Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 16 of 21

Thread: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

  1. #1
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    62
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    I know the title is kind of a misnomer. However, my father-in-law is looking for something that he'll be able to upgrade two years down the line. He doesn't plan on doing much gaming, although he may be using it for HD, hence why I chose a HD2400XT graphics card.

    He also stated that he wants a dual core processor, so I went for the Pentium E2160. I went for a P35 mobo as at least he can upgrade to a Penryn quad core a couple of years down the line. He does a lot of photography so he wanted a 500GB hard drive too!

    Here's what I came up with:

    CPU: Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2160 [£55.80]

    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-S3L [£59.91]

    RAM: Corsair (2x1GB) DDR2 675MHz/PC2-5400 XMS Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL4(4-4-4-12) [£54.99]

    Graphics card: 256MB Sapphire HD2400XT PCI-E (x16) [£44.29]

    Case: Antec NSK6500 [£58.75]

    HDD: 500GB WD5000AAKS [£66.96]

    OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32Bit [£68.73]

    Optical Drive: LG GSAH62N [£19.14]

    Media Card Reader: Enlight 26 in 1 Internal 3.5" Card Reader [£8.98]

    TOTAL: £437.55
    Are there any glaring errors there, or can you guys think of something better for the cost? Or if I can bring the cost down even further, for similar spec, that would be even better! Any help would be gladly appreciated!

    [PS: I'm only looking for case only, he already has monitor, keyboard, mouse etc.]

  2. #2
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Ballymoney...sir
    Posts
    145
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    5 times in 5 posts
    • -N!CK-'s system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte DS4
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @3.3GHz
      • Memory:
      • GeIL PC6400 UUL 2gb
      • Storage:
      • 780GB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 8800gts 640mb
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX 520W
      • Case:
      • Lian Li PC-7+ B
      • Monitor(s):
      • DELL 2007WFP

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    that's pretty decent, i can't see anything you could change there that would make a huge difference without breaking the budget. i'm not sure about the gfx card....although i know nothing about ati tbh.

  3. Received thanks from:

    Tejstar (29-08-2007)

  4. #3
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    295
    Thanks
    9
    Thanked
    10 times in 10 posts

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    What kind of upgrades is he talking about? Cos I can see a potential issue being the PSU and case size but as you say he doesn't plan on much gaming then that shouldn't be an issue.

  5. Received thanks from:

    Tejstar (29-08-2007)

  6. #4
    Yeah dude! NightshadowUK's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Bolton
    Posts
    2,172
    Thanks
    134
    Thanked
    59 times in 57 posts
    • NightshadowUK's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z87M GAMING
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i7 4790K [Macho Rev.B]
      • Memory:
      • 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LP
      • Storage:
      • Crucial M500 [240GB] & MX500 [1TB]
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 4GB Sapphire 290X Vapor-X
      • PSU:
      • 620W Corsair HX
      • Case:
      • Silverstone TJ08B-E [AP181 & NF-S12B]
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Home [64bit]
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell U2412M
      • Internet:
      • Virgin Media 200Mb

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    I'd go for AM2 as it's cheaper and will be compatible with AMD's new CPU's...

    - AMD AM2 Athlon 64 5200+ ~ £82.24
    - Abit KN9-S ~ £46.91

    Both the memory and graphics card were good choices...

    - 2GB Corsair TwinX PC5400 4-4-4-12 ~ £52.33
    - 256MB Sapphire HD2400XT ~ £44.29

    My personal preference with HDD's is Samsung - they're fast and very quiet...

    - 400GB Samsung HD401LJ ~ £53.69

    The power supply that the SK6500 comes with is pretty weak, so instead I've gone with a similar but cheaper case and a seperate, quality PSU...

    - Antec NSK6000 ~ £37.55
    - 380W Tagan TG380-U01 ~ £37.47
    - Samsung SH-S203/BEBN ~ £18.79

    As I'm using Scan Computers (you'll get free delivery) I've gone for their version of the card reader you chose...

    - Scan Black Internal All in 1 (57+) Card Reader ~ £5.86

    You're using a 64Bit CPU so why not go for a 64Bit version of Vista...

    - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit ~ £69.17

    Total ~ £448.30
    Last edited by NightshadowUK; 29-08-2007 at 12:01 AM.

  7. Received thanks from:

    Tejstar (29-08-2007)

  8. #5
    Senior Member this_is_gav's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    4,854
    Thanks
    175
    Thanked
    255 times in 217 posts

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    Quote Originally Posted by NightshadowUK View Post
    I'd go for AM2 as it's cheaper and will be compatible with AMD's new CPU's...
    Nah, for multimedia the Intel will be a better bet, even such a low end one, and even if the graphics card is taking the brunt of the work in HD, especially as the C2D (well, 'PentiumDual-Core' to give it its apparent proper name ) is a full £30 cheaper - note too that it's a £5 cheaper at Scan.

