Spec Me

[snips86x]

My sister is looking for a PC which will allow her to do her Graphic design and some occasional gaming.

She needs the Full Tower, Monitor & OS. I know this is going to be tight
Budget is £800 +/- £50-60. NO Overclocking will take place, please take this into consideration when spec’ing ‘k’ models, they won’t gets used as intended. Later upgrades may only be RAM, G/card (no xFire/SLI) and HDD/SSD’s.

My only input as at this time, since I can’t spec at work, will be a 7850 from the AMD bundle as she won’t need anything more powerful in the graphics area and the need for a 22” monitor.

She has also advised she'd be happy with an ITX Prodigy build.

 

[Potty27]

YOUR BASKET
1 x **B Grade** HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) with FREE Sleeping Dogs, Nexuiz, & CODMW2 PC Games £169.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x Iiyama Prolite E2482HSD 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £119.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x XFX Pro 650W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.99
1 x **B Grade** Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £60.00
1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3 AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £59.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G160C9K) £49.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
1 x **B Grade** BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - White/Black £34.99
Total : £813.88 (includes shipping : FREE).




Gone with the AMD build as I would have guessed some of the programs she uses may help from the extra cores and will be fine for gaming, used a couple of B Grade items to get the most from the budget.

 

[snips86x]

Great first spec but would prefer the 990 chipset over 970.

What you got in terms of ITX? She is happy with Grade B but wondering if Intel would be a better investment for her. It needs to last.

I'm so so desperate to spec but cant Damn the lack of internet!!!

 

[Doomedspeed]

Potty, well ignored on some of the hints snips made.

Okay, This would be ideal:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3470 3.20GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £155.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99
1 x Iiyama Prolite E2482HSD 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £119.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED316GM1600HC11DC01) £89.99
1 x ASRock H77M-ITX Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ITX Motherboard £82.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £69.95
1 x **B Grade** Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £60
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
Total : £925.20 (includes shipping : £17.85).



But you could drop the RAM to 8GB or SSD. 16Gb will help out with image editing and rendering..

The B grade £60 SSD is a steal.

 

[Potty27]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £179.99
1 x **B Grade** HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) with FREE Sleeping Dogs, Nexuiz, & CODMW2 PC Games £169.99
1 x Iiyama Prolite E2482HSD 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £119.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x **B Grade** Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £60.00
1 x Asus B85M-G Intel B85 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £59.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G160C9K) £49.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
1 x **B Grade** BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - White/Black £34.99
Total : £853.87 (includes shipping : FREE).



Intel build, some may complain about me spec'ing a Bronze rated 550w OCZ PSU, but the reviews on "the big A" are very good and people say it's quiet.

 

[Potty27]

Potty, well ignored on some of the hints snips made.

Point taken, it was not ignored but misread.

 

[snips86x]

Great spec Doom. Shame its £125 over and i know its going to be tight with all that is needed.

Haha 'its a steel' *Family guy moment*

 

[honosuseri]

Point taken, it was not ignored but misread.

No I don't like OCZ PSUs but he asked for ITX not mATX

 

[Potty27]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £179.99
1 x **B Grade** MSI HD 7850 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards w/ FARCRY3, Nexuiz & Sleeping Dogs PC Games £119.99
1 x Iiyama ProLite E2278HD 22" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £99.95
1 x ASRock H87M-ITX Intel H87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ITX Motherboard £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Yang' Mini-ITX Cube Case - Black/White £69.95
1 x **B Grade** Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £60.00
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020047-UK) £49.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G160C9K) £49.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
Total : £848.78 (includes shipping : FREE).



The 7850 is 1GB, everything I've read says there is little difference in performance between the 1GB and 2GB @1080p or higher even.

 

[honosuseri]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £249.95
1 x Iiyama Prolite X2377HDS 23" Premium IPS Panel Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £131.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED316GM1600HC11DC01) £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x ASRock B85M-ITX Intel B85 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ITX Motherboard £71.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Yin' Mini-ITX Cube Case - White/Black £69.95
1 x **B Grade** Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £60.00
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £859.74 (includes shipping : FREE).



I'd scour the MM for a GPU bargain as an upgrade later. I have no idea what games she plays. Losing the SSD and using the Windows 8 trial for 3 months would help pay for a 650Ti Boost for example.

I look forward to seeing what Snips specs later

 

[Potty27]

and the need for a 22” monitor.

At least I'm not the only one who can misread the opening post hono

 

[Potty27]

Though if she has the space, the 23" IPS should be better for her needs really.

 

[Potty27]

wondering if Intel would be a better investment for her. It needs to last.

More and more programs / games should make use of 8 cores in the future you would have thought, so I'm not sure either way, but I think it would be fairly close personally.

 

[honosuseri]

At least I'm not the only one who can misread the opening post hono

Yes a 23 inch IPS panel for graphic design work, what a stupid idea! It's going to be a real struggle fitting the screen on the desk being an extra inch *pfffftt*

 

[snips86x]

Games would be DOD, CSS maybe some Battlefield plus other Steam available games.

 

[honosuseri]

Games would be DOD, CSS maybe some Battlefield plus other Steam available games.

Haswell does have a better IGP dude. Not saying it's amazing for gaming but I'd get the core components sorted then drop in a GPU. Just keep an eye out on the MM, even a 2nd hand 460/6850 would do just fine....what are they £50ish?

 

[snips86x]

Haswell does have a better IGP dude. Not saying it's amazing for gaming but I'd get the core components sorted then drop in a GPU. Just keep an eye out on the MM, even a 2nd hand 460/6850 would do just fine....what are they £50ish?

That's a great suggestion. What could you do on that basis?

I think the MM would be the better choice for the G/card, will bring the budget to £750 to mitigate that.

 

[Potty27]

Yes a 23 inch IPS panel for graphic design work, what a stupid idea! It's going to be a real struggle fitting the screen on the desk being an extra inch *pfffftt*

Spoiler

 

[Potty27]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £179.99
1 x Iiyama Prolite X2377HDS 23" Premium IPS Panel Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £131.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x ASRock B85M-ITX Intel B85 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ITX Motherboard £71.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Yang' Mini-ITX Cube Case - Black/White £69.95
1 x **B Grade** Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £60.00
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020047-UK) £49.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G160C9K) £49.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £759.83 (includes shipping : FREE).



The best I can do (Intel build) if screen size is not limited to 22". Could save a bit going down to a 450w, but personally I'd be more comfortable with a 500W if adding a better graphics card down the line.

 

[Idleman]

Spoiler

Show some respect for your Elders.

Spoiler