- Dec 13, 2024
- 1
- 0
- 10
Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP - see "Why Are You Upgrading?" below
Budget Range: $500-$2000 (cheaper is better, I'm currently unemployed - but capability is important, I'll potentially use the system to start/run my own business)
System Usage from Most to Least Important: general web browsing, remote meetings (e.g. Zoom, Teams, WebEx), productivity apps (e.g. Excel, Visio, PowerPoint, Project, maybe some accounting and/or tax package in the near future), audio (audiobook-level) and video (YouTube-HD-level) recording, editing, and processing, (for audiobooks and online audio and video), video streaming (YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Prime), casual gaming (e.g. World of Warcraft, Portal/Portal 2, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor)
Are you buying a monitor: Probably not
Parts to Upgrade: Probably all except peripherals and maybe secondary storage - though I'd be interested in a modern recommendation for affordable, quiet, & reliable higher-capacity secondary storage.
Do you need to buy OS: Probably yes (OEM license)
Please note that if you're using an OEM license of Windows, you will need a new one when buying a new motherboard.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com, anything U.S.-based with fast shipping and low prices (I do not have a Microcenter near me)
Location: Folsom, California, U.S.A.
Parts Preferences: Historical preference for Intel CPU and ASUS or Gigabyte motherboard, but those preferences are based on information that's >14 years old, so I'm open; had a bad experience with Cyrix CPUs in the very very distant past, bad luck with old and low-end AMD CPUs but presume the newer, higher-end are top notch. I tend to shy away from MSI motherboards, but don't know/remember why. I've had good luck with WD hard drives, but that was for quiet & reliability in the past.
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe - I like extra power in case I want to play higher-end games in the future, but TBH it's very unlikely to be required for my current (and probable near future) use cases
Your Monitor Resolution: currently two 1920x1080, I wouldn't mind the option to upgrade in the future if it doesn't substantially increase cost; it would be great (but not required) to add a 3rd monitor later
Additional Comments:
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My current 2010-built PC is crashing frequently, and I don't want to take time to diagnose and fix it right now, because I'm trying to study/cram for a professional certification by end of year; and honestly, for an i7-920, it's probably time and many (most?) of the components will probably need to be replaced anyway. I need a reliable PC quickly, and later I can take time to repair and pass my current existing system or components down to my wife…
Current system:
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-920 Processor (4 core, 8 thread) 8M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14, Premium CPU Cooler with Dual NF-P14 PWM and NF-P12 PWM Fans (Brown)
Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBXL
Video Card: PNY GeForce GT 710 2GB Single Fan (does not necessarily indicate preference - it was an emergency replacement for a dead XFX Radeon HD 5870 1GB DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity HD-587X-ZNFC)
Primary Storage: SAMSUNG 860 Pro Series 2.5" 2TB SATA III V-NAND 2-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-76P2T0BW (because current motherboard can only handle a 2TB boot drive)
Secondary Storage: WD Green WD60EZRX 6TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
Optical Storage: Sony Optiarc DVD/CD Rewritable Drive 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM
Case: Antec P183 Black Aluminum / Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Power Supply: Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power CPX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC "compatible with Core i7" Power Supply
Primary Monitor: HP 27VX 27inch IPS LED Backlit Monitor
Secondary Monitor: Acer H277H smidx 27.0" 1920 x 1080 60 Hz Monitor
Webcam: Logitech BRIO Ultra HD Pro Webcam
Microphone: Blue Microphones - Yeti 10th Anniversary Edition USB Multi-Pattern Electret Condenser Instrument and Vocal Microphone
Wife's (underpowered) current system:
CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 435 - Athlon II X3 Rana Triple-Core 2.9 GHz Socket AM3 95W Processor - ADX435WFGIBOX
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Memory: 2 sets (8GB) of G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBNT
Video Card: N/A (built-in to motherboard)
Storage: Western Digital WD20EZRZ 2TB BLUE SATA 5400 RPM 64MB 6GB/S 3.5IN PC HARD DRIVE
(I have a WD Green 2TB Internal SSD Solid State Drive - SATA 6Gb/s 2.5 Inch - WDS200T2G0A but never got around to installing it)
Optical Storage: Sony Optiarc DVD/CD Rewritable Drive 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM
Case: Antec SX830 (I think?)
Power Supply: Antec Earthwatts Green 380 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Monitor: ASUS VE278Q 27 Inch Full HD 1920 x 1080 2ms DisplayPort HDMI DVI VGA Monitor - Black
Webcam: Logitech - 4K Pro 4096 x 2160 Webcam with Noise-Canceling Mic - Black
Logitech - C270 720 Webcam with Noise-Reducing Mics - Black
Microphone: Blue Microphones - Blue Yeti Professional Multi-Pattern USB Condenser Microphone
Budget Range: $500-$2000 (cheaper is better, I'm currently unemployed - but capability is important, I'll potentially use the system to start/run my own business)
System Usage from Most to Least Important: general web browsing, remote meetings (e.g. Zoom, Teams, WebEx), productivity apps (e.g. Excel, Visio, PowerPoint, Project, maybe some accounting and/or tax package in the near future), audio (audiobook-level) and video (YouTube-HD-level) recording, editing, and processing, (for audiobooks and online audio and video), video streaming (YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Prime), casual gaming (e.g. World of Warcraft, Portal/Portal 2, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor)
Are you buying a monitor: Probably not
Parts to Upgrade: Probably all except peripherals and maybe secondary storage - though I'd be interested in a modern recommendation for affordable, quiet, & reliable higher-capacity secondary storage.
