{"id":818,"date":"2014-02-21T22:35:36","date_gmt":"2014-02-22T03:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/blog\/?p=818"},"modified":"2014-11-27T21:22:43","modified_gmt":"2014-11-28T02:22:43","slug":"hi-end-desktop-pc-comparisons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/blog\/hi-end-desktop-pc-comparisons\/","title":{"rendered":"Hi-End Desktop PC Comparisons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"#table_he_pc_comp\">click to go directly to comparison table<\/a> Loading <span id=\"he_count1\">&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n<!-- \/cygdrive\/c\/a_no_backup\/dl\/M_M\/usb_drive_copy\/tech\/blog\/post.html --><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/js\/hiend_pc.js\" defer=\"defer\"><\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/js\/jquery\/jquery-1.10.0.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/js\/jquery\/jquery-ui-1.10.3\/ui\/jquery-ui.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<style><!--\n#page { max-width: 1200px; }\n#he_pc_comp tr td { text-align: center; }\n.row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header { background-color: #202020; }\n#he_pc_comp th { line-height: 1; }\n.hilit_bg { color: black; background-color: yellow; }\n.hilit { color: yellow; }\n.hedt\n        { color: #ff8000; }\n.none {}\n--><\/style>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" media=\"all\">@import url(https:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/css\/pc_comp_lib.css);<\/style>\n<p>In Jan 2014, we&#8217;re talking 4g Intel i7 processor (or equivalent AMD processor, but probably not). These CPUs should last 6-8 years (so until 2018-2020) and i would not expect to reach that grind-to-a-halt state until 8-10 years (2022).<\/p>\n<p>With Intel Core i7, you want to watch the socket. More likely to get an upgrade processor in the future that fits that socket, rather than a whole new mother board.<\/p>\n<p>Today 4GB is enuf to run widows 7 adequately. It doubles every 2 years, so<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2014: 4GB<\/li>\n<li>2016: 8GB<\/li>\n<li>2018: 16GB<\/li>\n<li>2020: 32GB<\/li>\n<li>2022: 64GB<\/li>\n<li>2024: 128GB<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You dont need all that memory now, but you want to be able to upgade to it, so you want the motherboard and chipset to support it.<\/p>\n<p>Also you want to make sure your memory is taking advantage of <b>dual channel<\/b>, then means 2 (or 4) memory cards, 1 (or 2) in each channel.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re going hi-end, you want a large SSD. 256GB are available, even 512GB. I even saw one ~700GB.  And now 1TB.<\/p>\n<p>For flexibility, get 2 x 5.25inch bays. That way you dont have to swap disks if you&#8217;re copying. Many PCs these days come with only DVD-writers, <i>maybe<\/i> blu-ray reader-only. Eventually, you are probably going to want a blu-ray reader, and\/or writer. This is a $100-$200 upgrade plus installation now. If you want to watch blu-ray movies now, the upgrade has to be now. If you want to wait, the upgrade will be $50-$100 plus installation.<\/p>\n<p>USB 3.0 is getting more popular. Almost everything in existance is USB 2.0 right now. So get USB 3.0. At least 4 ports. There&#8217;s a faster version of 3.0 coming out very soon (out already? Jan 2014?), but even today&#8217;s USB 3.0 is 10x USB 2.0.<\/p>\n<p>You want *ALL* SATA III ports, no SATA II.<\/p>\n<p>The 11 Places I shop:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>TigerDirect<\/li>\n<li>newegg<\/li>\n<li>Best Buy<\/li>\n<li>Walmart<\/li>\n<li>Staples<\/li>\n<li>OfficMax<\/li>\n<li>OfficeDepot<\/li>\n<li>JR.com<\/li>\n<li>CDW<\/li>\n<li>overstock.com<\/li>\n<li>Beach Audio<\/li>\n<li>b h photo video?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are the choices available from different vendors in this price range for this performance. Note date of price check for each PC listed.<\/p>\n<p id=\"he_before_table\">\nTable Notes:\n<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table_he_pc_comp\"><\/a><br \/>\nLoading <span id=\"he_count2\">&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<table id=\"he_pc_comp\">\n<tbody>\n<tr class=\"row_\">\n<th>hilit<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_\">\n<th>choice number<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_\">\n<th>as_of<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_2\">\n<th>price<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_2\">\n<th>shipping<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_3\">\n<th>product<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_4\">\n<th>vendor<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_5\">\n<th>OS (home\/pro 32\/64bit)<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>processor<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>chipset<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>Motherboard<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<tbody class=\"memory_memory_memory_memory_memory_memory_memory_memory_\">\n<tr class=\"row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header\">\n<th>memory<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>memory pre