Advice on new desktop please

[jonlap]

Hi

Our existing desktop is now painfully slow and can no longer cope (Celeron 2 GHz - 1 GB RAM - 80 GB Hard drive / 40 GB used - XP)

We use our PC for photo editing (this is what bogs the existing desktop down), school and uni work including presentations, internet browsing, music, occasional films and very little gameing

We are on a tight budget, what are your opinions on the spec listed below please and how future proof is it?

Thanks

Jon


Case
STYLISH SILVER/BLACK TRIDENT 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
INTEGRATED INTEL HD GRAPHICS (HDMI, DVI, 1920 X 1200)
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA 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 (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)
Power Supply & Case Cooling
350W Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
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
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (Incl Disc & 1 License for 3 devices) (£89)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Internet 350 USB Keyboard (£9)
Mouse
Black Logitech® Optical Wheel Mouse USB (£5)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £566.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Sleinous]

On my iphone atm so sry for shorthand. At a glance id say this: if you're on a small budget dont before with i3, i5, i7 etc, go for a quad core, its ample, then push that psu up to 600w, add a dedicated vid card, eg. 5830/5850/gtx 460

 

[PCS]

Welcome to our forums.

My advice is as follows:

1. Do you need to use PowerPoint and OneNote? If not, then remove the Office 2010 Home & Student and opt for the free version, which includes a limited functionality version of Word and Excel - fine for spreadsheets and writing documents. This will save you £89!

2. With the money saved, consider adding a 1GB GT240 graphics card, which will give you a beter performance for gaming than the integrated graphics. However, as you mentioned that you play games infrequently, perhaps you could keep the integrated graphics card and reduce the price...

Other than that, the specification is more than adequate for your needs.