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New Build Feedback Needed

I

itakey

Senior member
So a friend is having a computer built by his tech guy and he asked my opinion. Wanted to get some feedback. He wants a fast machine, does zero gaming, just business stuff so the SSD should pretty much take care of that. Any changes or suggestions appreciated.

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-H97
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-712-_-Product

CPU
Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell Quad-Core 3.4GHz LGA 1150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116899
Any better processor options? Any i7 options that aren't too much more that are worthy?

RAM
Unsure the brand, but they are planning for 32GB DDR3 1600 memory. Is 32GB really needed? Would 16GB be ok? I run 16GB on my rig with photoshop, dreamweaver, and hundreds of browser windows and never need more. Should they spare some cash and go 16, or go the full 32?

All feedback appreciated!
 
You don't need a K for H97, may as well go for a 4670 non K or a 4790 non K if he wants a bit more speed. 16GB RAM is sufficient. If you need 32GB you'd know.
 
escrow4 said:
You don't need a K for H97, may as well go for a 4670 non K or a 4790 non K if he wants a bit more speed. 16GB RAM is sufficient. If you need 32GB you'd know.
Click to expand...

What does K bring to the table? So definitely skip that you think? Any reason to jump to an i7 instead of the i5 and if so any recommendations?
 
what's "business" stuff? email, word documents, excel spreadsheets, and powerpoint presentations? even the slowest celerons and amd a6s are enough for that, but everybody wants to feel special enough to have an i5/i7 so there's not really any objective way to decide what to get - it's like picking how expensive of a suit to get. or which bmw to get. the k just allows overclocking, so if non-k is cheaper and the same clock frequency, you could same some money getting that instead.

As for ram, it's actually possible for giant excel spreadsheets to use up any amount of ram if you have a big enough spreadsheet, but most likely 4-8gb would be enough, and 16gb would pretty much guarantee you got more than any of your peers.
 
16GB RAM and an i3-4150 would likely be plenty for several years (maybe more than needed, but I have users that can use up 8GB, but don't know an RJ45 from USB B, and RAM is cheap in the scheme of things), unless there are some things being done that specifically need more performance. 32GB will definitely be overkill, unless, again, there is a specific task that needs a lot of RAM.

itakey said:
What does K bring to the table? So definitely skip that you think? Any reason to jump to an i7 instead of the i5 and if so any recommendations?
Click to expand...
The i5-4690K has an unlocked multiplier, while the i5-4690 has a locked multiplier. For an i7, or that matter, even an i5, you really need to be a heavier than average user, and/or have one or more applications that you know can take advantage of it.
 
melloyellow said:
what's "business" stuff? email, word documents, excel spreadsheets, and powerpoint presentations? even the slowest celerons and amd a6s are enough for that, but everybody wants to feel special enough to have an i5/i7 so there's not really any objective way to decide what to get - it's like picking how expensive of a suit to get. or which bmw to get. the k just allows overclocking, so if non-k is cheaper and the same clock frequency, you could same some money getting that instead.

As for ram, it's actually possible for giant excel spreadsheets to use up any amount of ram if you have a big enough spreadsheet, but most likely 4-8gb would be enough, and 16gb would pretty much guarantee you got more than any of your peers.
Click to expand...
Fair enough on the i5/i7 comments. This person does regular stuff, word processing, email, documents, but they do review CAD drawings a lot so i'm guessing that is where they are unhappy. Truth is, a better processor and SSD makes things faster no matter what you are doing, so there is always benefit in going with a more powerful chip in my opinion.

Cerb said:
16GB RAM and an i3-4150 would likely be plenty for several years (maybe more than needed, but I have users that can use up 8GB, but don't know an RJ45 from USB B, and RAM is cheap in the scheme of things), unless there are some things being done that specifically need more performance. 32GB will definitely be overkill, unless, again, there is a specific task that needs a lot of RAM.

The i5-4690K has an unlocked multiplier, while the i5-4690 has a locked multiplier. For an i7, or that matter, even an i5, you really need to be a heavier than average user, and/or have one or more applications that you know can take advantage of it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the K explanation. The chip from what I can tell only costs about $15-$20 difference between the non K and K, and NewEgg only carries the K so they'll probably just get that.

The build sheet had the 32GB of ran at a price of $275, I figured if they can save half here its probably ideal since 16GB will probably do it for them.
 
What kinds of CAD drawings? In general, that will be best suited to the fastest CPU (single-threaded) available, with the lowly i3 is not far from (though it is a little lacking in cache), but depending on program, and type, might use a bit of the GPU (FI, architectural or civil drawings will basically need no GPU, while complex assembly or machinery work might get slowed down by the GPU as much as a slow CPU).

If not editing drawings, I doubt the RAM would be too much of an issue, unless it can be measured to need so much.
 
melloyellow said:
i5-4670 is OOS, but newegg does have i5-4690. save $10 and 0.1ghz faster than i5-4670k, so not the biggest difference, but better than nothing I suppose.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116989
Click to expand...

No, I think that is a very reasonable solution... although I agree with Cerb about the i5 being overkill (perhaps.) But, in the end, nothing beats horsepower... he certainly won't be disappointed with the i5... 🙂
 
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