Author Topic: Any tech savvy mustacians?  (Read 7822 times)

Frugalman19

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Any tech savvy mustacians?
« on: January 11, 2016, 08:16:35 AM »
I am making a push to have my employer allow me to work from home some of the days out of the week, or at least in the morning to avoid any traffic. I need to get a home office computer, but I'm getting pretty tied up in all of the options.

Can anyone give me some advice about purchasing a new desktop? I have a monitor already. My main question is about the processor. There seems to be the i3(cheap) i5(I'm guessing normal) i7 (higher end). There is also AMD, but I am totally lost with those processors. I'm assuming I want 8-16g ram and 1T hard drive, which is common.

I want to keep the compture for a long time, and possibly play some PC games. But I don't want to spend more than I have to. Reliability is the most important part, since it will be for work.

Thanks all!

GrowingTheGreen

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2016, 08:19:49 AM »
What kind of work do you do? Just emailing and typing letters/spreadsheets or will you be running something like AutoCAD?

Frugalman19

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2016, 08:29:45 AM »
Simply, emails, spreadsheets, some tax software and finance software. I don't thing they are very robust.

seattlecyclone

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2016, 08:50:13 AM »
Pretty much any computer should work fine for that. You may see slightly better performance by adding RAM, upgrading the storage to an SSD, getting more cores in your processor, etc., but any new computer should be able to handle spreadsheets and email with no trouble whatsoever.

humbleMouse

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2016, 09:47:25 AM »
If you want to future proof your computer, get something with SSD drive, 16gb ram, and an i7.  You will be set for a while. 

Also, you asked about AMD.  AMD is shit.  If you look up performance stats online, you can clearly see AMD is shit.

dandarc

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2016, 09:51:10 AM »
Pretty much any computer should work fine for that.
This.

JLee

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2016, 10:02:25 AM »
I would go with a minimum of 8GB RAM (preferably 16GB) and an SSD.  Any desktop-class i-series processor will probably be fine, but I'd probably go with at least an i5 (ideally i7).  If you want something for gaming, I'd strongly recommend looking at building something yourself.

Is there any possibility of having your employer buy you a laptop/docking station?

BDWW

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #7 on: January 11, 2016, 10:42:47 AM »
I would definitely recommend an SSD as a necessity. They'll make the whole computer more responsive.
On thing I've noticed lately, is most people greatly overestimate the amount of storage they need.

You MIGHT need a 1 terabyte drive if you hold a lot of media(movies), play a LOT of games, or are in involved in content creation(shooting movies, rendering, recording music, etc.)

For the vast majority of people, a 256GB SSD will be plenty.

raymond

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #8 on: January 11, 2016, 10:47:31 AM »
And don't forget to backup your work everyday to a second internal hard drive or any external storage device. This can be automated if need be.
Also, check that your tax and finance software are compatible with windows 10.
Hardware wise, if you want reliability try to find something with a 3 years warranty.

Jack

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #9 on: January 11, 2016, 10:57:54 AM »
If you want to future proof your computer, get something with SSD drive, 16gb ram, and an i7.  You will be set for a while. 

Also, you asked about AMD.  AMD is shit.  If you look up performance stats online, you can clearly see AMD is shit.

LOL WTF? An i7 for spreadsheets? That is terrible advice!

AMD may have issues competing at the high-end, but for the OP's needs an AMD system is going to have better performance per dollar than an Intel one. A cheap A4 will be just fine.



Of course, the real issue is that it'd be best to talk this whole idea through with the company IT department first. Not only might they have some strong opinions about mixing company use with personal use, what software to run, whether you need a VPN connection, and assorted stuff like that, they might just issue you a computer themselves.

JLee

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #10 on: January 11, 2016, 11:03:01 AM »
If you want to future proof your computer, get something with SSD drive, 16gb ram, and an i7.  You will be set for a while. 

Also, you asked about AMD.  AMD is shit.  If you look up performance stats online, you can clearly see AMD is shit.

LOL WTF? An i7 for spreadsheets? That is terrible advice!

AMD may have issues competing at the high-end, but for the OP's needs an AMD system is going to have better performance per dollar than an Intel one. A cheap A4 will be just fine.



