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After eons of use and I am talking 9 years of keeping this system operating, and crunching I am going to upgrade! So the task at hand is how much do I have to spend? And how about some suggestions from my TEAM Mates on IDEAS ! Reasoning is because my XP system ends in 7 days!
Price Up To $1600.oo
Must HAVE: Microsoft OS - Possibly Win 7 Ultimate (suggestions here too)
Must have Microsoft Office suite - I use this selection of programs daily.
Let your ideas flow
Challenge me, or correct me, but don't ask me to die quietly.
…Pursuit is always hard, capturing is really not the focus, it’s the hunt ...
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When you change from XP to something new you might as well think of a Linux Distro. In a few years them guys from Redmond will also pull support for Win7....
I have a good experience with Ubuntu/Lubuntu/Xubuntu, while e.g. Jason swears by Linux Mint with Cinnamon desktop.
One of the advantages is a better use of your CPU, if benchmarks are to be trusted.
One of the disadvantages is the non-support of MicroSoft Office -but all Linux distros have good alternatives for that.
If MS Office is a must have, then take Win7 or Win8. I'm pretty much impartial to which version, though Win8 gives me big troubles using both nVidia and AMD at the same time as of lately.
Then you are left with the choice whether to go for the FM2+ or AM3+ platform. Both will be supported by AMD for at least the next two years years.
As $1600 looks to me like a 'money is no objection', I'd go for a AM3+ mobo with at least three PCIe x16 slots and support for up to and including the latest 220 Watt TDP FX CPUs.
Asrock, Asus, Gigabyte and MSI all have boards that fit the bill and will cost around $140-$200 Euro over here (Euro~Dollar)
If you have a roomy casing, fit in a Corsair H100i closed-loop watercooling ($100) and a FX 8350 ($180). If you have a very roomy casing, think of adding a one, two or three R9 280X cards too, and use watercooling for them as well. Cost: entirely up to you.
Together with 32 GB of RAM ($150) -FX's do not particularly need high speed RAM, so 1600 MHz will do just as well- and a Samsung 840 Evo SSD ($100) you should be in for a major upgrade! (Use your old HDDs for storage).
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I would choose Win 7 over Win 8. If you have to get Win 8 download one of the free Start button replacements so that it looks and works like Win 7 again. The native Win 8 or 8.1 interface is hopeless. I had to Google how to shutdown my new laptop as Win 8.1 was so counter-intuitive.
As for hardware, Dirk is your best man for info as I haven't purchased am AMD cpu since the days of the 1090T hex-cores.
If you have access to a tertiary education course eg doing a certificate of some kind here in Australia you are eligible for a Student discount price on MS Office. Not sure if MicroSoft offer similar deals in USA.
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Same sort of deal here: when you are in education (whether giving or receiving) you can get Windows or MS Office for very friendly prices. Student licences only last a year nowadays though.Originally Posted by vaughan
Win8.1 shouldn't give problems, once you spend a little time to learn the differences. I personally do not miss a 'start' button, being able to shut off the system by moving the mouse to the right side of the screen. My 'Win7' desktop appears when I click the desktop tile. I have no use for Metro Apps but -thanks to Jason- I can shut those full-screen suckers off (Alt-F4) when they appear. It helped having used all pre-release versions of Win8 though...
Last edited by Dirk Broer; 04-02-2014 at 07:33 PM.
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Yes the cost of of Win 7 and Microsoft Office Suite is gonna set me back $800.oo so only half the cost of a new system is actually hardware!
Dirk: now you know the rest of the story. I don't need a super duper GPU, as I would prefer less then the maximum. And yes I will be doing the same HDD to save $$$, plus maybe same PS since its still working as I sit here! I like cores, I like RAM, and I want to at least do Milkyway & other Math intensive projects with my GPU. I will need your wisdom Dirk to source the M/B and select the correct configuration to get me some serious boost in output from this new system, without going over the allotment of cash to make it all work!
Thanks in Advance Dirk, you are the man with great wisdom here on the Team, I know I have to right man for the job!
Challenge me, or correct me, but don't ask me to die quietly.
…Pursuit is always hard, capturing is really not the focus, it’s the hunt ...
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Let me try to help you cut your software budget, so you can spend more on hardware:
From our affiliate Newegg: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit - OEM for $189.99; Windows 8.1 full version for $199.99
From our affiliate Walmart: Office 365 for $149
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And you might be able to cut costs on hardware as well: over here -and probably soon over there with you too- GPU bitcoin/litecoin miners are dumping their hardware because it's no longer profitable with present energy prices.
I've seen Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD7 boards offered -capable of running no less than six GPUs- for as little as 125 Euro, and that's including a Sempron 145. If they dump their GPUs and RAM as well (and no reason why they shouldn't) you might be able to score a HD 7950 and/or 32 GB of RAM at a reduced price too.
Senior Member
Hardware wise I'm not sure i would suggest keeping your current power supply if its been in the system for a long time. It is most likely inefficient and possibly not cut out for extra watts of a system with a nice GPU. Depending on the cost of your electricity an 80 plus gold or platinum may pay for itself in electric savings. (when crunching with a good GPU and CPU). I have recently built a system with a 9590 cpu and a 7870 gpu. I also have an 8350 with 7870s that is currently running linux mint 13 because windows 8.1 rebooted to much. If you don't mind a larger electric bill the 8350 would do some damage on your cpu projects. If your focus is GPU based you may lean more to the FM2 side of things. I like this for a starter kit and add a different main drive and use the seagate as a backup. This plus a video card and other extras may be over the budget if the software prices can't be found lower. The kit is a rough starting place with rebates and promo codes i'm sure we could get it down a bit more.
I'm not sure linux Mint is turning out to be all i hoped for, but I prefer the cinnamon desktop even though its not bug free yet. With your office environment needs windows 7 would be a decent choice unless your already using a windows 8 phone. I'm not sure you need windows 7 ultimate if windows 8.1 is an acceptable choice. I would probably get windows 7 professional to save a bit of money. I have been using Libre office for my needs, but it may fall short of your current needs.
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Windows 7 versions: Know what you need
Same for Windows 8
And for Microsoft Office 2013
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I know I am not the Linux guru like I should be but with all you mentioned Jason1478963, I like your direction. I also like the complete product selection. What is missing is what type of GPU comes with the NewEgg combo bundle? I would prefer to be more then the on board video Processor I currently have but not to thirsty in the Electrons side of paying not too much for electricity but higher prices could be on the forefront soon!
Since my old dilapidated system still runs, I was hoping to use it while I got used to the Linux machine. The course being to acclimate myself to both types of systems and get used to using the Linux machine to run almost all of my operations in the business world that I need to keep in touch and collaborate with everyone else that is dealing with me at this time.
Thanks Dirk, pat yourself on the back I really liked the different directions to go with looking for this new machine!
Challenge me, or correct me, but don't ask me to die quietly.
…Pursuit is always hard, capturing is really not the focus, it’s the hunt ...
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