Technology New Desktop computer

[THEV1LL4N]

I don't think they still have it or at least I can't see it. They have it on clearance for 600$ at Best Buy over here, and it comes with Ryzen 7, 16 gigs of ram and a RX 560 discrete GPU, which is a really neat deal.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo...1tb-hard-drive-silver/5887604.p?skuId=5887604

Yeah, it was discontinued like a couple of weeks ago. They're starting to stock the new range of desktops with Ryzen 5 CPUs and SSDs. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the second gen Ryzen desktops. With the previous generation, you'd have to get like a Ryzen 7 one just to have an SSD readily installed. Hope they can do the same with Ryzen 3s to keep the cost low but the system fast.

There's this one, but it's a bit pricey:
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/compu...c-1-tb-hdd-128-gb-ssd-black-10181025-pdt.html

Ryzen 5, 8GB RAM, SSD, but only 1TB HDD (wish it was 2TB) and I'd wait to get it when it has a sale offer on a bank holiday or black friday. Anyway, I'm hoping to see what the competition can bring.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

I also did a comparison on these two:
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/s_action/compare/10181025-10181369.html

 

[masta247]

I also did a comparison on these two:
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/s_action/compare/10181025-10181369.html

I would take a 6-core Ryzen 5 + GTX1060 for sure. It's a much better set-up, as you're getting 2 extra CPU cores and a much faster GPU. I wouldn't get a PC with no SSD, and I would have second thoughts about only 8GB of ram though.

To be honest, if you find first gen Ryzen 5 + a decent discrete GPU on sale at this point, it might be better value, as they're clearing stock, and first gen Ryzen is still great. You might even get more for the price then - getting SSD, a discrete GPU or even 16GB of ram will offer much more performance than the difference between first and second gen Ryzen.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

How hard is it to install an SSD for someone that hasn't done it before? I think I could do it but I don't want to mess everything up.

I know I'd need to use cloning software to create an image of the system. If only the PC had 2TB hard drive and an SSD.

 

[masta247]

How hard is it to install an SSD for someone that hasn't done it before? I think I could do it but I don't want to mess everything up.

I know I'd need to use cloning software to create an image of the system. If only the PC had 2TB hard drive and an SSD.

It's normally not hard, but more difficult with pre-builts. Especially as you might be also voiding your warranty.

I found a nice deal for you:
https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/cty/pdp/spd/inspiron-3668-desktop/cd66817

The website is a little confusing, add it to basket and you will see the specs:

It's much better than anything else in that price. It has last year's greatest i7, which is a very good, still high-end processor (4 cores, 8 threads, but slightly faster per-core than Ryzen), a GTX 1050 GPU which will be good for all sorts of games up to 1080P and a SSD, albeit a bit small one, but enough for Windows and basic programs which will benefit from it very highly. It's on sale for like 2 more days and it's straight from Dell.

 

[masta247]

If you need a cheaper alternative, this would also be fine, but less future-proof due to the 4 slower threads, but is good value:

https://www3.lenovo.com/gb/en/deskt...tre/700-tower/Ideacentre-720-AMD/p/90H1005HUK

You get an SSD, a usable discrete GPU and 8GB of ram for 599. The processor itself is similar to the one you would be getting with the 2200G, but the GPU is better here.

For emulation, I would still go with the Intel build above as its per-core performance is significantly higher and it has hyperthreading, making the processor almost twice as fast in total. I think it's worth the 200 extra pounts, but your call - if I wanted the absolute cheapest but perfectly usable pre-built PC I would consider this Lenovo.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

Thanks Masta. Only thing is I loaded up a Currys card as I get 8% off through my company benefits. I did this to find a good deal and make an extra saving. The only thing is that I'm limited to what they have on retail.

If I'm really struggling to get what I'm looking for, then I'll probably use the balance on something else other than a PC.

Also, when you say future-proof... I don't think I'll be making component upgrades anyway - if anything I'll just add some more RAM after a few years which I can do by myself (easy as just slotting it in).

