Non- Gaming Desktop PC

[ka2335]

Hi,

I currently own a very old Desktop PC (8 Years), which is driving me up the wall as it sooo slow, has HDD issues and is LOUD!

So I’m looking for a new Desktop PC with the following requirements/Uses

Uses -
- Light Gaming if any at all, Warcraft 3 - Football Manager
- MS Office for work
- High Internet Use
- HD Playback

Requirements -
- Quite system
- Future proof PC, so i can don't need to upgrade anytime soon
- Small/Medium Tower Case, which has clips so i can upgrade easily by myself in future
- SSD? If not now definitely in future ( 1 Year)*
- USB 3 ports (Front & Back) and HDMI out
- Fast and reliable 1tb HDD
- AMD or Intel?? Not sure
- 24" 1080p Monitor, happy to buy separately from ebuyer for example if PCS don't offer best deals
- Quite/soft keyboard
- windows 7

Budget - £800 inc SSD and Monitor

*Although i don't require the Desktop for heavy duty tasks, i would still like a fast pc. Hence why I’m interested in SSD, however is it worth waiting a year as it seems many people have reliability issues at the moment?

One last thing - is it worth waiting for Ivy Bridge to release as to get best price on Sandy Bridge Processors?

Thanks
Ka2335

 

[mantadog]

That is quite a bit to fit into a £800 system but i will have a crack.


Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE Case supports usb 3 on the front
Processor (CPU)
AMD BULLDOZER QUAD CORE FX-4170 (4.20GHz/4MB CACHE/AM3+) Good enough for your uses, i would like to get an intel in their but on your budget i can't
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A78L-M/USB3: M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB) Plenty for now and in the future
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6790 - DVI,HDMI,mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 3 Capable Will stand up to light gaming on medium settings
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm) Can't fit a SSD o your budget, however i have this HDD and really can't fault it to be honest. Very fast indeed
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) If possible get a corsair 650w psu as i believe they are a little quieter, however this one isn't bad
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER Again i would suggest that you get the tripple copper heatpipe here, i have the standard cooler and i can hear it a little. Upgrade this over the PSU would be my advice.
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
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)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
IIYAMA E2473HDS 24" LED WIDESCREEN, 2 HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£159) Might be worth looking else where, i did and got a slightly cheaper price which would give you a few more quid to spend on the system
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 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £800.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/amd-bulldozer-top-spec-pc/

A few more quid would buy you a similar intel spec but it's not essential. Possibly if you hold out for ivy bridge the cost of the sandy chips might drop a little and bring them right into your range, i don't know though.

 

[ka2335]

Hi,

Ok......I've saved some more funds and close to finalizing my spec ( below).
Please note : I have already bought a 256 GB SSD, OS and Monitor from a different seller.

As per first post, i wont really be using the pc to game as I got xbox 360 for that
However i may upgrade in future and buy a graphics card around christmas

My questions/points:

Is the cooling good with the case i have chosen. I want the system to last many years, so i'm told having good cooling is important.
How is the PSU in terms of noise? I can't find any reviews on it as Brand not given
Also i will be using my SSD as boot drive and installing most major apps on that and use the WD green HDD as a storage drive mainly for movies and music. Is that a good idea? Also are the WD green drives more reliable then 7200RPM drives....You would think so right.. as they produce less heat and run slower
Any potential savings i should consider, like downgrade RAM?? It does seem i am sending a lot for a non-gameing pc - I think in total with accesories it could be £950!!!
Do i need to let PCS know that i will be wanting to install a SSD as boot drive myself?

All opinions welcome

Case

COOLERMASTER SILEO 500 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3550 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard

ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)

8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card

INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
Memory - 1st Hard Disk

2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB (Special Offer)
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 INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card

ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities

10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options

6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System

NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software

NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus

NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard & Mouse

LOGITECH® K200 USB MEDIA KEYBOARD (£10)
Mouse

LOGITECH® OPTICAL USB MOUSE (£5)
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: £602.00 including VAT and delivery.


Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-ivy-bridge-pc/JKj6SCyEUQ/

 

[ka2335]

I really need some advise ASAP as i wanna order today....

Should i more this post to "check this spec.."??

 

[vanthus]

You could drop the RAM to 4GB,and the green drive will be fine for storage.
Also I think you can send in your SSD & OS to be installed,(assuming it's A genuine retail copy)to PCS,but best check with them about that.

 

[Rakk]

Should i more this post to "check this spec.."??

Nope, if you create the same thread again in 'Check your Spec', I'll merge it back into this thread or delete it as a duplicate, keeping it in one thread makes it easier to follow and keeps the forums tidier. This forum is just as good as the 'Check Your Spec' forum for this thread.

Also i will be using my SSD as boot drive and installing most major apps on that and use the WD green HDD as a storage drive mainly for movies and music. Is that a good idea?

Yes, using the SSD as your boot drive and your most used applications is the recommended way of doing it

Also are the WD green drives more reliable then 7200RPM drives....You would think so right.. as they produce less heat and run slower

Not really, the Caviar Blacks and Caviar Greens will be much of a muchness in terms of reliability, the Greens will be quieter and more power efficient, but will be slower.

Any potential savings i should consider, like downgrade RAM??

For your usage you could drop down to 4GB, though at the moment RAM is dirt-cheap, so it's up to you.

Do i need to let PCS know that i will be wanting to install a SSD as boot drive myself?

Nope, you don't need to tell them.

 

[ka2335]

Thank you all of advice

 

[ka2335]

One last thing.................Is it possible to buy a desktop pc without a Hard Drive?

 

[Rakk]

One last thing.................Is it possible to buy a desktop pc without a Hard Drive?

Yes I think it is, but you may have to order it with a HDD and then phone PCS to let them know you don't want it, but I'm not entirely sure.
Note: that's what I think, but I could be wrong