Damsel in Distress

[littleladyred]

Hello everyone,

I have posted on here before asking about a laptop but this time I am sticking to a desktop. I need a little feedback with what I have so far. I'm going to be hauling this beast (a beast compared to other PCs I've had before) to university for 3 years, then it will replace the computer I have at home. Since I am leaving on the 17th, I am tight for time. This is what I'm looking for:

- Future proof (say a good 4 years or more)
- Good frame rate. I'm not an extreme gamer and playing at medium or high is good enough.
- Good handle on 3D rendering, film and possibly sound editing. Nothing over the top. Most of it will be done in Mac suites - ew.
- Preferably no higher than £950. That's including all peripherals/accessories. If you can make it cheaper, go ahead!
- Good for handling part upgrades in the future.



Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 922 MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2400 Quad Core (3.10GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8P67 LE: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, CrossFireX™
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
750GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD7502AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D HD 1920x1080 (£139)
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK250 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£19)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)
Webcam
Logitech® HD Webcam C510 - 720p HD Video, 8 Megapixel Photos (£35)
Surge Protection
6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector (£9)
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
FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH (£39)
Quantity
1

Price: £916.00 including VAT and delivery.


My doubts:
- The motherboard. I just picked whichever.
- The case.
- The graphics card. 1GB or 2GB? Should I go for a higher model?
- The RAM
- The power supply. It told me the PC used 425w. Am I good with 450?
- The monitor. Struggling to make a decision. You're welcome to suggest ones that are not available on here.


Feel free to make adjustments as you see fit

Thank you

 

[Teaz]

You spec-ed out a nice spec, stick with it everything is fine. including mobo and graphics card and the monitor. I suggest going for the 650w psu if you could will last you good long years and its more energy efficient along with more breathing room as the 450w psu is about full which may restrict your future upgrades or changes depending.

If your budget is comofortable, you should go for the i5 2500. if not the i5 2400 is perfectly fine rest of the specs are solid good.

 

[littleladyred]

Thanks for the reply.

I was just wondering about the monitor. If you can't answer that's fine. Do you know any specific reason why PCS chose Iiyama and if it's any good?
I also have a Windows 7 Pro. Will it be okay for me to install it in 64 bit? I've always had a 32, so I don't really know the difference.

 

[Rakk]

I was just wondering about the monitor. If you can't answer that's fine. Do you know any specific reason why PCS chose Iiyama and if it's any good?

Well last year I finally got round to replacing my ageing 5-6 year old Iiyama, and that was only cos I wanted a bigger screen (the old one still works perfectly fine), replaced it with a bigger Iiyama and am happy
So I think they're a very reliable make.

 

[littleladyred]

Are the Iiyama screens glossy? I don't want my monitor to double up as a mirror

Secondly, I've seen quite a few people with SSDs as their first hard drive and then a second hard drive. Is it worth me going down this path? If anyone could tell me a little bit more about it then I would appreciate it
Are the WD SATA's reliable and long lasting? Should I stick to the normal ATA's?

Prepare to be bombarded!

 

[Rakk]

Are the Iiyama screens glossy? I don't want my monitor to double up as a mirror

Well, mine don't seem shiney, never been able to use them as mirrors

Secondly, I've seen quite a few people with SSDs as their first hard drive and then a second hard drive. Is it worth me going down this path? If anyone could tell me a little bit more about it then I would appreciate it
Are the WD SATA's reliable and long lasting? Should I stick to the normal ATA's?

SSD's are super speedy when compared with normal harddrives, personally I think that SSD's are still too expensive so I've stayed away from them, but then I've never really needed super-speedy, though I know some people who have them now claim they couldn't live without them
Don't misunderstand me, I do want an SSD, but at the moment I think they're too pricey.

The WD drives are a bit faster than the bog standard HDD's, and I felt it was worth shelling out the small amount extra for the Caviar Black when I needed another drive, means my machine boots slightly faster and stuff loads a bit quicker

 

[Stappa]

IMO SSD's are a must if u multi task regularly(I'm really missing mine atm)but they are expensive,saying that u will notice the biggest jump in performance over any other hardware(assuming u have reasonable CPU/RAM/GFX) I'm not sure if the WD Black is any faster than my sata3 Spinpoints if they are its milli seconds rather than seconds(or even 10's of seconds)??

 

[Teaz]

Thanks for the reply.

I was just wondering about the monitor. If you can't answer that's fine. Do you know any specific reason why PCS chose Iiyama and if it's any good?
I also have a Windows 7 Pro. Will it be okay for me to install it in 64 bit? I've always had a 32, so I don't really know the difference.

Yes, as i said they are good not sure why pcs just chose iiyama but they certainly are good monitors and iiyama are a real quality brand in general.

If you already own a Win7 Pro but its in 32bit then you wont be able to shift it up to 64bit sadly. you are best buying an new OS with it. 64bit will still be compatible with 32bit stuff.

go for the caviar black drives, they are better in performance than the standard slow ATA drives. the caviar black drives are also less power hungry.

ssds are still a little expensive. they are worth going for if you require fast access and loading to things as its a fast boost. if you have patience and fine then you dont have to go for the ssd. the caviar black are actually pretty fast themselfs. the ssd are to be used as programs and os and not really storage. its just to keep it in shape.

 

[littleladyred]

Thanks guy. Rep for everyone!

If you already own a Win7 Pro but its in 32bit then you wont be able to shift it up to 64bit sadly. you are best buying an new OS with it. 64bit will still be compatible with 32bit stuff.

Oh I have both 64 and 32 bit OS. Its that all my systems I've owned have always been 32. Is there a difference? Can I safely install 64 bit on my new specs?


One last question before I bugger off. I need some opinions, or facts if you wish, on some cases...
I cannot decide between the HAF 922 and InWIN Dragon Rider case. Is there anything that sets them apart? Has one got more space? Has one got better airflow? etc etc

 

[Rakk]

Oh I have both 64 and 32 bit OS. Its that all my systems I've owned have always been 32. Is there a difference? Can I safely install 64 bit on my new specs?

Well if you only use the 32-bit version, only 3-4 gig of RAM will be usable in total (cos the 32-bit OS cant see anymore than that), so best not do that
There are other improvements in the 64-bit OS as well I'm sure, but don't really know the other differences.

 

[Teaz]

Thanks guy. Rep for everyone!


Oh I have both 64 and 32 bit OS. Its that all my systems I've owned have always been 32. Is there a difference? Can I safely install 64 bit on my new specs?


One last question before I bugger off. I need some opinions, or facts if you wish, on some cases...
I cannot decide between the HAF 922 and InWIN Dragon Rider case. Is there anything that sets them apart? Has one got more space? Has one got better airflow? etc etc

you should always go 64bit for a pc, especially with todays modern pc. its most likely the ram limit on the 32bit which in conjuction restricts other things like for example graphics card and motherboard bios and such.

yes you can install the 64bit os on the new pc once you received your pc.

the inwin case has more features with broader options to customise like fan options and such. the inwin is more modern then the 922 but it doesnt mean the 922 isnt good. the 922 still has plenty of good features.

 

[littleladyred]

Thank you again everyone