nstalled<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>max memory<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>mem type, speed<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>mem slots total<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<tbody class=\"disk_disk_disk_disk_disk_disk_disk_disk_disk_disk_disk_disk_\">\n<tr class=\"row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header\">\n<th>disk<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>disk size<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>disk rpm<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>disk SATA speed (II 3Gb\/s, III 6Gb\/s<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>disk SSD<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>disk 3.5 bays total<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>disk 2.5 bays total<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<tbody class=\"optical_optical_optical_optical_optical_optical_optical_optical_optical_optical_optical_\">\n<tr class=\"row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header\">\n<th>optical drive \/ 5.25 bays<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>optical drive (blu-ray rd\/wr? \/ dvd-wr?)<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>5.25 bays total<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<tbody class=\"usb_3_0___usb_3_0___usb_3_0___usb_3_0___usb_3_0___usb_3_0___usb_3_0___usb_3_0___\">\n<tr class=\"row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header\">\n<th>usb 3.0<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>usb 3.0 &#8211; front<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>usb 3.0 &#8211; rear<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>usb 3.0 &#8211; top<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<tbody class=\"usb_2_0___usb_2_0___usb_2_0___usb_2_0___usb_2_0___usb_2_0___usb_2_0___usb_2_0___\">\n<tr class=\"row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header\">\n<th>usb 2.0<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>usb 2.0 &#8211; front<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>usb 2.0 &#8211; rear<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>usb 2.0 &#8211; top<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<tbody class=\"ports_slots_net_power_ports_slots_net_power_ports_slots_net_power_ports_slots_net_power_\">\n<tr class=\"row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header_row_header\">\n<th>ports slots net power<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>hdmi<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>dvi<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>pci slots<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>sata ports<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>Ethernet RJ45 100Mbps or Gigabit 1000Mbps<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>power supply<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>Warranty<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row_row_row_row_row_row_row_\">\n<th>Small Form Factor (SFF)?<\/th>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Loading <span id=\"he_count3\">&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_Intel_chipsets\">List of Intel Chipsets<\/a> &lt;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_Intel_chipsets\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_Intel_chipsets<\/a>&gt;<\/p>\n<h1>Notes<\/h1>\n<ul id=\"he_tbl_notes\"><\/ul>\n<h1>Processor<\/h1>\n<p>The difference between 3rd Generation and 2nd Generation intel processors is not that great:<br \/>\nEG,<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Feature<\/th>\n<th>2nd Generation<\/th>\n<th>3rd Generation<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Graphics<\/th>\n<td>HD 2000<\/td>\n<td>HD 2500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Graphics<\/th>\n<td>&#8211;<\/td>\n<td>HD 4000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Mem Speed<\/th>\n<td>1333MHz<\/td>\n<td>1600MHz 20% faster<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h1>Store Notes<\/h1>\n<p>2\/12\/2014: BestBuy had no 4G Core i7 by HP (they had 3G Core i7, 4g Core i5, and Xeon, but not 4G Core i7)<\/p>\n<h1>Example Decision :<\/h1>\n<p>tbd<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"2\">proc<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>item plce<\/td>\n<td>price + shipping note shipping time<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h1>Product variations :<\/h1>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>prod id<\/th>\n<th>processor<\/th>\n<th>memory<\/th>\n<th>form factor<\/th>\n<th>os<\/th>\n<th>other os<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>e1z89ut<\/td>\n<td>i<span class=\"none\">7<\/span>&#8211;<span class=\"none\">4770<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">4<\/span>gb<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">tower<\/span><\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">7  <\/span> pro 64bit<\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">8<\/span> 64bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>e1z??ut<\/td>\n<td>i<span class=\"none\">5<\/span>&#8211;<span class=\"hedt\">45??