High spec media PC needed

[kevint1972]

Hi,

I want to order a new PC that will be used mainly for work, media and internet. I want something which will be able to run fast with a lot of windows open, including MS Office, Paint Shop Pro, Media Player, various browsers. I'm also planning to attach 2 monitors. I'm unlikely to use it for games much.

Could you please cast your eye over the following specs? I may have erred on the side of higher spec. Do you think for example i7 is necessary for anything other than gaming? I know a little about PCs but am not sure for example which is more important out of processor power or RAM for speedy running.

One thing that is very important to me is storage space. 2 x 2 terabytes is fine but I wonder is it possible to add a third 2 terabyte hard disk?

Thanks and have a great Christmas, Kevin



Case
STYLISH BLACK/SILVER TRIDENT CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-870 Quad Core (2.93GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost
Motherboard
ASUS® P7P55 LX: USB 2.0 & SATA 3.0Gb/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (4 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - DirectX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
Sound Blaster® Audigy™ SE (£19)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 13 working days

 

[7of9]

I think that 16GB memory may be unnecessary, even with multitasking;
may be better to go for a 'bigger cooling case (e.g coolmaster sileo 500) with 8 GB memory. The configurator should show you the possibility to add the 3rd Hard drive. You can always add in one later or use external harddrive(s).

 

[Craig]

most cases can have more than 3 HDD, or as 7of9 said you could get an External one.

Also, maybe consider an SSD as the main drive, it will make up load times much much faster.

Personally I would drop down to either 8gb or 12gb RAM, and I would upgrade the CPU. This would give better performance.

 

[Sleinous]

8GB is enough. Upgrade to an i7 950 in my opinion.

The socket LGA 1156 i7 is teh cheaper i7.

The LGA 1366 is the up-market i7

Something like this:

Has a Nvidia GPU for CUDA processing too.


Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-950 (3.06GHz) 4.8GTs/8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P6X58D-E: DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
Memory (RAM)
6GB SAMSUNG DDR3 TRI-DDR3 1333MHz (3 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX465 - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - DirectX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
3rd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W PRO SERIES (HX750) 80+ MODULAR PSU (£109)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,152.00 including VAT and delivery.

The spec has enough power from its HX (modular PSU which is way better for tidy cable management as nearly everything plugs into teh back of the PSU as opposed to hard-wired in).

The HX750W will power 2x 465s if you so need it to.

The GTX 465 has a few extra CUDA cores over the 460 making it the better choice for video and photo work.

It has 2x 2TB Caviar greens and a full 7200RPM Caviar black 1TB for your actual software and OS.

Has a faster i7 950, and 6GB of triple channel 1333mhz RAM from Samsung AND actually made by Samsung themselves instead of bought from a 3rd party.

Triple channel memory means you should always have 3 sticks of RAM, and upgrade in 3's as the motherboard uses the 3 sticks in triplets. If you put only 4GB youre not bnenefiting from the triple arrangement. If you add another 2GB and make it 8Gb you also kill off the triplet arrangement, so either 6GB or 12GB, or 12Gb or 24GB (in 4gb modules of course).

yes the case iwll store all the HDDs perfectly but maybe got for a PCS Maelstrom for a bit more room.

 

[kevint1972]

Thank you for the responses. How much of a difference would it make using SSD / Caviar Black as the main hard drive versus using just the 2TB Caviat Greens? Also how much does the spec of the graphics card matter if you're not gaming? Thanks.

 

[PCS]

The SSD's will make a huge difference over a Caviar Green, the Caviar Black a smaller difference.

If you're not gamimg, you can choose a more basic graphics card, such as a GT430 for example. If however you plan to carry out quite a bit of video editing/photo editing, stick with the GTX460.

 

[kevint1972]

Thank you again for your help, I've made an order now.

Cheers, Kevin