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New Desktop build

S

skhuu

n00b
Joined
Apr 28, 2009
Messages
29
I'm looking to replace a gaming laptop with a new desktop.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming and photography
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1000, tax and shipping not included.
3) Where do you live?
Philadelphia, There's a Microcenter nearby.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
New build: Will need CPU, RAM, Motherboard, HDD, DVD drive (maybe a Bluray player?), video card, case, power supply. I prefer Intel over AMD, but will take suggestions. Any advice/comments on SSD?
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Not necessary.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I already have a 24in monitor.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
Standard is fine.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7 Pro 64 bit. This is not included in the price.


Looking forward to the builds.
 
Are you using Photoshop CS4 or CS5? Are you using any of the other Adobe CS4 or CS5 programs?

What's the ratio of gaming to photography?

Which games are you playing? Plan to play?
 
Only plan on using Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended. In regards to the ratio between gaming to photography, I would have to say 90% more gaming then photography. As of right now I play a lot of WoW, which I know isn't the heaviest resource user. However there are a few games that I've been checking out, like Crysis 2 that I would like to be able to play.
 
Others are better at listing parts than I am -- I much more like to distill advice in paragraph form. Here, advice is to jump on the Sandy Bridge bandwagon. i7 2500 or 2600 and a nice motherboard. Boards are just about getting back in stock after the SATA hick-up, so you can take your pick from an array of ASUS, Gigabyte, or MSI boards to fit your needs and budget. If you do decide you want to overclock one day, get the K edition of the CPU.

On the SSD front -- what are you planning on using it for? How large do you want to go? Drives with third generation controllers and 25nm NAND chips should be coming out this week. This is good news, as they'll be faster and cheaper (price per GB) than their predecessors. If you can, hold out on an SSD purchase until you see Micron/Crucial C400s, Intel 510s, and OCZ Vertex 3s in stock. Do you plan on using Lightroom with your photography? Keeping your catalog on an SSD is a sure fire way to supercharge your Lightroom experience.
 
Actually, as I mentioned once, Photoshop benefits more from more RAM and a larger, faster HDD than a faster CPU. Premiere Pro CS5, on the other hand, benefits as much with a faster CPU as it does with faster or greater RAM.
 
My original plan for the SSD was to put the OS on it for fast load times and possibly some games. Never even crossed my mind to possibly use it for the photos. I'll have to keep that in mind, however right now I think I'm going to wait on prices for a SSD and just get a traditional HD for the time being.
 
Last edited:
Gonna post two slightly different setups:

Non-overclocking:
$159 - Core i5 2400 from Microcenter (tax factored in already)
$118 - MSI H67MS-E43 (B3) Intel H67 mATX Motherboard
$80 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$65 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$60 - LG Black UH10LS20 Blu-ray DVD Reader
$270 - MSI R6950-2PM2D2GD5 Radeon HD 6950 2GB PCI-E Video Card
$80 - Antec Truepower New TP-650 650W PSU
---
Total: $832 plus shipping

Overclocking:
$190 - Core i5 2500K from Microcenter (tax factored in already)
$133 - Asus P8P67-M PRO/CSM Intel P67 mATX Motherboard
$80 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$65 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$60 - LG Black UH10LS20 Blu-ray DVD Reader
$270 - MSI R6950-2PM2D2GD5 Radeon HD 6950 2GB PCI-E Video Card
$80 - Antec Truepower New TP-650 650W PSU
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
---
Total: $906 plus shipping

Choose your own case for either setup:
$80 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58 ATX Case
$80 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W ATX Case
$90 - NZXT Tempest Evo TEVO-001BK ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K56 ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
$100 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$106 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$165 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
 
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