Multitasking spec

themightyboosh · 7 Jun 2009 at 19:27

I've been asked by a friend to put together a new PC for him.

Main usage is online games with a bit of video editing and photoshop.

Basically he is looking for a nice quiet system that will last a good few years with some upgrade potential rather than a "throw away" Dell/Mesh system.

I'd really like some info on what processor type to go for, AMD looks good for performance to price ratio, some of the Intel x38/48 chips seem to be getting cheaper and cheaper and the lower tier i7's look to be being phased out shortly so I'm wondering if its worth spending a little more to get one of these atm (unfortunately his PC has blown up so waiting to see what happens with the i5 is not an option)

Any ideas, as a non-gamer I really dont know where to start, I only know as much as the GPU is a more important factor than the CPU (or I assume it is)
Once I get a clue on what sort of processor to go for I can start to put together a parts list.

Thanks in advance

themightyboosh · 7 Jun 2009 at 19:30

Edit:

Games he currently plays are World of Warcraft, Warhammer, Crysis

Not looking at overclocking more maintaining the long life of the system as he wont be spending anymore money on another system for 3 years or so.

Using a 24" monitor (1920x1200). Not fussed about using it to watch films etc...

siumatfung · 7 Jun 2009 at 19:33

budget?

themightyboosh · 7 Jun 2009 at 19:36

Ah sorry, I edited out that bit on the first post.

About 700-800 but will go higher obviously if the i7 is currently worth looking at, although he does not want the i7 just to have the best, he just wants a stable system for the next few years.

siumatfung · 7 Jun 2009 at 19:50

i7 would last u 5 years min! and they selling for cheap atm

neways here we go

i have left the case for your mate to choose himself

a 3rd party cooler may be required if he wants overclock the processor

we can down the RAM is he doesnt want to overclock at all

JonJ678 · 7 Jun 2009 at 19:57

Overclocking doesn't reduce the life of the system unless he's after 20 years of life. Clocking upwards at stock volts won't decrease component lifespan at all, and will significantly increase how long it lasts before being 'too slow'

You'd have to be pretty savage to the chip to kill it within 3 years

themightyboosh · 7 Jun 2009 at 20:08

Ok, good to know.

Then I guess I'll be giving it some overclocking, so I'll be looking at some additional cooling and a pretty decent case (he's not fussed on looks but wants it quiet).

I'll give him a phonecall and see how much exactly hes willing to spend as its an i7 setup.

Thanks for the info so far

themightyboosh · 11 Jun 2009 at 11:18

Hi again.

He's was more than happy when he found he could get an i7 build for that sort of budget, and the build you have posted above seems to be nice and solid.

A few questions if I may in regards to case, cooling and overclocking.

I'm guessing that at the moment even at stock speeds that the i7 is going to laugh at most if not all that he can throw at it (current using an old p4 3.2 with 2meg ram so this is going to be quite a massive upgrade for him anyway)

Would this still require additional cooling if it were to go in to an Antec 300 case (assuming it would all fit) as the case is fairly small in comparison to some of the others I have worked with.

The guy now has a *strict* budget than what he originally thought after chatting with his wife, even thought its an i7 build.
So I might put off the idea of overclocking it for him until a few months time when he can get some more cash together for a better case and some 3rd party cooling.

Would still want to keep the memory the same for when he does decide he wants some tweaks done.

His maximum budget is £850 all in at the moment, so possibly worth dropping the video card down to a 4870 for a better case and cooling if required?

Thanks in advance

themightyboosh · 11 Jun 2009 at 11:34

Just did some digging at the 4890 goes in to the 300, so its more a question of will the i7 chip get too hot without some additional fans on the CPU.

If we do go for the 300 case I'll be putting at least one additional 120m fan in the front which with only 1hd in the system should push a little bit more cooling in to the main bay.