Yet another spec

[JasonC1782]

Hi,

My current PC is beginning to give up the ghost after five years of usage so I'm currently trying to sort out a new one to buy.

I'm not really looking for anything extravagant, just something for predominantly basic home use tasks; audio is quite important, though (as my PC is basically my music centre) plus something that can handle occasional gaming up to mid-level standard and occasional video and audio editing would be quite nice as well.

Anyway, here's the spec:

Case
ZALMAN T4 BLACK MICRO-ATX CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z87M-PLUS: m-ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6.0, XFIRE
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 650 - DVI, mHDMI, VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB 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
Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy™ FX OEM (£28)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK270 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£22)
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£69)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £880.00 including VAT and delivery.

Now I need about £80-worth to be shaved off that as my maximum limit is £800, so if anybody spots anything in that spec I don't really need and can downgrade, please let me know.

The other quandary I'm in is that I can get a similar spec for about £100 cheaper from the company I've always got my PCs from before, Mesh Computers, but I've been spooked away from them by the numerous recent reviews I've read which have mentioned how appalling their level of service have been since they were resurrected - and let's face it, their service wasn't too good before that although I've been quite lucky and haven't had any major problems with them before - so my dilemma is whether I take the risk of enduring that poor service because the price is a bit more right than it is here?

Anyway, that's the situation I'm in, so any help will be very much appreciated.

 

[keynes]

if it is occasional editing an i5 would do, you may also want to consider upgrading the cooler to the triple copper heatpipe.

 

[mantadog]

You could save yourself the cash by dropping the i5 as suggested by Keynes. The other obvious one would be the warranty. I would advise dropping both and spending a touch more on the GPU/CPU cooler to get a more balanced spec, the 650ti is a much better card than the 650, so if you could do that and the triple copper cooler then it would be perfect in my eyes.

 

[JasonC1782]

Thanks for the advice guys; dropping the processor to an i5 and dropping the warranty has brought the system to within my budget.

I've also made a few other changes as well:
- changed the 650 graphics card to a 650TI as recommended
- added the triple copper heatpipe cooler as recommended
- changed the soundcard from an Audigy FX to a Xonar DG after reading reviews that the DG was the better of the two
- chosen the next motherboard up as the existing one didn't have a PCI slot for the soundcard
- changed the case as the existing one wasn't big enough for the cooler
- removed the DVD drive as I can put in the one from my current PC

Here's the revised spec:

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 311 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z87-A: ATX, USB3.0, SATA6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE + **FREE GAME**
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 650 Ti - DVI, mHDMI, VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE
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
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Sound Card
Asus Xonar DG 5.1 SoundCard & Headphone AMP (Award Winner)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK270 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Miscellaneous
FREE BATTLEFIELD 4 GAME with Z87-A MOTHERBOARD!
Quantity
1

Price: £778.00 including VAT and delivery.

Does that seem OK?

Also:
- is it worth me spending the extra £6 on the Coolermaster case instead of the Enigma case?
- is it worth me spending £19 on a wireless card?
- as the quoted maximum required power is 311W, can I downgrade from the 450W to the 350W power supply or is it best to have a lot in hand just in case?

Many thanks indeed.

 

[keynes]

It is definitely worth it to upgrade the case since it will offer better cooling. I would consider a pair of home plugs instead of a wireless card and regarding your PSU it depends on your future upgrades. A 450w gives you more room for upgrades.

 

[JasonC1782]

I might upgrade it further as time goes by so I think I'll be best off sticking with the 450W.

If it seems good to go other than that, I'll try and sort out the order tomorrow.