Before i click buy, any suggestions?

asoxedri

asoxedri

asoxedri

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building a desktop for a friend, would like to stay below 700.

These are the things i've chosen, if you have any suggestions or better ideas, would really appreciate it.

What my mate currently has (so won't need these):

17" Screen
Speakers
Mouse
Keyboard
Win 7 OS

I would like to add, this computer is not going to be used for overclocking. just regular use of internet, homework, occasional movies etc.

 
Why does he need to spend that much if it's only getting basic use? Most of that is pretty OTT. He'd be better off reducing most of that and getting a better screen and a good audio set-up for the movies.
 
Hequn said:
Why does he need to spend that much if it's only getting basic use? Most of that is pretty OTT. He'd be better off reducing most of that and getting a better screen and a good audio set-up for the movies.
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+1

Thats a lot of money and computing power when the most intensive application is movies.

I suggest an AMD Athlon X2 245, 785G board and no discrete graphics as the basis of the system.
 
For real bro, I do everything your mate's planning to do on my ghetto old P4 rubbish system. That's a nice little gaming rig though (maybe a better case to fit with all that high spec)!
 
I told him exatcly what you guys are saying. told him to get one of those media desktops rigs for around 250-300 which OCuk are doing. His a bit stubborn and won't listen, what can i say...
 
asoxedri said:
I told him exatcly what you guys are saying. told him to get one of those media desktops rigs for around 250-300 which OCuk are doing. His a bit stubborn and won't listen, what can i say...
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Show him this thread where all of us are going to back your opinion up :)
 
Now if he's insistent on getting this PC, it'd be borderline illegal not to change the 4890 for a 5850, for less than £30 you're getting a lot more performance.
 
asoxedri said:
Good idea. thanks fella.
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No worries man, he can save himself a lot of money and get pretty much the same performance for what he's after. If he doesn't need a gaming rig there's no point in spending that much.

Hell I've got a base-unit next to me that my nephew used to have that'd be good enough for what he needs lol.
 
kylew said:
Now if he's insistent on getting this PC, it'd be borderline illegal not to change the 4890 for a 5850, for less than £30 you're getting a lot more performance.
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i was thinking that, but he needs something urgently for his homeworks, and OCuk don't have any in stock, so i got the next possible thing at that sort of budget.

Hequn said:
he can save himself a lot of money and get pretty much the same performance for what he's after. If he doesn't need a gaming rig there's no point in spending that much.
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Dejavu. all been said to him but his stubborn and spoilt, hard combination to convince. (got to edit that part out before the morning now lol)
 
Ok, well if he must spend £700 on a PC, then following Hequn's advise of adding in a new monitor is a great idea. Here is my idea for a spec:

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This PC will handle all of your friends needs , plus having this fantastic eIPS 22in screen will make his PC using experience much better. He can even add his old 17" screen as a second monitor.

Edit: TBH he won't need that PSU, something like this will be perfectly fine, and £33 cheaper.

Edit 2: I updated the PSU in the spec and added a Blu-ray drive as suggested by Nate Silvers. To afford this I dropped the GPU down to a 9800GT, still plenty of power to run HD video, dual monitors (22in + 17in) and even play most games very well. If you need to get the price under £700, drop the CPU to this.
 
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Overkill to say the least, Why does he need a new cooler if he's not gonna overclock anyway? Waste of money.

Could downgrade the PSU to a 600w.

Downgrade the graphics to a cheaper card unless he's gonna be gaming, He will never notice the difference.
 
I'd definately spend the cash on a reduced rig with monitor - a 4890 on a 17" monitor? Complete and utter waste of cash.

Blu-ray is a case of personal preference. If he's doing homework I'd imagine he's on a student budget of some description which, while allowing for the occasional (not always £700) splurge, doesn't then leave any left for £20 a movie. A blu-ray drive is no use if you're still watching DVDs on it.
 
Hequn said:
Don't they upscale?
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Hehe, ofcourse they do :)

But I think the point he was making was that he won't make use of the Blu-Ray part considering he is a student (less money for expensive blu-rays) and presumably has a collection of DVDs already.

However, I would dispute this assertion as he seems flush enough to spend £700 on an office box. Maybe asoxedri should ask his mate if he would use the blu ray, if not then a standard DVD drive like this will be fantastic.
 
Well there you go, I still think the blu ray drive will be the better option, seeing as if/when he does have any money he can buy blu-rays, or get them as presents. They're worth having for the planet earth series alone lol
 
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