As a follow up to
my recent journal, here's what I'm arriving at.
I decided I will acquire new equipment soon. Some people suggested I go for AMD setup but it appears to be less available than Intel gear. So after considering my options and seeing what's available near me, I am considering the following setup:
Processor: Intel i5-7400 3.0GHz (7th gen/Kaby Lake) socket 1151
I
might go for an i7-7700/4.2GHz but I believe I read somewhere it's generally not worth it. I don't remember what how where or why, so if anyone can point me in the right direction that'd be great because I couldn't find it.
Mobo: ASRock B250M Pro4(I was offered the other two, but from what I read on several sites this appears to be a better option and it's also available)
Downside: Neither seem to be compatible with 8th gen processors.
RAM: 2x ADATA U-Dimm DDR4 8GB 2400 (for a total of 16GB)
I kept getting offered fancy "gamer" models that cost twice as much just because they're red and have speed stripes and wings and headlights. Thank you, it's a computer not a race car.
Storage: Probably a 1TB WD Blue + a 250GB SSD. "Possibly" a second 1TB drive.
GPU: I haven't yet decided. Suggestions more than welcome.
I am also considering dual screens, so anything with two outputs sounds like a good idea. Considering. Depending on whether I can afford it on top of the already crazy number I'm going to spend.EDIT! I'm leaning towards a GTX1050 because it's the least stupidly-expensive card. FFS graphics cards didn't cost this much the last time I got one!
Power supply: From what I've read this setup should do well with 450-600W.
Case, while I'm at it: Whatever that doesn't have windows and neon lights inside. It's a computer not a strip club FFS
For those knowledged enough in the subject: Does this setup look right? Is there anything that looks blaringly wrong and I should change course ASAP? Do you have any suggestions or alternatives I might have overlooked? Can you help fill in the blanks where I don't know what to get yet?
And don't get me started on modern monitors - they all do exactly 60Hz. No less, no more. The next step is exactly 120Hz and as "gamer" gear they cost three times as much. The 4:3 LCD monitor I bought 9 years ago does 85Hz and the CRT I had before could do 100Hz without breaking a sweat. It's not just "not doing better" - it's going several steps backwards!
I second the PSU suggestion. I'd recommend something between 650 to 750 W.
And you don't need another 1 TB HDD. Nowadays, most things are stored in the cloud. I have two 512 MB SSD for my games and OS, the rest is in the cloud (Google Drive).
I'd like to have a proper graphics card because even though the i5/i7 come with integrated graphics, my current experience with integrated graphics is that it's quite constricting.
I don't put a lot in the cloud but I do have backup drives, so a second internal drive is amongst the lowest priorities (like a second monitor). Which, speaking of monitors, I'm a bit disappointed by the display market. This guy has been right for six years (or fourteen depending on which of his articles you read)