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What to do, what to do (dad needs a new PC)

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by Kitrax, Mar 5, 2010.

  1. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    [​IMG] Ok, my dad's been using the PC I built for him for the past several years...and it's *really* showing its age. When I built it, he wanted a sub-$500 system, so I had to settle for a non-HT Intel P4 @3GHz, 512MB of RAM (upgraded to 1.5GB), 80GB IDE HDD, and a crappy PSU/case

    He's got a pretty nasty virus...so it's going to be easier to wipe the drive and start over. I want him to use Win7, but there's no way that it would run on his system.

    So...what to do?

    At first, I was thinking that I'd build him a new PC for ~$600-700 (as pseudo-rent). But then I started thinking. I've got $1200 coming my way (finally got my yearly bonus from work). I could give him *my* current PC (not the video card), and build myself a new system. :D See, I'm currently running Win7, and IIRC, the OS is somewhat tied to the mobo...so he could just have my Win7 license, and I'd go buy another one.

    But then I hear about how Intel's current plans for the X68 chipset have been scrapped (PCIe 3.0 will have to wait for the X78), and it's being rushed to the market as a refreshed X58 chipset that will support USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s.


    If I'm going to build myself a new PC, I want Tri-Channel DDR3, USB 3.0, and SATA 6Gb/s. So I have 3 options:
    • I buy something like the ASUS P6X58D Premium, which supports USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s...just not in the chipset.
    • I wait, to see what Q2 holds...and just wipe my dad's PC with a fresh install of XP to hold him over till he can have my current setup.
    • I build my dad a ~$600-$700 PC and keep my current setup* for the next 2 or so years.

    What do I do?


    * - My current system is:
    ASUS Maximus Extreme
    Intel C2D E8400
    6GB of RAM
    XFX HD 5850 (no way would my dad get this)
    4x 300GB HDDs (2 in RAID 0)
     
  2. Proteus_za

    Proteus_za

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    Yeah, I'd probably give him your old PC minus your graphics card. Lets face it - its a lot faster than his old one, and he doesnt need the latest and greatest. Unless it made more sense to buy him a new and inexpensive PC, such as an Athlon II X2 based machine.
     
  3. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    Soooo....you're saying I should build myself a new system now?
     
  4. Proteus_za

    Proteus_za

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    Ha ha, you want someone else to give you permission!

    I dont know, its a difficult one. It may work out better for everyone involved if you do build a new PC for yourself and give him your old one. He gets a good working PC, you get a new one.

    As long as he wont get offended or anything.
     
  5. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    I wasn't asking for permission, I was clarifying your recommendation...



    Anyway, my gut feeling has won the day. Newegg has a combo deal with a mobo/CPU/video card for $386.97. After adding a case, PSU, HDD, Win7, and a keyboard/mouse combo, it's only going to cost me $685.

    I will wait to upgrade my mobo/CPU until the X68 comes out.
    I will give my dad the 2GB of DDR3 1333 RAM I'm running alongside my 2 DDR3 1600 sticks, and I'll just buy one more stick of DDR3 1600 so I can run Tri-channel.
     
  6. T2Bruno

    T2Bruno The only source of knowledge is experience Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Why not just have him get an economy Dell? It probably has everything he needs and is under $500.
     
  7. The Great Snook Gems: 31/31
    Latest gem: Rogue Stone


    Adored Veteran

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    Where is the fun in that.
     
  8. Merlanni

    Merlanni Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    Blasphemy
     
  9. Splunge

    Splunge Bhaal’s financial advisor Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Hey, it's Kit's dad! If he's anything like his son, he probably has trouble finding the Start button. So an economy Dell would probably be just fine.

    :p :p :p
     
    Chandos the Red likes this.
  10. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    I'm my dad's tech support, so after the useless Dell warranty was up, I'd be the one who would have to deal with s***Y Dell parts. :nolike:
    -.-
     
  11. Proteus_za

    Proteus_za

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    Sorry, didnt mean any offense. It just sounded like you really really wanted a new PC but needed a way to justify it.

