New Build. Really doing it this time.

goz83

1. What is your budget? Willing to spend up to €2000.

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Website Development. Photo storage and editing. Internet use.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes.

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? No. Old computer is a HP Touch, which will be given to kids.

5. Do you need a monitor? Yes. I will need two monitors actually. When building websites, I would like to have use of another monitor, instead of constantly minimising the programs.

5a. If yes, what size do you need. 27'+. Need two. Must be good resolution too.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.] I will need all of these.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? No, because I don't know enough about it. I will however want to upgrade to a liquid coolant system, so may consider in the future. I would like a coolant kit in my budget for CPU and memory at least. I like the clear kits.

8. How can you pay? Can pay any method.

9. When are you purchasing? Inside of a week.

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Dublin 13

Other info: I am pulling my hair out with my slow computer, so I am going overkill on this build. I want it to be super fast, so lots of memory please. I will want the websites stored on one drive and backed up by a separate drive (maybe a large backup drive for everything). I will then use another drive for everything else. The website files must be protected at any cost. I use Norton 360 for antivirus and can include this new build on my package. I want 8-10 usb ports, so I won't run out. I will need a full list of wires that are required. The system will be on for sometimes more than 12 hours a day, active use and may be left on standby overnight too, if that matters. Finally, I would like it not to look like a dogs dinner. Aesthetics would be nice, so maybe a hi-tower with a side window to look in on the system. Hardware versand is what I am thinking for everything. Would love the liquid cooling system included if that is a good idea.

Also thinking of paying the extra to have it put together to save me time. Is this recommended? Thanks for any help and sorry if my post is too long.

Digital Solitude

How critical is your data? Seems fairly important from the above, so you'll want to be keeping extra backups if you aren't using the cloud

Build it yourself if you're planning on upgrading it.

Are you going to over clock from the start or at a later stage? There's not going to be any need for over clocking for a while. Same goes for watercooling, without a gaming graphics card inside you won't be generating enough heat to make watercooling a necessity.

I'll try up the beginnings of a build when I know this

goz83

Digital Solitude wrote: »

How critical is your data? Seems fairly important from the above, so you'll want to be keeping extra backups if you aren't using the cloud

Build it yourself if you're planning on upgrading it.

Are you going to over clock from the start or at a later stage? There's not going to be any need for over clocking for a while. Same goes for watercooling, without a gaming graphics card inside you won't be generating enough heat to make watercooling a necessity.

I'll try up the beginnings of a build when I know this

The data is the most important aspect, which is why I plan to have two dedicated drives for the website files. One for use and the second to back up these files. I haven't yet converted to the cloud, but I may need to as an extra precaution.

I will look into overclocking later. As you say, it won't be necessary. But, i dont want any loading delays, or lag. Water cooling is also for noise reduction, which is important to me. I find the sound of fans very annoying. The pc will be in the living room, which has a stove that can make the room quite hot in the winter months, so this was also a factor in liquid cooling.

I want the best of everything for this build, especially when it comes to speed.

Digital Solitude

i7 4790k €350
Z97 board €90
32gb DDR3 €200
400w PSU €40
Nanoxia DS1 €100
250gb SSD €90
120gb SSD €60
2tb WD Red €90
2Tb WD Blue €75x2
Total is roughly €1200

Case is sound insulated so fairly quiet. i7 is OP. Z97 for over clocking

Do you really need 32gb ram? You can always add more.
Bigger SSD for files you're drawing from often for snappiness and ****
Smaller is for your OS
The WD Red is first backup disk
One Blue is general storage
Second Blue is a second backup disk. You want to remove this from the PC and keep it in a secure location in case of power surges etc it'll mean all your stuff isn't fried
800 is loads for remaining, 400 for monitors, €40 for a pair of homeplugs for internet, 100 for a mech keyboard, 50 for a mouse. Leaves roughly 200 for whatever else you need, or starting into the water cooling. I have no idea what a water cooling kit costs.

I may be being overly precautous with all the hard drives but that's not even a full backup routine for crit data.

Digital Solitude

The i7 is probably waaaay overpowered because I don't think the work you do is CPU intensive? I could be wrong though. You can put €100 elsewhere by changing the CPU if you don't need a really high end CPU, for something that'll preform almost as well

goz83

Thanks. What about connectors/cables and stuff like that?

Digital Solitude

You'll need an extra few satas, which are like €2 each, I'll throw a few into the links. Everything else is bundled.

The case is just a rectangular black box, I've its little brother and its fairly sleek looking, glossy black steel.

To look inside a PC you just see a motherboard and a spinning fan, they're not exactly awe inspiring through a window without going overboard on the case. Nanoxia is massive with loads of room for airflow and water cooling if needed.

I'll post links tomorrow if you're happy with everything

goz83

Links would be super, so I know I am ordering the right stuff. I cant find the memory you posted for €200. So a link to the product would be great too. Only other thing i am missing is a microphone.....would like one I can add to a monitor maybe......

Digital Solitude

8gb sticks are €52 each so four of them is 32gb at €208 roughly

Like an attachable one? I haven't a clue of mics, if its important you should throw a few euro at that

goz83

Digital Solitude wrote: »

8gb sticks are €52 each so four of them is 32gb at €208 roughly

Like an attachable one? I haven't a clue of mics, if its important you should throw a few euro at that

So long as they are compatible, that's all

Digital Solitude

Yeah they will be. Most the board will be able to handle is 32gb, and four 8gb sticks is cheapest way to fill it, and replace any dead ones. It's all gonna be the same stuff anyways

goz83

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Yeah they will be. Most the board will be able to handle is 32gb, and four 8gb sticks is cheapest way to fill it, and replace any dead ones. It's all gonna be the same stuff anyways

Sound, I will wait for your links/product codes before ordering.

I also like the look of this full tower...if suitable https://www.hardwareversand.de/en/Tower/60293/BitFenix+Shinobi+XL+Big-Tower+++white+Window%2C+ohne+Netzteil.article

Digital Solitude

It'll be grand yeah, its an absolute monster of a case though! If you've a desk or whatever you want to make sure it fits.

goz83

Digital Solitude wrote: »

It'll be grand yeah, its an absolute monster of a case though! If you've a desk or whatever you want to make sure it fits.

Will be getting custom built desk. I figure more space in the case makes for a cooler unit and more options to add stuff later. Also I have fat fingers, so it will make building a bit easier

I am nervous about building though. Not so much the putting stuff together, but the booting up of everything.

Digital Solitude

That's pretty much how cooling works.

There's plenty of space inside much smaller cases, you don't have to reach into tight spaces or do fiddly work or anything, its all fairly simple.

How do you mean the booting?

goz83

Digital Solitude wrote: »

How do you mean the booting?

I mean when it's all put together, the turning on and getting it running. Normally i just buy a pc and put in the windows disc and thats it.

Maybe a stupid question, but there is an optical/cd/dvd drive in there? I usually buy my software in disc form, rather than download.

Gumbi

The Nanoxia case is superb. i5 is plenty good for you. 32GB RAM is overkill. You can grab a DCD driver for 15 euro anywhere, though I personally think it's wasted money.

SATAs are cheap but your mobo should come with 3/4 anyway.

Digital Solitude

Do you think gumbi? I genuinely don't know so I gave him what he asked for.

All your drivers on CDs but you can download them online if you don't have a disc drive, which most don't

Misread the question. No, I'll add one later, they're only about €10

Gumbi

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Do you think gumbi? I genuinely don't know so I gave him what he asked for.

All your drivers on CDs but you can download them online if you don't have a disc drive, which most don't

Misread the question. No, I'll add one later, they're only about €10

As regards RAM or CPU? Software dev gnerally isn't cpu intensive, and unless he is really shooting for A LOT of multitasking, 16gigs should be enough, esp given the SD will soften the blow if he does indeed go over the limit.

Maybe the 100 quid is not worth that risk, really it comes down to the user whether it's necessary.

