Please check spec: need PC for photoshop, video etc

mum_im_hungry

New member
Hello everyone!

I am currently putting together the correct pc for my needs but I would like the opinion of you guys because I don't want to invest and make a mistake later on!

Basically I work from home and do all of my work on my pc. My kids are also always on it playing minecraft and internet games on kids sites such as friv.
I have to run Kaspersky a lot because of the children on kids websites. I'm going to try keep them off the new one and let them have my current one once re-set which is Windows XP (very old and noisy but I've got a new HD monitor which I assume I can use with the new tower.)

Basically my needs are (I do these all at once):

Music video editing in windows movie maker or such software
Photoshop and Illustrator (sometimes both at same time with at least 3-5 photos being edited) along with:
About 10 different websites (tutorials) open at the same time
Youtube tutorial video- again open at same time as above
Editing WAV files, music file editing and storage, music mixing and production (programs such as soundforge)
I need to use my copy of Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 on it too.

I use it for other software but I mainly need storage for indie music videos, clips from Pond5, raw photos and photoshop/illustrator versions of those photos. Plus kids minecraft etc. I know it's probably not a lot, but my current computer cannot cope with this at all! HP Pavilion Desktop- bought 2005. It takes 15 mins to come on and about 20 secs even choosing menu items. I need lots of storage on my computer too (I find it an extra nuisance going into external hard drives as I cannot keep them plugged in due to the children). PCSpecialist help desk said the processor was the main thing I should look at.

Also- forgot to add before but I have a very large Outlook with many Imapped folders and lots of info/files. Also 10GB itunes (I know that's relatively not a lot but it's breaking current pc)

I needed a new pc about 2 years ago!
Budget: - up to £750

Is the below spec ok? I'm sure I might be missing something too (ie better to get Windows 7):

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H81M-E: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 650 - DVI, mHDMI, VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 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
CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1
£670.00

Thanks very much!
 
Last edited:

mantadog

Superhero Level Poster
HMMM, alrighty that's a fair list you have.

CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE The chassis you selected isn't great, I would suggest spending more. probably at least the elite 311 level but this case is ideal/
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache ideally you would like an i7 but an i5 is going to blow your old PC out of the water anyway, so without an increase in budget this is perfectly fine.
Motherboard
ASUS® H81M-E: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB) With everything you intend to have open at once (wow that's a lot) you probably do need this....
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 650 - DVI, mHDMI, VGA - 3D Vision Ready Basic card, did you say the kids would not be playing minecraft on this PC? If so you could maybe even go a bit lower... GT 630 probably being sufficient, or perhaps just integrated. Depends on your needs.
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm) This is the best upgrade im going to suggest. what's slowing your old PC down is a rubbish HDD. See below for more details.
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £740.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-home-office-pc/pwrPgztsha/

The caviar black is a beats of a drive, your budget wont stretch to a SSD, but I personally use a caviar black and cant fault it even after 3 years im still going strong. A fast HDD makes startups, loading apps and pretty much everything much much faster and a real pleasure to use the PC.
 

mum_im_hungry

New member
That's great about the caviar black, great advice, thanks. The kids will be playing Minecraft on it, so I think for an extra £120 or so I'm going to get more years computing out of it so I've configured the following:

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H81M-E: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 8GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 650 - DVI, mHDMI, VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
3TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD3003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE DVI-D CABLE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

I would just like to know:

1. Why do many people on the forum prefer windows 7? I was thinking of purchasing Windows 8 because it will date less quickly (this is important to me because I want to keep my new computer for quite a while)- I have a samsung HD monitor think its between 21 and 23 inches
2. Does anyone know the difference between 16GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB) and 16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 8GB KIT) apart from the nominal price difference?
3. I've currently got a male DVI to HDMI, and I've added a 1 x 2 METRE DVI-D CABLE for my current moniter to the new tower. I just realised I probably don't need this do I?

Thanks
 

mantadog

Superhero Level Poster
The main reason people pick windows 7 is because it is the default selection in the configurators. 9/10 we advise on hardware and let the user decide the software.

the difference is mainly looks. performance wise you wouldn't really notice anything.

3 depends what configuration of inputs you need, but if you have the combo cable already, then no you don't need the converter.
 
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