Currently for a desktop I am running an i3 2100, 4gb of ram etc etc. Obviously pretty old in PC terms, more like ancient. At the moment I get a few crashes now and again and even web browsing seems slower, in other words I think its time to get a new computer. Not interested in gaming at all, got a ps4 for that which has dust on it. Something I can play 4k moves at least not games.
New desktop.
- Thread starter dazzy1984
- Start date
Stephen M
Author Level
If you are not gaming or using any Windows specific programmes you could save about 100 quid and go for a Linux distro, the Windows OS costs a minimum of 92 which you could put towards a good GPU, which you will need for 4k. As far as emails office stuff there is plenty of good open source freeware available.
Oussebon
Multiverse Poster
It depends a little what you mean by upgradable. These PCs off PCS use regular sized components and so can be upgraded freely - PCS also have an open case policy which roughly amounts to you being able to upgrade anything you want without it impacting your warranty as long as you don't break anything while doing it (see the Ts&Cs for full details).
As with any computer you probably won't be able to upgrade the CPU in 5 years time by just slotting the newest CPU in there as CPUs require specific motherboard sockets. So you'd need to upgrade the mobo too (and maybe the RAM if they're all using Optane by then or something). But unlike certain off-the-shelf computers that use proprietary form factors or connectors, you can actually do all that, if and when you want to.
And you can upgrade the full range of usual parts freely too, like storage, RAM etc. Though for fairly light use, 8 or 16gb is going to be enough for a long while to come.
I assume you want a quiet system for watching movies, so the Fractal R5 might be a good choice being both quiet and having a built in fan controller so you can take the fans down to barely more than whisper level.
If you want the maximum upgradability then a reasonably expensive motherboard is probably in line with what you're looking for. There is the H110M-R that is a lot cheaper, but it has fewer expansion slots, lacks USB 3.1, has no M.2 slots etc. While this mobo has all of that, plus things like wifi capability, Bluetooth 4.1, and better onboard audio, which might be appropriate for a home media / movie watching PC.
The PSU is far more than you need but the CS series is quieter than the VS series. Frankly I'd consider going a touch over budget and getting the RM850x for £40 more, as it has a passive mode where it cools itself without needing to turn the fan on under all but very heavy loads (which this system wouldn't get close to putting it under), so it would be utterly silent.
The SSD is super fast and not much more expensive than regular Sata SSDs. SSDs are also quieter than HDDs due to not having moving parts, as well as being orders of magnitude faster.
Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R5 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-7500 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270E GAMING: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB Kingston DUAL DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
NOT REQUIRED
M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W)
1[SUP]st[/SUP] DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Quantity
1
Price: £789.00 including VAT and delivery.
Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-z270-pc/wQqMESk5BJ/
As with any computer you probably won't be able to upgrade the CPU in 5 years time by just slotting the newest CPU in there as CPUs require specific motherboard sockets. So you'd need to upgrade the mobo too (and maybe the RAM if they're all using Optane by then or something). But unlike certain off-the-shelf computers that use proprietary form factors or connectors, you can actually do all that, if and when you want to.
And you can upgrade the full range of usual parts freely too, like storage, RAM etc. Though for fairly light use, 8 or 16gb is going to be enough for a long while to come.
I assume you want a quiet system for watching movies, so the Fractal R5 might be a good choice being both quiet and having a built in fan controller so you can take the fans down to barely more than whisper level.
If you want the maximum upgradability then a reasonably expensive motherboard is probably in line with what you're looking for. There is the H110M-R that is a lot cheaper, but it has fewer expansion slots, lacks USB 3.1, has no M.2 slots etc. While this mobo has all of that, plus things like wifi capability, Bluetooth 4.1, and better onboard audio, which might be appropriate for a home media / movie watching PC.
The PSU is far more than you need but the CS series is quieter than the VS series. Frankly I'd consider going a touch over budget and getting the RM850x for £40 more, as it has a passive mode where it cools itself without needing to turn the fan on under all but very heavy loads (which this system wouldn't get close to putting it under), so it would be utterly silent.
The SSD is super fast and not much more expensive than regular Sata SSDs. SSDs are also quieter than HDDs due to not having moving parts, as well as being orders of magnitude faster.
Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R5 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-7500 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270E GAMING: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB Kingston DUAL DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
NOT REQUIRED
M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W)
1[SUP]st[/SUP] DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Quantity
1
Price: £789.00 including VAT and delivery.
Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-z270-pc/wQqMESk5BJ/
Last edited:
Oussebon
Multiverse Poster
An i3 in a Z270 motherboard is kind of weird. It would be a cost-saving move, in which case I'd probably also suggest going for an H110M-R motherboard for ~£100 less and just living without usb 3.1, super fast SSDs and the like.
