Help Me Spec A PC for Office and Home Use - Possible Micro or Mini

hitman

hitman

hitman

Associate
Joined
7 Oct 2009
Posts
498
After a move abroad I'm without my pc detailed in my signature. I need something to run Windows 7 and run Office plus other programs such as Camtasia screencast. I also use, intermittently, voice recognition software Dragon Naturally Speaking which likes to have high L2 and L3 cache (although I've found installing and running on an SSD helps almost as much). I'll obviously want to surf the net on this and might be interested in a decent sound card for playing music. I'll also use to stream and watch movies.
Because I might have to transport back to the uk I've thought of this as a solution:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-381-OK&groupid=43&catid=2476
Another portable solution would be a Surface Pro 3 either the 64GB or 128GB version.
For both solutions I would need a monitor so any recommendations on this would be great. I'll probably get my mech keyboard and mouse sent out.
The final option is to build and maybe go for a micro or mini pc which I've never built before.
Price? I want to keep this cheap so around £500 but cheaper if possible. Out of touch with monitors so could do with some good advice on models and price.
Thanks in advance for any help or advice.
 
Last edited:
If you need it to be small, the NUC are a good option.

There is a B grade Intel msata available, which is great value and if you're comfortable with it. This allows you to fit a much bigger magnetic drive, and all for less than the prebuild offer:

The monitor is IPS, has HDMI input. I got it for my wife's mum and it looks pretty good.
Non adjustable, but i think none have that at this price point.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel NUC D54250WYKH 2.5" Intel Core i5 Haswell Barebones Micro PC £299.99
1 x LG 22MP65HQ-P 22" LED IPS HDMI Monitor - Black £99.95
1 x **B Grade** Intel 530 Series 180GB M.2 80mm SATA 6Gb/s 25nm MLC SSD (SSDSCKGW180A401) £69.98
1 x Corsair ValueSelect "Low Voltage" 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz 204 Pin SODIMM Kit (CMSO8GX3M2C1600C11) £65.99
1 x Samsung SpinPoint M8 2.5" 1TB 5400RPM SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HN-M101MBB) HDD £47.99
Total : £598.00 (includes shipping : £11.75).



The NUC is out of stock, so you'd have to ask in CS about it... I assume that really ought to be the same issue with the prebuild :)


I do like the looks of a Surface, but storage is a bit crippled for the least expensive options...
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom