crazybeckster
New member
Hi Everyone,
I have finally run out of patience with my laptop and am looking to replace it with a new desktop. I thought I knew what I wanted but the more I consider my options, the more confused I am getting so I could do with a little help. My current laptop has an Intel Celeron 430 M 1.73Ghz processor, with 1GB of RAM and a shared graphics setup. It is mainly used for work and browsing the internet and whilst it generally manages both of these tasks, it could be a little quicker. I also use it for playing games and due to the fact that the shared graphics is about as much use as a lettuce leaf wrapped in tin foil, I usually have to select the lowest graphics settings and playing anything tends to be a very unpleasant experience
So what do I want from my new system ? My laptop is generally on for 10 – 14 hours a day and sometimes can be left on for days at a time so I need something that is going to be reliable. I tend to do a lot of work on it and manage 3 websites so I spend a lot of time waiting for updates to upload and preparing product images before they are uploaded. Paintshop Pro runs like a horse with 3 legs so I don’t want to be spending forever staring at a blank screen, or if I do then I would like to be getting on with something else at the same time. In terms of the games I play, I haven’t really moved on from playing Neverwinter Nights, Medieval Total War, Railroad Tycoon, Galactic Civilisations 2, Starcraft and Civilization 3. The highest recommend spec on any of these games is a Pentium 3 800Mhz with 256Mb of RAM and a 128MB graphics card.
Now the work side of things seems pretty straight forward as I suspect any system I get is going to be an improvement on what I have at the moment. I just can’t work out what to do in relation to running the games I like. Having had such a bad experience with the shared graphics on my laptop I feel that I need a dedicated graphics card but I am not running top of the range games. Now I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I have a bottomless pit of money to spend but I don’t want to spend money on a system that I am not going to get the full benefit from or doesn't do what I want.
So, based on what I want to do with the computer and for the games I want to play, would a basic dual core processor with shared graphics suffice ? Or do I need a dedicated graphics card ?
If I don't, is it worth investing in a better processor ?
If I go down the avenue of shared graphics again, is AMD better than Intel ?
Would 4gb of memory be enough ? Will I get any benefit in going to 8gb ?
Here is the system I was looking at ...
Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA MICRO-ATX CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
AMD A4-3300 APU (2.5GHz, 2 Cores) & AMD Radeon™ HD 6410D Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® F1A55-M LE: FM1 A-SERIES, SATA 3.0GB/s, USB 2.0
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
Integrated AMD Radeon HD 6000 Series Graphics
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
250GB SATA-II 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
350W Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
19" Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 2MS, D-Sub, DVI, 18.5" Panel (£79)
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 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1
Price: £357.00 including VAT and delivery.
Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/amd-llano-home-office/
Any thoughts and advice would be most welcome.
Thanks
Becky x
I have finally run out of patience with my laptop and am looking to replace it with a new desktop. I thought I knew what I wanted but the more I consider my options, the more confused I am getting so I could do with a little help. My current laptop has an Intel Celeron 430 M 1.73Ghz processor, with 1GB of RAM and a shared graphics setup. It is mainly used for work and browsing the internet and whilst it generally manages both of these tasks, it could be a little quicker. I also use it for playing games and due to the fact that the shared graphics is about as much use as a lettuce leaf wrapped in tin foil, I usually have to select the lowest graphics settings and playing anything tends to be a very unpleasant experience
So what do I want from my new system ? My laptop is generally on for 10 – 14 hours a day and sometimes can be left on for days at a time so I need something that is going to be reliable. I tend to do a lot of work on it and manage 3 websites so I spend a lot of time waiting for updates to upload and preparing product images before they are uploaded. Paintshop Pro runs like a horse with 3 legs so I don’t want to be spending forever staring at a blank screen, or if I do then I would like to be getting on with something else at the same time. In terms of the games I play, I haven’t really moved on from playing Neverwinter Nights, Medieval Total War, Railroad Tycoon, Galactic Civilisations 2, Starcraft and Civilization 3. The highest recommend spec on any of these games is a Pentium 3 800Mhz with 256Mb of RAM and a 128MB graphics card.
Now the work side of things seems pretty straight forward as I suspect any system I get is going to be an improvement on what I have at the moment. I just can’t work out what to do in relation to running the games I like. Having had such a bad experience with the shared graphics on my laptop I feel that I need a dedicated graphics card but I am not running top of the range games. Now I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I have a bottomless pit of money to spend but I don’t want to spend money on a system that I am not going to get the full benefit from or doesn't do what I want.
So, based on what I want to do with the computer and for the games I want to play, would a basic dual core processor with shared graphics suffice ? Or do I need a dedicated graphics card ?
If I don't, is it worth investing in a better processor ?
If I go down the avenue of shared graphics again, is AMD better than Intel ?
Would 4gb of memory be enough ? Will I get any benefit in going to 8gb ?
Here is the system I was looking at ...
Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA MICRO-ATX CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
AMD A4-3300 APU (2.5GHz, 2 Cores) & AMD Radeon™ HD 6410D Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® F1A55-M LE: FM1 A-SERIES, SATA 3.0GB/s, USB 2.0
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
Integrated AMD Radeon HD 6000 Series Graphics
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
250GB SATA-II 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
350W Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
19" Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 2MS, D-Sub, DVI, 18.5" Panel (£79)
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 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1
Price: £357.00 including VAT and delivery.
Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/amd-llano-home-office/
Any thoughts and advice would be most welcome.
Thanks
Becky x