Feedback on New ~$900 AMD Windows & Linux System

[vfpd]

Hi, I'm looking for feedback on my parts selection for a new computer system for my home use. I don't buy computers often, my current system is 8-years-old and has reached the end of its useful life. For my new system I'd like something that I will also be satisfied with for several years.

Approximate Purchase Date: Next [strike]two weeks[/strike] four days

Budget Range: $800-$1200 After Rebates & Shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Word processing, spreadsheets, email, surfing the internet, watching movies. I'm hoping to learn how to use animation software soon and will probably use this system for foreign language study. I think about trying games but I've never had the time and energy nor found one that appealed to me though I haven't looked very hard (I'm not disparaging you avid gamers ). I'm planning to install Acronis Disk Director, which I've never used before. Once I'm satisfied that my Windows partition is working well, I want to start learning to use Linux and transition to using that OS as much as possible.

Are you buying a monitor: I just purchased a new Dell 27" Ultrasharp monitor (U2715H) for $526. It's still in the unopened box so I could return it for good reason.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes. Planning to buy MS Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition w/ SP1, OEM w/ Media and Linux Mint

Preferred Website(s): You can find my current configuration at http://www.avadirect.com/A10-FM2-Mini-Tower-Custom-Computer-Desktop/Configure/9475430

Here are the parts:

Case: FRACTAL DESIGN Define Mini Black Silent Mini-Tower Case, mATX, No PSU, Plastic/Steel

Power Supply: CORSAIR RM Series™ RM450 450W Power Supply w/ Modular Cabes, 80 PLUS® Gold, 24-pin ATX12V V2.4 EPS12V V2.92, 2x 8/6-pin PCIe, Retail. Newegg's power supply calculator indicates I only need a 276W PSU but I ever decide I need a video 450W probably won't be enough. Thoughts?

Socket FM2 Plus Motherboard: ASUS A88XM-PLUS/CSM, FM2+, AMD® A88X, DDR3-2400 (O.C.) 64GB /4, PCIe x16, SATA 6 Gb/s RAID 5 /8, HDMI + DVI + VGA, USB 3.0 /2+2, HDA, GbLAN, mATX, Retail
http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/A88XMPLUSCSM/

Socket FM2 Desktop Processor: AMD A8-6500 Quad-Core 3.5 - 4.1GHz TC, HD Graphics, FM2, 4MB L2 cache, DDR3-1866, 32nm, 65W, Retail

RAM: DDR3 Non-ECC DIMM Memory: CORSAIR 16GB (2 x 8GB) Vengeance® Pro Red PC3-15000 DDR3 1866MHz CL9 (9-10-9-27) 1.5V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC

CPU Cooler: ZALMAN CNPS8000B CPU Cooler, Socket 1150/1155/1156/1366/775/FM1/AM3/AM2, 66mm Height, Copper/Aluminum, Retail
Thermal Compound: ZALMAN Thermal Compound, Non-curing, 3.5 g

Storage Drive: SEAGATE 1TB Barracuda®, SATA 6 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 64MB cache
DVD Burner Drives: ASUS DRW-24B1ST Black 24x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner, SATA, OEM

Video: Integrated Graphics Controller. Since I'm not a gamer and will only be using one monitor will this be satisfactory for the usage I described above and for viewing movies on my Dell U2715H monitor?

Sound Cards: Integrated Audio Controller (Choose upgrade)

Keyboard: LOGITECH K120 Black Keyboard, USB, Retail

Operating System: MS Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition w/ SP1, OEM w/ Media

Parts Preferences: AMD Kabini or Kaveri processor

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 2560 x 1440

Additional Comments: I'd like a low-profile, reliable, quiet, energy-efficient system that fits the usage I described above. Whenever affordable I prefer to use quality parts with a good warranty. Again, any feedback on my current proposed configuration/parts/vendor selection would be appreciated.