Digital Solitude

I'll give all the links anyways, let him make his mind up when he gets here. I wouldn't have thought the i7 necessary but wasn't sure about the editing. I'll throw up a 4690k

Digital Solitude

Motherboard
Monitor
RAM
PSU
Barracuda HDD
WD Red
SSD 1
SSD 2
SATA Cables
USB Card
Disc Drive

From that, you want 2 monitors, 2 barracudas, 1-2 RAM sets, 4 of the SATA cables and one of everything else.

Nanoxia Case
BitFenix Shinobi

There's a slightly smaller version of the Nanoxia either. The BitFenix doesn't have a sound insulating layer like the Nanoxia.

i7
i5

One or the other of these, both overclockable, both good CPUs, both fit into motherboard so it's literally one or the other.


The monitors I've picked are 1080p, you could go for a single ultra-widescreen either, about the same price as both of those.
For the monitors you can use the HDMI off the motherboard on one, and the VGA on the other or use HDMI on both after adding a small graphics card like this. Don't think its worth it imo

Gumbi

Also, if you use the hardwareveesand links via geizhals.de you'll save 5ish or more % on the overall price.

Digital Solitude

All my links have been run through geizhals already, but they'll probably need updating when he goes to buy them

goz83

Thanks for the help. I was just chatting to my brothers friend, who is a techy. He suggested boosting the power supply to 650 to be safe and he also suggested adding a a 4gb graphics card, which would also have the extra hdmi port for the extra monitor.

He looked at the list and was quite impressed. Though agreeable with the excessive RAM, he said he would do the same and go all out.

What should I go for regards power supply and graphics card?

Also, is this wireless for BB? Most likely will have it connected directly to the modem though.

I will go for the nanoxia case and the i7.

Digital Solitude

Your brothers friend hasn't a clue, with all due respect. A 4gb card for your uses? Nonsense. Same with the PSU, this build maxed out and overclocked draws less than 300w

Gumbi

goz83 wrote: »

Thanks for the help. I was just chatting to my brothers friend, who is a techy. He suggested boosting the power supply to 650 to be safe and he also suggested adding a a 4gb graphics card, which would also have the extra hdmi port for the extra monitor.

He looked at the list and was quite impressed. Though agreeable with the excessive RAM, he said he would do the same and go all out.

What should I go for regards power supply and graphics card?

Also, is this wireless for BB? Most likely will have it connected directly to the modem though.

I will go for the nanoxia case and the i7.

No need for a 650w PSU, as since you're not going to be gaming, the onboard graphics of the CPU will do.

If you do plan on gaming, I'd recommend a GTX 970, in which case a 450w PSU will do you fine anyways (they are really efficient cards.

The i7 is complete overkill...

Digital Solitude

It's not wireless no, buy a pair of homeplugs from Amazon for €30, or eircom have an ongoing deal at the moment for the same price if you're a customer.

Plug one into a wall socket, connect to modem with Ethernet cable

Plug other into wall socket, connect to PC with Ethernet cable, done. Faster and easier than WiFi, can be used anywhere provided sockets are in same circuit

goz83

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Your brothers friend hasn't a clue, with all due respect. A 4gb card for your uses? Nonsense. Same with the PSU, this build maxed out and overclocked draws less than 300w

LOL. Fair enough.

Any link to the ultrawide screen you mentioned?

Digital Solitude

You can add a 1gb card with two ports for €150, or the one I linked earlier. I game with a 3gb card so there's no way you'd draw anywhere close to that with general use. I'll link one now

Digital Solitude

Here

Another

First is 25", second is 29"

They're actually cheaper than I thought, the first one is €235 delivered

goz83

Maybe in the future I will look into upgrading the GPU, but I reckon the one you linked is just fine. I think I will get the 2 monitors, because I won't always need both monitors on.

goz83

Guys, where are these 5% off links? I might order tonight.

