Proposed Spec!

[micben]

Hi Folks,
I'm looking to buy a new PCS computer, for mixed office and leisure use, and light gaming (which I've never yet ventured into), and especially for HD video editing and burning.

Would appreciate any comments on my selection and any improvements, bearing in mind I won't be wanting "heavy" gaming! Thanks.


Case
COOLERMASTER COSMOS 1000 SILVER SILENT CASE Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-870 Quad Core (2.93GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost
Motherboard
ASUS® P7P55 LX: USB 2.0 & SATA 3.0Gb/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1GB ATI RADEON™ HD 5770 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
2nd Graphics Card
NONE
3rd Graphics Card
NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£89)
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NONE
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply & Case Cooling
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
Processor Cooling
INTEL SOCKET LGA1156 STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI EXPRESS CARD
Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Floppy Disk Drive
NONE
Firewire & Video Editing
3 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI Card (£9)
TV Card
NONE
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£143)
Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (Incl Disc & 1 License for 3 devices) (£89)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
NONE
2nd Monitor
NONE
DVI Cable
NONE
GeForce 3D Vision
NONE
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Wireless Desktop® MK250 Keyboard and Mouse Combo (£19)
Mouse
NONE
Speakers
NONE
Webcam
NONE
Headsets (VOIP)
NONE
Surge Protection
Belkin 4 Socket 2M Surge Protector with £25,000 Protection! (Special Offer £6)
Printer
NONE
External Hard Drive
NONE
Home Installation
NONE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Data Recovery
NONE
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

 

[Sleinous]

Ok so for some video editing id strongly recommend an nvidia gpu as they have cuda cores that dpecislise in this. Downgrade cpu to an i5 760 and use money on a gtx 460, will serve u well as a gaming gpu too! Also consider the 2tb 64mb cached hdd

 

[Meds]

Hey,

The spec looks ok but there are a couple of areas I think were "unbalanced". I think you were spending a huge chunk of the budget on the case, which in my opinion is big, doesn't offer great cooling and isn't any quieter than the Sileo 500 (which is why I changed it ).

I have also taken Sleinous' comments and downgraded the CPU to use the extra cash on a GTX460 - this will boost performance in the editing apps & games too. You'll also see the 64mb cache Caviar Green HDD too which can make a bigger difference than you may think!

I have also bumped up the PSU to accommodate the more powerful Graphics Card.

One last point, why have you chosen Win 7 Ultimate? If it's for the XP Mode then fine, but if you have no need for this then Home Premium will be suffice and will save money also.

Case
COOLERMASTER SILEO 500 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-760 Quad Core (2.80GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost
Motherboard
ASUS® P7P55 LX: USB 2.0 & SATA 3.0Gb/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Free Item
FREE H.A.W.X.2 Game (RRP: £39.99) with a qualifying GTS450/ GTX460 GPU!
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£89)
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply & Case Cooling
CORSAIR 650W PSU (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET (£76)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Firewire & Video Editing
3 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI Card (£9)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£143)
Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (Incl Disc & 1 License for 3 devices) (£89)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Wireless Desktop® MK250 Keyboard and Mouse Combo (£19)
Surge Protection
Belkin 4 Socket 2M Surge Protector with £25,000 Protection! (Special Offer £6)
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 9 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,204.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[micben]

Final Spec?

OK, Thank you Sleinous and Meds
for your kind comments which I have taken on board, except for the change of Case as I really want that one. I've studied the specs of the Windows 7 packages and have changed from Ultimate to Professional, really don't see any difference by going for Ultimate.

Below is probably my final spec, just need to study it further for a day or two. One thing is that I'm not sure about the bog standard mouse and keyboard but there seems to be little choice if you don't want cordless. I had lots of aggro with batteries in my present cordless Logitech. Maybe I should look elsewhere and delete these items.

I take it that all necessary software is supplied? As for example the Bd burning software.

Any further comments would be most welcome.

Finally is it possible or desirable to collect the finished machine direct from the factory in Holmfirth? As I live fairly near. Would it save delivery costs? Certainly would be safer than entrusting it to a carrier.

