The PC Build Thread

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But things are mostly back to normal now, so no real reason for an avid PC enthusiast to buy a prebuilt.

GPU prices are not anywhere close to being "back to normal", prebuilt is still cheaper for most overseas people.. ZA has always been expensive regardless of pre/during tech shortages. Carbonite helps quite a bit with that though.
 
GPU prices are not anywhere close to being "back to normal", prebuilt is still cheaper for most overseas people.. ZA has always been expensive regardless of pre/during tech shortages. Carbonite helps quite a bit with that though.
As an overseas person, I can tell you that GPUs are readily available and at much lower prices than they were at this time last year. Prebuilts usually come with founders edition GPUs or whatever meh AIB the builder could buy in bulk. Go your own way, and you may pay a bit more for the GPU, but you get the one you want.

For reference, I was shopping around for ages, and my build was around £300 cheaper than the nearest similarly-specced prebuilt (and that was with parts/brands I wanted).

But again, like I said before, if you don't know anything about building your own, or are too scared to, by all means, go prebuilt.
 
Guys what can you tell me about a

HP SlimLine Pro 3400 MT Motherboard LGA-1155 657002-001​

 
Looking to finally upgrade my PC. Everything in it is ancient so more that likely everything needs to be replaced.

Currently have a Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R motherboard, Intel i7 2800, 8 GB DDR3 Ram, ATI HD 7850, 1TB HDD

It's about 10+ years old and has served me well but getting a wee bit slow now (Even under Linux)

With all the old components its probably only the case I can keep (and maybe storage) and replace everything else.

Been out of the PC upgrade market for years now. What's the best bang for buck nowadays. Intel vs AMD? ATI vs Nvidia?

Last upgrade I did was buying the GPU for BF4. Haven't really played much since then and not much of a gamer. Would like to still play BFV and similar games.

Any recommendations? Not looking to buy top of the range, but something decent that will last hopefully as long. Also prefer to buy components instead of a all in one PC (Half the fun is spending days trying to get everything build and working :)

('m also in the UK so those list of suppliers is very useful)
 
Looking to finally upgrade my PC. Everything in it is ancient so more that likely everything needs to be replaced.

Currently have a Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R motherboard, Intel i7 2800, 8 GB DDR3 Ram, ATI HD 7850, 1TB HDD

It's about 10+ years old and has served me well but getting a wee bit slow now (Even under Linux)

With all the old components its probably only the case I can keep (and maybe storage) and replace everything else.

Been out of the PC upgrade market for years now. What's the best bang for buck nowadays. Intel vs AMD? ATI vs Nvidia?

Last upgrade I did was buying the GPU for BF4. Haven't really played much since then and not much of a gamer. Would like to still play BFV and similar games.

Any recommendations? Not looking to buy top of the range, but something decent that will last hopefully as long. Also prefer to buy components instead of a all in one PC (Half the fun is spending days trying to get everything build and working :)

('m also in the UK so those list of suppliers is very useful)

You’re going to want to get a new case, airflow and such have improved tremendously in recent years.

Basic recommendation

Phanteks P400A Digital.
B550 motherboard.
Ryzen 5600x.
16GB DDR4-3200.
Nvme or minimally an SSD for the OS.
500W - 650W bronze-rated PSU, GPU dependent.
GTX 3060

You could get away with something like a GTX 1070 even, if second hand is an option for you.
 
You’re going to want to get a new case, airflow and such have improved tremendously in recent years.

Basic recommendation

Phanteks P400A Digital.
B550 motherboard.
Ryzen 5600x.
16GB DDR4-3200.
Nvme or minimally an SSD for the OS.
500W - 650W bronze-rated PSU, GPU dependent.
GTX 3060

You could get away with something like a GTX 1070 even, if second hand is an option for you.
Thanks. Good info. Was actually looking through the numbers and the 5600x looks pretty decent for the price.
 
Looking to finally upgrade my PC. Everything in it is ancient so more that likely everything needs to be replaced.

Currently have a Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R motherboard, Intel i7 2800, 8 GB DDR3 Ram, ATI HD 7850, 1TB HDD

It's about 10+ years old and has served me well but getting a wee bit slow now (Even under Linux)

With all the old components its probably only the case I can keep (and maybe storage) and replace everything else.