Do you need to buy OS: Probably yes (OEM license)
Please note that if you're using an OEM license of Windows, you will need a new one when buying a new motherboard.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com, anything U.S.-based with fast shipping and low prices (I do not have a Microcenter near me)
Location: Folsom, California, U.S.A.
Parts Preferences: Historical preference for Intel CPU and ASUS or Gigabyte motherboard, but those preferences are based on information that's >14 years old, so I'm open; had a bad experience with Cyrix CPUs in the very very distant past, bad luck with old and low-end AMD CPUs but presume the newer, higher-end are top notch. I tend to shy away from MSI motherboards, but don't know/remember why. I've had good luck with WD hard drives, but that was for quiet & reliability in the past.
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe - I like extra power in case I want to play higher-end games in the future, but TBH it's very unlikely to be required for my current (and probable near future) use cases
Your Monitor Resolution: currently two 1920x1080, I wouldn't mind the option to upgrade in the future if it doesn't substantially increase cost; it would be great (but not required) to add a 3rd monitor later
Additional Comments:
- I'm noise-sensitive, and strongly prefer quiet components. Quiet case fans, quiet secondary hard drives, etc.
- I'd like to maintain at least 6 USB ports, without an intermediary hub (a lot of USB peripherals want to be directly connected).
- I have & use 3.5mm jacks for speakers and some audio input, including recording voicemail from my wife's phone for archival when she wants to clear her voicemailbox.
- I'd like to comply with FAR 52.204-25 & DFARS 252.204-7018 for potential federal contract work on the same network, i.e. no "telecommunications equipment" (like network interface) built directly in China [or Russia] without substantial modification in a friendlier country (e.g. integration into a Korean logic circuit or motherboard would make it OK, I think, as long as it doesn't use the unmodified Chinese [or Russian] device driver).
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My current 2010-built PC is crashing frequently, and I don't want to take time to diagnose and fix it right now, because I'm trying to study/cram for a professional certification by end of year; and honestly, for an i7-920, it's probably time and many (most?) of the components will probably need to be replaced anyway. I need a reliable PC quickly, and later I can take time to repair and pass my current existing system or components down to my wife…
Current system:
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-920 Processor (4 core, 8 thread) 8M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14, Premium CPU Cooler with Dual NF-P14 PWM and NF-P12 PWM Fans (Brown)
Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBXL
Video Card: PNY GeForce GT 710 2GB Single Fan (does not necessarily indicate preference - it was an emergency replacement for a dead XFX Radeon HD 5870 1GB DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity HD-587X-ZNFC)
Primary Storage: SAMSUNG 860 Pro Series 2.5" 2TB SATA III V-NAND 2-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-76P2T0BW (because current motherboard can only handle a 2TB boot drive)
Secondary Storage: WD Green WD60EZRX 6TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
Optical Storage: Sony Optiarc DVD/CD Rewritable Drive 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM
Case: Antec P183 Black Aluminum / Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Power Supply: Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power CPX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC "compatible with Core i7" Power Supply
Primary Monitor: HP 27VX 27inch IPS LED Backlit Monitor
Secondary Monitor: Acer H277H smidx 27.0" 1920 x 1080 60 Hz Monitor
Webcam: Logitech BRIO Ultra HD Pro Webcam
Microphone: Blue Microphones - Yeti 10th Anniversary Edition USB Multi-Pattern Electret Condenser Instrument and Vocal Microphone
Wife's (underpowered) current system:
CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 435 - Athlon II X3 Rana Triple-Core 2.9 GHz Socket AM3 95W Processor - ADX435WFGIBOX
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Memory: 2 sets (8GB) of G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBNT
Video Card: N/A (built-in to motherboard)
Storage: Western Digital WD20EZRZ 2TB BLUE SATA 5400 RPM 64MB 6GB/S 3.5IN PC HARD DRIVE
(I have a WD Green 2TB Internal SSD Solid State Drive - SATA 6Gb/s 2.5 Inch - WDS200T2G0A but never got around to installing it)
Optical Storage: Sony Optiarc DVD/CD Rewritable Drive 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM
Case: Antec SX830 (I think?)
Power Supply: Antec Earthwatts Green 380 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Monitor: ASUS VE278Q 27 Inch Full HD 1920 x 1080 2ms DisplayPort HDMI DVI VGA Monitor - Black
Webcam: Logitech - 4K Pro 4096 x 2160 Webcam with Noise-Canceling Mic - Black
Logitech - C270 720 Webcam with Noise-Reducing Mics - Black
Microphone: Blue Microphones - Blue Yeti Professional Multi-Pattern USB Condenser Microphone
Last edited:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram