Budget Media Desktop

[Machiavegli]

My ex-wife has asked me to build her an inexpensive new computer. She does a lot of surfing and playing simple games which aren't going to tax the system much (like "Bejeweled.") The important task, which she is having problems with now, is streaming: she wants to watch hi-def (1080) YouTube videos and HD Netflix streaming without GPU/CPU-caused problems. Overclocking is out, or at least we want the computer to perform its assigned tasks without needing to be overclocked. I prefer a single video card to linked SLI/Crossfile GPUs because there's less to go wrong. There won't be any fancy sound system so stereo is adequate. Suggestions and recommendations?

 

[ElFenix]

no graphics card needed, intel integrated and AMD integrated can handle that sort of work load just fine. haswell celeron NUC would be fine.

what's her current computer?

 

[frozentundra123456]

Tell her its not your problem anymore?

Seriously though, I agree with elfenix, almost any full power CPU with a decent igp should handle it. Is she looking for a laptop or desktop? My wife has a cheap HP laptop with a mobile i3 and it handles YouTube fine. We don't have Netflix. Even for a desktop, a prebuilt might be the best choice, especially of you don't already have a copy of the OS. Maybe check dell or Lenovo outlets, or get something on sale at a big box store like staples or office Max.

 

[Machiavegli]

She has a MSI 890-GXM-65 mobo with a Athlon II x445 CPU. The AMD integrated GPU is a HD4290. It has 2 gigs of memory and two standard hard drives. Not much, but it should be able to play videos I would think. OTOH, it looks like her OS drive was dying. I've replaced it and upgraded from XP to Win7, and we'll see if that does the trick.

 

[sm625]

I would buy a video card. It doesnt have to be fancy. Like a GT610. And if you love her you'll at put her OS on at least a cheapo 40GB SSD.

 

[Machiavegli]

I would buy a video card. It doesnt have to be fancy. Like a GT610. And if you love her you'll at put her OS on at least a cheapo 40GB SSD.

Would the SSD actually speed up the video processing? And I could buy her a video card, but she's also short on memory and her CPU is kinda weak; would either of these bottleneck the video card?

 

[tsupersonic]

Would the SSD actually speed up the video processing? And I could buy her a video card, but she's also short on memory and her CPU is kinda weak; would either of these bottleneck the video card?

The SSD itself wouldn't speed up video processing. You know how the saying goes, "the slowest component in any modern computer is the spinning mechanical drive." I would get her a cheap SSD for a boot drive, then have a data drive for all the documents, media, etc. You can also upgrade her to 4 or 8 GB, which should be cheap (4 GB should be ~$45). Get her a cheap video card too (like anything less than $50).

If you're going with a new computer - Any of the latest Intel CPU's with HD2000+ can handle HD videos just fine. I'm sure some of the older Intel GPU's are capable, just don't have any to confirm at the moment. I've had experiences with Intel HD 2000, 2500, 3000, 4000, 4400, Iris. The AMD APU's should be more than capable also. Just remember, with integrated graphics, it steals from system memory, so it's nicer to have 4/8 GB.

 

[gmaster456]

I would just get a cheap prebuilt and be done with it for a build like that. There isn't much need for a dedicated GPU and pretty much anything you buy will work just fine. And AMD and Intels newer IGPs are perfectly suited for those kinds of tasks. An Ivy Bridge or Haswell i3 machine would be perfect.

 

[Machiavegli]

OK thanks guys! :biggrin:

 

[Throckmorton]

Get something simple from Dell with a quad core i5 CPU. The 660SL desktops are nice and small. I have one that I use for photo editing and also have one at the office. The small size is a huge benefit

Edit: Nevermind, they downgraded the small ones to dual core only and only 4gb RAM

 

[Machiavegli]

Now that my ex has a new hard drive up and running with Windows 7, her computer is handling videos pretty well. Her old system drive was the problem. One question: she has two sticks of 1-gig memory. I have one stick of 4-gig memory from a pair where the partner stick died. Would she be better off if I put in the one stick of 4-gig memory in addition to, or in exchange for, the two 1-gig sticks? If so, which one? (I know buying two 2-gig sticks would be better, but the computer is running well enough that I'm just looking at no-cost swap-outs.)

 

[xgsound]

MSI shows that board with 4 DDR3 memory slots, so add it in (if 64 bit) and see. You may lose dual memory speed, but I would want to try it, especially for free.

The passmark cpu rating is 2500+ and should be plenty. That leaves a video card or SSD for upgrading. We are talking about video here so a video card will undoubtedly give the biggest improvement. Even a $30 discrete card should do 1080 video well.

If you do get an SSD, be sure it works with AMD chipsets. I've added an SSD ( $150 240 GB) to my old (2006) AMD AM2 Nforce chipset desktop with such great speedup for everything that I got one for our newer laptop also. Those results were even better since it had AHCI in bios! I got the intel 530 to be sure to work with AMD/ nvidia chipsets.

Jim

 

[Machiavegli]

MSI shows that board with 4 DDR3 memory slots, so add it in (if 64 bit) and see. You may lose dual memory speed, but I would want to try it, especially for free.

The passmark cpu rating is 2500+ and should be plenty. That leaves a video card or SSD for upgrading. We are talking about video here so a video card will undoubtedly give the biggest improvement. Even a $30 discrete card should do 1080 video well.

If you do get an SSD, be sure it works with AMD chipsets. I've added an SSD ( $150 240 GB) to my old (2006) AMD AM2 Nforce chipset desktop with such great speedup for everything that I got one for our newer laptop also. Those results were even better since it had AHCI in bios! I got the intel 530 to be sure to work with AMD/ nvidia chipsets.

Jim

Yes, it's 64-bit. As someone mentioned above, onboard video needs to use the system memory, so it would seem that with Win 7 installed (love it but it's a hog), having more than 2 gigs of memory could outstrip the benefits of dual-channel. I was also thinking of installing an AMD video card which could Crossfire with the onboard video, but the only compatible one that I can find new as opposed to refurb is the 5450, which is so weak that I doubt it would help much. Thanks!