Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: glzsqd on February 13, 2015, 10:28:49 AM
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Lenovo TS140 Thinkserver
I can get one of these new for cheap from a friend, It would come with 4 Gigs of ram, Core I3 but no HDD (I have a few old ones I can throw in there). It would be configured as a desktop, no raid or anything along those lines.
What I want to know is if the Processor would be strong enough to handle things such as Video editing(entry level recreational BS) and Games(Play some older shooters, I don't mind if the graphics aren't turned up). I would probably throw another 4 or 8 gig stick of ram in there, run the OS off a SSD, and add a Graphics card. Do you guys think it would be worth it?
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Lenovo TS140 Thinkserver
I can get one of these new for cheap from a friend, It would come with 4 Gigs of ram, Core I3 but no HDD (I have a few old ones I can throw in there). It would be configured as a desktop, no raid or anything along those lines.
What I want to know is if the Processor would be strong enough to handle things such as Video editing(entry level recreational BS) and Games(Play some older shooters, I don't mind if the graphics aren't turned up). I would probably throw another 4 or 8 gig stick of ram in there, run the OS off a SSD, and add a Graphics card. Do you guys think it would be worth it?
How much is cheap? The main question is that can you build a new one cheaper and does the machine have a minimum x8 PCI-E 2.0 slot...
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How much is cheap? The main question is that can you build a new one cheaper and does the machine have a minimum x8 PCI-E 2.0 slot...
Honestly, he'd probably just give me the tower without a HDD, but I'd throw 100$ or so his way anyhow.
These are the PCI slots
◦1 x PCIe GEN3: HH/FL x16 mechanical, x16 electrical
◦1 x PCIe GEN2: HH/HL x1 mechanical, x1 electrical
◦1 x PCIe GEN2: HH/HL x16 mechanical, x4 electrical
◦1 x PCI 32-bit/33 MHz: FH/HL
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You can get those new for $426. For what I found in the specs (http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/servers/thinkserver/towers/ts140/#tab-tech_specs) there would be no such video card that would suit your needs. So you'd need a video card and also a power supply to feed it. Also notice that it uses ECC memory which costs twice as much as the standard RAM.
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You can get those new for $426. For what I found in the specs (http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/servers/thinkserver/towers/ts140/#tab-tech_specs) there would be no such video card that would suit your needs. So you'd need a video card and also a power supply to feed it. Also notice that it uses ECC memory which costs twice as much as the standard RAM.
The one I would be getting is new, just no HDD.
When you say there's no video card that would suit my needs, do you mean there's no video card I can add or that comes with the machine?
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I couldn't see any video card mentioned in the specs. That doesn't mean there would be no video card at all, probably there's an Intel chip capable of doing Office and such. The specs list seems to say, though, that there's a pci-e 16x slot (also in your list above) which means that you should be able to add one. Adding a decent gaming level video card would need more power than the original power supply would be able to produce.
Anyway, getting that computer to run AH or even less demanding games at a playable level would cost at least $200 or more, add another $100 for added RAM.
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Core I3 have built-in GPU.
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I couldn't see any video card mentioned in the specs. That doesn't mean there would be no video card at all, probably there's an Intel chip capable of doing Office and such. The specs list seems to say, though, that there's a pci-e 16x slot (also in your list above) which means that you should be able to add one. Adding a decent gaming level video card would need more power than the original power supply would be able to produce.
Anyway, getting that computer to run AH or even less demanding games at a playable level would cost at least $200 or more, add another $100 for added RAM.
I run AH on a Celeron laptop currently, you really think the onboard video is that weak on this desktop?
Not that it would matter since I would put a video card in it anyhow, my main concern is whether or not the Processor is up to the task.
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I run AH on a Celeron laptop currently, you really think the onboard video is that weak on this desktop?
Not that it would matter since I would put a video card in it anyhow, my main concern is whether or not the Processor is up to the task.
Oh well... I guess anything is better than a Celeron laptop. Anyway, as 633DH98 said i3 has a built-in GPU which means Intel Graphics. They don't interact with gaming code. Grey boxes instead of icons etc. But since you're going to get a real video card anyway, you're right, it won't matter.
As for the processor, the i3-4130 clocks rather high at 3.4 GHz which should run AH very well. My E8500 runs at 3.16 GHz and with a Radeon HD 6970 I can get all the eye candy I need. For video editing... Well, I know people who do that on a Celeron laptop running Windows Vista. Depends on the program you're using and the time you can spend among other variables. As for the price, I just noticed that they sell that computer without HDD on Amazon for "$224.99 & FREE Shipping"... Also bear in mind that they come without any operating system, Windows7 prices starting from $100 depending on version.
