New desktop PC coming soon.

[JCitron]

My old desktop PC, i7-5930, 64GB, lots of hard drives, and GTX1080 TI is getting a bit long on the tooth now. Today, I had USB device issues with devices randomly dropping off and coming back. Thank God this wasn't my back up hard drive and only my keyboard and mouse. This happened out of the blue and I figured the system, now going on 6 years, is time for retirement.

I feel kind of funny replacing the old beast, but I will salvage the drives and my GTX1080 TI. I'm planning on giving the TI to my brother who has the straight 1080.

So which machine am I getting?

Dell XPS 8950 watercooled.

NVIDIA(R) GeForce RTX(TM) 3080 10GB
12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-12900K processor (16-Core, 30MB Cache, 3.2GHz to 5.2GHz),
Performance CPU liquid cooling
32GB DDR5, 2x 16GB
1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive
DVD Drive
Mouse
Keyboard
RealTek sound
WiFi + wired network
Windows 11 Pro

I plan to use my existing hard disks which will fit in the case in addition to the boot NVME drive since the disks have all my content and other data on them, besides, they're not very old maybe a year at the most. I'll still have to install programs of course. I thought about getting 64GB of RAM, but that was way too expensive. I'll wait on that investment for another time. The issue will be the current RAM will have to be pulled, typical of a pre-built system, but it is what it is.

 

[UnumProvident155]

my Acer PC is about 7 years old and in April of 2020 I had to take it to Best Buy to get it fixed but unfortunately the OS had to be reinstalled due to Automatic Repair Loop

 

[JCitron]

my Acer PC ie about 7 years old and in April of 2020 I had to take it to Best Buy to get it fixed but unfortunately the OS had to be reinstalled due to Automatic Repair Loop

I've been through that already. The hardware, though, can't be fixed and that's the bad part.

 

[FootplatePhil]

Congrats! Great machine John. I have never been able to understand the bad press Dell sometimes get. I have had several Dell's and have been very happy with all of them (currently running Alienware I7-11700F (water cooled) with 16 Gig 3200Mhz RAM, all SSD storage (M.2 PCIe NVMe for Trainz install) and 3060ti graphics, Windows 11).

 

[G.M.]

Great new PC John
hope the motherboard has 2 slots for m2.SSD
I recently updated mine to a 2T and have my TRSlocal folders on there
Know you have many content installed, even 4T and 8T will be affordable in the future

 

[axe1970]

Hey Phil,
Did you purchase that PC locally or buy online?

Regards

 

[wreeder]

Nice new PC, John. It can double as a space heater too.:hehe:

William

 

[JCitron]

Congrats! Great machine John. I have never been able to understand the bad press Dell sometimes get. I have had several Dell's and have been very happy with all of them (currently running Alienware I7-11700F (water cooled) with 16 Gig 3200Mhz RAM, all SSD storage (M.2 PCIe NVMe for Trainz install) and 3060ti graphics, Windows 11).

Thank you, Phil. I have always had good luck with Dell machines myself over the years. I know that they went through a period of really, really cheaply made machines, but this one is on the higher end. I supported offices with nothing but Dell equipment and never had issues with them.

Great new PC John
hope the motherboard has 2 slots for m2.SSD
I recently updated mine to a 2T and have my TRSlocal folders on there
Know you have many content installed, even 4T and 8T will be affordable in the future

Thank you, G.M.

I've already eyed those, but geez they're way up there still. I agree, let's wait it out and see what happens.

Nice new PC, John. It can double as a space heater too.:hehe:

William

I'm sure it will just like my desktop. Given the cost of heating my house lately, this will be a welcome edition!

 

[FootplatePhil]

Hey Phil,
Did you purchase that PC locally or buy online?

Regards

Hi Axe. I purchased it on-line a few months ago, while on 20% discount. Dell Australia Online often has discounts, and you can tailor your purchase slightly to meet your requirements. If you like the look of a particular config it is worth being a little patient and waiting for its turn to be discounted (the discounts seem to rotate through the model range). Unfortunately the new R13 and 8950 models are considerably more expensive than the outgoing models (I have an R12). It also should be said that some of the possible configs are a little questionable (for example, make sure you select a dual channel memory option). Dell also have an Australian e-Bay shop, which sometimes has very good prices. However there is no option to config a custom machine via the e-Bay site.

