Repair or Build or Off The Shelf?

JulesInKy

My 4 year old custom build has decided to retire. The lights are on but there's no-one home. I'm not really caught up on recent technology so I'm getting a bit confused by all the options. I just want to be able to run Photoshop and Illustrator comfortably. As the title says I'm willing to look at all options: Repair or Build or Off The Shelf. My budget is pretty tight which I know will limit me but hit me with ye're best shots!

1. What is your budget? Ballpark 500e.

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Photo/video and internet

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes, W7 not W8 (compatibility with my older software)

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer?
Antec Nine Hundred/Ultimate Gamer Case
Tagan 700W 2FORCELL V2.2 +12V RAILS
Lightscribe DVD burner
2x1GB PC28500 Nvidia SLI Ready (pn ocz2n1066sr2gk)

* I can't use the HD for a new build as I'll need to recover the data from it.
** Not the board or processor - I'm reluctant to trust them after failure of system.

5. Do you need a monitor? No.
5a. If yes, what size do you need.
5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? N/A

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.] Perhaps wireless card, but not essential

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? No

8. How can you pay? Credit Card or cash
9. When are you purchasing? Now, but can wait
10. If you need help building it, where are you based? North Kerry

tuxy

Item|Price
Intel Core i5-3550 Box, LGA1155|€184.74
ASRock B75 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€65.09
16GB-Kit G.Skill Ares PC3-12800U CL9|€83.94
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€100.79
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€84.78
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€538.33

You can drop back to 8gb ram if you don't think you will need 16
I put an ssd in, can you use the old drave for storage once you have recovered the files?
The graphic built into the the cpu will do the job unless you decide to take up gaming.

JulesInKy

Thanks Tuxy, it was good of you to reply so quickly
As I've been out of the game so long I have a few questions/comments.

I won't be gaming so graphics aren't a big issue for me (I do have a couple of graphics cards in a drawer here) I like a dual monitor setup though.

I don't think I need the SSD. I'm happy enough to have more byte per buck Sata Yes, once I've retrieved the data from the old HD I will be using that for extra capacity.

Memory: Would I need all that 16GB? If it makes a noticeable difference to my usage then sure I'll get that much.

Mainboard: are those bundled packages I see being offered any good? The ones where you get MB, CPU and RAM all in one box? Or is it just a false economy?

tuxy

The graphic built into the cpu/motherboard will work with dual monitors, Perfect for 2d work. What type of connection do the monitors use?

If you would rather a hard drive to a ssd you can go for this http://lb.hardwareversand.de/7200+RPM/49615/Seagate+Barracuda+7200+500GB+SATA+6GB%27s.article

An ssd does make a nice difference to a systems speed though.

If you will be editing large video files the 16gb would be good to have if not you can drop down to 8.

I don't think there is anything to be saved by getting the bundles I think they are mostly aimed at people that don't understand what components work together.

JulesInKy

Still dithering on this (shush!!!) I've been looking around and come across the likes of manufacturer refurbished i7-2600 1TB W7 with 8gb ram for just under 600e if I can stretch the budget a bit.

Would this be a huge risk to buy refurb?
Supplied PSU is only 220w
They're small form factor so if I wanted to transfer the guts of it to my own
my 5-fan case would there be a problem ?
Feel free to smack upside the head for being a nuisance

dl

Decided to upgrade myself and like you wanted to use existing case, psu etc. Although I'm not a games player I did recently purchase a decent graphics card on Adverts and hope to add an SSD drive in the near future. I did lots of research through many of the online stores and read all the reviews but finally settled on purchasing from Amazon as they seemed to be best priced. Ordered the following items the other day and total cost was £350 (€410 approx) including delivery...

I5-3570K CPU

Corsair 16gb Ram

Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Mobo

Have a browse through Amazon & other online stores yourself... plenty of reviews to guide you and you should easily be able to upgrade your system within budget!

JulesInKy

I think that the shopping around is what's getting me into trouble - I really shouldn't be given too many options to choose from because then I end up all sorts of discombobulated!

eg. ivy v sandy bridge, high end core i5 v low end core i7, memory, ssd v hd, which version of W7?

Oh dear.

You can understand why my husband refuses to come shopping with me

dl

Yes I totally understand and agree with you about so many options... I've been an AMD user for years and started out looking at their latest 8-core CPU's but ended up ordering the i5 so hoping that I made the right choice. Then again any upgrade is always welcome, best of luck with your quest