Help Me Pick a PC - Budget $1500

Bigsta on 30/06/2017 - 00:29
Last edited 30/06/2017 - 09:38 by 1 other user

Hi Guys,

Just after some help, trying to decide on a PC to do general office stuff, be a plex server, run 3 screens and play videos mainly, I use the PS4 for gaming so wont really use it for that.

Am keen to buy this today to get it in on this financial year if I can.

Was looking at this but just thought I would get your opinions of what else is better or if there is a good deal going now.
Spewing I missed out on that Dell the other day but anyway what would you recommend up to around $1500

$1575 with I7 7700 4.2ghz, with 240GB SSD, 1tb HDD and Nvidea 1060 6GB
500W PSU seems small and not that keen on the case but its not the end of the world.

Thanks for your help

Computing

Comments

  • Diji1 on 30/06/2017 - 00:36
    +2

    Building your own PC is very easy.

    I think i7 is overkill for what you say you want to use it for, i5-6700 is much cheaper.

    Not sure if you want some or no gaming - if it's no gaming then a GTX 1060 is also overkill and unneeded cost.

    • Bigsta on 30/06/2017 - 00:52

      i like to over engineer things :-), i have a i5 2.67 now thats about 4 years old with 4gb of ram a 128SSD and nvidea geforce 9400GT card and its struggling really

      • Bigsta on 30/06/2017 - 00:55

        also should add in im gonna give this PC to my son after i reinstall windows which will fression it up and the new one which i want to have 3 screens on, i want those screens to run smoothly

  • TheMoDz on 30/06/2017 - 01:03
    +1

    If you have the money and like to over engineer things, find a PC building buddy that knows how to make one and have fun!!!

  • KaTst3R on 30/06/2017 - 02:12
    +1

    Not a fan of budget SSDs and Seagate HDDs…I rather pay more for a Samsung Evo and WD Blue 2TB given that you will be running a plex server. Other than that, the case is really ugly IMO. 500W PSU is more than enough if you dont intend to run SLI setups.

  • Richardc on 30/06/2017 - 03:38
    +1

    if u like multi tasking, go ryzen

  • Axelstrife on 30/06/2017 - 06:01
    +1

    Very roughly speaking, for a single full-transcode of a video, the following PassMark scores are a good guideline for a requirement:
    1080p/10Mbps: 2000 PassMark
    720p/4Mbps: 1500 PassMark
    ^So 2000 score per 1080p stream

    This is what Plex's website says about what CPU is needed.

    Passmark CPU benchmark List
    Here is Intel 7700 vs AMD Ryzen 1700 (both are the same price give or take $10-$20

    Intel Core i7-7700 @ 3.60GHz
    Passmark score: 10,816

    AMD Ryzen 7 1700
    Passmark score: 13783

    http://www.msy.com.au/SYSTEMS/amdgaming2.pdf
    $1399 with the Ryzen 5 1600 which has a passmark score of 13341
    Though you could build yourself this without the graphics card and save yourself about $400

    Ryzen definitely seems the better way to go.

    • Bigsta on 30/06/2017 - 09:42

      interesting going for the amd over the i7 but yeah multi tasking definitely bogs down my i5.

      if im running 3 screens though would the onboard graphics be enough?, should mention i have a synolgy NAS that i store all the media and data on but the PC running the plex server as when i had it installed on the NAS it could not handle it.

      I have not done it but im a fire technician so ive built fire panels so can build the PC myself but for $50 i thought i would just let MSY do it but maybe i should just get the parts and have a crack, isn't there a PC builder site that puts together the right parts for you?

      • Axelstrife on 30/06/2017 - 11:27
        +1

        Sorry i made a mistake Ryzen doesn't have Integrated GPU at all (I'm used to Intel) So just get a cheaper GPU than a GTX 1060 which would be a complete waste if not gaming.

        http://imgur.com/a/BbZBM
        ^Something like this.
        Maybe take advantage of the ebay 15% sitewide that was posted an hour ago.

        https://au.pcpartpicker.com/

        • Bigsta on 30/06/2017 - 11:47

          which seller did you use for those products? cheaper graphics card can handle the 3 screens?

        • Axelstrife on 30/06/2017 - 12:07
          +1

          @Bigsta: Well shit i guess i should of actually checked that GPU before assuming it would support 3 display's since it's apart of Nvidia's 10XX series GPU's.
          http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Sapphire-Radeon-RX-550-2G-PULSE-O…
          This AMD card supports Three displays (says so in the specifications) $129 delivered with 15% atm.

          That screen shot was just from PCcasegear.

  • Skramit on 30/06/2017 - 09:07
    +1

    A system with onboard GPU and no video card needs a 300w PSU - max. 500w is overkill by a long way for an office PC. Go for a brand name PSU around the 400-500w mark. Even if you drop a GPU in to this system later on, it will easily handle it. System power requirements have dropped significantly in the last 8 years or so.

    You'd be best served with a Ryzen 1600 IMO. Excellent bang for buck 6 core, 12 threads. Perfect for video and office work (massive overkill to be honest) but great longevity. Spending more on a CPU is pure nonsense for your requirements.

    Spend your money on a big SSD - 512GB at least, or 1TB for example. That's where you will get the most benefit.

    • Bigsta on 30/06/2017 - 09:44

      really interesting points, years ago AMD had a rep for running hot so i have not really looked at them for 4 or 5 years but yep multi tasking seems to be my main problem both in life and on the PC lol.

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