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Advice on a new desktop - narrowed down to the following 3

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Deal Addict
Apr 2, 2006
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Advice on a new desktop - narrowed down to the following 3

Hi,

I am considering buying a pre-built desktop to replace my old PC with Intel Q6600 that's still running Vista. I am not a gamer but I am fed up with how slow the PC is, especially at start-up. I've defragmented and cleaned up the registry but no real significant improvement so I figured that it's time for a new PC.

These are the ones I am considering:
1. HP Pavilion 500 Desktop Computer (Intel Core i5-4570 / 1TB HDD / 8GB RAM / Windows 8) for $679.99
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/hew ... 9cb11aen02

2.ASUS M51 Desktop PC (AMD FX-8300/1TB HDD/8GB RAM/Windows 8) With Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag DLC $709.99 (currently on sale, regular price $799.99)
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-ca/product/ ... 59f71ben02

- has AC for WIFI but it I will be using ethernet
- 500W power

3. Acer Aspire ATC-605 Desktop PC (Intel Core i5-4440 / 1TB HDD / 8GB RAM / Windows 8) $629.99
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/ ... 5ba4ecen02

I have never built my own computer but have added cards / memory etc. I would consider a custom built desktop, but will probably just pay the extra to have it assembled. In this case, what would you considered as the best option?

I prefer to have a PC with at least 2 USB 3.0 ports on the front and all 3 of these computers do. The only component I may add would be a big enough SSD to run the OS and programs. Would the 300W power supply be enough to do that?

Many thanks as always!
15 replies
Deal Guru
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Mar 13, 2004
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Out of those I would only consider the Asus since they tend to be better quality however I generally try to avoid FutureShop or any big store like that. I would just build my own system.

However your case is different. Check these guys out - http://pc.ncix.com/ncixpc_new/
They are very good and you can customize your system as you like.
Deal Expert
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Oct 13, 2002
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Just curious ... How much RAM do you have on your Q6600 system ?

What are you planning to run on the new system ?
Deal Guru
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Also I would get something more then a 300watt PSU. I would be getting a good quality 500Watt PSU, Corsair is my personal fav. Also defiantly get an SSD it will make a bid difference in terms of speed.
Jr. Member
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Aug 14, 2010
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A Q6600 is not slow by any mean. I would suggest to do a clean windows install, maybe upgrade your ram/ buy a ssd.
If you are not gaming ( no more than low end video cards, 300w is sufficient).
Of course after a while, maybe the upgrade bug may have bitten you.... :)
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Feb 18, 2007
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i would not buy any of those. the asus is the close but i wouldn't pay that much for a amd CPU with 4 cores even though it lies and says 8 since 4 of those are for the gpu and you already get a dedicated card with it and i don't see much of a benefit if they can get both the 4 cores running with the dedicated gpu.

You could try and add memory/ssd to your current comp which should improve performance and if you don't want to do that then yea having one built to order would be a good idea and you could probably get it near for what these are selling at. just don't go by the menu options(usually doesn't have sales or the lowest sales) for building a computer at ncix but chose your own parts from sales and use part picker as a guideline.

If you build one what specs would you want ? amd or intel? what type video card? for a non gamer it means you can get one usually cheaper so you could get one under what those sell for depending on how high you want the specs to be.
Poor Grammar and being long winded don't fit well together, Oh well.
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Jul 27, 2009
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Buy a SSD for your OS and re-install with Windows 8 64bit and see how that does for you. If you still think it's slow you can still upgrade it by keeping the SSD and Windows 8. Do not waste money on more Ram but if you're happy with the SSD and Windows 8 on the Q6600 build than upgrade it if you have only 2GB.
Deal Addict
Apr 2, 2006
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willy wrote: Just curious ... How much RAM do you have on your Q6600 system ?

What are you planning to run on the new system ?
Thank you for all the replies!

