Spec and Advice, please. :)

[KingMe]

Hey everyone,

Okay, I need some help, please.

Old computer broke. Need a new one ASAP. Budget around £800. That must include delivery as I'm having to borrow it off a family member and I don't want to push my luck!

I'm an artist, working primarily in Photoshop, so I need a machine that'll run that well.

I'm also a very devout gamer, so as much gaming oomph as possible would be great. I know I shouldn't expect much on that budget, but do whatever you can, leaving a clear path for later upgrades.

I would like an SSD as well if possible, if only for the OS (which I also need), but, again, I can imagine that might be pushing it. I dunno. It's probably better to ditch the SSD now if I have to rather than skimp out on the other components.

Here's the thing, I've already got a monitor (22" Samsung SyncMaster 226BW) which is native at 1680*1050, and really, I don't want to get another one just yet despite that being pretty low res by today's standards. I'm not sure how that will impact the choice of GPU, but I'm sure you guys do. Any advice would be great.

Oh, and I don't need a mouse or keyboard.

Thank you very much.

 

[Gav_881]

Is there anything you can salvage from the old build? HDD optical PSU case? If not your really going to struggle to get a ballanced system for £600 and may have to forgoe any realistic gaming for a while or take a long term hit on processor power

 

[KingMe]

Not really, no. What's left has been given to my brother to fix up, so I'm basically starting from scratch.

To be honest, the new machine is primarily for Photoshop work, so if it's a choice between processor or GPU, I've really got to take the processor.

As long as I can put in a better GPU once I have one and have it all come to life, that's fine for now.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[honosuseri]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) £149.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x **B Grade** Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD1002FAEX) £46.99
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - Black £39.98
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £35.99
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 (MB-364-GI) £35.00
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £640.92 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Best I could do to fit everything in. You might need sata cables as the mobo is B grade, check with OCuk. Have you considered the developers edition of windows 8? You can use that for free for 3 months then commit to buying an OS later.

Could trim a few quid off but not a massive saving.......

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) £149.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x **B Grade** Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD1002FAEX) £46.99
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £35.99
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 (MB-364-GI) £35.00
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £622.98 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 

[snips86x]

With no OS and would recommend buying a 128gb SSD when you can and add a 2tb drive also:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) £149.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x **B Grade** Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD1002FAEX) £46.99
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £35.99
1 x Aerocool Vs-4 Midi Tower Case - Black £29.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £26.99
1 x Samsung SH-118AB/BEBE SATA 18x DVD-ROM (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £629.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 

[Idleman]

No Gpu.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Intel 330 Series 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £59.99
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (S (HD-255-SE) £58
1 x Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black £49.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £35.99
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £624.52 (includes shipping : £10.50).



You alsways add a Gpu and a cooler at a later date when funds permit.

 

[KingMe]

Okay. The budget's been upped to £800, including delivery. What magic can you guys work with that.

And thank you ever so much for the responses so far.

 

[Leprechaun312]

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8350 Black Edition 4.00GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Desktop and Notebook Kit - (MZ-7TD120KW) £92.99
1 x Gigabyte 970A-UD3 AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £86.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Windowed Case - Black £69.98
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020047-UK) £49.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C11 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1866C11D3P1K2/8G) £47.99
Total : £822.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).



that there would do onlything is you could get a cheaper case at around 40 quid and tht would keep you under your budget

 

[snips86x]

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8350 Black Edition 4.00GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Desktop and Notebook Kit - (MZ-7TD120KW) £92.99
1 x Gigabyte 970A-UD3 AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £86.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Windowed Case - Black £69.98
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020047-UK) £49.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C11 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1866C11D3P1K2/8G) £47.99
Total : £822.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).



that there would do onlything is you could get a cheaper case at around 40 quid and tht would keep you under your budget

You could get the i5k in there for the same price.

 

[KingMe]

With regards to Photoshop work, is either an Intel or AMD CPU/GPU preferable?

 

[Doomedspeed]

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8350 Black Edition 4.00GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Desktop and Notebook Kit - (MZ-7TD120KW) £92.99
1 x Gigabyte 970A-UD3 AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £86.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Windowed Case - Black £69.98
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020047-UK) £49.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C11 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1866C11D3P1K2/8G) £47.99
Total : £822.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).



that there would do onlything is you could get a cheaper case at around 40 quid and tht would keep you under your budget

You could get the i5k in there for the same price.

