Advice on a new PC

[holomorphic]

Hello everyone,

I am looking to build a PC for my dad and hoping you guys could help out. It should be as quiet as possible and won't be overclocked.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

* Photoshop
* Watching 1080P-HD-Videos
* Gaming

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Around $1'500.00. This figure includes the monitor, headphones and PC case.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

Switzerland

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

The brand doesn't matter.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

He has a couple of external hard disks. Other than that nothing will be reused.

6. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

There won't be any overclocking.

7. What resolution will you be using?

1920 x 1200

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

As soon as the decision has been made on what parts to buy.

9. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?

No additional software will need to be purchased.

10. What system parts have you chosen thus far?

Case: Antec P280
Price: $100
Comment: This case seems to be reasonably quiet and others have recommended it as well that's why it seemed a good choice.

GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7870
Price: $255
Comment: He wants to get back into gaming but he's not sure what games he'll be playing. That's why this card is probably a bit too much. Can anyone recommend a cheaper card that allows modern games such as battlefield 3 to be played on acceptable quality levels? If possible the most quiet version of it. Changed the GTX670 to a HD7870 as recommended.

CPU and Motherboard: i7-3770K + ASRock Z77 Pro4 combo
Price: $414
Comment: This seems to be the standard choice. Perhaps there is a better CPU for people who are using Photoshop a lot? Switched it to a i7-3370K.

CPU Heatsink: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
Price: $35
Comment: They seem to be quiet. Perhaps there's a better choice though?Swapped it for the Hyper 212 EVO.

RAM: 2x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model BLS8G3D1609ES2LX0
Price: $80
Comment: 16GB because he uses applications such as Photoshop and Lightroom a lot (he's an amateur photographer).

SSD : SAMSUNG 830 Series SSD, 128GB (MZ-7PC128B)
Price: $90
Comment: As recommended by mfenn. 128GB seems to be just right for installing a few games and the OS.

PSU: XFX Core Edition PRO550W
Price: $60
Comment: As recommended by mfenn.

Monitor: DELL UltraSharp U2412M
Price: $300

Headphones: Sennheiser HD 555
Price: $150
Comment: He currently has cheap $20.00 headphones so I thought he should at least once in his life try out a quality pair of headphones. I've had the HD555 for a couple of years that is why they seemed a good choice.

Soundcard: Asus Xonar DG
Price: $30
Comment: I thought that if he gets the Sennheiser HD555 he should get something better than the onboard sound. I'd love to get some advice here. Is a sound card even necessary?

Hard Disk: Hitachi GST Deskstar 7K1000.C 0F10383 1TB
Price: $80
Comment: As recommended by mfenn.

Total: $1569

Thank you for your responses.

 

[Ken g6]

It looks like a Radeon HD 7870 would be sufficient for BF3 with the latest drivers:

Video card brand shouldn't matter. If he's using Adobe CS6, any card will accelerate PS; if not, no card will.

Now, I'm a little confused: You say you're in Switzerland, but you're listing links to Newegg in the USA. Are you actually going to buy from there and not someplace in Europe?

 

[frozentundra123456]

Hello everyone,

I am looking to build a PC for my dad and hoping you guys could help out. It should be as quiet as possible and won't be overclocked.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

* Photoshop
* Watching 1080P-HD-Videos
* Gaming

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Around $1'500.00. This figure includes the monitor, headphones and PC case.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

Switzerland

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

The brand doesn't matter.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

He has a couple of external hard disks. Other than that nothing will be reused.

6. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

There won't be any overclocking.

7. What resolution will you be using?

1920 x 1200

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

As soon as the decision has been made on what parts to buy.

9. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?

No additional software will need to be purchased.

10. What system parts have you chosen thus far?

Case: Antec P280
Price: $100
Comment: This case seems to be reasonably quiet and others have recommended it as well that's why it seemed a good choice.

GPU: ASUS GTX670-DC2-2GD5
Price: $420
Comment: He wants to get back into gaming but he's not sure what games he'll be playing. That's why this card is probably a bit too much. Can anyone recommend a cheaper card that allows modern games such as battlefield 3 to be played on acceptable quality levels? If possible the most quiet version of it.

CPU and Motherboard: i5 3570K + ASRock Z77 Pro4 combo
Price: $317
Comment: This seems to be the standard choice. Perhaps there is a better CPU for people who are using Photoshop a lot?

