Advice on my chosen specification

R

Red Squirrel

Bronze Level Poster
I am looking to replace my stoneage windows 98 PC with a shiny new one from PC Specialist, my budget is around £800 - £1,000 and i've chosen a specification which I would like some advice on from the pcs experts on this forum.

I will be primarily using the pc to listen to music, mp3's & web music streaming, web video streaming, watching blu-ray and DVD's. (I won't be doing any gaming on the pc)

I want a pc with a good spec that will last me a fair few years so I don't want to scrimp and comprise on the components inside the pc as i'd like it to run happily without it struggling to cope while having several programs open and running at the same time.

Are the integrated graphics card and sound card on the motherboard good enough to cope with what I want to use it for as good quality picture & audio are important to me.

Thanks in anticipation.

Red Squirrel




Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-650 Dual Core (3.20GHz, 4MB Cache) + HD Graphics + Turbo Boost
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 GTS250 PCI EXPRESS
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
4x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ROM (£36)
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£89)
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
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Xtreme Audio (£38)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI EXPRESS CARD
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
KASPERSKY ANTI-VIRUS 2010 - 1 Year Licence for 1 PC (£10)
Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D FULL HD 1920x1080 (£149)
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Internet 350 USB Keyboard (£9)
Mouse
Black Logitech® Optical Wheel Mouse USB (£5)
Speakers
LOGITECH Z323 2.1 Stereo speakers with Rich bass and 360-degree sound (£39)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
 
Tom DWC

Tom DWC

Moderator
Moderator
Unless you're going to be using them both at the same time then there's no need for two Blu-Ray drives. The Blu-Ray ROM can read Blu-Ray discs and the Blu-Ray RE-WRITER can both read and write to Blu-Ray disc. They can both read and write to DVD/CD. Selecting just the one drive would be better value for money.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend the i5 6 series processor as it's a dual core model as opposed to the 7 series quad core model. Not that you need a quad core, however, but the i3 series is also dual core, comes with the same onboard HD graphics chip as the i5 and is much better value.

The GTS 250 may be overkill for your needs as the new onboard graphics chips can handle HD video playback. Although it would be more future proof (a dedicated graphics card can never hurt). Even so, the newly released GTS 450 is only slightly more expensive and even more future proof due to its increased performance and DX11 support.
 
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PCS

PCS

Administrator
Staff member
Welcome to our forums Red Squirrel :)

Tom DWC has posted some great advice which you should consider before ordering. I have put together a specification for you which I envisage to be as future-proof as possible (taking into consideration that you don't really play games). For your information, you can upgrade to a 24" monitor for just £30 more, but on the spec below I've left it at 22":

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-760 Quad Core (2.80GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost
Motherboard
ASUS® P7P55D-E: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT
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 RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£89)
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
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
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
KASPERSKY ANTI-VIRUS 2010 - 1 Year Licence for 1 PC (£10)
Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D FULL HD 1920x1080 (£149)
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Wireless Desktop® MK250 Keyboard and Mouse Combo (£19)
Speakers
LOGITECH Z323 2.1 Stereo speakers with Rich bass and 360-degree sound (£39)
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: £966.00 including VAT and delivery.
 
R

Red Squirrel

Bronze Level Poster
Thank you Tom DWC & PCS for your replies and suggestions it's much appreciated :)

What connection cables IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN Monitor come with?
 
Sleinous

Sleinous

Author Level
Id also consider changing the HDD to a 1tb wd10ears 64mb cached drive instead of a 16mb cached drive. Should help with read/write speeds on small file operations and bootup times. Its the next best thing to a solid state drive apart from the 10000 rpm drives
 
R

Red Squirrel

Bronze Level Poster
Sleinous said:
Id also consider changing the HDD to a 1tb wd10ears 64mb cached drive instead of a 16mb cached drive. Should help with read/write speeds on small file operations and bootup times. Its the next best thing to a solid state drive apart from the 10000 rpm drives
Click to expand...

That would certainly be beneficial thanks for the advice Sleinous :D
 
R

Red Squirrel

Bronze Level Poster
On the USB options its default to 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD, if you select in the drop down menu 2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI EXPRESS CARD do you still get the 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD aswell?
 
