Kuda427 :
Hey all
I'm a newbie to the computer upgrade world...so please be patient with my questions
I've just picked up a Dell Precision T1500 tower
I7 processor,2.93 I think
Has 8 gigs of ram currently
500 gig sata hd
My goal is to put together something that will be capable of daily normal tasks and some light gaming for my son
Let me start out by saying that I'm on a budget..
This is basically for my 14 yr old son who is dealing with cancer
Reason for the tight budget .
I guess what I need to find out is what kinda graphics upgrades can I do with it
I was told it's will take up to 16 gigs of ram ...so I will need to purchase 8 more gigs???
Again..I'm a newbie and trying to set something up for my son...so please excuse my ignorence.
Any help would be great!!!
Thanks in advance
Ed
Ed,
Having the manual will make options much easier to put in order. Dell is excellent in publishing these in PDF:
http://downloads.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_dell_precision_workstation/precision-t1500_Service%20Manual_en-us.pdf
> which is 48 pages. I make a folder on my computer with the model of computer and put all the documentation: manuals, drivers, licence, site addresses, passwords, how to install instructions, etc, in that folder.
Processor: The CPU is a good place to start thinking about upgrades. Page 11 of the T1500 manual shows that the processor can be i3/i5/i7. If it's running at 2.93GHz, then it's an i7-870:
http://ark.intel.com/products/41315/Intel-Core-i7-870-Processor-8M-Cache-2_93-GHz
> which is a very good one with a "Turbo Frequency" of 3.6GHz. that means that when needed, the first two cores run at 3.6Ghz and that's very good news for the gaming use. On Passmark performance Test, the average CPU score for the i7 870 is 5488 and it ranks as No 286. This is really quite good and in performance is sitting not too far from some good current CPU's.
Memory: The T1500 manual (p11) shows that there are 4 RAM slots, the RAM memory is DDR3 at either DDR3 1066 or 1333 MHz , and will be used in 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB modules up to a maximum of 16GB.
RAM has a number of subtleties about it, so the best course is to open the case and take one out and copy all the numbers off it. You may find that all the the slots are full, that is, there are 4X 2GB modules, so having 16GB would mean replacing all the modules with 4X 4GB.
My suggestion is to have a look at the situation and if the slots are full, get the system going and see if it needs more. The amount of RAM is mostly to allow several programs to run at once, and I think the 8GB may be enough. I use a generous formula of 2GB for Windows and 1.5GB for every program.
You can check the RAM used by right clicking in the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen and starting "Windows Task Manager". This will show you a list of everything the system is doing. Click on tab at the top of Task Manager "Performance" and it changes to charts of the processor and memory use. the bottom panel is memory. As an example, I just checked on my system and I am running: Windows, Firefox (browser), AutoCad 2014, Autodesk 3ds MAX Design, Adobe Photoshop CS6, Adobe Acrobat 11, and WordPerfect X7 and the total memory use is 5.21GB. These are all quite large programs and still using well under 8GB of memory.
GPU: The Gigabyte GTX 960 you mention is in the high end of video cards. In the Passmark chart, it's average 3D score is 5994 and is the 16th fastest card made.
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php
If you look down the list a bit that the No. 23 card scoring 5244 is the Firepro W9000- a workstation card which costs "$2,999.99".
As far as I know a GTX 960 would be excellent for any games on maximum settings games and work really well on any general program.
Problem: While the GTX 960 is excellent and very good value at $200 it also requires 120W to run. NVIDIA suggests that the system have a minimum 400W power supply:
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-960/specifications
> while the T1500 manual (p13) gives the PSU (Power Supply Unit) as 350W. As Precisions (I've had 5 of them) have very good power supplies and the GTX 960 would probably work, it would prudent to look for a card using a bit less power. I would say that a high specification GTX 750ti (2GB, about $160) might be the thing:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487024&cm_re=gtx-_-14-487-024-_-Product
Not in the same top tier as the GTX 960: Passmark: 3686 and ranked No. 55 but for which NVIDIA recommends a minimum of 300W PSU:
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-750-ti/specifications
Disk: As Calculagator mentions, an SSD would pep things up and you might consider a Crucial MX100 series which are very good value:
Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) > $110
This one is probably large enough to run the whole system. I have a pile of big programs- one, the Autodesk Building Suite is 75GB, but my C; drive with Windows and all programs is 160GB and my entire file archive is about 60GB, so I could get everything on a 256GB drive. An SSD is not an absolute essential and if the budget is tight, my suggestion would be to put the cost into a better monitor, use the system, and then if the disk seems to be lagging, upgrade it to a SSD.
Monitor: You didn't mention a monitor, which is an important choice.
Sound: For gaming, you might look at an ASUS Xonar soundcard
> and perhaps a Logitech Z313 which has a subwoofer and wired remote for under $40:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Logitech-Z313-2-1-Channel-Speaker-System-3-Piece-Black-Silver-/191472784877?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c94aad5ed
Do you have a budget for the overall upgrade?
Sorry for such a long post and all the jargon.
Cheers,
BambiBoom
HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 six core @ 3.7 /4.0GHz > 16GB DDR3 ECC 1866 RAM > Quadro K2200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > Logitech z2300 > Linksys AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H 2560 X 1440 > Windows 7 Professional 64 >
[ Passmark Rating = 4918 > CPU= 13941 / 2D= 823 / 3D=3464 / Mem= 2669 / Disk= 4764]
Dell Precision T5500 > Xeon X5680 six -core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz, 24GB DDR3 ECC 1333 > Quadro 4000 (2GB ) > Samsung 840 250GB /WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card> Linksys WMP600N PCI WiFi > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (1920 X 1440)
[ Passmark system rating = 3339 / CPU = 9347 / 2D= 684 / 3D= 2030 / Mem= 1871 / Disk= 2234]
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