Home PC

[WelshOsprey]

Hi, I need some help choosing a spec for a Home PC. I want it to be able to do the usual office applications, internet browsing, play HD video, live streaming of sports etc. Also want it to be expandable such as putting a decent graphics card in should my son want to play games in the future. I have selected the spec below but could also have the same but with the i3-4350 processor and H81M-Plus motherboard for about same price but is that better or worse for my needs? Also not looking to spend much more at this stage. I have upgraded the power supply to 450w but is this necessary and is it enough anyway? Do I need further cooling at this stage or is that only for if a graphics card is fitted later? Is the case big enough? Apologies for the basic questions, I'm no techie as you have guessed.

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA MICRO-ATX CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
AMD A8-6500 Quad Core APU (4.1GHz) & Radeon™ HD 8570D Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® A88XM-PLUS: (M-ATX, DDR3, USB 3.0, 6Gb/s)
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
Integrated AMD Radeon HD 8000 / R7 Series Graphics
1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB 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 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
DVD Recovery Media
NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
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 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

 

[mantadog]

if I were you I would ditch the SSD (for now) and get a better (preferably intel) processor. If you are happy to upgrade later you could also cut back to 4Gb RAM to free up room for a better processor, which you will be glad of if you ever need it for gaming.

The rest looks OK, 450w will support up to about mid range, but that can change with new generations having slightly higher power draws. But a mid range card should cope on a 450w supply no problems.

 

[WelshOsprey]

if I were you I would ditch the SSD (for now) and get a better (preferably intel) processor.

Thanks. Would you recommend I go up to an I5 processor?

 

[keynes]

Thanks. Would you recommend I go up to an I5 processor?

if you are planning to use it for gaming an i5 and a better case to add a dedicated gpu.

 

[WelshOsprey]

Thanks. Just checked out a spec using the lowest specced i5 processor, just having two 500gb hard drives and a larger case but it's £70 over my intended budget. The gaming is only a future possibility, so maybe I should just concentrate on my intended use here and now. If that's the case would a mid range i3 processor fit the bill or is that still false economy?

 

[keynes]

Thanks. Just checked out a spec using the lowest specced i5 processor, just having two 500gb hard drives and a larger case but it's £70 over my intended budget. The gaming is only a future possibility, so maybe I should just concentrate on my intended use here and now. If that's the case would a mid range i3 processor fit the bill or is that still false economy?

You could drop the SSD which is not essential and go for 4gb ram. For your intended use 4gb should be enough and easily upgradable in the future.

 

[WelshOsprey]

Apologies, the £70 overbudget quote above included dropping the SSD and downgrading the RAM to 4gb. Also, which motherboard would suit my needs best?

Just realised that the above price included the Z97 motherboard so have downgraded top the H97M so price is now £42 overbudget and spec as follows;

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4590 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H97M-E: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
4GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st Hard Disk
500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE
2nd Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB 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 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
DVD Recovery Media
NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
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 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

 

[WelshOsprey]

Would the above now seem like suitable and balanced system for my needs?

 

[mantadog]

When I said ditch the SSD I meant just discard it completely and just run 1 mechanical hdd.


The rest looks ok.

 

[WelshOsprey]

Thanks guys for all your help. Think I'm nearly there now although still unsure if I need the H97M motherboard or whether a H81M plus would suffice. Also is the basic case suitable or should I upgrade. If so to what? Apologies for all these basic questions on what is probably a very basic computer spec.

 

[keynes]

Coolermaster 311 for case and go with the cheapest motherboard which I think is gigabyte not asus.

 

[WelshOsprey]

Thanks once again. Being a bit tik, why that case? Is it because of extra fans/cooling required for my spec over the basic case?

have just checked the Gigabyte motherboard and it is only £2 cheaper. Is the Asus a better one?

 

[mantadog]

They will both do the same job for you. I would just go with whatever one you fancy, at this level the differences are minimal.

The 311 is a slightly bigger case than the piano black, I have both and would say they are really the same thing. For your needs you can get whichever one you like the look of. My mothers machine has the piano black with a similar setup to yours, its fine.

 

[WelshOsprey]

So I can get away with the piano black but not the micro ATX version, which I presume would limit the amount of upgrades, such as a graphics card etc at a later date due to it's size?

 

[keynes]

So I can get away with the piano black but not the micro ATX version, which I presume would limit the amount of upgrades, such as a graphics card etc at a later date due to it's size?

I wouldn't get the piano if you are planning to add a dedicated gpu in the future, what is your actual budget?

 

[WelshOsprey]

Budget is about £400-£430

 

[Jap00]

The case looks fine for your intended use.

 

[WelshOsprey]

Okay, having gone around in circles and after further thought, reading and consultation with SWMBO, I have decided to drop the future expansion plans, as it just may never happen and by the time it does, I may well prefer a new pc anyway. What I need therefore is a decent spec for the usual office based applications, internet browsing, watching HD video, streaming etc with enough power to just keep up with the game for a few years. Can anyone suggest a spec for me please with decent enough integrated graphics for my needs.

 

[keynes]

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA MICRO-ATX CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
AMD A8-6500 Quad Core APU (4.1GHz) & Radeon™ HD 8570D Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® A58M-E FM2+ (M-ATX, DDR3, USB 2.0, 3Gb/s)
Memory (RAM)
4GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
Integrated AMD Radeon HD 8000 / R7 Series Graphics
1st Hard Disk
500GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD5003AZEX, 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
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - 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 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 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £392.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/amd-fm2-richland/2Y_HPYsIAO/

 

[WelshOsprey]

Many thanks, Sounds good to me. Although I would also like the option of HDMI, as I may change my monitor to a Monitor/TV and ditch my speakers. I believe the A58 motherboard doesn't have a HDMI so may upgrade to the A88. I also like to run two HDD's. One for the OS and one for my files, so will add a second HDD. At £2 cheaper though is the 120gb SSD a better option than the the caviar black HDD? Is it also true that whilst intel processors are better the integrated graphics offered by AMD are better than Intels HD4600?