Advice on desktop spec

emotimes

emotimes

Member
Hello,

I'm looking for a new desktop that'll be suitable for lots of photoshop/illustrator/indesign use etc, and internet, downloading, office use etc, with the possibility of being able to upgrade parts in the future. The budget will be a max of £600, I'm not specially tech savvy but any advice if I'm on the right lines with the below spec or suggestions on how I could could improve it would be greatly helpful,

Thank you



Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H61-M LE/USB3 (NEW REV 3.0): M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB SATA-II 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
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
INTEL SOCKET LGA1155 STANDARD CPU COOLER
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
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
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £569.00 including VAT and delivery.
 
Last edited:
Music Guy123

Music Guy123

Prolific Poster
Ok, couple of things that I would recommend doing, if you want to stay with intel, I'd suggest trying to upgrade to an i7, the integrated graphics on it are very good. Finally, for the hdd, try getting a caviar black 2TB. They are very good drives. Also, drop the bullguard unless you are going to carry on using it because it is a nightmare to uninstall. Here is a spec I would recommend if you can afford it:

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2600 Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H61-M LE/USB3 (NEW REV 3.0): M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
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
INTEL SOCKET LGA1155 STANDARD CPU COOLER
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
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 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £680.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-home-office-pc/

If that is out of your budget, drop to your original hdd.

Also, if you want to be able to upgrade various parts in the future, get a 650w psu.
 
emotimes

emotimes

Member
Thanks Music Guy123, (I'll drop Bullguard) unfortunately the £600 budget is max I can go to, though I'm puzzled where my original post has gone?!

My first post was along the lines of I need a new desktop, main usage will be photoshop/illustrator/indesign, and internet, downloading and office use. Luckilly I've still got the original specs open that I posted for the query:

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H61-M LE/USB3 (NEW REV 3.0): M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB SATA-II 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
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
INTEL SOCKET LGA1155 STANDARD CPU COOLER
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
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
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £569.00 including VAT and delivery.


Any other thoughts or suggestions? Thank you
 
Music Guy123

Music Guy123

Prolific Poster
Ok, carying on despite a lack of your op. This is an amd spec, with this, you get a very good gpu. However, the problem is that the cpu isn't as good as the i7 and it is a little more expensive, therefore, I couldn't fit a caviar black into your budget. I also realise it is a little over budget. Anyway, here it is:

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD BULLDOZER EIGHT CORE FX-8120 (3.10GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3)
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A78L-M/USB3: M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 550 Ti - DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB SATA-II 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
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
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
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
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 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £667.00 including VAT and delivery.

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

Personally I would go with the intel spec that I posted with a caviar black if you can afford it. If you then need a gpu, you should then be able to add one later for it.
 
mantadog

mantadog

Superhero Level Poster
The original post would have been waiting for a mod to approve it.

For £600 i would say get something like this.

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2400 Quad Core (3.10GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H61-M LE/USB3 (NEW REV 3.0): M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
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
INTEL SOCKET LGA1155 STANDARD CPU COOLER
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
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
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £594.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-home-office-pc/

You could then slot in a mid spec GPU, something like a GTX 560 if you wanted to make use of it for your photoshop work. As the above spec stands it will be able to do what you need, on a tight budget of £600 you don't need an i7 or an 8 core from amd. The i5 2400 is going to do you perfectly well. The upgrade to the caviar black is well worth it, as a slow hard drive can make your whole system fell slow and a pain to use. (mightaswell get the 2TB version aswell as it is on offer at the moment as is slightly less than the 1TB)
 
emotimes

emotimes

Member
Cheers, I need to stick within budget on this one so leaning towards the i5 2400, but thank you both you've been really helpful and I'll be sticking with the caviar black hdd. I had a GeForce 7300LE graphics card in my old (XP) computer, though from what I've read I don't think it'd be compatiable with Windows 7? So the graphics card may have to wait for a while. Thanks for your time!
 
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