Pc build / full system advice

Moman

Moman

Moman

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Joined
28 Mar 2014
Posts
36
Hi,

I have been reading these forums for a while and would like some advice on a PC spec as my head is spining!

The PC is needed for Photoshop (i do a lot of photography), video editing and some casual gaming (Ie BF4). I also run building energy models for work. I have a budget of £1000 but could stretch a little further if needed. All I need is the system and the OS (I have a monitor, keybord and mouse). I would like it to last as long as possible!

What is better / value between an i5 and i7? My understaning is the i7 might be beeter for modelling / photoshop but will not make much of a difference for gaming. Which is the better OS Windows 8 or 7? (my old machine is on XP and I have no knowledge of either system)
Is 16gig memory recommended for future proofing and what is the difference between 1600Mhz and 2133Mhz?

I would be prepared to have a go at self build if it means I get more value, but am concerned about lack of warrenty (like the ones Ocuk have on the pre built machines). I liked the look if the titan machete but think it might be OTT for my needs. I would look to expand in future to.

Any ideas would be appreciated. I tried to add my basket to this list but I cannot work out how...
 
Hi guys

Thanks,Yes I guess future upgrades would be required as parts become outdated. I have a 1920x1080 23 inch Asus full hd monitor.

Is AMD better than NVidia?
 
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Hi Fulax,

I made a couple of tweeks, do you think this makes it better?


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor & Corsair H100i CPU Cooler Bundle £327.98
1 x MSI Geforce GTX 770 Gaming Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.95
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £119.99
1 x MSI Z87-G45 Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £106.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD316G2133HC11ADC01) £99.95
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020015-UK) £73.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD1003FZEX) HDD £59.99
Total : £1,123.43 (includes shipping : £8.00).

 
Hi,

Thanks, yeah completely forgot the case in that! I have noticed some overclocked bundles on with the same motherboard,cooler and memory with an i7 processor and cooler which appears to make things cheaper (than when bought separately) .Are these bundles better value than buying everything individually? Or is scaling down the cooling better?
I have reverted to your power supply and the Caviar Green. Would the 4 gig 770 be better to push to than the r280? The case you selected looks good. It always seems you can spend a lot more than first intended!

Really appreciate the advice, as I do not have much clue.
 
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Thanks,yes the react bundle with a the cooler.

It seems very easy to keep adding better and better components, and before you know you have a 2K machine I might be able to stretch to 1300 but that is the ultimate upper limit, I do want it to last though.

Is decent thermal paste worth it? Also in terms of the build, is using antistatic mat/wrist bands needed?
 
Cheers, Looking one card , but could consider adding in the future What the advantage? better frame rates?

if I go to a budget of 1400 can I get a lot more for my money? I think a blue ray drive or dvd drive, card reader and wifi card are needed to.

Also the 290 is on offer as a sapphire rather than msi card? is the sapphire any different or is it branding?

Is overclocking worth it?

Also I specced to the one above and it's become much more expensive a lot of the prices have gone up since Wednesday is this usual?
 
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Hi Fulax,

Thanks,yeah I think I know what I want now. Pretty much the spec you have there but will wait for offers and see if I can get to a larger SSD and a nicer case. I will go for the 290 card.

Is there advantages to overclocking? Is it just beter speed but with a life expectancy loss due to higher temps?Ie if i Oc'd a i7k 3.4 to 4 would that give a better performance tha is worth it?

Andrew
 
Thanks, I will be ordering tonight or over the weekend. Hopefully I dont muck up my first ever build!!

I noticed the MSI radeon 290x is 50 pounds more today only than the 290, would that be worth it for future proofing?
 
Hi,

I ordered everything and all the bits arrived well packaged. In the end I ordered a react bundle as it was on offer, however there does not appear to be any thermal paste with the system. It has all been tested and there is some residue on the processor and the motherboard 'plastic bag' it came in. Do I need more paste? Or should I just attach the cooler? Does anyone have any experience with these bundles?

Sorry if it's a stupid question it's my first build.
 
Also the superflower power supply only has a European two fork plug. Is this normal? A power supply you can't play is not that useful!
 
Haha yeah nicknack beginning to think that too !!!

Cheers fulax, no the motherboard did not have the cooler attached (hydroh80i). I was a bit surprised as it looks like it was assembled, tested then disassembled with just the paste residue on it. Also no box for the processor provided. Tbh I am a bit miffed at ocuk right now. Is there a freephone number, the order sheet says it's 10p per minute!!!
 
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I spoke to customer services and they are sending me some paste and a UK plug for the psu. Very helpful there were to. :)
 
Unfortunately I don't have one! in the next installment of what is becoming a saga dpd delivered the package to a neighbour, but not the one I specified and they did not leave a card to tell me where the delivered my parts!!!!! Build still not started.
 
Thanks for the advice lee. Its also the lack of thermal paste for the cooler on the processor that is hindering me getting started.
 
All the parts have now been Delivered! Started to build and will turn it on tomorrow, hopefully it does not blow up! I have a couple of questions :

1. How can I tell if the thermal paste has been applied correctly? Is there operating temp I should look for? I'm using a h80i cooler. If I have not done it correctly what should I look for?

2. The motherbard came with two sata cables, however the I have a ssd, a caviar blue had and a dvd drive, I trust I need to get another sata cable to connect all three or is there another way?

Ta.
 
I have definitely bitten of more than I can chew. I should have ask ocuk to build this. I have installed all the components and plugged in the monitor. When I turn on the machine the fans an corsair unit all power up but I have no image on the screen monitor is plugged into motherboard . I have a ssd and the dvd drive plugged in to the sata ports on the mb.

I'm using i7 4770k
Msi z87-g45 Mb
Vulcan 8gb memory x2
Msi r290x graphics card fans are woking
Corsair c70

It was a react bundle so thought it would work on start up. Any ideas?
 
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