Processor and other things...

lttlejoe · 21 Jan 2011 at 22:30

Hi guys...my first post here ( hope it's in the right forum)!

I'm putting together my first self build PC and need a bit of advice ..particularly on the processor. I've been looking at the Intel lineup and it looks like the Intel i5 2400 (Sandy Bridge) seems to give the best bang for your bucks.

I want to build an all-purpose machine ( on a bit of a budget) which will cope with the latest offerings from Adobe Photoshop et al to do some fairly heavy image editing, general office duties, not to mention a bit of decent gaming, when I eventually have the time.
The specs I have in mind are:

CPU - i5 2400 ( Sandy Bridge)
RAM - 6Gb DDR 3 1333
HDD = 1 Tb x 2
Optical Drives x 2 ( BlueRay reader/DVD writer + DVD reader)
Card Reader
Decent mid-range graphics card.
On top of this I need a decent PSU...

So can you give your opinions on the i5 2400 SB or whether there are better value processors for my needs. Also which PSU ( UK voltage) do you suggest to cope with the specs I'm putting together?
Finally, can you suggest a mid level gaming graphics card that will do a decent job without breaking the bank?
Thanks ..
Joe

lttlejoe · 21 Jan 2011 at 22:49

Thekwango said:
you might need to give a rough budget, and i'm sure stulid, RJC and the rest of gang wont be long speccing you summat decent

Thanks for the reply...
I figured maybe around £570 would cover most of the bits I'd need except the ATX case and graphics card.
Does that sound reasonable?

lttlejoe · 21 Jan 2011 at 22:51

Greavesy said:
You want to be buying 4 or 8gb ram with sandy bridge ( dual channel)
Maybe dont get the second optical drive aswell and get the i5 2500k much more potential with the overclocking.

Yep...I meant to say 2500 rather than 2400 as there isn't much difference in price for the extra performance! Do you think it a good choice? An extra couple of Gb of RAM won't be a deal breaker, so I'll certainly take your advice on that one!

lttlejoe · 21 Jan 2011 at 23:09

stulid said:
Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £194.99
(£162.49) £194.99
(£162.49)
Foxconn P67A-S Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
XFX Pro 650W Core Edition Power Supply £66.37
(£55.31) £66.37
(£55.31)
Samsung SH-B123L/BSBP 12x BluRay ROM DVDRW DL & RAM Lightscribe SATAII Optical Drive - OEM Black £49.99
(£41.66) £49.99
(£41.66)
Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC) £33.98
(£28.32) £33.98
(£28.32)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £31.99
(£26.66) £63.98
(£53.32)
Samsung SH-D163C/BEBE SATA 16x DVD-ROM (Black) - OEM £9.98
(£8.32) £9.98
(£8.32)
Sub Total : £470.23
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £96.15
Total : £576.88

just add a graphics card.

you got two 500Gb drives and a blue-ray player/dvd burner and a dvd rom drive.

the motherboard comes with two sata cables, so add another two to the list - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-036-OK&groupid=1929&catid=1928&subcat=

Well I wasn't far out LOL.
Regarding a multi-card reader...it's a must have, so...any suggestions of one that is quick or are they all more or less the same?

lttlejoe · 21 Jan 2011 at 23:17

Greavesy said:
Lol i read that as 570 with a graphics card. +1 for stulids build.
If you didnt add the second optical drive you could probably get your 2 x 1tb hdd's.

It's certainly a good spec for the money...I need two optical drives ( one reader) so that I can copy without wasting time putting them in and out while image editing. I don't mind a small increase in budget to get the extra 1Tb HDD's.

lttlejoe · 21 Jan 2011 at 23:19

stulid said:
no idea about card readers, just get one that suits the case as far as im concerned

I suspect the latest ones will just be regular SATA ?

lttlejoe · 21 Jan 2011 at 23:21

Is the i5 2500 SB a good base on which to start a build or, are there better options?

lttlejoe · 21 Jan 2011 at 23:58

One question I have been meaning to ask you guys for which you may have an answer...
The OS system would obviously be Windows 7 with the new build BUT, I'd prefer to actually use good old Windows XP Professional ( which I already have) as, I have some legacy software ( for my cameras ) which apparently doesn't work with Windows 7 for some reason.

Would Windows XP Pro work with the new set-up and if so, is it possible to set up and use a dual OS selected at boot-up? ( ie: W7 or XP pro)

lttlejoe · 22 Jan 2011 at 00:03

coupe69 said:
Card readers are USB devices, and as such plug into a USB header on your mainboard

Thank you for that info...

lttlejoe · 22 Jan 2011 at 00:19

stulid said:
yes, yes and yep.

That's good news indeed!

lttlejoe · 22 Jan 2011 at 08:27

Just been going through the list again and noticed there wasn't a CPU cooler on there! As it's not a bare bones kit, I presume I'd need a cooler..is that right and if so, which would be suitable?

Joe