 

[axe1970]

Thanks Phil.

I was hoping for a non branded/custom PC. I bought my last one from PCGC (PC Case Gear) in victoria, but I was hoping to buy from a local PC shop.
The PC shops in Springwood aren't building custom PC's these days. I was told that parts/components are breaking all to often. Not made like they used to be.

Regards

Axe

 

[JCitron]

Thanks Phil.

I was hoping for a non branded/custom PC. I bought my last one from PCGC (PC Case Gear) in victoria, but I was hoping to buy from a local PC shop.
The PC shops in Springwood aren't building custom PC's these days. I was told that parts/components are breaking all to often. Not made like they used to be.

Regards

Axe

That has been a big issue due to the scrounging for components. One of the worst offenders so far has been Gigabyte with power supplies blowing up. Not kidding!

The other issue is the cost of components. I found the Dell machine to be less expensive even with the high-end components than it was to build a lesser machine with components sourced at New Egg. www.newegg.com, or some other online vendor. In the end, the Dell proved to be a good value and hopefully a good return on my investment since I invest in new machines every 5-7 years.

 

[RoysTrainz]

Hi John,
congratulations!
Did I or better Ning inspire you to make the next move too?
Honest at this very moment I amk looking down from my Xmas seventh heaven on trainz world.
My rig if I can call it that way is a real jewel but absolutely worth the investment at todays troubled hardware world. At least you guys can buy stuff with sort of a choice even if not the best price but here ther is no choice other than take it when you can as long as it is reasonable.

Lots of fun we wish you John.

Cherio

Ning and Roy

 

[JCitron]

Hi John,
congratulations!
Did I or better Ning inspire you to make the next move too?
Honest at this very moment I amk looking down from my Xmas seventh heaven on trainz world.
My rig if I can call it that way is a real jewel but absolutely worth the investment at todays troubled hardware world. At least you guys can buy stuff with sort of a choice even if not the best price but here ther is no choice other than take it when you can as long as it is reasonable.

Lots of fun we wish you John.

Cherio

Ning and Roy

Thank you!

Ning inspired me to make the next move. Just kidding! My USB ports died suddenly and that was my push to upgrade. I had been waffling around up until then, but when my keyboard and mouse suddenly stopped then my backup drive disappeared, I knew something was wrong. Now when I start up the old machine, I get error messages about USB problems even with nothing plugged in except for another mouse and keyboard. Something failed on the motherboard, which is now going on 6 years old.

There's not much to grab either over here either with the chip shortages and the high prices. When I checked my email and saw the PC Magazine Tech Deals advertisement and saw the Dell, I shot over there fast to look. PC Mag was advertising an i5 with similar specs and I customized it for the i9, more memory and the better video card. I have good credit, and got the lowest interest rate from Dell, which is still too high, but I can make big payments and pay this off quickly. They're offering no payments or interest for a year, but I'll pay it off a lot sooner, so I don't get hit with any interest at all.

Your machine is a real jewel in today's economy. Give her warm hugs and sweet talks.

 

[OddRails]

Sounds like a great system. Have fun with it!

 

[ColPrice2002]

Sounds like a good system, though I'd be wary about reusing old disc drives...

we've had a couple of older computers (Laptop & Desktop) where they were taking ages to boot, "fixing" sectors on c:\ drive for ages. Changing the HDD to SSD has really improved their performance and no disc drive errors, long boot times etc.
I've also an old PC that refuses to be reliable now - swapping drives in does help for a while, but not reliably.

All the best,

Colin

 

[RoysTrainz]

Hi John,

Ning laughed when I tell her about your post.
I still have my Dutch roots that is clear what we called even in the Golden years keep the 'finger on the knips' (old dutch saying of keeping your wallet closed) is still true but when I decide in this case my better part tthan the wallet opens pretty wide.
He did you know even in seventh heaven there are clouds not rain yet or diamond rain like on Pluto but real clouds lol.
This week my mobo Asus z170 pro gaming the very good old faithful showing signs of fatigue and spontaneous reboot,stall,freeze a few times but most times early in the morning. Coffee not help just makes me happier.
It looks like workload with the new rig for my old mobo is sometimes just to much to long so maybe start looking for a new one maybe Z690 with wifi and an I9 10900 K or X not sure jet but this makes my wallet than looks like a swiss cheese, Emmentaler or Gruyere both taste excellent so lets see what I come up with.

regards from Ning too and big hug and fun with your new toy!!

