The program I use to convert movie formats for PLEX can use both the CPU and Nvidia GPUs for encoding. It was pretty obvious that the new rig would be faster than mine.
The question was just how bad the beating would be.
i5-3660k
GTX 770
DVD converted in 4:55
Blu-ray converted in 1:25:44
i7-12700KF
RTX 3060
DVD converted in 0:56
Blu-ray converted in 18:42
Ouch.
Clearly a sign that it's time to upgrade from a raft to a speedboat.
That old 770 must be gagging on data with only 4 gigs of VRAM.
While I was looking around online for my potential next PC, I began to note something while using Task Manager on my current PC. My budget PC from 2014 or so has a quad-core Intel Celeron processor with 1.9 GHz. One thing I didn't notice until last night was how my original clock of 1.9 GHz went up to about 2.3 GHz. So maybe this is what got some of my games to have that extra bit of performance boost when needed. I still want to get a better PC to maybe be able to play some of the modern titles. And speaking of new PC...
I been weighing my options towards a newer PC. I am considering the refurbished PC market. I am either looking at an office mini PC or a very decent small form factor (SFF) PC. I been looking at refurbished mini office versions of the Dell OptiPlex, HP EliteDesk, and Lenovo ThinkCentre- all of which are popular. For the SFF PCs, I was looking at the OptiPlex or one of the snazzy HP ProDesk or EliteDesk models. I began to get an idea of what the larger OptiPlex was like when I went for a doctor's checkup last week. I am NOT considering the OptiPlex tower, mind you. I want my next PC to be at a minimum of 8GB RAM with a 2.9 GHz processor. My recommended specifications for me are 16GB RAM with a 3.4 GHz processor. RAM greater than 16GB and/or a processor greater than 3.4 GHz can future proof me a bit. I am using Steam's minimum requirements for iRacing as kind of a baseline for PC specifications I want my next PC to have, though I do not intend on buying/playing iRacing. I also doubt I can get a decent enough computer that could play a game with more complicated requirements, like Elden Ring or Cyberpunk 2077.
Finally, I began to realize what is possible using a mini PC. I almost thought about getting not one, but two mini PCs- one as my daily PC, and the other as a more media-specific PC. It was what I thought of when I saw PC sticks like from MeLE. A long time ago, I gave up on having an Android TV box for media consumption. I felt a more media-specific PC on a stick would be great for the likes of KODI/XBMC, music streaming, and more. The other PC may not even be considered for basic tasks or even light gaming. I haven't seriously considered this yet. Just thinking about it for now.
My questions here are:
1) What's your budget?
2) How much physical space do you have for this system?
3) What games and programs are you specifically looking to play/use?
4) Are you able/willing to build a system yourself, or have someone who could help you build one?
If you're looking to play games the office PCs may not be the best option, especially the likes of Dell/HP/Lenovo due to the fact that their designs are mostly proprietary and lock you out of upgradability in the future, and would require an entirely new system as opposed to just upgrading individual components with a DIY build. SFF systems are especially limited due to their size, and likely wouldn't support many (or possibly any, depending on exact model) discrete GPUs; even DIY SFF cases tend to be limited in part compatibility due to their limited internal space. I used to have an SFF Dell computer before my current system, and I can say from experience you can't really "future-proof" something that lacks the ability to be improved in the first place; you're basically stuck with those specs and have to hope that they'll still be relevant for what you want to do over the system's life time. Refurbs can also be hit and miss (all dependent on who did it, what their refurb process is, what life the system led before hand, etc.) so you're best off sticking with first parties if you are set on that route.
However, if you're willing to do a DIY system (and provided you have room for a mid-tower), I put this parts list together from Amazon on something that might fit your spec requirements.
CPU: Ryzen 5 4500 (4.1GHz max boost frequency) - $78
Motherboard: MSI B450M Pro Series Micro-ATX - $75
GPU: MSI Gaming RTX 3060 12GB - $285
RAM: TEAMGROUP T-Create Classic DDR4 16GB - $40 (32GB of the same model RAM is an extra $10)
Power Supply: Seasonic S12III SSR 500W 80+ Bronze - $60
Storage: Crucial P3 M.2 NVME SSD 1TB -$40
Case: Lian Li Lancool 216 - $100 (Dimensions LWH: 19" x 9.25" x 19.5")
Additional Case Fans: Noctua NF-P14 Redux - $17 (x4)
OS: Windows 11 64 Bit (USB) - $138* (couldn't find official USB releases for sale on Amazon, so this one comes from Newegg)
Total: $883
Depending on what else you want to do you could downgrade the GPU option (I chose the 12GB card as that should have enough VRAM to be relevant for a couple years to play newer triple-A titles since they're just starting to go over the long-standard 8GB minimum). If 8GB is all you think you need, then something like an AMD RX 580 can be had for $100. You could also likely find a slightly smaller case dimension wise, but I chose the Lancool 216 because I can attest to it's build quality, ease of part installation, and airflow for adequate cooling. Either way, that kind of system should have enough performance to be relevant both today and in a few years (err, probably; never know how much more intensive programs and games may become) and is the route I would recommend going if it's within budget.
Might go through them sometime soon and see what I can find.