I would do that..

Change the 8350 for a 3570k, swap the motherboard out for a Gigabyte Z77 D3H.

Id also get the XFX 550W PSU, as its the same price. XFX PSU's are made by seasonic ( seasonic are awesome)

That case is way overpriced. Id get a cheaper case and an aftermarket cooler. The Hyper 612s.

 

[KingMe]

Okay, great.

But keep the 7850 in there? I take it that's a 'best bang for your buck' type of card?

 

[Leprechaun312]

Okay, great.

But keep the 7850 in there? I take it that's a 'best bang for your buck' type of card?

yeah keep the 7850 they are good gaming cards only thing is everyone recommends intel over the amd the piledriver would do the job, it has 8 cores rather than 4 and has a higher clock speed. for the same price the piledriver seems a better choice does it not?

 

[lee32uk]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x Plextor M5S 128GB Solid State Drive - (PX-128M5S) £82.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black £49.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £49.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £35.99
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £789.50 (includes shipping : £10.50).

 

[KingMe]

yeah keep the 7850 they are good gaming cards only thing is everyone recommends intel over the amd the piledriver would do the job, it has 8 cores rather than 4 and has a higher clock speed. for the same price the piledriver seems a better choice does it not?

Why is that, do you think? Is there a case for Intel over AMD here?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x Plextor M5S 128GB Solid State Drive - (PX-128M5S) £82.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black £49.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £49.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £35.99
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £789.50 (includes shipping : £10.50).

That. That looks nice.

Thanks so far, everyone.

 

[Fire_fly]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x Plextor M5S 128GB Solid State Drive - (PX-128M5S) £82.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black £49.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £49.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £35.99
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £789.50 (includes shipping : £10.50).

I was about to post the same build

A heatsink would be a good addition to let the CPU be OCed higher

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-037-AL

or

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-095-TR&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2352

 

[Leprechaun312]

Why is that, do you think? Is there a case for Intel over AMD here?



That. That looks nice.

Thanks so far, everyone.

is there a case for intel over amd. yes yes there is every spec post someone will recommend an amd and someone else intel and then the amd just gets shot to pieces

 

[Doomedspeed]

yeah keep the 7850 they are good gaming cards only thing is everyone recommends intel over the amd the piledriver would do the job, it has 8 cores rather than 4 and has a higher clock speed. for the same price the piledriver seems a better choice does it not?

Why is that, do you think? Is there a case for Intel over AMD here?
QUOTE]

Firstly, the AMD doesn't really have 8-core's. They re-defined the mean of 'Core' so they could brand thier flagship as an 8-core rather than a Hex-core (which it is really) Its not much different to the Phenom X 6 1090T.

The Bulldozers are Badly threaded (CPU's use cores and threads) that why the 3570k out performs the FX 8150 so dramacitically. The piledrivers have slightly improved on this though, to be close to the 3570k.

Intel win's on most CPU front's as there Processors are threaded well and overclock really well.
Unless the 8350 was £30 cheaper the 3570k is the obvious choice..

Not to mention intels motherboard chipsets are a lot better.

Also, games will never use '8 cores' let alone '4 cores'..

 

[KingMe]

I won't be OCing for a while, so I'm cool to get that at a later date, right?

EDIT: That cooler, I mean. Sorry.

 

[KingMe]

Why is that, do you think? Is there a case for Intel over AMD here?

Firstly, the AMD doesn't really have 8-core's. They re-defined the mean of 'Core' so they could brand thier flagship as an 8-core rather than a Hex-core (which it is really) Its not much different to the Phenom X 6 1090T.

The Bulldozers are Badly threaded (CPU's use cores and threads) that why the 3570k out performs the FX 8150 so dramacitically. The piledrivers have slightly improved on this though, to be close to the 3570k.

Intel win's on most CPU front's as there Processors are threaded well and overclock really well.
Unless the 8350 was £30 cheaper the 3570k is the obvious choice..

Not to mention intels motherboard chipsets are a lot better.

Also, games will never use '8 cores' let alone '4 cores'..

[/QUOTE]

Intel it is, then! Thanks for clearing that up.