Spec me please

BoredMatt · 27 Jun 2011 at 14:04

Hi everyone,

I'm building a machine for a friend who is currently using an ancient HP tower (think: bargain DELL, to get an idea of quality)

Somehow he uses this machine to edit photos (including RAW files), but it's finally giving up.

I was going to suggest a quad-core i5 (3.10GHz), but am acutely aware that these are quite a step up from the dual core i3's in terms of price. Does anyone have any opinions on what would suit the pic editing requirements?

Obviously, anything is better than the system he currently has, but I wanted to future proof it as much as possible..

Here's what I was looking at:

Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail [BX80623I52400]
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C7 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3P1333LV4GK) [OCZ3P1333LV4GK ]
LG GH22NS70 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM [GH22NS70]
MSI H61M-P23 Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard **B3 REVISION**
OCUK EZCool NA-705 Case - Black (500w PSU)
Cooler Master Elite Power 500W Power Supply [RS500-PSARJ3-UK]
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) [HD103SJ]
MSI GeForce 8400GS 512MB SILENT GDDR3 "Low Profile" PCI-Express Graphics Card

Total cost of the above is £340.73 (edit: miscalculated. It's actually 365), which I don't think is too bad. What are thoughts on the mobo and RAM?

Thanks!

Edit: I'll be using Windows 7, and I realise the case comes with a PSU, but I'd rather not use a nameless one..

Pickman · 27 Jun 2011 at 14:09

Do you have a budget? £340 is not a large amount and every penny counts at this end of the spectrum.

BoredMatt · 27 Jun 2011 at 14:14

Pickman said:
Do you have a budget? £340 is not a large amount and every penny counts at this end of the spectrum.

Sorry, I miscalculated. It'd actually be £365.

I suppose, including a windows 7 license, the absolute limit is £500.

Which components would you replace?

Cheers.

Pickman · 27 Jun 2011 at 14:36

As far as I am aware photo editing uses lots of CPU power and very little GPU power. I think putting extra cash into the CPU and using onboard graphics is probably the best bet:

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Asrock Z68 PRO3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £105.98
(£88.32) £105.98
(£88.32)
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
(£57.00) £68.40
(£57.00)
Options applied to the above product:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)
OCZ StealthXStream 2 500W Power Supply £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
(£25.82) £30.98
(£25.82)
Cooler Master Elite 335 Case - Black £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £407.76
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £84.05
Total : £504.31

stulid · 27 Jun 2011 at 15:11

Pickman said:
As far as I am aware photo editing uses lots of CPU power and very little GPU power. I think putting extra cash into the CPU and using onboard graphics is probably the best bet:

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Asrock Z68 PRO3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £105.98
(£88.32) £105.98
(£88.32)
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
(£57.00) £68.40
(£57.00)
Options applied to the above product:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)
OCZ StealthXStream 2 500W Power Supply £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
(£25.82) £30.98
(£25.82)
Cooler Master Elite 335 Case - Black £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £407.76
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £84.05
Total : £504.31

Thats very very good.

BoredMatt · 27 Jun 2011 at 16:40

Pickman said:
As far as I am aware photo editing uses lots of CPU power and very little GPU power. I think putting extra cash into the CPU and using onboard graphics is probably the best bet:

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Asrock Z68 PRO3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £105.98
(£88.32) £105.98
(£88.32)
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
(£57.00) £68.40
(£57.00)
Options applied to the above product:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)
OCZ StealthXStream 2 500W Power Supply £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
(£25.82) £30.98
(£25.82)
Cooler Master Elite 335 Case - Black £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £407.76
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £84.05
Total : £504.31

Thanks for the advice!

I was going for the mATX to try to get a smaller case, but the difference between the two is very minimal.

BoredMatt · 27 Jun 2011 at 17:17

Pickman said:
As far as I am aware photo editing uses lots of CPU power and very little GPU power. I think putting extra cash into the CPU and using onboard graphics is probably the best bet:

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Asrock Z68 PRO3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £105.98
(£88.32) £105.98
(£88.32)
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
(£57.00) £68.40
(£57.00)
Options applied to the above product:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)
OCZ StealthXStream 2 500W Power Supply £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
(£25.82) £30.98
(£25.82)
Cooler Master Elite 335 Case - Black £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £407.76
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £84.05
Total : £504.31

Sorry, one more thing:

The asrock z68 pro3 motherboard.. how does that compare to the Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H? They seem to be fairly similar, apart from the gigabyte one having more SATA2, some SATA3 and an esata port. Only 4 quid more too. Edit: And HDMI.