First Time Builder - How does this Look?

[purpleozzie]

I have decided to build my own as I am quite techy and it's a darn sight cheaper (but I've never built a computer before)..

It's going to be used mainly for editing digital photography..

What do you guys think? Is there anywhere that i've gone into overkill, are all the parts compatible and do you think I need the graphics card?

Case: Coolermaster Centurion 5 II Case with GX 550w PSU - £80
CPU: i7 2600, 1155 socket, 8mb cache 3.4ghz = £238
Mother Board: Asus P8P67 Pro = £143
RAM: G Skills 8gb ripjaws DDR3 (2x4gb) 1333MHz DIM PC3-10666 = £62
HDD: Western Digital 2tb Caviar SATAII 64MB Cache 3.5inch = £58.50
GPU: Nvidia GEFORCE 9500 GT 1GB PCI-Express Video Card = £48
Optical Drive: Sony AD 5260S 08 24x = £14
Monitor: Dell U2311 23inch IPS Monitor = £224

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by purpleozzie I have decided to build my own as I am quite techy and it's a darn sight cheaper (but I've never built a computer before).. It's going to be used mainly for editing digital photography.. What do you guys think? Is there anywhere that i've gone into overkill, are all the parts compatible and do you think I need the graphics card? Case: Coolermaster Centurion 5 II Case with GX 550w PSU - £80 CPU: i7 2600, 1155 socket, 8mb cache 3.4ghz = £238 Mother Board: Asus P8P67 Pro = £143 RAM: G Skills 8gb ripjaws DDR3 (2x4gb) 1333MHz DIM PC3-10666 = £62 HDD: Western Digital 2tb Caviar SATAII 64MB Cache 3.5inch = £58.50 GPU: Nvidia GEFORCE 9500 GT 1GB PCI-Express Video Card = £48 Optical Drive: Sony AD 5260S 08 24x = £14 Monitor: Dell U2311 23inch IPS Monitor = £224

That board does not support the on chip graphics so you either need to change to an h67 or z68(preferred) motherboard, or you can buy a graphics card. Stay away from gskill ram, go with corsair,kingston,adata, or crucial. I would recommend changing the hard drive to a caviar black sata III. The onboard graphics of the i7-2600k should do fine with photoshop, so if that was what I would be using the computer for I would go with the z68 board and the 2600k processor.

[purpleozzie]

Thanks for this..

What about the PSU do you think 550w is enough??

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by purpleozzie Thanks for this.. What about the PSU do you think 550w is enough??

The PSU that is in the case is probably crap, however if you run with the on chip graphics then it should be enough juice. If you decide you want to use a dedicated graphics card, or just want a better PSU for reliability then corsair(not builder series) or antec are the way to go.

BTW which rout do you think you will be going, on chip graphics or dedicated graphics card? If your doing on chip make sure you get the K version of the 2600 because the graphics are much better on it.

[glc]

I see a budget of about 650 quid for everything except the monitor - so here is my suggestion for that use:

CoolerMaster Centurion 5 II Black Mid Tower Case - No PSU | Ebuyer.com

Antec 520W High Current Gamer PSU - 80plus Bronze.. | Ebuyer.com

Asus P8Z68-V Socket 1155 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard | Ebuyer.com

Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache.. | Ebuyer.com

Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz CAS8 1.5V.. | Ebuyer.com

WD 500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6Gb/s Caviar Black Hard.. | Ebuyer.com (OS and apps)

WD 2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s Caviar Green Hard.. | Ebuyer.com (Storage)

LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW DL & RAM SATA.. | Ebuyer.com

EVGA GT 430 1GB DDR3 DVI HDMI HDTV out PCI-E Graphics.. | Ebuyer.com

[Hippo08]

A couple of things to add. Do you think you will ever want to use multiple monitors?

