High-end desktop PC for non-gamer...

A.Steve

A.Steve

A.Steve

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I've decided to ask for advice here as, while I'm technical, I've focused exclusively on software for the past decade or so. My knowledge of current PC hardware is somewhat obsolete.

My current setup: A 15" Dell touchscreen laptop connected over HDMI to a 28" 1440p Samsung monitor (which has now developed a minor fault.) It has an Intel I7-4500 CPU @1.8GHz and 16GB RAM - with 1TB hybrid drive - it has a 2GB GeForce GT 750M in addition to on-board Intel graphics. I use it exclusively on my desk with external keyboard and mouse attached. It cost me £800 a few years ago. I make good use of the 16GB RAM, and the CPU (while it's always nice to have more grunt) is adequate. My main gripe surrounds constraints on connectivity to monitors. I tried connecting a 4K screen and the screen refresh rate was too slow for me to be happy with it - hence sticking to 1440p.

I don't game - but I do watch video, so frame rate (and absence of flicker/judder/artefacts) is important to me. Most of the time, I'm editing documents, running VMs, and using lots of web pages.

I'd like to move to a system that will simultaneously support three 4K displays - and, to do this, I expect, I need a good quality graphics card (though I'm very unclear on what specification would be required.) While 16GB RAM would suffice, it makes sense to me that I should look for >=32GB - either immediately, or as a future upgrade option. For the CPU, I want value for money... and prefer reliability over the highest performance. A conventional >=1TB disk would be adequate, though - if the price were right - a similar capacity SSD would be a little more desirable. I need Ethernet and USB - but not Wi-Fi or optical drives. I am confident that I could 'build' this from parts (once identified) but would be equally happy with a pre-built... I don't really want anything experimental - reliability is of paramount importance to me... I'd also like it to be fairly quiet.

Can anyone help out with suggestions? What sort of video card would be most suitable? Should I be choosing a motherboard myself, or look to build from a bare-bones system? How much should I expect to have to pay for a system like this?
 
I'm not familiar enough with your kind of use case to suggest parts, but as far as this is concerned:

For the CPU, I want value for money... and prefer reliability over the highest performance.

Thats nonsense right there. It's not a high performance engine, it's a CPU. A high performance CPU like a 7700K will last you just as long and be just as reliable as a celeron will.
If you overclock and overvolt to the extreme, that changes, but stock, properly cooled, any CPU is going to last a long time.
 
:) I am under no illusion that CPUs (usually) last - when properly cooled, at least.
Maybe I over-emphasised by reacting to the word 'Overclockers'.
Essentially, I'm saying that I probably don't need/want to 'over-clock'... and that, while I'm cost conscious, I'm prepared to pay more for better quality components (e.g. PSU; heat-sinks; fans - etc).
Given that my I7-4500 is 'OK' - this indicates that the CPU requirements for the build should be easily met.
The video output requirements are the big challenge... and are most likely to define the build.
 
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A.Steve said:
:) I am under no illusion that CPUs (usually) last - when properly cooled, at least.
Maybe I over-emphasised by reacting to the word 'Overclockers'.
Essentially, I'm saying that I probably don't want need/want to 'over-clock'... and that, while I'm cost conscious, I'm prepared to pay more for better quality components (e.g. PSU; heat-sinks; fans - etc).
Given that my I7-4500 is 'OK' - this indicates that the CPU requirements for the build should be easily met.
The video output requirements are the big challenge... and are most likely to define the build.
Click to expand...

What is your budget fella? I have a similar use case to you if not with the added addition of something a bit more experimental. I game a little but not often and mostly use lots of vmware virtual machines, web pages and desktop real estate. I work in both ESXi and in windows vmware workstation from a single box with lots of windows servers. If your requirement for storage is as low as above I am guessing that your not running loads of vm's but when you are roughly how many do you spin up? These are not huge demands on your average mid to high end desktop system but a budget will make it a lot easier to see where to splash the cash.
 
Vince said:
What is your budget fella?
Click to expand...

