Spec me a PC

T0M0

T0M0

T0M0

Associate
Joined
11 Feb 2010
Posts
109
Hi,

Looking to get a new PC, would like you experts to spec me a decent system, please if possible?

Budget = £400

What I don't need = Monitor, Operating System, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers.

Primary uses = Web Browsing, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Watching Videos, Listening to Music

Intel or AMD? Not really fussed, which ever gives the most for the money.

Integrated sound and graphics? Not really fussed, have only ever used integrated graphics and sound, never really had any issues. I can always upgrade at a later date?

Needs to be able to run a 64 bit version of Windows 7.

Thanks in advance, look forward to see what you spec!
 
Last edited:
Hi,

At £413 inc VAT and postage, this is a little above budget, but you have a solid platform should you choose to upgrade:
http://www.imagebucket.net/bucket/is.php?i=7013&img=Capture.jpg

Note, OCUK don't always have the best deals on hard drives or power supplies so shop around, you could save around £20 (but then you have postage on top of that)

At the £400 mark this and the AMD build below are pretty much what you can expect, and both perform well with day-to-day stuff
 
Last edited:
This an alternate AMD based build the OP may want to consider:

AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 635 ~ £100

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-263-AM&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=803

Asus M4A785TD-V Evo ~ £73

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-355-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481

This has an 8+2 phase VRM with cooling meaning it should be able to run any higher TDP Phenom II X4 and X6 processors fine if you decide to upgrade the processor. The HD4200 IGP also has 128MB of dedicated DDR3 RAM on the motherboard for the IGP and the motherboard has all solid capacitors too. The IGP is based on the GPU in the HD3450 graphics card. The IGP can also run one monitor with a digital input and another with an analogue input simultaneously.

4GB 1600MHZ DDR3 ~ £77

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-026-PA&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Corsair CX400W ~ £40

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-017-CS

This is made by Seasonic.

Samsung F3 500GB ~ £40

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-081-SA

SATA DVD rewriter ~ £15

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-099-SA&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=951

Coolermaster Elite 334 ~ £28

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-184-CM&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=

Akasa Internal Smart 8 Port Card Reader ~ £15

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FL-002-AK

The total comes to around £388 excluding postage.

The Samsung F3 500GB is probably the fastest 500GB hard disk ATM and uses a single platter.

Here is a comparison of the X4 635 and the Core i3 530:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=122&p2=118&c=1
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the two specs guys.

Looking at the comparison the i3 comes off a little better doesn't it?

Although, for what I am looking for, would an AMD be sufficient? I've only ever had builds with intel processors in them.

Also, what is a port card reader? And do I need one? Sorry to sound like a newb!

Mainly, this rig needs to be able to do Photoshop and Dreamweaver on the fly.

I am currently using a Dell laptop that has a 1.8GHZ mobile processor, 2gb RAM and an 80 gb hard drive and I am starting to notice it is getting quite laggy.

So really I need something that will handle what I throw at it for as much under £400 as possible?

Cheers for the responses.

Would like to know more about the AMD set ups people have on here, and if they compare well to the i3s?

I should probably also point out that I have never overclocked, and probably wouldn't need to, not sure if this helps?

Cheers!
 
The card reader is for your PSP, camera, phone etcetera memory cards. I've never needed or used one to be honest but my mate at uni uses his for his PSP and mobile all the time.

As for the platforms, they perform quite similarly: sometimes the i3 wins and sometimes the athlon, at such close specs there really isn't much between them.

When was the last time you reinstalled windows on your laptop?
 
I formatted the hard drive and put windows 7 on it a couple of weeks ago.

To be honest, I'd like to build one and understand how it all works, plus be able to upgrade whenever I need to, easily.

Are there any more options available? Thanks.
 
I guess in that case the laptop must just be getting old.

Both builds have the possibility of upgrade, through a dedicated graphics card or new processor as time goes on.

Although there are the LGA775 and socket 939 still available, they're obsolete and have been superceded by the new LGA1156 and AM3, and there is a lot of support available to new builders, I suggest you check out this excellent guide by greywolf if you haven't already:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18046396


There aren't really many more options: your choice is either Intel or AMD, and that will decide your processor and motherboard. Everything else is the same no matter which platform you choose

EDIT:

Also, 95thriffles has some very good builds and advice should you choose to do your own spec:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18060182
 
Last edited:
The i5 is very good, and has the best price/performance ratio that you can get at the moment out of the box. At £150 though it's expensive, but well worth it if you can stretch your budget. If you choose the intel motherboard, all you would need to change is the processor (that's why I said good for upgrading, same with the AMD platform). bit-tech have a very good comparison here:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2010/01/04/intel-core-i5-661-core-i3-530-cpu-review/1
To sum it up, you will see a notable improvement in performance, but it will cost you £80 more.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom