HOWTO choose hardware for a desktop PC

[Burn_IT]

You are not going to even see any difference between 1 single stick and two dual channel sticks in a home environment unless you are doing something that is extremely memory intensive and you have enough for it to reside wholly in memory (like rendering) and the program is designed to use it properly. The quantity is more important.

[linuxcbon]

Hi in case of RAM, do you think having two identical sticks are better than single big stick?

Yes it is faster (maybe 5 or 10 %) to have 2 same RAM sticks in "dual channel". To have dual channel, the 2 RAM sticks need to have the same model, same size, same speed.

I have processor i3 3220, what I think I made wrong choice is the motherboard and RAM.
Motherboard is Intel DH61BF, should have bought something with more features and latest chipset.

Intel DH61BF has socket 1155, so it will accept i3 3220.
The 2 most important features for a motherboard are : max RAM speed, max RAM capacity.

Ohh and I didn't buy any graphics card.... yet.

You can chose a fast or slow card and it depends how much you want to pay. For example one benchmark : http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php

[drunkjedi]

Thanks for the input friends.

[wboz]

You could add the potential for use of an M.2 SSD, which would be a lot faster than SATA -- probably more future proofed if you got a MB with that slot or an extra PCI lane to accommodate if you wanted. Personally my own computer was built just before that kind of went mainstream, so unfortunately I'm stuck with SATA for the long haul It's OK though it doesn't have to be a screamer and being a desktop is more than fast enough for photo editing.

My own setup was quite reasonably priced back when LGA1150 was new (i3-4130, B85 MB) but no one will be interested in the details now since times have moved on substantially after 1 yr ... I don't see why you wouldn't go 1155 now even though I do still see the older stuff for sale.

[linuxcbon]

You could add the potential for use of an M.2 SSD, which would be a lot faster than SATA -- probably more future proofed if you got a MB with that slot or an extra PCI lane to accommodate if you wanted.

M.2 is not faster, it's the name for a connection.
M.2 can have 1 those 2 interfaces : SATA or PCI-E.
M.2 with PCI-E is faster than M.2 with SATA. The problem is that M.2 with PCI-E is more expensive than M.2 with SATA.

[wboz]

Good point, thank you!

[linuxcbon]

Updated videocard, cpu, ram, motherboard for 2017.

[linuxcbon]

Updated for 2020

[oui]

Hi

If I understand well the first and actualized message, you propose us to buy new fast PCs for 650 $ plus monitor (installed power for it?).

for different user is the quality (resolution, sound, stereo) and performance (turnable, variable high, installed power and consumption) of monitor very important so we come to an amount of about? 800..900 $ (without to take under consideration, that the look of that instrument can be determinant in some room environment exactly like the look of glases on the nose!)

do I be right if I assume that the installed power will be 500 W + 100 W at least for monitor!

hm

I find it is to much...

I use an old DELL XPS15 laptop. sound + resolution are best (for laptops)!

i7 8 GB 3/4 TB, power 19,5 V 6,7 A (I can actually not see more printed indication as it is build in at a place I can't reach easily!) and I find it is (too) much because of the 2 drives (HD and DVD):

If it would have virtual Chip drives it would be a lot less...

And it is very important as those machines run sometimes / often all the day and such with really low consumption power supply are extremely rare!

and...

this machine is not to find so light used but in very good condition but equivalent ones are not difficult to find. look at http://ebay.de and search for «i7 8 GB»! you will find a lot of such equivalent machines with HD (=, again, more consumption under 300 Euro and somtimes under 100 Euro - 1 $ = 1,08 Euro today!)

and the look is not important at all: if not adequate, close the lap and do it away when not used (turn the screen: hm, I work often with virtually turned screen without to have the possibility to really turn it! it is absolutely not ideal! A "transformer" with touch screen would be better for me . But with i7, high resolution, stereo and good sount, 8 .. 24 GB / 1 (*1 .. 4 TB on chips and 3x4 usb3 ? Difficult to find).

(*1 virtual HD on chips can be easily removable. 1 TB is more as enough

[linuxcbon]

Hi

If I understand well the first and actualized message, you propose us to buy new fast PCs for 650 $ plus monitor (installed power for it?).

for different user is the quality (resolution, sound, stereo) and performance (turnable, variable high, installed power and consumption) of monitor very important so we come to an amount of about? 800..900 $ (without to take under consideration, that the look of that instrument can be determinant in some room environment exactly like the look of glases on the nose!)

do I be right if I assume that the installed power will be 500 W + 100 W at least for monitor!

hm

I find it is to much...

All wrong.
500W is the MAXIMUM power the power supply can deliver.
The REAL consumption of a PC is between 100 and 200W.
A modern LCD monitor consumes about 10-20W.

I use an old DELL XPS15 laptop. sound + resolution are best (for laptops)!

i7 8 GB 3/4 TB, power 19,5 V 6,7 A (I can actually not see more printed indication as it is build in at a place I can't reach easily!) and I find it is (too) much because of the 2 drives (HD and DVD):

If it would have virtual Chip drives it would be a lot less...

And it is very important as those machines run sometimes / often all the day and such with really low consumption power supply are extremely rare!

and...

this machine is not to find so light used but in very good condition but equivalent ones are not difficult to find. look at http://ebay.de and search for «i7 8 GB»! you will find a lot of such equivalent machines with HD (=, again, more consumption under 300 Euro and somtimes under 100 Euro - 1 $ = 1,08 Euro today!)

and the look is not important at all: if not adequate, close the lap and do it away when not used (turn the screen: hm, I work often with virtually turned screen without to have the possibility to really turn it! it is absolutely not ideal! A "transformer" with touch screen would be better for me . But with i7, high resolution, stereo and good sount, 8 .. 24 GB / 1 (*1 .. 4 TB on chips and 3x4 usb3 ? Difficult to find).

(*1 virtual HD on chips can be easily removable. 1 TB is more as enough

This guide is not about laptops. And this guide is not about old hardware.
This guide is only for desktops and for new hardware.