CPU Heatsink: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 13 PRO
Price: $45
Comment: They seem to be quiet. Perhaps there's a better choice though?

RAM: GeIL Black Dragon 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Price: $70
Comment: 16GB because he uses applications such as Photoshop and Lightroom a lot (he's an amateur photographer).

SSD : SAMSUNG 830 Series SSD, 128GB (MZ-7PC128B)
Price: $90
Comment: As recommended by mfenn. 128GB seems to be just right for installing a few games and the OS.

PSU: XFX Core Edition PRO550W
Price: $60
Comment: As recommended by mfenn.

Monitor: DELL UltraSharp U2412M
Price: $300

Headphones: Sennheiser HD 555
Price: $150
Comment: He currently has cheap $20.00 headphones so I thought he should at least once in his life try out a quality pair of headphones. I've had the HD555 for a couple of years that is why they seemed a good choice.

Soundcard: Asus Xonar DG
Price: $30
Comment: I thought that if he gets the Sennheiser HD555 he should get something better than the onboard sound. I'd love to get some advice here. Is a sound card even necessary?

Hard Disk: Hitachi GST Deskstar 7K1000.C 0F10383 1TB
Price: $80
Comment: As recommended by mfenn.

Total: $1662

Thank you for your responses.

I am not an expert on building, so I wont attempt any advice on the MB and case. Your CPU
choice is excellent. The only advice I would give would be that the video card, as you suggested is perhaps a but much, especially for someone who is just getting back into gaming.

Dont know what your prices are in Switzerland, but you could probably get by with a HD7850/HD7870 or GTX 660 or 660Ti and save some money.

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

If Photoshop will be the primary thing done on your pc, you may want to consider lga 2011/i7 3930k and cut spending on some other components and accessories such as the graphics card, headphones and monitor. This combo of the 3930k+asrock x79 extreme6 will be 765$ (cheapest lga 2011 combo which is good). Six cores will help tremendously in PS and other heavy tasks. However, if PS is just a side, and you will primarily be doing gaming, your current 1155 build looks pretty good except, I recommend you get the i7 3770k combo (same mobo) for the hyper threading. There is definitely no excuse to not buy it at your budget!

Also, get two sets of these Samsung kits. They are better than the geil you posted and run cool and stable and not to mention are highly overclockable.

For your heatsink/cooler, go for this CM Hyper 212 Evo.

 

[holomorphic]

@Ken g6 and @frozentundra123456:

Thank you for the information. I updated the main post and changed the GTX670 to a Sapphire HD7870.

About the Newegg Links. The parts will be bought in Switzerland but I don't know from where yet. The price range of $1500 is still valid though. Choosing Newegg over some obscure Swiss shop seemed easier.

 

[holomorphic]

If Photoshop will be the primary thing done on your pc, you may want to consider lga 2011/i7 3930k and cut spending on some other components and accessories such as the graphics card, headphones and monitor. This combo of the 3930k+asrock x79 extreme6 will be 765$ (cheapest lga 2011 combo which is good). Six cores will help tremendously in PS and other heavy tasks. However, if PS is just a side, and you will primarily be doing gaming, your current 1155 build looks pretty good except, I recommend you get the i7 3770k combo (same mobo) for the hyper threading. There is definitely no excuse to not buy it at your budget!

Also, get two sets of these Samsung kits. They are better than the geil you posted and run cool and stable and not to mention are highly overclockable.

For your heatsink/cooler, go for this CM Hyper 212 Evo.

Thank you for your kind suggestions. I have changed the CPU Heatsink to the CM Hyper 212 Evo.

About the CPU. To be honest, my dad only has a budget of $1000, everything above that will come out of my pocket (he just doesn't know that). That's why the CPUs you posted are a bit too expensive. It sounds like they might be really worth it though so I'll have to check whether any of the other parts could be changed (switched to i7-3770K nevertheless).

And finally, about the Samsung-Kit you posted. Thank you for the link but they are 8GB in total, aren't they? I was hoping to go with 16GB though if at all possible. Perhaps you could suggest a 16GB alternative? Also what I am not sure about is whether 4x4GB are better than 2x8GB. Could you or anyone else shed some light on this?