Also, if you do graphic editing professionally, I would go to the 24" UltraSharp monitor from Dell. Here is a link to the US one, I am sure you will be able to find it from wherever you are ordering it from: Dell UltraSharp

The reason i say this is because the 23" doesn't just skimp on size, it skimps on quality/utility as well. That 24" has the quality as well as size(it also has a heftier price tag to go along with that quality/utility/size).

EDIT: The "quality" I am talking about is true color reproduction quality.

[purpleozzie]

Thanks for all your replies..

I will probably at some point in the future get a 2nd monitor but not for a while.

I think I will probably scrap my initial setup and go for GLC's.. Does anyone see any issues with this setup.. The only real difference is this setup is i5 rather than i7 does this matter?

Also in terms of digital photography how would this system compare to purchasing an IMac in terms of price for a comparable system..

Also on GLC's he uses a 520w PSU will this be enough juice for the graphics card??

Cheers

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by glc I see a budget of about 650 quid for everything except the monitor - so here is my suggestion for that use: CoolerMaster Centurion 5 II Black Mid Tower Case - No PSU | Ebuyer.com Antec 520W High Current Gamer PSU - 80plus Bronze.. | Ebuyer.com Asus P8Z68-V Socket 1155 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard | Ebuyer.com Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache.. | Ebuyer.com Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz CAS8 1.5V.. | Ebuyer.com WD 500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6Gb/s Caviar Black Hard.. | Ebuyer.com (OS and apps) WD 2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s Caviar Green Hard.. | Ebuyer.com (Storage) LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW DL & RAM SATA.. | Ebuyer.com EVGA GT 430 1GB DDR3 DVI HDMI HDTV out PCI-E Graphics.. | Ebuyer.com

Why spend the extra on the k series if he should get a graphics card?

[purpleozzie]

So is it best to get K series without graphics card or graphics card and not the K series...

[glc]

Originally Posted by birddog_61 Why spend the extra on the k series if he should get a graphics card?

Because the Z68 chipset allows for use of both the graphics card and the onboard graphics - Virtu and QuickSync. I added the Nvidia card for the CUDA processing.

The i7 is no faster than the i5 - all the i7 gives you is hyperthreading, which is not really worth it when you are trying to meet a strict budget. If you can throw more money at the system, then you could get the i7-2600K and the Asus P8Z68-V Pro.

520 watts is MORE than enough - in fact, Nvidia only requires a 300 watt PSU for the GT430. I chose that PSU for reliability, it really doesn't cost much more than a lower power quality unit.

[glc]

Originally Posted by purpleozzie So is it best to get K series without graphics card or graphics card and not the K series...

Get both! You could always try it without a video card first and see if you are satisfied with the graphics performance - a card can be added at ANY time and you will be ready for it. Another thing that can be added later is a small SSD for caching, another feature of the Z68 chipset.

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by glc Because the Z68 chipset allows for use of both the graphics card and the onboard graphics - Virtu and QuickSync. I added the Nvidia card for the CUDA processing. The i7 is no faster than the i5 - all the i7 gives you is hyperthreading, which is not really worth it when you are trying to meet a strict budget. If you can throw more money at the system, then you could get the i7-2600K and the Asus P8Z68-V Pro. 520 watts is MORE than enough - in fact, Nvidia only requires a 300 watt PSU for the GT430. I chose that PSU for reliability, it really doesn't cost much more than a lower power quality unit.

Good call, I forgot all about the z68 allowing both to be ran.

[purpleozzie]

just one more quick question.

I'm going to have to hook this rig up wirelessly to the net. first of all I'm assuming that there is no onboard wireless capability with this motherboard and secondly any suggestions on the best wireless card to buy, is there much difference between makes?

Thanks..

[glc]

What brand and model is your wireless router?

[purpleozzie]

It's a NetGear WGT624 v3..

[glc]

The exact match from Netgear is no longer available, so just about any standard "G" card should work.

Tenda Wireless-G PCI Adapter | Ebuyer.com

If you are using Windows 7, you will need to connect up wired first, then download the driver from Windows Update.