My current PC was a custom-built one from my friend and I think I've had it since May 2010. The only thing I added was 2GB RAM to make it 4GB.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

I quite like Box.co.uk

 

[vg4030]

How hard is it to install an SSD for someone that hasn't done it before? I think I could do it but I don't want to mess everything up.

I know I'd need to use cloning software to create an image of the system. If only the PC had 2TB hard drive and an SSD.

Its very easy, most new ssd's come with the software to do it.

I did it with my samsung ssd on my custom build and it worked like a charm. Most people just do a fresh install rather than migrate to get rid of all the extra crap that comes with the prebuilt ones

 

[dilla]

Its very easy, most new ssd's come with the software to do it.

I did it with my samsung ssd on my custom build and it worked like a charm. Most people just do a fresh install rather than migrate to get rid of all the extra crap that comes with the prebuilt ones

That’s what I did on my old MacBook Pro. Just popped the SSD in and ran disk utility to format it in to macOS format and then installed from a usb drive.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

Yeah, it was discontinued like a couple of weeks ago. They're starting to stock the new range of desktops with Ryzen 5 CPUs and SSDs. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the second gen Ryzen desktops. With the previous generation, you'd have to get like a Ryzen 7 one just to have an SSD readily installed. Hope they can do the same with Ryzen 3s to keep the cost low but the system fast.

There's this one, but it's a bit pricey:
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/compu...c-1-tb-hdd-128-gb-ssd-black-10181025-pdt.html

Ryzen 5, 8GB RAM, SSD, but only 1TB HDD (wish it was 2TB) and I'd wait to get it when it has a sale offer on a bank holiday or black friday. Anyway, I'm hoping to see what the competition can bring.

This PC was £799.99 when I made this post. It's now £699.99 and for today only it's 10% the marked price which makes it £629.10.

What do you think?

 

[masta247]

This PC was £799.99 when I made this post. It's now £699.99 and for today only it's 10% the marked price which makes it £629.10.

What do you think?

The other options were better, this one is very basic. Not sure about UK pricing, but If you built it on your own, you wouldn't spend much more than half that price over here. Spec wise it is basic but with no obvious red flags.

Edit: I guess it's a bit more in the UK but still I was somewhat close with the pricing, a semi-custom built is around 2/3 of that price - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk...yzen-raven-ridge-ryzen-3-2200g-fs-1ca-og.html

Is it viable for you to get a PC through overclockers.co.uk? They seem much more reasonable, and probably use better components. You can also customize their builds really nicely to your needs. If I wasn't building my own PCs, I'd probably consider getting one through there, from what it seems like.

 

[masta247]

I did some tweaking and for instance, this would be an infinitely more amazing set-up:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk...ee-lake-gaming-pc-fs-1cm-og.html#t=b2d2e6f0k4

And so is this:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/tita...-system-3.60ghz-fs-094-og.html#t=b4c1d1e6f0l0

You can tweak the other items such as storage and others to your liking, you can cut a couple of corners to save some more too (and get a quad-core Intel CPU or last gen 1600 Ryzen instead), or spend extra (to get 16gigs of ram, which would make it a sweet-spot PC, or to add wi-fi etc.). If you're a student, maybe you get Windows for free so you can save 100 pounds? If not, to say that both are much better options than the Lenovo would be an understatement, as these are all around much, much better.

 

[JadeStorm]

Generally installing an ssd is not too hard, pretty much like any other HD, if you don't have a 2.5 inch bay in the chasis then you need brackets. As mentioned pre-built machines trying to upgrade those can turn out to be a bit of a pain, I have seen them do all kinds of odd things from using rivets in about 1995-2000 it was a Quantum ( out of business now) same manufacturer also would solder the connection between the power supply and the power, reset buttons.

