Hi,
Yet another 'New build' post.... sorry....!
I'm looking at upgrading my desktop which I built in about 2005. I have since only bought laptops and Macs, so not only is the PC completely out of date, so too is my knowledge on what's out there now.
My budget is fairly tight, so I’m looking to limit what I initially upgrade and spreading the cost over time. So, I’m looking at upgrading the Motherboard, CPU and RAM.
- The hard disks, whilst not solid state, are SATA and will be fine - I can replace with quicker disks later. Also the DVDRW is SATA, no need to replace.
- The case is a fairly decent, albeit standard, ATX case, so that’s fine.
- The PSU was a decent one at the time, I can’t remember the model, but it was quite expensive and should not need to be replaced
- The graphics card is a not too fancy Sapphire Radeon HD3450 1GB PCI-Express bought a few years ago as a quick fix when the old one died, if this can be used for now, great. If not either something in budget or a motherboard with onboard graphics for now would suffice. VGA is a must - I don’t want to replace my monitor just yet, though it is on the list for the next round. HDMI is desirable.
The PC will be used mainly just for generic things such as Office / etc. It’s also used for Photoshop, Visual Studio and occasionally (every couple of months) video editing. I don’t do any gaming.
With that in mind, I know I don’t need a cutting edge system. On the other hand, I don’t want to be waiting around for weeks when I do need to do the occasional resource intensive task.
I’m open to both AMD / Intel. I used to have a preference for AMD about 10 years ago, but obviously times change so I’m ignoring any preference I might have once had. I know Intel CPUs generally get better reviews for performance, with AMD rating higher for value - more performance for the money.
RAM wise, I’m looking at 8GB. No preference on brand.
As I don’t want to spend too much initially, I want to avoid replacing my monitor just yet (VGA) and also avoid buying a new graphics card initially. So either using the current graphics card (Sapphire Radeon HD3450 1GB PCI-Express) or a motherboard with onboard graphics with VGA / HDMI connections would be ideal.
I always used to like Asus boards, but again, that was almost 10 years ago - open to ideas now!
I’ve had a look at a few review sites and put a couple of ideas down, but so much has changed I have no idea what I’m really looking for now. I’d like it to be as upgradable as possible, without spending too much initially. Most reviews seem to be geared towards gaming machines unfortunately.
I’ve probably waffled, but I’ve tried to give as much info as possible as to what I want, and what for.
I’d appreciate any suggestions or any ‘avoid this’ advice.
Looking at about £200 - £250. That may have to be reviewed depending on the advice!
Thanks in advance!
Yet another 'New build' post.... sorry....!
I'm looking at upgrading my desktop which I built in about 2005. I have since only bought laptops and Macs, so not only is the PC completely out of date, so too is my knowledge on what's out there now.
My budget is fairly tight, so I’m looking to limit what I initially upgrade and spreading the cost over time. So, I’m looking at upgrading the Motherboard, CPU and RAM.
- The hard disks, whilst not solid state, are SATA and will be fine - I can replace with quicker disks later. Also the DVDRW is SATA, no need to replace.
- The case is a fairly decent, albeit standard, ATX case, so that’s fine.
- The PSU was a decent one at the time, I can’t remember the model, but it was quite expensive and should not need to be replaced
- The graphics card is a not too fancy Sapphire Radeon HD3450 1GB PCI-Express bought a few years ago as a quick fix when the old one died, if this can be used for now, great. If not either something in budget or a motherboard with onboard graphics for now would suffice. VGA is a must - I don’t want to replace my monitor just yet, though it is on the list for the next round. HDMI is desirable.
The PC will be used mainly just for generic things such as Office / etc. It’s also used for Photoshop, Visual Studio and occasionally (every couple of months) video editing. I don’t do any gaming.
With that in mind, I know I don’t need a cutting edge system. On the other hand, I don’t want to be waiting around for weeks when I do need to do the occasional resource intensive task.
I’m open to both AMD / Intel. I used to have a preference for AMD about 10 years ago, but obviously times change so I’m ignoring any preference I might have once had. I know Intel CPUs generally get better reviews for performance, with AMD rating higher for value - more performance for the money.
RAM wise, I’m looking at 8GB. No preference on brand.
As I don’t want to spend too much initially, I want to avoid replacing my monitor just yet (VGA) and also avoid buying a new graphics card initially. So either using the current graphics card (Sapphire Radeon HD3450 1GB PCI-Express) or a motherboard with onboard graphics with VGA / HDMI connections would be ideal.
I always used to like Asus boards, but again, that was almost 10 years ago - open to ideas now!
I’ve had a look at a few review sites and put a couple of ideas down, but so much has changed I have no idea what I’m really looking for now. I’d like it to be as upgradable as possible, without spending too much initially. Most reviews seem to be geared towards gaming machines unfortunately.
I’ve probably waffled, but I’ve tried to give as much info as possible as to what I want, and what for.
I’d appreciate any suggestions or any ‘avoid this’ advice.
Looking at about £200 - £250. That may have to be reviewed depending on the advice!
Thanks in advance!
