely cheap and on sale at newegg right now and would fit the bill.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139049

You really dont have to worry much about airflow. Whatever case you come across is probably going to have fans already. If not you can slap a few extra fans on your order once you know what sizes you need. They are cheap. Your APU should come with its own heatsink/fan as well.

(Hit up some local computer repair places - they usually have very cheap used cases)

(reply to this)

spinder

Re: , 12-16-14 11:43pm

Actually - I looked over that motherboard I suggested - it dosent have a SATA 6 connector.

If your going with a SSD you'll need one.

Heres a similar alternative with the Sata you'd need.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128694

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