Of course, the real issue is that it'd be best to talk this whole idea through with the company IT department first. Not only might they have some strong opinions about mixing company use with personal use, what software to run, whether you need a VPN connection, and assorted stuff like that, they might just issue you a computer themselves.

An A4 will be shitty for games, and...well, probably just about everything. It's ~half the speed of a Q6600, which is ancient.

I'm also impatient. :)

dandarc

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #11 on: January 11, 2016, 11:14:37 AM »
Of course, the real issue is that it'd be best to talk this whole idea through with the company IT department first. Not only might they have some strong opinions about mixing company use with personal use, what software to run, whether you need a VPN connection, and assorted stuff like that, they might just issue you a computer themselves.
Yeah - a lot of our older laptops wind up being "Home / Travel" computers here.  Then we just VPN / remote desktop in to our "real" machines to do work.  Much less of a hassle for everyone, and we can make use of equipment that would just go to surplus otherwise.

Jack

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #12 on: January 11, 2016, 11:32:19 AM »
An A4 will be shitty for games, and...well, probably just about everything. It's ~half the speed of a Q6600, which is ancient.

Even a Q6600 -- along with literally any desktop CPU made in the last decade -- is overkill for spreadsheets.

As for games, an AMD APU will be much more capable than the integrated graphics of any Intel chip, and much cheaper than any Intel chip + dedicated graphics card of similar performance. More to the point, it should be plenty for playing "Mustachian" older and/or indie games at 1080p resolution.

If in doubt, the OP could always fork over the extra $50 for an A8, and still do better/cheaper than the Intel alternative.

If the OP wants an actual "gaming PC" to play the latest Crysis or whatever, that's a different conversation entirely.

BDWW

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #13 on: January 11, 2016, 11:56:36 AM »
An A4 will be shitty for games, and...well, probably just about everything. It's ~half the speed of a Q6600, which is ancient.

Even a Q6600 -- along with literally any desktop CPU made in the last decade -- is overkill for spreadsheets.

As for games, an AMD APU will be marginally more capable than the integrated graphics of any Intel chip while being way slower at everything else, and much cheaper than any Intel chip + dedicated graphics card of similar performance. More to the point, it should be plenty for playing "Mustachian" older and/or indie games at 1080p resolution.

If in doubt, the OP could always fork over the extra $50 for an A8, and still do better/cheaper than the Intel alternative.

If the OP wants an actual "gaming PC" to play the latest Crysis or whatever, that's a different conversation entirely.

FTFY

JLee

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #14 on: January 11, 2016, 12:13:31 PM »
An A4 will be shitty for games, and...well, probably just about everything. It's ~half the speed of a Q6600, which is ancient.

Even a Q6600 -- along with literally any desktop CPU made in the last decade -- is overkill for spreadsheets.

As for games, an AMD APU will be marginally more capable than the integrated graphics of any Intel chip while being way slower at everything else, and much cheaper than any Intel chip + dedicated graphics card of similar performance. More to the point, it should be plenty for playing "Mustachian" older and/or indie games at 1080p resolution.

If in doubt, the OP could always fork over the extra $50 for an A8, and still do better/cheaper than the Intel alternative.

If the OP wants an actual "gaming PC" to play the latest Crysis or whatever, that's a different conversation entirely.

FTFY
haha, pretty much.

An A10 can't beat the HD 530.  Integrated GPUs just suck in general. If you want the cheapest option, sure - go AMD. I haven't since the Athlon 64 era, and I'm quite pleased with my choices.

I also don't mind spending money on good hardware, so that's a factor in my choice.

HeadedWest2029

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #15 on: January 11, 2016, 12:17:23 PM »
Is the end goal to setup a VPN connection to your corporate network from home? If so, I would think you could get this paid for by work if you can make a compelling case.  I'm a network engineer and I'm guessing the I.T. department would prefer to provide a computer for this purpose where they can control some of the variables versus you winging it on your own.  I doubt they want to mix corporate work and games / personal stuff which frequently ends in malware, performance, or configuration issues which they would need to troubleshoot and ultimately costs more money long term.  Are you at a big enough company to have an I.T. staff?

