Possible upgrade to my TG4 computer

[bobbystahr]

I found this locally and waiting to hear back from the seller....comments please...this is an area I've proven my dumbness many times over.

This gaming PC features a six-core processor with a powerful Radeon graphics card, all the core parts you need to play all the newest games smoothly, like Overwatch & Battlefield 1, and easily handle favorites like Counter Strike: GO, DOTA2, and League of Legends. I'm happy to demonstrate the game performance if you'd like a demo.

Of course, it's more than powerful enough to handle tasks like video playback, websurfing, and other productivity-related work.
Comes with legitimate Windows 10 Pro installed, with virus and office software included.

Components list:
Radeon HD 6850 Graphics card
Phenom II X6 1100T Processor (with large aftermarket cooler)
8GB DDR3 1333 RAM
1TB Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.B hard disk
Corsair GS700 power supply
M4A78T-E motherboard
Gigabyte Aurora gaming case (as pictured)
Windows 10 Pro

[Oshyan]

I dunno Bobby, it may be "new" but it's not a great upgrade as far as I can see. That's a 6 year old CPU and graphics card and only 8GB of RAM. I don't recall the exact specs of your current machine, but it may be worth holding out a bit longer to afford something more. To really give you better feedback it would help a lot to know your full current specs *and* the price quoted for the hardware upgrade...

- Oshyan

[archonforest]

It is not bad but not a top shot either. Can be a good deal if you get a good price. For TG use the main thing is the CPU and the ram. This hex core 3.3Ghz cpu is not bad but if you have a quad core now it wont be a huge different.
Post the specs of your current rig so we can see the differences.

[Oshyan]

Also, be sure to reference the Terragen benchmark results to see how your current and possibly future systems would compare (mainly pay attention to the CPU):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eX9Ltn3_9BjsamA0Pxeflv5AKrjkgViEY8VuetB8e3k/edit?usp=sharing
Although I see there aren't that many Phenom's for direct comparison, and the specific model offered above is not listed unfortunately.

With a little digging I find other benchmarks (from 2011!) that show the Phenom II X6 1100T is right between the 1090T and the Intel i7-950:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2010/12/07/amd-phenom-ii-x6-1100t-review/3
The 1090T is on the list at 12 minutes and 39 seconds. Slightly faster than your average FX-6300, slightly slower than the i5-2500.

- Oshyan

[zaxxon]

Hey Bobbystahr, I have an AMD 8 core chip on one of my machines and it's solid, but my 6 core intel has hyper threading and shows as 12 render cores. I think the intel chip is a better way to go, based on my experience, with TG rendering. 8 gigs is definitely too light, the card may be fine with TG, can't speak to the games  . At any rate good luck! Always fun to upgrade the hardware.

[bobbystahr]

This new tech friend has offered to build me an 8 core w 32G RAM so I will post his offer as soon as I know what it is...thanks for the feedback folks.

[Dune]

Now that sounds really good, IMHO.

[Oshyan]

32GB of RAM sounds much better.

Just remember: the number of cores is not strictly the most deciding factor of speed. 8 AMD cores is about equal to 4 Intel cores (of similar CPU generation). So just knowing it's 8 cores doesn't tell you much (except that it's probably an AMD 8 core, so may be decent but not exceptional).

- Oshyan

[archonforest]

Perhaps the best if you install a free copy of TG on that pc and run the test file that was available before or run one of your earlier project to see how much faster it goes. This test will tell you the truth and thus you will not buy something that you not suppose to do.

[Oshyan]

Yes, that is absolutely a good idea, if possible (i.e. if the computer is already built and can be tested and is not just a concept of parts to be assembled only if agreed upon).

- Oshyan

[bobbystahr]

I dunno Bobby, it may be "new" but it's not a great upgrade as far as I can see. That's a 6 year old CPU and graphics card and only 8GB of RAM. I don't recall the exact specs of your current machine, but it may be worth holding out a bit longer to afford something more. To really give you better feedback it would help a lot to know your full current specs *and* the price quoted for the hardware upgrade...