Case
COOLERMASTER COSMOS 1000 SILVER SILENT CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-880 Quad Core (3.06GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost
Motherboard
ASUS® P7P55 LX: USB 2.0 & SATA 3.0Gb/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Free Item
FREE H.A.W.X.2 Game (RRP: £39.99) with a qualifying GTS450/ GTX460 GPU!
2nd Graphics Card
NONE
3rd Graphics Card
NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm) 2nd Hard Disk
NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£89)
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NONE
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply & Case Cooling
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
Processor Cooling
INTEL SOCKET LGA1156 STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI EXPRESS CARD
Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Floppy Disk Drive
NONE
Firewire & Video Editing
3 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI Card (£9) TV Card
NONE
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£109)
Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (Incl Disc & 1 License for 3 devices) (£89)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
NONE
2nd Monitor
NONE
DVI Cable
NONE
GeForce 3D Vision
NONE
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Internet 350 USB Keyboard (£9)
Mouse
Black Logitech® Optical Wheel Mouse USB (£5)
Speakers
NONE
Webcam
NONE
Headsets (VOIP)
NONE
Surge Protection
Belkin 4 Socket 2M Surge Protector with £25,000 Protection! (Special Offer £6) Printer
NONE
External Hard Drive
NONE
Home Installation
NONE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Data Recovery
NONE
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

 

[Sleinous]

This is looking like a nice spec now although the CPU is still a little overkill for this spec imo, but if you like it that way, thats fine too

 

[PCS]

Fantastic spec you've put together there!

I would suggest a 600W PSU though if your budget can stretch to this. All the software for Blu-ray is supplied and you're more than welcome to collect from us should you wish. After ordering you will need to call us so that we can make a note of this on your order.

 

[Meds]

Finally is it possible or desirable to collect the finished machine direct from the factory in Holmfirth? As I live fairly near. Would it save delivery costs? Certainly would be safer than entrusting it to a carrier.

As PCS mentioned, you can collect from our premises once the PC is ready however as we do not charge for delivery, you wouldn't save any money doing this. However, I'd agree that it would probably have a better journey home than it would with a courier

 

[Evil Tactician]

I would change to a better PSU as well as a motherboard with SLI support.

That way you can put in another GTX 460 when prices drop - and extend the lifespan of this machine significantly. If you're going to go for this CPU (which is more than is needed for the suggested spec) then such an investment would be worth making as it will save you money in the longer run.

 

[micben]

Thanks Evil T, you are talking about a second GTX 460 I take it. What PSU and Motherboard would you suggest?

 

[micben]

Fantastic spec you've put together there!

I would suggest a 600W PSU though if your budget can stretch to this. All the software for Blu-ray is supplied and you're more than welcome to collect from us should you wish. After ordering you will need to call us so that we can make a note of this on your order.

I tried to act on your suggestion to change to a 650w PSU (could not see a 600w) but a pop up came up to say it was not necessary for this spec and I should save the money. What should I do? Shall I stick with the first choice?

One other point: in a PCS news update email I received today you were talking about a new Solid State Drive, if these are both faster and more reliable than a Hard Drive, I could be interested - depending on price! What price and spec are they?

 

[Sleinous]

TX750W will cover 2 gtx460s + an allowance

 

[pulse]

As others have said, get a PSU which is slightly overkill (750w or 800w) this means in future for a cheap upgrade you could buy another 460gtx which will have dropped in price quite a bit, and will give you a great boost to graphics performance.

PCS will give a warning about having too much wattage as currently you wouldn't need 800w to run that spec as it stands, but if in future you plan for any more Hard drives and another gtx460, you certainly won't regret getting a higher wattage PSU.

As for solid state hard drives, they are expensive per Gb storage, they have increased access and writing speeds over traditional hard disk drives since they have no mechanical parts. I can imagine they are useful if you have files which you access and write to very regularly or if you are an enthusiast for quick boot speeds then it's worth having your OS on one, however I personally wouldn't choose one as the gain is quite small for the money one pays. Thats just me though.

Another pointer - go with meds choice of Hard disk in your final spec if you can, the extra cache is very nice for the extra cost.

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE

spec looks good though!

 

[micben]

As others have said, get a PSU which is slightly overkill (750w or 800w) this means in future for a cheap upgrade you could buy another 460gtx which will have dropped in price quite a bit, and will give you a great boost to graphics performance.