BDWW

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #16 on: January 11, 2016, 12:35:31 PM »
An A4 will be shitty for games, and...well, probably just about everything. It's ~half the speed of a Q6600, which is ancient.

Even a Q6600 -- along with literally any desktop CPU made in the last decade -- is overkill for spreadsheets.

As for games, an AMD APU will be marginally more capable than the integrated graphics of any Intel chip while being way slower at everything else, and much cheaper than any Intel chip + dedicated graphics card of similar performance. More to the point, it should be plenty for playing "Mustachian" older and/or indie games at 1080p resolution.

If in doubt, the OP could always fork over the extra $50 for an A8, and still do better/cheaper than the Intel alternative.

If the OP wants an actual "gaming PC" to play the latest Crysis or whatever, that's a different conversation entirely.

FTFY
haha, pretty much.

An A10 can't beat the HD 530.  Integrated GPUs just suck in general. If you want the cheapest option, sure - go AMD. I haven't since the Athlon 64 era, and I'm quite pleased with my choices.

I also don't mind spending money on good hardware, so that's a factor in my choice.

Amazon prices.
A10 7850k $125.95
i3-6100 $129.00

So for $3.05 savings, you get a slower GPU, a slower CPU, and twice the power draw!

Edit: After searching a bit, I found the Pentium G4500 uses the HD 530 for $90, and it's still faster than the much more expensive A10-7850K.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2016, 01:25:55 PM by BDWW »

katsiki

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #17 on: January 11, 2016, 01:04:53 PM »
Something in this group should more than do the job: http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/optiplex-3040-desktop/pd?ref=PD_Family

You can increase memory to 8GB.  It will run for years.

maco

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #18 on: January 11, 2016, 03:45:53 PM »
I'd get a system with an SSD, even though it'll have less storage space. Then, have a USB 1TB drive to store your large files (music collection, movie collection, photos, etc.).

Why?

Having your operating system and software installed on an SSD means the system will boot fast, will resume from suspend fast, and will start up programs fast.

Frugalman19

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #19 on: January 11, 2016, 03:56:11 PM »
Thanks everyone!

So our office is about 9 people, and we have a 3rd part IT department. They are pretty black and white about what they recommend (cost not being part of the conversation because they simply tell you what's best). I have a laptop that I can Remote Desktop in, but I do use 2 monitors at the office and it's a pain on the laptop. Plus the wife wants to do some of our vacation photo editing on the home computer. So company paying for it is out.

It will be out of my pocket, so I thought I would get one I could play a couple of games on as well. So from what I've read, some people think I should go with the i7, others think it's overkill.

AMD vs Intel is probably a whole thread on its own.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #20 on: January 11, 2016, 07:16:56 PM »
It's the "what kind of games" question that is giving you the divergent advice. For general productivity and photo editing any functioning computer will do the job. An SSD will make it feel faster.

So...what kind of games? Once you add games to the equation, a DIY build becomes advantageous, as so much of the gaming oriented hardware out there just has bizarre spec choices for the price points. But depending on the games we're talking about, you won't need a gaming focused PC.

Frugalman19

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #21 on: January 11, 2016, 09:02:24 PM »
It's the "what kind of games" question that is giving you the divergent advice. For general productivity and photo editing any functioning computer will do the job. An SSD will make it feel faster.

So...what kind of games? Once you add games to the equation, a DIY build becomes advantageous, as so much of the gaming oriented hardware out there just has bizarre spec choices for the price points. But depending on the games we're talking about, you won't need a gaming focused PC.

Mostly RPG type games, Skyrim, Dragon Age etc.

somepissedoffman

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #22 on: January 11, 2016, 09:02:43 PM »
I would avoid going down the rabbit hole of gaming PCs unless you're really into that sort of thing and know what you're doing.

Realistically, the cheapest machine you can get on the interwebs  will be sufficient.

If you feel like doing some research, you may be able to find a sweet spot where you can play older-ish steam games on a mid-range computer (lrd2 runs on my yoga pro 2 laptop no-problemo for instance).  If you want to play the latest and greatest games, it will be $$$.

eta:
if you know what you games you want to play specifically, check the minimum specs for those games and use that to pick the cheapest computer possible



« Last Edit: January 11, 2016, 09:05:10 PM by somepissedoffman »

The Beacon

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #23 on: January 11, 2016, 09:50:37 PM »
Also, you asked about AMD.  AMD is shit.  If you look up performance stats online, you can clearly see AMD is shit.