<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">4<\/span>gb<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">tower<\/span><\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">7  <\/span> pro 64bit<\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">8<\/span> 64bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>f4k11ut<\/td>\n<td>i<span class=\"none\">7<\/span>&#8211;<span class=\"none\">4770<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">4<\/span>gb<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">tower<\/span><\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">7  <\/span> pro 64bit<\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">8.1<\/span> 64bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>f4k13ut<\/td>\n<td>i<span class=\"none\">7<\/span>&#8211;<span class=\"none\">4770<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">4<\/span>gb<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">tower<\/span><\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"hedt\">8.1<\/span> pro 64bit<\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"hedt\">7  <\/span> 64bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>f4k93ut<\/td>\n<td>i<span class=\"none\">7<\/span>&#8211;<span class=\"none\">4770<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">4<\/span>gb<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"hedt\"> sff <\/span><\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">7  <\/span> pro 64bit<\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">8.1<\/span> 64bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>g5r??ut<\/td>\n<td>i<span class=\"none\">7<\/span>&#8211;<span class=\"none\">4770<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">4<\/span>gb<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">tower<\/span><\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">7  <\/span> pro 64bit<\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">8.1 update 1<\/span> (i guess) 64bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>g5r46ut<\/td>\n<td>i<span class=\"none\">7<\/span>&#8211;<span class=\"hedt\">4790<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">4<\/span>gb<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">tower<\/span><\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">7  <\/span> pro 64bit<\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">8.1 update 1<\/span> (i guess) 64bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<th>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>j6d??ut<\/td>\n<td>i<span class=\"none\">7<\/span>&#8211;<span class=\"none\">4770<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">4<\/span>gb<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">tower<\/span><\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">7  <\/span> pro 64bit<\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">8.1 update 2?<\/span> 64bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>j6d83ut<\/td>\n<td>i<span class=\"none\">7<\/span>&#8211;<span class=\"hedt\">4790<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">4<\/span>gb<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"hedt\"> sff <\/span><\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">7  <\/span> pro 64bit<\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">8.1 update 2?<\/span> 64bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>j6d87ut<\/td>\n<td>i<span class=\"none\">7<\/span>&#8211;<span class=\"hedt\">4790<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">4<\/span>gb<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">tower<\/span><\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">7  <\/span> pro 64bit<\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">8.1 update 2?<\/span> 64bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>j6d89ut<\/td>\n<td>i<span class=\"hedt\">5<\/span>&#8211;<span class=\"none\">4590<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">4<\/span>gb<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"none\">tower<\/span><\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">7  <\/span> pro 64bit<\/td>\n<td>win <span class=\"none\">8.1 update 2?<\/span> 64bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Loading <span id=\"he_count4\">&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!-- bottom script invocation --><br \/>\n<!-- bottom script invocation --><br \/>\n<!-- bottom script invocation --><br \/>\n<!-- cant have the angle brackets in script tags at the end --><br \/>\n<!-- it totally hoses the wordpress converter script \/ html parser --><br \/>\n<!-- script type=\"text\/javascript\" \/* run_it(); *\/  \/* is in entry_level_pc.js *\/   \/script --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>click to go directly to comparison table Loading &#8230; In Jan 2014, we&#8217;re talking 4g Intel i7 processor (or equivalent AMD processor, but probably not). These CPUs should last 6-8 years (so until 2018-2020) and i would not expect to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/blog\/hi-end-desktop-pc-comparisons\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1143,"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818\/revisions\/1143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montgomeryminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}