    Agreed with the PSU though - Antec generally aren't bad, but a dedicated seasoned PSU will be a much better choice, as you (or we if you don't ) know what you're getting. Personally I'd pay extra on the 380W Seasonic (I would have recommended the 330W Seasonic, but it's disappeared from Scan's website. Cracking little supply too )

  9. Received thanks from:

    Tejstar (29-08-2007)

  10. #6
    HEXUS.timelord. Zak33's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    I'm a Jessie
    Posts
    35,176
    Thanks
    3,121
    Thanked
    3,173 times in 1,922 posts
    • Zak33's system
      • Storage:
      • Kingston HyperX SSD, Hitachi 1Tb
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Nvidia 1050
      • PSU:
      • Coolermaster 800w
      • Case:
      • Silverstone Fortress FT01
      • Operating System:
      • Win10
      • Internet:
      • Zen FTC uber speedy

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    Intel (sadly) owns AMD at the mo and the potential upgrades will be better long term.

    I'd go with exactly what he specced tbh.

    Quote Originally Posted by Advice Trinity by Knoxville
    "The second you aren't paying attention to the tool you're using, it will take your fingers from you. It does not know sympathy." |
    "If you don't gaffer it, it will gaffer you" | "Belt and braces"

  11. Received thanks from:

    Tejstar (29-08-2007)

  12. #7
    Asking silly questions menthel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Rainey Park...
    Posts
    5,077
    Thanks
    258
    Thanked
    97 times in 78 posts

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    Quote Originally Posted by NightshadowUK View Post
    The power supply that the SK6500 comes with is pretty weak, so instead I've gone with a similar but cheaper case and a seperate, quality PSU...

    - Antec NSK6000 ~ £37.55
    - 380W Tagan TG380-U01 ~ £37.47
    - Samsung SH-S203/BEBN ~ £18.79
    The Antec PSU's that come with the systems are good and will run this system no problem. Why have extra expense of a separate PSU. This money could be spend on other things, or put in the bank!
    Not around too often!

  13. Received thanks from:

    Tejstar (29-08-2007)

  14. #8
    Senior Member Pob255's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The land of Brum
    Posts
    10,143
    Thanks
    608
    Thanked
    1,226 times in 1,123 posts
    • Pob255's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus M5A99X EVO
      • CPU:
      • FX8350 & CM Hyper 212+
      • Memory:
      • 4 x 2gb Corsair Vengence 1600mhz cas9
      • Storage:
      • 512gb samsung SSD +1tb Samsung HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EGVA GTX970
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic GX 650W
      • Case:
      • HAF 912+
      • Operating System:
      • W7 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama XB3270QS-B1 32" IPS 1440p

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    I'd be inclined to go for the extra expense of a e4400 (about £20 more)

    If you want to save a couple of quid Corsair value select would be fine (£5 less)

    Not got a major graphics card so the standard ANtec PSU that comes with the NSK should be fine.

  15. Received thanks from:

    Tejstar (29-08-2007)

  16. #9
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    62
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    Quote Originally Posted by Tetras View Post
    What kind of upgrades is he talking about? Cos I can see a potential issue being the PSU and case size but as you say he doesn't plan on much gaming then that shouldn't be an issue.
    Mainly processor based I imagine. I think he will probably upgrade to a Penryn quadcore in a couple of years time.

    The case size and PSU was a concern, but given what he'll be using it for I think it should work - he's not planning on putting any double slot graphics cards in there any time soon!

    I did think about an Akasa Zen and Corsair VX450WUK combo, but I figured he doesn't really need that much power so went for the cheaper solution.
    Last edited by Tejstar; 29-08-2007 at 03:21 PM.

  17. #10
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    62
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    Quote Originally Posted by NightshadowUK View Post
    I'd go for AM2 as it's cheaper and will be compatible with AMD's new CPU's...

    - AMD AM2 Athlon 64 5200+ ~ £82.24
    - Abit KN9-S ~ £46.91

    You're using a 64Bit CPU so why not go for a 64Bit version of Vista...

    - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit ~ £69.17
    Thanks for the extensive reply NightshadowUK. I personally prefer Intel's dual core chips to AMD's ones, which is why I went for the E2160, I don't mind spending the bit extra for them.

    Would I have any compatability issues going with Vista 64-bit rather than 32-bit?

  18. #11
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    62
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    Quote Originally Posted by this_is_gav View Post
    Agreed with the PSU though - Antec generally aren't bad, but a dedicated seasoned PSU will be a much better choice, as you (or we if you don't ) know what you're getting. Personally I'd pay extra on the 380W Seasonic (I would have recommended the 330W Seasonic, but it's disappeared from Scan's website. Cracking little supply too )
    I have a Seasonic S12-380 in one of my other PC's and I agree it's a cracking little PSU. As I said in another reply I was thinking of going for a Akasa Zen and Corsair VX450WUK combo, but thought that given he proabably wouldn't be stressing the system out too much that the Antec NSK6500 would suffice.

