Dell Inspiron 560 Desktop: Yes/No?

Brian The Dog on 14/6/2011 at 12:40

(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817196027) Here's a cheap box that will let you switch monitors. It is not the the best if you want to have ultra-crisp graphics, but will work with your older monitor. For that, you'd need a (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882719502&cm_re=hdmi_switch-_-82-719-502-_-Product) HDMI switch (with an adapter for your older monitor).

Neither of these transfer audio though; as Ostriig says, you will need a KVM switch with audio for that. Something like (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817107418) this would be ideal.

Personally I think that 8Gb RAM is a bit excessive, but if you're still within budget then I'd go for it. I certainly agree about the Power Supply, you need a good one such as the Antec EarthWatts that Ostriig suggested.

Ostriig on 14/6/2011 at 13:30

Quote Posted by Brian The Dog

This is the (http://www.amazon.co.uk/HQ-DVI-and-Audio-Switch/dp/B000IAI57C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308056351&sr=8-1) switch I got from Amazon UK, though I haven't seen it listed on the US site. I don't think I've noticed any decrease of image sharpness or colour reproduction with it, though now you have me questioning myself...

Quote Posted by Dia

Ostriig, I love you and want you to have my children. This is just the kind of advice/hand-holding I've been wanting/needing from the start. I've made a copy of your customizations and now await your final verdict on the motherboard. Btw, the total price is still well within my budget, so thanks again. :thumb:

Don't worry about it, you're welcome. I haven't had the time yet to look up each motherboard on Asus's site (I've already seen that the specs are inaccurate on the seller's site, so I wanna see the official spec sheets), but I did stumble on one thing that might cut this search very short - an (http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/AM3_PLUS_Ready/) official Asus listing on which of their current motherboards will support AM3+ with a BIOS update, and the only one on that list that CPU Solutions have on offer is the top-of-the-line M4A89GTD PRO. Gigabyte have (http://motherboardnews.com/2011/04/04/current-state-of-am3-socket-support/) gone on record that they won't support AM3+ processors on their AM3 lineup, so they're out of this race.

Now, again, let me get back to you a bit later. I wanna think on it a bit more and actually have a look over the M4A89GTD specs, but as things stand I expect I will end up recommending that you upgrade to this one.

P.S. With the RAM, go with the Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8 RAM Module - DDR3 8 GB (2 x 4 GB), the C8 stands for latency, whereas the other two options are C9. And it's just a $2 price difference.

Brian The Dog on 14/6/2011 at 15:29

Quote Posted by Ostriig

Woah, that's a really good deal - it's cheaper than most KVM switches, and does audio and DVI video too :eek: Kind of makes me wish I needed one, to be honest...

Dia on 15/6/2011 at 12:59

Thanks again Ostriig and Brian. I'm saving all your suggestions and await the final verdict on motherboards. :thumb:

Ostriig on 16/6/2011 at 12:29

Ok, here's what I'm thinking. If it's in your budget, I would recommend you get the M4A89GTD PRO/USB3. It's the most expensive, yes, but it's also the newest chipset they have on offer with the best expandability options. Now, Asus have said that AM3+ processors will be compatible with this AM3 motherboard, but this does not necessarily mean the new "Bulldozer" architecture, it could just mean an AM3+ revision of Phenom II processors. I suggest you go through the entire article, but here's a choice quote (well, the conclusion):

Quote:

Originally by (http://hothardware.com/News/Mud-In-The-Water-Asus-Claims-Existing-Boards-AM3-Compatible/) Joel Hruska, Hot Hardware

At this point we're guessing that Asus' is referring to future Phenom II-based products that will launch on Socket AM3+ rather than anything Bulldozer-related. It'd be fabulous if Asus can offer Bulldozer on even some of its AM3 boards, but until the company states that it's explicitly referencing the next-gen processor, we're assuming it isn't. It makes more sense that AMD would move Phenom II to AM3+ the same way it released AM3 versions of AM2+ processors a few years ago.

Nonetheless, I'd go for it. I would get this motherboard upgrade with the Phenom II X4 upgrade I suggested earlier over a lesser motherboard with an even higher X6 CPU upgrade. The way I figure is that going for the 3.2Ghz Phenom II X4 CPU will give you plenty enough processing power for the time being, and that two or some years from now should you decide you need an upgrade, this motherboard will allow you to get a notably better AM3+ processor even if it is just another Phenom II and not a Bulldozer. Whereas getting a motherboard with no AM3+ compatibility at all even with a more powerful X6 CPU will still mean that whenever the usefullness of that processor has run its course, even if it's a bit later than the X4, it's go time and you need to swap the mainboard as well. By all means though, if someone here has another view on this please share, I'm no expert.

If, however, you don't want to go for the +$80 89GTD, I'd still recommend you swap out the default mainboard since I think it's a bit of an expansion dead-end. So, in order, my second suggestion would be the +$55 ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3, or third the +$38 M4A87TD EVO.

And now final thoughts on processors... I was just talking with a mate here at work about it, and I think that videogames still benefit from higher clock speeds than higher number of cores. Within certain limits, of course, this stuff doesn't scale linearly and you're not going to compare a single-core Athlon 64 with a quad Phenom even it it is clocked higher. But, bottom line, to my mind the main contenders for the CPU are the 3.2Ghz quad Phenom II X4 955 and the top-of-the-line 3.2Ghz hexacore Phenom II X6 1090T. For the others, the X4 965 is a little faster than the 955, obviously, but at the end of the day it's just 0.2Ghz more, not a game changer. The X6 1055T, however, is clocked a bit slower than the 3.2Ghz X4 at just 2.8 Ghz, and I think it's kind of give-or-take since not all games even today make use of multithreading to the fullest - some may perform a fair bit better, some just as well, and some slighly worse, depending on how well they've been coded to scale to multicore processing.

