Video editing & general use PC

[johmil]

I want to replace my old XP machine. The PC will be used for general stuff, web browsing, word processing, etc and I tend to have a few windows open at once. I also edit digital photographs and also do video editing occasionally(non HD at the moment although this could change in the future). I want to get the best I can within a budget of around 850GBP (tower only). I've put together a likely looking machine based on the PCSpecialist standard video-editing spec. Any comments would be welcome, especially with regard to the graphics card (don't know much about this, so just went with the standard spec). In theory the PSU should be fine, but may add a Blu-Ray drive at some point)

Case STYLISH SILVER/BLACK TRIDENT CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5-760 Quad Core (2.80GHz, 8MB Cache)
Motherboard ASUS® P7H57D-V EVO: FULL ATX, TRUE USB 3.0 & SATA 6.0GB/s
Memory (RAM) 4GB CORSAIR XMS3 DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card 1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT240 PCI EXPRESS (3D BluRay Ready!)
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
640GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD6402AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)
Power Supply & Case Cooling 450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS)
Modem NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Floppy Disk Drive NONE
Firewire & Video Editing - Motherboard has one Firewire port
TV Card NONE (but I have an ASUS PCI Card which I intend to transfer)
Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit (Some XP legacy stuff)

Exisitmg PC has suffered some overheating problems, perhaps because of location (poor airflow), so want this one to be well cooled and as quiet as possible.

Thanks

John M

[johmil]

Not sure if the lack of response means this looks OK. However, I forgot to add one thing in the usage information - I'm not into gaming - at all!

John M

[PCS]

Hello John

Sorry - keeping up with our forum is taking up a lot of time at the moment!

The "default" spec listed above will be more than adequate for what you require, but for the best spec for about £850 (well this one came to £898 ), please see below:

Case
COOLERMASTER SILEO 500 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-760 Quad Core (2.80GHz, 8MB Cache)
Motherboard
ASUS® P7H57D-V EVO: FULL ATX, TRUE USB 3.0 & SATA 6.0GB/s
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)
Power Supply & Case Cooling
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£25)
Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EXTREME DIRECT TOUCH COPPER CPU COOLER (£39)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days

[johmil]

That graphics card is over 100GBP more than the standard one - as I don't play games, what extra benefits do I get? There seems to be a bias against the Corsair memory which is supposedly faster - why the change to Samsung. Finally, you've lost my 2nd HDD - essential. Thanks for the advice.

John M