Can't make my mind up!

[Ash]

Right, my PC is still in pre-production, so at the moment, I'd fiddling around with the specs to see what I can get for around the same budget.
I'll be using my PC for college work. So I'll be using programs like Microsoft Office, Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express and Adobe Photoshop (only basic editing). I'll also be using programs such as iTunes and Chrome. I might play the odd game on it, as well.

My current spec is this:

Intel i5-2400
ASUS P8H67-M
8GB RAM
Nvidia GT529
250GB SATA-II 3-Gb/s
450W PSU

...but I've looked around the forums and the rest of the web, and everywhere says that my HDD is slow. So I've changed the RAM, GPU and HDD and come up with this:

Intel i5-2400
ASUS P8H67-M
4GB RAM
AMD HD6450
500GB SEAGATE Barracuda SATA-II 6-Gb/s
450W PSU

...for just £3 more.

So, would I notice a difference with this hard drive? Would programs and the OS load faster with this HDD?
If I change my order to the 2nd spec, I would add the extra 4GB RAM down the line and would get another HD6450 to CrossFire them together in the future. That's only if I felt the need to, though. I changed to the AMD card as the motherboard supports CrossFire and not SLI.
I only chose 8GB RAM in the first place as people said that would help future proof it. So I thought I might as well get something I would benefit from now (faster HDD), and just upgrade the RAM in the future.

One last thing, would my PSU support the extra GPU and RAM upgrades I'm planning on doing in the future? When I first configured the first spec, it said that all I needed was 272W. And according to the research I have done, the HD6450 is very power efficient.

Thank you

 

[Wozza63]

it will be fine for a card upgrade but not much, you may just be better off using the integrated for a while until you can afford something, i probably wouldnt go above anything that uses more than 170W

 

[Ash]

What do you mean? According to some research I did, two HD6450s would use less than 60W of power. I wanted a GPU in it now as I won't be able to afford the upgrades for a while.
Also, is the Barracuda a fast HDD?

 

[Corfate]

What do you mean? According to some research I did, two HD6450s would use less than 60W of power. I wanted a GPU in it now as I won't be able to afford the upgrades for a while.
Also, is the Barracuda a fast HDD?

Im using a Barracuda and it's a fast HDD. Noticeable difference between it and the old HDD in my PC. Then again, that old HDD was a few years old..

 

[Ash]

So should I change my order to the second spec?
I'm confused about what Wozza said about not using anything higher than a 170W GPU as I was only going to add am extra HD6450 which would used less than 30W. Did he mean if I used the integrated now and then bought a good GPU down the line?
Would CrossFire-ing two hd6450s be a good idea? I'm not looking at maxing any games or anything like that. I'm just looking at getting a small graphics boost down the line.
And would I be able to add the extra 4GB RAM as well? I think the motherboard has 4 memory slots, so could I just buy another 2x2GB and add them later on? Is 4GB a decent amount right now?

Sorry for all the questions. I just don't want to make a bad decision and I want to learn as much as I can about PC hardware.

 

[Wozza63]

tbh i think that would be pointless, the effort would not be worth it for such a small increase

and i thought you said that you planned on upgrading graphics card later, so i gave you a guidance on what you should get, would probably recommend getting a card in the next series, they are likely to be more efficient

 

[Corfate]

4GB is fine atm, i was contemplating getting another 4gb off pcs, but theres no need as i usually only run at 1.6gb as it is browsing the web etc. You could add it easily if you wanted, RAM doesn't use too much power.

I don't know either Best to use integrated now, put the money into the bank or whatever, get some 1p interest on it, then when you have enough saved up, go for a good card. No point Crossfireing two lower cards. May as well just get 1 good card

 

[Ash]

Ah, sorry. By upgrading I meant just adding another HD6450. TBH the only reason I would add another one is if I wanted to run games on a higher setting, but I have a PS3 for games so I probably wouldn't bother.
So which spec should I get. More RAM, slower HDD. Or Less RAM and faster HDD (with the option to add more RAM later on)?

I might as well keep the HD6450 over the GT520 as atleast I have the option to crossfire it, whereas I wouldn't be able to SLI the GT520.

 

[Corfate]

Less RAM fasted HDD imo 4gb+RAM isn't needed for your needs

 

[Wozza63]

id say that the 520 is probably more powerful than 2 6450s and will also use less power (especially at idle when there will only be 1 card running) then there is also less chance of something bugging out as multiple GPUs is still very much a work in progress that is nowhere near complete

 

[Ash]

Ok thank you.
+rep to both of you

The only reason I wanted to get a GPU now is because I wanted to play the odd game (on low settings obv, but running smoothly) from day 1. I've been looking at games like Left 4 Dead 2, Battlefield 3 and Crysis 2 and I've seen videos of them running on this GPU. I thought getting a basic GPU like the HD6450 would be better than using the integrated graphics. I've read that having a dedicated GPU takes a bit of strain off the CPU, which I'm all for. Also, I wouldn't be able to afford a decent GPU for some time as money is tight at the moment.

EDIT:
All the reviews I've read state that the GT520 and the HD6450 are basically the same card, except the ATI model is £3 cheaper.

 

[Corfate]

If you can afford the card, then go for it Just thought you could put the money towards a better GPU in the future, but if you can wait, go for it

Ta for the rep btw

 

[Wozza63]

id put the 6450 more on par with the 210, rather than the 520

 

[Ash]

id put the 6450 more on par with the 210, rather than the 520

Ok thank you.
I've changed to the GT520 now.

Literally one last question (lol), do I need a 450W psu for this system or could I get away with a 350W?

 

[Wozza63]

i imagine a 350w should be plenty unless you plan on adding quite a few parts such as fans, HDDs and RAM which all add up

 

[Corfate]

Get the 450W so you can upgrade to a better GPU at a later date, and not have to change the PSU too

 

[Ash]

Ok I will do. I was only trying to cut costs as moneys tight at the moment (no overtime at work at all )

Is it true that a PSU using a lower % of its power is likely to last longer than a PSU using a higher % of it's power?

And again, thank you both. You've both been a great help.

 

[Corfate]

Ok I will do. I was only trying to cut costs as moneys tight at the moment (no overtime at work at all )

Is it true that a PSU using a lower % of its power is likely to last longer than a PSU using a higher % of it's power?

And again, thank you both. You've both been a great help.

It'd make sense that that was a true statement. I'd believe it

We're here to help

 

[Wozza63]

Ok I will do. I was only trying to cut costs as moneys tight at the moment (no overtime at work at all )

Is it true that a PSU using a lower % of its power is likely to last longer than a PSU using a higher % of it's power?

And again, thank you both. You've both been a great help.

yes this is most likely true, remember it would probably be hard to even reach what your max is, it would be pretty hard to have everything going at 100% all at once

 

[Ash]

Ah right, ok thank you.

Well I've changed my order now and paid the extra £6. I hope this doesn't delay the process as I've already been waiting a week in pre-production. I tried that method where you order your specs with fast track to see if any are out of stock and it doesn't say any are, but it seems that it doesn't say any are no matter what I do. lol oh well, I can only wait. Can't wait for it to come. Here are my full specs btw...

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA MICRO-ATX CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2400 Quad Core (3.10GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H67-M: M-ATX, DDR3, USB 2.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, CrossFireX™
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 520 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE Barracuda SATA-III 6Gb/s HDD, 32MB Cache (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
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 10 to 12 working days

I'm using a Viewsonic VX2260WM monitor with it.