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Computer newbies: Computer procesor purchasing question
Computer procesor purchasing question
by frombolm - 4/11/09 12:55 AMI am an architecture student on a budget (about $1,000) looking to buy a new system. When i'm looking around, there are a lot of options that seem confusing, so i'm hoping someone can help clarify what's important and what's not.
the main uses of this computer are going to be adobe photoshop, illustrator, and rhinoceros 3-d modelling and rendering. i like to play the occasional game, but its not a priority - i have an xbox for that.
my main question is: what is the difference between the duo processors, the quad processors, and the more expensive i7? and how much does the 3d card matter for 3d modelling and rendering, versus playing a game? if i can upgrade the 3d card and RAM later, how important is it to splurge on a processor, which i (think) i can't upgrade?
i have been looking at the new velocity micro z-5, which looks like a good deal. i've gotten great deals on dell coupons (the computer i have now was $700 off with a %25 coupon!), but dell seems to be less upgradable... is this important?
thanks foro the help.
Here's the deal...
by Vanguard12345 - 4/11/09 6:13 PM In reply to: Computer procesor purchasing question by frombolmIf your going to be running programs like photoshop get a good processor. It doesn't have to be to crazy(you don't need an i7). Get a quad-core, they aren't much more and you will be future proof. Also get a good video card. Be willing to spend a little extra for that.
Are you building your own??
That would be the easiest, that way you could choose to spend alot on one area and you can hold back on others. This would also give you more of the option of upgrading later. I'll look around to see what could be a good deal if your not.
thanks
by frombolm - 4/11/09 11:07 PM In reply to: Here's the deal... by Vanguard12345i'm not building my own. i think i'm savvy enough to put it together myself, but i don't know anything when it gets to other parts, like motherboards, and i think i'd end up wasting money.
currently, i'm just looking at reviews on cnet and other places trying to find a good pc with upgrade capabilities. like i posted previously, i'm strongly leaning towards the velocity micro edge v-5, which is a gaming style pc thats cheap and apparantly has a lot of upgrade possibilities for the future. that's where the processor question came from - they have a lot of customizable options and i wanted to make sure i get the right thing cause money is tight.
thanks for your advice.
my opinion
by thoricane - 4/11/09 11:55 PM In reply to: thanks by frombolmA friend of mine bought a PC with very similar requirements. He ended up getting;
Quad-Core CPU (not a 'high-end' expensive one)
8GB RAM
9600GT Video Card
Windows XP 64-bit
It runs extremely well for him, with the occasional game. HTH
have one built for you
by jonathan614 - 4/17/09 9:52 PM In reply to: Computer procesor purchasing question by frombolmyou can have the best of both worlds, pick your own components, and have someone build it for you. that's what i had done for me. even if i could do every step (i have never done afull assembly) i now have kids and 4 cats and a lot of carpet for static electricity build up. get a reputable dealer, and they should be able to do this for 100-200 for full system. i paid right in the middle range and it included post testing mobo with processor, heatsinking power supply, 2 optical drives, 2 internal hard drives, operating system, etc. it was worth it to me to not have to try to figure out where i would have the space (and time to try to figure this out, especially first time through).
i also would recommend a quad core processor, somewhere near the top of the last generation, (though not even the best of these, really) though i7 is really unneeded for what you want.
i would also suggest a good video card, preferably one with 1 gb memory. what other features you want will determine price of this, but decent one with dvi or hdmi output can be found for $115-130, and look for rebates.
a decent motherboard will have audio outs available to you so that you can wait on a seperate sound card.
one last thing, get a decent power supply.this is where "name brand" assemblers cut corners, and it can ruin a whole system. you don't need 700W, but something around 450 - 500 (600 if you want to play bluray ), and get a decent quality brand.
a thousand is a good bit to play with, even if you consider 150 for an assembly, it is enough to start with. as you said, you can add thing on later (more ram for instance).
