Need new desktop - don't know how to build one - help?... (Super long)

(Super long - thank you in advance to anyone who gets through it and can help!)

I'm sorry to be another to ask these questions yet again, but I've read through the threads and can't figure out some of the basics. I don't have any idea how to build a machine, and wouldn't know what to put in it, anyway...

My current desktop is dying and needs replacing. I do amateur photo editing using photoshop elements - very little work with raw, very little (if any) batch processing. I surf the web, upload photos to my website, download tons of music and video, no hardcore gaming (snood and big fish is about my speed.) My current system was built for us about 2 years ago as a gaming system for my partner, but is now used only for the above. The current system is:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6570 @ 2.66 GHz
2.67 GHz - 3.25Gb RAM
300 GB HD
Nvidia GeForce 8800GT, 256mg video memory
Windows XP, SP3

I have 3 Seagate Freeagent External HDs (2 1T, 1 500Gb) that hold all my photos and other media, and will be plugged into whatever machine I get, so a huge internal HD isn't a must.

I've read conflicting info on what will be more important for my needs. I've read that I need a great video card, and that I don't. That I need a quad core processor, and that duel will do. That the monitor is more important than anything else. (I currently have a Samsung SyncMaster 2033sw with 15000:1 dynamic contrast.)

Other relevant info - I live in rural northeastern BC, Canada, and having someone local build a unit has proved very expensive. (The unit I currently have cost almost $1500CA 2 years ago, and a current quote to build a unit with an i7-840 processor, Radeon 5570 video card and 1T HD is $1200CA plus taxes @12%.) I'm pretty sure it's cheaper for me to buy prebuilt.

Money is tight right now as I had to buy a new stove the week before Xmas (great timing for the thing to die, eh?) So I want to be smart with my money, but not buy crap. I don't want to repeat this process in a year.

So to my questions:

Do I need a separate video card, or can I get away with integrated graphics?

If I need a separate card, how good/fast a card do I need? And what about the separate cards that don't have distinct video memory? Or do I need a good card with distinct memory? And will 512mg do, or do I need a Gig of video memory?

How fast a processor? Dual core, or quad core? i3, i5, i7? AMD Athlon II or Phenom?

How big a power supply?

And will my monitor do for now, or should I set aside funds for a better one? And what is the best (truest colour, easy calibraton) bang for my buck as monitors go.

(Thank you for reading this far - I'm almost done!)

Finally, here are some systems I'm considering - what would you suggest?

Acer Desktop: $529.26CA @ Staples

• 3.0 GHz AMD Athlon II 440 Triple-Core processor; 1.5MB L2 Cache
  
• 4GB system memory; Expandable to 16GB
  
• 640GB hard drive
  
• 16X DVD±R/RW SuperMulti Drive
  
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
  
• ATI Radeon HD4250 integrated graphics
  
• High-Def Audio with 5.1-Channel Surround Sound support
  
• Connectivity options include 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
  
• Multi-in-One digital media card reader
  
• Ports include 10 x USB 2.0 and HDMI
  
• Includes USB keyboard and optical mouse
  
• Dimensions: 15"(H) x 7.1"(W) x 16.5"(D)
  
• Weight: 37 lb.
  
• 1-year limited warranty

• 3.2GHz Intel Core i3-550 processor; 4MB total Cache
  
• 6GB system memory
  
• 1TB hard drive
  
• 16x DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti Drive
  
• Windows 7 Home Premium
  
• NVIDIA GeForce GT315 graphics with 512MB dedicated video memory
  
• High-definition audio with 5.1-channel audio support
  
• Connectivity options include 10/100/100 Gigabit Ethernet LAN and Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n
  
• Multi-in-one card reader
  
• Ports include 10 x USB 2.0, HDMI and DVI
  
• Includes Acer USB Keyboard and optical mouse
  
• Dimensions: 15"(H) x 7.1"(W) x 16.5"(D)
  
• Weight: 25 lb.
  
• 1-year limited warranty

• 2.80GHz AMD Phenom II 925 Quad-Core processor; 2MB L2 + 6MB Shared L3 Cache
  
• 8GB system memory; Expandable to 16GB
  
• 1TB hard drive
  
• 16x SuperMulti DVD optical drive with LightScribe Technology
  
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
  
• ATI Radeon HD 5570 graphics card with 1GB dedicated memory, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort capabilities and support for Microsoft DirectX 11
  
• High Definition Audio with up to 7.1 surround sound capabilities
  
• Connectivity options include 100/100 Ethernet LAN and Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n
  
• Integrated 15-in-1 memory card reader
  
• Ports include 6 x USB 2.0 and HDMI
  
• Sliding door concealing ports for a clean look
  
• Includes HP USB keyboard and optical mouse
  
• Dimensions: 15.32"(H) x 6.97"(W) x 16.85"(D)
  
• Weight: 9.75 lb.
  