Thank you!

Ning inspired me to make the next move. Just kidding! My USB ports died suddenly and that was my push to upgrade. I had been waffling around up until then, but when my keyboard and mouse suddenly stopped then my backup drive disappeared, I knew something was wrong. Now when I start up the old machine, I get error messages about USB problems even with nothing plugged in except for another mouse and keyboard. Something failed on the motherboard, which is now going on 6 years old.

There's not much to grab either over here either with the chip shortages and the high prices. When I checked my email and saw the PC Magazine Tech Deals advertisement and saw the Dell, I shot over there fast to look. PC Mag was advertising an i5 with similar specs and I customized it for the i9, more memory and the better video card. I have good credit, and got the lowest interest rate from Dell, which is still too high, but I can make big payments and pay this off quickly. They're offering no payments or interest for a year, but I'll pay it off a lot sooner, so I don't get hit with any interest at all.

Your machine is a real jewel in today's economy. Give her warm hugs and sweet talks.

 

[Lataxe]

That has been a big issue due to the scrounging for components. One of the worst offenders so far has been Gigabyte with power supplies blowing up. Not kidding!

The other issue is the cost of components. I found the Dell machine to be less expensive even with the high-end components than it was to build a lesser machine with components sourced at New Egg. www.newegg.com, or some other online vendor. In the end, the Dell proved to be a good value and hopefully a good return on my investment since I invest in new machines every 5-7 years.

"..... return on my investment.....". Alas, if only it could be the case with them PCs!

As with many very new technologies, computing components soon become obsolete because of the still accelerating pace of technological change. Today you buy a PC steam engine but next year the PC diesels have superseded the steamers; and the DMUs are soon superseded by the EMUs. There are magnetic hover trains on the horizon and perhaps even the PC equivalent of Seth Brundle's pod (without the fly)! The other thing about PC components is that they eventually go PHUT! and are rarely mendable. Some can be recycled for the materials but much goes into landfill (an anti-investment).

One might argue that there are other sorts of investments (or returns from one's cash spend) that are not in monetary form. A good PC is a pleasure to use and can enable some magical stuff. Complex photo noise reduction & sharpening, not to mention running a densely-packed Dearnby & District Trainz route, goes very nicely with the latest PC (or even Apple) components. For a year or so ...... until they "upgrade" the software so that now it needs current-oomph X 2.

One of my other obsessions is woodworking. Here one may truly invest in high quality tools. They not only enable good woodworking but can be sold a decade down the line for more than one paid for them. That really is an investment.

Lataxe

 

[blueodessey]

"..... return on my investment.....". Alas, if only it could be the case with them PCs!

As with many very new technologies, computing components soon become obsolete because of the still accelerating pace of technological change. Today you buy a PC steam engine but next year the PC diesels have superseded the steamers; and the DMUs are soon superseded by the EMUs. There are magnetic hover trains on the horizon and perhaps even the PC equivalent of Seth Brundle's pod (without the fly)! The other thing about PC components is that they eventually go PHUT! and are rarely mendable. Some can be recycled for the materials but much goes into landfill (an anti-investment).

One might argue that there are other sorts of investments (or returns from one's cash spend) that are not in monetary form. A good PC is a pleasure to use and can enable some magical stuff. Complex photo noise reduction & sharpening, not to mention running a densely-packed Dearnby & District Trainz route, goes very nicely with the latest PC (or even Apple) components. For a year or so ...... until they "upgrade" the software so that now it needs current-oomph X 2.

One of my other obsessions is woodworking. Here one may truly invest in high quality tools. They not only enable good woodworking but can be sold a decade down the line for more than one paid for them. That really is an investment.