    But yeah, there are good practical reasons for doing so, good luck with it.
     
  12. Morgoth

    Morgoth La lune ne garde aucune rancune Veteran

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    If he doesn't need much power, get him an Asus eeebox and sell the old machine to someone who can use the speed :)
     
  13. Taza

    Taza Weird Modmaker Veteran

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    EeeBox EB1501 would have a DVD drive, Ion (GeForce 9400M), dualcore Atom 330... and it's $480. Plenty of power for someone who doesn't game.
     
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    What a waste for $500. I would rather build a HTPC than buy a prebuilt super mini that has absolutely no way to upgrade.
     
  15. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    Agreed.

    Anyway, I built him a new PC. He's now set for many years to come:

    Silver Stone TJ08 - Black
    Intel Core i5-750 2.66GHz
    GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD2
    XFX Radeon HD 5670
    2x My old Corsair DDR3 2GB
    WD Caviar Blue 250GB
    Antec EarthWatts Green 430W
    SAMSUNG SATA DVD Burner
    M$ Media keyboard and standard mouse combo

    Total cost was $785. I didn't get him a new monitor...but I might as next month's pseudo-rent. ;)

    I knew that both the case and the mobo were micro-ATX, but I never knew what a headache I was in for. The old RAM I gave my dad was Corsair's XMS3 RAM that has the heatsink that protrudes from the top of the RAM by .5" or so. Well, they were too tall, and hit the HHD sticking out of the cage. So I did what any self-respecting modder would do, and I notched a section of the heatsink out so it would fit around the HDD! :bigeyes:
    Pic #1
    Pic #2
    Pic #3
    Picture quality kind of sucks since I was using my phone, but you can clearly see the notched RAM...

    I couldn't believe how small the stock cooler for the i5 was...it's half the size of the C2D stock cooler!

    If I ever buy another Gigabyte mobo, it will undergo extreme scrutiny from me. I bought this one because it came in a sweet mobo + CPU + GPU combo deal. The POS only had two fan headers - one for the CPU, and one for a single case fan. I hooked the front intake fan up to the header, and the rear exhaust fan has a full 12V at all times. Luckily Silver Stone makes quality fans; so even with the 120mm fan at full speed, it is very quiet. :) Speaking of Silver Stone, the TJ08 case is F***ing SICK looking! It's by far my favorite Silver Stone case. If it had a full tower twin, I'd defiantly ditch my CM Cosmos 1000 for it! :love:

    His Windows Experience score is .1 slower than mine (the HDD). His CPU score smokes mine, but my RAM and GPU smoke his scores. Once the X68 chipset comes out, all my scores will smoke his once I'm running a Core i7-960 (or possibly a rumored new CPU...Core i8????) and a SSD or two.


    Pretty good deal for 6 months of rent. :p
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 20, 2015
  16. Morgoth

    Morgoth La lune ne garde aucune rancune Veteran

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    If it is not used for gaming, why would it ever need to upgrade?
     
  17. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    To run MS Office 2013, IE 10, Windows 8.0, open a "standard" 50Mpx 3D image...you know stuff like that. Gaming isn't the only thing that pushes the need to upgrade.
     
  18. Morgoth

    Morgoth La lune ne garde aucune rancune Veteran

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    Okay, but there is hardly any need to install those things and they're not pushing the limits as hard as games do. I'm quite sure that the current eee boxen can handle IE 10 and MS Office 2013, but I'm not quite sure what you mean with a 3D image.
     
  19. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    Have you been in a cave? 3D is in...and in a big way. They already have 3D TV sets and 3D cameras shipping. It will only be a matter of time before everyone has a DSLR or a P&S camera that takes 50+Mpx 3D images.
     
  20. Morgoth

    Morgoth La lune ne garde aucune rancune Veteran

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    I'm probably a media hermit, at one point I just stopped caring about new technological advances in the entertainment industry. 3d tv? I thought that was just a hype. Do you need a special video card or monitor if you want to watch 3d images on a computer?
     
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