PCS will give a warning about having too much wattage as currently you wouldn't need 800w to run that spec as it stands, but if in future you plan for any more Hard drives and another gtx460, you certainly won't regret getting a higher wattage PSU.


Another pointer - go with meds choice of Hard disk in your final spec if you can, the extra cache is very nice for the extra cost.

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE

spec looks good though!

Thank you Sleinous and Pulse, I must say that it is fantastic to be able to share the proposed spec with users who are far more knowleageable and experienced than me, and gain their assistance in improving the spec. I have upgraded the PSU and Memory as you suggested. As far as the SSD is concerned I will give that a miss for now. This is the edited version of my Spec, anybody suggest any other changes:

Case
COOLERMASTER COSMOS 1000 SILVER SILENT CASE


Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-880 Quad Core (3.06GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost


Motherboard
ASUS® P7P55 LX: USB 2.0 & SATA 3.0Gb/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT


Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)


Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11


2nd Graphics Card
NONE


3rd Graphics Card
NONE


Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE


2nd Hard Disk
NONE


3rd Hard Disk
NONE


4th Hard Disk
NONE


1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£89)

2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NONE


Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT


Power Supply & Case Cooling
800W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£89)


Processor Cooling
INTEL SOCKET LGA1156 STANDARD CPU COOLER


Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)


Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT


USB Options
2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI EXPRESS CARD


Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND


Floppy Disk Drive
NONE


Firewire & Video Editing
3 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI Card (£9)

TV Card
NONE


Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£109)


Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (Incl Disc & 1 License for 3 devices) (£89)

Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL


Monitor
NONE


2nd Monitor
NONE


3rd Monitor
NONE


4th Monitor
NONE


DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
NONE


GeForce 3D Vision
NONE


Keyboard & Mouse
NONE


Mouse
NONE


Speakers
NONE


Webcam
NONE


Headsets (VOIP)
NONE


Surge Protection
Belkin 4 Socket 2M Surge Protector with £25,000 Protection! (Special Offer £6)


Printer
NONE


External Hard Drive
NONE


Home Installation
NONE


Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)


Data Recovery
NONE


Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)


Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 12 working days


Miscellaneous
FREE H.A.W.X.2 Game (RRP: £39.99) with a qualifying GTS450/ GTX460 GPU!

Quantity
1

New Total Price
£1,559.00

 

[Sleinous]

This is looking good to go now! Maybe the triple copper pipe cpu cooler? Thats about it.

 

[micben]

Hard Disc Partitioning: Could anyone advise a suitable split up, or shall I leave that to the PCS experts?

 

[pulse]

Hi again,

Are you planning on installing another operating system? If not then you won't need any hard disc partitioning. It's just a way of splitting one hard disk into 2 'logical' hard discs

 

[micben]

Hi again,

Are you planning on installing another operating system? If not then you won't need any hard disc partitioning. It's just a way of splitting one hard disk into 2 'logical' hard discs

No, I've no plans to do that, so I won't go for partitioning. Thanks pulse, I think I've got the final spec now and will place my order imminently!

 

[Sleinous]

and then when it arrives, hastly upload pics for us

 

[micben]

and then when it arrives, hastly upload pics for us

Will do! THE PC IS NOW ON ORDER! Almost as previous spec, except that I decided on a 2nd hard drive from the start, and downgraded the Windows 7 to Home Premium:

Case
COOLERMASTER COSMOS 1000 SILVER SILENT CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-880 Quad Core (3.06GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost
Motherboard
ASUS® P7P55D-E PRO: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, CrossFireX™ / SLI SUPPORT
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£89)
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply & Case Cooling
800W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£89)
Processor Cooling
INTEL SOCKET LGA1156 STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI EXPRESS CARD
Firewire & Video Editing
3 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI Card (£9)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (Incl Disc & 1 License for 3 devices) (£85)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Surge Protection
Belkin 4 Socket 2M Surge Protector with £25,000 Protection! (Special Offer £6)
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 9 to 12 working days
Miscellaneous
FREE H.A.W.X.2 Game (RRP: £39.99) with a qualifying GTS450/ GTX460 GPU!


Total order price (Ex VAT)
£1,438.29

Total order Price

£1,690.00

 

[Sleinous]

Nice I see you went for the 2GB GTX 460 though