New computer for me...good deal/spec.?

[Meekyman]

Hi Folks,

I am planning on getting myself a new computer as my poor old Dell laptop struggles with even processing digital files using Nikon software and opening scanned large format photo files and manipulating them is a joke. Open, make a cup of tea and wait, do something, make another cup of tea etc. You get the picture (I don't!!).

I came across a company that "over-clocks" computers, after reading about them in a photography magazine and this company, Chillblast, wins awards all over and they sell a bundled package with the basics as follows for £1260:

Intel Core i5 3570K Processor at up to 4.8GHz
Asus P8Z77-V LX Motherboard
16GB PC3-10666 DDR3 Memory
Radeon 7950 3GB Graphics Card
120GB Corsair Force 3 SSD
1000GB SATA 7200rpm Hard Disk
Samsung DVD-RW/Blu-ray Reader Combo Drive
600watt Corsair PSU
Onboard High Definition Audio
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM

Included Peripherals:

Asus 24" VS247H LED IPS Monitor
Logitech Cordless Keyboard and Mouse
Logitech S-220 Speakers

Ports on rear of system: *

6 x USB 2.0 ports
2 x USB 3.0 ports
1 x PS/2 for keyboard
Audio outputs
1 x 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet for network
2 x DVI outputs

I don't know thatmuch about computers. Any features here overkill/unneccessary? I will want to run a scanner/printer off it and edit using photoshop elements/Nikon Capture NX2. Any incompatability with e.g Epson R800 printer/V700 scanner? Worth upgrading the graphics card/adding a third hard drive?

There is also a company local to me that builds up computers and I was wondering if I went to them what would be the essentials?

All help/opinions really appreciated.

Cheers

Graham

[jp]

That will be a pretty nice setup. You could even step down a notch on the graphics card and be fine. I'd suggest an external HD for backup purposes. If your computer is old, it may be worth spending the $150 or so for a new color calibration puck too. Some money could be saved by AMD's equivalent competing processor and would work just fine.

[Preston]

Graham,

This does look like a nice setup, but it appears to spec'd for gaming. Here are few things to consider...

**First, overclocking can be very finicky and adequate cooling is an absolute must, since overclocked CPUs run much hotter than normal. Overclocking would be overkill for what you want to do. The i5 you spec'd is perfectly fine at its standard clock speed.
**Second, you could easily get by with a 1 or 2 GB video card.
**I would also step up to 650W power supply from Corsair.
**Your SDD, HD and RAM sound fine. In fact, the money you save by going with a 'slower' video card could be used to upgrade your RAM to 32 GB in the future.
**You might also consider going with Win 7 Pro.
**The peripherals and ports sound fine.
**As far as adding a third drive, goes, you should get an external USB3 drive and use it for backup. A 2 or 3 terabyte drive will be more than adequate.

Take a look at Puget Systems (http://www.pugetsystems.com/). They are near Seattle, WA, US. I own two of their computers; a desktop and a laptop. Both are excellent, very well built and Puget's customer service is second to none, in my opinion. Take a close look at their 'Spirit' and 'Obsidian Workstation' computers. I do not know what their shipping policy is for international, but they will certainly answer your questions in short order.

--p