Hi all, so my uncle "feels" like spending £1000 on a PC which he is probably only going to use for surfing the web, listening to music, possibly watching DVDs and other lightweight stuff. So I have put together a spec for this pointless PC, was just wondering if anyone has any other suggestions for any components. here it is: Screen: 27" AOC E2795VH Widescreen LED Monitor - £211.03 Linky Case: Coolermaster CM 690 II Lite - £63.58 Linky Speakers: Logitech X-530 5.1 Speakers - 70W RMS - £67.89 Linky Motherboad: Asus P8H67-M PRO R3 H67 - £86.70 Linky RAM: Corsair Memory XMS3 8GB DDR3 1333 - £34.56 Linky Storage: Corsair 120GB Force 3 SSD CSSD-F120GB3-BK - £124.98 Linky CPU: Intel Core i5 2300 2.8GHz - £141.99 Linky CPU Cooler: Gelid Tranquillo - £25.18 Linky PSU: Antec 400W High Current Gamer PSU - £45.84 Linky Mouse: Microsoft Wireless Mouse 5000 - £24.14 Linky DVD Drive RW: Samsung SH-S222AL/RSMS - £17.58 Linky OS: Windows 7 Home Premium - £70.74 Linky Keyboard: Logitech K360 Wireless Keyboard £20.38 Linky So we have £65.41 left in the budget. So questions: would H67 or P67 bet better, I have put H67 because of the integrated graphics, as I didn't see the point in getting a discrete GPU. Anyone else think this is a waste of money? Would the integrated graphics be able to cope with the 27" screen? Thanks in advance everybody, Love you all.
Why not? You get video out using the CPU and also potential overclock for that CPU intensive web browsing!
I had the i5-2500K in there before, but I downgraded it because I was over budget before, until I came to my senses and realised he wouldn't need a discrete GPU. Added the 2500K back in now. As for the that Z68 it gives better graphics along with some other pointless features doesn't it? Do you think this PSU is inadequate for this system? P.S. I'm ashamed of him now, considering he is not every going to use this to its full potential. :/
You could recommend spending a little more money on more univerally beneficial items and spec up a less powerful PC. Shift some money away from the PC components and grab an IPS monitor, perhaps. I'm not an audiophile but I'm sure you could arrange a better speaker setup as well. Personally I'd go for a different case, probably some brushed aluminum obelisk from Lian Li. They certainly look expensive and powerful and fit the general "guy who loves to show off his tech" vibe that your uncle seems to have. You could also consider grabbing a larger SSD, 120GB isn't much even for someone who's only doing light duty stuff. Enhancing the way in which you interact with your PC can be far more rewarding than just building a monster PC.
What I would do is tone down the pc hardware considerably, and shift the budget to the display, speakers, and input devices where high quality would be much more noticeable and beneficial. It sounds like the main focus is multi-media and you have used the least budget and consideration for those components in your proposed parts list.
Thanks everyone. I will look at better speakers and such, as they are good ideas and I won't feel as bad about him never using the system to its full potential then. And that better not be a insult to my baby Blogins! When I've finished fine tuning her she will have cost more than a grand. :L
id get a better mouse and keyboard with the money you have left. for a build for his uses they should be important imo.
True j4mi3, good idea thanks. Anyone have any recommendations for speakers first off, I have no idea where to start with them.
How about you build him a £300 PC and you build your own with the rest of the money. Heck give him a 10 year old PC for £30 + monitor if all he's going to do it is watch dvds and browes the web.
If you're not going with a discrete GPU and it's not being used CPU intensively then I'd have to suggest a Llano build.
Oooo man, you know I never even thought of a llano build. I'm going to have to mull this over now. And would love to Blogins but rather not, he be bwg and scawy. :L jokes.
Get a nice IPS monitor (for DVD watching etc, it sounds like a larger monitor would be beneficial), like a Hazro 27" for ~£400. Build a nice Llano-based PC in a smallish box (maybe an FT03 in Titanium - looks the nuts), add a decent >120GB SSD and 1TB HDD and make sure it's really quiet and you're there really.