mATX build... some help/opinions?

af_thefragile

Planning on building a mATX system this summer mainly for photoshop and some video editing.

Processor: http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/8314868/art/intel/core-i5-2500k-3-3-ghz-6-m.html 184eur
Motherboard: http://www.elara.ie/productdetail.aspx?productcode=ECE2225773 162eur (overkill? I do plan on over clocking it though...)
RAM: http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/8028611/art/corsair/2-x-4-gb-ddr3-1600-pc3-12.html 67eur
GPU: http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/9299512/art/asus/geforce-gtx-550-ti-direct.html 139eur (I heard you don't need too powerful GPU for photoshop but if ye guys know any better recommendations, feel free!)
Cooling: http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/10330733/art/corsair/hydro-series-h80-liquid-c.html 90eur (Plan to overclock it so if ye guys can recommend me another cooler, it'll be cool).

Case: I like this one but its a bit pricey: http://www.lan-gear.eu/shop/en/11-da-box-100.html To be pricise 190eur including delivery which is kind of insane. So do ye guys have any other recommendations for a good small form factor mATX case?

Also for the storage SSDs are a little out of my budget for now but I'll save up a bit in the future to buy one and install it later. Though for now this looks like a good alternative: http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/6367981/art/seagate/momentus-xt-st95005620as.html 90eur.

Which has come to 732eur + delivery (excluding the case). I know its pixmania and the horror stories but my friend swears by it and says he never had trouble ordering stuff from them so I might go for it as they're significantly cheaper.

It'll be good to get the build completed in under 1000eur. So if ye guys can recommend me a good case which comes within the budget and what you think of my build, it'll be great!!

EDIT: forgot to add the PSU... Guess this should do: http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/9179479/art/corsair/enthusiast-series-tx650-v.html 77eur.

deconduo

Something like this possibly:

Total build cost: €821.32 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €176.60
ASRock Z68 Pro3-M (B3), Sockel 1155, mATX €94.85
8GB-Kit G.Skill RipJaws-X PC3-10667U CL9 €46.10
Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5") €93.44
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA €16.79
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) €44.86
LogiLink SATA 0.3m Kabel mit Sicherungslasche €0.60
Club3D Geforce GTX560 Ti, 1024MB €186.71
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse Define Mini €82.94
Antec Truepower New 550W €78.43

I haven't included a cooler as I'm not too familiar with low profile ones. The stock cooler should be fine for some light overclocking though, even in a tight case.

Burgo

Total build cost: €705.00 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €176.60
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9 €39.65
ASRock Z68 Pro3-M (B3), Sockel 1155, mATX €94.85
Special item: Lian Li PC-V352A - silver, mATX, ohne Netzteil €110.93
Sapphire HD6770 1G GDDR5 PCI-E HDMI / DVI-I / DP €92.24
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) €44.86
Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5") €93.44
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W €52.43

Only thing missing is a cpu cooler, wasn't sure what would fit in a matx case.
Do you already have a monitor, mouse/keyboard and an os?

af_thefragile

Those are some pretty descent builds. What do you think of the Asus maximus motherboard? Like I'm not going to be playing any hardcore games but it looked like a good investment for overclocking and upgrading to me... Looks kinda cool too...

I have a monitor but need to get mouse/keyboard and os.
Probably have a mouse lying around somewhere too... Don't need an expensive mouse as I won't be gaming and I've got a wacom tablet for photoshop stuff...

Do you think its worth getting the Windows 7 ultimate over professional?

Leman

The only thing W7 Ultimate has over Pro is support for Hardware Based Encryption.

af_thefragile

Leman wrote: »

The only thing W7 Ultimate has over Pro is support for Hardware Based Encryption.

I don't think I'll need that. Is the Pro much better than Home?
I'm not a business user or anything like...

Leman

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/compare

You may as well get the Home if it is cheaper. Or use a real os, like me (yay for Linux )

af_thefragile

Well seeing that it looks like Home will be enough for me. But is there anything like better stability or something like that Pro has over Home which could make it worth spending the extra for?

deconduo

af_thefragile wrote: »

Well seeing that it looks like Home will be enough for me. But is there anything like better stability or something like that Pro has over Home which could make it worth spending the extra for?

Not really, no.

Fluffy88

One thing Pro has over Home that would make me get Pro instead is it can use the Remote Access thinggy built into windows. So if you often do little fixing jobs for family and friends you can just log in to their computer from yours and do what needs to be done.

Burgo

I wouldn't get pro just for rdp, not since you can use a number of different remote desktop applications anyway, logmein's not a bad one.

Fluffy88

I have used TeamViewer in the past and it's great. Very simple to use and all that. But the fact I have to get the person to download it and run it makes it a little less simple, especially if they don't know anything about computers.

I am more thinking of getting it from software4students where it's so cheap I would be mad not to get it

Edit: Sorry for going off-topic. On a more related note, I have included a link that the OP can get Windows for cheap if they are a student or have one in the family. Student as in college or school.

af_thefragile

Cheers, I don't think I'll ever use the remote desktop thing.

And yeah software4students is a great website. I got photoshop off them. Too bad they don't have windows, only upgrade.


Do you guys know if its any better getting AMD processor as opposed to intel?
Like would the AMD Phenom's 6 cores be any useful while working with photoshop and such or is intel's hyper threading better?
AMD is slightly cheaper too...

deconduo

af_thefragile wrote: »

Cheers, I don't think I'll ever use the remote desktop thing.

And yeah software4students is a great website. I got photoshop off them. Too bad they don't have windows, only upgrade.


Do you guys know if its any better getting AMD processor as opposed to intel?
Like would the AMD Phenom's 6 cores be any useful while working with photoshop and such or is intel's hyper threading better?
AMD is slightly cheaper too...

On a 1k budget definitely not. AMD are good for low budget machines but if you can afford the 2500k then it blows everything else away.

Fluffy88

af_thefragile wrote: »

And yeah software4students is a great website. I got photoshop off them. Too bad they don't have windows, only upgrade.

You can use the Upgrade version for a clean install, people building PC's here do it very regularly. Just google it to find out what you need to do.