To sum up, my suggestion would be to get the M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 motherboard with the Phenom II X4 955 (or the 965 if the extra $20 is of absolutely no concern). The Phenom II X6 1090T would be, to my mind, the only other worthwhile CPU option and a good step up in long-term performance but only if your budget can leisurely accommodate it, otherwise I believe the X4 955 should be more than enough for the time being and should you come to the point when you need a beefier proc in two or so years' time your mainboard's AM3+ compatibilty should afford you reasonably priced upgrade routes. Like I said, Dia, I can't guarantee this is the absolute best way to go (and if anyone else has any thoughts please pitch in) but this is how I'd configure the machine you linked if I were getting it for myself.

Vernon on 30/8/2011 at 11:57

Digging up an old thread to drop in my two cents. Things have shifted a bit in the GPU marketplace - so I'd agree with Ostriig and go with the AMD 685/6870 over the nVidia 460. However, see if you can get an ASUS DirectCU version rather than the rear exhaust vapour chamber kind. The DirectCU is as quiet as a mouse (quieter than my case fans, anyhow). I'd also pick a Corsair modular PSU over the EarthWatts but it depends on whether the Corsair is in your price range.

It never fails to amaze me how dirt cheap components are in the States

Dia on 31/8/2011 at 23:04

One last time, okay? I'd like to place my order within the next week and get this show on the road. Soooooo, would you guys mind taking one last look and give me any final bits of advice? The PC I ended up with (link below) is still in my price-range, so I'd rather not add anymore bells & whistles; plus, it looks as though the prices on some of the components have gone up a few bucks here & there. This is what I've ended up with:

Inline Image:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c262/Diah_/TTLG%20Stuff/FuturePC-1.jpg

Three things I'm not sure about:

-the Upgrade from On-board Sound (it doesn't really state what the 'on-board sound is),
-Upgrade The Stock AMD Cooler, (I'd heard that the better the fan, the less problems you'll have if you run programs with high-end graphics)
-Motherboard includes on board LAN (will I need a WiFi thingy, or even a network thingy?).

Also, why do I want the 64bit as opposed to the 32bit version of Windows 7?

Vernon, thanks for your input as well - you know what I'm going through regarding CS and now since my PC has taken to stuttering & briefly freezing (online and off; ingame and out) I'm getting the feeling that its days are definitely numbered (your sympathy and encouragement are greatly appreciated and valued, btw). I don't think that bitch of a game helped the already-existing glitches and bugs on my old PC, either. Curse you, GSC.:p

I'd still like to have my old PC cleaned & have some minor tweaks done (like maybe getting rid of that damned partition - ME and XP64), but that's going to have to wait til I have my new PC up and running. I want to see how much stuff from my old PC will run on my new one before I spend money on getting the old one cleaned up. If it turns out I'll still be wanting to use my old PC, then I plan on doing the two-PCs-on-one-monitor thing.

Thanks again in advance for all the hand-holding. I wish I could tell you in person how much I appreciate all the advice.

Matthew on 31/8/2011 at 23:07

*Cough* I think that link needs fixing, Dia

Edit: as for your four queries:

Sound - on-board sound is generally pretty great these days unless you really want lots of sockets and/or are an audiophile who wants a high-end board. I got a Sound Blaster just because I always got a SB for my PCs, but I could probably have done without it comfortably.

Stock Cooler - totally unnecessary unless you are packing a lot of gear in a small case, or are planning to overclock. Upgrading the fan on the GRAPHICS card can do what you've said (if you're getting one), but unless you're getting a Fusion CPU which has integrated graphics or are planning to run your games at 1920x1200 with 16xAA and anisotropic filtering, I wouldn't bother again.

LAN - you'll probably still need a Wi-fi dongle.

Windows 7 - 32-bit Windows cannot address more than 3-and-a-bit Gb of RAM under normal circumstances whereas 64-bit OSes can address a frankly silly amount of RAM. Also optimisation for 64-bit processes and the like.

Dia on 31/8/2011 at 23:25

Fixed. Thanks for the heads-up and advice, Matthew.

:sweat:

Ostriig on 1/9/2011 at 09:15

I'm not too crazy about the M4A78LT-M on account of the single PCIe 2.0 slot. Might be worth taking the M4A87TD EVO motherboard for an extra $38 to allow you to add a second graphics card in CrossFire later on if you decide to (plus, it gives you 2 USB 3.0 ports, a nice little bonus). The only catch is that it would be running at x4 instead of x16, but I think that should still net you a considerable performance increase. Definitely get a second opinion, though.

Regarding your questions, I agree with Matthew - onboard sound solution should be perfectly fine unless you have some very particular expectations in the audio department, I doubt you'll go overclocking the CPU and you're using a dedicated GPU so not much point bothering to upgrade from the stock cooler, and you'll want the 64bit Windows to be able to address all your memory. Networking - if you want to connect to a wireless feed, yes, you will need a WiFi dongle, in fact I've personally never seen a desktop mainboard with a wireless antenna built-in. But I'm guessing your router must have at least one Ethernet port, I'd rather suggest you run some cable to the PC.