After 6 years my HP 3.2 ghz desktop is now starting to get ancient with sluggish running and lag esp when streaming.
I’m shit at this pc malark but want to upgrade to something quicker and smoother. I don’t play games, so I only need the functionality of a new desktop to surf the web, social media stuff, some recording and word and excel documents.
Will £300-500 get me something decent?
What would be the minimum:
- speed processor will I need
- Ram
- HD space
I’m also not overly excited on the move to windows 10 after being a Windows 7 user for years. Would my existing keyboard/monitor etc be compatible with a new machine? Also not sure if all programs and software I used on Windows 7 would run on Windows 10?
Comments
What is the spec of your monitor and how old is it? The only major change is the connection between monitor and PC. You could be on an old style HDMI or VGA connector.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
http://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/desktops-and-all-in-ones/inspiron-desktop/spd/inspiron-3662-desktop/cd66202
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
For recording you are going got want a high spec processor -
Quadcore i7 chip would do it, there are lots here so read up on them - if your planning on a laptop pay close attention to the chip as they are very misleading in terms of cores and such.
They have a thing called hyperthreading (i think) which is like a digital core, so they call them quad core when infact its a dual core but can partition itself for more power. 4 Physical cores (or more) are best for low latency recording.
8gb ram and 1tb HDD would cover everything you need and should be within budget.
can be a nice little recording set up.
http://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/laptop-and-2-in-1-pcs/inspiron-17-5000/spd/inspiron-17-5770-laptop/cn77001
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
Seen a a lot of these Quadcore i chips, are they the fastest processors?
I’m definitely wanting a desktop though. I use a Line 6 ux1 and podfarm with Ableton Live 7.0.
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing/desktop-pcs/desktop-pcs/hp-pavilion-570-p010na-desktop-pc-10159081-pdt.html
SSD for the OS makes a huge difference. I had a desktop that was 7 or 8 years old, that I put an SSD in, with a clean install of Win 10, and it was faster for most things than my wife's laptop that was less than a year old at the time.
If you do go for a new one, get one with a small SSD for the OS and any key software, and then add a conventional drive for storage.
I would steer well clear of the one that @Fretwired linked to as the OS is installed on a conventional drive. Also, the processor on that one is designed for energy saving rather than speed. It actually scores significantly lower on Passmark than a second generation i3 (they are now on 7th generation).
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=749&cmp[]=2877
Something like this would utterly slaughter that one on performance:
https://www.ebuyer.com/779628-dell-vostro-3268-sff-desktop-xrhvk
4GB isn't really enough so you would need to buy another 4GB of RAM (around £35 to 40), and a conventional hard drive for storage (probably around £50 with a SATA cable to connect it to the motherboard).
Stretch your budget and get an Intel i7.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
You can even go later gen i5, should be fine.
Personally wouldn't go down AMD route - they are good processors but they more focused on gaming, and generally not so great for media tasks.
Saying that, my main PC is AMD, but it's gaming one, so can handle media stuff well too
Fretwired said:
The processor in that is an i3-u - that means it's a dual core, low powered energy saving one. It will be fine for web/social but will choke on recording.
Fastest intel chip is probably an i9 Xseries - but this would be total overkill and waaayyyy out of budget. Has 18 cores and ridiculous features... not even sure they available yet
https://www.johnlewis.com/dell-inspiron-3268-desktop-pc-intel-core-i3-8gb-ram-1tb-black/p3261184?navAction=jump
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
Perhaps something like this?
https://www.johnlewis.com/hp-pavilion-570-desktop-pc-intel-core-i5-8gb-ram-2tb-hdd-amd-radeon-r5/p3175976?colour=Natural Silver
Or equivalent from other sites