New Home Desktop..advice please!

[garryp81]

Hi folks,

I'm looking for some advice! Looking to get a new home computer, that is not going to cost the earth!

The only game that really gets played on it is Football Manager 2010 - so I'd like it to run that really well.

Other than that it is used for a bit of work and the internet. I have a maximum budget of £500. I'd like it to last as long as possible and preferably be upgradable in the future.

This is what I've picked out... What do you guys suggest?
Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA MICRO-ATX CASE + 2 FRONT USB

Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X2 555 (3.20GHz/6MB 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™ HD 5450 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
250GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)

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

2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NONE

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT

Power Supply & Case Cooling
350W Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan

Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER

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

Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT

USB Options
4 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)

Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (1 License Product Key Card) (£75)

PS Does anybody know if you take the finance option - you can then use a credit card to pay the balance off before the interest free period is up?

 

[Sleinous]

So you get an extra month credit? mm doubt it but check anyway.

Consider an Athlon cpu for desktop and use the spare cash to up that gpu slightly

 

[garryp81]

Cheers

I was more thinking of getting a new credit card (0% purchases) nearer the time and extending the interest free period by 9-12 months.

I've had another play around and this is what I've come up with. I know I'll be happy with it just now - I'm currently using a P4 with 1gb ram and 128mb Radeon

But I'm thinking more of the future - how long is the set up likely to last and how easy would it be to upgrade?

Thanks for any assistance!

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
AMD ATHLON II X2 265 (3.30GHz/2MB CACHE/AM3)
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™ HD 5450 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
640GB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD6400AARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
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 & Case Cooling
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 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
4 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)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
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 9 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £477.00 including VAT and delivery

 

[Phoenix]

If you went with the ATHLON II X4 630 (4 cores) you could then upgrade the graphics card to an AMD 5670, the HDD to a cavair green 640gb (quicker than the SERIAL ATA 8mb cache one) and the power supply unit to a 450w one. You've then got £21.00 left (total = £479.00) which could be used to get the coolermaster elite 310 case (optional).