Time for new computer between $500 to $1000

[dmbxc]

A friend who visits this forum recommended that I ask the group here for help on building a new computer. I would say that 75% of the time the PC will be used for web surfing, Netflix, and uploading pictures/video to social/backup sites. The other 25% of the time I will be using the PC for learning about new technologies related to work and running virtual machines. Thanks for the help with this.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Surfing the web, basic video and picture editing, running one or two virtual machines for learning new applications and operating systems

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$500 to $1000, tax and shipping included

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
West Virginia, USA. Located in central part of the state with no computer stores within an hour so will be ordering online

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Case
Power Supply
Motherboard
CPU
Memory
Video card (fine to use video from motherboard)
Hard drive (at least 500GB due to pictures and video)

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
If possible would like to use the case and power supply of the old PC parts but this is not a requirement
Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024
ASUS Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135146
Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse
Westinghouse monitor 1680x1050

6) Will you be overclocking?
No

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Westinghouse 22" monitor 1680x1050
Would like to get a second monitor and use the older monitor for second screen. Would be helpful when running virtual machines and reading documents

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
this week, ready to order now with the hope of building by the weekend

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
OS is not a problem due to Microsoft MSDN subscription

 

[defaultluser]

I would recommend a Core i3 system, since the extra threads will be beneficial for VM, and you'll enjoy the fast single-threaded performance. Give me a moment to put a build together.

 

[defaultluser]

Core i3 3.4 GHz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116946

B85 MSI motherboard with all four types of video connectors, which will make your dual-monitor setup easier:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130700

8GB DDR3 1600

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231635

Pick one (or both if you need the storage of a hard drive and speed of an SSD):

WD Blue 500GB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

Samsunng 840 EVO 120GB:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0ZX1AJ8237

Total before case and PSU = $350 for hard drive, $400 for SSD. You can probably reuse the existing case + PSU. That leaves you enough money for a second display, and as long as it takes DisplayPort as an input, the sky's the limit on resolution

 

[Excalibur55]

Personally, I would get a new case and a new PSU. The Sonata Artica is an old design with no cable management. Your budget is sufficient to add those parts to your new build. Suggestions : Corsair CX500 for the PSU and Corsair 200R for the case.

 

[defaultluser]

Yeah, I figured that somebody would provide a decent case + PSU recommendation. Your call dmbxc, although you won't be pushing the cooling system here at all with an i3 IGP build

 

[dmbxc]

Thank you for the information. I'm so far out of the loop on building workstations compared to servers any more. My friend was right about the support on this site. Thanks again.

 

[Dangman]

I recommend this setup instead:
$300 - Intel Core i7-4770 CPU
$88 - ASRock H87M Pro4 Intel H87 mATX Motherboard
$75 - Corsair CMV8GX3M1A1600C11 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$146 - Samsung 840 Evo Series 250GB SSD
$60 - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
----------
Total: $669 plus tax and shipping.

You can reuse your old PSU but I would not reuse that case

 

[defaultluser]

I recommend this setup instead:
$300 - Intel Core i7-4770 CPU
$88 - ASRock H87M Pro4 Intel H87 mATX Motherboard
$75 - Corsair CMV8GX3M1A1600C11 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$146 - Samsung 840 Evo Series 250GB SSD
$60 - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
----------
Total: $669 plus tax and shipping.

You can reuse your old PSU but I would not reuse that case

How do you justify the Core i7?

basic video and picture editing: the picture editing will never stress more than 2 threads of that i7, and while the video editing will, I did not get the impression that it was a primary task (he might just mean trans-coding, which can be covered by QuickSync).

A couple of virtual machnes are no problem for a Core i3, especially because he likely won't be interacting with more than one at a time (for him to learn with, not for multiple uers of a server to interact with).

Given the wide berth for the price, I interpreted that he wanted to spend as little as possible, while leaving the door open if more was necessary. So is this justified to spend twice as much? Only dmbxc can answer that:

dmbxc: How often are you working with video? Do you just trans-code, or are you actually editing video? How much disk do you have dedicated for video right now?

 

[Dangman]

How do you justify the Core i7?

basic video and picture editing: the picture editing will never stress more than 2 threads of that i7, and while the video editing will, I did not get the impression that it was a primary task (he might just mean trans-coding, which can be covered by QuickSync).

A couple of virtual machnes are no problem for a Core i3, especially because he likely won't be interacting with more than one at a time (for him to learn with, not for multiple uers of a server to interact with).

Given the wide berth for the price, I interpreted that he wanted to spend as little as possible, while leaving the door open if more was necessary. So is this justified to spend twice as much? Only dmbxc can answer that:

It's still well within his $1000 budget. Hence the Core i7 4770. That's my main justification. If he had quoted a lower upper budget, I wouldn't even recommended the Core i7 4770.

While there is some truth to what you're saying about how the COre i3 is more than enough, I'd aiming towards the long-term picture where he might get a little bit more serious. How about this: He should go for the Core i5 4430 or Core i5 4570 instead? Right between our two CPU recommendations and priced right.

 

[defaultluser]

Okay I can back that.

 

[dmbxc]

The video editing part right now is me just going through GoPro videos from mountain biking and putting together some clips. I usually start with one hour continuous footage and splice it down to a couple minutes. In the future I want to just turn on the GoPro device and leave it recording the whole time if possible. The previous computer had problems with loading the larger files but from what you both have recommended this should no longer be an issue.

 

[Dangman]

The video editing part right now is me just going through GoPro videos from mountain biking and putting together some clips. I usually start with one hour continuous footage and splice it down to a couple minutes. In the future I want to just turn on the GoPro device and leave it recording the whole time if possible. The previous computer had problems with loading the larger files but from what you both have recommended this should no longer be an issue.

Then the Core i5 4570 should be enough.