I have to totally disagree with this.   For most people who do not run CPU intensive programs, AMD is the best bang for your money.  Sure Intel processors perform better than AMD like BMW vs Ford.  But they are a lot more expensive.  Question is "Do you need that much performance?"  I have been using AMD processors at home for as long as I remember.  My PC is 8 years old with a dual core AMD processor. It works perfectly fine.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #24 on: January 12, 2016, 05:55:09 AM »
A good general primer on systems would be an article like this:

http://techreport.com/review/29453/the-tech-report-system-guide-december-2015-edition

Watch the YouTube video, it's how l learned to build my systems. For open world RPGs something akin to the "sweet spot" build will provide you a good experience. You can run them on considerably cheaper hardware but then you're not as future proof. A well planned build will give you at least 3-5 years without any need for upgrade.

I wouldn't do their literal build though, so if you do want to pursue DIY, ask and I can do a more specific build list. If buying an off the shelf or used system, I'd recommend this as a baseline:

-Core i5 that is at least Sandy Bridge generation or newer (Google is your friend there)
-8gb ram.
-256Gb SSD
-A mid-tier graphics card. Use this as a guideline:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

Don't go ANY lower than GTX 470/560Ti tier. Avoid AMD cards other than the Radeon HD 79XX or the newer R series. The older Radeon cards are an EOL architecture that no longer gets support for new games.

Should be easy to keep the system in the $700-$900 range.

Frugalman19

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #25 on: January 12, 2016, 08:07:42 AM »
Forgive my ignorance in the topic,

But it looks like most of the computers that I'm looking to buy (prebuilt). Don't have this SSD, they are all regular hard drives. What am I missing, is the SSD a regular hard drive or is it like a flash drive?

I don't know if I would want to build a computer, simply because I don't want to mess it up, and I am trying to save as much money as possible. Here are the specs that I have seen for most of the computers around $400-550.

I5 processor
8g ram
1t harddrive
Windows 10

Is the major thing I'm missing a video card? Is that what will make this more game friendly?

Also, I do have access to old machines that I can take apart. But I'm not sure if the motherboard is even worth salvaging. They are all 4-5 year old machines. Our office got new machines a few years ago.

Yankuba

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #26 on: January 12, 2016, 08:18:05 AM »
Commenting to follow

JLee

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #27 on: January 12, 2016, 08:21:39 AM »
Forgive my ignorance in the topic,

But it looks like most of the computers that I'm looking to buy (prebuilt). Don't have this SSD, they are all regular hard drives. What am I missing, is the SSD a regular hard drive or is it like a flash drive?

I don't know if I would want to build a computer, simply because I don't want to mess it up, and I am trying to save as much money as possible. Here are the specs that I have seen for most of the computers around $400-550.

I5 processor
8g ram
1t harddrive
Windows 10

Is the major thing I'm missing a video card? Is that what will make this more game friendly?

Also, I do have access to old machines that I can take apart. But I'm not sure if the motherboard is even worth salvaging. They are all 4-5 year old machines. Our office got new machines a few years ago.

SSD is flash, yes (Solid State Drive). Video cards generally take the biggest load (and therefore provide the largest performance impact) for gaming.

Honestly you would be much better off having a PC provided by work for work purposes (if something goes wrong, your IT department is not going to want to troubleshoot a personal PC) and then having your own if you wanted to do other stuff.

Jack

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #28 on: January 12, 2016, 08:43:57 AM »
An A10 can't beat the HD 530.  Integrated GPUs just suck in general. If you want the cheapest option, sure - go AMD. I haven't since the Athlon 64 era, and I'm quite pleased with my choices.

That article doesn't say what you think it does. The AMD chip beat the HD 530 in all tests except the synthetic benchmark and WoW at low detail settings. Once you turn up the detail, Intel can't keep up.

Not to mention, the cheapest chip with HD 530 graphics, which I think is the i3-6100, is only dual-core. While it might have better single-threaded CPU performance than an A10, it won't be as good at multitasking or running programs that take advantage of parallelism.

