Which desktop computer help

[chrisga]

Hi,

Thinking about purchasing a desktop computer. I already have a 24" monitor and keyboard/mouse that I plug in to my laptop so after just the box.
It would be used for internet, email, excel, word and possibly the most resource hungry stuff would be the 3D CAD package I use.

I have always had PC's but have an ipad and iphone so wondered whether it was time to take the plunge and buy a mac. However I'd still need to run my 3d CAD through windows so would need either a windows partition or to run parallels.

I used to know a little bit about computers but now there seem to be so many different numbers flying round I'm after a bit of a sanity check I guess.

The two contenders I have narrowed it down to are - PC (£480):

Intel i7 4790 Quad Core Processor running at 3.60GHz With a Turbo Mode of 4.00GHz
Intel HD4600 Graphics
16GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM
2TB SATA III Hard Disk Drive
24X DVD / CD - RW Dual Layer Optical Disc Drive
MOTHERBOARD MSI H81M-E33
2 X ULTRA High Speed USB 3.0 Ports
4 X High Speed USB 2.0 Ports
2 X SATA III Ports
2 X SATA II Ports
Gigabit 10 / 100 / 1000 Ethernet Port
8 Channel HD Audio
1 X PCI Express X16 V2.0 Slot
1 X PCI Express X1 Slot
2 X PS/2 Port (For Keyboard / Mouse)
1 X Serial Port Header
1 X HDMI Port
1 X VGA Port
1 x 80mm Fan
2 x Additional USB 2.0 Ports on Front Side of Case
SD / MMC / MS Memory Card Reader Built Into Case

Mac Mini (£569):

Type Mac mini
Operating system OS X Yosemite
SPECIFICATION
Processor Intel® Core™ i5 processor (2.6 GHz, 3.1 GHz with TurboBoost)
Memory (RAM) 8 GB LPDDR3
Graphics card Intel Iris
Storage 1 TB HDD, 5400 rpm
CONNECTIVTY
Wireless 802.11 ac
Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000)
Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.0
USB USB 3.0 x 4
Video interface HDMI x 1
Thunderbolt x 2
Audio interface 3.5 mm jack
Other ports Thunderbolt x 2
MEDIA
Memory card reader SD card reader
FEATURES
Microphone 3.5 mm mic input
Mouse / trackpad No
Keyboard No
GENERAL
Colour Silver
Box contents - Apple Mac mini
- Power cable
Dimensions 36 x 197 x 197 mm (H x W x D)
Weight 1.2 kg
Manufacturer’s guarantee 1 year

Will the PC be quicker having an I7 chip and double the RAM? Will the Mac be quicker as everything has been designed together whereas PC appears to be parts bin special. Should I splash out on a SSD? The price of the PC does not include OS, but for the MAC I would still need to buy a copy of windows, and parallels if i went down that route. Am i just being hoodwinked by the bling of owning a mac. Head says Mac, heart says PC. In reality I don't need to learn a new OS but if its as good as everyone says should I at least try it once - now seems as good a time as any.

edit to add : both will run the 3d cad package i use as they are more powerful than my laptop which copes ok.

Edited by chrisga on Tuesday 29th March 14:03

[Foliage]

Which 3d cad package?

Looks to me like the mac needs a load more ram and the pc spec needs a workstation graphics card.


ETA - both are inadequate, id need a better idea of the drawings you are going to produce. both specs would be fine for 2d cad, also why get an i7 then not add a graphics card? the latest i5s are great but for more complex cad id want an i7 but with a workstation graphics card and 32gb of ram.

ETFA - yes get an ssd

Edited by Foliage on Tuesday 29th March 14:17

Edited by Foliage on Tuesday 29th March 14:18

[chrisga]

Thanks, can I just buy a graphics card, plug it in and bypass the graphics stuff built in to the motherboard? Is it as straightforward as that?

[Foliage]

chrisga said:

Thanks, can I just buy a graphics card, plug it in and bypass the graphics stuff built in to the motherboard? Is it as straightforward as that?

yes you can, I wouldn't buy either of them machines though.

Also what 3d cad package?

[chrisga]

Foliage said:

ETA - both are inadequate, id need a better idea of the drawings you are going to produce. both specs would be fine for 2d cad, also why get an i7 then not add a graphics card? the latest i5s are great but for more complex cad id want an i7 but with a workstation graphics card and 32gb of ram.