 

[Outlander_04]

I think that is a very expensive price for that computer .
It could be hundreds of dollars cheaper , or much more powerful .
Even the processor is outdated

It would do what you wanted , but might start to show weaknesses when using larger spread sheets , and it my be frustratingly slow compared to a more modern build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($178.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($124.95 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Corsair 350D MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 450W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $815.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-06 18:18 EST-0500

Is probably twice as powerful as a computer , will use the same or slightly less electricity ,
An SSD hard drive is included so it will boot in a few seconds and load programs much more quickly . There is also a hard drive for data storage .

You'sd have to assemble it yourself but this is very easy . Watch a few tutorials online . All you need is a screwdriver .

I included win 8 instead of 7 . Win 10 is a few months away and while the upgrade is free for 7 its probably better to start with 8

It wont game well at all BTW , but the intel processor does have inbuilt graphics that will be fine for your usage

 

[vfpd]

I think that is a very expensive price for that computer .
It could be hundreds of dollars cheaper , or much more powerful .
Even the processor is outdated

Hi Outlander_04,

Your response was very helpful. I went to PCPartPicker and came up with this config:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/PWMDXL
CPU: AMD A10-7800 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($133.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 45.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($64.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Define Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.79 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($7.99 @ NCIX US)
External Storage: Western Digital Elements 500GB External Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $837.44

I'll probably not buy the solid state drive because the only compelling reason I can think of to get one is for faster boots but I don't really need that. Is there some other reason I should consider buying an SSD? I'm also rethinking my backup options--that's what the WD ext drive was going to be for. I'm still mulling over Windows 7 vs. 8. I'm currently using XP SP3. Yikes!

 

[Outlander_04]

The AMD chips make sense based on price , but the APU would perform at about 60% of the speed of the intel I suggested .
If you use large spreadsheets that may be an issue . In day to day use you wouldnt notice the difference
The AMD is stronger graphically and can even play games but that is its only advantage .
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-a10-7800-kaveri-apu-efficiency,3899.html
Compare to dual core intel processors .

Programs tend to open faster with an SSD . I havent seen that timer diplaying while you wait for a program to open for a while . But the program wont run any faster once its open

The faster RAM frequency will make little difference to application speed , and will be offset by the larger latencies [ CAS 11] . Lower is better . It would give better graphics performance with AMD's architecture

For back ups you can just use 2 internal hard drives . Use either RAID 1 to mirror the drive , or copy and paste critical data to a second drive , or use Win 8 storage spaces to do that for you
Win 10 fixes the horrible parts of 8 and will be a free upgrade for users of 7 or 8 for one year from its release date . Id start with 8

 

[Gary Price]

Is there a reason you wish to use AMD?

 

[vfpd]

The faster RAM frequency will make little difference to application speed , and will be offset by the larger latencies [ CAS 11] . Lower is better . It would give better graphics performance with AMD's architecture

I appreciate all of your feedback. Per your suggestion, I've changed the RAM to G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (CAS 9). I'm still thinking about the SSD, etc. Will probably stick with the AMD APU in part because it's only 65W. Thanks again.

 

[vfpd]

Is there a reason you wish to use AMD?

Price, energy efficiency, AMD is what I have now and it's always been reliable, plus, unlike Intel, AMD doesn't have any major facilities built on stolen Palestinian land.

 

[Outlander_04]

Is there a reason you wish to use AMD?

Price, energy efficiency, AMD is what I have now and it's always been reliable, plus, unlike Intel, AMD doesn't have any major facilities built on stolen Palestinian land.

I never knew this but it makes sense to me .

Your kaveri build is good to go

 

[vfpd]

I never knew this but it makes sense to me .

Your kaveri build is good to go

Thanks again for all your help.

 

[vfpd]

I built my system and have a followup post here.

 

[Bossyfins]

Going to say something now. I really hate combining Religion/views into technology... But its your opinion.. I have to respect that.


But, AMD is not really energy efficient.. An i3 with a tdp of 45 watts would beat an apu..