New system

[didikai]

O.K. my old computer system. is all but obsolete. Technology has left me behind, and I need a new system.
My needs are straightforward. I don't need overkill, but would like decent graphics and audio. My main use is music, some video editing, and of course internet. And I don't need to spend a fortune. Any suggestions pease I gather is is better to build a system rather than buy a package.

[TheSoundtrack]

what music programs and video editing programs will you be using? you will need to determine if you want a Mac or PC. i would prefer a Mac. For the basics that you require, any machine would work such as Mac Book Pro, but i would recommend an iMac 24" or 27". If you are going with a PC, I would recommend any desktop with minimum 4GB RAM and Intel Core 2 Duo processor or better.

If you are using Fruityloops, Acid, or Cool Edit, you will need a PC. If you use LogicPro or ProTools, get a Mac. For video, I would use Final Cut or iMovie on a Mac.

[jman98]

I work in IT for a living on the Unix/Linux side of things. I have no love for Microsoft. I have a Mac at home and one at work and PCs in both places. Having said that, I really cannot recommend a Mac for your needs. There's an old joke about IBM that also applies to Apple - "You may find better elsewhere, but you'll never pay more!" Macs are quite expensive and EVERYTHING is harder on a Mac. There are fewer programs to do everything on a Mac and most of them are written for idiots to use, so they have very few user settable options.

If you're going to be into BluRay, anything with 4 or more cores will work fine. Earlier in the year I built myself a 6 core AMD PC and it's plenty fast for my needs. I just bought a motherboard with on board graphics and it's plenty fast for watching BluRay discs. If you get or build a PC with 4 cores you should not need a dedicated graphics card to deal with BluRay. On board video should be fine.

I think HP makes some nice systems if you want to buy off the shelf. Best Buy sells them and sometimes they offer attractive financing. HP also offers some good online deals if you buy directly from them.

I assume you are not one of those "MUST... HAVE... LAPTOP..." kind of people. I can't really help you if that's what you want. Your needs are easily met by a tower PC and you have the nice ability to add cards to it later if you need to whereas with a laptop you're pretty much stuck with what you buy from the beginning.

[didikai]

Thanks for the replies, which have prompted a further question. I want to stick with a PC tower system. What should be the minimum requirements I should be looking for. I have ben looking at some custom setups which obviously are all in acsending order of features and price

[usually_quiet]

It is hard to make suggestions without knowing which country you live in or having a budget to work with.

Putting together your own system gives you the ability to select a better quality motherboard and VGA card than a pre-built system typically has, and if you are interested in overclocking building your own system is practically a necessity. There aren't many pre-built systems that allow overclocking. However a pre-built system with the same CPU and same the amount of memory will often be less expensive than building your own, and everything will work out of the box. Things do not always go smoothly when you build yourself.

First-time builders can sometimes buy a kit, which will relieve them of some the burden of learning about what goes with what. Picking all the parts oneself requires more knowledge. At least a few hours of your time are required to put everything together and install the OS. It is good to be mechanically inclined and to have taken your current system apart when it comes time to assemble a new system. The instructions that come with the PC case are sometimes not very good.

It is a helpful to look at a computer parts website with detailed user reviews when shopping for parts. Newegg is good if you are in the US or Canada. I generally start by looking at the most popular items in each category. Dozens or hundreds of glowing reviews could be wrong, but not often. Hardware review sites like AnandTech and Tom's Hardware are other good resources to check out.

I built my own modest system two years ago. It didn't take me long to decide on an AMD CPU and motherboard because of price and upgrade potential. I went with onboard video too. Finding a nice conservative-looking reasonably-priced MATX case with room for at least two hard drives took the most time.

[classfour]

If you're really cheap - like me: Order a Dell from the Dell Outlet, making certain it has the OS, dual core or quad core processor, 4 or more gig of RAM, and whatever else you can't install yourself. If you can install hard drives, burners and a video card - you'll save money compared to building a machine and buying the OS separately. For what you'll save on the OS on a custom build, you can buy a nice video card.

I quit building several years ago, when I realized how much I could spend on a custom build myself - when the big guys could build better for less money.

AND: You get a warranty, just don't void it!

[edDV]

...
I want to stick with a PC tower system. What should be the minimum requirements I should be looking for. I have ben looking at some custom setups which obviously are all in acsending order of features and price

The responses above show various strategies.

You need to steer us based on money you want to spend, and the amount of effort or learning curve you expect.

You still need to further clarify the types of video or audio software you use. Some are processor hungry. If you shoot with a camcorder, that alone will set CPU need. For AVCHD editing go i5/i7.

Minimum Intel processor today would be an i3. Moderate would be an i5.

[didikai]

O.K.
I've been looking at this setup:

Intel Core I5 Quad I5-2400 3.1G
Asus P8H67-MLX Motherboard
8G DDR3 Memory
1T Hard Drive
22X DVD player
Gigabit Lan Onboard
8 Channel HD audio on board
Plus case,Power supply keyboard and mouse and speakers.

$600. 00 Cdn

Why is there no Video Card mentioned?
What is Gigabit Lan Onboard?
Are card readers still needed?
Are audio connections still mini jacks? As I have Altec Lansing speakers

Now I know there are a miliion permutations, but I think I am close to getting there after replies to this setup

[usually_quiet]

O.K.
I've been looking at this setup:

Intel Core I5 Quad I5-2400 3.1G
Asus P8H67-MLX Motherboard
8G DDR3 Memory
1T Hard Drive
22X DVD player
Gigabit Lan Onboard
8 Channel HD audio on board
Plus case,Power supply keyboard and mouse and speakers.