No they aren't, I'm currently sat at my work computer which is i5-2400 with 16gb of ram and it flies. Obviously the faster the better but budget is not unlimited so just want to buy the best for my money if that makes sense.

The 3d cad package is tekla structures. Tekla recommend 8GB ram, i5, but with nvidia geforce GTX670/680 for average performance and increase to i7 and 12+Gb Ram for best performance.

[chrisga]

Foliage said:

yes you can, I wouldn't buy either of them machines though.

Also what 3d cad package?

What would be your recommendation then for £500, stretching to £569 for the mac. I'd prefer not to have a monstrosity or some really ugly box with red or blue lights all over it sat on my desk which seems to be all the rage now.

Edited by chrisga on Tuesday 29th March 14:42

[Foliage]

chrisga said:

The 3d cad package is tekla structures. Tekla recommend 8GB ram, i5, but with nvidia geforce GTX670/680 for average performance and increase to i7 and 12+Gb Ram for best performance.

So that, that's the spec you want. Neither of the pcs you specced meet that, neither have an adequate graphics card (the minimum card is actually the gtx770/780. They also recommend quality ram.

Never build to the minimum spec you will regret it, try to hit the recommended, them quadro graphics cards aren't cheap though. So id go i7, 500gb ssd, 16gb corsair or similar ram, graphics quadro k620.


Have a look on the tekla forums and see what graphics cards people recommend, infact if your building this machine to run tekla why not ask on the tekla forums?

[chrisga]

I'm not buying the machine to run Tekla 99% of the time per se, I don't work from home as such but if on the odd occasion I can use it, it might be useful. As I said in my first post, my laptop runs tekla fine on the odd occasion I need it to and its woefully underspecced compared to even the recommended lowest specs.

Think of it more as, i'd like to get the best I can for my budget, with the knowledge that I might sometimes run my 3d stuff on it so would like to make it ok for that if at all possible rather than concentrating on gaming or some other use.....
So the two I specified, are they underspecced only because of the graphics card? Does an I7 outrank and I5 in every way or is a high end i5 better than a low end i7? Are the higher numbers after the I5/7 part always better than the lower numbers or do different numbers mean different things? Should I not need to be hung up about processor and concentrate on ram and graphics card then? Am I going to be able to find a machine with a decent graphics card for my budget? Are there any recommended sites where you can build a machine bit by bit? I realise with my budget I'm always going to be limited but was hoping for something reasonably decent. Should I be looking at HP/Dell or are the smaller companies as good if not better value?

Sorry to come across as stupid, there just seem so many permutations and I don't particularly want to give any of my money to PC World/Currys due to poor customer service previously so its looking likely to be a web purchase.

[Bullett]

i5 vs i7 is tricky. It depends on the applications ability to use the processing power available. Primarily this is related to multi-threading.

[Foliage]

chrisga said:

I'm not buying the machine to run Tekla 99% of the time per se, I don't work from home as such but if on the odd occasion I can use it, it might be useful. As I said in my first post, my laptop runs tekla fine on the odd occasion I need it to and its woefully underspecced compared to even the recommended lowest specs.

Think of it more as, i'd like to get the best I can for my budget, with the knowledge that I might sometimes run my 3d stuff on it so would like to make it ok for that if at all possible rather than concentrating on gaming or some other use.....
So the two I specified, are they underspecced only because of the graphics card? Does an I7 outrank and I5 in every way or is a high end i5 better than a low end i7? Are the higher numbers after the I5/7 part always better than the lower numbers or do different numbers mean different things? Should I not need to be hung up about processor and concentrate on ram and graphics card then? Am I going to be able to find a machine with a decent graphics card for my budget? Are there any recommended sites where you can build a machine bit by bit? I realise with my budget I'm always going to be limited but was hoping for something reasonably decent. Should I be looking at HP/Dell or are the smaller companies as good if not better value?

Sorry to come across as stupid, there just seem so many permutations and I don't particularly want to give any of my money to PC World/Currys due to poor customer service previously so its looking likely to be a web purchase.

Makes more sense, id personally go i5

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts/ take a look at the 2015 charts found here for comparisons of the different hardware.

have a look on overclockers.co.uk for configurable computers.

[bungz]

The i5 in the mac mini is not a full fat i5, its some low power dual core with hyperthreading, its a i3 basically.

Propper full fat i7 will run rings around it, prob more than twice the processing power fully under load.

Edited by bungz on Wednesday 30th March 15:12