New Desktop Advice

Reedsie

Going to be purchasing a desktop shortly and hoping to get a bit of advice on it here. With so many options out there I'm wondering what sort of specs I should be looking for. What I need it for is:

Internet Use: Heavy use for work. Would often have a 10+tabs open and just need it as fast as I can get really.
Graphic Design: I do so little I probably shouldn't mention it but I would be using Adobe Illustrator from time to time.
Office: Light usage of Excel and Word.
Gaming: Zero. Never.
Preferably Windows 7.

I'd like the option to run two monitors on it in the future.

What should I be aiming for? 8gb or would 4gb suffice? i3, i5?


Would this suit:

http://www.misco.ie/product/2158015/ZooStorm-Delta-PC-Intel-Core-i5-4440-Quad-Core-500GB-8GB-DDR3-DVDRW-Win-8-1-Pro-D-G-to-Win7-Pro-1Yr-On-Site


Thanks for any help.

Alanstrainor

You're requirements are about as low as they come in terms of usage. Any machine these days will be sufficient for such requirements.

These Dell MiniTowers should be worth a look. The warranties that can be bought are worth it imo.

http://www.dell.com/ie/business/p/optiplex-3020-desktop/fs

Getting a MiniTower and not the small form factor models will be important if you're thinking of additional monitors etc later on.

PropJoe10

What the person above said - also, dont limit yourself to Windows 7. If you get an 8.1 machine and install the Classic Shell Start menu, it'll work just like 7 only better.

Reedsie

Much appreciated guys, thanks.

I'll certainly consider a 8.1 machine. I'm not stuck on 7 really.

With the desktop should I at least try to aim for an i5, 8gb one? I'd like to future proof it if I can, and have it continue to run as fast as possible when things get busy.

mordeith

Reedsie wrote: »

Much appreciated guys, thanks.

I'll certainly consider a 8.1 machine. I'm not stuck on 7 really.

With the desktop should I at least try to aim for an i5, 8gb one? I'd like to future proof it if I can, and have it continue to run as fast as possible when things get busy.

I can't see you needing 8gb on your current usage. It's very easy to upgrade RAM later if required.

Reedsie

Thanks mordeith.



Now regarding the two monitors, is there anything specific I need on the desktop to allow for this?

PropJoe10

To be honest, 4GB to 6GM RAM would be plenty for what you want it for, but I suppose it wouldnt cost much more to buy a machine with 8GB than it would to buy one with 6GB. A machine with 8GB RAM is going to be absolutely fine for your type of usage for many years to come..

mordeith

Reedsie wrote: »

Thanks mordeith.



Now regarding the two monitors, is there anything specific I need on the desktop to allow for this?

Even the most basic gpu should allow for multiple monitors.

Reedsie

I have an i5, 8gb laptop. And when I have a large amount of (all required) tabs open, things can slow down a lot. And at times I need things to be quite speedy, as fast as possible. Perhaps this is just issues with my laptop. But hence my wanting to get the new desktop right.

mordeith

Reedsie wrote: »

I have an i5, 8gb laptop. And when I have a large amount of (all required) tabs open, things can slow down a lot. And at times I need things to be quite speedy, as fast as possible. Perhaps this is just issues with my laptop. But hence my wanting to get the new desktop right.

Could be a browser issue, other processes running on your laptop ...

Reedsie

mordeith wrote: »

Could be a browser issue, other processes running on your laptop ...

Possibly. There's a fair amount of crap on it. I'll try keep it to the laptop.


Thanks all. I'll have a look around.