If you consider there is any possibility you may want to upgrade the i3 in the future to an i5 it makes more sense to buy it outright rather than spend £100 on an i3 now and then £200 upgrading it to an i5 in a few years.
That said, if all you do is light web browsing and streaming movies, with no real multitasking, you could probably have an i3 and not see much performance difference from an i5.
If you consider there is any possibility you may want to upgrade the i3 in the future to an i5 it makes more sense to buy it outright rather than spend £100 on an i3 now and then £200 upgrading it to an i5 in a few years.
That said, if all you do is light web browsing and streaming movies, with no real multitasking, you could probably have an i3 and not see much performance difference from an i5.
Thank you for the help. Will you look at this and see what I could have done better? Was last year so obvs an old build.
Chassis & Display Cosmos Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™ i5 Quad Core Processor 6300HQ (2.3GHz, 3.2GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM) 8GB Kingston SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 950M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - Hard Disk 500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
2nd Hard Disk NONE
M.2 SSD Drive NONE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Power Cable 1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card Via® 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8260 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH
Wireless Router/HomePlugs/Range Extenders NONE
USB Options 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery Cosmos Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Keyboard Language COSMOS 17" SERIES UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
DVD Recovery Media NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Carry Case NONE
Laptop Cooling Stands NONE
Stand-Alone Monitor NONE
Additional Keyboard NONE
Notebook Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
Game Streaming NONE
Games Controller NONE
External Speakers NONE
Webcam INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation NONE
Dead Pixel Guarantee NONE
Insurance NONE
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Pricing Information
Price (excluding VAT) £535.83
Price £643.00
Order Quantity 1
Bulk Discount £0.00
Total Order price (Ex VAT) £535.83
Total Order Price £643.00
P/O Number - Edit P/O Number
Payment Method Debit Card
Courier Instructions
Production Dates
Processed Date 24-12-2015
Build Date 04-01-2016
Test Date 06-01-2016
QC Date 07-01-2016
Awaiting Dispatch Date 07-01-2016
Dispatch Date 07-01-2016
Chassis & Display Cosmos Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™ i5 Quad Core Processor 6300HQ (2.3GHz, 3.2GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM) 8GB Kingston SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 950M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - Hard Disk 500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
2nd Hard Disk NONE
M.2 SSD Drive NONE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Power Cable 1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card Via® 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8260 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH
Wireless Router/HomePlugs/Range Extenders NONE
USB Options 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery Cosmos Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Keyboard Language COSMOS 17" SERIES UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
DVD Recovery Media NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Carry Case NONE
Laptop Cooling Stands NONE
Stand-Alone Monitor NONE
Additional Keyboard NONE
Notebook Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
Game Streaming NONE
Games Controller NONE
External Speakers NONE
Webcam INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation NONE
Dead Pixel Guarantee NONE
Insurance NONE
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Pricing Information
Price (excluding VAT) £535.83
Price £643.00
Order Quantity 1
Bulk Discount £0.00
Total Order price (Ex VAT) £535.83
Total Order Price £643.00
P/O Number - Edit P/O Number
Payment Method Debit Card
Courier Instructions
Production Dates
Processed Date 24-12-2015
Build Date 04-01-2016
Test Date 06-01-2016
QC Date 07-01-2016
Awaiting Dispatch Date 07-01-2016
Dispatch Date 07-01-2016
Oussebon
Multiverse Poster
That depends a lot on the use and budget.
For general quality of life and productivity, an SSD is worth having if you have the budget for it.
If it's for gaming, a desktop will offer far better performance and upgrade options at the same price point. Laptop GPUs are comparatively expensive, at the lower end still very weak (e.g. 950M / 960M), and can't be upgraded.
Otherwise an i5 is often as good as an i7 as far as most people not doing video rendering etc will notice, 8gb RAM is fine for general use and gaming, though 16gb is a good idea if you're gaming and running a lot of browser tabs at the same time and you can afford it. And for gaming performance an HDD is as good as an SSD. Though having an SSD as well for the OS, programs, and a few favourite games is ideal as long as you're not compromising on other things like the CPU or GPU to afford one.
Add an SSD to that laptop you bought and it will remain a very capable office/homework laptop for many years to come I would expect. There isn't really a 'mistake' I can see with the spec per se, other than the 950M is a weak gaming card and if your son plays games then a better GPU or buying a desktop as above would make more sense. The HDD is a slow HDD but that's not a disaster and is nothing adding an SSD as well wouldn't fix.
If that's any more helpful?
For general quality of life and productivity, an SSD is worth having if you have the budget for it.