Sleinous

Sleinous

Author Level
Yes, you do, it is just a PCIe x1 card that slots into an available PCie x16, x4 or x1 expansion slot on your motherboard. Like so:

asusmobo2.png


The 2 green rectangles are the most likely places that PCS would place your USB 3.0 card :)

Hope all that helps.
 
R

Red Squirrel

Bronze Level Poster
Thanks for all the advice and i've tweaked my spec as follows

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-760 Quad Core (2.80GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost
Motherboard
ASUS® P7P55D-E: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT
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 WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
4x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ROM (£36)
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£89)
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
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI EXPRESS CARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
KASPERSKY ANTI-VIRUS 2010 - 1 Year Licence for 1 PC (£10)
Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D FULL HD 1920x1080 (£149)
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Internet 350 USB Keyboard (£9)
Mouse
Black Logitech® Optical Wheel Mouse USB (£5)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 12 NOON) (£19)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 12 working days

Price: £1,046.00 including VAT and delivery.

I've gone for 2 BLU RAY/DVD drives as I do sometimes want to make a back up copies of DVD/CD's and just makes things a lot easier to copy direct from 1 drive to another :)
I've also gone for extra storage with 2 hard drives instead of 1 and also a USB 3.0 internal PCI Express card to future proof a bit more.

Now I've got to speak nicely to my bank :D

I already have some fab Lucasfilm THX Dolby surround speakers (with sub woofer) the Altec Lansing ADA885 which i'd like to use on this new pc and I just want to check that the onboard sound card will support these speakers?

What do you guys think of the tweaked spec?

Red Squirrel
 
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Sleinous

Sleinous

Author Level
Sleinous said:
Yes, you do, it is just a PCIe x1 card that slots into an available PCie x16, x4 or x1 expansion slot on your motherboard. Like so:

asusmobo2.png


The 2 green rectangles are the most likely places that PCS would place your USB 3.0 card :)

Hope all that helps.
Click to expand...

You will have atleast 1 PCI and 1 PCIe x1 slot left. The PCI will be the 2nd one down in my pic as the one below the PCIe x16 lane (long blue one at top) will be hidden under your dual thickness GPU.

EDIT: Is the GT240 GPU dual width btw?
 
R

Red Squirrel

Bronze Level Poster
My current PC has an old Creative SB live value CT4780 sound card which has 5 audio I/O ports colour coded as follows
Yellow - Digital output jack
Blue - Line in
Pink - Mic In
Green - Front Speakers
Black - Back speakers

The Altec Lansing ADA885 speakers connect to the Yellow (digital output) and the Green & Black speaker connections on my old pc.

The ASUS® P7P55D-E motherboard with the onboard sound has 6 audio I/O ports there's Green & Black for the front/back speakers, blue for line in, pink for mic in, grey for side speakers and orange for centre/subwoofer.
There isn't a yellow socket for digital output so where would i connect that on the new pc?
 
PCS

PCS

Administrator
Staff member
Great specification Red Squirrel :)

The ASUS P7P55D-E backplate looks like this:

1_big.jpg

The official specification for the audio is as follows:

VIA® VT1828S 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
- Absolute Pitch BD192/24
- DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC
- BD audio layer Content Protection
- Supports Jack-Detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-Retasking
- Optical S/PDIF out ports at back I/O

Based on this I cannot see that any of our motherboards support the digital 3.5mm connector and neither do our "reasonably priced" soundcards. I may be wrong here, but I'm sure our other members will correct me if I am. You may be best installing your existing soundcard into your new PC?
 
R

Red Squirrel

Bronze Level Poster
PCS said:
Great specification Red Squirrel :)

The ASUS P7P55D-E backplate looks like this:

1_big.jpg

The official specification for the audio is as follows:

VIA® VT1828S 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
- Absolute Pitch BD192/24
- DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC
- BD audio layer Content Protection
- Supports Jack-Detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-Retasking
- Optical S/PDIF out ports at back I/O

Based on this I cannot see that any of our motherboards support the digital 3.5mm connector and neither do our "reasonably priced" soundcards. I may be wrong here, but I'm sure our other members will correct me if I am. You may be best installing your existing soundcard into your new PC?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the old creative sound card isn't supported by Vista or Windows 7 so i'll have to get new speakers afterall
 
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