Help a newbie, Please

[pepper1729]

I'm looking to purchase a desktop from Pcspecialist but as a newbie it seems a bit daunting, So ....

What I'm after is a pc that will last the next 3 - 5 years (maybe longer) and be able to handle some of the recent game releases (I`m not a hardened gamer.......Yet) And be able to edit my gopro 1080HD videos which can run to 2-3 hours worth,Plus the usual web browsing/mail etc etc.

I want an ssd as the main drive (not sure on best size) with a 2TB normal second drive for storage etc. but am unsure as to an i5 or i7 processor (normal or overclocked) or which graphic card, cooling and case.

Budget wise I'm thinking around £1000-£1200 but if a bit more made the difference between a pc that met or exceeded my requirements I could be flexible.

So over to you guys/gals that know your pc`s, what would you recommend
Many thanks

 

[keynes]

For £1000 I would go with the vanquish 230x in the review section.

 

[pepper1729]

I have looked at that one but as I want a bigger 2nd drive, when you go to the configure page the price jumps to £1133 before I change any spec

 

[keynes]

I would order it as it is and add a 2nd hard drive later on.

 

[pepper1729]

I would order it as it is and add a 2nd hard drive later on.

Thanks for advice Keynes,
The Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB seems to get good reviews on here, would you recommend this and would it be a simple case of install & plug in or would I need to purchase a cable to fit etc.

 

[keynes]

You should get spare sata cables, it is pretty straight forward to do.

 

[Boozad]

Or there's something like this. Slightly over your top budget mark but it's a hell of a lot of PC.

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 912 PLUS MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z87-A: ATX, USB3.0, SATA6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
3GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 780 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
FREE ASSASSINS CREED BLACK FLAG with GTX 660 & 7 Series GPUs!
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 530 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£89)
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
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 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,280.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-haswell-pc/nb0Z2XKwCI/

 

[pepper1729]

Thanks Boozad,

I prefer windows 7 to 8 & I also prefer the silver warranty that gives you the 1 year return rather than the 1 month.
Plus the 2TB black drive, Is the intel 530 ssd better than the Kingston HyperX 3K SSD ?

Would it be a noticeable difference having the 8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz compared to the 16GB Kingston HyperX BEAST @ 2400MHz to both video editing or gaming ?

Last question ............... for now, lol

would it be quieter / better with the CoolerMaster Seidon 120M Liquid Cooler rather than the triple copperheat pipe cooler ?

Many thanks for your input / reply's guys

 

[Boozad]

The 2400MHz RAM will only be beneficial if you overclock your CPU. The triple copper heatpipe is quiet, you can't get much quieter and you'll still have fans on the liquid cooler.

 

[pepper1729]

So............... I knew I would have more questions, sorry.

1: Is the intel 530 ssd better than the Kingston HyperX 3K SSD ?
2: I certainly am not proficient at overclocking so ill stay with 1600MHz DDR but will making It 16GB be better for video rendering ?
3: My computer room is at the top of my house and it is a warm environment with little air flow, would I benefit from a water cooled cooler ?

Many thanks

 

[steaky360]

Depends on what you mean by better Not really I would suggest for most uses.

Cant speak for video rendering I've never done it myself.

Problem is regardless of the type of cooling you go for the air needs to cool your components, you will benefit from the water-cooling but by how much is debateable if your not overclocking etc. I'd consider sticking with the triple copper heat pipe.

 

[pepper1729]

Ok guys, what do you think ?


Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 912 PLUS MID TOWER GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® Z87-A: ATX, USB3.0, SATA6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)

Graphics Card
3GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 780 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
Free Item
FREE ASSASSINS CREED BLACK FLAG with GTX 660 & 7 Series GPUs!

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 530 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£89)

Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Power Cable
1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

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
FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH (£39)

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-haswell-pc/

 

[keynes]

1. No noticeable difference
2. Yes
3. Same as Steaky

 

[pepper1729]

1. No noticeable difference
2. Yes
3. Same as Steaky

So if I change the 8GB to 16GB it will be much better at the video editing, & will come in at £1394.00
I know that's almost £400 more than the Vanquish 230X you suggested Keynes, but as I said I would rather a bit more to get a quality pc from the offset and not have to open it up to upgrade the hard drive, have windows 7 and the silver warranty.

Would you say it is better than the Vanquish 230X in terms of components ?

 

[keynes]

The Vanquish 230x offers better value for money.

 

[pepper1729]

Thanks for your input guys, after much deliberation I have ordered The Vanquish 230x as suggested by Keynes and added the silver warranty
after speaking with Ashley the sales rep for £5 extra. :cool2: