# new desktop advice



## mainsy (May 27, 2008)

My dell inspiron 5150 has done the bsod for the last time. So my mate has a mate who can build to spec, so think I might go down this road. I'm just not too hot when it comes to what I actually need. I use my pc mainly for streaming hd films and stuff to my ps3. Converting films to different formats, burning discs, some photoshop and playing the odd game. It usually runs a few programs at once and grinds to a halt, so the ability to do a few things at once is important.

I'm looking to spend £500, already got a monitor and keyboard, so I'm hoping the it guru's on here can point me in the right direction as to what processor, memory i should go for.

Or maybe I should buy ready made, its a minefield!!

I do know I want windows 7, that part is easy

cheers in advance :thumb:


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## Blazebro (May 18, 2007)

It's cirtainly a minefield that's for sure. Don't know how old your system is, but I just replaced my 6 year old desktop with a lap top and it kicks the ass out of my old desktop.

Besk thing to do is search the market and compare what you can get for £500, then just choose the parts from each which takes your fancey.

Here's a gaming system for £600 from a local shop (to me), just to give you something to go by:

http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/systemview.aspx?id=85


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## mainsy (May 27, 2008)

thats a fancy looking piece of kit. Looking at the spec it says is has ddr2 memory. I have done a bit of googling and I read an article that suggests that ddr2 is old hat and ddr3 is is what I should be lookjing at, does that seem right?


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## john2garden (Nov 16, 2006)

I got mine built by http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/ and cannot fault them.


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

A basic spec i7 920 PC is going to cost at least £500.

With the encoding a fast CPU is required and a good amount of memory helps depending on the application used. 

Graphics cards can be used to HD films to process them taking it away from the CPU, but the i7 920 is more than capable of handling HD media.

@Blazebro, you can't compare a 6 year old desktop to a new laptop. All desktop PCs at the same price point will beat a laptop.

If the i7 route is too much for you, then the fall back would be one of the Intel Core 2 Duo's or Core 2 Quad's which are cheaper but a motherboard that takes DDR3 RAM will be more expensive as will the DDR3 RAM over the DDR2 RAM counterparts with the performance difference being minimal for what you will be doing.


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## DiscoDriver (Oct 27, 2009)

If you're doing video encoding then you'll see a benefit in going for a quad core system rather than a dual core. You don't need a high or even mid end video card though - the encoding is all done by the processor. What James said re Ram - DDR2 vs DDR3 will make bugger all difference on your system.


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## Blazebro (May 18, 2007)

jamest said:


> @Blazebro, you can't compare a 6 year old desktop to a new laptop. All desktop PCs at the same price point will beat a laptop.


You have 2 systems, both I7, Both 4mb GGR3 Ram, both 500ggb hard drives, absolutely identicle spec, but ones a laptop ones a desktop. Which ones quicker?


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## WopaDoBop (Nov 9, 2009)

mainsy said:


> thats a fancy looking piece of kit. Looking at the spec it says is has ddr2 memory. I have done a bit of googling and I read an article that suggests that ddr2 is old hat and ddr3 is is what I should be lookjing at, does that seem right?


While DDR2 is certainly older to DDR3 the difference (imo) is negligable, and for the pricing differences (considering you've set a budget), should you go for 64bit Windows 7, you'd be better off with more, but cheaper DDR2 GBs than less, but more expensive DDR3 GBs.

Also, the motherboard you'd need for DDR3 support would be more expensive than a top end DDR2 board.

The most important thing, for your needs, as mentioned is a top end i7 or Quad core processor to go with the RAM for the encoding/decoding.

The most important thing to do when buying a new PC, especially if you're considering home built, is to get clued up about what you need/dont need


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## WopaDoBop (Nov 9, 2009)

Blazebro said:


> You have 2 systems, both I7, Both 4mb GGR3 Ram, both 500ggb hard drives, absolutely identicle spec, but ones a laptop ones a desktop. Which ones quicker?


His point was.

For £500 you can get a "good" spec laptop, but will get a "better" spec desktop.

£500 laptop buys you Core2 Duo P7450 power.
£500 desktop buys you i7 950 power.


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Blazebro said:


> You have 2 systems, both I7, Both 4mb GGR3 Ram, both 500ggb hard drives, absolutely identicle spec, but ones a laptop ones a desktop. Which ones quicker?





WopaDoBop said:


> His point was.
> 
> For £500 you can get a "good" spec laptop, but will get a "better" spec desktop.
> 
> ...


^^ What he said.

I said for the same price. You won't find an indentically priced laptop and desktop with the same spec.


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## projibber (Dec 29, 2007)

I would suggest a spec similar to below, should cost around £550 for parts and your buddy can build it for you.

Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156)
Patriot Sector 5 Viper II 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-16000 2000MHz DDR3 Dual Channel Memory
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard
Antec Basiq Plus 550W Modular Power Supply
Antec 300 Case
SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache
LG GH22LS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter Lightscribe Drive
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler


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## Blazebro (May 18, 2007)

Apologies didn't immediately grasp that point, but do now :wall:


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## Blazebro (May 18, 2007)

projibber said:


> I would suggest a spec similar to below, should cost around £550 for parts and your buddy can build it for you.
> 
> Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156)
> Patriot Sector 5 Viper II 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-16000 2000MHz DDR3 Dual Channel Memory
> ...


Just out of interest, afaik things are plug and play (????), is it quite feasable for a beginer to build it if it is just plugging bits in?


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Blazebro said:


> Just out of interest, afaik things are plug and play (????), is it quite feasable for a beginer to build it if it is just plugging bits in?


Basically like building a flat pack but you have to be a bit more careful with static electricity etc. For the most part all you need is a phillips screwdriver (although some times you will need a flat head to get the heatsink on).

