Out of the Loop - New Build ~$1000

D

djlenoir

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 15, 2002
Messages
371
I used to do a pretty current on technology trends thanks to [H] and a few other regular technology review sites. Now that I am married with children and my work responsibilities have increased, I just don't seem to have the time to stay current. I have not put together a new build in the last five years.

My mother-in-law asked me to build her a new computer recently. I started to look into what is available today and realized that everything has changed. So, I am going to ask for the [H] communities help in recommending some of the best parts available for a new system.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
The computer will be used primarily for photo and movie editing. She uses GimpShop for photo editing. She has a really high end DSLR camera that she takes very high quality photos with. She is really into that kind of thing. Of course, she will also use it to run Office, web browsing and the rest, but the heavy lifting will be the media editing stuff. She does not play games except for the occasional flash based web game. She also watches Netflix and Hulu on her computer.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Would like to keep it right around $1000, but flexible if it means spending a little more for a significant performance improvement.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
San Antonio, Texas

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.
Case (Front USB 3.0, no bling please), PSU, CPU, RAM, GPU, SSD (Boot), HDD (Data), Optical Drive, Cooling for Case and CPU (Quiet)

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?
No

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
22" 1920x1080 (HDMI)

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
7-14 days

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit)

Please let me know if there is anything else I can provide. As much as I am doing this for her, I am also using this as an opportunity to get familiar with the current market.
 
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You mentioned movie editing... what program(s) does your mother-in-law use? Which file format(s)?
 
tiraides said:
You mentioned movie editing... what program(s) does your mother-in-law use? Which file format(s)?
Click to expand...

Great question. I think she uses a combination of software. I believe that she uses Microsoft Movie Maker for quick stuff like family videos, and uses Adobe Premiere Pro for more professional stuff like when she is editing stuff for the church, etc.
 
Oh, and if it helps, I am in Minneapolis, MN this week, so I am near a Micro Center this week.
 
That's great. Grab the following from Micro Center:

$190 - Intel Core i5-3570K (in-store special)
$45 - MSI Z77A-G41 (instant $50 discount when purchased alongside i5-3570K)
$90 - Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD
$17 - Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE SATA DVD burner
$60 - Corsair 200R

Grab the rest from Amazon:

$235 - Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD
$96 - Corsair Vengeance LP 2x8GB DDR3 1600 CL10 kit
$70 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W PSU (does not come with a power cord)
$26 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus (optional)

Total - $803 (not including the Hyper 212 Plus or any shipping costs, taxes, or other fees)

A few quick notes:

- The i5-3570K's sale price and combo deal makes it a better choice than the i7-3770K, which is what we normally recommend for heavy video editing. But the i5-3570K is no slouch in that department.

- The embedded Intel HD4000 GPU (in the i5-3570K) is all that your mother needs for everyday use. A video card is only really needed if your mother uses Premiere Pro heavily and has either CS5 or CS6. CS5 performs GPU rendering with Nvidia cards, but I believe that CS6 performs better with ATI/AMD cards (although it can still use Nvidia cards for GPU rendering).

- If the price of the SSD really bothers you, you can drop down to the "plain" 840. But the 840 Pro's performance justifies its higher cost.

- A reminder: The Antec NEO ECO 620C comes with no AC cable. Reuse your old one.

- Again, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus is optional. The stock Intel HSF isn't that loud during normal use (though you can hear it when the processor is running a heavy load).
 
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tiraides said:
- If the price of the SSD really bothers you, you can drop down to the "plain" 840. But the 840 Pro's performance justifies its higher cost.
Click to expand...

Could you explain a little bit why the Samsung Pro is so highly recommended around here for double the cost. Is it all about the bump from ~260 MB/s write to ~500 MB/s write?
 
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Also, if she's doing a lot of video editing wouldn't a better recommend be an i7 to use hyper threading and all 8 cores?

Video editing seems to be about the only reason to recommend the i7 over the i5.
 
Maverick1337 said:
Could you explain a little bit why the Samsung Pro is so highly recommended around here for double the cost. Is it all about the bump from ~260 MB/s write to ~500 MB/s write?
Click to expand...
Double the cost? The Samsung 840 250GB only costs $63 less than the Samsung 840 Pro. So your math is a bit off. No it is not all about the bump from "~260 MB/s write to ~500 MB/s write". That exta $63 is justified for the following reasons:
1) The Samsung 840 uses TLC NAND which is slower and has a lower lifespan than the MLC Flash used by the Samsung 840 Pro and most other SSDs. Now while the TLC should still last long for the average user, we prefer to err on the side of caution for enthusiasts considering they will push the system more than others
2) Better random read/write performance. This is what gives the SSD their "snappiness" feel.
3) Higher overall performance in most categories/usage scenarios.
Augster said:
Also, if she's doing a lot of video editing wouldn't a better recommend be an i7 to use hyper threading and all 8 cores?
Click to expand...
It would be better. The Core i7 3770K is only $90 more than the Core i5 3570K from Microcenter
 
Tremendous thank you for this information. I will go with the i7 for the extra cycles while editing videos. At Micro Center now picking up parts... man I love this store!
 
I dont think you would get the $40 off with the i7 though. It only applies to the i5 and i3
 
You are both right. Ended up costing me $100 more. The MSI Z77A-G41 was $85 and they had the ASUS P8Z77-V Pro for $20 more ($105). Hopefully that was a good decision. I also picked up Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB kit DDR3 1600 CL9 @ 1.5V (BLS2CP8G3D1609DS1S00) for $90. If I made a bad call on motherboard or RAM, please let me know because I can return it.
 
