Question Upgrading: HP-6200 Intel® Core™ i5-2400

[MikeTheBuilder]

I've been working happily for some 5 years now with an older, HP desktop system but about 2 years ago I started dabbling in 3D design and over the last 6 months, 3D-graphics and I'm outstripping the systems ability to render in reasonably acceptable time periods.
Now I'm looking to upgrade and I'm lost on whether to scrap the system and buy all new or simply replace the MB or Chip if possible.
My budget is as less than $400 as I can get.
Does anyone have any experience or suggestions in upgrading my system to meet the taxing demands of the 3D design environment?
HP Compaq 6200 Pro SFF
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2400 CPU @ 3.10GHz
16GB RAM SMF
Windows 10
NVIDIA Quadro K600 (1GB RAM)

 

[fromtheveldt]

I wouldn't suggest scrapping the system, run the thing into the ground. But it may be worth it to give a little leeway to the budget in order to get an upgrade worth the money. Five years is a long time in general, even longer when regarding hardware.

 

[logainofhades]

The best you can do, CPU wise, is an i7 2600. If you can get one cheap, go for it. It would definitely be an improvement over your current i5. Anything else, I wouldn't bother, short of maybe an SSD, if you do not have one.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/produc...orm-factor-pc/5037900/document/c02779493#AbT0


With that budget, you can move up to something more modern, with more upgrade potential, but I am not confident that it would be worlds better, than plopping in a 2600, into your current machine.

 

[MikeTheBuilder]

I spent the day looking at Intel's tech advances and after numerous hours have decided to add in a couple hundred more for an i9-9900k based system.
Now I need to figure out how to economically put this monster together in an ATX (SFF?) style case along with all the bells and whistles.

Took a quick gander at HP and found this for $550...

Intel® Core™ i5-9400 (2.9 GHz up to 4.1 GHz, 9 MB L3 cache, 6 cores)
8 GB DDR4-2666 SDRAM (1 X 8 GB)
1 TB HDD storage
Integrated Graphics
Nightfall Black front bezel with 400 W Internal Power Supply
DVD-Writer
Realtek Canary ac 2x2 +Bluetooth 5 M.2 2230 PCI-e+USB WW with 2 Antennas
HP black wired keyboard with volume control and wired optical mouse kit

If I can live with the i5 rather than the i9 it's within my budget.

Any thoughts???

 

[Third-Eye]

I spent the day looking at Intel's tech advances and after numerous hours have decided to add in a couple hundred more for an i9-9900k based system.
Now I need to figure out how to economically put this monster together in an ATX (SFF?) style case along with all the bells and whistles.

Took a quick gander at HP and found this for $550...

Intel® Core™ i5-9400 (2.9 GHz up to 4.1 GHz, 9 MB L3 cache, 6 cores)
8 GB DDR4-2666 SDRAM (1 X 8 GB)
1 TB HDD storage
Integrated Graphics
Nightfall Black front bezel with 400 W Internal Power Supply
DVD-Writer
Realtek Canary ac 2x2 +Bluetooth 5 M.2 2230 PCI-e+USB WW with 2 Antennas
HP black wired keyboard with volume control and wired optical mouse kit

If I can live with the i5 rather than the i9 it's within my budget.

Any thoughts???

Do you know if your render times would be increased with just a faster CPU or do you know if you would need a faster GPU as well? Do you know if your renders are CPU only, CPU and GPU or fully GPU based?

 

[MikeTheBuilder]

The short answer to that is. "No."
I'm only guessing that increasing both will reduce my render time from days to hours.
I imagine the GPU would be the hardest hit in regards to renders and the CPU in regards to wire frame cad work but that's based solely on what I logically see as the issues.
The 6 core processor combined with a higher ROM and enhanced RAM should get me over the edge in regards to the design work.
The video card is another story yet to be investigated. However, like gaming, the greater the GPU/RAM, the faster the render.... Right?
WTFDIK.

 

[Third-Eye]

The short answer to that is. "No."
I'm only guessing that increasing both will reduce my render time from days to hours.
I imagine the GPU would be the hardest hit in regards to renders and the CPU in regards to wire frame cad work but that's based solely on what I logically see as the issues.
The 6 core processor combined with a higher ROM and enhanced RAM should get me over the edge in regards to the design work.
The video card is another story yet to be investigated. However, like gaming, the greater the GPU/RAM, the faster the render.... Right?
WTFDIK.

What programs are you using for your 3D design and graphic design projects? Knowing what your hardware requires are for rendering would be your first priority in picking your hardware. Also you may want to wait for Ryzen 5000 to release in 3 weeks before making a purchase decision.

 

[logainofhades]

I spent the day looking at Intel's tech advances and after numerous hours have decided to add in a couple hundred more for an i9-9900k based system.
Now I need to figure out how to economically put this monster together in an ATX (SFF?) style case along with all the bells and whistles.

Took a quick gander at HP and found this for $550...

Intel® Core™ i5-9400 (2.9 GHz up to 4.1 GHz, 9 MB L3 cache, 6 cores)
8 GB DDR4-2666 SDRAM (1 X 8 GB)
1 TB HDD storage
Integrated Graphics
Nightfall Black front bezel with 400 W Internal Power Supply
DVD-Writer
Realtek Canary ac 2x2 +Bluetooth 5 M.2 2230 PCI-e+USB WW with 2 Antennas
HP black wired keyboard with volume control and wired optical mouse kit

If I can live with the i5 rather than the i9 it's within my budget.

Any thoughts???

You should be looking at 10th gen i5 and i7 instead of 9th gen.

 

[MikeTheBuilder]

Turns out I can get a refurbished, dual processor, system complete with a single E5-2620 v3 chip, 32GB DDR4 memory and a Quadro NVS 295 video card and no HDD for $323.00
This chip is apparently a 6/12 core processor and I can add another chip and ram if I like - OR - Since the chip socket is a 2011-3 I can upgrade it to a E5-2699 v3 later if I like.

Any input on this concept?

Can I mix the processor chips or do I need to stay the same?

 

[MikeTheBuilder]

Turns out that I was some what wrong regarding the memory usage as well.
Apparently, the CPU is used for the computations in regards to the cad (& 3D) design work. Bigger, badder and faster are the recommendations.
Getting a dual processor with multi-core and thread tech is recommended as is the more the cores, the better.
It also gets used heavily for the initial rendering of the images as well.
That plays into what else you can do while your work is rendering.
Dual processor motherboards are preferred as are multi cores, threads and fast HZ figures.

Where the GPU comes in is in repeat rendering applications where it has to render fast, clear and then render fast and clear again and again and again like progression scenes in gaming. That works heavily on the GPU.

RAM is important but only to the extent that it only comes in if the CPU can't handle the load. Then If both the CPU and RAM can't handle it, it gets delegated over to the hard drive, temporary space so RAM size is important to the extent of faster calculations outside of the CPU.

The Drive system is the storage system and backup calculations area only when the CPU and RAM can't handle the load.
Ergo, a SATA drive will work faster in both applications than an HDD will and last longer. It should probably be preferred over the HDD where available.