Spec help £500 all in!

[firestrike]

I need to put together a computer for gf for around £500, including monitor, OS, keyboard and mouse(can go a little higher if its worth while). It will primarily be used for Photoshop and indesign but might be used for a little gaming (nothing to demanding)

I am a bit out of date with all the latest stuff, hense me asking for your advice. Now ive had a go myself (come out a little expensive), and as far as I understand it photoshop prefers lots a ram and a faster cpu clock rather then multiple cores, hense my choices. oh and I thought it might be a good idea if she can back up work, hense the two hard drives.

Thanks for any help or suggestions


LG W2246S-BF 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Glossy Black £123.36
(£104.99) £123.36
(£104.99)
Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz (Clarkdale) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz (Clarkdale) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £83.99
(£71.48) £83.99
(£71.48)
MSI GeForce GT 430 Twin FrozR 1024MB GDDR3 Low Profile PCI-Express Graphics Card MSI GeForce GT 430 Twin FrozR 1024MB GDDR3 Low Profile PCI-Express Graphics Card £64.99
(£55.31) £64.99
(£55.31)
OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Dual Channel (OCZ3G1333LV4GK) OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Dual Channel (OCZ3G1333LV4GK) £58.74
(£49.99) £58.74
(£49.99)
MSI H55M-E23 Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard MSI H55M-E23 Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £58.74
(£49.99) £58.74
(£49.99)
Corsair CX 430W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-430CXUK) Corsair CX 430W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-430CXUK) £36.99
(£31.48) £36.99
(£31.48)
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKS) Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKS) £30.98
(£26.37) £61.96
(£52.74)
Microsoft Wireless Media Desktop 1000 - Retail (ZHA-00007) Microsoft Wireless Media Desktop 1000 - Retail (ZHA-00007) £26.99
(£22.97) £26.99
(£22.97)
OcUK Athena Tower Case - Black OcUK Athena Tower Case - Black £19.99
(£17.01) £19.99
(£17.01)
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £12.91
(£10.99) £12.91
(£10.99)
Sub Total : £466.95
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £83.90
Total : £563.35 + OS ( windows 7 premium student upgrade) - shiping

 

[stulid]

just buy a single 1TB drive for £45. or get her an external backup drive.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Iiyama ProLite E2208HDD 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £114.99
(£97.86) £114.99
(£97.86)
AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 640 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £75.19
(£63.99) £75.19
(£63.99)
Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) microATX DDR3 Motherboard £69.99
(£59.57) £69.99
(£59.57)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £65.99
(£56.16) £65.99
(£56.16)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) £62.99
(£53.61) £62.99
(£53.61)
Gainward GeForce 9800 GT Green Edition 512MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card £58.74
(£49.99) £58.74
(£49.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £29.99
(£25.52) £29.99
(£25.52)
Microsoft Wireless Media Desktop 1000 - Retail (ZHA-00007) £26.99
(£22.97) £26.99
(£22.97)
Sub Total : £429.67
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £77.38
Total : £519.55

Add your student win7 and maybe a set of £10-20 speakers.

 

[firestrike]

Thanks, that was Ludicrously quick!

so a amd quad core build rather than an i3 set up ? and 9800 rather than the random nvidea I found?

 

[RJC]

Link below chows the comparison between the 2, each have there strengths and weaknesses.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/188?vs=143

 

[stulid]

so a amd quad core build rather than an i3 set up ? and 9800 rather than the random nvidea I found?

heres a cpu comparison - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/188?vs=143 some of those graphs are "lower is better"

and a 9800GT is a great gpu, never every seen a review of a MSI gt 430, but if its anything like nvidias past history, it will just be a renamed low-end chip from yester year with a lick of paint and a new price tag.

The 9800GT isn't new by any means but is still good.

EDIT.

Just read some reviews of the GT 430, its a new chip with directX11, but its really slow.

 

[firestrike]

ok so probably better going with the older 9800, rather than a newer 5550 or 5450 then ?

 

[stulid]

ok so probably better going with the older 9800, rather than a newer 5550 or 5450 then ?

looking at benchmarks the 9800GT is still faster - http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.p...sk=view&id=545&Itemid=72&limit=1&limitstart=6

Things like the 5550/5540 and that GT 430 maybe DirectX11, but they are so slow whats the point?