Desk Top Recommendations?

sigh...

budget?

just want something off the shelf I'm assuming? Need a new monitor?

what video editing program and how much video editing do you do? Hobbyist, semi-professional, etc?

Why does the GPU suck? Do you play games?

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I'm looking to upgrade my EMachines desk top from 2004




That thing is a relic

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I've seen LeapPads that are probably more powerful than that.

OP, an iPad with iMovie wouldn't be bad if you're mainly editing video shot with the device.

New Imac with the new 5K retina display, I'm sure haters are gonna hate.

I have a 2011 model and use it for what you describe.

I also have a windows machine for gaming.

Nope, you can totally build one. You don't need a video card either, just use intel integrated graphics. GPU-acceleration is task specific and program specific. If you're just doing basic editing of GoPro footage, you probably will never encounter a scenario in which a better GPU would be beneficial. But you can always add one later just in case.

I am including an i5 in this part list vs. an 8-core option like the 8350 because the i5 will be faster in basic editing programs like Windows Live Movie maker (more emphasis on its per-core performance vs. multi-threaded beyond 4 cores), which is the software I would recommend for basic editing. It's user-friendly and plays well enough with all levels of CPU horsepower. If you want to get more advanced than Movie Maker, then maybe an AMD FX-8350/8320 instead, but we'd need to find a discrete graphics card to go along with it.

PCPartPicker part list: LINK
Price breakdown by merchant: LINK /

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E35 V2 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($59.39 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M550 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($36.25 @ Directron)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $493.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-12 12:59 EST-0500

If you find a better value in a $500 pre-built, go ahead and get it. I didn't look any up, but often you'll find pretty decent deals in non-gaming pre-builts. Just use this as a reference when looking. i5 (or 8350 with some sort of discrete graphics), 8GB RAM minimum, and an SSD wouldn't hurt (but don't expect to find that in pre-builts at this budget. Better to find a $450 pre-built and add the SSD yourself).

Here's a stupid question for you, does the build you sent have wireless internet capability? Is that something standard in all desktops nowadays? If it is, what part of the computer has this feature? Or if not, is that an extra expense ?

Also, I should have clarified that I wouldn't be building it myself. That will probably change your pricing estimate since that will cost money and also change the prices of the parts since I think you would have to buy them all from the same place to get it built?

No, it doesn't have wifi. It's not a standard feature of desktop computers. Yes, it's a minor extra expense to add a wifi adapter.

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Also, I should have clarified that I wouldn't be building it myself. That will probably change your pricing estimate since that will cost money and also change the prices of the parts since I think you would have to buy them all from the same place to get it built?

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Watch the 45-minute youtube video from newegg to learn to build one yourself, or just get a Dell/ASUS/HP/etc.

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I will be using it for internet browsing/research, music, and videos. I don't play games so I don't need a super computer. Just something that will run quick with ample space for the music I have and the ability to watch videos without taking 10 minutes.

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Sounds like you could get away with an HTPC (Home Theater PC). I got one for sale during the Christmas season ($200) and it does basic computing stuff no problem and serves as a fine torrent box. Just don't expect it to play games. Like any games.

Gotcha - I'm thinking of upgrading to 256 SSD and using my 1 TB external hard drive for supplemental storage.

Do you have the chip you recommended? Few things I've read have said the stock cooler it comes with is garbage. Other than that, looks like it's one of the best in its class in terms of speed and value. I probably won't need to worry about overheating since I won't be gaming, but just curious.

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Do you have the chip you recommended?

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I have an i7-4770K, but I have installed countless i5's, i3's, AMD FX/Phenoms, etc. in client builds back when I used to do this sort of thing for money. Overall I like Intel for its superior single-threaded performance, which translates to better "general" performance in a wider range of tasks. Any of the current i5s would be excellent, but that one was particularly the best value at the moment. Prices on components change all the time, even daily.

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Few things I've read have said the stock cooler it comes with is garbage.

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Rule of thumb is that stock coolers are garbage. This is generally a sentiment expressed by gamers and other PC enthusiasts who will frequently push hardware to its limits. We don't like the stock coolers (that goes for both Intel and AMD) because they're loud and don't cool as well as basically all other aftermarket solutions. It's a big concern when you're running longer CPU-intensive tasks -- gaming for hours on end, for example.

For short bursts of gopro footage encoding, I don't think an aftermarket cooler is totally necessary. Every off-the-shelf solution is going to use the stock cooler, meant for the same casual type of usage you're planning for. If noise ends up being an issue, there are several low profile coolers on the market. Too many for me to bother keeping up with (I'm a walking encyclopedia on liquid cooling, but the air cooling market just never interested me). Someone else in the PC thread on the gaming board will have a recommendation.

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Desk Top Recommendations?

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i personally like formica