Building System for Sister.

[timdenby]

Hi there, I am relatively new to the Linus Tech Tips forum but I have a build I would like to hear some thoughts about. After I built my own PC last year and my sister's laptop is on its way out I thought I would put together a PC for her.

 

She is a costume designer/creator who doesn't play games that much (other than Age of Empires or Mythology during small LANs, so an APU will do) She will need to use Photoshop and other Adobe applications. So I wanted to bring her back from the dark-side (Macbook Pro) with a decent but in-expensive PC that is more 'carry sized' than my C70. I have found a group of components that I thought would be suitable for her needs, if there is anything I shouldn't bother with here or something I have forgotten and/or compatibility problems, leave a comment and I will consider your advice.

 

PS I have been struggling to decide whether it is worth putting a fan controller in the 5.25" drive bay for better silence and getting an external DVD Player as I am not sure whether the motherboard supports 3 fans. With the 5.25 bay occupied would plan to have: 1x 200mm Front (Intake), 1x 120mm Rear with Rad (Exhaust), 1x 120mm Top Rear (Exhaust).

 

Bitfenix Prodigy Case (Already Purchased):

 

Plan:

 

GIGABYTE GA-F2A88XN-WIFI AMD FM2 MINI-ITX MOTHERBOARD - NZ$179.95

 

AMD 7850K KAVERI 3.7/4.0GHZ BLACK EDITION 4MB CACHE SOCKET FM2 - NZ$249.95

 

CORSAIR CML16GX3M2A1600C10 VENGEANCE LP 2X8GB DDR3-1600 CL10 - NZ$249.95

 

COOLERMASTER SEIDON 120V WATERCOOLING KIT - NZ$99.95

 

SEASONIC X-SERIES V3 650W 80PLUS GOLD POWER SUPPLY (SS-650KM3) - NZ$239.95

 

SAMSUNG 840 EVO SERIES 120GB 2.5" SATA3 SSD (MZ-7TE120BW) - NZ$149.95 (Optional)

 

WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR GREEN WD20EZRX 2TB 64MB CACHE SATA3 - NZ$129.95

 

ASUS DRW-24D3ST GREEN DVD WRITER SATA - NZ$44.95

 

 

Total: NZ$1344.60  ...In US Dollars: $1,117.90

 

Total: (Without SSD) NZ$1194.65

[AlwaysFSX]

fk, messed it up

[zxcvbnmmssdh]

I would definitely get the SSD. Also, get the Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 2 TB HDD. You should be able to find a cheaper DVD drive. What site are you shopping on?

[nixproducer]

fk, messed it up

^^ This Makes much more sense 

[dizmo]

I'd go with a much, much lower wattage power supply.

Do you need a DVD drive? I used mine once.

16gb of RAM is definitely overkill, and go for CAS 9 over CAS 10. It's faster.

Do you think she'd actually use a fan controller? My dad does a LOT of overclocking etc, and he fiddles with it maybe 3 times a year.

[AlwaysFSX]

^^ This Makes much more sense 

Today is not my day. Forum is slow for me, not thinking... GAH

 

Drop the 650w power supply because she really, really does not need it and you can probably get a 400W way cheaper. And see if you can get a Seagate Barracuda drive instead of a WD Green.

[mkessler9]

 

Hi there, I am relatively new to the Linus Tech Tips forum but I have a build I would like to hear some thoughts about. After I built my own PC last year and my sister's laptop is on its way out I thought I would put together a PC for her.

 

She is a costume designer/creator who doesn't play games that much (other than Age of Empires or Mythology during small LANs, so an APU will do) She will need to use Photoshop and other Adobe applications. So I wanted to bring her back from the dark-side (Macbook Pro) with a decent but in-expensive PC that is more 'carry sized' than my C70. I have found a group of components that I thought would be suitable for her needs, if there is anything I shouldn't bother with here or something I have forgotten and/or compatibility problems, leave a comment and I will consider your advice.

