[SOLVED] Which desktop will suit my needs?

[johnr283]

I'd like to buy a new desktop but I'm not sure which one will suit my needs.

I will be using it for basic video encoding and playing The Sims game.

I'd like to get it from Amazon. A Dell perhaps?

The features I need are:
Windows 10
A Blu-Ray writer
Room for 3 HDD's (I'd like to use the ones I have. They're IDE but I could get new SATA drives if needed)
A card reader and USB access on the front panel
Bluetooth for headphones
I'd like to connect a DVI monitor and an HDMI TV at the same time. Could I continue using my NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 which I doing this with on my current PC.

My budget is $600-$800, if this is possible.

 

[SchizTech]

It's hard to find any with a blu-ray pre-installed but the dvd writer can be swapped out (newer cases tend to use slim "laptop"- type drives)

Something like this should do -->https://www.newegg.com/hp-pavilion-...stations/p/1VK-001E-1WCU4?Item=9SIAE4N8KF6906

 

[AllanGH]

They're IDE but I could get new SATA drives if needed

It will be needed.

 

[SchizTech]

It will be needed.

Yes, all new systems have support for SATA only.

 

[johnr283]

What about this one?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NJLQDN7/ref=ox_sc_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AHJAT8JOMTVXC
As long as it can hold 3 hard drives total
I can use my GeForce GT 1030
I can add Blu-ray burner later

 

[SchizTech]

Yes, that will do fine

 

[johnr283]

I ordered the one I linked from Amazon. I was wrong, my current drives are SATA, which save me some money.

What do I need for a Blu-Ray burner, 9.5mm or 12.7mm?

 

[SchizTech]

I'd assume 12.7 but to be sure I'd wait until the desktop arrives and measure it.

 

[johnr283]

The PC arrived today. There is no mounting brackets for my addition hard drives. I waiting for Dell to call me back to see if the sell brackets.

If not, I will have to return the PC and find another option. I'm disappointed.

 

[johnr283]

So Dell says buy a Presision Desktop from them, which will hold 3 3.5 Sata drives or swap the the one in the new PC for a larger one and use partitions. The recommend against externals due to reliability.

Will externals be that bad? They will never leave my desk. They will be used to store videos and pictures.
Stored video will be encoded while on the drive.

Should I buy external enclosures or new drives. Like I said before, I'd like to use the drives I have.

I want to get this all set up tonight or by tomorrow.

 

[SchizTech]

External drives should work suitably here. Reliability concerns like Dell mentions can arise from disconnections if a cable is jogged or whatnot but otherwise the risk of data loss is equivalent. Drives can fail at any time so redundancy is the key to data security.

Since you have drives an enclosure should work. USB3.0 or higher enclosures offer higher throughput than typical mechanical drives themselves so there would be no performance loss. Depending on the space available and your preference, you can use individual cases for each drive or a multiple-drive enclosure.

 

[johnr283]

I bought 2 drive enclosures. My PC is all set up now. The only thing I still need is the Blu-Ray burner (9.5mm). I found on eBay and will order it soon.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[johnr283]

All of a sudden my 2 external drives have disappeared from my computer. They show up in Disk Management as Not Initialized.
When I try to initialize them I get the following error:
"The specified disk is not convertible because the size is less than the minimum size required for GPT disks."
When I try MBR I get "Incorrect function".

I need my hard drives back.

 

[johnr283]

I unplugged the drive from the enclosure then put it back in. I unplugged the 6' USB cable I was using and plugged in the one that came with the drive.

The drive seems fine now. My setup requires the 6' cable in order to place the drive where I want it. I don't think this was the problem. the drive seems to wiggle a little in the enclosure. I'll try adding some sort of padding tomorrow. The drive is working for now and I'm going to bed.

 

[johnr283]

The drives continued to disappear. I bought 2 WD My Books and they've been working fine ever since.

Thanks for all of your help and advice.