Lataxe

Absolutely agree your well distilled comments here,

I try to hold my Computers, Smart Phones, personal Auto for as long as I can, buying something new each year, at sometimes horribly inflated prices does not appeal to me in the slightest. Just like anyone else, there is only so much money to go around. So the old saying BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK, is more than truthful.

And I am a very strong advocate, that the Right Tool for the Right Job is essential, both in Time to complete said job, and the Rewards of Ease, and professional results. I have old Tools from 40 or more years ago handed down to me from Family members who reside in higher ground now.....They work, and they work well.

Funny I was just thinking about a Truck I owned once, long ago, and in a period, one of problems I had, was replacing the Air Conditioning Compressor, about the 3 time in in 4 yr's I asked the mechanic what was I doing wrong to have too keep getting the unit replaced, especially since I had it Freon serviced each year before the hot summer.

When the Guy busted out laughing, and said do really want to know! I was lambasted, and said, ya, I really want to know........Something is wrong here.....Is there a heavier model that will last longer and more reliable....

Answer was, no, there is not another model better than this one, they make to them to fail, so you can buy more!

I replied, so your telling me, that if I keep this Auto air conditioning serviced at least once a year, etc, this thing will probably fail in little over a year or so? Yup, that is what I am telling you......

This last time while in Dealers repair, it was 2600$, to replace my complete air conditioning Unit, hoses etc, do too Metal, Aluminum Fibers shooting thru the Cycling system......Thank goodness, I had an extended warranty I had purchased,,,,,,Cost me 250$ out of pocket......

Safe to say, I got rid of that brand of Truck and got a different one, never had the problem again, question posed, was it a Lemon, later on, now older and wiser, it was for the year of that vehicle, I should have fought and I probably would have one.......Now you know the rest of the Story.........

 

[JCitron]

Raises hand here...

When I invest in something, I always look for the best ROI I can get on the product, and this includes electronics. A computer part or computer system is never a good investment due to their fast obsolescence. No matter how much we plan to get out of a computer, it never really pays back what we put into the initial investment unlike a well-made musical instrument, or a good tool as you noted Lataxe for example. With today's prices, we'll never even come close to any kind of ROI no matter how hard we try. When I do invest in computers, however, I will always buy at the highest level I can afford rather than being a cheapskate and end up sacrificing something now only to have to replace it later. The other reason is the faster machines in the first place will have a longer shelf life than a slower one which will become obsolete faster due to software requirements becoming even faster than the machine that is supposed to run it.

With that in mind, my soon to be replaced PC is going on 6 or 7 years old. The power supply is actually 11 years old and the video card 5. The parts, while working except for the motherboard, are beginning to show their age. Given the cost these days for computers and parts, I plan on getting at least as many years out of the new PC as I did this one that it's replacing.

The difference this time compared to the past is I'm buying a prebuild. The cost of the individual components in a similar build is far higher than I can get the Dell for. The other reason is I'm tired of building my own machines. The last build with the MSI motherboard was nothing but trouble right from the beginning. instead of being a single warranty, I had to deal with flaky memory from the supplier, a faulty motherboard from MSI. The motherboard actually was replaced in 2016 after failing completely. I had an instant no additional questions asked replacement for that! I don't want to deal with that all over again, and this time around it would mean replacing the power supply and the ever-so-expensive video card which in the Dell costs as much as the whole PC does if I were to buy it separately.

Is this a good ROI? Nope it never will be, but I'll make sure I suck as much juice out of this orange before I throw away the pulp!

 

[Paul_Bert]

I used to enjoy building my own stuff. To day it feels more like work than fun.

Last hear I bought the top of the line Alienware desktop (a Dell Product). Lots of money, but I have never looked back. About a month ago the Alienware diagnostics ran and it detected a problem with the hard drive. Within 15 minutes I got an email from Dell indicating the defect had been noted and that a new hard drive would arrive at my house the next day, no charge because it was still under warranty. Sure enough the next afternoon the new hard drive arrived.

Thats service at its best. I extended my warranty for two more years because the computer has the NVIDIA 3090 processor which costs an arm and leg to buy or replace, if you can find one.

Several years ago I toured the Dell desktop factory in Texas and was impressed. That trip cured me of the urge to “build my own computer”.