New build for general purpose use

zarkov

I need to build a new PC to replace my ageing laptop that spends most of its time acting as a work desktop. Toshiba R500, Intel Core 2 U7600 @ 1.2Ghz (Passmark 672), 2Gb, 160Gb, XP. I need a general purpose machine (Office, Internet) that has the capability to do heavier stuff from time to time - Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Indesign & Premiere. It might be used for some HTPC work with the addition of a sat card in the future. Any advice would be appreciated.

1. What is your budget? €500

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Video editing/HTPC/Internet

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No (upgrade old XP licence to Win 8?)

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? 6/7 year old mAtx iQon Case (has MSI mATX mobo 24.5cm(L) x 19.5cm) with Qtek 550W PSU. I think it might take full ATX board. Samsung 830 256Gb SSD

5. Do you need a monitor? No

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? Samsung SyncMaster 2233SW, max res 1,920 x 1,080

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Card Reader

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Don't think I need it

8. How can you pay? Credit Card

9. When are you purchasing? Soon

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Self build

tuxy

Item|Price
Intel Core i7-3770 Box, LGA1155|€270.35
ASRock B75 Pro3-M, Sockel 1155, mATX|€61.94
16GB-Kit G.Skill Ares PC3-10667U CL9-9-9-24|€61.74
Seagate Barracuda 7200 2000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€89.24
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€502.26

I'm not sure your old power supply is compatible. I would need more info on it. The case should be fine as I picked a mATX motherboard
The i7 is about 20% faster for video edition but a i5 is a good bit cheaper, so you might find this better value for money
http://lb.hardwareversand.de/Socket+1155/63549/Intel+Core+i5-3570+Box%2C+LGA1155.article

zarkov

Thanks, The motherboard choice is the one that baffles me. So many choices - is there a benefit in going with z77 chipset? Is there a rule of thumb for how much the motherboard should cost in relation to the processor cost?

zarkov

tuxy, what info do you need from the PSU?

tuxy

The z77 chipset allows overclocking, no point in paying extra for it if you will be running at stock speeds
No rule of thumb on cost, just some will have more features, more sata connections or pci slots.

The power supply needs a 24 pin motherboard power connector and 8 pin cpu power connector.
I think you can get adaptors to convert if the PSU has 20 pin and 4 pin connectors. But I don't know how well that works as I have never done it.

Or if a standard size psu fits in that case you could get this.
http://lb.hardwareversand.de/400+-+500+Watts/30074/Super-Flower+Amazon+80Plus+450W.article

Serephucus

I'd go with something more like this:

Item|Price
Intel Core i5-3570K Tray, LGA1155|€206.93
ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, Sockel 1155, mATX|€85.04
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€42.15
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse Define Mini|€86.16
16GB-Kit G.Skill RipJaws-X PC3-10667U CL9|€57.88
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€497.15

Overclockable processor, so it should last you ages without showing its age. Went with a good quality, low noise case, overclocking-supporting motherboard, 16GB of memory, and a good quality PSU.

I wouldn't go near that PSU, personally. I've never heard of QTek, and the rule of thumb with PSUs is if the brand aren't known, stay well away.

tuxy

It's hard to say if an overclocked i5 or stock i7 is better for video editing, which seems to be the main high end purpose for this pc. If you include the extra cost of the overclockable motherboard and a good cooler there is very little in it price wise. Probably very little in it performance wise too.

zarkov

How do you produce that organised list from Hardwareversand?

I want to show a list of the items I'm on the cusp of buying

tuxy

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=72858800

zarkov

Ok, here the latest wish list based on previous posts in this thread and more research. I've come to like the i5 chip for no good reason other than the price/performance positives that I've read about.

I need 2 of the disks and the cheaper memory for my N40L server.

Item|Price
3 x Seagate Barracuda 7200 2000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€264.06
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€207.02
Xilence Power Gehäuselüfter 12cm|€2.60
LG GH24NS bare schwarz|€18.38
ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, Sockel 1155, mATX|€83.99
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€42.67
16GB-Kit G.Skill RipJaws-X PC3-10667U CL9|€57.44
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (SB-Version)|€83.40
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€29.39
Raidsonic IB-865 interner USB 3.0 Multikartenleser 3,5"|€17.43
Good Connections® SATA 6Gb/s Anschlusskabel mit Metallclip, gewinkelt, 0,5m|€1.32
Akasa AK-HDA-03 Halterahmen für 6,35 cm (2,5") in 8,90cm (3,5")|€4.83
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€831.52

Serephucus

You might want to look into 3TB drives. They offer almost the same price/performance ratio as 2TB drives, but obviously you can cut down on the numbers used.

tuxy

Looks good but go with this cpu and motherboard unless you have decided to overclock

http://lb.hardwareversand.de/Socket+1155/63549/Intel+Core+i5-3570+Box%2C+LGA1155.article

http://lb.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/59304/ASRock+B75+Pro3-M%2C+Sockel+1155%2C+mATX.article

Does the same thing apart from overclock and they are a bit cheaper.

tuxy

If you do plan to overclock you need a cpu cooler
Something like this would be good
http://lb.hardwareversand.de/Intel+AMD/49134/Scythe+Mugen+3%2C+f%C3%BCr+alle+Sockel+geeignet.article

Serephucus

No point in going for that combo really (tuxy's). It's not that much of a saving in the grand scheme of things, and it's a very big self-imposed limit. If you're very tight on money or whatever then sure, but otherwise there's no point. You might decide three years from now that you want another 25% out of your CPU. Three clicks and you've got it.

tuxy

Serephucus wrote: »

No point in going for that combo really (tuxy's). It's not that much of a saving in the grand scheme of things, and it's a very big self-imposed limit. If you're very tight on money or whatever then sure, but otherwise there's no point. You might decide three years from now that you want another 25% out of your CPU. Three clicks and you've got it.

If that's the plan then put a better cpu cooler on it now and save taking things apart at a later date. Just from my experiance very few people who don't think about overclocking when building are very unlikely to go to the trouble of changing the cooler later.

zarkov

Agreed, dropped the K for the standard 3570 and motherboard changed to the B75 Pro3-M. More practical for me and if I keep going for the slightly more expensive options I'll never stop. i'm never likely to overclock and I have to make a call on it now and stick to budget. Thanks for all the help.