£500 budget for desktop, for HD editing and web use.

[Stu DemonD]

I found this:

http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTVIEWPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=795860

£499 BUT you only end up with an i3 and not an i5, a 500GB HDD compared to 1TB in my spec, plus a lower wattage PSU and slower memory...

 

[volxstu]

What would be wrong with something like this?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/INTEL-GAMING-...DesktopPCs&hash=item19b98d9280#ht_2471wt_1139
Im sure they will build to the same spec but in a different case.

 

[Stu DemonD]

What would be wrong with something like this?.

It doesn't come with an Operating System (well, not that I can see) - so you need to add-on another £80 or so to the figure. This takes the price to over £600...

Also, that i7 is on the 1156 socket, not the 1366.

 

[volxstu]

I cant see anything that says it is on the 1366 socket. Not that i have a clue what difference it makes lol.

 

[Stu DemonD]

I cant see anything that says it is on the 1366 socket. Not that i have a clue what difference it makes lol.

Processor : Intel I7 860 2.8ghz 4800MT/S SKT1156

1366 is just triple channel, compared to 1156 being dual. So on a 1366 system, you would put in say 3*2GB modules.

My original spec was based on the socket 1156 in any case - this is at a budget, after all.​

 

[volxstu]

Oh right. Why do PC's have so few slots anyway. Our macs have 8

 

[Stu DemonD]

Oh right. Why do PC's have so few slots anyway. Our macs have 8

Slots? As in PCI-E slots - depends on the motherboard...

Why do you need to fill 8 anyway? Usually need 2 for serious gaming plus one for a decent sound card

 

[ChrisUK]

Dont you need at least 8gig RAM to render HD video in a reasonable time or can you change the 2x2gigs for 2x4 gig?

Also isnt it all about i7 now?

Its not the size of the RAM in video rendering its the speed!. As long as you have enough that is 4Gb+ should be adequate although as always more the merrier!

And no in everyday tasks the i7 doesn't really work faster than the i5 infact the i5 is faster in a few benchmarks! The i7 comes into its own in gaming.

 

[volxstu]

Slots? As in PCI-E slots - depends on the motherboard...

Why do you need to fill 8 anyway? Usually need 2 for serious gaming plus one for a decent sound card

Ah i get you now, i was thinking it was like a Laptop logic board.

Its not the size of the RAM in video rendering its the speed!. As long as you have enough that is 4Gb+ should be adequate although as always more the merrier!

And no in everyday tasks the i7 doesn't really work faster than the i5 infact the i5 is faster in a few benchmarks! The i7 comes into its own in gaming.

Really i heard that a lot of new programmes were working slower but that is because they are over complicating them. I.e Adobe CS5.
If you can link me to something that says contrary then i would be interested to have a read. We are just about to order 4 new computers and pay to have i7 rather than i5.

 

[ChrisUK]

Like I said its very dependent on what tasks and what software your running!

i5 will win hands down on legacy software and things that can only utilise 1 or 2 cores as the i5 "Turbo" mode is better and will OC the chip to a higher level.

There are plenty of debates on it on internet forums and Toms Hardware have done comprehensive benchmarks to which I have based my conclusion on.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/259526-10-feeling-ripped

If your using the lastest Adobe stuff then the i7 would be beneficial if the budget allows as it will effectively use all the cores (and turbo mode won't activate).

As far as the OP is concerned on a £500 budget an i5 would be far better especially coupled with an ATI card to utilise Avivo. It's all different again if your talking about Mac's as the software is wrote to proper utilise all the resources in the system as there are only a few specific hardware platforms on mac's to contend with.

 

[volxstu]

Sorry Smally for a bit of a thread Hijack, but i am only using Mac so reading that i will be totally fine at work as we will upgrade to new software.
I still need to read through your link properly but it looks like i may have to consider i5 for my own personal Mac power book as i will not be using latest software by a long shot.