Spec me for £1500

I get around

I get around

I get around

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14 Jan 2009
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Well I need a pc for uni next year, decided on a budget of £1500.

I'm debating getting an iMac 27" with educational discount at the moment (In before overpriced fashion accessory, gay jokes etc.)

I just want to compare really what £1500 could buy me pc wise, wanted to know what the experienced gurus of pc building would you recommend? (I've not built a pc for 2 years, don't know what would be best)

To be used for music/ video editing, photoshop and as a media pc. Must include a monitor 27" or bigger.
 
I get around said:
iMac 27"
Click to expand...

gay overpriced fashion accessory tbh..


Just curious though, if the PC's for all of that stuff, then what's the Mac for? :confused: Not bashing the Mac, it can be a good deal with the discount but this sounds like a heck of a lot of money here in total..
 
I want a decent machine to last me the next 3 years or more that can take what I chuck into it. I'd rather buy a decent machine now and it last me the next 3-5 years. Than spend 7-800 and have to upgrade in a year or so.
So it's between getting an iMac or a Pc..
 
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ah my bad, totally misread your post there :D Which mac are you looking to compare with?

Also will the spec include OS, keyboard, mouse and sound system?
 
Iv had a go, but got to admit im not normally that good at the higher price spec's

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
*OVERCLOCKED* Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 4.00GHz / Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 Motherboard / Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 Tri-Channel DDR3 Bundle *OVERCLOCKED* Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 4.00GHz / Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 Motherboard / Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 Tri-Channel DDR3 Bundle £549.99
(£468.08) £549.99
(£468.08)
Hanns.G HZ281HPB 27.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor Hanns.G HZ281HPB 27.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor £272.99
(£232.33) £272.99
(£232.33)
OCZ Vertex 60GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-1VTX60G) OCZ Vertex 60GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-1VTX60G) £149.98
(£127.64) £149.98
(£127.64)
Club 3D ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card Club 3D ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £116.99
(£99.57) £116.99
(£99.57)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £84.99
(£72.33) £84.99
(£72.33)
OCZ StealthXStream 700w Silent Power Supply OCZ StealthXStream 700w Silent Power Supply £69.99
(£59.57) £69.99
(£59.57)
LG CH08LS10 8x BluRay ROM / 16x DVD±RW Drive - Black (OEM) LG CH08LS10 8x BluRay ROM / 16x DVD±RW Drive - Black (OEM) £67.99
(£57.86) £67.99
(£57.86)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £65.99
(£56.16) £65.99
(£56.16)
Creative Inspire A500 5.1 Speaker System (51MF4095AA004) Creative Inspire A500 5.1 Speaker System (51MF4095AA004) £45.99
(£39.14) £45.99
(£39.14)
Zalman Z7 Plus Midi Tower Case - Black Zalman Z7 Plus Midi Tower Case - Black £42.99
(£36.59) £42.99
(£36.59)
Logitech Ultra-Flat Keyboard (967653-0120) Logitech Ultra-Flat Keyboard (967653-0120) £14.29
(£12.16) £14.29
(£12.16)
Logitech V100 Optical Mouse for Notebooks (931641-0914) Logitech V100 Optical Mouse for Notebooks (931641-0914) £11.99
(£10.20) £11.99
(£10.20)
Sub Total : £1,271.63
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £18.35
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £225.75
Total : £1,515.73
 
I went a bit over budget because I forgot about the operating system and after market cpu cooler for a decent overclock.

Specfasdfad.png
 
Alex74 said:
ah my bad, totally misread your post there :D Which mac are you looking to compare with?

Also will the spec include OS, keyboard, mouse and sound system?
Click to expand...

Doesn't need to include os but must include a decent 2.1 system, and keyboard + mouse.

I won't link to the mac incase it's seen as a competitor, however it's a 27" imac, 3.06 c2d, 4gb ram (Will be 8 after i've upgraded with non ripoff priced ram), 1 tb hard drive, ati HD 4850 512mb.
 
I get around said:
Doesn't need to include os but must include a decent 2.1 system, and keyboard + mouse.

I won't link to the mac incase it's seen as a competitor, however it's a 27" imac, 3.06 c2d, 4gb ram (Will be 8 after i've upgraded with non ripoff priced ram), 1 tb hard drive, ati HD 4850 512mb.
Click to expand...

Mac's... LOL. If you look at my build I chose up above you will get much better stuff for around the same price as a crappy Mac. Justr emove the OS and get a keybaord, mouse and speakers :)
 
How much faster are we looking at with an SSD compared to a normal hard disk?

