Hi Guys, I was considering getting a all in one stand alone computer, and move away from the desktop, and just keep the desktop to do my photo processing as it has the programs i like, and that works for me .
I am not overly experienced with other Operating Systems as I have always been with Windows, which has worked OK for me so far.
It dose not have to be the biggest and the best, just something reasonably portable and easy to use.
So to all you guys who know much more than me and have seen my Computer posts of the past, what would you suggest please.
Stay away from all in ones, please. Anyone component goes you put the lot in the bin normally, the older ones suffered from screen failures and they tend to get "slow" very quickly.
You still have a power cable and possible a internet cable anyway, mouse and keyboard, so, either go a component desk top or get true portability with a lappy/ipad depending on your needs.
The desktop can start as a bare box and be built-up or upgraded or components replaced as required. Plenty of sub 1k gaming boxes that will process well and have a midrange video card for photo and video editing.
Stay a year/18months behind technology and you can normally get a good laptop with plenty of memory and grunt from the "geeks" doing upgrades... at a reasonable price.
Sorry just a thought, if you have SSD slots but haven't utilised them... then that's probably your fastest and cheapest up. Throw windows onto a SSD drive its a good improvement.
*If you have a Solid State Drive and a local hard drive but have no idea where software has been installing itself, clean up the SSD.
Hi Leon
I can assist providing a list of compatible parts you can order from an online store if you like. You'd have to put it together but you save money doing that - if you feel comfortable doing that. There are plenty of good guides online (don't use the verge's guide tho)
Did you have a budget, do you need a monitor etc?
Thanks Russell, now that sounds like a nice project, I am very handy when it comes to building stuff even Desk Tops, so that list might be a great idea, thank you.
There is no budget as such, and i have all the other bits, like two Monitors, keyboards and everything else a Desk Top might need.
Thanks Russell, now that sounds like a nice project, I am very handy when it comes to building stuff even Desk Tops, so that list might be a great idea, thank you.
There is no budget as such, and i have all the other bits, like two Monitors, keyboards and everything else a Desk Top might need.
That would be great, thanks.
Leon
hi leon,
no worries.
my suggestion is below - with options. I would choose perhaps any of mwave.com.au / pccasegear.com / scorptec.com.au / ple.com.au and centrecom.com.au for parts delivered. Might be best to try and get most from the same place to save on shipping. You'll find that they are pretty even but some products are slightly up and down depending on the part.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($319.00 @ Centre Com) This cpu is an apu so has onboard graphics - no graphics card is needed with the build - it also comes with a decent enough cpu cooler
Motherboard WITH WIFI included: Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($125.00 @ Centre Com) I would just ring the place before you order to make sure the bios version is new enough for the 5600g above (they should be ok) if it isn't I'd ask them to update it so the cpu works)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($99.00 @ Centre Com)
OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL SSD/fast Storage: Crucial MX500 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($249.00 @ Centre Com)
OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL CHEAP but slow Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.00 @ Centre Com)
Case: Deepcool E-Shield ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.00 @ PLE Computers) You can choose what you like really here
Power Supply: Antec NeoECO Gold ZEN 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($99.00 @ Mwave Australia) A bit of overkill - this website doesn't have lower tier ones to choose from - ideall 450watts gold rating will be good - this one is fine and is modular which saves space with cables
Nice options, but the APU struggles with video/picture editing compared to a dedicated card. With a low power option you won't be able to run a mid ranged card from 600w later.
If you're only looking at browser and windows apps then np its a nice rig. If you want to run AP processing or any real GPU work I would have my doubts, or be prepared to be patient.
"If you don't play games then it's worth it. If you want to play games then definitely it's not good choice. Integrated or CPU graphics are not at all for gaming, they are intended for working in 2D software like Word, Excel and other that are not GPU hungry."
Which on the plus side is the grandkids will not take over your PC as a gaming rig when they visit.
I would also suggest the box gets a good percentage of the budget. One is the power supply does amazing things to the home AC current. If a chip is running at 1.2ghz thats 1.2 billion cycles of +5/-5 watt power waves a second. A PC will only process when a wave peak trough is greater than about 4.5+- watt. So, no power cycle no processing between that peak and trough under +4.4 and over -4.4. You can lose a lot of clock speed from a cheap power supply.
