Mid-range gaming / photoshop build help

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PinataUT

Gawd
Joined
Aug 9, 2004
Messages
775
Thanks for the help!

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
Gaming, photoshop (CS3 at the moment, but likely CS5 soon). Some video in the future?

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$1300, not counting shipping.

3) Where do you live?

PA - under 2 miles from Microcenter. I've had good experiences with Newegg. Directron seems to be making an effort to be on our boards, too.

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.

CPU (2600k from MC?)
CPU COOLER (air?)
MOBO (Gigabyte UD4?)
RAM (16G of cheapie RAM - 8 to start I guess... be nice to set up RAM disk or high-speed swap or whatever in RAM?))
CASE (something easier to work in than my Antec 900... that big Corsair looks huge - MC has it on sale)
GPU (likely KISS single card solution)
PSU (my 4 year old power supply from build in my sig gets replaced)
BR reader (might get a burner at some point, but don't need it now)
BOOT DRIVE (SSD - 64 or 128?)
DATA DRIVE (couple 2 TB drives - spinpoints?)
front loader hotswap bays?

Not part of my budget above
anti-virus
keyboard
'decent' gaming mouse

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

maybe some data drives. I've got some 1.5 WD greenies sitting around.
I can probably cannibalize my 8800 GTS for physics? I might just keep the rig in my sig intact as a hand-me-down

6) Will you be overclocking?

Yes, I'd like to get it to 4.3-4.5 stable 24/7. Air. Maybe the Corsair H50 if that pump is reliable (it has a pump, right?)

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

24" 19*20. I don't plan on getting a 30" any time soon. I sometimes run a 2nd monitor when playing poker or working.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

within the next 2 weeks or so

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.

It would be nice to have an e-SATA front port, thought I guess that's a case issue...

USB 3 would be nice.

SLI capable maybe?

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

Yes I have a new legit Win7 HP 64-bit license in a box I can use. I think. And if I don't, well, I don't need to put that in the 1300 budget above.
 
Last edited:
Please don't use Dark Red. It's very hard to read.


$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
$185 - Asus P8P87 Pro Intel P67 ATX Motherboard
$90 - G.Skill Ripjaws F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$240 - PowerColor AX6870 1GBD5-M2DH Radeon HD 6870 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$122 - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SSD
$100 - Samsung Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$40 - Lite-On iHOS104-06 Blu-ray Reader SATA Drive
$110 - Corsair 750TX 750W PSU
---
Total: $917 plus tax and shipping.

Choose your own case:
$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 ATX Case
$80 - Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$80 - Cooler Master CM690 II Basic ATX Case
$80 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58 ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K56 ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-60FN ATX Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$160 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Case (US Shipping Factored in) (Fill in the ++++ with "N C I X" without the spaces)
$160 - Fractal Design Define R3 Titanium ATX Case (US Shipping Factored in) (Fill in the ++++ with "N C I X" without the spaces)
$160 - Fractal Design Define R3 Silver ATX Case (US Shipping Factored in) (Fill in the ++++ with "N C I X" without the spaces)
$160 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$200 - Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$200 - Lian Li PC-B25F ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$240 - Lian Li PC-A71F Black ATX Case
$300 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case
$330 - Silverstone Temjin SST-TJ07B Full Tower ATX Case
 
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Sweet, thanks, Danny!

Dark red: doh.

That 212 cooler won't need clips for 1155 since it is already for 1156, right?
 
PinataUT said:
Thanks, Danny.
Couple quick notes in case people read other build threads (I do):
the n c i x cases are $99 from $160. I wasn't able to check shipping charges, though.
Click to expand...

Shipping to the U.S is a bitch: It really is $160: $100 + $60 shipping from ++++.com. Since that was the cheapest shipping option available and those cases do not come with free shipping, I decided to just list the actual price just to make things even.
 
Ok, cool. I thought they were normally 160 + shipping.

My brother was very impressed that I could get a build that met my needs, provided balance (e.g. ssd size, gpu cost), and on my target budget. I'd been showing him some of the threads anticipating the SB release.

Congrats on being a moderator - I don't think I chimed in on the attaboy threads.
 
Looks like I've got an excellent chance of running CS5 on this build. So I'd like to go NVIDIA.

Any recommendations? I'd be willing to go to $300 if need be, chalking up the difference to the many expenses that bleed out from photography.

Will this impact my power requirements?

How much hotter / power will this consume going from the 6870?

And for PSU, is that one modular? If I get that Corsair 600 case, will it have a lot of room for extra non-modular cables to be out of the way?

(I had a delay in getting funds, but freed up a bit more.)
 
Adobe lists the GTX 470 as one of the cards that can perform CUDA-enable GPU acceleration, but IIRC, there was a way for someone to use the 1GB GTX 460 as well. (Off the top of my head, I believe that Adobe CS5 required at least 768MB of GDDR memory for "smooth" operation.) As the best compromise between price and performance I recommend a used GTX 470 over a new GTX 460.

As for power requirements, a good power supply with at least 50A of power in the 12V rail(s) is recommended for the GTX 470 or greater (GTX 480, 570, or 580). Danny's choice, the Corsair TX750, has more than enough power for your needs. A few good, modular choices are:

$120 - Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W PSU
$130 - XFX Black Edition P1-750B-CAG9 750W PSU
$145 - Corsair CMPSU-750HX 750W PSU
$145 - Enermax Liberty Eco II ELT720AWT-ECO_II 720W PSU
 
tiraides said:
As the best compromise between price and performance I recommend a used GTX 470 over a new GTX 460.

$145 - Corsair CMPSU-750HX 750W PSU
Click to expand...

I think I'm just going to grab a new 470 and the Corsair power supply. I'm probably going to find room for a 128 GB SSD so I've got a little more room for programs.

Thanks!
 
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