If it's for gaming, a desktop will offer far better performance and upgrade options at the same price point. Laptop GPUs are comparatively expensive, at the lower end still very weak (e.g. 950M / 960M), and can't be upgraded.
Otherwise an i5 is often as good as an i7 as far as most people not doing video rendering etc will notice, 8gb RAM is fine for general use and gaming, though 16gb is a good idea if you're gaming and running a lot of browser tabs at the same time and you can afford it. And for gaming performance an HDD is as good as an SSD. Though having an SSD as well for the OS, programs, and a few favourite games is ideal as long as you're not compromising on other things like the CPU or GPU to afford one.
Add an SSD to that laptop you bought and it will remain a very capable office/homework laptop for many years to come I would expect. There isn't really a 'mistake' I can see with the spec per se, other than the 950M is a weak gaming card and if your son plays games then a better GPU or buying a desktop as above would make more sense. The HDD is a slow HDD but that's not a disaster and is nothing adding an SSD as well wouldn't fix.
If that's any more helpful?
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That depends a lot on the use and budget.
For general quality of life and productivity, an SSD is worth having if you have the budget for it.
If it's for gaming, a desktop will offer far better performance and upgrade options at the same price point. Laptop GPUs are comparatively expensive, at the lower end still very weak (e.g. 950M / 960M), and can't be upgraded.
Otherwise an i5 is often as good as an i7 as far as most people not doing video rendering etc will notice, 8gb RAM is fine for general use and gaming, though 16gb is a good idea if you're gaming and running a lot of browser tabs at the same time and you can afford it. And for gaming performance an HDD is as good as an SSD. Though having an SSD as well for the OS, programs, and a few favourite games is ideal as long as you're not compromising on other things like the CPU or GPU to afford one.
Add an SSD to that laptop you bought and it will remain a very capable office/homework laptop for many years to come I would expect. There isn't really a 'mistake' I can see with the spec per se, other than the 950M is a weak gaming card and if your son plays games then a better GPU or buying a desktop as above would make more sense. The HDD is a slow HDD but that's not a disaster and is nothing adding an SSD as well wouldn't fix.
If that's any more helpful?
Perfect mate, spot on. Yes at the time I could not really splash out for a better GPU, the 950M seems to be doing the job, the only game he said stutters was Doom. Tomb Raider etc work flawless on it, it is such a shame the GPU is soldered on the board, as the laptop in itself is a really good looking one. You seem to love your SSD is their really a benefit vs cost wise? To be honest I would rather spend on a mechanical hard drive and save money for more gigs.
Oussebon
Multiverse Poster
For budget/mid end gaming PCs I will often recommend them without the SSD so as to spend more on the CPU and GPU. You can add an SSD at any time you want without wasting a penny, compared to the cost of upgrading a CPU or GPU.
Buying a GTX 1050 and an SSD instead of buying a GTX 1060 and an HDD for an ~£800 gaming rig where you want to play AAA titles (like doom) is a bad move.
But where there's the budget and it doesn't involve compromise, an SSD is definitely worth it. For example:
And those aren't "just" benchmark numbers, they're the difference between you turning on the PC, sitting down, and it's ready - vs turning on the PC, going downstairs to make some tea, and it's still loading that extra bit of bloatware you've acquired when you get back. Or you copying a large file and it being ready almost instantly vs you having to find something else to do for a few minutes until its ready.
Let alone the trouble of sourcing modular cards, often having to buy them for hundreds of £ without a warranty of any kind, BIOS updates, etc even when you're upgrading to something that is compatible.
Buying a GTX 1050 and an SSD instead of buying a GTX 1060 and an HDD for an ~£800 gaming rig where you want to play AAA titles (like doom) is a bad move.
But where there's the budget and it doesn't involve compromise, an SSD is definitely worth it. For example:
And those aren't "just" benchmark numbers, they're the difference between you turning on the PC, sitting down, and it's ready - vs turning on the PC, going downstairs to make some tea, and it's still loading that extra bit of bloatware you've acquired when you get back. Or you copying a large file and it being ready almost instantly vs you having to find something else to do for a few minutes until its ready.
Worth bearing in mind that even if it weren't, upgrading a laptop GPU is sometimes not possible. Like those people who bought a Brand X laptop (we can't comment on other companies so they'll remain nameless) and were told - so they say - they would be able to upgrade their MXM (modular) Maxwell GPUs to Pascal mobile ones. Anyway, Pascal turned out not to use regular MXM (I think it needs extra power connectors) so it wasn't possible. There were some cross posts on those forums.
Let alone the trouble of sourcing modular cards, often having to buy them for hundreds of £ without a warranty of any kind, BIOS updates, etc even when you're upgrading to something that is compatible.
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