PC for photo editing PS5 and general use - is this spec good enough?

[oimee]

hi, is this a good / balanced spec for a decent future-proof home PC? I need it to be good enough to do light editing on PS5 and to store media - what do you think? I wont be playing any games on it. your comments appreciated!

ps I have a seperate graphics card to add later if needed - though don't see the need for anything fancy (should I?).


COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
ASUS® P8H67-M LX SI: MICRO ATX MAINBOARD, LG 1155, SATA 6.0Gb/s
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
INTEGRATED INTEL HD GRAPHICS (HDMI, DVI, 1920 X 1200)
640GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD6402AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
(7200rpm)
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
(7200rpm)
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£19)
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£109)
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (Incl Disc & 1 License for 3 devices)
(£87)
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
(£5)

 

[Meds]

Looks ok from here, have you considered replacing the 640GB HDD with an SSD for that extra speed? Also, what graphics card do you plan to fit, just so we can check that its all compatible.

 

[oimee]

Ssd

thanks for getting back to me, really appreciate it.

Yes I have considered a solid state drive... but wasn't sure how large it would need to be? I plan on using Win 7 64-bit Pro and Adobe Suite CS5 - plus playing music / some film.

I will need to get back to you about the card as it is coming form a friend, though in theory - would I be OK with the on-board graphics?

 

[Meds]

You'd normally have just the OS & Software installed onto the SSD - so in your case, Windows 7, CS5 and maybe some Anti-Virus? So I reckon you'd be fine with an 80GB SSD. All your saved pics, videos, films, music etc must be stored on the larger secondary HDD to prevent the SSD getting full.

To a certain extent you would be ok with Integrated Graphics but only for the short term. You'd notice an increase in performance from a dedicated graphics card even if its a low-end one, the good thing is you don't need an all singing and dancing Graphics Card for Photoshop so luckily it wont cost you an arm & a leg. If your friends Graphics Card isn't compatible then you can always add one in a few months time when you have a spare £50 or so.

 

[oimee]

thanks, that is useful info.

Graphics Card : I don't think I'd ever need to invest in anything more than a GT430 tops, but something a lot lower is more likely - and my friends card is certain to be much lower spec than this. With this in mind, is the 450 PSU future proof?

 

[PCS]

Yes - a 450W PSU will be more than adequate for this spec with a graphics card such as a GT430 or lower.

 

[oimee]

thanks for your help!

 

[oimee]

thanks for your help

 

[oimee]

would the 60gb OCZ Vertex 2 SATA 2.5" SSD be a good choice for this set-up?

 

[Meds]

Windows 7 Professional will take up anything between 10GB - 15GB, Adobe CS5 around 5GB - 8GB (research via google, pls correct me if it's wrong) so yeah, the 60GB OCZ would be fine.