  19. #12
    Senior Member Pob255's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The land of Brum
    Posts
    10,143
    Thanks
    608
    Thanked
    1,226 times in 1,123 posts
    • Pob255's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus M5A99X EVO
      • CPU:
      • FX8350 & CM Hyper 212+
      • Memory:
      • 4 x 2gb Corsair Vengence 1600mhz cas9
      • Storage:
      • 512gb samsung SSD +1tb Samsung HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EGVA GTX970
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic GX 650W
      • Case:
      • HAF 912+
      • Operating System:
      • W7 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama XB3270QS-B1 32" IPS 1440p

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    I'd expend on the vista 64bit, by saying that the intel chips are also 64bit so that might be a good move, although slightly more expensive than vista 32bit.

  20. Received thanks from:

    Tejstar (29-08-2007)

  21. #13
    root Member DanceswithUnix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    In the middle of a core dump
    Posts
    12,975
    Thanks
    778
    Thanked
    1,584 times in 1,339 posts
    • DanceswithUnix's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus X470-PRO
      • CPU:
      • 5900X
      • Memory:
      • 32GB 3200MHz ECC
      • Storage:
      • 2TB Linux, 2TB Games (Win 10)
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Asus Strix RX Vega 56
      • PSU:
      • 650W Corsair TX
      • Case:
      • Antec 300
      • Operating System:
      • Fedora 39 + Win 10 Pro 64 (yuk)
      • Monitor(s):
      • Benq XL2730Z 1440p + Iiyama 27" 1440p
      • Internet:
      • Zen 900Mb/900Mb (CityFibre FttP)

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    No time to dig out hard data right now, but the 2160 has too much cache removed so performance is rubbish. Either buy a proper Intel CPU, or anything AMD. Either will be faster, AMD will be better value for money.

  22. Received thanks from:

    Tejstar (29-08-2007)

  23. #14
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Rochester, NY
    Posts
    1,041
    Thanks
    4
    Thanked
    8 times in 8 posts
    • oralpain's system
      • Motherboard:
      • DFI "Blood Iron" P35-T2RL
      • CPU:
      • Intel Pentium E2140 @ 400x8 (3.2GHz), 1.375v
      • Memory:
      • Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 CL4 @ 500MHz (DDR 1000), 4-4-4-12-T2, 2.3v
      • Storage:
      • 2x Seagate ST3250410AS
      • Graphics card(s):
      • NVIDIA 8800GTS (G92) 512 @ 783MHz core, 1836MHz shader, 1053Mhz memory, stock cooling 70% fan speed
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic SS-500GB
      • Case:
      • Antec P182, with some small modifications
      • Monitor(s):
      • ASUS VW222U
      • Internet:
      • Time Warner "Road Runner" Cable - 16 megabit downstream, 1 megabit upstream

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    E21xx are good for the money, esp if you are willing to overclock it a bit.

    Then again, AMD 690 boards have the best on-board video you can get (still garbage, but certainly better than the intel 3000), which might be perfectly suitable, at least untill a real video card can be had. It's not like you can really game on an HD2400 either. The AM2 will also have a decent upgrade path, not ideal, but not bad.

  24. Received thanks from:

    Tejstar (29-08-2007)

  25. #15
    No-one's Fanboi Thorsson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Neverneverland
    Posts
    2,750
    Thanks
    47
    Thanked
    93 times in 92 posts
    • Thorsson's system
      • Motherboard:
      • ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
      • CPU:
      • i5 3570k
      • Memory:
      • 2x8Gb Corsair Vengeance PC1866
      • Storage:
      • 256M4 SSD; 2Tb 7200RPM Barracuda; 2Tb Linkstation
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GTX970 SC
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX650
      • Case:
      • Antec 300
      • Operating System:
      • Win10 64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell 2515H
      • Internet:
      • Fibre Optic 30Mb

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    Quote Originally Posted by Pob255 View Post
    I'd expend on the vista 64bit, by saying that the intel chips are also 64bit so that might be a good move, although slightly more expensive than vista 32bit.
    Not if you buy sensibly. Get a Vista Home Premium Upgrade (I won't post yet again how to use this for a clean install because no-one appears to care) and you can get 64 bit as a free option.

  26. Received thanks from:

    Tejstar (29-08-2007)

  27. #16
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    62
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Father-in-law wants a 'future-proofed' PC for under £450!

    Quote Originally Posted by Thorsson View Post
    Not if you buy sensibly. Get a Vista Home Premium Upgrade (I won't post yet again how to use this for a clean install because no-one appears to care) and you can get 64 bit as a free option.
    Does this still work, I thought MS might have closed the loophole by now?

    I care about the method, so if you could post a link where you've posted it before, it'd be most helpful!

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 171
    Last Post: 25-06-2004, 09:08 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •