Help - can't choose between specs

[GrahamJohnson692]

Hi, looking at replacing my 9 year old PC as it's becoming increasingly slow to do anything. Spent a while working out the spec I'm looking for (only using for general home use - Excel / Word / Powerpoint, Internet, the kids use it for Minecraft, and a bit of basic video editing of some old camcorder tapes) and thought I'd decided, but have just read an article on Intel vs AMD and now I'm not so sure. Please help me make my final selection between them (with reasoning if possible)

Case
PCS 3601 CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-10400F (2.9GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H410M-A: Micro-ATX, DDR4, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ RX 550 - HDMI, DVI - DX® 12
1st Storage Drive
256GB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (500MB/R, 400MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W CV SERIES™ CV-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Firewire
2 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI-E Card (2 x 6 pin)

OR

Case
PCS 3601 CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ RX 550 - HDMI, DVI - DX® 12
1st Storage Drive
256GB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (500MB/R, 400MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Firewire
2 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI-E Card (2 x 6 pin)

 

[GrahamJohnson692]

And one other thing I need to check - do I have to select something in the 1st Storage Drive section (only options are SATA SSD or HDD), or can I use an M2 SSD to hold Windows and programs and then SATA HDD for data storage?

 

[GrahamJohnson692]

Sorry, here's the URL https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-home-office-pc-III/mccwrTEkUP/

Budget is pretty much maxed out here - I was originally thinking around £500, but tweaking various bits ended up pushing it up to £635. If I switch out the SATA SSD for the 256GB INTEL 760p M.2 it will add an extra £24 and I really don't think I can get away with more than that!

 

[GrahamJohnson692]

Hard drives: M2 drive for your Primary Drive, Windows and whatnot, STA HDD for your storage, unless you need high speed storage in which case a case can be made for SSD. But, for your uses, a SATA HDD would be fine. The configurator will default to putting Windows on the fastest drive anyway

As to your specs, AMD will give more for the budget. The spec you posted really could do with some work as a few areas could be better but it depends on your budget. Also, could you include the Unique Configurable URL from the bottom of the post to forum page please? Just makes it easier for us. Thanks

I've tried de-selecting the SATA SSD and adding the M2 SSD, but the only way it would work was to move the HDD to the primary storage - will this definitely put Windows on the M2 drive?

 

[Martinr36]

I've tried de-selecting the SATA SSD and adding the M2 SSD, but the only way it would work was to move the HDD to the primary storage - will this definitely put Windows on the M2 drive?

When you save the quote, configurator will pop a message up telling you where the the best place for the OS to go is (M2) so just say yes