Advice on spec

[wimbledon]

This is my first foray into buying like this, I have always bought a configured bundle from the likes of Dell. I could do with some advice on certain aspects.

Use will mainly be Office apps, browsing and a litttle photo/Video editing. (I don't play games). I want the PC to be quiet and fast. I wouldn't mind reducing the cost a litttle but don't want to compromise on the things that are important to me. (my current PC is horribly noisy!)

I have a few questions

• The power consumption required is less than 350w is it worth paying extra for the 650 watt ultra quiet PSU?
• Is it worth paying the extra for the FRACTAL DESIGN R3 - BLACK PEARL ATX CASE? Will it be much better than The Coolermaster Sileo 500 Super Quiet Case ?
• As i'm not gaming will this low spec video card be good enough?

Case
FRACTAL DESIGN R3 - BLACK PEARL ATX CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8P67: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT430 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
450GB VELOCIRAPTOR WD4500HLHX, SATA 6-Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (10,000rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TX SERIES (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£78)
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 - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
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 11 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £964.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Meds]

Hey, welcome to the forums!

- TX650 is a bit over the top, the 450W PSU will more than enough power and very quiet too!
- You don't really need to go for the R3 - it is a good case but I think the Sileo 500 would be more than enough for you.
- The Graphics Card is good. You could probably get away with a cheaper model to be honest but there's no harm in having that extra bit of grunt as you never know, you may need it in a few years time!

Other points;

- You don't need the Kingston 1600MHz unless you plan to OC. The Samsung will be better suited and more stable.
- For the best & quietest performance consider an SSD + Storage HDD. Raptor HDDs spin faster than normal and can be a bit loud from time to time.

I have put together the following for you to consider. In my opinion this will be better for you and you save money - bonus!

Case
COOLERMASTER SILEO 500 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H67-M LX SI: MICRO ATX MAINBOARD, LG 1155, SATA 6.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT430 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
80GB Intel® X25-M 2.5" SSD (34nm / upto 250MB/sR | 70MB/sW)***SPECIAL***
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
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
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 - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
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 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 11 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £847.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-sandy-bridge-pc/

 

[wimbledon]

Thank you for the feedback much appreciated. I have one furher question. I chose the Kingston 1600MHz as I don't expect the cpu to be challenged very often. I percieved the bottlenecks to be disk and memory access. Will I only get the benefit of the fatser memory if I OC?

Neil

 

[Meds]

If you ran a two PCs side by side at stock speeds, one with 1333MHz and another with 1600MHz you wouldn't be able to know which PC had which RAM going by their performance. There is absolutely no harm in going for the Kingston 1600MHz RAM if you want, but if you want a save a few quid the the 1333MHz will do the job just as well.