My wife is in a position that she needs a new PC. She uses it for her work (she works for herself) everyday, and only uses general Office applications, Photoshop and that type of thing. Whilst working, she also enjoys watching online TV and radio, so although doesn't have to have blistering graphics and sound capabilities, needs to be good enough for this. We've got two NAS's, so don't have to worry about data storage. ie hard drive doesn't need to be huge. I built my last PC about 2 years ago, and have not kept in touch with the latest technology out there. Would like to try and keep this as cheap as possible, so there's the challenge! Any advice would be great.
Hi, You say she'll be using Photoshop. Is that for light photo editing - touching up, converting between formats etc - or some serious image manipulation? That will determine your choice of CPU and how much RAM you should be looking at (and potentially graphics too). Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
It isn't going to be serious image manipulation at this stage, as she is still quite novice at using it. It will mainly be photo editing, touching up that type of thing. Thought this would have an effect on the decision of what hardware. Would like it to be man enough to be used without having to sit there for ages whilst Photoshop does it's stuff.
check out a intel i3 - 2100 with a cheapy H61 chipset motherboard and stuff with with cheap ddr3 ram will grind through most tasks easily Or if you fear your wife will eventually be doing more heavy duty stuff then think about a quad core i5 for the £40 difference over the i3.
Sounds like a good starting point. I like the idea of a certain level of future proofing. If I go for an i5, any motherboards to look at?
I presume all will be stock. If so the cheapest one really, cant see any advantage for what you are using the machine for other than going for the cheapest H61 chipset motherboard you can find. http://www.scan.co.uk/products/giga...i-3gb-s-pcie-(x16)-d-sub-dvi-d-hdmi-micro-atx With say http://www.scan.co.uk/products/inte...-28ghz-hd2000-igp-850mhz-6mb-cache-95w-retail
^This. Unless you wish to overclock there's no point really going for a P67 chipset or above. Unless you want native USB 3.0 and native SATA III support then there's no point opting for a H67 chipset either. One thing to consider though - AFAIK H61 boards only have limited DIMM slots for memory so if you want to throw lots of RAM in there then you're best off getting high-density DIMMs. Also if you're not planning on overclocking in the future then there's little point getting the K variant i5 (although the K variant chips will retain their value a little more if you come to sell it on in the future). For watching HD video etc on-board graphics will be fine.
I built a desktop PC for my GF last year. i3 2100 cpu, 4gb ram, H67 motherboard, budget Nvidia graphics. It copes with everything from Photoshop to HD video. Only weak point is the GPU. Having only 92 cores it can't cope with most 3d games. I will upgrade the graphics for her this year. It is very fast for photoshop and fine on HD video (1080).
I think you're right, H61 only has support for 2 sticks (2x8GB max). I'd recommend 1x4GB over 2x2GB to allow for future upgrades.
For the vast majority of tasks Photoshop won't make use of the GPU at all. CPU and RAM are far more important. On-board graphics will suffice for what she wants it for IMO. As already stated an i5 in a H61 mobo with at least 4Gb of cheap DDR3 should do (if you don't want/need to overclock). You always have the option of adding a discrete GPU at a later date if need be. Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
The GPU is required for games like Minecraft and Mirror's edge. The 92 core Nvidia I bought for her is too weak. The i3 2100 is more than adequate.
Even though the iMac is a lovely idea, the main reason for this is to try and keep the cost down, and we also have a small network setup (all windows). This is the last PC that is running XP, so will be nice having everything on Windows 7, and also a more up to date and better spec PC for her.
Don't need a monitor, keyboard, mouse or internal HD (already have spare Samsung Spinpoint 1TB) Budget is as low as I can get, but would be prepared to pay a little extra to make something more future proof, or if paying and extra for something else that is worth while, will consider it. Would like to maybe get as close to £300 as possible, but am willing to have some flexibility (for example, by the sound of it, don't need to worry about getting a separate GPU straight away, but will consider that as an upgrade later. Likewise the same with the chip. If i5 brings more benefits, am flexible to stretch to that.)
Sorry feathers crossed wires I think. I misquoted. Apologies. My post was meant in terms of the OP's stated needs for his wife's PC. She shouldn't need a dedicated GPU for what she wants it for. Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
a Mac mini might be a good Idea. a friend of mine swears photoshot is better on that MAC. I think he might be a fanboy though, to be honest.
You might want to look at a small SSD (60GB) if your data is all stored on the network. Windows 7 will take up 20GB or so, leaving plenty of space for Photoshop and a few installs. She'll get a much more responsive machine out of it, and with the current HD prices you've not got much to lose. i3 2100, 4GB RAM, H61 board. Add in a low-end discrete GPU if you feel like it.