New Desktop PC - opinions and advice appreciated!

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Daedalus1882

Member
Hi guys,

I would really appreciate any advice regarding buying a new desktop PC.

I currently have a laptop but it is on its last legs and I really want to switch to a desktop in order to get something more powerful to work/play with. As I am starting out from scratch in terms of a desktop, I need everything including an OS and also a monitor.

I am a heavy computer user and tend to do a lot of multitasking. The computer will be intensely used for long periods of time, and will have to cope with both work and play. I wouldn't describe myself as a 'gamer' as such, but I am definitely a casual gamer and this is going to be a factor in my choices. I mainly play the Football Manager series (so need high processor and RAM) and also Minecraft. Neither game has state of the art graphics(!) and so I imagine that I would be able to buy a budget graphics card to do a good job on these games. I do, however, have dreams of running Minecraft on all of the high settings, with far render and fancy graphics, so I'd appreciate any help in order to achieve that!

I would really like to hear your opinions on the following selections:

Intel Core i5-2400 Quad Core (3.10GHz, 6MB Cache + HD Graphics)

Asus P8P67 LE:USE 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, CrossFireX

8GB Samsung DDR3 Dual-DDR3 1333MHz (2x4GB)

1GB Nvidia Geforce GT 520 - DVI, HDMI, VGA - 3D Vision Ready

1TB Serial ATA 3-Gb/s Hard Drive with 16MB Cache (7,200rpm)

24 x Dual Layer DVD Writer

Internal 52 in 1 Card Reader

350W Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan

Intel Socket LGA1155/1156 Standard CPU Cooler

Onboard 6 Channel (5.1) High Def Audio (as standard)

Onboard Gigabit LAN & Wireless 802.11N 300Mbsp PCI Card

6 x USB 2.0 standard

Windows 8 HP 64bit

19" Widescreen TFT 1360x768 2MS, D-Sub, DVI, 18/5 Panel

Logitech MK250 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse combo


I picked fairly standard, default choices for most stuff unless it was something I knew about (which, to be honest, isn't much actually!) It comes to around £690. Does that represent decent-ish value in your opinion guys?

There are a few things that I'm not sure about.

First of all, the graphics card. I picked one of the cheaper ones. Is that going to be all right for FM and Minecraft? I'm desperate to have Minecraft running smoothly on far render with fancy graphics!

Secondly, the sound card. I just went for the default onboard setting. Is that going to be okay or would I be better with something else? I'm not that bothered about sound. To be honest, I prefer to put my headphones on when on the computer, so I probably won't even bother buying speakers.

Thirdly, is the monitor all right? I'm guessing I could probably get a better deal elsewhere, so I might not bother with the monitor. I wondered specifically about the resolution 1260x768. Would I be better off with 1920x1080?

Finally, I had no idea about the motherboard, so I take it the default choice will be adequate for my needs?

Thanks in advance for any advice/opinions/support. It will be much appreciated.

Cheers,
D.
 
Teaz

Teaz

Godlike
the specs are good so far but some things could be changed for improvements. but first, do you have a budget youre working on?

1. graphics card would be okay for low-med settings for your games but i would suggest going for something better a AMD 6870 graphics card which should allow you to play with high visuals/settings while running smoothly, as the price for it is worthit for the performance you get from it.

2. onboard sound will be good. todays onboard sound has improved and are alot better than the olden days sound :) stick with the onbard.

3. i dont have much clue on the monitor but its reso is typically average on monitors today with a good enough view and balanced. quite alot of it is still being used today. the new fancy 1920x1080 is just a newer approach. i use a simple 1360x768 reso monitor myself and im happy with it for everyday use :)

4. motherboard is fine :)
 
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Daedalus1882

Member
Hi Teaz,

Thanks for getting back to me.

The budget I'm working with is between £600-700 really. This might or might not include a monitor, depending on whether or not I can 'inherit' one from elsewhere!

Thanks for your thoughts on the graphics card. I did wonder if I needed something a little better. I will have to research the AMD 6870 that you recommend. I'm happy with something budget in a way, because I don't want to run many games, but at the same time, I'm very keen to have an excellent performance on high settings whilst playing Minecraft and Football Manager (my two guilty pleasures!)

