Ssd & ram
- Thread starter gstoyle
- Start date
Music Guy123
Prolific Poster
8GB of RAM should be plenty, 16GB is overkill for most things other than intensive HD video editing. I would try and get a 6GB/s SSD, they are much faster. I would get an Intel 520 if you can afford it, if not, a kingston will be absolutely fine.
Music Guy123
Prolific Poster
What is your final spec?
Probably looking at something like this...
I'm in 2 minds about the graphics card. I'm not a big gamer but would like the option of playing a few games. It's already over budget and the 6990M pushes it just a bit too high.
Any opinions about the 560M?
Chassis & Display
Vortex II:17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2760QM (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
1.5GB nVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M - DirectX® 11 (17.3" Vortex II)
Memory - Hard Disk
240GB KINGSTON HYPERX SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
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)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ULTIMATE-N 6300 (450Mbps)
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 220W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1
I'm in 2 minds about the graphics card. I'm not a big gamer but would like the option of playing a few games. It's already over budget and the 6990M pushes it just a bit too high.
Any opinions about the 560M?
Chassis & Display
Vortex II:17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2760QM (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
1.5GB nVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M - DirectX® 11 (17.3" Vortex II)
Memory - Hard Disk
240GB KINGSTON HYPERX SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
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)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ULTIMATE-N 6300 (450Mbps)
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 220W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1
JohnMalcolm1970
Active member
This just made me smile while reading. My computing started with the Commodore Vic-20, followed by the Commodore 64, Amiga 500 and then the Amiga 1200. When I finally went to have my first PC built for me I was offered two choices of RAM. I could either have 4MB of RAM which was standard, or 8MB if I was really going to push the boat out. It ran at a blistering 66MHz too! Much faster than my previous machines:
Vic-20: 5kB RAM 1MHz processor
Commodore 64: 64kB RAM 1MHz processor
Amiga 500: 512kB 7.09MHz processor
Amiga 1200: 2MB RAM 14MHz processor. I bought a very expensive RAM addon for that one and a HDD.
The PC I've ordered from PCS? 16GB RAM and a quad core processor at 3.30GHz.
Back to the topic, and sorry for rambling on. If you typically have a great number of programs running at once then more RAM can be beneficial. I typically can be running Photoshop CS5, Painter 12, several browser windows, Windows Live Mail, Messenger and something playing tunes. I'm usually working on A4 or A3 images at 300DPI for print. At the moment my present machine manages this fairly well on 8GB... but I want to futureproof my new purchase for a couple of years and I'm getting into 3D modelling more.
If you plan to keep to a tight budget then go with 8GB. Buying another 8GB down the line a bit will be pretty cheap and easy to add.
Or do what I did.
1) Order your PC from PCS with 8GB of 1600 speed RAM.
2) A couple of days later amend the order to 16GB of 1333 speed RAM, mumbling "it's only ...mumble... pounds more".
3) Repeat step 2 several times over several days upgrading case and video card.
Psychologically it's easier to spend a few more pounds extra after the main order is bought and paid for
Vic-20: 5kB RAM 1MHz processor
Commodore 64: 64kB RAM 1MHz processor
Amiga 500: 512kB 7.09MHz processor
Amiga 1200: 2MB RAM 14MHz processor. I bought a very expensive RAM addon for that one and a HDD.
The PC I've ordered from PCS? 16GB RAM and a quad core processor at 3.30GHz.
Back to the topic, and sorry for rambling on. If you typically have a great number of programs running at once then more RAM can be beneficial. I typically can be running Photoshop CS5, Painter 12, several browser windows, Windows Live Mail, Messenger and something playing tunes. I'm usually working on A4 or A3 images at 300DPI for print. At the moment my present machine manages this fairly well on 8GB... but I want to futureproof my new purchase for a couple of years and I'm getting into 3D modelling more.
If you plan to keep to a tight budget then go with 8GB. Buying another 8GB down the line a bit will be pretty cheap and easy to add.
Or do what I did.
1) Order your PC from PCS with 8GB of 1600 speed RAM.
2) A couple of days later amend the order to 16GB of 1333 speed RAM, mumbling "it's only ...mumble... pounds more".
3) Repeat step 2 several times over several days upgrading case and video card.
Psychologically it's easier to spend a few more pounds extra after the main order is bought and paid for
Your 3 steps sound pretty much exactly what I'm doing...and always do! I've just found out PCS do 12 months interest free credit so reckon I'll up the specs...sod it! I've just sold a desktop for £1250 so can put that down straight away then just have a few payments to make up the rest.
Similarly to you I started out with a ZX Spectrum in the early 80s...a whopping 16k RAM and with rubber keys, but it could play Jetset Willy so who cares! I eventually upgraded to an Acorn Electron then an Amiga 500, then Amiga 1200. I remember upgrading the internal hard drive to a hefty 85Mb which cost me £180!
Similarly to you I started out with a ZX Spectrum in the early 80s...a whopping 16k RAM and with rubber keys, but it could play Jetset Willy so who cares! I eventually upgraded to an Acorn Electron then an Amiga 500, then Amiga 1200. I remember upgrading the internal hard drive to a hefty 85Mb which cost me £180!
Ordered..
Chassis & Display
Vortex II:17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2760QM (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (4 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD® Radeon® HD 6990M - DirectX® 11 (17.3" Vortex II)
Memory - Hard Disk
240GB KINGSTON HYPERX SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
SONY BC-5550H 4x BLURAY COMBO DRIVE & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE (£59)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ULTIMATE-N 6300 (450Mbps)
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 220W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1
Price: £1,873.00 including VAT and delivery.
Chassis & Display
Vortex II:17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2760QM (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (4 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD® Radeon® HD 6990M - DirectX® 11 (17.3" Vortex II)
Memory - Hard Disk
240GB KINGSTON HYPERX SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
SONY BC-5550H 4x BLURAY COMBO DRIVE & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE (£59)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ULTIMATE-N 6300 (450Mbps)
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 220W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1
Price: £1,873.00 including VAT and delivery.