Advise on specs for a quick boot computer

[Lord_Arasul]

Good day,

I have been asked by a friend to come up with a spec for a computer - primarily for surfing the internet and doing word processing, which may sound boring - the twist is ensuring the boot time is lightning fast.

Key considerations:
speed of boot to windows
Program start speed & surfing
budget is £520 excluding os

Items not required
Keyboard
Mouse

Currently looking at DABS.com and quicklinks are from there

Current specs are:
RAM: Kingston 2 x 2GB DDR3 1333MHz HyperX CL7 7FRWWS00 £21.99
CPU: i5-2500 79Q7WS £159.99
Mbd: Asus P8H67-M 7DB8WS00 £74.98
SSD: Corsair 60GB Force Series 3 7W7NWS00 £74.98
Cse/Pwr: Antec Minuet 350 7378WS00 £81.19
Monitor: BenQ G2220HD 21.5 7WR9WS00 £84.49

Optical:Samsung SE-208AB USB 2.0 7PJKWS00 £21.99 (so case can be under the table)


Total £523.81

my questions are:
1. What do you think on the components/price?
2. Would choosing an i3 see a dramatic reduction in boot speed?



Thank you for reading & I look forward to your comments.

LA

 

[sosofm]

If you don't buy the K cpu , then buy i5 2300 is quad core and is enough for what your friend do with the computer. If you have SSD the boot time will be quicker.

 

[Raiddinn]

I am not good with U.K. prices, however, I would suggest a couple things.

Firstly, you should beg for a little higher budget.

The Kingston ram has really low failure rates, that is a good choice. However, if you can squeeze it in, 2x 4GBs and a 64 bit OS would be ideal.

CPU - The 2500 is good, but if you had a 2500k you could OC it and potentially boot a lot faster than with a stock 2500. The K version will probably be 10 or 15 GBP more.

The P8H67-m will make it easy to OC the 2500k if you get that version instead.

SSD - This is about the cheapest SSD made, I guess it is what you have to take. If you do get the budget increase the Crucial M4 64GB is only a couple USD more than the Corsair Force 3 60GB and has much better ratings.

Case/Power - I can't condone a case + included PSU setup, even if it is from Antec. I don't know what a HAF 912 + Antec Earthwatts 380 cost in GBP, but I think he would be much better off with those than with the Minuet350 case.

An i3 would slow down boot times considerably, especially if it couldn't be OCd which is somewhat likely.

Also, as a practical matter, the best way for the person to achieve lightning fast boot speeds is going to be not turning the computer off. I know it sounds like it defeats the whole purpose, but if the person lets it go into hibernate mode and shut everything down that way then it will wake up 4x, 5x, 10x, 20x faster than if they want to cold start it every time.

 

[SingingThroughTheStorm]

I have an i3 build with no SSD (a 3.0Gbps Motherboard), and it boots lightning fast.
You know why? Windows 8. Windows 8 is pretty much instant on for me, and seems to boot in less than 10 seconds.

Funny thing is, I will be installing Windows 7 soon and removing Windows 8.

 

[Lord_Arasul]

Thanks for the replies,

I really do not think that I will be able to get a higher budget - mainly because it is already quite large for a computer that is only to surf the internet.

I would love 8 gig - and it is so cheap to get - but it would require sacrificing something which I think would be more important. (although dropping to the i5 2300 would provide some scope) also my gaming rig runs with 4 gig - so think that would be ok.

the problem with stretching to an unlocked core is that to overclock I would also need an aftermarket fan - all adding to the additional cost. I totally agree that this would improve performance - but would it improve performance by £30+ that the extra components would require.

(by the way, it is for my friend's mum - so overclocking is something that I would prefer to avoid)

I will change the Force 3 to the Crucial M4 - that was a good call - thanks!

the HAF is a good strong case, but because this is for a middle aged woman - I do not think that aesthetically it will be appropriate. (plus that specific combination does go over budget) I must confess that I am slightly be worried about the PSU - having blown enough (and motherboards) in my time to know the value of a good brand name behind the power - but thought that as antec specialises in rock solid low wattage & well priced psu's that this one would also be of a similar standard.

Thanks for your feedback!

Best regards

LA

 

[FinneousPJ]

An i3 would not affect boot times, that I am sure of. At least not by many milliseconds.

 

[Raiddinn]

Why does somebody's mom need to get on the internet within a few seconds of hitting the power button?

Just wondering.

 

[hellfire24]

^ lollllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!