This article was published in the June 2015 issue of Maximum PC. For more trusted reviews and feature stories,subscribe here.
The Doctor answers your questions about Windows 10, building PCs, and waiting for SSDs
Windows 10 32-bit?
My business requires I use older software that will not run on any 64-bit OS. This program runs very well on Windows 7 when it’s installed as a 32-bit OS. Will Windows 10 be available in 32-bit trim for those of us who helped the PC industry get started? —Dennis Quicker
The Doctor Responds: Yes, Dennis. Win10 will be made available as a 32-bit OS. Right now, Microsoft’s saying you need 1GB of RAM to run the 32-bit preview version or 2GB for 64-bit. There’s another option you might consider, particularly if you’re on a machine with lots of memory that isn’t getting used by your 32-bit OS. Install the 64-bit build and virtualize your 32-bit workload with Hyper-V. That line-of-business program can run in its own 32-bit world, while the rest of your software enjoys the benefits of a 64-bit environment. Hyper-V is already included as part of Windows 8.1, and it’ll be improved in Windows 10. If you want to learn more about it, check out http://bit.ly/1HjQAqF.
Time to Upgrade
Hi, your magazine is great! It’s actually the first PC-oriented publication that caught my interest (I’ve been a console gamer since Pong). WoW got me into the world of PCs, and I’m loving SWTOR. Anyway, on to my query. I have an Asus G60VX laptop with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M, 4GB of RAM, and Windows 7 64-bit. I bought it at Best Buy for a song back in ‘09, and it still runs like new. Is there any way for me to upgrade the hardware, or should I just sell it and buy a new one? Thanks, you have a new subscriber! —Eric Buck
The Doctor Responds: Talk about a blast from the past, Eric. That system sports a Core 2 Duo processor and its GeForce graphics module includes 1GB of DDR3 memory. While the Doc considers himself an enthusiast and is always eager to swap out mechanical storage for solidstate, in this case it’s probably better to enjoy your machine the way it sits and consider saving up for something a little more modern. If you enjoy The Old Republic now, on a G92b-based GPU, just imagine jumping forward three generations to something like a GeForce GTX 965M or 970M.
The Do-It-All Build
I’m looking to build a new PC for somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000. It’ll mostly be for gaming, but I’ll also be compiling software on it. Do you have any recommendations on what to use? I see builds in your magazine all of the time, but they aren’t tailored to the way I want to go. —Viper Locc
The Doctor Responds: As I’m sure you can imagine, the Doc receives a lot of requests for build help. You’d think they would be easy to answer. But they aren’t. Particularly when they’re light on important information. Does form factor matter? Do you care more about looks than speed? How much data does this machine need to house? So, the Doc will answer your question as if he were building a new PC between $1,500 and $2,000.
Balance is the most important concept to consider as you pick your parts. A bottleneck imposed by any one component will limit performance and detract from an otherwise enjoyable experience. Because you specifically called out software development, Viper, the Doc would start with an Intel Core i7-5820K sporting six cores and 15MB of shared L3 cache. It’s an unlocked processor, so you have the opportunity to overclock beyond 4GHz with a good cooler. That CPU needs to drop into an X99-based motherboard. Take your pick—they range from under $200 to over $600, though you don’t need to spend big. Asrock, Gigabyte, and MSI all have affordable options the Doc would recommend. Of course, you need a quadchannel DDR4 memory kit to maximize bandwidth, and those get pretty pricey. G.Skill sells four 4GB modules for around $175. They’re rated for 2,400 MT/s, though higher data rates are typically easy to achieve through overclocking. Next up is graphics. A GeForce GTX 980 will give you amazing performance at up to around 2560x1440 in even the most demanding games. A couple of GeForce GTX 970s should handle 4K well.
The storage subsystem is a matter of personal preference. You definitely want an SSD in there, and I’d consider the 250GB Crucial MX200 to be a baseline for just over $100. Add a 2 or 3TB mechanical disk for less than $100 and you have a fairly capable tiered storage setup able to hold your response-sensitive apps (like games) and user data (like movies and music).
Back all of that hardware up with a high-quality power supply in the 750 to 800W range. Corsair’s CX750 would get the job done for around $80. Don’t forget a capable cooler for the CPU—closed-loop liquid and big air solutions are equally viable, though you can expect to pay more for the former.
That takes you up to around $1,600, assuming you go the GTX 980 route, leaving a bit of wiggle room to figure out if you need a new chassis, optical drive, operating system, or monitor. If that well-balanced configuration isn’t tailored to the way you want to go, you’ll need to send the Doc more specific guidance.
