Is this a decent desktop PC?

Showsni

New member
My old computer has finally given up the ghost, so I'm looking to buy something new. I'm not all that savvy on this stuff, though...

I'd be mostly using it for browsing the internet and playing games, though I'm not too concerned about getting the best gaming performance. I would like backwards compatibility with some of my old games if possible, though.

I'm trying to keep it as cheap as possible... Ideally under £600, but I could maybe stretch to £700 or so.

From browsing around, I came up with the following specs... Is this any good? What's the best to go for, Intel or AMD? And what about a graphics card?

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H61-M LE/USB3 (NEW REV 3.0): M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6850 - 2 DVI,HDMI, DP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 3 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
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
INTEL SOCKET LGA1155 STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options
4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£109)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Headsets (VOIP)
LOGITECH® PC HEADSET 860 - STEREO WITH IN-LINE VOLUME CONTROL (£8)
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 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £706.00 including VAT and delivery.
 

vanthus

Member Resting in Peace
Not a bad spec for what you want to do,a few things to consider changing,
I would drop the ram to 4GB & upgrade the hard drive to a 1TB WD Caviar Black,
downgrade to windows7 home premium 64bit, most if not all of your old games will be ok using compatability mode & maybe a bit of tweaking with resolution.
 

Showsni

New member
Not a bad spec for what you want to do,a few things to consider changing,
I would drop the ram to 4GB & upgrade the hard drive to a 1TB WD Caviar Black,
downgrade to windows7 home premium 64bit, most if not all of your old games will be ok using compatability mode & maybe a bit of tweaking with resolution.

Thanks! If I go for the Caviar Black hard drive, should I also go for a better motherboard to take advantage of the SATA 6? The one I currently have selected would be limited to 3 GB/s, yes?

As for Windows Home vs. Professional, I was worrying that without XPMode (only in Pro) I might not be able to get some games running. Is this a valid consideration?
 
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