New Computer, Maybe

[leon]

A heap of great suggestions, thanks you all, now that i am totally confused, "it doesn't take much" I will have another read of what you all have said and go from there.

Thank you.

Leon

[sil (Steve)]

I won’t add confusion. I used to built custom graphic PCs to computer against silicon graphics in 3D modelling/rendering markets. Anyway what you can get these days for home is pretty powerful except in some areas where the software is bloated and not optimised to make best use of the hardware. Too many assumptions.

Even though I can build a machine to my desires I’m not up to date with motherboard sizes shapes and cases to suit and going for state of the art is impractical for most but the super rich and nobody cares a toss if you have the latest graphics card as it’ll be superceded with a week anyway. But because some do want those bragging rights you can find last years state of the art gear second hand cheap. But of course you have to assume a second hand graphics card has been well used overclocked and may have little life left. Then there’s those who use the cards for mining cryptocurrencies also greatly reducing lifespan. My last couple of towers I bought prebuilt from Scorptec and they have been rock solid. Their build quality is great with cabling out of the way allowing me easy access for upgrades. Important to me now having only one working arm to use. My main machine I bought knowing I wanted to maximise memory and a few other upgrades, so I chose configuration based on that and not able to pay for state of the art on each component. So I chose a high end cpu (since changing would be difficult for me alone) and a minimum of cheap ram (knowing I could afford a heap of quality ram in 6mths, drives i have a heap sitting doing nothing at all times. Anyway It gave me a machine that had some ram limitations for a while and a low end gfx card then uprading was dead easy to a Quadro gfx card and 128GB RAM at the time I had the extra money to buy best I could at that time. Its a great machine and my monitor is a calibrated Dell 37” which is a ton of realestate for my gfx needs.

So I recommend know your needs and wants for today and for the future. Ram is easy to change even for computer newbs, so maybe go for minimal amount of cheap ram today knowing to upgrade to more of better later on. More cost effective that way. I can highly recommend anything from Scorptec. Not only for quality but for customer service and they have a heap of configurations readily available for price points and they are well thought out . It gives you a working machine today and one you can add to to upgrade as money permits and you have to assume anything you upgrade is money lost so take that into account as total cost of ownership of the machine you want and work towards.

[leon]

Many thanks Steve I read your post with interest and will certainly consider what you suggested.
I get a bit excited about new stuff that I have never done before and also get a bit compulsive and then think later, must slow down and smell the Rises, so to speak.

Thank you.

Leon

[mura_gadi (Steve)]

Leon,

Look at your MB future compatibility with the expected chipsets releases. I would suggest getting a board that will survive you at least two future chipset releases. The manufactures work together and the information should be easy to find. (buy chip upgrades when they're superseded and going out cheap)

As for dreams, price your dreams today and buy them in about 8-12months at 40% off. Stay behind the cutting edge and it can be a lot cheaper.
'
Seconds can be good if you check gummie, not a bad one in your area. You might be able to get a good rig 2nd hand locally.

Market option, not a suggestion.
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/ball...-pc/1294272243

One thing about a mid end or better PC, you can AP edit quickly, edit family videos/photos, use video addons (Star Wars has a good addon, great for kids to make movies with), VR etc.

[leon]

Thank You Indeed Steve for your suggestions.

Leon

[sil (Steve)]

MB future compatibility is only for people who dont need to ask buying advice, it requires specialised knowledge of the industry and is meaningless to everybody except the egocentric gamer rig pimps anyway. If you’re an upgrader you know the answers already and an astroforum is not the place to ask for high end industry knowledge. EVERYTHING has an upgrade COMING SOON and every little meaningless upgrade is tauted as Next Gen to make sales. Dont confuse the matter further. Any computer you buy today will be out of date already yesterday anyway. But you can buy smart for a good machine that works well for years at a price YOU consider fair. Theres no rules on prices , low end machines can be bought new for around $200, mid range for $500, fast gaming rig or good business around $1000. Has been this way for over a decade and continues to be so. But of course you can spec something cheaper or more depending on your budget but what you consider a good price point is different for everyone and your local asian computer guy will build you as cheap rig with cheap unreliable components and that might work out for you at the price. I know from experience a cheap rig from Scorptec is not made from cheap garbage parts, it may have stuff 6months old but who cares its new parts from good brands so reliable. Is it going to be the cheapest machine in existence or most cost effective? Maybe but probably no if you penny pinch trying to price match from others. But is it going to be a good machine that will last you for years before anything dies? Hell yes. Will you get customer support? Abso fing lutely. Just buy once and never regret. Up to the buyer to know if they can or will upgrade anything. For builders upgrading iseasy and for newbies its easy to cause damage. For peace of mind just get a Scorptec machine, avoid Dell as they preinstall crapware that gives you a slow experience from day one and is a security risk and is the reason Crap Cleaner was created to remove the garbage corporate computer suppliers add to their machines. Every scorptec machine i’ve used has performed far better than i expected it would. PLE and Computer Alliance i’ve heard good things about, MWave and Kogan not so much. But also depends how much of a crap customer you are to try to nitpick and wase the stores time. The preconfigured machines are well thought out balance of parts to work together and not overstress any part of the system. The prices are already good but come sales times you might get lucky with a reduction. Still the normal prices are by means expensive or a ripoff.

One thing to consider is most computers are sold without any sort of optical disc drive anymore so expect that an extra if you need one.

[leon]

More good info Steve, thank you indeed.

Leon