SOLVED Advice On Middle Ground Desktop

[jaybo]

Asking advice on purchasing a new Desktop Pc. I have never owned anything but HP . I don`t really understand the difference between SSD and manual HD`s. I see the size is very different in advertisements. I always had 1TB which is sufficient for my use. I am eyeing the HP Pavilion . I don`t understand the i3.i5, or higher systems, Also please advise choices or places to buy. I just do average stuff, email surfing following Grand kids.....Middle of the road sorta...Thanks for any and all reply's and or advice...Jim

 

[Tim Locke]

If you are going to stay with Intel CPUs then the I5 is probably the sweet spot. Someone else will have to comment on AMD.

An SSD of 512GB makes for a good main drive with possibly a 2 or 4 TB HDD connected via USB 3 for backups.
Windows 10 really doesn't work well in less than 8Gb memory but memory is cheap so 16Gb is better.
As you don't say you are a gamer then whatever video comes with the machine is probably fine.

My latest PC, this spring is an ACER a reputable brand that you don't hear much about but they are made well.
Mine came with a I5 8GB memory and a 512GB SSD. I added another 8Gb of memory and a 1TB SSD. I already had a suitable external disk for backup.

 

[jaybo]

If you are going to stay with Intel CPUs then the I5 is probably the sweet spot. Someone else will have to comment on AMD.

An SSD of 512GB makes for a good main drive with possibly a 2 or 4 TB HDD connected via USB 3 for backups.
Windows 10 really doesn't work well in less than 8Gb memory but memory is cheap so 16Gb is better.
As you don't say you are a gamer then whatever video comes with the machine is probably fine.

My latest PC, this spring is an ACER a reputable brand that you don't hear much about but they are made well.
Mine came with a I5 8GB memory and a 512GB SSD. I added another 8Gb of memory and a 1TB SSD. I already had a suitable external disk for backup.

Thanks for your reply
I will look over the Acer...

 

[Grizzly]

Don't forget Dell . They might have something you like.

 

[Wolfie]

Someone else will have to comment on AMD

What Tim means is that AMD do a great line in Ryzen CPU/APU's these days and should also be considered as they have a good upgrade path!. The AM4 platform is pretty flexible when compared against that of Intel!.

https://www.amd.com/en/ryzen

The AM4 platform is not compatible with Intel and requires DDR4 RAM!.

 

[jaybo]

Don't forget Dell . They might have something you like.

I have never had a Dell. Are there any huge learning curves using A dell $ I see they are very competitive in pricing. Thanks

 

[jaybo]

What Tim means is that AMD do a great line in Ryzen CPU/APU's these days and should also be considered as they have a good upgrade path!. The AM4 platform is pretty flexible when compared against that of Intel!.

https://www.amd.com/en/ryzen

The AM4 platform is not compatible with Intel and requires DDR4 RAM!.

This old turkey has AMA. It has served me well...I will look and see if I can decide.... Thanks...Jim

 

[jaybo]

Thanks to all...Much appreciated...God`s Grace To All...Jim

 

[Tim Locke]

I know people with Dell and they are generally happy with them. Sometimes there have been problems with device drivers after a Windows release but they are quickly fixed.

Many people swear by the AMD processor ranges, Ryzen, which come in several speeds and costs I have never owned one hence why I did not comment.

DDR4 ram is the modern standard for fast PCs.

 

[Bighorn]

It doesn't make a lot of difference on Notebooks, they all pretty much do the same things. The type of RAM isn't an issue as the motherboard/CPU combination dictates that unless buying with the minimum and wanting to upgrade later. I like to maximize RAM on Notebooks but if possible get 8GB or 16GB, some older ones didn't do more than 4GB, I have 2 I have rehabbed into usable machines.

 

[jaybo]

Would like opinions on this one, Pro`s and con`s...Thanks for everyone`s help This is at the HP store, I think

 

[jaybo]

It doesn't make a lot of difference on Notebooks, they all pretty much do the same things. The type of RAM isn't an issue as the motherboard/CPU combination dictates that unless buying with the minimum and wanting to upgrade later. I like to maximize RAM on Notebooks but if possible get 8GB or 16GB, some older ones didn't do more than 4GB, I have 2 I have rehabbed into usable machines.

Thank you

 

[jaybo]

Would like opinions on this one, Pro`s and con`s...Thanks for everyone`s help This is at the HP store, I think

oops,,,This one https://store.hp.com/us/en/vwa/amd-desktops/proc=AMD

 

[Tim Locke]

MY question would be: Is the SSD the C: drive with the OS and the big spinner a data drive. That is the way I would do it but if you were not careful you could run out of space on the SSD. But that is easy...just move the downloads and documents folders onto the big drive. You might be surprised as to how fast it is when you get it!

Looks like a very nice machine to me, Here in Canada that would probably be over $1000.

 

[jaybo]

MY question would be: Is the SSD the C: drive with the OS and the big spinner a data drive. That is the way I would do it but if you were not careful you could run out of space on the SSD. But that is easy...just move the downloads and documents folders onto the big drive. You might be surprised as to how fast it is when you get it!

Looks like a very nice machine to me, Here in Canada that would probably be over $1000.

Good point, I will check into which is which. Don`t really know how to be sure, Ask HP tech support, i suppose....Thanks

 

[Grizzly]

256GB for the system drive is plenty. If you move the document, picture folders etc to the storage drive, you get even more free space.
On my laptops I have a system partition and a data partition (this could apply to separate drives as well). My system partition is only 50GB containing Windows 10 May 2020 update and I have still plenty of space left (about half). All my documents, pictures, music etc are on a different partition and/or drive like it was already suggested.

However and I cannot stress it enough, regular backups of the system drive are very important. I myself do a system backup every time MS wants to shove a new update on the users.

 

[bassfisher6522]

My question is; what budget do you have in mind. For an OEM it can make all the difference in performance no matter what the brand.

 

[Wolfie]

Hi Jim,

which particular model are you talking about as there are many listed at the link you posted?.

https://store.hp.com/us/en/vwa/amd-desktops/proc=AMD

Several of them have Rzyen APU's so if you are not a triple A gamer, integrated graphics will be fine for you!.

The HP Pavilion Desktop TP01-0165z PC has a Ryzen 5 3400G APU and 16GB RAM which isn't bad for the price!. The storage isn't bad either!.

 

[jaybo]

Hi Jim,

which particular model are you talking about as there are many listed at the link you posted?.

https://store.hp.com/us/en/vwa/amd-desktops/proc=AMD

Several of them have Rzyen APU's so if you are not a triple A gamer, integrated graphics will be fine for you!.

The HP Pavilion Desktop TP01-0165z PC has a Ryzen 5 3400G APU and 16GB RAM which isn't bad for the price!. The storage isn't bad either!.

View attachment 12524

Yes, This is the one I was looking at.... Thanks

 

[jaybo]

What Tim means is that AMD do a great line in Ryzen CPU/APU's these days and should also be considered as they have a good upgrade path!. The AM4 platform is pretty flexible when compared against that of Intel!.

https://www.amd.com/en/ryzen

The AM4 platform is not compatible with Intel and requires DDR4 RAM!.

Thanks...