• 1-year limited warranty

HP Pavillion would be my call. But I do build my own

DigitalSpecialist wrote in post #11514583
HP Pavillion would be my call. But I do build my own

Do you mean the HP Pavilion that is $899 at Staples, or the HP Pavilion Elite that is on sale at Futureshop?

I would get the HP Pavilion Elite. Less ram than the other HP, but faster processor and if you've been fine with ~3GB of ram 6 will be great.

Your monitor is TN and isn't actually capable of anything past 18-bit color, I would probably upgrade to an IPS.

Sp1207 wrote in post #11514630
I would get the HP Pavilion Elite. Less ram than the other HP, but faster processor and if you've been fine with ~3GB of ram 6 will be great.

Your monitor is TN and isn't actually capable of anything past 18-bit color, I would probably upgrade to an IPS.

Ditto... If I had to go with that list. HP and Gateway are the worst performing computer company's in the US with over 23% of customers reporting major/serious issues with their machines. Yes, that still means 77% didn't report an issue, but I don't like the odds. There's a reason they're the cheapest computers on the shelf

Lenovo, Dell and Sony are far better computer makers - but you'll pay a little more for them. It comes down to the age ol' lesson of buying cheap and having to buy often vs spending a little more and saving over the long run. If time's a a little tight right now, maybe you should put the money away for another month? Prices are guaranteed to sink a little in January as Christmas fades and vendors want to get rid of overstock. I'm currently watining until the next Apple refresh before I plunk down the cash for a new Mac.

If you cannot wait, aren't coming to the States to visit friends/relatives (and get a computer while you're here) and are set on these choices - the last HP seems like the right set of specs to last a while (knock on wood).

PS.
12% ouch...

MaxxuM wrote in post #11515028
Ditto... If I had to go with that list. HP and Gateway are the worst performing computer company's in the US with over 23% of customers reporting major/serious issues with their machines. Yes, that still means 77% didn't report an issue, but I don't like the odds. There's a reason they're the cheapest computers on the shelf

Lenovo, Dell and Sony are far better computer makers - but you'll pay a little more for them. It comes down to the age ol' lesson of buying cheap and having to buy often vs spending a little more and saving over the long run. If time's a a little tight right now, maybe you should put the money away for another month? Prices are guaranteed to sink a little in January as Christmas fades and vendors want to get rid of overstock. I'm currently watining until the next Apple refresh before I plunk down the cash for a new Mac.

If you cannot wait, aren't coming to the States to visit friends/relatives (and get a computer while you're here) and are set on these choices - the last HP seems like the right set of specs to last a while (knock on wood).

PS.
12% ouch...

I hear what you're saying and yes, 12%= ouch... Interesting that you say Dell is better - I've heard horrid things about Dell Canada including being unable to return a DOA machine. I have a Lenovo Think Pad at work - I thought IBM just made business machines. I do love my Sony Viao laptop, though at 4yrs old it could be in a museum!

I can try to hold out. Though my computer is dying, I'm using it to write this post. It has been freezing more and more, turning itself off at unscheduled times, and even the usb ports have become unreliable. Everything I can't risk losing has been moved to an external HD.

If I could find something from Sony or Dell or IBM what should I be looking for? Fast processor and more ram?

Honestly IMHO any of the systems you have identified will be fine for your stated purpose - that said, your current system should be fine also with a bit of maintenance.

For what you are doing you definately don't need a high-end graphics card. The 8800 that you have is already overkill for your needs.

Don't take this the wrong way but poor performance is probably down to the fact that you haven't properly maintained it properly. At this stage formating the OS partition and reinstalling everything from scratch will probably bring it back to life.

If you can stretch to a version of Windows 7 64 bit all the better as this will give you access to the full 4GB that you already have and allow you to add additional RAM which will make a big difference - adding RAM is definaltely within the capabilities of a normal user.

A decent IPS monitor from the likes of Dell plus a colour calibrator would IMHO be a cheaper and better investment than replacing the base station.

Nightstalker wrote in post #11515395
Honestly IMHO any of the systems you have identified will be fine for your stated purpose - that said, your current system should be fine also with a bit of maintenance.

For what you are doing you definately don't need a high-end graphics card. The 8800 that you have is already overkill for your needs.

Don't take this the wrong way but poor performance is probably down to the fact that you haven't properly maintained it properly. At this stage formating the OS partition and reinstalling everything from scratch will probably bring it back to life.

If you can stretch to a version of Windows 7 64 bit all the better as this will give you access to the full 4GB that you already have and allow you to add additional RAM which will make a big difference - adding RAM is definaltely within the capabilities of a normal user.