$600. 00 Cdn

Why is there no Video Card mentioned?
What is Gigabit Lan Onboard?
Are card readers still needed?
Are audio connections still mini jacks? As I have Altec Lansing speakers

Now I know there are a miliion permutations, but I think I am close to getting there after replies to this setup

That CPU is a Sandy Bridge. It includes a GPU and provides on-board video (DVI-D and VGA) in conjunction with the H67 chipset on the motherboard, hence a video card is optional. The motherboard provides stereo/2.1 sound via a mini-jack that will work with standard PC speakers. 8-channel analog audio is available using the front headphone port in addition to the 3 audio ports on the backplane. There is no HDMI port and no S/PDIF connection to use with a receiver.

A Gigabit Lan ethernet port allows data transfer speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps. Card readers are good if you have cameras that use memory cards.

[Edit] This is a budget motherboard. Since the PSU isn't specified, it is probably supplied with the case and not very good. It appears you will need to buy the OS yourself, since none is mentioned. To use the memory provided, you will need a 64-bit version of Windows 7. It would be good to get a second SATA hard drive (500GB or less) for the boot drive and just use the 1TB drive for storage. Larger drives are slower to boot and may be less reliable. I have seen more reported failures with drives larger than 500GB.

[didikai]

Suggestions so far are really appreciated. One last question. Would anyone suggest alternative components that may be better than those I've listed. I know this will push the price up. I won't be doing any major video or audio projects, so anything that is suitable for home use would be ample

[redwudz]

I use a small, fast boot drive. I use Western Digital 150GB 10,000 RPM Raptor drives at present. Plenty big enough for a W7 boot drive and much faster for boot compared to a regular 7200 RPM drive. A SSD drive would be optional for boot, but they are still fairly expensive for 120GB versions. I wouldn't use any smaller of a boot drive. I use two larger HDDs for storage and editing/encoding. 500GB - 1000GB. Presently using Samsung hard drives. The WD black series is nice, but more expensive.

Most times, I use two optical drives, a BD ROM or BD burner and a DVD burner. I have Sony, Pioneer and LG BD drives. They all work fine. For DVD drives, I'm using Samsung at present. Two drives makes it easier to back up discs. If you don't need a BD drive, then two DVD burners work well.

Don't scrimp on a power supply. ~500 - 600W is plenty, but get a name brand PS. A cheap PS can destroy a PC if it fails. I use mostly Thermaltake, but Antec and several other companies make quiet, dependable PSs.

Card readers mostly use 3.5" drive bays on the case. Easy to install and they just plug into the MB USB ports.

If I'm using a cheaper case, I usually replace the case fans as they are often cheap sleeve bearing types that can be noisy. But that can be done later if needed.

Other than the PS and the boot drive, and maybe the extra hard drives, most bare bones setups are OK.

[Nelson37]

Do NOT like Asus mobos. I buy Gigabyte exclusively.

WD Caviar Black Hard Drives. Maybe 10 bucks more. Worth it.

Nobody has mentioned it and I don't know where you live but a good quality surge protector is essential. APC, American Power Conversions. Many companies have guarantees. I have seen the checks from APC, never, EVER from anybody else. A carpet spark can destroy PC components. APC will pay off on a direct lightning strike, I know this not from advertising but repeated professional experience.

Second and EMPHASIZE the need for quality power supply. You don't need 1000 watts, but do not buy a cheap POS. Go to a local store and pick up several boxes. You can tell the difference immediately, simply by weight.

Four memory slots is an absolute minimum. 2-slot board is an immediate reject.

[usually_quiet]

Suggestions so far are really appreciated. One last question. Would anyone suggest alternative components that may be better than those I've listed. I know this will push the price up. I won't be doing any major video or audio projects, so anything that is suitable for home use would be ample

The Asus MATX board you asked about may be perfectly fine for you, depending on the type and number connection you need to have. It has fewer connections on the back plane than either of the ones below. It also has some electrolytic capacitors, while the two below have all solid polymer capacitors, which offer greater reliability. These also offer some USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s connections

This is an example of a mid-level Socket LGA 1155 Intel H67 ATX Mother Board with on-board video
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128475

This looks like a good mid-level LGA 1155 Socket Intel Z68 ATX Mother Board with on-board video
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498

If you want a compact system there is nothing wrong with an MATX motherboard. They are sometimes a little less expensive than a full ATX motherboard, but only have 3-4 expansion slots. I'm in the minority here, because my main system is an MATX build. Most here who have built their own system want an ATX board for their main computer and would only consider an MATX board for an HTPC.

You haven't mentioned needing to re-use any of your old drives or peripherals. If you want to start fresh, that makes things easier. Many of the newer motherboards don't have connectors for floppy or PATA drives. Also, Windows 7 drivers were not released for many older peripherals and add-on cards.

Some people want or need a discrete video card, but on board video has improved so much that many find they can get along fine without one.

[didikai]

Thank you all for the advice and suggestions. I now know what I will buy.

[jman98]

If it's not too late, I'd like to add a very strong agreement with Nelson37's excellent advice. In particular I recommend getting a UPS. I live in area with unreliable power. I am allowed to work from home sometimes with my job (I'm an IT guy) and sadly I've been at home several times and had the UPS kick in and keep my computer running fine during a very brief power loss. Unreliable power is not good for your PC and in hindsight I'm now beginning to suspect that some weird hard drive failures I've consistently had in the house may have been caused by damage done by power outages.