Been out of the PC upgrade market for years now. What's the best bang for buck nowadays. Intel vs AMD? ATI vs Nvidia?

Last upgrade I did was buying the GPU for BF4. Haven't really played much since then and not much of a gamer. Would like to still play BFV and similar games.

Any recommendations? Not looking to buy top of the range, but something decent that will last hopefully as long. Also prefer to buy components instead of a all in one PC (Half the fun is spending days trying to get everything build and working :)

('m also in the UK so those list of suppliers is very useful)

Get SSD, install windows 10 and it will fly.

Intel on the low end, AMD on the high end.
While the 5600X looks great (or even the 5600g if you want use integrated graphics), Intel CPUs are better value for money on the low end. The 10600K for example is hard to beat on it's own, but I don't know how motherboard prices influence the price difference.
 
What would you guys recommend for image editing in Lightroom and basic video editing with DaVinci Resolve and Premier?

Current system is struggling, specs below:
i7-4790 3.6Ghz(4Ghz boost)
20Gb DDR3 Ram
1Tb Sata SSD
 
What would you guys recommend for image editing in Lightroom and basic video editing with DaVinci Resolve and Premier?

Current system is struggling, specs below:
i7-4790 3.6Ghz(4Ghz boost)
20Gb DDR3 Ram
1Tb Sata SSD
GPU..?

Also, have you checked which resources are bottle necking using performance monitor or hardware monitor for each of these applications..?

Premier specifically loves RAM and does well with GPU, doesn't care so much for CPU.. I would say 32GB RAM and a 3060TI or upwards would do well with any current midrange CPU with regards to Premier and at minimum a good SSD to edit video off of..

I built video editor machines for a video production company around 4 years ago.. they predominantly use Premier.. to date, they are still capable of of editing 4k video, these are the specs:

Asus x99 Mobo with compatible i7 CPU.. 64GB RAM and gtx970 GPUs and Samsung Evo SSD's.. They added a 1070 to one of the machines, specifically for 3d rendering they were doing for some of the videos..
 
GPU..?

Also, have you checked which resources are bottle necking using performance monitor or hardware monitor for each of these applications..?

Premier specifically loves RAM and does well with GPU, doesn't care so much for CPU.. I would say 32GB RAM and a 3060TI or upwards would do well with any current midrange CPU with regards to Premier and at minimum a good SSD to edit video off of..

I built video editor machines for a video production company around 4 years ago.. they predominantly use Premier.. to date, they are still capable of of editing 4k video, these are the specs:

Asus x99 Mobo with compatible i7 CPU.. 64GB RAM and gtx970 GPUs and Samsung Evo SSD's.. They added a 1070 to one of the machines, specifically for 3d rendering they were doing for some of the videos..

No GPU, I had a pretty budget one but it broke so I went back to onboard.

LR is my main need at this point but I play around with video and want to ensure the system can handle that as well going forward, apparently if you use proxies even 4k editing isn't so heavy?

I see the Gtx970 is the lowest supported GPU by current Premier and it's Dx12 so will also work with LR.

The problem with LR is it isn't multi-core optimised, it pretty much relies on a single core so the faster the clock speed the better, a CPU with 4.5ghz as the stable base speed would probably work well.

A LR compatible GPU would help so maybe that's a first step.

An issue is for a GTX 970 or bigger I will need a power supply upgrade and I don't want to spend money on DDR3 Ram upgrades so that's why I am leaning towards selling what I have now before it's too past its prime and getting something current to last the next few years. I'd also like to get a MBB with Nve SSD support.
 
No GPU, I had a pretty budget one but it broke so I went back to onboard.

LR is my main need at this point but I play around with video and want to ensure the system can handle that as well going forward, apparently if you use proxies even 4k editing isn't so heavy?

I see the Gtx970 is the lowest supported GPU by current Premier and it's Dx12 so will also work with LR.

The problem with LR is it isn't multi-core optimised, it pretty much relies on a single core so the faster the clock speed the better, a CPU with 4.5ghz as the stable base speed would probably work well.

A LR compatible GPU would help so maybe that's a first step.

