Home PC for work and play

washo

washo

washo

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Joined
22 Jun 2009
Posts
140
Hi Guys.

Can you spec me a home PC to use primarily for work. Apart from usual MS office, iTunes, photos etc., I remote on to PCs, Servers etc. so nothing too taxing.

I would like to train with VMWare at some point but imagine it will probably be better to do this on a separate device unless this can be incorporated without too much cost.

A few basic games but no longer the more demanding ones.

Budget is flexible within reason, however I would like to future proof. Monitor not required. To include OS and at least 1 secondary HDD. For SSD is Samsung the better make?

Current PC is around 7 years old with a few upgrades along the way, so this is long overdue! Just cannot get on with the iMac...

Current system for what it's worth and some laughter...

- Core 2 Quad Q6600 !
- Abit IP35 Pro
- OCZ 8GB PC2-6400C4 800MHz DDR2
- ATI Radeon 4890
- Win8 Pro
- 3x 500GB HDD
 
Do you have any budget in mind or just something reasonable? (£500-600 for example?)

Also, what games would you be playing? Just so whoever specs you can get an idea of what graphics card to put in and such
 
No budget in mind. Happy to go to around £1000 if it will make a difference but as gaming is not an issue then probably do not need to.

Games - Something like Simulators/Football Manager type
 
Anything else you'd like? Like quiet optimisation etc, or just a normal PC? Size of case, window/no window?

From the games you might play and VMware it sounds like 16GB RAM and a beefy CPU might be in order, iirc Football Manager is very CPU weighted

Also, could you not use your current OS from your current PC? or is that a no go
 
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It is going under a desk in the corner so quiet would be good! Case to allow expansion but window not necessary :)

For VMWARE wouldn't a different type of CPU be required?

I also didn't think those games would be too intense? To be honest the gaming is a second as don't really have time these days...

Regarding the os, is Win8 not tied down to the mb? If not then it could be used.
 
I think if it is "tied" to the mobo, it isn't really. If you use the same code, it will say you have to ring them/they will ring you. It then gives you something like a 24-digit code which you enter into your PC and that should work, at least that worked for me
However, you have a quite old mobo, I don't think it will be tied to that as Windows 8 wasn't out back in 775 days!

For a CPU a normal one should be fine, but I believe it likes as many cores/threads as possible and lots of RAM

Here's a starting idea

YOUR BASKET
1 x EPIC BUNDLE: Intel 4790K, Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7, Kingston 16GB 2400MHz Kit, Superflower 750W PSU & FREE STUFF!! **£50 SAVING** £580.97
1 x **B Grade** MSI Radeon R9 270X Gaming Edition OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express G (GX-226-MS) £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £77.99
1 x Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1) £72.98
1 x Antec P100 Mid Tower Silenced Computing Case £66.95
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £41.99
1 x Raijintek Aidos Direct Contact CPU Cooler - Black £14.99
Total : £950.86 (includes shipping : £12.50).





The 270X is cheap, and should be more than powerful enough for your games.
The bundle saves you 50 quid over the original component prices, so covers the cost of the more expensive RAM and modular 750W PSU. You also get a free mug and mouse mat :D

Case is silence optimised, though you will want to set the fans up nicely as this does matter too. I recommend a program called speedfan

256GB SSD is a nice size, and 1TB HDD to back you up for secondary storage. Can get a 2TB/3TB/4TB etc if you wish

Here's something from X99, 6 cores/12 threads which could benefit you should you get more "deep" into VMWare and pretty much the same everything else

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI X99S SLI Plus - TeamGroup 16GB 2400MHz DDR4 Intel X99 Motherboard Bundle **£40 OFF** £259.94
- 1 x Intel 5820K 3.30GHz (Haswell-E) Socket LGA2011-V3 Processor - Retail (BX80648I75820K) £335.99
1 x **B Grade** MSI Radeon R9 270X Gaming Edition OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express G (GX-226-MS) £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £77.99
1 x Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1) £72.98
1 x Antec P100 Mid Tower Silenced Computing Case £66.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £64.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £41.99
1 x Raijintek Aidos Direct Contact CPU Cooler - Black £14.99
Total : £1,030.81 (includes shipping : £12.50).




Again, Windows knocks £78 off that if you can take it from your current system


aaaand something muy cheapo in comparison

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4790K 4.00GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £281.99
1 x **B Grade** MSI Radeon R9 270X Gaming Edition OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express G (GX-226-MS) £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £77.99
1 x Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1) £72.98
1 x Antec P100 Mid Tower Silenced Computing Case £66.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £64.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97P-D3 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £63.95
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLRED38G2400HC11CDC01) £49.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £41.99
1 x Raijintek Aidos Direct Contact CPU Cooler - Black £14.99
Total : £830.81 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 
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Thanks for that.

Question about the SSD. Is the Crucial better than the Samsung Evo or is it just better for the price?
 
For the price I'd say it's better yes, but strictly speaking the 850 Evo is a better drive. I wouldn't touch the 840 Evo now with the problems it's being having though, even though I have one :(

I doubt you'd notice a difference though
 
Confused now. This looks a good spec but would it not be better to buy a gaming rig for a similar price?

I now own a Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD & OS so can free up extra cash for the build. Quiet would be good but I love gadgets so would there be better options especially on the case?

If I was to game properly it would be games like COD and Battlefield.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have no idea what direction to go down now and cash is burning a hole. The wife is threatening a shopping trip so I need to spend quick :)
 
Well for COD and Battlefield you will need a better card than the 270x. Sounds like you need to make your mind up :p

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 - Devils Canyon Core i7 4790K CPU & Motherboard Bundle **£25 Saving** £393.98
1 x Asus Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (R9290X-DC2-4GD5) £229.99
1 x Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1) £89.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLRED316G2400HC11CDC01) £89.99
1 x Phanteks Enthoo Pro Mid Tower Enthusiast Case with Window £89.99
1 x EVGA Supernova GS 550W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £64.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £41.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £19.99
Total : £1,020.91 (includes shipping : Ex.VAT).

 
Thanks for coming back so quick.

The spec for every day PC by Shivy above is not far off the price of a good Gaming PC setup so if I'm spending that money then may as well get best system possible for budget. I'm not a big gamer but would make use of it if I had a capable PC.

Budget is between £1000 and £1200 with monitor on top. Using an older Samsung 2232BW monitor so worth updating as well I guess Also would you recommend Win8.1 over 7 these days? I use both and not bothered either way.

Appreciate your feedback.
 
 
Looks great Stulid - thank you. Would you be able to recommend a larger HDD?

Also is the AOC G2460PQU 24" Widescreen 144Hz 1ms Gaming LED Monitor a good choice to replace my ageing Samsung 2232BW?
 
Yes a larger HDD is always nice.

I have that exact monitor, great for gaming, fully adjustable stand.

I picked the 620W PSU because of X99 eating more power than the Z97 platform. There is a Seasonic 620W modular PSU.
 
Thanks again Guys, much clearer now!

Regarding HDD, is this any good or something better?
Toshiba 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6GB/s 64MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA300) HDD
 
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