But it looks like most of the computers that I'm looking to buy (prebuilt). Don't have this SSD, they are all regular hard drives. What am I missing, is the SSD a regular hard drive or is it like a flash drive?

Let me put it this way: you want an SSD. You could build the entire computer on a $200 budget, with $50-75 of that being the SSD, and it will be good for office productivity stuff. (And older games, for that matter -- think Morrowind instead of Skyrim.)

In contrast, even a much more expensive computer with a spinning-disc hard drive will feel slow in comparison.

Is the major thing I'm missing a video card? Is that what will make this more game friendly?

It depends on what you want to play. For a game like Skyrim, yes, you want a discrete graphics card. (And in turn, a discrete graphics card means Intel makes sense -- at least for the i5 like Thegoblinchief recommended. An i7 is still overkill and an unnecessary expense.)

For older games, an AMD with integrated graphics -- but not an Intel with integrated graphics, as I explained above -- will be your most cost-effective option. As a bonus, older games are cheap so you win that way, too.


Also, I do have access to old machines that I can take apart. But I'm not sure if the motherboard is even worth salvaging. They are all 4-5 year old machines. Our office got new machines a few years ago.

Depends. If they're old Intel Pentium 4 / Netburst-architecture (which I'm not sure was even still around 4-5 years ago), maybe not. Otherwise, probably. They'll likely work fine for office-productivity, but would need a graphics card added for gaming (in which case you'd want to check to make sure they had a free PCIe x16 slot and correct auxiliary power connectors).

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #29 on: January 12, 2016, 08:53:12 AM »
SSD makes the whole computer feel more responsive. I think it's worth having. It makes a far bigger impact than almost any other upgrade to hardware.

Video card - for things like Dragon Age, Skyrim, and other recent RPGs you'll want a discrete video card of some kind. Depending on the design, space, and power supply, video cards can be added to some consumer desktops but it's often hard to know without taking it apart. Hence, the reason for the DIY route. There are gaming focused system builders that can build some pretty inexpensive systems but the ones focused on the lower-end are really hit-miss when it comes to quality and customer service.

If you watch the YouTube video, it's pretty easy. It's like assembling Legos. Not much you can screw up. Could always ask around in your social circle if you have a friend who'd help you for a six-pack of beer or something too.

The older hardware might be worth salvaging. 5 years ago was the launch of Sandy Bridge on the Intel side, so it's possible there are usable parts there. Really hard to know without specifics. Feel free to PM or post further here.

JLee

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #30 on: January 12, 2016, 08:56:20 AM »
An A10 can't beat the HD 530.  Integrated GPUs just suck in general. If you want the cheapest option, sure - go AMD. I haven't since the Athlon 64 era, and I'm quite pleased with my choices.

That article doesn't say what you think it does. The AMD chip beat the HD 530 in all tests except the synthetic benchmark and WoW at low detail settings. Once you turn up the detail, Intel can't keep up.

Not to mention, the cheapest chip with HD 530 graphics, which I think is the i3-6100, is only dual-core. While it might have better single-threaded CPU performance than an A10, it won't be as good at multitasking or running programs that take advantage of parallelism.

But it looks like most of the computers that I'm looking to buy (prebuilt). Don't have this SSD, they are all regular hard drives. What am I missing, is the SSD a regular hard drive or is it like a flash drive?

Let me put it this way: you want an SSD. You could build the entire computer on a $200 budget, with $50-75 of that being the SSD, and it will be good for office productivity stuff. (And older games, for that matter -- think Morrowind instead of Skyrim.)

In contrast, even a much more expensive computer with a spinning-disc hard drive will feel slow in comparison.

Is the major thing I'm missing a video card? Is that what will make this more game friendly?

It depends on what you want to play. For a game like Skyrim, yes, you want a discrete graphics card. (And in turn, a discrete graphics card means Intel makes sense -- at least for the i5 like Thegoblinchief recommended. An i7 is still overkill and an unnecessary expense.)

For older games, an AMD with integrated graphics -- but not an Intel with integrated graphics, as I explained above -- will be your most cost-effective option. As a bonus, older games are cheap so you win that way, too.


