General video editing and light gaming spec

andlay

New member
Hi,
This is the spec I have just put together. Coming in at £901. It is over my budget,which was £700, but might stretch to £800, so looking at what I might change.

A few questions in particular:
1) Should I downgrade to cheaper 22" monitor?
2) AMD seemed cheaper than Intel on the specs I put together, will this impact my performance.
3) Have I over-spec'ed the processor and graphics card?

Thanks, Andy



Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X4 945 (3.00GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3)
Motherboard
ASUS® M4A87TD/USB3: DUAL DDR3,SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0
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
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
RAID (HDD 1 & 2)
NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£89)
2nd 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 (£29)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
4 PORT USB 2.0 INTERNAL PCI CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Floppy Disk Drive
NONE
Firewire & Video Editing
NONE
TV Card
NONE
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
Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D FULL HD 1920x1080 (£149)
2nd Monitor
NONE
DVI Cable
1 x 2 Metre DVI Cable (£5)
GeForce 3D Vision
NONE
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Wireless Desktop® MK250 Keyboard and Mouse Combo (£19)
Mouse
NONE
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)
 

Phoenix

Prolific Poster
You don't really need the 2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive because the 1st one can read/write both Blu-ray discs and normal DVD's. AMD are great value for money so while they may not be quite as fast as the intel chips they're still good and cost effective.
 

PCS

Administrator
Staff member
Welcome to our forums andlay :)

Regarding your questions:

1. If you're budget conscious and you're not overly fussed about the latest LED monitors, then a standard 22" will be more than sufficient.
2. AMD are generally cheaper than Intel and performance will only be impacted with confuguring the more "extreme" high end systems, where Intel out-performs AMD.
3. I wouldn't say so, but I don't know what you plan to use your computer for, so I cannot confirm.

Here's a well balanced spec for £700, suitable for gaming, video editing in addition to the usual internet, email and video use. I have amended the following:

1. Changed to single Blu-ray ROM with DVD Writer drive. You don't need two drives, and most people don't need to write Blu-Ray discs.
2. I've changed to a single 1TB hard drive - do you really need 2TB of storage?

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i3-540 Dual Core (3.06GHz, 4MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P7H55-M SI: MICRO ATX VALUE MAINBOARD,USB 2.0 & SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT240 PCI EXPRESS (3D BluRay Ready!)
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£59)
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 (£29)
Processor Cooling
INTEL SOCKET LGA1156 STANDARD 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) 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
Monitor
22" Wide TFT Silver/Black 1920 x1080 2MS D-Sub, DVI, 21.6" Panel (£119)
DVI Cable
1 x 2 Metre DVI Cable (£5)
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Wireless Desktop® MK250 Keyboard and Mouse Combo (£19)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)
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 9 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £743.00 including VAT and delivery.
 
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