Also need a monitor which I could connect my 360 to via HDMI.
Overclocking, i'm not decided, I won't if I don't think I need the extra nuts.
 
I get around said:
Doesn't need to include os but must include a decent 2.1 system, and keyboard + mouse.

I won't link to the mac incase it's seen as a competitor, however it's a 27" imac, 3.06 c2d, 4gb ram (Will be 8 after i've upgraded with non ripoff priced ram), 1 tb hard drive, ati HD 4850 512mb.
Click to expand...

In that case, either of the first two specs would be great, and rip the mac to shreds in every aspect. If you're not gaming then the 5870 in the third spec may be a tad overpowered, i might even skip the 5850 in the second spec as well. 5770 will beat that 4850 without trouble.
 
designers etc are all going to pc now.. but if not for gaming as well your want something like this

i7 920 @ 4ghz
intel 80gb ssd
2x 1tb drives raid 0 or raid 1 if u wana backup the data
12gb ram
Nvidia gfx card (285 or something as no gaming and has cuda etc)
and something like 2x24" monitors as the 2nd monitor comes in handy
 
Does the monitor need to be the same resolution as the res available on the iMac? Because if so, you're looking at around 800 quid or more for a monitor larger than 27 inch and with a resolution more than 1920x1080.
 
mattjd said:
I went a bit over budget because I forgot about the operating system and after market cpu cooler for a decent overclock.

Specfasdfad.png
Click to expand...

this is actually rather nice.

just change the case to a Zalman Z7, or ditch the sound card to afford an even better case.
 
Iiyama ProLite E2710HDSD 27" Widescreen LCD Monitor Iiyama ProLite E2710HDSD 27" Widescreen LCD Monitor £259.99
(£221.27) £259.99
(£221.27)
Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £154.99
(£131.91) £154.99
(£131.91)
Acoustic Energy Aego M 2.1 Speaker System - Black Acoustic Energy Aego M 2.1 Speaker System - Black £122.99
(£104.67) £122.99
(£104.67)
Asus ATI Radeon HD 4870 Glaciator+ 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card Asus ATI Radeon HD 4870 Glaciator+ 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.99
(£102.12) £119.99
(£102.12)
Asus P7P55D-E LX Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard Asus P7P55D-E LX Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £116.98
(£99.56) £116.98
(£99.56)
Intel X25-V Value 40GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (SSDSA2MP040G2R5) Intel X25-V Value 40GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (SSDSA2MP040G2R5) £86.99
(£74.03) £86.99
(£74.03)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £84.99
(£72.33) £84.99
(£72.33)
OCZ Platinum AMD Edition 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel (OCZ3P1600LVAM4GK) OCZ Platinum AMD Edition 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel (OCZ3P1600LVAM4GK) £79.99
(£68.08) £159.98
(£136.16)
Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (0F10383) Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (0F10383) £54.99
(£46.80) £109.98
(£93.60)
Logitech Wireless Desktop Wave (920-000280) Logitech Wireless Desktop Wave (920-000280) £46.99
(£39.99) £46.99
(£39.99)
OCZ StealthXStream 500w Silent Power Supply OCZ StealthXStream 500w Silent Power Supply £46.99
(£39.99) £46.99
(£39.99)
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £42.98
(£36.58) £42.98
(£36.58)
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (PCI-Express) (30SB104200000) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (PCI-Express) (30SB104200000) £38.99
(£33.18) £38.99
(£33.18)
Titan TTC-NK85TZ/V2 Fenrir CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366) Titan TTC-NK85TZ/V2 Fenrir CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366) £29.99
(£25.52) £29.99
(£25.52)
Sony Optiarc AD-7240S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM Sony Optiarc AD-7240S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.99
(£13.61) £15.99
(£13.61)
Sub Total : £1,224.52
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £18.35
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £217.50
Total : £1,460.37

Had a little bang myself, decided to go for a newer os in the end, I have vista retail sat about but I figure an upgrade to windows 7 is in order.
Any thoughts?

And as I say, I'm undecided between the two still, just seeing what the money will buy me as far as a windows pc goes.
Would like the higher res, but it's not totally essential.
 
Last edited:
If you are video editing I would consider getting a Phenom II X6 1055T TBH especially since you are not intending to overclock the PC!

The build in post 6 is decent and also has a motherboard with good integrated graphics. If you do not want to play games ATM you could use this and buy a graphics card when needed.
 
It should be able to cope with it. Just dont expect it to do any intensive hardware accelerated decoding.
 
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