 

PS I have been struggling to decide whether it is worth putting a fan controller in the 5.25" drive bay for better silence and getting an external DVD Player as I am not sure whether the motherboard supports 3 fans. With the 5.25 bay occupied would plan to have: 1x 200mm Front (Intake), 1x 120mm Rear with Rad (Exhaust), 1x 120mm Top Rear (Exhaust).

 

Bitfenix Prodigy Case (Already Purchased):

 

Plan:

 

GIGABYTE GA-F2A88XN-WIFI AMD FM2 MINI-ITX MOTHERBOARD - NZ$179.95

 

AMD 7850K KAVERI 3.7/4.0GHZ BLACK EDITION 4MB CACHE SOCKET FM2 - NZ$249.95

 

CORSAIR CML16GX3M2A1600C10 VENGEANCE LP 2X8GB DDR3-1600 CL10 - NZ$249.95

 

COOLERMASTER SEIDON 120V WATERCOOLING KIT - NZ$99.95

 

SEASONIC X-SERIES V3 650W 80PLUS GOLD POWER SUPPLY (SS-650KM3) - NZ$239.95

 

SAMSUNG 840 EVO SERIES 120GB 2.5" SATA3 SSD (MZ-7TE120BW) - NZ$149.95 (Optional)

 

WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR GREEN WD20EZRX 2TB 64MB CACHE SATA3 - NZ$129.95

 

ASUS DRW-24D3ST GREEN DVD WRITER SATA - NZ$44.95

 

 

Total: NZ$1344.60  ...In US Dollars: $1,117.90

 

Total: (Without SSD) NZ$1194.65

 

I think you should go for a fx processor instead of a apu and just get a gtx760 or wait and get the gtx 750ti

[timdenby]

Today is not my day. Forum is slow for me, not thinking... GAH

 

Drop the 650w power supply because she really, really does not need it and you can probably get a 400W way cheaper. And see if you can get a Seagate Barracuda drive instead of a WD Green.

 

I'd go with a much, much lower wattage power supply.

Do you need a DVD drive? I used mine once.

16gb of RAM is definitely overkill, and go for CAS 9 over CAS 10. It's faster.

Do you think she'd actually use a fan controller? My dad does a LOT of overclocking etc, and he fiddles with it maybe 3 times a year.

 

I might get a Seagate Barracuda 2TB instead but not 100% sure about their reliability one died on me recently, but probably just a bad one-off. Thanks

 

The Seasonic 650W is because I have some peripheral white sleeved cables from the Corsair AX650/750/850 series which fit in the sockets. I also have Bitfenix white sleeved extensions for the ATX power and CPU power cables (I am going for a White build with black accents). Also some head room in case she wants to add storage or if she does get into graphics card intensive games. It is more possible with a 650 given AMD's marginally power hungry GPUs compared to Nvidia.

 

The 16GB of Ram is because she will be photo-editing high-res alot, if you can prove that I can get away with 8GB let me know.

 

Finally the fan controller was just an after-thought, I really just need enough fan headers for 3 fans.

 

Thanks for the quick feedback!

[mkessler9]

I might get a Seagate Barracuda 2TB instead but not 100% sure about their reliability one died on me recently, but probably just a bad one-off. Thanks

 

The Seasonic 650W is because I have some peripheral white sleeved cables from the Corsair AX650/750/850 series which fit in the sockets. I also have Bitfenix white sleeved extensions for the ATX power and CPU power cables (I am going for a White build with black accents). Also some head room in case she wants to add storage or if she does get into graphics card intensive games. It is more possible with a 650 given AMD's marginally power hungry GPUs compared to Nvidia.

 

The 16GB of Ram is because she will be photo-editing high-res alot, if you can prove that I can get away with 8GB let me know.

 

Finally the fan controller was just an after-thought, I really just need enough fan headers for 3 fans.

 

Thanks for the quick feedback!