I decided to post the final build. The total damage (including tax and shipping where applicable) was $1061.28. I ended up trying to stick to the suggested parts, but I have to pay tax at Amazon so I went with Newegg for parts to shave off a few dollars. Besides the already mentioned changes, I went with a TOP-800WS power supply that I am not familiar with (Brand) but cost less with higher specs (generally good ratings). I also upgraded to a 3TB HDD, still Seagate, and two highly rated ASUS burners for a couple dollars more each. I also picked up some new thermal compound as I could not find my AS5.

Thanks again for the guidance! Now to get this put together...

Micro Center
$230 - Intel Core i7-3770K
$105 - ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$235 - Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD
$90 - Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600

Newegg
$60 - Corsair Carbide Series 200R Mid Tower Computer Case
$30 - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 CPU Cooler
$20 - ARCTIC MX-4 Carbon-Based Thermal Compound
$140 - Seagate Barracuda STBD3000100 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache Internal Hard Drive
$60 - TOPOWER TOP-800WS 800W 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$40 - 2 x ASUS 24X DVD Burner SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
 
I know this is after-the-fact nitpicking, but who suggested the PSU for you? And why did you go with two DVD burners?
 
Return that PSU. There's no way in hell can it deliver 800W of power while costing $60 to $70. Unless you read a review from any of the listed proper PSU review sites here, user reviews in regards to power supplies mean little.

Go get the PSU Tiraides originally recommended.
 
tiraides said:
I know this is after-the-fact nitpicking, but who suggested the PSU for you? And why did you go with two DVD burners?
Click to expand...

The PSU was sort of an impulse buy as Newegg had it on sale for $50 off. Normally, the PSU sells for $110. The limited research I did seemed to indicate that Topower was the manufacturer for other well known brands, such as OCZ and Mushkin.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817342033

I may end up returning the PSU and just picked up the recommended one for $10 more. One of the things that made me hesitate was that I could not find it on newegg and I have to pay tax on Amazon. It looks like that PSU is discontinued?

The reason for dual DVD burners is direct disc duplication.
 
djlenoir said:
The PSU was sort of an impulse buy as Newegg had it on sale for $50 off. Normally, the PSU sells for $110. The limited research I did seemed to indicate that Topower was the manufacturer for other well known brands, such as OCZ and Mushkin..
Click to expand...
Limited research and PSUs do not go together.

djlenoir said:
I may end up returning the PSU and just picked up the recommended one for $10 more. One of the things that made me hesitate was that I could not find it on newegg and I have to pay tax on Amazon. It looks like that PSU is discontinued?
Click to expand...
It's starting to get discontinued. If you want to avoid Amazon, try out these PSUs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151096
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013
 
djlenoir said:
The PSU was sort of an impulse buy as Newegg had it on sale for $50 off. Normally, the PSU sells for $110. The limited research I did seemed to indicate that Topower was the manufacturer for other well known brands, such as OCZ and Mushkin.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817342033

I may end up returning the PSU and just picked up the recommended one for $10 more. One of the things that made me hesitate was that I could not find it on newegg and I have to pay tax on Amazon. It looks like that PSU is discontinued?
Click to expand...

Actually, Topower used to manufacture PSUs. But not any more: That particular PSU is just Topower-branded, not Topower-manufactured. In fact, it is actually manufactured by Andyson, a company that has never been above mediocre in my book (as far as PSU quality is concerned).
 
Changing gears a little bit. Newegg had the Crucial Ballistix Sport 16gb kits in sale today so I bought three of them. I want to build a high end machine used for an assortment of stuff, but building virtual labs for work and learning will be a big part. I was looking at 2011 based motherboards today and am wondering if it is worth it to get one now, or wait a bit? I read a little today about some new CPUs coming out for 2011 socket that will have 6 cores. Anyone have any suggestions?

Oh, I know I need another kit to max the RAM at 64gb, but there was a limit of three. I will pick up another kit later. Also, my current rig is in my signature.
 
djlenoir said:
Changing gears a little bit. Newegg had the Crucial Ballistix Sport 16gb kits in sale today so I bought three of them. I want to build a high end machine used for an assortment of stuff, but building virtual labs for work and learning will be a big part. I was looking at 2011 based motherboards today and am wondering if it is worth it to get one now, or wait a bit? I read a little today about some new CPUs coming out for 2011 socket that will have 6 cores. Anyone have any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Whether or not to go with socket 2011 right now is largely dependent on your needs. If you need a new PC badly, then yes, go for socket 2011 now. Unfortunately dates for Ivy Bridge-E, the Ivy Bridge based CPUs for socket 2011, have not been confirmed. So far, I've seen Q4 2013 as the earliest release date for Ivy Bridge-E. However, do note that there is already a six-core CPU available for socket 2011: the $540 Core i7 3930K. So you can get a six-core Intel right now. Just in case you're wondering, what Ivy Bridge-E will bring to the table will be 3-5% higher clock for clock performance, slightly lower power use per core, and the possibility of of up to 8 to 12 core CPUs.
djlenoir said:
Also, my current rig is in my signature.
Click to expand...
There's no signature.
 
Interesting, I guess if you use the mobile version of the site to post it does not include your signature. I logged onto my laptop to post this so the signature would show up.

Thanks for the information Danny. I will wait until the end of year then and start picking up other parts for the new system build that will not really change much between now and then, like the RAM. As far as you know though, DDR3 will still be the standard with the new Ivy Bridge-E processors?
 
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