A decent IPS monitor from the likes of Dell plus a colour calibrator would IMHO be a cheaper and better investment than replacing the base station.

Hmm... interesting. I've maintained as well as I know, with AV (Kaspersky), reg scans with SpyBot S&W, MalwareBytes, and CCCleaner - defrag every couple of weeks, etc. But I've never formatted and started over. Would this system run Win 7 64 bit? I could look at adding more Ram if it will take it. Based on the info I listed on my current system, can you tell what kind of RAM I need?

Because of the way it works you will find that over time Windows becomes slower and slower. Most people I know will do a full rebuild every 3 - 6 months and almost universally the improvement in performance is massive.

To know if your system will run Win 7 64 google "Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor" and this will let you know if you can run the OS.

As for memory what you can use is dependant on your motherboard. Check out http://www.crucial.com​/ - they have a system scanner that can tell you what memory your motherboard can take.

The first thing I would do though is to do a re-install of your current OS and software as this is free, relatively quick and easy to do, and will give a good indication of if you will get a significant performance lift from an OS upgrade.

Just make sure that you back up your emails / favorates etc. and have licence keys for all of the software that you will want to reinstall.

You may well find that just reinstalling XP will bring so much new life to your old system that you may decide not to upgrade after all and will be $900 better off.

Nightstalker wrote in post #11515497
The first thing I would do though is to do a re-install of your current OS and software as this is free, relatively quick and easy to do, and will give a good indication of if you will get a significant performance lift from an OS upgrade.

Just make sure that you back up your emails / favorates etc. and have licence keys for all of the software that you will want to reinstall.

You may well find that just reinstalling XP will bring so much new life to your old system that you may decide not to upgrade after all and will be $900 better off.

It might still be worth trying, but in this case I think it would be a waste of time. Read the symptoms again:

Kasrielle wrote in post #11515131
It has been freezing more and more, turning itself off at unscheduled times, and even the usb ports have become unreliable. Everything I can't risk losing has been moved to an external HD.

Random freezing can be either a software or hardware (specifically hard drive or RAM) issue. Random shut offs (unless Windows actually goes through its whole logoff-shutoff routine) and unresponsive USB ports aren't likely to be software issues, though.

toxic wrote in post #11515576
It might still be worth trying, but in this case I think it would be a waste of time. Read the symptoms again:

Random freezing can be either a software or hardware (specifically hard drive or RAM) issue. Random shut offs (unless Windows actually goes through its whole logoff-shutoff routine) and unresponsive USB ports aren't likely to be software issues, though.

Yes, the rebooting for no reason has had me worried - I'll return to the computer to find it back at the loading windows page where I have to click to load the account profile. Also, when it freezes (and it can freeze several times in just a few minutes) it won't respond to control/alt/delete and I have to do a hard reboot. I know a hard reboot is really bad for the machine, and I'm having to do at least 10-15 a week... The usb ports in the front of the machine just seem to be wearing out. (The one in the back still work well.) I have a wireless mouse which stops working frequently - I unplug and replug the piece that goes in the usb port and wiggle it tight - it will usually start working again.

Ok, so I scanned with crucial.com, and here is what I have:

Asus P5K Deluxe/WiFi-AP Motherboard
# Maximum Memory Capacity: 8192MB
# Currently Installed Memory: 4GB
# Available Memory Slots: 0
# Total Memory Slots: 4
# Dual Channel Support: Yes
# CPU Manufacturer: GenuineIntel
# CPU Family: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66GHz Model 15, Stepping 11
# CPU Speed: 2671 MHz
" Although the memory can be installed one module at a time, the best performance comes from using matched pairs of modules" (I'm assuming this is because of the RAID system installed...)

So I can put in 8g of ram, but my XP is 32 bit and will only use 3 or so (like now.) I could get Win 7 64 bit and use all 8g, but is it worth it given the current problems my computer is having?

Nightstalker, I like your idea of reinstalling XP and seeing if that improves things. If so I'm guessing that would mean that my problems stem from undiscovered malware or something of that nature - not my hardware.

So here are my really dumb questions: I'm assuming (after I backup and save everything to an external hd) that I just format my C drive. Then boot up and reinstall from the XP disk. But will I be able to see anything on my monitor? The Nvidia program is on the C drive - don't I lose those drivers? And if so, how does my monitor display anything so I know what I'm doing?

I think your bottleneck is the 32bit OS....which limits ram to 4gb...
If you CAN upgrade to 64bit (based on HARDWARE specs) then you probably will find that (plus added RAM) the simplest/cheapest upgrade....