It was an already assembled Acer setup from FS from the Vista era. It only has a 3GB memory. I don't have the manual with me anymore so I don't know how much more I can upgrade the memory and what type the motherboard accepts and wether there is space/enough power supply to put in an SSD to run the OS. I know SSD and more memory can substantially improve the performance, just not sure if I can do it to this computer. think I will open it up is weekend to investigate. My guess is that a 240GB SSD ($139.99 right now at newegg.ca) and 8GB RAM (up to $100?) if I can use that much will cost about $250 after taxes, although not sure if I will have to upgrade my power supply?

Another upgrade I would like although I don't need is USB3 ports. Are these upgradable or do I need a new motherboard and case?

I don't game anymore and will mainly be using it for Office documents, Internet surfing sometimes streaming TV/movies.

@sickcars, I will try parts picker to see what an equivalent system will cost. I am in Calgary so it may be cheaper for me to go with Memory Express instead of NCIX if I PM? I guess I save on a new keyboard and mouse since my current ones work just fine and more environmentally friendly to not get what I don't need from the big box stores.

@Arkeron, Q6600 isn't really that bad looking at cpuboss comparison. Perhaps the suggested SSD/memory +/- power supply upgrade will do if this thing is upgradable.

@Keas, I am not sure what I want but If I buy/build one I would prefer something future-proof, and from what I have read equivalent Intel is generally faster than AMD for single core operations, even though Intel costs more, I think an i5 would be reasonable? As I don't game or do anything video intensive I don't think I will need a dedicated GPU?

@LEXX911, not sure if running Vista is part of the problem but if I were to upgrade the OS, you are suggesting 8/8.1 over 7?

Thank you again!
Deal Addict
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Jul 27, 2009
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You cannot put a DDR3 ram into your old build that's probably support DDR2 so don't waste your money on old ram. SSD doesn't take any extra power.
Deal Addict
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LEXX911 wrote: You cannot put a DDR3 ram into your old build that's probably support DDR2 so don't waste your money on old ram. SSD doesn't take any extra power.
So if it's DDR2 I shouldn't upgrade the memory even if I can find DDR2 RAM?
Deal Guru
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LEXX911 wrote: Buy a SSD for your OS and re-install with Windows 8 64bit and see how that does for you. If you still think it's slow you can still upgrade it by keeping the SSD and Windows 8. Do not waste money on more Ram but if you're happy with the SSD and Windows 8 on the Q6600 build than upgrade it if you have only 2GB.
If his motherboard only supports Sata1 instead of Sata2 then he will not see much improvement in terms of performance.
Also I recommend a Samsung Pro SSD they are very good and fast if your computer supports sata2 or higher.
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crustydragon wrote: So if it's DDR2 I shouldn't upgrade the memory even if I can find DDR2 RAM?
Like I said just upgrade to a SSD and Windows 8 first and go from there. There's no need to invest in a DDR2 ram right away when you might change your mind into upgrading from Q6600 if you're not happy with the speed still. That way you can still keep the SSD and Windows 8 for your upgrade. What motherboard are you using and like sickcars said it might not improve dramatically if it does not support a proper sata but I believe most Intel 775 board should support SATA 3Gb/s.

Windows 8 works really well on older machine. It boot up faster than Windows Vista or 7 with a SSD. Apps will load faster and the same with a SSD in Windows 7 or Windows 8. Windows 8 will just boot up faster. Another thing to try is type MSCONFIG in RUN and DISABLE a whole bunch of startup programs that's not needed in your Vista and see how that goes.
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Feb 15, 2008
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sickcars wrote: If his motherboard only supports Sata1 instead of Sata2 then he will not see much improvement in terms of performance.
This isn't really true. The interface speed really doesn't matter for a SSD, the key with SSDs is random I/O performance. Very rarely do SSDs, even with SATA-3 controllers, saturate even the bandwidth of a SATA-1 interface. Random I/O is hideously slow on a mechanical HDD.
Also I recommend a Samsung Pro SSD they are very good and fast if your computer supports sata2 or higher.
One of the most expensive options possible, and I haven't seen any meaningful difference between my Intel 330, and my Samsung 840 Pro.

