New PC Spec

[tiler65]

I went into my local PC shop and asked them for a price to build me something...here is what they were offering me

Intel i5 2500
8GB DDR3 (supports 16gb)
Win 7 64bit home premium
Gigabyte GAZ68AP-D3-USB3
SSD 128GB
500GB sata3
Standard 550w PSU

For £670

I have copied exactly what they wrote down for me so don't shoot the messenger.

Can you please tell me if this is a good deal, where I could do better and what I need to ask them when I go back in the shop.

Thanks in advance.

 

[arad85]

It could be a good deal, it could be a bit overpriced. Check which 128GB SSD and which power supply. To build it yourself you have:

i5: £163
8G DDR3: £32
Win7: £65
Mobo: £75
SSD: ?? (£90-£155)
500G: £55
PSU: ?? (£20-£75)

So: £540 inc case (~£40) to build yourself with the cheapest components or £660+ with top grade components. Depends what you value the building/warranty at. I'd also want the original Windows OS disk too BTW...

 

[garry71]

The only thing I'm not sure about on your list is the "standard" power supply. If you go back there, ask them specifically for the make and model of the power supply they'll use. The one part you definitely shouldn't skimp on is the psu, as a cheap one will fry the cpu and motherboard if it throws a wobbly.
Did they say what case they'll use? Some cheap ones come with the psu thrown in which should be avoided really.


If you feel capable, you could build it yourself.
Have a look on Amazon and see how the prices are on there for the components.

I built this a month ago:

Core i5 2500k
OCZ 120 gig Agility SSD
Western Digital caviar Green 750 gig
8 Gb Corsair Vengance 1600Mhz
Sony DVD writer
OCZ ModXstream 500w psu
Fractal Design Arc Mini case
Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H-B3 motherboard
Windows 7 HP

Total cost was about £690


SSD and HDD are starting to fall in price now, so you'd save a little bit there.
Most of the components have a 3 year warranty, but a shop build will just offer a 1 year guarantee.

I did about 2 months intensive research before I bought as I didn't have a clue to start with, and got a few headaches from information overload along the way!

Your list is fairly similar to mine, so if they can build for that price with a good quality psu, it looks a decent deal as it'd save you the trouble of rounding up all the parts yourself, but it is satisfying to build your own.

Whichever way you go, GET A GOOD QUALITY POWER SUPPLY.

 

[garry71]

I'd also want the original Windows OS disk too BTW...

Mine was the retail version, not the OEM version. Oem ties you into that one machine as it will be pre-installed by the shop, and they might only give you a recovery disk.

 

[tiler65]

Thanks guys...food for thought...I tried to 'spec' my own on Scan and I came up with this as a build myself....so now I would like your opinions on this to compare


LN43827
500GB Western Digital WD5000AZRX Caviar Green, 3.5" HDD, SATA III - 6Gb/s, IntelliPower, 64MB Cache, 8ms, OEM
£57.96

LN29161
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit SP1, Operating System, Single, - OEM
£72.08

LN43731
120GB PNY Professional, 2.5" SSD, SATA III - 6Gb/s, SandForce 2281, MLC-Flash, Read 550MB/s, Write 520MB/s, 85000 IOPS
£95.00

LN33670
8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 XMS3, PC3-10600 (1333), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, 1.50V
£38.16

LN8039
550W PSU, EZCool Silent, Uncertified, Quiet Fan, ATX
£25.67

LN40916
Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3, Intel Z68, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, RAID SATA, PCIe 2.0 (x16), VGA On Board, ATX
£71.62

LN44420
LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±R, 12xDVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RWx6 ,12xRAM with M-DISC Support, SATA, Black, OEM
£13.38

LN36727
Intel Core i5 2500, S1155, Sandy Bridge, Quad, 3.3GHz, HD2000 IGP 850Mhz, 6MB Cache, 95W, Retail
FREE Anti-static wrist band offer
£159.78

LN33377
Asus TA-D21 Black Mid Tower Performance Case w/o PSU
£21.58

Recalculate Basket

Net Total
Carriage
VAT
Scansure
Inc IPT
£462.69
£7.99
£94.14
£14.50
Total£579.32

I am wanting it for specifically CS5 and LR won't be a games machine so I was wondering if I needed a Graphics card..I only have 1 monitor.

 

[the ghost]

grafix card : or onboard ?

 

[arad85]

I am wanting it for specifically CS5 and LR won't be a games machine so I was wondering if I needed a Graphics card..I only have 1 monitor.

No graphics card needed (assuming you can connect to your monitor via HDMI which is all the mobo has). If you could stretch another £8 for an i5-2500K you could probably get a 10-20% increase as the i5-2500K can be overclocked (very easily). Having said that, I'd want a better cooler than the one that comes with it - something around the £30-£40 mark. 10+% extra speed for £40ish isn't a bad deal IMHO.

 

[tiler65]

Do I need an overclocked machine though?

If I want dual monitors in the future, am I right in saying I will need a graphics card?

 

[ZoneV]

You may not feel the benefit of the overclock now, but the significant extra performance will afford you more time before your next upgrade.

Do any of the motherboards have multiple monitor outputs? Regardless, providing the motherboard has a PCI-E x16 expansion slot you can easily stick a graphics card in there if you need to in the future.

 

[arad85]

Do I need an overclocked machine though?

It's the price/performance though. I've just looked, an i5-2500 will turbo to 3.4GHz. An i5-2500K should be able to be overclocked to 4.4GHz. That's a 30% speed boost (rather than 10% I originally said - although you will be dependant on the rest of the system for how much extra you actually get) for an extra £40. I'd say that was a no brainer personally. Also, the 2500K has a slightly better graphics core in it.

If I want dual monitors in the future, am I right in saying I will need a graphics card?

Yes. The motherboard only has a single video out (HDMI). You can get onboard graphics with multiple outputs and they should run multi-displays. If you put an extra card in, I'd run both monitors from the graphics card.

 

[garry71]

The motherboard has parallel and serial ports on the back. If you're not going to be using those, I'd look for a board with more graphics outputs on it.
The one in my previous post has D-sub, DVI-D, and HDMI outputs, which gives a wider choice of monitors to choose from in the future.

I wouldn't really trust a 25 quid psu, I'd go for a better quality one for about £50. A dearer one should have an 80+ rating which means it will be more efficient at using the electricity it draws, and will be cheaper to run in the long run than an economy psu. It should be more reliable as well.