- Oshyan

waiting for a quote on a 8 core...will post before I leap.

[bobbystahr]

this just ine...comment please and thank you. He says with Win 10 OEM but I think I'll  just buy it...an extra $100.00 or so but I like totally legal

Choose your   


I came up with some options for you:

Base Chassis and Motherboard ($230) - these are very high-quality, top-notch components
ASUS Sabertooth 990FX motherboard: $130
XFX PRO 850 PSU: $100
Large full tower case: $30

Choose your processor:
FX-8370e processor with cooler: $250
FX-8120 processor with cooler: $80

Choose your RAM:
16GB DDR3 RAM: $120
32GB DDR3 RAM: $220

Choose your hard disks:
Samsung 840 PRO 256GB SSD: $90   (I recommend this for a boot drive)
1TB WD Blue conventional Hard Drive:  $75   (I recommend this for storage)

Choose your Graphics Card:
Radeon 5770: $50
Radeon 7970: $150

Operating System
Windows 10 PRO OEM: ($25)  - I have a guy in Germany who gets me legitimate OEM Windows for a very reasonable price.
But if he's out of keys, this could be a a $110 price adder at retail.



My recommendation:
base chassis: ($230)
With FX-8120 processor ($80) - you won't notice the difference between this and the FX 8350, it's the same basic processor but its much cheaper.
16GB DDR3 RAM ($110) - you can buy a second 16GB kit later, if you want to upgrade to 32GB
Samsung 840 PRO SSD: ($90) - blazing fast SSD, you can't go wrong here
1TB WD Blue hard drive: ($70) - you'll need the storage
Radeon 5770-class graphics: ($50) - Fairly speedy. I don't think you need to overkill on this, your rendering software relies on the CPU, not graphics card
Windows 10 OEM: ($25) - necessary
----------
$655 total


Let me know if you're interested and I'll begin assembly to your spec.
I warranty parts for 6 months and labor for a year.

I'm actually out of town in Landmark, Manitoba but I can deliver if that's too far to bike. 

- Donny

[Oshyan]

I think his recommendation is actually fairly good. He's right that the more expensive CPU option isn't that much better in practice, even though it's much newer (3-4 years I think). You can see some benchmarks here: https://youtu.be/gqH-JWoROPw?t=29s

If you could get the non-"e" variant of the 8370 CPU it might be more worth it (see benchmark video above, Cinebench mainly). But it's probably even more expensive. For $80 that CPU really is a steal. That being said, you can see that almost *any* modern Intel CPU outperforms most of the AMDs in that benchmark. Then again they're all more expensive than the AMDs for the most part, too.

If you're getting 2x8GB DIMMs for your 16GB of RAM, and you have 4 slots total, then that's great. It's an easy later upgrade and saves you money now. 16GB is enough to start with. Just make sure you don't get 16GB that fills up all your slots.

So are these prices in Canadian dollars?

- Oshyan

[bobbystahr]

I think his recommendation is actually fairly good. He's right that the more expensive CPU option isn't that much better in practice, even though it's much newer (3-4 years I think). You can see some benchmarks here: https://youtu.be/gqH-JWoROPw?t=29s

If you could get the non-"e" variant of the 8370 CPU it might be more worth it (see benchmark video above, Cinebench mainly). But it's probably even more expensive. For $80 that CPU really is a steal. That being said, you can see that almost *any* modern Intel CPU outperforms most of the AMDs in that benchmark. Then again they're all more expensive than the AMDs for the most part, too.

If you're getting 2x8GB DIMMs for your 16GB of RAM, and you have 4 slots total, then that's great. It's an easy later upgrade and saves you money now. 16GB is enough to start with. Just make sure you don't get 16GB that fills up all your slots.

So are these prices in Canadian dollars?

- Oshyan

Thanks Oshyan, he seems a good dued willing to deliver and I do need a new 'tech friend' as my last advisor left town. Yes CanaBux....even a better deal I guess.

[Oshyan]

Yes, not bad in CAD, I think.

- Oshyan