Searching for EOFY bargain desktop

no47 on 29/06/2016 - 21:07

Hi all. Ive been hovering around looking for a bargain off the shelf desktop, but not having seen anything that takes my fancy wondering if its worth upgrading/rebuilding.

I currently have a home build job running Windows 10-
Asus P5K-VM
Intel Core 2 quad Q6600 2.4ghz
8gb Ram
1TB HD
Nvidia Geforce 8800GS
Gigabit NIC

Its getting on a bit and is as noisy as **** (or at least the fans are). Its in a massive case so there is plenty of room/bays inside to add stuff to.
its mainly used for general surfing, remote working (through CITRIX), and a bit of newsgroup/Usenet stuff.
The use wont really change, Id just like something a lot quieter and a lot faster on startup (which means SSD).
any thoughts on the best option/bargain…off the shelf or upgrade…?

cheers

Computing End of Financial Year Sale

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 29/06/2016 - 21:23
    +2

    I'm surprised it took you this long to consider getting an SSD.

    Well let's see. There will be a sale tomorrow and if you are lucky you should be able to buy some parts for cheap:

    9AM time slot
    Crucial 8GB 2133MHz DDR4 CL15 Memory $39 (free shipping)

    12PM time slot
    SanDisk SSD Plus 120GB $45 (not free shipping)

    The rest of the parts you should be able to buy from eBay with free delivery, and then score yourself a 50 dollar eBay voucher. You must spend $200 in one transaction at the very least. There is also a $15 voucher to be used when you buy the stuff from a mobile app.

    However, computer parts on eBay are all inflated and generally cost a bit more than if you were to buy instore at a large computer store, so there isn't really any savings to be had by purchasing from eBay. You did after all, miss the big 20% discount.

    This is the best way that I'm aware of to take advantage of all the current discounts.

    As for noise reduction, I think some of your parts could be worth replacing:

    1. A better ATX case with noise reduction casing such as the budget-friendly Thermaltake Suppresor F31

    2. a good quality and power efficient 80+ bronze power supply like Antec Neo Eco

    3. Completely optional but you can add in a CM Hyper TX3 Evo which helps to keep your CPU cooler at a lower fan speed.

    4. Completely ditch the graphics card and go with integrated graphics. Since you don't play games, all the GPU does is make fan noise and heat up your system.

  • jonathonsunshine on 29/06/2016 - 21:30
    +1

    Get a i3 NUC. Use a tenth of the electricity and roughly the same CPU performance. Plus faster sata, faster memory, USB 3, built in wifi ac and Bluetooth.

    • kywst on 29/06/2016 - 23:13

      +1 for NUC or some type of compute stick.

      • scrimshaw on 30/06/2016 - 00:58

        Compute sticks are very slow, the first gen Intel Stick is prone to overheating (and the second Gen is just a ripoff) and since the OP is using Usenet to grab binaries (cough Linux Iso's cough), very likely he will also need a lot of storage. I think that rules out emmc storage.

  • too_much_boost on 29/06/2016 - 21:42
    +2

    Best bang for buck would be an ssd and some fan replacements. That rig could last a few years yet with your usage

    Edit: usb3 is nice, so perhaps a pcie usb3 card for $20 off eBay too

  • scrimshaw on 30/06/2016 - 01:07

    I should also add your CPU and motherboard can also be sold on eBay for around $60~80 dollars. If you include the RAM it might fetch $100.

    I recently sold such a Gigabyte + Q6600 combo and someone bought it for $90 (I threw in a 2GB DDR-1333 stick for free)

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