Spec me for £525

toffee_paul

toffee_paul

toffee_paul

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7 Mar 2007
Posts
26
Hi guys, i'm looking to build a new business PC and have a limit of £525 tops.

Primary uses are HD video editing, editing Photoshop/Illustrator files etc. So CPU, RAM and hard drive are very important.

Here's what I need:
  • CPU: Very fast, prefererably the Intel Core i5 3570K
  • Mobo: Solid, reliable and must have USB 3.0
  • RAM: 8GM RAM, solid and reliable.
  • SSD: Samsung 120GB SSD 840
  • Cheapest PSU possible that won't give me power problems!
  • Cheapest case that has USB 3.0.

No OS, graphics card, monitor, keyboard or mouse required.

Also, am I right in thinking the built in Intel HD graphics will be just as good as a dedicated graphics card for actually encoding the HD video and loading displaying large Photoshop files? All encoding is done by using the CPU/RAM right?

Thanks guys!
 
toffee_paul said:
Hi guys, i'm looking to build a new business PC and have a limit of £525 tops.

Primary uses are HD video editing, editing Photoshop/Illustrator files etc. So CPU, RAM and hard drive are very important.

Here's what I need:
  • CPU: Very fast, prefererably the Intel Core i5 3570K
  • Mobo: Solid, reliable and must have USB 3.0
  • RAM: 8GM RAM, solid and reliable.
  • SSD: Samsung 120GB SSD 840
  • Cheapest PSU possible that won't give me power problems!
  • Cheapest case that has USB 3.0.

No OS, graphics card, monitor, keyboard or mouse required.

Also, am I right in thinking the built in Intel HD graphics will be just as good as a dedicated graphics card for actually encoding the HD video and loading displaying large Photoshop files? All encoding is done by using the CPU/RAM right?

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

Your 6950 will do you for now, some of the work load will be passed over to the GPU, in fact depending on what you are doing quite a lot of it will. Let me fire up a spec, good budget given what is required, probably fit an i7 in there, manybe.

Little bit over budget but for video encoding and stuff an i7 is going to do far better than an i5 however if you are doing heavy photoshop you will probably want 16gb of RAM rather than 8GB. You would need to scrape another 75 for the case, I guess you are using the old HDD for mass storage?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £269.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £79.99
1 x Patriot Viper Xtreme 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PXD38G1600LLK) £43.99
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
Total : £529.91 (includes shipping : £10.00).



or this, cheaper, has more RAM + i5. With nearly £100 left over for case and anything else you want. The reason for the non k i5, it's an extra £30 and what you get is a fully unlocked multiplier, normally I would not reccomend that to anyone but seems overclocking is mainly a gamers thing. If you want the K version fire on, still plenty of budget left.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £169.99
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD316GB1600C11DC) **OcUK Exclusive** £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £79.99
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
Total : £475.91 (includes shipping : £10.00).



EDIT: Fixed RAM, was 1333 not 1600
 
Last edited:
Intel i5,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £199.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £79.99
1 x Zalman Z9 USB 3.0 Midi Tower Case - Black £54.98
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x BitFenix Internal USB 3.0 Adapter £7.99
Total : £481.00 (includes shipping : £11.75).



Intel i7,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £269.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £79.99
1 x Zalman Z9 USB 3.0 Midi Tower Case - Black £54.98
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x BitFenix Internal USB 3.0 Adapter £7.99
Total : £550.99 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 
Ta da!
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £199.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD128BW) £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Seasonic G series 450w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £69.98
1 x Patriot Viper Xtreme 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PXD38G1600LLK) £43.99
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - Black £39.95
Total : £571.99 (includes shipping : £11.75).



Went with the pro version as i read its much faster than the non pro, a bit more expensive tho. With regards the case its the cheapst one i can find with a usb3 on it but do you really need it on the case? Whats wrong with just useing the back of the mobo? I personally only use the mobo as i feel its more direct so presume its better but i dont know if thats true or not its just my logic lol
 
Incrauze said:
Intel i5,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £199.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £79.99
1 x Zalman Z9 USB 3.0 Midi Tower Case - Black £54.98
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x BitFenix Internal USB 3.0 Adapter £7.99
Total : £481.00 (includes shipping : £11.75).



Intel i7,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £269.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £79.99
1 x Zalman Z9 USB 3.0 Midi Tower Case - Black £54.98
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x BitFenix Internal USB 3.0 Adapter £7.99
Total : £550.99 (includes shipping : £11.75).

Click to expand...

Forgot ram :P
 
 
I am not sure the built in intel GPU will cut it, you might see some lag with huge ass files, not sure though.

It's a shame the A10 trinity is no where near as fast as the i5, if it was it would be perfect for the task of video/photo editing due to having a bit more graphics power.
 
Ok thanks for these specs guys.

The definates I need are the 3570K, and the 120GB SSD.

I think Incrauze's last spec for £524.99 is the one I'm going to go for as it's closet to the price limit. I would have loved the Samsung SSD Pro but it would take me way over budget.

I'm willing to take a chance on the built in graphics. If I need upgrade this I can do it at a later date.

Why is the BitFenix USB 3.0 Adapter required? If the Zalman case is USB 3.0 already is this really needed?

Cheers,
Paul
 
YOUR BASKET
Total : (includes shipping : ).

This looks to be a good cheap one, with regards OEM v Retail i think the only difference is you dont get the heatsink, and as your buying an after market cooler you will be fine with the OEM :)
 
toffee_paul said:
Why is the BitFenix USB 3.0 Adapter required? If the Zalman case is USB 3.0 already is this really needed?
Click to expand...
The USB 3 adapter allows you to connect from the motherboard to the front USB 3 ports as the cable isn't provided

toffee_paul said:
Can someone recommend me a cheap cooler to go on top of the 3570K?
Click to expand...
YOUR BASKET
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
Total : £35.96 (includes shipping : £4.98).



toffee_paul said:
Also, what are the advantages of the retail chip over the OEM?
Click to expand...
OEM only has 1 year warranty, without stock cooler and comes without original packaging but Retail has 3 year warranty, with stock cooler and comes in original packaging
 
As I'd like to get the most of the the CPU, what do you guys think about this bundle? I'm not experienced in overclocking so this seems like a good idea as it comes pre-built with this heatsink/fan

Not sur on how good/fast the Intel RAM is but surely it can't be that different to the Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) (£43.99) ?

I've heard good things about the Gigabyte Z77-D3H but again, is this really needed if an overclock of 4.50GHz can be achieved with the mobo in this bundle?

Cheers,
Paul
 
toffee_paul said:
As I'd like to get the most of the the CPU, what do you guys think about this bundle?
Click to expand...
The Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure will be fine, it will overclock to around 4.5GHz

toffee_paul said:
ANot sur on how good/fast the Intel RAM is but surely it can't be that different to the Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) (£43.99) ?
Click to expand...
Just stick with the Corsair RAM

toffee_paul said:
I've heard good things about the Gigabyte Z77-D3H but again, is this really needed if an overclock of 4.50GHz can be achieved with the mobo in this bundle?
Click to expand...
4.5GHz is achievable with the Gigabyte motherboard depending on the CPU and temps
 
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