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I have a HDD and an OS already. Ill probably put an SSD in to run the OS and programs off of, and set it to save files on the Hard Disk.
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Well I went ahead and got the Lenovo TS140. cost 225$ for the tower with a Core I3 (3.5GHZ) 4G of ECC ram(will also take regular DDR3)
I have a 1TB HDD and a Windows 7 and 8 Coa lying around so the only things I'll need for it at this point is a Graphics Card, Power Supply, and more RAM.
I'll probably throw a 120g SSD into it also and run the OS off of that.
Anyone know of a "bang for your buck" Video card that would make sense to throw in there?
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Well I went ahead and got the Lenovo TS140. cost 225$ for the tower with a Core I3 (3.5GHZ) 4G of ECC ram(will also take regular DDR3)
I have a 1TB HDD and a Windows 7 and 8 Coa lying around so the only things I'll need for it at this point is a Graphics Card, Power Supply, and more RAM.
I'll probably throw a 120g SSD into it also and run the OS off of that.
Anyone know of a "bang for your buck" Video card that would make sense to throw in there?
Google for 'best gpu for the money' you'll find an article comparing cards.
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ITS HERE :x :x
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^Just read your original post and decided to check out the computer you mentioned. One of the first reviews on amazon had this to say about RAM:
Memory - be very careful ordering memory. I ordered from Amazon 3 times thinking I was getting correct memory and it wasn't. Most of the memory advertised is not compatible. If you try to buy the exact ram that ships, you'll pay 5x the going rate. It turns out that Lenovo sells ram directly that is supported and it's only about 20% above the going rate. After a lot of research and talking with Kingston, Crucial, and Lenovo, I ended up getting Kingston memory. Here are the models to look for:
ktl-ts316elv/4g - single rank
ktl-ts316elv/8g - dual rank
The system does not support rdimm and you must use udimm… these models are low voltage 1.35v… and can add the 1 4G and later add 2 8G
Another thing I noticed in the reviews was the optical drive is read only. May not be a game changer for you but thought I would point it out.
Good luck.
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Core I3 have built-in GPU.
According to the charts over at Tom's Hardware, the "GPU" on a core i3 ("Intel HD Graphics 4600") is roughly equivalent to an HD 3670.
Which is to say, it's not very good.
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^Just read your original post and decided to check out the computer you mentioned. One of the first reviews on amazon had this to say about RAM:
Another thing I noticed in the reviews was the optical drive is read only. May not be a game changer for you but thought I would point it out.
Good luck.
I work with these machines alot the store I work at sell them as office computers and Servers. They come with 4g of ECC ram but they are also compatible with standard DDR3.
I'm going to throw a videocard in there sometime soon, but I have to find out which one would be the most suitable for a $200 or less budget.
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Game runs well with built in GPU. Got a 180g SSD for the OS and programs.
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So far my total investment in the Machine is 225$ for the tower. I was able to find a Spare 180 SSD to run the OS on so thats no cost for me. The On-board GPU runs Aces High pretty good, and I was even able to get a relatively new game (Alien:Isolation) to run on it. I'm still looking to Put a stronger graphics card in coupled with more ram. I might be able to find a good power supply lying around though.
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Thinking of putting this in my Computer EVGA GeForce GTX 960
Any thoughts?
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glzz
you will be happy with the 960, I have 2 and it makes the game look awesome. Not as nice as a 970 or a 980, but it will suffice.
LawnDart
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What kind of power supply would go good with this?
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I have an 850 watt from corsair ... I would say at least 500 watt to be on the safe side, depends on other perriphials you have in the machine.
To be exact these are the ones I have.. http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=02G-P4-2968-KR
LawnDart
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I got a 500 watt lying around. thanks LAwndart :rock
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I was hoping Skuzzy would jump in here and tell you what graphics card you will need for AH3, but they may not have finalized that specs yet.
Maybe a hamster driven Intel graphics card could make it on lower resolution, maybe not. Future AH3 will move much work done by CPU to the graphics card because they are better for the job.
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Right now, the only thing we know, for certain, is if you want to run with all the eye candy on, it will require a video card with 2GB of dedicated video RAM, or more.
All the graphic work is going to be done by the GPU, so the faster it is, the better.
Intel video chip might be able to run the new version with all the eye candy disabled and minimum texture sizes, making the new version look like poo.
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all done.
TS140
Core I3 3.4Ghz
16G ram
160g SSD
1.5TB HDD
500W Powersupply
GTX960 GPU
Runs that new Alien game incredibly well :D