So I'm building a new PC for dad for his birthday and would like to get you guys' opinions, suggestions, etc..
He's going to be using this for everyday use as well as working, so web broswing, spread sheets, graphing, software to operate a laser, and well as movie watching and maybe light gaming.
Rosewill Challenger case
GIGABYTE GA-A75M-D2H FM1 AMD Motherboard
AMD A6-3650 Llano 2.6 CPU
Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB RAM
Corsair Builder series 430W PSU
Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB HDD
I might throw in a low budget video card for him, but I'm sure seeing as how the CPU has onboard Radeon 6530 graphics.
Let me know what you guys think and what I should change.
Well, I don't know how CPU intensive operating lasers is, but I would probably put a more powerful processor in there just for that alone. Maybe it's not that CPU intensive though, so I have no idea. Other than that, it looks great for everything else, and you could always throw in a Radeon HD 6670 to run in dual graphics mode with the APU for some light gaming.
Well, he really just uses some sort of software to give like coordinates, angle measurements, and formulas and the laser cuts sheet metal according to that. But other than that, do you think the specs look pretty decent? Maybe downgrade the CPU and leave it just the way it is?
I don't love the motherboard... but there aren't many options for micro-ATX. If you are willing to spend a little extra get this ATX board: GIGABYTE GA-A75-UD4H FM1 AMD A75. It is overkill but a better board.
That CPU should be ok for light gaming... what games will he be playing?
CNC is not cpu intensive at all.... we run a cnc end mill router and lathe off of an old 2001 computer with a pentium 4 in it.
if he is using solid works or autoCAD that stuff should be fine. same goes for the NC code generating program (which is probubly bundled with solid works if that is what he is using) and the milling program.
make sure he has a spare pci card slot though, because the stepper motor controler box is probubly going to be based off of serial (if its WAY old) or pci. newer ones might be usb, but thats a bit unlikely.
I really have no idea as to what he'll be playing. He mentioned he'd like a new PC as his current one is a really crappy Gateway with windows XP. But chances are he'll be playing stuff like Team Fortress 2 or Counter-Strike. (I introduced him to TF2 and he fell in love with it.)