Building it isn't a problem, the problem is once you finish it and you find it doesn't work. Troubleshooting requires experience, but there is little margin for problems to occur. The main one is one of the cards/cables isn't full in.


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## projibber (Dec 29, 2007)

Exactly, yes you can build it yourself without any real experience needed. There are quite a few books out there with step by step guides that will help you. It is worth giving it a shot if you are interested in learning a bit more about how your PC works as it will only save you money in the future if something goes wrong or you want to upgrade or add more storage etc..


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## DiscoDriver (Oct 27, 2009)

jamest said:


> Building it isn't a problem, the problem is once you finish it and you find it doesn't work.


Exactly! I swear after every self-build that I'll never do it again and next time I'll buy off-the-shelf.

Usually by the next time round I've forgotten what a pig it was and put myself through the hassle again 

If you self-build as a newbie then be prepared for a lot of :wall:

Also, on my first build, I had to return both the motherboard and the RAM because they were faulty, so be prepared that whatever you do, it may still not work first time.


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## PaulGTI (Oct 21, 2006)

DiscoDriver said:


> Exactly! I swear after every self-build that I'll never do it again and next time I'll buy off-the-shelf.
> 
> Usually by the next time round I've forgotten what a pig it was and put myself through the hassle again
> 
> If you self-build as a newbie then be prepared for a lot of :wall:


The upshot of this is that by doing it yourself you will rarely find yourself at the help desk at PC World as you will have gained enough knowledge to try most things yourself.


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## Guest (Jan 17, 2010)

Unless you are going for high spec and know specifically what you are after - I would advise going with a known ready built brand and avoiding custom built and building your own. It will only be slightly more than building yourself (or even less) if you shop around, except you will then have a warranty, support, and it will have been tested to some degree with the OS and other components, as well as possibly improved driver support.


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## mainsy (May 27, 2008)

where would the best place to buy components from? I've used ebuyer in the past, will they have everything I need or is there anywhere better, cheaper?

I really like the idea of building myself, but I genuinly have no knowledge of how to proceed. I couldn't even look at a part and identify it. Is it really a case of follow the steps switch on and go, because I wouldn't know where to start troubleshooting.


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## Guest (Jan 17, 2010)

It's not hard, you can't put cards in places they don't fit so there is nothing really to go wrong. The motherboard instruction manual is a good place which will tell you where stuff goes.

The most difficult one will be connecting the case wires to the motherboard, sometimes the motherboard documentation is vague or the wires aren't properly labelled with + and - so it is trial and error connecting the wires and seeing if the power/reset/activity LEDs work correctly.


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## PaulGTI (Oct 21, 2006)

If you are the sort of person that reads manual and follows instructons, and enjoys a bit of a challenge then would say seriously research doing self build. There are plenty of forums where people have done a photo step by step build.

If you know anyone that has done a self build before ask them if they wouldnt mind helping you out if you get stuck.

If you decide to do a self build post up your intended components and some techy on here will check compatibilty for you.

A basic pc build vid...


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## mainsy (May 27, 2008)

G220 said:


> Unless you are going for high spec and know specifically what you are after - I would advise going with a known ready built brand and avoiding custom built and building your own. It will only be slightly more than building yourself (or even less) if you shop around, except you will then have a warranty, support, and it will have been tested to some degree with the OS and other components, as well as possibly improved driver support.


To be honest I probably don't need a high spec computer, but it is nice to know it can take anything i can throw at it. Its like a car, don't stretch its legs often but its the knowing it can:thumb:

If I could find the right pc ready built It would be easier but my not knowing what a good pc is is my stumblng block


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## mainsy (May 27, 2008)

Right after spending hours and hours reading up on this I feel I have a better understanding on whats involved in doing my own build. So I'm going to give it a go.

Heres what I think is a good set up:

Coolermaster Elite 330 Case With Coolermaster eXtreme Power 460W PSU £44.24

Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz Socket LGA1156 8MB L3 Cache £129.11

ASUS P7P55D iP55 Socket LGA 1156 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard £92.72

Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10600 Memory Kit CL9 1.5V £68.08

Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache £54.35

LG GH22LS50 22x DVD��RW SATA DL & RAM + LightScribe Black £17.01

Philips 230C1HSB 23" Full HD LCD Monitor 1920x1080 12000:1 (Dynamic) 300cd/m2 5ms VGA/DVI-D/HDMI/USB Multimedia Glossy Black £133.58

Microsoft Wireless Black Optical Desktop 1000 USB Keyboard and Optical Mouse £21.73

Total cost plus vat and shipping is £670.22

I haven't got a graphics card in there as still not sure if I need one and still need to add a cpu cooler.

Does this look any good? Do you think it could be done any cheaper?


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Is the CPU OEM or Retail? If it is Retail it will come with a standard CPU cooler. If it's OEM and you want a really silent CPU cooler get the Noctua NH-U12P.

Graphics wise, I would look at something like HD 4550 or HD 4650 which can be had for less than £50.

Also remember you will need the OS if you haven't already.


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## mainsy (May 27, 2008)

jamest said:


> Is the CPU OEM or Retail? If it is Retail it will come with a standard CPU cooler. If it's OEM and you want a really silent CPU cooler get the Noctua NH-U12P.
> 
> Graphics wise, I would look at something like HD 4550 or HD 4650 which can be had for less than £50.
> 
> Also remember you will need the OS if you haven't already.


It is the retail so has the cooler, never noticed that cheers :thumb:

Getting windows 7 home so another £99 on top


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Just been looking at some reviews for your CPU and it looked like it is more than enough to power HD videos, so you can get any graphics card you want.


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