Well, maybe forget about future-proofing
by Slackenerny - 4/18/09 4:07 AM In reply to: Computer procesor purchasing question by frombolmThe reason I say this is because you don't sound like a computer geek to me when you said you're not very conversant with things like motherboards. Motherboard is the main component you have to spend time "meditating" on when it comes to future-proofing. So if you consider yourself more like a "normal" computer user, you may want to consider dropping the "future-proofing" element from your consideration since it'd give you much more latitute. There's not much wrong with this: your system can still safely negotiate through your education requirements plus many others for four or five years without concerning yourself too much with "future-proofing" when you make your purchase.
Sadly because you'll be running 3D graphics programs, you're really on a tight rope when coming onto the department of budgeting. You probably would want a decent display card with perhaps 1GB of RAM. You may not need to go all the way to the top notch display cards - those are more like for gaming with heavy requirements for things like shadows and textures at high frame rate - but 3D graphics programs do come in different shapes and sizes. I study engineering and I can see the ProDESKTOP running in our university doesn't actually require "that" much shadowing and textures. However for your purposes it may well be a completely different story since the CAD programs used in the architectural field may well demand more on those to make the graphics more aesthetically appealing. Like what one of the posters has said, I recommend asking someone to build it for you. This is getting into the professional domain, and branded computers, although very sufficient for general purposes, may not be the best for you. And should you decide to get someone to build it for you, it is advisable to hand him a list of programs that you think you will be running on the system. I'd expect a QUAD-core will be a reasonable choice here, and if you can get away with using 64-bit Windows, by all means eschew it (I don't think 64-bit applications are necessary for architectural purposes, they are more like for scientific research or handling large databases). Your display card would probably be a more powerful than the average Joe's, so also take a note on the power supply unit.
Get a manufacturers reconditioned one ... more bang 4 bucks.
by GoodTimeCharlie - 4/20/09 3:15 PM In reply to: Computer procesor purchasing question by frombolmAfter you have a pretty good idea of your needs (verses available hardware/software), you might want to shop the web for a manufacturer's reconditioned or refurbished PC.
I have had great luck with two refurbished PS (both purchased via www.uBid.com). Dell & HP offer reconditioned/refurbished via their sites also. Look for MANUFACTURE reconditioned/refurbished with full MANUFACTURES warrantee. I would avoid 'used', 'nearly new', 'in original box' deals unless from known long-term vendor and with full 1 year manufacturers warrantee included (ie: skip "This weeks deal at Joe's" on eBay).
My old PC was a Sony Viao (now 4-5 years old with no problems other than old, not enough memory, disk drive full, slow by todays standards, etc) .. it still runs fine! When I bought it I paid about $1200 including a 19" CTR monitor. It retailed for around $1800 at Best Buy/Circuit City at the time and it took about 9-10 months before they dropped their prices to what I paid. It appeared to have been sent back to Sony due to bad sound card (which was replaced by Sony).
My newest PC was bought Nov. 2008. It is a HP Quad (Q6600) with: 3 gig memory, 500 gig hard drive, 512 meg on-board video card, TV tuner, 6+1 channel sound card, 32 bit Vista Premimum, etc ... a pretty potent box! I have it hooked up to two 19" CRT monitors, use some memory/processing hog software (I'm a IT developer) and it runs everything just fine even while I'm listening to internet radio, etc.
I don't like Vista and wish it had come with 4 gig+ memory for the future (ie: when I go to Windows-7); however, it flies along just fine for now and since 32 bit Vista doesn't use anything over 3-4 gig (or at least effectively) having 3 gig not a drawback for now.
I can't find/tell what may have been 'fixed' (if anything as sometimes they are sent back due to a video/sound card simply getting unseated). This PC cost me less than $700 (without a monitor), retailed for $1000-1200, and is still going for around $800-900 retail from what I've seen.
Anyway, I bought both of my reconditioned/refurbished PC's via uBid auctions (verses 'buy it now') after watching them for a few weeks to see what was available and the going rate. Don't jump at the first one you see as others are always coming up for auctions. After figuring out the average going price and determining the maximum funds I was willing to spend, I submitted 'low ball bids' on several occasions that were below the going bid and finally got lucky saving another $50-75.
Kind of like buying a house ... don't rush but get as much as you can comfortably afford (hoping to allow for and extra kid/company spending the night and/or future video/music library, etc., growth).
Just my thoughts & happy hunting.
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