SSD Waiting Game
Hello Doctor, I have a new (to me) Toshiba P55-A5312 laptop with a fourth-gen Core i5 processor and 750GB hard drive with 16GB RAM and Windows 8.1 (with Linux as the other OS). It’s very quiet except for the disk making noise and running slowly. I have another Toshiba laptop with an older third-generation Core CPU and Samsung 840 Pro inside. It’s wonderful. Now I find myself wanting to upgrade the newer notebook’s hard drive to an SSD.
Should I wait for the next generation of SSDs to upgrade it, or will Samsung’s 850 Pro be more than enough? Can old laptops even take advantage of the speed offered by new M.2 SSDs? I know it’s much easier to upgrade a desktop using higher-bandwidth PCIe cards. —Adam
The Doctor Responds: Don’t wait, Adam. From what the Doc can see, Toshiba’s P55-A5312 only has a SATA interface. The fastest SSDs available (including the 850 Pro you mentioned) already saturate 6Gb/s links, and that’s when you benchmark with a high-end desktop platform. The Core i5-4200U in your machine is one of Intel’s low-power 15W parts. It won’t push the kind of I/O needed to expose a modern SSD’s performance ceiling anyway. But the notebook assuredly would benefit from a move to solid-state storage instead of that 5,400rpm disk.
There’s one other thing to keep in mind as you shop for future upgrades: M.2 doesn’t necessarily translate to faster storage. The specification facilitates legacy SATA connectivity, which isn’t any faster than existing 2.5-inch drives, SATA Express using AHCI, which at least puts the device on a PCI Express link, and SATA Express with NVMe. That last option is where you’ll see the next revolution in storage. Unfortunately, the ecosystem isn’t quite ready.
Whitelist Woes
I sure miss the Dog. Perhaps he would have warned me about the whitelist on my HP Pavilion DV7 4080US laptop. I wanted to replace its Intel 802.11n card with a newer accapable wireless device. Piece of cake, right? But it can’t be done because the BIOS doesn’t have the card I want in its list of approved options. How do I go about removing that check without bricking my laptop? —Frank Miller
The Doctor Responds: The Doc is sure that HP has its reasons for limiting the cards you can swap into its laptops (compatibility issues, perhaps?), but he agrees this is an unfortunate approach on an open PC platform. Don’t feel singled-out though—other OEMs employ similar strategies to prevent customers from adding untested hardware.
There are ways around the whitelist, though they are by no means trivial. You’ve likely found the forum threads online that describe how to either add your card’s device ID to the whitelist or remove the check process altogether. Many of the folks who try modifying their firmware do damage them in the process. What’s more, the Doc cannot find a single example of someone successfully modding the DV7 4080US. Proceed with this one at your own risk.
An Upgrade Gotcha
Dear Doc, I’ve an aging HP 6000 Pro small form factor PC that my family uses for gaming and other tasks. Though it’s a bit long in the tooth, I hope to get another year or so out of it before I shell out the cash for a replacement.
I realize its current specs are holding performance back, but I’m looking for your opinion to gauge whether I should install a few upgrades to try extending its life. Currently, it’s running Win7 Pro x64 and has an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400, 4GB of DDR3 (in a single-channel configuration), a 1TB Hitachi hard drive, GeForce GT 610 with 1GB of DDR3, and a 240W power supply.
I am thinking about buying a Zotac GeForce GTX 750 card with 1GB of GDDR5. It seems to be the fastest low-profile card out there that doesn’t need an external power connector. Along with the GPU, I’d also add another 4GB memory module for dual-channel operation. Do you suppose the power supply has enough maximum output to support this setup? Would the upgrade be worthwhile? —Jason Grant
The Doctor Responds: Your head is definitely in the right place, Jason. Adding a little more graphics horsepower and system memory would have a positive impact on that machine’s gaming performance. Nvidia’s GeForce GT 610 is rated for 29W, while the GeForce GTX 750 is a 55W card. Your Core 2 Quad is a 95W processor, so it’d be natural to guess that a 240W power supply could handle all of the hardware, even under full load. And the motherboard does in fact support a second 4GB DIMM.
Dig a little deeper into HP’s specifications, though. There are two versions of the 6000 Pro—a micro-tower and the small form factor chassis. Both include 16-lane PCIe slots. The former is available with a 320W power supply, while yours, as you know, is limited to 240W. That difference is significant. The micro-tower offers 75W of output on its 16-lane link, while yours can only do 35W. In other words, the GTX 750 likely won’t work; the GeForce GT 610 already comes close to maxing out the slot’s power. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
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