Any advice choosing between two systems?

avectra

avectra

avectra

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8 Dec 2012
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3
Hi All

Im new to the forum and no expert with PC builds. I am needing to purchase a pc for my 14 year old son. Asking questions I understand the requirements to be :
small amounts of gaming
Video editing & rendering
Graphics design
general internet and office type work.

After days and days of looking I think I have narrowed my decision and budget to two systems

1. Battlefield War Rush Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz @ 4.40GHz DDR3 Limited Edition Quad Core Gaming PC

System Specification
- Case: Corsair 300R Carbide Mid Tower - Case
- Power Supply: Corsair TX 650W PSU
- CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz @ 4.40GHz Sandybridge CPU
- Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
- Cooler: Prolimatech Panther CPU Cooler
- RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
- Hard Drive: 500GB HDD
- Graphics Card: Choice of DX11 Compatible Graphics Cards ***OcUK Recommends a minimum of either an AMD 7850 or a Nvidia 660 to play Battlefield optimally at HD resolutions***
- Sound: Realtek 7.1 Channel Sound (On-Board)
- Optical Drive: OcUK 24x DVD+/-RW SATA Drive


2.Titan 8700i Pulse" Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40GHz @ 4.40GHz

System Specification
- Case: Antec 300 Gaming Case - Black
- Power Supply: Corsair TX 650w PSU
- CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40GHz @ 4.40GHz Ivybridge CPU
- Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
- Cooler: Alpenfohn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler
- RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
- Hard Drive: 500GB HDD
- Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 5450 SILENT 512MB (default choice, options available)
- Sound: Realtek 7.1 Channel Sound (On-Board)
- Optical Drive: OcUK 24x DVD+/-RW SATA Drive

Differences I see Motherboard, IVY & Sandy processor etc. I would order either with the standard graphics option, to save and update later maybe.

Any advice on either system truly appreciated

Many Thanks
Andy
 
Essentially the biggest difference between those two systems is the processor. This link might help you.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=701

The second option is the better off the two systems and the one I would go for. That ivybridge processor is simply better in every situation. I've just built a rig very similiar to the one in your second spec, the only difference being I have the pro version of that motherboard and more RAM, but so far I'm rather impressed.

If he is planning to do some gaming I would try and push the budget to upgrade that 5450 though, it will basically be useless for all but the most basic of games or lowest graphics settings. The 7950 would be a nice choice and make it a pretty capable machine all round.
 
+2 for the second option.

Although if he wants to game on it out of the box then a better graphics card will be needed. A 7850, or if you can afford it a 7950 will round out the system.
 
when you say a small amount of gaming, are you saying he already has a xbox or ps3 etc so won't be using it much for games? as a little gaming for 14 year old's means a few hours with the latest games 5 nights a week with all the week ends gaming.

either system would be good for all the rest you have listed, but gaming that would depend on what he likes to play, more info will give a better answer, if its any of the latest games then a better card spec'ed like posts above would make the game time much more enjoyable for a little more outlay, medium to high spec builds with low end vga makes for poor gaming, add a better card would make either a good choice.

even a 7850 would do, it doesn't need to be top end to make a difference and he would thank you for it in the long run so agree with above 2 posts
 
Hi All

Thank you very much for your fantastic help, Im confident that the pulse will be my choice now.
As for the gaming, my son does have ps3, so he can choose games wisely based on the graphics card or upgrade at a later date.

again, many thanks

Andy
 
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