An issue is for a GTX 970 or bigger I will need a power supply upgrade and I don't want to spend money on DDR3 Ram upgrades so that's why I am leaning towards selling what I have now before it's too past its prime and getting something current to last the next few years. I'd also like to get a MBB with Nve SSD support.

I guess it depends on what you do in LR.
For scrolling through the carousel, it seems to use all my cores. I tried my best to jump around to different folders and photos in library view, and this is what task manager showed me:
1628367473932.png

I suggest you read up at puget systems to see what would perform best for your needs.

 
I guess it depends on what you do in LR.
For scrolling through the carousel, it seems to use all my cores. I tried my best to jump around to different folders and photos in library view, and this is what task manager showed me:
View attachment 1122440

I suggest you read up at puget systems to see what would perform best for your needs.


Thanks it seems LR is better optimised to take advantage of multi-core since I last checked.

This is also a good explanation:

I'll try find the fastest CPU I can afford, 32Gb Ram and a GTX 970 or better.

What specs is your system and how snappy do you find LR to be?
Also what MP image files are they?
 
Get SSD, install windows 10 and it will fly.
Got a SSD this morning and holy crap does Linux fly now on my old machine. Startup from reboot 21 seconds. (Took about2 mins before) Opening apps 2 seconds (Which used to take 30s before) :)

With all this extra speed I now can't justify getting a new PC :unsure:
 
Thanks it seems LR is better optimised to take advantage of multi-core since I last checked.

This is also a good explanation:

I'll try find the fastest CPU I can afford, 32Gb Ram and a GTX 970 or better.

What specs is your system and how snappy do you find LR to be?
Also what MP image files are they?

20.2MP, on a 3700X with 32GB RAM and a 1080Ti.
I have a 1TB NVME SSD where the Lightroom catalog is on, and the photos themselves are on a mechanical HDD.

In library mode on a 4K display (if that makes a difference?) the new photo is shown instantly, with the full detail applied after a quarter to half second or so delay if I click around. Using the arrow keys to scroll the full detail photo is shown instantly even when holding down the arrow key.
Develop mode is noticeably slower when clicking on random photos, but only slightly slower than library mode when moving sequentially. I guess about half a second to switch over.
32 GB is of course overkill, but I don't like closing apps. :D

Develop mode now feels as fast as library mode used to be on my old i7 2600K @ 4.2Ghz on a SATA SSD with the same GPU.
 
Got a SSD this morning and holy crap does Linux fly now on my old machine. Startup from reboot 21 seconds. (Took about2 mins before) Opening apps 2 seconds (Which used to take 30s before) :)

With all this extra speed I now can't justify getting a new PC :unsure:
Yeah, SSD is probably the most effective upgrade anyone can make to their machine. Instantly visible results. :)
 
20.2MP, on a 3700X with 32GB RAM and a 1080Ti.
I have a 1TB NVME SSD where the Lightroom catalog is on, and the photos themselves are on a mechanical HDD.

In library mode on a 4K display (if that makes a difference?) the new photo is shown instantly, with the full detail applied after a quarter to half second or so delay if I click around. Using the arrow keys to scroll the full detail photo is shown instantly even when holding down the arrow key.
Develop mode is noticeably slower when clicking on random photos, but only slightly slower than library mode when moving sequentially. I guess about half a second to switch over.
32 GB is of course overkill, but I don't like closing apps. :D

Develop mode now feels as fast as library mode used to be on my old i7 2600K @ 4.2Ghz on a SATA SSD with the same GPU.

Nice that's the speeds I'm looking for, mine is painfully slow at the moment.

I also have a 4K display, apparently a compatible grfx card does make a decent difference in LR when running a 4k display.
 
Yeah, SSD is probably the most effective upgrade anyone can make to their machine. Instantly visible results. :)

I had thought that SSDs were over hyped until this year, when I started using one. My PC's HDD failed and I decided to try an SSD as a boot drive and an HDD for games. The SSD is noticeably faster at start up and for opening documents, and I'm just using a cheap SATA SSD.
 
I had thought that SSDs were over hyped until this year, when I started using one. My PC's HDD failed and I decided to try an SSD as a boot drive and an HDD for games. The SSD is noticeably faster at start up and for opening documents, and I'm just using a cheap SATA SSD.
You… waited until 2021 to try an SSD?

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