My dad asked me to make him a new PC. He's not into hardcore gaming or other specific stuff, but he enjoys a recent, well-built and silent PC that is capable of managing allround tasks at a good speed. The PC will mostly be used for basic tasks (internet, Office, browsing the web, casual games,...). What I have so far:
- Fractal Define Mini
- Seasonic G450
- Intel i3 3220
- Xigmatek Gaia
- ASRock B75M R2.0
- Samsung 840 120GB (or the 256GB version if enough budget)
- Corsair Value 8GB 1600Mhz DDR3
- Samsung SH-224BB
Altogether: ca. €500
The system will get a HD5670 (PowerColor) that he uses in his current system, that should be plenty. I tried some AMD builts as well (FX4130 with 880GM-LE FX for example) but figured that the costs are almost the same, while the benefits are small (he won't be overclocking). Any CPU from the FM2 family seemed stupid as well because he already has that HD5670 which I can use.
Any thoughts? Input is very welcome, I've built several PC's but since it's for my dad I want to be 100% sure of my choices. Thanks!
New PC for my father
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Re: New PC for my father
I think modern Pentium CPU's, and even Celeron if the budget is tight, are capable of handling the tasks that users such as your father would use. This could save some money.
The bad reputation of the Pentium and the Celeron originate from the fact that the Pentiums and Celerons from yesterday (or some years ago) were genuinely slow. They were the bottleneck. But that has changed with the new CPU's. And even if a new Pentium CPU is the bottleneck in an SSD-equipped system, I doubt that any users will notice the difference between a Pentium and an i3 in regular use.
With such an efficient CPU you won't need the cooling power of a tower cooler. A cheap, down-blowing cooler will also do the trick. I even believe that a cheap cooler such as the Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Pro (10-15 USD) will be able to cool the CPU inaudibly. I have one of those cooling my triple-core (95 W) AMD CPU while running Folding@Home in the background. And I can't here the fan running at all!. The CPU temperature is currently 51 C. But make sure you buy a version of the AC Alpine cooler where the minimum fan speed is 500 rpm.
The bad reputation of the Pentium and the Celeron originate from the fact that the Pentiums and Celerons from yesterday (or some years ago) were genuinely slow. They were the bottleneck. But that has changed with the new CPU's. And even if a new Pentium CPU is the bottleneck in an SSD-equipped system, I doubt that any users will notice the difference between a Pentium and an i3 in regular use.
With such an efficient CPU you won't need the cooling power of a tower cooler. A cheap, down-blowing cooler will also do the trick. I even believe that a cheap cooler such as the Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Pro (10-15 USD) will be able to cool the CPU inaudibly. I have one of those cooling my triple-core (95 W) AMD CPU while running Folding@Home in the background. And I can't here the fan running at all!. The CPU temperature is currently 51 C. But make sure you buy a version of the AC Alpine cooler where the minimum fan speed is 500 rpm.
Re: New PC for my father
if the 5670 is overkill for the games he's playing i would seriously consider dumping it simply to reduce power consumption. if you want better than the lowest rung igp, then grab an i3-3225 for the hd4000 or go with an amd trinity.
if you want to keep the old gpu then i completely agree with kuzzia, a current gen celeron is plenty fast, it's essentially and old i3 with the extra features removed.
also worth noting is that at the celeron price point sits the amd a6-5400k.
now the cpu side is pretty weak, but in general use it's very snappy and it feels every bit as fast as my brothers celeron g860, and even faster than my old athlon ii x3. the gpu side is where it shines, smashing the celerons hd2000 into the ground and trading blows with the intel hd4000.
this all means nothing though if you're keeping the 5670.
if you want to keep the old gpu then i completely agree with kuzzia, a current gen celeron is plenty fast, it's essentially and old i3 with the extra features removed.
also worth noting is that at the celeron price point sits the amd a6-5400k.
now the cpu side is pretty weak, but in general use it's very snappy and it feels every bit as fast as my brothers celeron g860, and even faster than my old athlon ii x3. the gpu side is where it shines, smashing the celerons hd2000 into the ground and trading blows with the intel hd4000.
this all means nothing though if you're keeping the 5670.
Re: New PC for my father
I talked to him about power consumption and the HD5670, but it seems he made up his mind. He's not that bothered about power consumption and he prefers to keep his old GPU. He says it feels better to know it's there, thus making his system capable of doing more than needed. Ah well, it's his PC, not mine.
Anyway, except from downgrading the CPU to save some money, are there other things I should think about?
@ Kuzzia: about the Xigmatek - I prefer a larger, tower-style, heatsink to make sure I can create a proper airflow. The Define Mini has the space, so I think I'm going to use it.
Anyway, except from downgrading the CPU to save some money, are there other things I should think about?
@ Kuzzia: about the Xigmatek - I prefer a larger, tower-style, heatsink to make sure I can create a proper airflow. The Define Mini has the space, so I think I'm going to use it.
Re: New PC for my father
It's a solid build.
I think your dad is right keeping the GPU. He probably has the PC running less than 3 hours a day anyway. And the difference between Intel's HD4000 and a 5670 should be substantial.
A bigger SSD is only necessary if he really needs more space. A lower spec SB/IB Celeron or Pentium would save money and your dad wouldn't notice a difference.
I think your dad is right keeping the GPU. He probably has the PC running less than 3 hours a day anyway. And the difference between Intel's HD4000 and a 5670 should be substantial.
A bigger SSD is only necessary if he really needs more space. A lower spec SB/IB Celeron or Pentium would save money and your dad wouldn't notice a difference.