Also, I do have access to old machines that I can take apart. But I'm not sure if the motherboard is even worth salvaging. They are all 4-5 year old machines. Our office got new machines a few years ago.

Depends. If they're old Intel Pentium 4 / Netburst-architecture (which I'm not sure was even still around 4-5 years ago), maybe not. Otherwise, probably. They'll likely work fine for office-productivity, but would need a graphics card added for gaming (in which case you'd want to check to make sure they had a free PCIe x16 slot and correct auxiliary power connectors).

Ah yeah, I didn't catch the detail settings. I couldn't find an A4 comparison, though - is it notably slower than an A10?

I couldn't imagine running an integrated GPU for much of anything except desktop use, though. Even my GTX 970 gets strained a little sometimes, and that's in a different universe entirely.

Ipodius

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #31 on: January 12, 2016, 09:51:26 AM »
Some points to keep in mind. Below is a quick summary of more than 10 years experience running small IT businesses, supporting small and medium companies:

- Intel Core i5 Processor - i7 will be overkill and unnecessary, AMD will be more likely to hold you back at some point in the future.
- 8gb or 16gb memory.
- Small SSD (256gb, potentially even 512gb)
- Medium size HDD (1tb, may not be needed if you get the 512gb SSD)
- Most big brands are good, keep in mind the warranty
- If you are keen on gaming and want decent specs for multiple years, I would aim for a nVidia GTX750. 

And some more general thoughts:

- If you don't want to make building / messing around with your computer a mini-hobby, rather don't build yourself.
- Consider what your warranty requirements are work wise - what do you do if your PC dies? Can you work on the laptop while your PC is fixed, or do you need an on-site warranty?
- Also, speaking of the laptop, many laptops can drive multiple screens, and all can use a keyboard and mouse. My personal work setup is a Dell laptop (Core i5 CPU, 750gb SSD (overkill), 8gb memory) with a docking station, two external screens and an external keyboard and mouse. If you post the specific model of your laptop, I can check for you. Some also support nice external docking stations. One option with this would be to buy a personal PC, and make your laptop your work PC.
- There are some risks combining a work / personal PC, especially if non-technical people also use it. Personally, I would keep my work PC separate to my home PC, and buy my wife something else to work on. She's smart and capable, but not technical - there would be a risk of her downloading a virus / etc. Also, do you and your wife need to work at the same time?
- Backups are VVIP! For work things, you want off-site backups that have versioning (keeps multiple versions of a file). This is important, because it means that if a file becomes corrupt on your PC, the corrupt file doesn't write over the good backup file. I've seen it happen more than once.
- Can you claim the cost of the work PC against your tax?

Jack

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #32 on: January 12, 2016, 10:28:24 AM »
I couldn't imagine running an integrated GPU for much of anything except desktop use, though. Even my GTX 970 gets strained a little sometimes, and that's in a different universe entirely.

Desktop use is all the OP initially asked for! (Okay, so he mentioned "possibly" wanting to play some games, but for all we knew at the time that meant Minesweeper or something.)

Besides, the vast majority of games are not brand-new big-budget AAA high-polygon graphics bonanzas. In fact, quite a few of even the best ones -- including everything from Age of Empires 2 to Deus Ex to SimCity 2000 to good ol' fashioned Zork -- have very modest system requirements, by today's standards.

JLee

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Re: Any tech savvy mustacians?
« Reply #33 on: January 12, 2016, 10:36:55 AM »
I couldn't imagine running an integrated GPU for much of anything except desktop use, though. Even my GTX 970 gets strained a little sometimes, and that's in a different universe entirely.

Desktop use is all the OP initially asked for! (Okay, so he mentioned "possibly" wanting to play some games, but for all we knew at the time that meant Minesweeper or something.)

Besides, the vast majority of games are not brand-new big-budget AAA high-polygon graphics bonanzas. In fact, quite a few of even the best ones -- including everything from Age of Empires 2 to Deus Ex to SimCity 2000 to good ol' fashioned Zork -- have very modest system requirements, by today's standards.
Yep, and the OP since clarified with Skyrim. : )

I agree, some of the best games have very low system requirements by today's standards. UT99/2004, HL/HL2, GTR2, etc.

 

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