Recommend me a spec for office computer

[newpersn]

As above. I know what I would like but open to suggestions.

 

No need for SSD or hard drive. (Samsung Evo 850 250gb + 1tb data drive) or screen.

 

I'm doing more full HD video editing and hyper-v testing.

 

 

Let me know what spec to choose.

[Norphy]

Lots of RAM, as much as you can afford. With HyperV, the more it can get the happier it will be. CPU depends on your budget, I'd suggest a quad core Core i5 but if you have lots of money, a hex or Octo core is possible too.

[newpersn]

My i3 (2nd gen) has 16gb and I don't always max that out. Was looking at a i5 and a i7

[markrobertsbarter]

Yes. I would echo some of the above.

 

i5 CPU

Intel Core i5 6600 3.3GHz Socket 1151 6MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor - Ebuyer

Socket 1151 Motherboard

Asus B150M-PLUS D3 socket LGA1151 VGA DVI-D HDMI 8-Channel HD Audio mATX Motherboard - Ebuyer

nVidia Graphics Card

Palit GeForce GTX 950 Storm X 2GB GDDR5 Dual-link DVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer

16GB RAM

HyperX Fury Black Series 16GB 1866MHz DDR3 CL10 DIMM (Kit of 2) Memory - Ebuyer

 

You would only want the graphics card if you have software that would take advantage of the hardware acceleration: Adobe Premiere or Cyberlink MediaEspresso, etc.

 

Hope this helps.

[3s-gtech]

^^Don't buy DDR3 RAM if you're buying a Skylake system, go for a board that supports DDR4. Only DDR3L should be used if you must opt for a budget build. Edited July 16, 2016 by 3s-gtech

[markrobertsbarter]

^^Don't buy DDR3 RAM if you're buying a Skylake system, go for a board that supports DDR4. Only DDR3L should be used if you must opt for a budget build.

 

See:

 

Comparing DDR3 to DDR4 - DDR4 Haswell-E Scaling Review: 2133 to 3200 with G.Skill, Corsair, ADATA and Crucial

 

And from all the articles that I have read there is no real improvement with the 6th Gen chips, either.

 

DDR4 RAM is more expensive with little to no performance gain.

 

CAS latencies are generally significantly higher on the DDR4 RAM, which makes the above benchmark look even worse for the average buyer.

Edited July 16, 2016 by markrobertsbarter

[Norphy]

See:

 

Comparing DDR3 to DDR4 - DDR4 Haswell-E Scaling Review: 2133 to 3200 with G.Skill, Corsair, ADATA and Crucial

 

And from all the articles that I have read there is no real improvement with the 6th Gen chips, either.

 

DDR4 RAM is more expensive with little to no performance gain.

 

CAS latencies are generally significantly higher on the DDR4 RAM, which makes the above benchmark look even worse for the average buyer.

 

The main advantage to buying ddr4 in a system is that it'll last longer. Two years down the line when the OP decides he wants to change his motherboard, he's have to change his RAM as well if he buys a DDR3 system now.

[3s-gtech]

Yup, just that. It also means plumping for a budget chipset which means other compromises. I never put a premium (or at least, expensive) processor in a budget board as it seems a bit top heavy. For an i3 or Pentium, maybe. I'm not saying you're wrong though, and I know DDR3 can hold its own still.

[elsiegee40]

I'd start with @ICTDirect_Dave

[ICTDirect_Dave]

I'd start with @ICTDirect_Dave

 

I'd start with me too

 

I've got a fresh batch of HP Z620 and Z820 workstations.

Perfect for video production.

 

How about a couple of octa-core Xeons and between 48gb & too much memory?

I've got some lovely quadro K4000's that would be perfect for the job too

Drop me a PM and I'll sort out some pricing for you!

[Arthur]

CAS latencies are generally significantly higher on the DDR4 RAM

Despite DDR4 having higher CAS latencies your 1,866MHz DDR3 RAM may be a tiny bit slower due to the longer clock cycle times that DDR3 has.

 

 

In the history of memory technology, as speeds have increased, clock cycle times have decreased, resulting in lower true latencies as technology has matured, even though there are more clock cycles to complete. What's more, since speeds are increasing and true latencies are remaining roughly the same, you're able to achieve a higher level of performance using newer, faster, and more energy efficient memory.

 

At this point in the discussion, we need to note that when we say “true latencies are remaining roughly the same,” we mean that from DDR3-1333 to DDR4-2666 (the span of modern memory), true latencies started at 13.5ns and returned to 13.5ns. While there are several instances in this range where true latencies increased, the gains have been by fractions of a nanosecond. In this same span, speeds have increased by over 1,300 MT/s, effectively offsetting any trace latency gains.

 

Based on in-depth engineering analysis and extensive testing in the Crucial Performance Lab, the answer to this classic question is speed. In general, as speeds have increased, true latencies have remained approximately the same, meaning faster speeds enable you to achieve a higher level of performance. True latencies haven't necessarily increased, just CAS latencies. And CL ratings are an inaccurate, and often misleading, indicator of true latency (and memory) performance. (Source)

 

DDR4 RAM is more expensive with little to no performance gain.

Some applications do benefit from faster DDR4 memory on Skylake-based PCs, although it doesn't make any sense to go too crazy and spend lots of money on super high-speed RAM. For the sake of an extra £14-£19 I would go for 2,666MHz (~£70) or 3,000MHz (~£75) DDR4 RAM. As @Norphy and @3s-gtech said above, buying DDR4 will future-proof the system a little bit more.

 

www.techspot.com/article/1171-ddr4-4000-mhz-performance/page2.html

 

Edited July 16, 2016 by Arthur

[markrobertsbarter]

Sorry - you'll never convince me of the "economics" of paying 15 to 20 percent more in order to achieve a c. 1 percent performance increase.

[Arthur]

Sorry - you'll never convince me of the "economics" of paying 15 to 20 percent more in order to achieve a c. 1 percent performance increase.

Did you see the two charts at the bottom? Just going from DDR4-2133 to DDR4-3000 gives you a 28.6% and 23.6% improvement in performance for Handbrake and Photoshop respectively.

[newpersn]

Thank you Arthur.

 

I just spec'ed up an idea spec for my self. I had to change a motherboard as the one I looked at originally only supported the 2133.

 

I want to future proof this. Needs to last me a good few years.