...as for me....I tend to sell "old reliable" and buy new every 5 years (skipping a generation of chips) to upgrade EVERYthing to new at one time....that keeps my level of satisfaction up (I mean who wouldn't be ecstatic after 5 years!) and I keep cost down by getting a refurbished machine...

Yes, HP seems to have a lower customer satisfaction rating than Dell, but I see that a different way...HP buyers are more determined/picky and vocal than say Dell users....getting a refurb unit means it has been REchecked yet again before being remarketed....

HP also has a nice USER forum...
http://h30434.www3.hp.​com …s-Monitors/ct-p/DesktopPC


....all that said...i'm happy with my HP refurb bought on cybermonday...the Elite 310t/i7-860/6gb is running VERY quiet and cold...

Here's the latest chart of CPUs for photoshop...
http://www.tomshardwar​e.com …-Photoshop-CS-4,1387.html

If you aren't afraid of a short-term warranty that goes with refurbished PCs....

Check out HP business outlet
http://h71016.www7.hp.​com/...uspurchase-refurbished/computing/​price-list#HHO1

start with this as a starting point...$567.20...simp​le and sweet....
HP Pavilion Elite HPE-310t W7HP-64 i7 860 2.8GHz 700GB SATA 6GB DVDRW(LS) 1GB video card NIC Wireless LAN 15-in-1 card reader Remarket PC

Hardware specs indicate that the HD is 7200rpm ... I plan on getting a 2nd HD

Site says:
"Our inventory lists are updated daily" and that you have to call 1-888-385-5408 to check for availablility of any listed item...

HP business and home PC outlet opens at 8a.m. central time.

When you open the page (link provided) the listings for mini-notebooks open automatically... close that window (click the "-" next to "mini-notebooks" )
...and open the product listing you're interested in by clicking the "+" next to it....
THIS i7 LISTING IS UNDER THE HEADING "High performance desktops"
The i7 configurations are listed with i5 machines and other high end quads of the previous generation of Intel machines as well as AMD machines.

i3 machines are listed in VALUE-DESKTOPS with older c2d machines and are typically $150 less...i5 Value DTs are also there for $120 less
In all categories you can get variations in HDD drives, RAM, DVD drives, video cards, etc....

Click on PROMO PRICE heading to sort by price, and scroll down to the 1st promo price in that column.
Refurbished items are warranteed for 90 days though you can buy an HP Care Pack for another 2 years...typically $160

Kasrielle wrote in post #11516831
The usb ports in the front of the machine just seem to be wearing out. (The one in the back still work well.) I have a wireless mouse which stops working frequently - I unplug and replug the piece that goes in the usb port and wiggle it tight - it will usually start working again.

Ok, if the rear ports are fine, that means your motherboard is likely fine. The front USB ports are built into the case and hooked up to the motherboard, rather than being built into the motherboard...so basically that's just an annoyance and not a critical failure.

Kasrielle wrote in post #11517426
Nightstalker, I like your idea of reinstalling XP and seeing if that improves things. If so I'm guessing that would mean that my problems stem from undiscovered malware or something of that nature - not my hardware.

A reformat will fix any software issues. It might be from malware, corrupt drivers, a corrupt startup service or executable, or corrupt system files...no one knows, but a reformat eliminates all of those possibilities.

Kasrielle wrote in post #11517426
So here are my really dumb questions: I'm assuming (after I backup and save everything to an external hd) that I just format my C drive. Then boot up and reinstall from the XP disk. But will I be able to see anything on my monitor? The Nvidia program is on the C drive - don't I lose those drivers? And if so, how does my monitor display anything so I know what I'm doing?

You can format from the XP install disc, just make sure you don't select the option to keep the old file system. You should do a full reformat (as in not the Quick option). What that does is scan the hard drive for bad sectors and marks them as bad, so no data gets written to those areas. Reading/writing data to bad sectors can be a cause for your frequent freezes.

And yes, you lose the drivers. Your computer might have come with a driver CD, which will be full of old drivers but it's a lot easier than starting from scratch. Otherwise you'll have to go to your computer manufacturer's website and download the drivers...you better do it now instead of later (unless you have a second computer), because you won't have a LAN or wireless driver after the reformat .

Your monitor will simply use built-in Windows drivers and probably display everything at 800x600.

kitacanon wrote in post #11517653
I think your bottleneck is the 32bit OS....which limits ram to 4gb...

The performance bottleneck might be the 32-bit / 3.25GB limit, but that doesn't explain any of the problems.

For XP clean build have a read of http://pcsupport.about​.com …stems/ss/instxp​clean1.htm it's a step by step how to do it.

Read it through and be sure you are happy with it before you start.

Alternately just buy a cheap HDD and install onto that - if all else fails you can swap back to your original.