PC types - whats the average cost for a decent machine these days? -- also PC death content

Bidley

Sorry - £1k is a nice amount and you can get a lot for it. Strict budget is what I should've said

I think your spec is pretty good. I would get a decent power supply, something modular and beefy. You can get a lower spec i5 and overclock it (I've got a 4670k running at 4.2ghz) but I guess you want maximum thread performance.

I don't rate the 1030 but for the money you won't get much better.

Axe_meister

You could get an older GTX 750ti for less money that will out perform the 1030 (I run Elite dangerous on a 750ti)

PolarityMan

Axe_meister said:

You could get an older GTX 750ti for less money that will out perform the 1030 (I run Elite dangerous on a 750ti)

interesting, posisbly freeing up enough to bump the PSU

PolarityMan

Btw, and feel free to correct me if im wrong but i have also been gong for more cores in preference to less cores but faster CPU speeds because i imagine that rnuning VSTs is massively parallel (since each tracks fx chain is totally independent). 

Bidley

The 1030 is around £70 and below on Amazon... The 750ti is probably the best performance-per-pound out there, but it starts at £100 up. Unless you go used.

And yes, as far as my limited knowledge goes, I understand more cores will give you better performance with DAW use, photo editing etc.

Axe_meister

750Ti https://www.alza.co.uk/msi-n750ti-2gd5-ocv1-d2144446.htm?kampan=adeu_uk-pla-cpa_produkty_c_9044975_EF377b2&gclid=CMK1wPvxv9QCFfIV0wodYlYMPg&;

chrispy108

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/
This is a great website, used it to build mine a few years ago.
Helps you pick cheap, compatible parts.

PolarityMan

So repaired old PC, no data loss sbut still eager to move off so going to try some more pricing combos over the weekend to run past you guys, see if I can factor in the partpicker and logical increments reccomendations

thomasross20

I also need something.
Preferably separate widescreen monitor.
Separate speakers? 
i7 tower

thomasross20

Our all in one's have been awesome from a space saving point of view but not the most practical (not able to plug work laptop into monitor)

Myranda

thomasross20 said:

Our all in one's have been awesome from a space saving point of view but not the most practical (not able to plug work laptop into monitor)

Something like this?

thomasross20

Lol!!!
No.
Haha

KrisGee

Had the same kind of dilemma last year, outdated pc that would cost too much to upgrade, was also a bit tired with windows and its lack of stability, way too much updates etc.
Fairly high spec second hand late 2013 imac 27 has sorted me very well. Great machine, so easy to work on and osx is such a clever operating system.
Since going mac everytime I use a laptop with win10 when not home I feel like back to the 80s with a huge calculator in my hand

Axe_meister

The Mac always frustrates me in that it try's to hide the juicy bits away from me all the time forcing me to use it's app.
Think photo app, you can't easily navigate to the folder that stores the photos. Guess I'm old fashioned and am used to folders/directories/filesystems that lets me organise things the way I want to.
However the GUI is a lot more polished, but needs a big update for touch

Myranda

We use a load of iMacs at uni ... I think mostly because we can't find a skip big enough to dump them in, so we're stuck with the damn things...

thomasross20

Don't like Apple. Actually got a high-end MacBook about a year ago (handed it back after a week) but the OS was rubbish - it couldn't connect to many external sound cards (like my Toneport). Add in iTunes, forcing you to use their products and updates - ugh, no thanks! 
Still need to get something for myself. 
I'm defo thinking dedicated monitor and some sort of tower. 

thomasross20

I need to sit down and spec something on scan or pcspecialist (I don't know the best site for this these days). 

Just browsing on John Lewis and this seems decent:
https://www.johnlewis.com/hp-pavilion-570-desktop-pc-intel-core-i5-8gb-ram-2tb-amd-radeon-r5/p3175976?colour=Natural Silver

partpicker is good as per chrispy's post. 

PCspecialist still seems to be the best website for configuring a custom-made PC, but you really have to know what you want and I'm not sure if this website is cost effective. I'd rather be lazy, pay a bit more, and have a pre-built system with existing customer reviews to base a judgement on.. 
--> Dell XPS is usually good to go..

ThePrettyDamned

thomasross20 said:

I need to sit down and spec something on scan or pcspecialist (I don't know the best site for this these days). 

Just browsing on John Lewis and this seems decent:
https://www.johnlewis.com/hp-pavilion-570-desktop-pc-intel-core-i5-8gb-ram-2tb-amd-radeon-r5/p3175976?colour=Natural Silver

partpicker is good as per chrispy's post. 

PCspecialist still seems to be the best website for configuring a custom-made PC, but you really have to know what you want and I'm not sure if this website is cost effective. I'd rather be lazy, pay a bit more, and have a pre-built system with existing customer reviews to base a judgement on.. 
--> Dell XPS is usually good to go..

Check out the Dell outlet. Sometimes good deals on refurbs and stuff. 

Also, if you don't mind second hand, there are amazing bargains to be had. But I would rather a warranty - I was lucky and got both (second hand alienware from John Lewis, free 3 year warranty included). 

Dell outlet can be very good though. 

olafgarten

thomasross20 said:

I need to sit down and spec something on scan or pcspecialist (I don't know the best site for this these days). 

Just browsing on John Lewis and this seems decent:
https://www.johnlewis.com/hp-pavilion-570-desktop-pc-intel-core-i5-8gb-ram-2tb-amd-radeon-r5/p3175976?colour=Natural Silver

partpicker is good as per chrispy's post. 

PCspecialist still seems to be the best website for configuring a custom-made PC, but you really have to know what you want and I'm not sure if this website is cost effective. I'd rather be lazy, pay a bit more, and have a pre-built system with existing customer reviews to base a judgement on.. 
--> Dell XPS is usually good to go..

I don't like PC specialist, I bought a PC off them and unless you specify a branded component they really cheap out. 

I chose the standard 7200rpm hard drive option and they put in a thinline 2.5 inch drive made for a laptop. 

thomasross20

Never knew about the outlet, thanks!
Good to know about PCSpecialist.

Dell are doing 10% off Inspiron right now.....
Tricky to decide between an i7 Inspiron with 10% off or just go the full hog with an i5 or i7 XPS (with no deal). The i5 XPS is the same price as the i7 inspiron but is more upgradable. 

The Dell AIOs look pretty, good , too...... perfect other than you can't use the screen as an input... grr..