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

And finally, about the Samsung-Kit you posted. Thank you for the link but they are 8GB in total, aren't they? I was hoping to go with 16GB though if at all possible. Perhaps you could suggest a 16GB alternative? Also what I am not sure about is whether 4x4GB are better than 2x8GB. Could you or anyone else shed some light on this?

What I menat to say is to physically buy 2 kits (add quantity=2 in cart) meaning each kit is 2x4gb and buying two kits would be 2x[2x4gb] which is equal to 16gb. The only problem this may have is that it would fill up four of your memory slots; but I doubt you'll ever need more than 16gb, so this shouldn't be a problem, especially since these are good quality modules.

Also There is no difference in performance between 2x8 and 4x4gb. Just make sure the memory is 1.5v or less (intel) and ddr3 1600 is the sweetspot.
Good brands are samsung, mushkin, gskill and corsair (imo).

 

[holomorphic]

Thanks! Updated the post and changed the RAM to 2xSamsung.

 

[mfenn]

Also There is no difference in performance between 2x8 and 4x4gb. Just make sure the memory is 1.5v or less (intel) and ddr3 1600 is the sweetspot.

Not true. It is harder to drive 4 modules than 2 and most controllers will have to back off on the command rate. Does this make a big difference? No, not really, but there is no reason to get a slower setup when 4x4 and 2x8 are at price parity.

If Photoshop will be the primary thing done on your pc, you may want to consider lga 2011/i7 3930k and cut spending on some other components and accessories such as the graphics card, headphones and monitor. This combo of the 3930k+asrock x79 extreme6 will be 765$ (cheapest lga 2011 combo which is good). Six cores will help tremendously in PS and other heavy tasks.

This is just crazy talk. We don't know nearly enough about the OP's dad's workload to make a blanket statement that a hexa-core is worth the money.

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

This is just crazy talk. We don't know nearly enough about the OP's dad's workload to make a blanket statement that a hexa-core is worth the money.

That's why I specifically used the word "If" Which makes it a hypothetical suggestion, implying OP to give feedback. And if you are a heavy PS user, 6 cores WILL make a difference. If you read my post carefully enough what I DID suggest was the 3770k if PS was just a side thing. I didn't make any definitive claims, so you don't have to get all upset.

 

[holomorphic]

Not true. It is harder to drive 4 modules than 2 and most controllers will have to back off on the command rate. Does this make a big difference? No, not really, but there is no reason to get a slower setup when 4x4 and 2x8 are at price parity.



This is just crazy talk. We don't know nearly enough about the OP's dad's workload to make a blanket statement that a hexa-core is worth the money.

Thank you for the comment.

The hexacore might be a bit too much, that's true (the suggestion was helpful nonetheless...). Perhaps he'll get a one for the next PC after this one. Right now I'm trying to decide whether to buy the i5 3570K or the i7 3770k.

Concerning the memory. The PC costs a lot of money so all optimizations are welcome. What 2x8GB would you suggest?

 

[mfenn]

That's why I specifically used the word "If" Which makes it a hypothetical suggestion, implying OP to give feedback. And if you are a heavy PS user, 6 cores WILL make a difference. If you read my post carefully enough what I DID suggest was the 3770k if PS was just a side thing. I didn't make any definitive claims, so you don't have to get all upset.

You're the only one getting upset here. I'm just pointing out that your claims presume facts not in evidence.

You said, "If Photoshop will be the primary thing done on your pc, you may want to consider lga 2011/i7 3930k". "Photoshop" is a huge range of primary, full-time workloads ranging from a photographer touching up some photos (no benefit from hexacore) to a graphic designer working on a complex work with dozens of layers and a heavy set of filters (would benefit from hexacore).

Concerning the memory. The PC costs a lot of money so all optimizations are welcome. What 2x8GB would you suggest?

A couple of these Crucial sticks will serve you well.

 

[holomorphic]

Thanks, updated the main post.

 

[lehtv]

A couple of these Crucial sticks will serve you well.

Ooh, are these based off of Samsung's 30nm tech? If so, odd that they're specified CL9 while the 4GB Samsung modules are CL11

 

[mfenn]

Ooh, are these based off of Samsung's 30nm tech? If so, odd that they're specified CL9 while the 4GB Samsung modules are CL11

Crucial is the retail brand of Micron, so those sticks almost certainly use Micron DRAM. Probably very processes though (high 2X nm or low 3X nm).