@masta247 has some really good ideas such as purchasing using a student discount, I remember that Office had a big discount like 60 USD. Usually I tend to steer people towards learning the basics before doing things, but honestly taking apart a machine is rather easy a screwdriver and anti-static wrist wrap perhaps watching a few videos on youtube. I personally like the AMD Ryzen we used one for a VM server we run maybe 4 VM's at anyone time, and it's been fine. We use a Ryzen 5 1600 6 core it was like 200 bucks or so when we built it in 2017.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

The other options were better, this one is very basic. Not sure about UK pricing, but If you built it on your own, you wouldn't spend much more than half that price over here. Spec wise it is basic but with no obvious red flags.

Edit: I guess it's a bit more in the UK but still I was somewhat close with the pricing, a semi-custom built is around 2/3 of that price - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk...yzen-raven-ridge-ryzen-3-2200g-fs-1ca-og.html

Is it viable for you to get a PC through overclockers.co.uk? They seem much more reasonable, and probably use better components. You can also customize their builds really nicely to your needs. If I wasn't building my own PCs, I'd probably consider getting one through there, from what it seems like.

Are the graphics produced from an APU considered 'on-board graphics'? Just wondering if this is the route I should go as I'm looking for something good but not too expensive. I won't be a serious PC gamer: just want to play some old PS1, PS2, SEGA and Nintendo classics on an emulator and some Sonic games I purchased on Steam last year (Sonic Generations, Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 episodes 1 and 2). It's not like I'll be playing Call of Duty or anything as I'd rather game on my PS4 if anything. I'll most likely purchase Sonic Mania for the PS4 as well after I've played all the other Sonic games leading up to it.

I'd also like to play the fan-made Sonic games too (will post about this in the other thread).

 

[ARon]

Coworker is selling me his AMD threadripper for 200. Gonna build a new desktop with it. Besides gaming I do absolutely nothing that will push this thing, oh well

 

[masta247]

Are the graphics produced from an APU considered 'on-board graphics'? Just wondering if this is the route I should go as I'm looking for something good but not too expensive. I won't be a serious PC gamer: just want to play some old PS1, PS2, SEGA and Nintendo classics on an emulator and some Sonic games I purchased on Steam last year (Sonic Generations, Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 episodes 1 and 2). It's not like I'll be playing Call of Duty or anything as I'd rather game on my PS4 if anything. I'll most likely purchase Sonic Mania for the PS4 as well after I've played all the other Sonic games leading up to it.

I'd also like to play the fan-made Sonic games too (will post about this in the other thread).

Yeah APU is considered an all-in-one, so the graphics are on board, except the GPU on the new AMD chips is more decent than any other on-board graphics chips. For the games you mentioned it should be enough, but it might not be for anything modern or upcoming if you'd like to play it.

Coworker is selling me his AMD threadripper for 200. Gonna build a new desktop with it. Besides gaming I do absolutely nothing that will push this thing, oh well

That is a crazy good deal. I can't imagine what I'd even use the Threadripper for, but that's a one future-proof CPU!

 

[THEV1LL4N]

Yeah APU is considered an all-in-one, so the graphics are on board, except the GPU on the new AMD chips is more decent than any other on-board graphics chips. For the games you mentioned it should be enough, but it might not be for anything modern or upcoming if you'd like to play it.

Are you referring to the Ryzen APUs?

 

[masta247]

Are you referring to the Ryzen APUs?

Yeah, the Ryzen APU, it has an integrated (used to be called "on-board") graphics, as it is in the same chip as the processor.
Its implementation of the "Vega" graphics chip is tiny and of course miles behind mid-range dedicated graphics cards, but it is still significantly faster than any other integrated solutions. I would still feel more comfortable with a dedicated graphics card for future-proofing or occasional gaming, but if all you play are the games that you mentioned, then a Ryzen APU should be enough to play them. Especially if you have a relatively low-res monitor (up to 1080P). You should still be able to play a lot of the less demanding games in the future if you're willing to lower the video quality settings.

 

[dilla]

That new Nvidia card is supposed to be like $1020 or something. And someone buying that for intense gaming or something is likely going to replace that card within 18 months to get the latest and greatest again.