As I bought my laptop (where the only significant inadequacy is video-out capability) ~3 years ago for ~£800. Intuition suggests that a similar spend now should get me something 'much better' - Moore's law and all that... especially if the new box only contains CPU,Disk,RAM and video card (no 'expensive' touch screen - etc.) If the price were £500, I'll order now - if the price is £2,500 - I'll be in less of a rush. I'm trying to establish prices before I try to plan a budget. Three good 4K monitors won't be cheap either... and the upgrade only starts to make sense when I have at least two. My existing laptop is OK - but it won't drive the monitors I want to use.

My use-case for VMs is modest - one or two at most - mainly experiments on desktop OS. I've got server-class kit a network hop away - so, what I run on my desktop is restricted to software focused on interactive use... i.e. software that benefits from a local graphics card.
 
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Id suggest looking at the AMD Ryzen 1700 cpu. Cheap (compared to the competition) and powerful - will cope fine with all your VM's.

Also do you need three 4K monitors? If productivity is one of your main goals, have you considered a 21:9 aspect ratio monitor. I feel that these are vastly superior for productivity.

Perhaps one 21:9 monitor and a 4K monitor for watching traditional 16:9 content on.
 
Spuddy said:
Also do you need three 4K monitors?
Click to expand...

Good question. No, I don't strictly 'need' 3x4K - but if my graphics card were capable of that, it would no-longer be the bottle-neck no matter what specific configuration I try to run in future. I really like using two separate 16:9 (or 16:10) monitors... and prefer this configuration to one 'large wide screen'. I've briefly used a pair of 27" 1440p monitors in the past, connected to a modest PC (unsure what graphics card) by DispalyPort - that configuration was productive for my use case. An extra monitor for video 'in the background' - e.g. rolling news - would be an improvement. Perhaps I don't need the third screen to be 4K - perhaps a smaller 1080p one would be just as useful. A reason to want to switch from QHD to 4K is that I see more choice and better value from 4K monitors than from QHD monitors.

The crux of my question is about how best to acquire a PC that would support multiple 4K monitors without the PC becoming the limiting factor. Right now, with my laptop, I'm constrained, by the laptop, to one <=QHD monitor over HDMI (if I insist on rapid refresh - i.e. no visibly dropped video frames) which isn't good enough. In every other respect, the laptop perfectly meets my needs. If I could upgrade the video card on the laptop, I'd do that - but it is not an option.
 
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yes it is, but to get what you want as such you are going to need to pay a fair amount.


this is more inline with your budget, but resolution wise i dont know how the 1050ti would fair, but it would be much better than the 750m in your laptop, so might be just the ticket,

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £772.52
(includes shipping: £12.60)



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this is how it would look if you spent a bit extra for the better rx 580 if you didnt want nvidia

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £932.52
(includes shipping: £12.60)



​

this is how the first build would look if you changed the hard drives for a single 1tb ssd as requested

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £944.63
(includes shipping: £11.70)



​

and this is if you put a 1060 in the mix instead

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,034.63
(includes shipping: £11.70)



​


the case is personal preference and i noticed since making these that case is now out of stock.


though unless you actually need or want a tower, you could always stick to laptops?

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,771.68
(includes shipping: £11.70)



​

or go to other shops for high performance, but less gaming aimed like those from HP or whoever.
 
My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £817.22
(includes shipping: £12.30)



​

6 core/12 threads- 16gb ram- get a 1440p/1080p ultra wide screen to cut out having so many monitors - starting to be a thing of the past now

OCUK customer serivce along with UK RMA center for both gpu and mobo- have the ability to also send in directly - although to be fair- when reps have stepped in on OCUK forum, it hasn't been bought through ocuk!
 
For software and productivity I'd go a 6 core as a minimum to future proof yourself. Look at the 1600 Ryzen 6core cpu as a basis to start with. Comes with a cooler so one less thing to buy.


@orbitalwalsh bang on the money with the 6core cpu there.

I'd spend an extra £25 and get at least a 2TB storage drive.
 
^^^^^ 500gb SSD could be a bit over the top- 256 for your OS or even 128GB - install your Programs to it but save to the HDD

would be half tempted to quote you GT 1050.... or 560 and get yourself a freesync ultra wide- nothing like 144hz but 60 or 75hz but it'll linked to the card and sound be crystal smooth

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £290.93
(includes shipping: £0.00)




​
 
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