Please help pick parts for 2nd build.

[Nawlins]

My girlfriend's Dell computer is now 5 years old and is showing it's age. It's running very slow and having a hard time running Photoshop CS3. She is about to purchase Photoshop CS6 and wants a computer that can handle this software.

Last time I was chided for not coming here 1st before ordering parts for my 1st build so here I am again...

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

Will be used for photoshop, internet browsing, blaring music

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

Her Dell computer when we purchased it 5 years ago was $1,100 (not including monitor) so we would like to keep it in the same price range.

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

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.

No brand preference (I am partial to MSI motherboard and Corsair case as I used them for my last build which happened to be my first build). Core components must be able to handle being on 24/7. Drives me crazy but she does not ever turn her computer off.

Also if possible, please pick a case that is either red or pink. The only pink case I could find was from NZXT but it was too gaudy for her and she didn't want to have to open the front panel to get to dvd drive. The other pink or red cases were of poor quality. I think she might have to live with a black case. She does want a quiet case. She does not want anything that resembles my case (Corsair 400r). She thinks its ugly and noisy, so yeah, she's the artsy-fartsy type

Will also need a sound card that will work with Windows 7/64 and push her Focal speakers. They are more than 3 years old are still in excellent condition so we will not need to purchase new speakers.

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

Will keep the HP monitor (ZR24W). We may upgrade the monitor as it does not have HDMI and it is 3 years old and is smallish by today's standard.

Will use the NZXT Hale82-650W (friend bought for me for my last build but didn't use it as I had already bought a power supply).

Wanted to salvage the Sound Blaster sound card but unfortunately it is not compatible with Windows 7/64.

*

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

Default speed. Will never over-clock.

8. What resolution will you be using?
1920X1200

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.

As soon as possible.

 

[lehtv]

No need to spend anywhere near $1100.

Given a HP ZR24W, I don't think a monitor upgrade is worth it. If she needs more space, buy a secondary monitor.

Regarding the PSU, that is so ridiculously overkill for this build. Sell it or keep it as a backup for your gaming rig or something.

CPU+Mobo i5-3570K + Asrock Z77 Pro3 $307 (a locked i5 wouldn't really save you any cash given this combo; the HD4000 graphics is a bonus here)
Cooling Hyper 212+ $20 + Scythe 800RPM constant $11 (for silent operation during photoshop load)
RAM 2x4GB G.Skill Ares $44 or 2x8GB G.Skill Ripjaws $80 AP
GPU Integrated
SSD Samsung 830 128GB $90 AP
HDD Seagate 1TB $78
ODD Samsung DVD-RW $15
PSU Antec VP450 $35
Case Does this work? $110. It's silent.

= $712 to $748 + shipping

There's also an opportunity to save a lot of cash on the case. If she can accept a black case, Amazon has Antec One for $50 with free shipping. It's pretty quiet.

FWIW there's still room for a monitor upgrade. Microcenter has 27" 2560x1440 IPS panels for $400. But space would come a lot cheaper with a secondary monitor.

 

[Ken g6]

Your existing monitor has DVI, so that should be good enough unless you want to hook it to a cable box - and it might work even then. Aside from potential DRM issues the signals are identical, and there are cheap adapters.

Pink cases at Newegg. D: Probably a good idea to let her pick a design.

 

[Nawlins]

Thanks for help Lehtv.

She is adamant about not having a black case. She does like the clean look of the Fractal and the white color can work with her desk She is a little nervous about having to open the front panel to access the dvd drive but understands that it's there to keep the computer quiet.

The SSD drive is o.k. with being on 24/7? I mean, really, the computer will never be off unless there is a power outage.

Will that Antec power supply stand up to the abuse of never being turned off?

Is the Asrock on board sound any good? She's into music and not gaming.

 

[Nawlins]

Hmmm...also, reading more on the Asrock z77 pro 3, it doesn't have any dvi output?

@Ken G6: yeah she wanted pink but there aren't any really good choices out there in this whole wide world. She's not going to hook a cable box to the monitor. She just wanted the convenience of hooking her work laptop to the monitor.