Thanks also for your thoughts on the other bits and pieces I asked about. What else could I improve upon in your opinion?

The graphics card is the one thing I'm struggling with really as I have no idea what represents good value and performance etc.

Thanks again for your help so far! :)
 
Teaz

Teaz

Godlike
with a 600-700 budget, you could perhaps look at an AMD build which will still have plenty of power as an intel build for your needs. if you dont include a monitor, you could spec youself a pretty powerful amd build which is cheaper and more fair in price ratio.
 
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Daedalus1882

Member
BTW, AMD 6870 doesn't come up on the spec page.

The options for my category of desktop are:

6450, 5570, 5670 - all AMD 1G.

The other choices are Nvidia GForce.
 
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Daedalus1882

Member
Teaz said:
with a 600-700 budget, you could perhaps look at an AMD build which will still have plenty of power as an intel build for your needs. if you dont include a monitor, you could spec youself a pretty powerful amd build which is cheaper and more fair in price ratio.
Click to expand...

I've gone with Intel simply because I know what I'm getting with that. To be honest, I don't know anything about AMD builds, so I was really just sticking to my comfort zone!

How exactly does Intel compare to AMD?
 
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Teaz

Teaz

Godlike
Daedalus1882 said:
I've gone with Intel simply because I know what I'm getting with that. To be honest, I don't know anything about AMD builds, so I was really just sticking to my comfort zone!
Click to expand...
Daedalus1882 said:
How exactly does Intel compare to AMD in terms of performance then?
Click to expand...


Both AMD and intel are good and you cant go wrong with either build. intel are certainly in front of the league with their new cpu line ups but are also a little more expensive for the extra power they have. amd however are no different from intel, amd does what intel can do on a pc. they are just cheaper and fair with their price performance ratio :)
 
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Daedalus1882

Member
That makes sense. Okay, that's something else to think about then.

And what about the graphics card side of things? Any chance of a 'small words and big pictures' version of what my options are? ;)
 
Teaz

Teaz

Godlike
lol a amd 6890 or 6850 would be good choices to go for. they match in par with the gtx560Ti which is a good all rounder gpu too but more expensive. the 6890 and 6850 are also good all rounder gpu but cheaper and the 6890 at times does better than the 560Ti :)

This is a bit over budget but something to consider and worth the cost for what you get :):

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE

Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X4 965 (3.40GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION

Motherboard
ASUS® M5A87: AM3+ PLATFORM, DUAL DDR3,SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)

Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6870 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

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
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£72)

Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)

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)

Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK250 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£19)

Total: 739
 
Last edited:
Unwina

Unwina

Silver Level Poster
I'd definitely consider changing to 1tb black caviar its got a much better cache and only cost £24 more. The extra cache should make it perform much better.
 
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Daedalus1882

Member
Hi Teaz and Unwina,

I was away from the computer yesterday evening, so sorry for the lateness of my reply.

Thank you both for your suggestions. I have taken it all on board and it has really helped.

I have plenty to think about and consider now before finalising my purchase!

Thanks again. :)
 
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Daedalus1882

Member
Thanks for all of your help guys.

I think I'm pretty settled on the spec now and have taken on board all of your advice.

I think I may buy slightly less RAM and settle for less hard disc space to save on the cost for now. I can always upgrade these in the future when more money is available (i.e. buy more RAM and get a second HDD)!

Intel Core i5-2400 Quad Core (3.10GHz, 6MB Cache + HD Graphics)

Asus P8Z68-V:USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, NVDIA SLI, ATICrossFireX

4GB Samsung DDR3 Dual-DDR3 1333MHz (2x4GB)

1GB AMD Radeon HD5670

500GB WD Caviar Black WD5002AALX, SATA 6 GB/s, 32MB Cache,

24 x Dual Layer DVD Writer

Internal 52 in 1 Card Reader

450W Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan

Intel Socket LGA1155/1156 Standard CPU Cooler

Onboard 6 Channel (5.1) High Def Audio (as standard)

Onboard Gigabit LAN & Wireless 802.11N 300Mbsp PCI Card

6 x USB 2.0 standard

Windows 7 HP 64bit

How's that looking now?
 
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