home pc / media center

[Inevitability]

hi myBB-ers,

I'm looking to buy a cheapie PC for my home media center and general basic home stuff... my Athlon64 3000+ is showing her age badly, so it's time to say goodbye to the old lady and get something that wasn't around when the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex was atop the food chain
So I'm looking at a machine with:
- Intel G840 2.80GHz Processor,
- 2GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM,
- 500GB HDD,
- 16x DVD Writer (which i'm never gonna use!)
- Intel H1 Express Chipset, Intel HD Graphics Integrated,

How does that look?

 

[Keeper]

Any specific reason why you're not getting a HP MicroServer?

Edit: Ah sorry, thought it was for a media centre, didn't realise you need a home PC.

 

[Inevitability]

Any specific reason why you're not getting a HP MicroServer?

1. I didnt know they existed until 2 minutes ago
2. The PC will cost me under R1500 ... what does the MicroServer cost?

 

[porchrat]

Looks fine for your immediate needs. I take it you will be running Windows 8?

You may want to consider a slightly beefier processor if you want longevity (I'm someone that likes to hang on to a machine for as close to 10 years as I can get). Also take note of the maximum RAM the motherboard can handle as RAM is a cheap upgrade (a couple of hundred rands for a noticeable jump in performance) that can breathe new life into an older machine in the future when you find it feels a little slow.

 

[Inevitability]

Looks fine for your immediate needs. I take it you will be running Windows 8?

I was gonna go with Windows 7 ... I don't even know what 8 looks like. My Athlon64 runs XP still!

You may want to consider a slightly beefier processor if you want longevity (I'm someone that likes to hang on to a machine for as close to 10 years as I can get)

Noted. When I bought my Athlon64 it was on the upper end of the CPU scale... and it's lasted about 8 years. But I did spend R6k on it back then. This is gonna cost me less that R1500 Chinese Android tablets don't even come that cheap! (... i should know, I bought one for my kid!)

Also take note of the maximum RAM the motherboard can handle as RAM is a cheap upgrade (a couple of hundred rands for a noticeable jump in performance) that can breathe new life into an older machine in the future when you find it feels a little slow.

The motherboard can handle 16GB RAM, so hopefully that will be ok. I must ask the seller what an extra 2GB RAM will cost.

 

[Syphonx]

hi myBB-ers,

I'm looking to buy a cheapie PC for my home media center and general basic home stuff... my Athlon64 3000+ is showing her age badly, so it's time to say goodbye to the old lady and get something that wasn't around when the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex was atop the food chain
So I'm looking at a machine with:
- Intel G840 2.80GHz Processor,
- 2GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM,
- 500GB HDD,
- 16x DVD Writer (which i'm never gonna use!)
- Intel H1 Express Chipset, Intel HD Graphics Integrated,

How does that look?

I'd up the RAM to 4gb and you might want to invest in a dedicated graphics card, I'm not sure how the integrated one stacks up but you could get a radeon 5450, Nvidia Gt210 or 610, or equivalent will do the trick.

 

[porchrat]

I was gonna go with Windows 7 ... I don't even know what 8 looks like. My Athlon64 runs XP still!

Windows 8 has a weird interface. I'm not really a Windows user and have only been exposed to Win8 a handful of times for very short periods. It seems somewhat stable. I've had enough experience with Win7 to see it as a stable and relatively reliable OS. Though of course Win8 is newer and will presumably be supported longer. I don't feel qualified to advise you on OS choices, this was more to get a feel for the sort of resources you would need to get acceptable performance.

Noted. When I bought my Athlon64 it was on the upper end of the CPU scale... and it's lasted about 8 years. But I did spend R6k on it back then. This is gonna cost me less that R1500 Chinese Android tablets don't even come that cheap! (... i should know, I bought one for my kid!)

You have a point. At the price it is a decent machine that is likely to fit your immediate needs with some room for future improvement should you ever have the need.

The motherboard can handle 16GB RAM, so hopefully that will be ok. I must ask the seller what an extra 2GB RAM will cost.

RAM chips are very affordable. Definitely the cheapest way to get an increase in performance. With the DDR3 system this machine has it will be easy to upgrade the RAM for the foreseeable future (as opposed to DDR2 which is going to become more pricey as the years go on).

I have seen Win7 running on 2GB of RAM and it is somewhat sluggish (though still quite usable). I personally would be frustrated with the performance (I would want 4GB) but my usage patterns are different so for your needs 2GB may be sufficient.

 

[Inevitability]

Will I need a 32-bit or 64-bit OS?

 

[Syphonx]

Will I need a 32-bit or 64-bit OS?

Either, but might as well go 64 bit.

 

[Yotch]

You could also consider looking for a secondhand motherboard/CPU on www.carbonite.co.za. You might be able to get something more powerful for the same cost. Secondhand laptops also offer good value if you choose wisely.