Current PC failing. Need advice on new one.

[AlanQ]

I need a new PC quickly. My current one (spec below) is intermittently failing after nearly ten years -- thank you, PC Specialist

I used to build my own but that was a long time ago and I'm now out of touch.



I have read https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/threads/desktop-building-guide-january-2025.67892/ -- Thank you, Scott, it helped much



My screen is a Dell U2412M:
24", 50Hz-61Hz, 1920x1200px

OS: Ubuntu MATE (24.04 LTS)

(Flexible) Budget ceiling: £2000 (plus VAT)
My computer is my main work tool, so an extra few hundred quid is worth it, if it saves a decade of frustration.

Intended Uses:
At a maximum:
I will need to run Lubuntu (low resource Ubuntu) in two virtual machines under Virtual Box (perhaps plus Windows in another VM).
While recording, and then rendering/editing, a screen cast.
With several Firefox and Chrome windows (~ 100 tabs) open.
And probably running other stuff as well.

I'm not a gamer.

I typically give 6 "cores" (= 6 threads = 3 actual cores ?) and 4GB RAM, to one Lubuntu virtual machine.

So I'm guessing a (12 core or) 16 core processor...?
Last time, going for somewhere near the top paid dividends -- 10 year old machine still does what I need (very slow to boot and get the Firefox tabs up notwithstanding).

My usual rule of thumb is to have four times as much RAM each time I get a new machine.
I currently often end up using swap space, and everything grinds to a crawl.
So that's 64GB this time (2 sticks of 32GB ?) ?

I favour AMD based machines.
I don't know how to best match motherboard/processor/RAM.

I have no idea about cases, cooling, and extra fans.
But it must be no taller than 48cm -- at which point there will be almost no exhaust headroom. That said, I won't/can't compromise the machine just to fit my twenty-year-old self-made wooden computer table
I do like to have several easily accessible USB-A ports at the top/front (without having to open the door).
Quiet is good.

My 'disk' plan is:
Two 2TB hard disks (RAID 1) for /home
One 256GB solid state M2 for /swap , /tmp , /var , /boot
One 256GB solid state M2 for the rest of the OS
The configurator doesn't like it when I choose RAID because it thinks I want to RAID the SSDs as well as the HDs and says I can't.


Any help much appreciated.
Thank you.


------------

Current (OLD) spec:
(I can't believe it was August 2015! My second PC Specialist machine.)
PCSpecialist
Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R5 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD FX-8350 Eight Core CPU (4.00-4.20GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3+)
Motherboard
ASUS® SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 (DDR3, USB3.0, 6Gb/s, CrossFireX/Sli)
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX FURY DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ R5 230 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe AMD CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND APPLICATION
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

 

[AlanQ]

Thank you, Nursemorph, that's brilliant.

Some questions if I may:

1) Why did you go for 2TB for the second SSD (vs 512GB)?

2) Was choosing 'Standard thermal paste' just an oversight?

3) The Spec Check warns about the height of the RGB RAM if I wanted to add a 240mm liquid cooler. Apart from the colours, is there any benefit to having the "...RGB...AMD" memory as opposed to the (apparently identical) "...KIT" memory?

4) The Spec Check says, "We note that you have selected an M.2/PCI-E SSD drive and a mechanical hard drive (HDD) under the primary hard disk drive option. In order to benefit from a fast and responsive computer, your operating system will be installed on the M.2/PCI-E SSD drive and not the mechanical hard drive."
Have we?
Your spec has two SSD for 'SSD' and two HDD for 'storage'.

5) Looks like the Gigabyte 870 motherboards are all sold out -- are people panicking over the trade wars? Have I missed the boat? 🤦‍♂️

 

[AlanQ]

Many thanks again, Nursemorph

That's very interesting about the thermal paste. I have wondered why anyone would not want the apparently superior option for a mere £7. Would be good if PC Specialist made this clear. The configurator simply refers to Arctic as an 'upgrade'.

Machine ordered

 

[TonyCarter]

Well, it is an upgrade over whatever comes with the included cooler fan that is included with some CPUs.

But PCS also offer budget cases, budget RAM, budget coolers, budget SSDs...because in some cases that's all that's needed for a basic, budget, non-gaming build.