A SSD is a pretty low to no-risk thing to try on an existing machine before building something new. As you can always transfer it over. $150 gets you a 240gb model which seems to be pretty much what people are doing these days. Probably can do 128gb in a pinch, but the costs have really come down dramatically.
TodayHello wrote: ...The Banks are smarter than you - they have floors full of people whose job it is to read Mark77 posts...
Deal Addict
Apr 2, 2006
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LEXX911 wrote: Like I said just upgrade to a SSD and Windows 8 first and go from there. There's no need to invest in a DDR2 ram right away when you might change your mind into upgrading from Q6600 if you're not happy with the speed still. That way you can still keep the SSD and Windows 8 for your upgrade. What motherboard are you using and like sickcars said it might not improve dramatically if it does not support a proper sata but I believe most Intel 775 board should support SATA 3Gb/s.

Windows 8 works really well on older machine. It boot up faster than Windows Vista or 7 with a SSD. Apps will load faster and the same with a SSD in Windows 7 or Windows 8. Windows 8 will just boot up faster. Another thing to try is type MSCONFIG in RUN and DISABLE a whole bunch of startup programs that's not needed in your Vista and see how that goes.
It's an Acer am5620-e5301a

I can't find the exact specs anymore but I found this page online that mentions
1. 32 bit OS (I believe this is what I have) can only address 3-3.5GG memory so adding more RAM won't help
2. It looks like SATA2 but I am not sure if I have a spare SATA connector until I open the computer this weekend

http://www.crucial.com/upgrade/Acer-mem ... rades.html

If I upgrade the OS to 8/8.1, do I have to worry about potentially incompatible drivers?

Thanks again.
Deal Addict
Apr 2, 2006
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Mark77 wrote: This isn't really true. The interface speed really doesn't matter for a SSD, the key with SSDs is random I/O performance. Very rarely do SSDs, even with SATA-3 controllers, saturate even the bandwidth of a SATA-1 interface. Random I/O is hideously slow on a mechanical HDD.

One of the most expensive options possible, and I haven't seen any meaningful difference between my Intel 330, and my Samsung 840 Pro.

A SSD is a pretty low to no-risk thing to try on an existing machine before building something new. As you can always transfer it over. $150 gets you a 240gb model which seems to be pretty much what people are doing these days. Probably can do 128gb in a pinch, but the costs have really come down dramatically.
I don't have the original OS CDs as Vista came pre-installed. If I can add an SSD (spare SATA available), is there software out there that can migrate just the OS or should I just get Windows 8 like LEXX911 suggested and do a fresh install on the SSD? Will driver compatibility be a problem? Can I just leave my data including the Vista OS on my existing HD if it's no longer the boot drive?

Thanks!
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Your Acer am5620-e5301a said to support up to 8GB so that's mean 2x4 or not sure if you can go 4x2 and they can be cheap or expensive on ebay. Not sure if there is an upgradeable version of Windows 8 or you have to buy the full version to upgrade and 8.1 is a free upgrade from Windows 8. Check your Control Panel>System to see if it's 32 or 64 bit and how much ram is in your machine. If it's 32 bit it's no point of wasting on more ram so if you want to upgrade the ram but stay with your old setup than get Windows 7 or 8 64bit and upgrade your ram or else just get a new computer and save yourself the headache with wasting money on the old ram that might not be as fast as you wanted. But a SSD with Windows 8 will speed up your boot time and programs. If you think about staying with the old machine with the new SSD than upgrade it to 4GB if it's only have 2 GB at the moment. Try to get a much mileage as possible out of that computer and save yourself some money if you don't do any gaming.

You can reinstall Vista downloaded from microsoft or torrent and check your computer case if the serial number of vista is written down somewhere. You are better off installing a clean new OS on a SSD. You don't want to transterred a old OS that could be full of junks, virus and adwares. Driver compatibility won't be a problem with Windows 8 since it's an Intel chipset. But installing an adapter like USB 3 you will need a proper driver that is not supported from Microsoft. But remember to install Intel chipset from Intel site after installing Windows 8 or 7.

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