new desktop pc?

[catnicex]

Hi all,

I am not really able to navigate in the ocean of different specs and available configurations...

I am looking for buying a new desktop pc that I need to use mainly for business and general purposes (Microsoft Office and the internet and few other programs).

However I would like it to be enough powerful to play the game Civilization V and to use Photoshop (medium usage).

What kind of configuration can I look for, so to spend not too much on powerful specs that I don't need?

Many thanks

 

[shades]

Do you have a budget in mind? There are a number of people on here who will be able to give you some really good suggestions.

The specs below are for the pc I've got on order - I'll be using it mainly for Photoshop/Lightroom, some MS Office and light video editing.

 

[catnicex]

hi...

hi, many thanks for your quick reply.

I have tried to look for a configuration on the website:

Case COOLERMASTER ELITE 430 BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU) AMD PHENOM II X4 955 (3.20GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION
Motherboard ASUS® M4A78LT-M: mATX MAINBOARD, DDR3, USB 2.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM) 4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card 1GB ATI RADEON™ HD5770 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 1TB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
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 GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£19)
USB Options 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Modem NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty 3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year
Labour)
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Price £569.00

However, as I said, in general I would need a medium-low specs pc ...yet I am passionate about just one game, Civ V, and it seems to me that it requires medium high specs.
Re: this configuration, I am quite sure it works, but also that it is probably overspecs for my needs thus I am really looking for an advice about something a bit less expensive that can be enough to play at a good level...

I am not quire sure it is possible though...

Any advice would be more than welcome.

 

[Nemesis]

Dont forget the silver warranty (11 months extra free collect & return for just a £5) and i would upgrade the hdd to a 64mb cache WD caviar green or black which will make the computer start faster and programs load quicker!

 

[shades]

Something to bear in mind, as I see you've gone for an ATI graphics card, is that Photoshop is designed to work best with Nvidia cards. That doesn't mean it won't work ok with the card you've selected it, it just means that some of the features will not be optimised. For a bit extra the Nvidia GTS450 is a good option as it gives you the capacity to run two monitors.

More info can be found here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/adobe_photoshop.html

 

[Nemesis]

Sorry that were just suggesting things that make the price higher but these improvements will be worth it making a more solid, well-rounded spec

EDIT : Though of course a budget is a budget

 

[catnicex]

thanks

hi all and many thanks for your reply...

re: this configuration, yes I would definitely consider your advices,

yet I think that my questions should probably be reformulated in this way:

- I need a medium quality pc, yet I want to play Civ V, what acceptable configuration for doing so? The one I posted is probably a bit too excessive given my need, what can I downgrade while achieving my goal?

Many thanks again

 

[Nemesis]

Id say that you would be fine without the 'SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER'
but my experience is with intel processors so im not sure what the deal is with AMD CPUs

 

[Phoenix]

It will be fine for Civilisation IV, I wouldn't downgrade any of the components apart from the CPU cooler though.

 

[Anthony.Ralph]

Something to bear in mind, as I see you've gone for an ATI graphics card, is that Photoshop is designed to work best with Nvidia cards. That doesn't mean it won't work ok with the card you've selected it, it just means that some of the features will not be optimised. For a bit extra the Nvidia GTS450 is a good option as it gives you the capacity to run two monitors.

More info can be found here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/adobe_photoshop.html

I cannot say that I agree with you that Photoshop is designed to work best with NVidia graphics cards. All the features mentioned on the link you posted are things I can do with my 4-5 year old ATI 1950 graphics card. As far as I can ascertain, Adobe are graphics card agnostic.

That's not to say NVidia cards are not perfectly fine, as are ATI cards.

Anthony.