Digital Solitude

Go to Geizhals.de, type the part in etc i7 4790k and search. Open the link, and scroll down until you see the red hardwareversand button

If you copy paste the names from my hwvs links you'll get them easier

Slutmonkey57b

I would go with 1440p monitors rather than 1080. It'll make a much more significant difference to your website development than 32 gigs of ram would.

goz83

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Go to Geizhals.de, type the part in etc i7 4790k and search. Open the link, and scroll down until you see the red hardwareversand button

If you copy paste the names from my hwvs links you'll get them easier

So I just click your links and add to basket? I assume the discount shows at the checkout stage then?

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

I would go with 1440p monitors rather than 1080. It'll make a much more significant difference to your website development than 32 gigs of ram would.

Perhaps. Got a link to a recommended one? I will consider the upgrade.

goz83

I also have a small usused flat screen tv. Could this be used as a third screen? I have it like 3 years and it was used once

Digital Solitude

No, you need to actually go through geizhals with the item, then the discount appears on the items page. The i7 is normally 354, but when you find it through geizhals it's 339.

Get the item name from my links, like "Intel Core i7-4790K Box, LGA1150" and search it in geizhals to find it quickly.

1440p monitors are fairly expensive, here is a list from geizhals. Over €300 for a decently sized one.

Slutmonkey57b

But a 27" 1080p is already > 200. So going from budget model to budget model increases the build cost by ~€200. Professional level monitors are important for colour work, but not site development. You could easily shave €200 off Processor, RAM etc from some of the earlier builds and put it into the monitors.

Digital Solitude

True, dropping 16gb RAM and the i5 would accomdate them OP, and wouldn't make a huge difference to performance. I'm assuming slutmonkey has experience here so I'd heed his advice.

goz83

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

But a 27" 1080p is already > 200. So going from budget model to budget model increases the build cost by ~€200. Professional level monitors are important for colour work, but not site development. You could easily shave €200 off Processor, RAM etc from some of the earlier builds and put it into the monitors.

Thanks for the advice. But, I won't need such high quality screens, as tempting as it is. I could get super greedy and hijack the 55' screen, which will be where the pc is going


I have everything in the basket I think.

Is credit card ok with hwvs? Easier than a transfer for me

Slutmonkey57b

You're mistaking screen diagonal for resolution.

Resolution's a much bigger gain than anything else. The only difference between a 1080p 24 inch screen and a 1080p 27 inch screen is that you lose a lot of desk space for no benefit!

goz83

@DS , am I to order SSD1 & 2, or am i to choose one only?

Digital Solitude

Both of them, smaller one for OS and the larger one for files and programs you access regularly.

1440p is a lot more pixels crammed into the same space for the same size screens, making it sharper to look at, and better defined.

goz83

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

You're mistaking screen diagonal for resolution.

Resolution's a much bigger gain than anything else. The only difference between a 1080p 24 inch screen and a 1080p 27 inch screen is that you lose a lot of desk space for no benefit!

Show me what you would recommend on hwvs please. I haven't hit the order button yet. I do want a 27+ though

Digital Solitude

I've no recommendations for one, slutmonkey may. Amazon is probably a better spot for them, hwvs don't have any lower priced ones in stock

goz83

I'm going to order what I have. I will upgrade later if I feel I need to. Thanks though.

Digital Solitude

Fair enough, best of luck with the build.

What's the final spend?

wotzgoingon

There is no need for a 1440p monitor especially since he is going to be using two monitors. Rather than one screen and then split screen it to seem like you have two monitors.

Slutmonkey57b

This Acer K2 is an IPS panel that gets good reviews on Amazon and Newegg, but it looks like there are TN and IPS versions of the the same monitor with different random letters after the K272HUL model name.

The Geizhals link is an IPS model though.

If you're having trouble navigating geizhals and don't use Chrome, Microsoft Translator has a script you can bookmark to translate pages with a click.

Benq get good reviews on TFT Central.

Slutmonkey57b

wotzgoingon wrote: »

There is no need for a 1440p monitor especially since he is going to be using two monitors. Rather than one screen and then split screen it to seem like you have two monitors.

No replacement for height. Unless he rotates one monitor in portrait.

goz83

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Fair enough, best of luck with the build.

What's the final spend?

€1602. Still need keyboard and mouse plus windows and ms office.

They wont let me pay by anybother method but transfer