It's time for a new Desktop - Mission: unisex

[lonbow]

So I work from home, and have been managing on a laptop, and iPad, as has the missus too, but we've got a bit of spare cash - Around £1000 - so she sent me to sort it all - sexist, I know!

So I'm just looking for an all round PC tbh, it's not like I need it to be high powered as I just tend to have many tabs open on the internet at the same time, but it would be great if I could do a bit of light gaming when I get the chance too - although my pro gaming days are behind me! So I just want to be playing games without it jerking and making funny noises. I really noticed the difference in accessing things when having an SSD before, but it's been an age since I last done all this, so I really appreciate any suggestions on what is best to do.

Don't really store that much on there, so typical storage.

We need a monitor & speakers - bog standard are fine - as long as we can see and hear!

Your other bog standard stuff like the latest windows.

The case isn't a big deal, as that will go down below anyway.

The missus is a girly girl, and the keyboard is more important to her - I want something neutral really - but perhaps we will have to get that from elsewhere.

So yeah, all this for £1000 - if anyone could whack up a build for me, I would be forever indebted to you

 

[Yardem]

I'm surprised you haven't received a proposal from the heavies on these forums, they are usually quick to give advice.
Let's hope my post will bring your question into their attention.

Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to put something together, which I'm sure they will have notes on, and propose something much much better.

Case: InWIN GT1 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU): Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-7600 (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard: ASUS® H110M-R: Micro-ATX, DDR4, LGA1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM): 8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card: 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1050 Ti - DVI, HDMI, DP
1st Hard Disk: 250GB Samsung 850 2.5" EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk: 2TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive: 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply: CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable: 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling: Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste: STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card: ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking: 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options: MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System: Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Monitor: BENQ GL2450HM 24" LED MONITOR
Keyboard & Mouse: LOGITECH® MK270 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO
Warranty: 3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery: STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time: Standard Build - Approximately 13 to 15 working days
Quantity: 1

Price £1,008.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-home-office-pc/rMBPUnpUjV/

The monitor has built in speakers, but I hear they are not so great.

 

[Oussebon]

The above looks very good.

You could go with the Samsung LS24D330HSX/EN monitor to save ~£23. Or the 24" Asus one if you want built in speakers and save a tenner. Monitor built in speakers are rarely amazing, though I find them fine for single player gaming.

You could potentially drop to the GTX 1050 - the 1050 ti in desktops isn't all that much more powerful. If you play a game and a 1050's performance blows, a 1050 ti won't have been much better.

 

[lonbow]

Thanks for both of your time in looking and replying.

I've got a few questions, so please excuse me if I appear stupid, as I'm really not that clued up on these sort of things.

The case that you suggested, is that essential for this build? - as we do prefer the look of the PCS GENESIS G1B CASE + SD CARD READER (£20)

Also the processor cooling, is this a normal thing to have, or is it to make it sound less noisy?

Any point of getting 16gb of ram instead of 8gb?

I'm going to take the Monitor/Speakers/Keyboard/Mouse out of the equation as that's something me and the missus will have to agree on.

So up to around £900 for the rest - if it even needs to be that much - I just want something decent to last us a decent amount of time.

Sorry if it feels like I'm messing about, I do appreciate your time, cheers.

 

[Oussebon]

The case that you suggested, is that essential for this build? - as we do prefer the look of the PCS GENESIS G1B CASE + SD CARD READER (£20)

The GT1 has better cooling options and more room for upgrades. It's not essential, but it is a better case. If you prefer a more neutral aesthetic to the GT1(£39), the Inwin G7 (£49) would be an option.

Also the processor cooling, is this a normal thing to have, or is it to make it sound less noisy?

The stock Intel cooler is loud and not as effective as even very cheap ~90mm tower coolers. The Titan will be quieter and more effective and is only £13.

Any point of getting 16gb of ram instead of 8gb?

16gb would help if you like to have a shedload of browser tabs open especially.

 

[Stephen M]

If gaming is not important and you want to save money you could think about going for a Linux machine, that will immediately save 100 quid on the Windows licence and unless you need Windows for a specific program that money would be better put towards RAM, SSDs and stuff like that. There are also some games that are OK on Linux, sorry do not know which ones.