Help me build a fast and efficient computer

[MaxLOL]

If you're gonna ask us to build/list a PC for you or seek advice about a build, please answer all of the following questions:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I will be using the PC for light photoshop and video encoding (encoding/burning DVDs) along with playing movies and browsing the web.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
My budget is flexible I am willing to spend money to make myself happy. The key factor in this build for me is performance. I would like it to be very fast and efficient.


3) Where do you live?
Illinois

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
The only part I have right now is a monitor. An HDTV. I will need everything down to mice/keyboard.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I am using a TCLS37S1 LCD TV for my monitor.

6) Will you be overclocking?
With my usage I don't think overclocking will be necessary.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
37"

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
As soon as I get the list of parts I want picked out. I have the money in the bank right now.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

Crossfire/SLI should not be necessary as I do not game.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
I plan on trying out Linux and will also purchase a copy of win 7 which should not be included in this build I will find it separately.

I need help trying to decide on parts and get 'bang for my buck' with a system. This will be my first build.
I found this guide here but it is designed for a gaming system and I will not be using this for gaming at all. Ultimately I just want the CPU to be fast and efficent. Thanks for taking a look guys I really appreciate the help.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-gpu-overclock,2659.html

EDIT: I got some extra money and I can put up around 850 give or take I plan on getting an i7 930 @ microcenter for 200.

 

[MaxLOL]

I think taking some ques from this thread will be pretty relevant for me. It seems as though a lot of scrutiny went into the build

 

[tiraides]

Give us a set limit, and define "light Photoshop."

Which types of video formats will you be using for your "editing"?

Why omit the cost of a copy of Windows when you have enough money for a complete build?

 

[MaxLOL]

Give us a set limit, and define "light Photoshop."

Which types of video formats will you be using for your "editing"?

Why omit the cost of a copy of Windows when you have enough money for a complete build?

Light photoshop includes just editing photos nothing major by any means. Encoding DVD format videos backing them up etc. I omitted the price for a copy of windows because I wasn't considering it when considering hardware. Thanks for looking

 

[tiraides]

This is not the cheapest "bang per buck" build possible here, but it's still a good system.

$100 - Antec VSK-2000 & Antec NEO ECO 620C combo (free shipping on PSU)
$260 - AMD Phenom II X4 945 & Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H combo (free shipping on both)
$82 - Geil GV34GB1333C9DC 2x2GB DDR3 1333 dual channel kit (free shipping)
$75 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB HDD (free shipping)
$18 - Asus GH22NS40 SATA DVD burner (free shipping)
$100 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM DVD (free shipping)
=====
$635 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

Though there are cheaper motherboards available, the one that I selected has an onboard GPU (with an onboard HDMI port), USB 3.0 and SATA III (6.0Gb/s), and dual x8 CrossFire (for ATI cards). I know the last part isn't really important to you, but it's a nice option to have should you decide to make this system a gaming machine later on.

 

[MaxLOL]

This is not the cheapest "bang per buck" build possible here, but it's still a good system.

$100 - Antec VSK-2000 & Antec NEO ECO 620C combo (free shipping on PSU)
$260 - AMD Phenom II X4 945 & Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H combo (free shipping on both)
$82 - Geil GV34GB1333C9DC 2x2GB DDR3 1333 dual channel kit (free shipping)
$75 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB HDD (free shipping)
$18 - Asus GH22NS40 SATA DVD burner (free shipping)
$100 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM DVD (free shipping)
=====
$635 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

Though there are cheaper motherboards available, the one that I selected has an onboard GPU (with an onboard HDMI port), USB 3.0 and SATA III (6.0Gb/s), and dual x8 CrossFire (for ATI cards). I know the last part isn't really important to you, but it's a nice option to have should you decide to make this system a gaming machine later on.

This look really solid thank you!

The only thing I am not sold on would be the RAM. I didn't need to include the copy of Win 7 in the price of the build for the CPU so maybe I could spend a bit extra. Thank you very much everything else looks super solid and this would give me a little bit of room to grow if I found that I would like to do a bit of gaming thank you so much.

 

[MaxLOL]

Well it looks like I have a fermented budget. I can put up about 850 dollars and can go outside of that if I need to but I think I should be able to be real happy if I stay inside of that. I am going to go up to chicago on the 25th and grab an i7 930 for two hundred. If i can get some suggestions with the new price point I would appreciate it!

 

[Dangman]

What exactly did you mean by "efficient"?

Also your $800 budget is not enough for a Core i7 930 build, even if you're gonna get it for $200.

 

[MaxLOL]

What exactly did you mean by "efficient"?

Also your $800 budget is not enough for a Core i7 930 build, even if you're gonna get it for $200.

oh

What price range would you say I needed to be in? I suppose efficient meant that the computer wasn't slow which is fairly redundant. I don't want to sacrifice anything as I plan on keeping this for 3-4 years and want it to be able to last at least that long. I have a buddy looking over my shoulder that is screaming i7930 and gtx260/460. All these choices make my head spin.