The other is heat control, heat is the best way to start cooking your "transistors", you may have billions but running too high for too long will see you kill off large numbers. Its why you never buy a second OC PC. Get a box with a large airflow, air intakes should have removeable dust covers. A full size tower will have 1.2+sqm of fans. (you'll also get a universal MB mounting option for most, HB included so MB upgrades are easier later)
Russel got a great PC but I'm just coming from the other side a little to make try an work out where you want to go at the end of this.
Well the 5600g can actually game quite well it's a very powerful apu. The benefit is if it doesn't cut the mustard you can always add a GPU anytime you like.
Its hard to recommend a GPU at the moment although prices are starting to come down somewhat.
If you definitely want a GPU then I would just switch out the 5600g for a 5600 (non g and non x) and probably get an nvidia rtx 3050 as the GPU.
Your probably right Russel, I am a little bias, but once you start dropping below 30fps at 720p its very close to already being outdated. As for buying GPU you are right horrible mark ups, but some really good releases coming soon and a separation in the market for miners which should help a lot.
I am a gamer from Apple II(e) days and GIS by work. So I tend to be a little dismissive of very useable home specs.
Maybe I'm just trying to confuse the end user with information overload so they sit back and think ... it's bad work habit.
Your probably right Russel, I am a little bias, but once you start dropping below 30fps at 720p its very close to already being outdated.
I am a gamer from Apple II(e) days and GIS by work. So I tend to be a little dismissive of very useable home specs.
Maybe I'm just trying to confuse the end user with information overload so they sit back and think ... it's bad work habit.
*yes you could be a gamer in mono chrome
I've tried to go for low-mid range and a best bang for buck approach which is upgradeable (ram | GPU etc) - its hard when you don't know exactly the use case. The system is upgradeable with a GPU the current low mid tier cards are power efficient 600w is more than fine.
It can do 100fps avg at 1080p in csgo in medium settings with the igpu. But yes underpowered for more serious gaming but it wasn't mentioned. I've got a 3090 and a 6900xt myself so know where you're coming from but in not sure its necessary for a standard build.
I think you've nailed it.. Leon, we need your user case...
Building home PC's is a past time like putting together a dream holiday you never plan on taking, for some people at least.
But a lot of people spend really good money on functions and speeds they never had a need for. Or buy components faster than their slowest bottlenecks and of sorts of weird things.
Many Thanks to all, I will have a good read of all your suggestions and go from there.
By the way I never do any gaming, just do normal computer stuff and need a bit more speed and only watch the occasional video/you tube thing.
If you don' use CAD/GIS/Video editing or any vector based stuff you'll be fine without a card. However if I asked if you wanted to stream/cast 4k video to a 4k TV, then your requirements change. Give some thought to future proofing as well.
Think about the use case. I have a box that was designed to travel, attend drunken game nights, go on holidays and be abused by grandkids in the holidays. It is dust resistant as I knew it might live of the floor a lot and tough as it would get kicked and knocked around due to being in a temporary location a lot.
9years on the MB and box still serve me well, chipsets and video cards have come and gone. You can see by my BIOS/POST its designed to be kicked...
In regards to your CPU, you are unlikely to run multithreaded applications from the sounds of things. That would indicate you would be better off with a dual/quad core operating at higher cycles.
I would suggest that you worry more about maximum standard clock speed and Level 1/2 caches sizes on the chipset over cores as your core use will be minimal.
Hi Leon. I've bought 7 second hand HP Z440 XEON and HP Z220 i7 workstations from Techfactory over the last 2 years. I've bought 4 for work, and 3 for home. All are relentlessly in use daily and they seem to be bullet proof in my experience. I would buy another one if I needed a PC. The price point is usually pretty decent, and the guys at Techfactory are straight shooters in my experience. They tend to offer 6 months warranty. Don't worry, I'm not affiliated with them etc - just honest feedback from a satisfied customer. So, you could consider second hand from a dependable reseller depending upon your requirements too, just as another option. Definitely make sure that machine has an SSD as the boot drive as a minimum as others have mentioned.
what would you suggest please. 
