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This question asks for general feedback of a build and (possibly, if it comes to it) recommendations for computer hardware.

The question itself could be considered on-topic since it leads to recommendations, but what about questions that strictly ask for feedback on a current or future build? Does the recommendation part of our name extend to this realm or should we restrict anything that involves this?

It hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure there will be instances in the future where people want some opinions on their builds. "Opinions" in this case would essentially mean we provide facts about errors in compatibility or something like that. This, then, could possibly lead to hardware recommendations.

So would this situation fit within our current scope?

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2 Answers 2

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asks for general feedback of a build

This sounds too broad. I think your description, combined with the last paragraph of the question being discussed, definitely makes the question to broad.

Are there any other improvements I could take, or is what I have good enough for my current use, and changing anything would be a waste of money?

"Any other improvements" is asking for a wide range of potential upgrades. The build could use an SSD (as the current answer suggests), it could get more RAM (as the OP mentions), a new video card and more.

Regarding opinions on builds, that's essentially what this question is already. It's asking what can be improved across the entire machine. It's not asking for specific components. I don't think questions about builds is going to work here. They are too broad.

However, if a user wants to upgrade a component - say they want to replace their current video card with a new one. That is a question waiting to happen. If they have it narrowed down to what they want the new card to be able to handle (certain games, certain applications, certain programming tasks, etc), but don't know what will work with their current motherboard, that is a recommendation type question.

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  • I agree with this. Good explanation.
    – Adam
    Oct 13, 2015 at 4:35
  • Agree with everything here - we basically need to apply our too-broad/unclear rule.
    – Undo
    Oct 13, 2015 at 4:58
  • Changed the question to be more "Would changing X or Y help with task Z?"
    – CBredlow
    Oct 13, 2015 at 6:05
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I did follow the rules on asking questions, such as "What should I improve for X use case?" I even followed a recommendation mentioned in the tour: "Specific issues with hardware recommendations"

For example: this question shows a quote from the moderators that shows I asked a proper question. I gave a set of parts, a proposed change, a definite use case and I asked if I missed anything. I could edit out the section where I state "anything else I could change", because I don't wish to change anything else (I already know SSDs are a good boost, and I already have a couple installed)

As for specific components, I state "I'm debating upgrading to a 9xx series card, and increasing the memory to 32GB" both statements are very specific about what is being done, and that's what I'm asking. I can edit the question to just that scope, or I can split the question into two different ones asking if it's valid to upgrade the GPU and another asking if going to 32GB is worth the price.

Too summarize, I gave specific components I currently have, defined my use case, gave potential changes, and asked if they are really needed. Also, I edited my question and removed the things that made it opinion based.

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  • "would I gain more value simply upgrading the video card, and leaving the memory the same, or should I upgrade both?" - How do you define value, in this case? Is it "can I run all of this stuff with what I have?", in which case you don't provide enough details. Is it "can I run this stuff faster?", in which case I still think more details are needed - what card do you have, how much ram do you have? Is it "I want to resell this at some point, should I put new components in?" - again details of what you have now are missing.
    – Andy Mod
    Oct 13, 2015 at 14:35
  • The linked question to the moderator quote shows that your question, as originally asked: "Are there any other improvements I could take, or is what I have good enough for my current use, and changing anything would be a waste of money?" is to broad. You could upgrade any number of things to improve your system. You also don't mention if your current system is meeting your current use cases. Is the system performing as you expect? If not, what's not working as you expect? If you are having problems rendering vs having problems opening multiple tabs in Chrome, are different problems.
    – Andy Mod
    Oct 13, 2015 at 14:38
  • @Andy I provided sufficient details on what I currently have in the link posted in the question.
    – CBredlow
    Oct 13, 2015 at 14:52
  • "What I'd like to is change the video card and put in a 9XX series graphics card in there" - Change from what? How do we evaluate if it's a better value if we don't know what you have. "maxxing out the RAM to be 32GB" - How much do you have? If you have 1GB, yes, upgrade. If you have 24GB, no, not worth it.
    – Andy Mod
    Oct 13, 2015 at 14:54
  • @Andy did you follow the link? My current video card is mentioned there.
    – CBredlow
    Oct 13, 2015 at 14:56
  • No. I didn't follow the link. I have now, edited your question to include the part list in the question itself, and proposed a new quality guideline to prevent confusion in the future. My apologies for misunderstanding.
    – Andy Mod
    Oct 13, 2015 at 15:10

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