 

[Dangman]

oh

What price range would you say I needed to be in? I suppose efficient meant that the computer wasn't slow which is fairly redundant. I don't want to sacrifice anything as I plan on keeping this for 3-4 years and want it to be able to last at least that long. I have a buddy looking over my shoulder that is screaming i7930 and gtx260/460. All these choices make my head spin.

You're not doing any gaming or doing any heavy amount of video editing with Adobe CS5 so zero reason for GTX 260 or the 460. If your buddy has any good reason why YOU need a GTX 260 or GTX 460, I would be happy to hear them.

Oh and I made a mistake: $800 is enough since for some odd reason you're not factoring in the cost of the OS. I mean, with OS, technically your budget would be $900.

Anyway, $800 Core i7 930 build is doable ONLY if you can get the CPU for $200:
$200 - Intel Core i7 930 CPU
$165 - ASRock X58 Extreme Intel X58 ATX Motherboard
$135 - G.Skill F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ 3 x 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$40 - XFX HD-545X-YNH2 Radeon HD 5450 512MB PCI-E Video Card
$75 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$18 - LG GH22NS40 DVD Burner
$70 - Cooler Master CM690 II ATX Case
$75 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W PSU
---
Total: $778 plus tax and shipping.

Add another $100 for the OS.

 

[tiraides]

Not to discount Danny's recommendations, but a Core i7/X58-based system is overkill for "light" photo editing and DVD ripping.

The two ways I could forsee you grabbing the Core i7 930 for $200 are you either buying it from Micro Center or getting it used. However, Micro Center won't have all of the same parts that NewEgg offers, so expect to spend considerably more if you buy parts from there.

Regarding your earlier response to my RAM selection, Geil is a good name-brand. Since you have no intention of overclocking and similar kits from G.Skill and Corsair cost a bit more, I went with the cheapest 4GB kit that NewEgg had available. That said, you could swap out the Geil kit with one of the aforementioned sets for a bit more.

 

[MaxLOL]

You're not doing any gaming or doing any heavy amount of video editing with Adobe CS5 so zero reason for GTX 260 or the 460. If your buddy has any good reason why YOU need a GTX 260 or GTX 460, I would be happy to hear them.

Oh and I made a mistake: $800 is enough since for some odd reason you're not factoring in the cost of the OS. I mean, with OS, technically your budget would be $900.

Anyway, $800 Core i7 930 build is doable ONLY if you can get the CPU for $200:
$200 - Intel Core i7 930 CPU
$165 - ASRock X58 Extreme Intel X58 ATX Motherboard
$135 - G.Skill F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ 3 x 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$40 - XFX HD-545X-YNH2 Radeon HD 5450 512MB PCI-E Video Card
$75 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$18 - LG GH22NS40 DVD Burner
$70 - Cooler Master CM690 II ATX Case
$75 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W PSU
---
Total: $778 plus tax and shipping.

Add another $100 for the OS.

I will def. be able to get the cpu for $200 I will be in chicago on the 25th to pick it up. The mobo makes me nervous as its only 1 year warranty.
Thanks for your time danny

Not to discount Danny's recommendations, but a Core i7/X58-based system is overkill for "light" photo editing and DVD ripping.

The two ways I could forsee you grabbing the Core i7 930 for $200 are you either buying it from Micro Center or getting it used. However, Micro Center won't have all of the same parts that NewEgg offers, so expect to spend considerably more if you buy parts from there.

Regarding your earlier response to my RAM selection, Geil is a good name-brand. Since you have no intention of overclocking and similar kits from G.Skill and Corsair cost a bit more, I went with the cheapest 4GB kit that NewEgg had available. That said, you could swap out the Geil kit with one of the aforementioned sets for a bit more.

I plan on just getting the cpu from microcenter as i will be in the area for business and can order the rest. I think that the i7 probably is overkill but it will leave some breathing room for me and from what I understand it performs better with cpu stress tasks like video encoding (i could be wrong). I wasn't discrediting anything you suggested I really appreciate you taking the time to write up the suggestion.

 

[Dangman]

Not to discount Danny's recommendations, but a Core i7/X58-based system is overkill for "light" photo editing and DVD ripping..

Totally agree with you actually. But did the build anyway just for the hell of it.

I will def. be able to get the cpu for $200 I will be in chicago on the 25th to pick it up. The mobo makes me nervous as its only 1 year warranty.
Thanks for your time danny

Well if you want better mobo or one with a longer warranty, that's another $45:
$210 - Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 ATX Motherboard

 

[MaxLOL]

While I do have the money I don't need to throw it away. If you think something would be better suited for me I would really appreciate your insight.

I have been using Macs for the last 10 years and am not used to so many options and am used to paying a lot lol.

Forgive my naive understanding of things as well as my indecisiveness. I am just not used to so many options. Ultimately I would like my money to be well spent and if I don'tt need the i7 I would like to know what would be better suited. Thanks again I really appreciate the help.