 

[lehtv]

Will that Antec power supply stand up to the abuse of never being turned off?

Never being turned off isn't abuse. It will be putting out less than 100W most of the time and never more than about 120W, so it will never actually be put under any real stress. While the Antec PSU is good quality, I did find a better deal for you - and the right color as well:

PCP&C MK III 400W $30 AR (ncix)

Slightly better efficiency and it's modular. It will work for years on end at such a low load backed up by 5 year warranty.

Is the Asrock on board sound any good? She's into music and not gaming.

I don't know how good ALC892 is, I've only read the higher end ALC898 chip is quite good. Consider this: Asus Xonar DG $15 AR. Headphone amp, dolby headphone, equalizer, a really low cost way to improve sound quality.

Hmmm...also, reading more on the Asrock z77 pro 3, it doesn't have any dvi output?

Just to avoid having to use a HDMI->DVI adapter, maybe it's a better idea to get a different board.

Mobo Asrock H77 Pro4/MVP $90 (Same as Z77 Pro3, but has DVI, four SATA 6gb/s headers, and lacks CPU overclockability)
CPU i5-3570 $215 (same as 3570K but locked multiplier and HD2500 graphics instead of HD4000)
= $305

 

[mfenn]

Will keep the HP monitor (ZR24W). We may upgrade the monitor as it does not have HDMI and it is 3 years old and is smallish by today's standard.

A ZR24W is an excellent monitor. You would need to spend roughly $500 or so for a sidegrade and $700 for an upgrade. I'd say to hold onto it.

 

[Nawlins]

same as 3570K but locked multiplier and HD2500 graphics instead of HD4000

Sorry for being a pest, but will this be a big drop off in quality? Though, she will never over-clock is it best to stick with the 3570k as there is only a $15 difference. If we include the $10 promo gift card then it is only a $5 difference.

Will the HD4000 or HD2500 be good enough to handle photoshop?

 

[Nawlins]

I'd say to hold onto it.

That's exactly what we are going to do. It's still in excellent condition and still as bright as the 1st day of usage.

 

[krnmastersgt]

For basic running of Photoshop yes, they will be enough. However a Google search reveals that there are many special features/functions that are handled entirely by the GPU for some of the new variants of Photoshop, so those may either be unavailable (most likely) or just much slower than it could be. Full list of features from Adobe.

And personally I'd say get the 3570K for only $5 more but iirc that same promo applies to the 3570, meaning it ends up being like $15 or $20 cheaper anyways. That aside if you don't mind the small investment now, you'll see a bit more resale value from a K series chip as they can be overclocked, only time will tell if the cost increase now is worth it later on though. Could always OC it yourself to make the system a bit faster later on.

 

[Nawlins]

Maybe I should add a discrete gpu to her system. I know that when we bought the Dell 5 years ago, we added an ATI Radeon X600 series card to the system. It ran fine with CS2 and ran fine with CS3 until about a year ago.

 

[lehtv]

Sorry for being a pest, but will this be a big drop off in quality?

No drop in quality, only performance. HD2500 performs well enough for desktop applications including Photoshop, you only notice the difference to HD4000 in games (and I don't mean facebook games). If she decides to do something GPU intensive, buy a cheap discrete graphics card. It doesn't seem to me that she requires a discrete GPU right now if she's not doing any gaming.

Though, she will never over-clock is it best to stick with the 3570k as there is only a $15 difference. If we include the $10 promo gift card then it is only a $5 difference.

Given the requirement for DVI, I stand by the H77 Pro4/MVP board and the i5-3570 I recommended in my last post.

 

[Nawlins]

O.K. girlfriend has reviewed and approved the parts for her new computer. We went with all the parts that Lehtv suggested. We did order the Xonar DG as good sound is important to her. That's a good find on the PC Power and Cooling. Good price and matches her case. We went with the 8gb of G. Skill Ares and not the 16gb Ripjaws. Thank you Lehtv for all your help.

All parts should be here Tuesday or Wednesday which is good as it will give me time to watch a bunch of videos on how to assemble the Hyper 212.

 

[lehtv]

Awesome . Post back if you run into problems assembling it or if you have any other questions