If you get a graphics card and I think you should. I would get a gtx 650ti for a beginner card. I had a 650ti boost and it was awesome but it costs so much now you might as well get a 760. And your powersupply can support it. Also I have a 2tb seagate. I've had it running in my system for a year and it still works great!

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Dual-Link-Graphics-01G-P4-3651-KR-02G-P4-3651-KR/dp/B009KUT3D6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1392265774&sr=8-3&keywords=gtx+650+ti+boost

[timdenby]

I would definitely get the SSD. Also, get the Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 2 TB HDD. You should be able to find a cheaper DVD drive. What site are you shopping on?

I am shopping on a couple depending on price (bear in mind PC parts are a little more expensive in New Zealand):

 

http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0137773/home.html

 

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/

 

http://techworld.co.nz/index.php

[dizmo]

I might get a Seagate Barracuda 2TB instead but not 100% sure about their reliability one died on me recently, but probably just a bad one-off. Thanks

 

The Seasonic 650W is because I have some peripheral white sleeved cables from the Corsair AX650/750/850 series which fit in the sockets. I also have Bitfenix white sleeved extensions for the ATX power and CPU power cables (I am going for a White build with black accents). Also some head room in case she wants to add storage or if she does get into graphics card intensive games. It is more possible with a 650 given AMD's marginally power hungry GPUs compared to Nvidia.

 

The 16GB of Ram is because she will be photo-editing high-res alot, if you can prove that I can get away with 8GB let me know.

 

Finally the fan controller was just an after-thought, I really just need enough fan headers for 3 fans.

 

Thanks for the quick feedback!

 

Never thought of it like that, she can also upgrade to a graphics card if she finds the APU isn't quite up to grade for her. You should still be able to get away with 500w though, if it's significantly cheaper.

 

Keep the 16gb of RAM, better yet 32GB would be better than getting an SSD if you're considering it from a CS performance standpoint unless you have a fair bit of spare room on it.

[mkessler9]

Never thought of it like that, she can also upgrade to a graphics card if she finds the APU isn't quite up to grade for her. You should still be able to get away with 500w though, if it's significantly cheaper.

 

Keep the 16gb of RAM, better yet 32GB would be better than getting an SSD if you're considering it from a CS performance standpoint.

If he where to get a 500watt psu it would need to be a high quality one if he plans on getting a gpu in the future. The cheap ones don't even have enough amperage to support a 650ti boost

[dizmo]

If he where to get a 500watt psu it would need to be a high quality one if he plans on getting a gpu in the future. The cheap ones don't even have enough amperage to support a 650ti boost

That's not true, you can get high quality 500w power supplies and it's more than ample power for even a 770.

[mkessler9]

That's not true, you can get high quality 500w power supplies and it's more than ample power for even a 770.

Whats not true? I said a cheap one can't support a 650ti boost? The better quality ones can. I know this from personal experience.

[JoshM]

I might get a Seagate Barracuda 2TB instead but not 100% sure about their reliability one died on me recently, but probably just a bad one-off. Thanks

 

The Seasonic 650W is because I have some peripheral white sleeved cables from the Corsair AX650/750/850 series which fit in the sockets. I also have Bitfenix white sleeved extensions for the ATX power and CPU power cables (I am going for a White build with black accents). Also some head room in case she wants to add storage or if she does get into graphics card intensive games. It is more possible with a 650 given AMD's marginally power hungry GPUs compared to Nvidia.

 

The 16GB of Ram is because she will be photo-editing high-res alot, if you can prove that I can get away with 8GB let me know.

 

Finally the fan controller was just an after-thought, I really just need enough fan headers for 3 fans.

 

Thanks for the quick feedback!

Just get a decent 500w man, look at my sig and it's running off a 520w and my rig is a lot more power hungry then that you are looking to build.

8gb will be fine even for photo editing, I mean if its that intense your gonna need a more powerful cpu? 

[dizmo]

Whats not true? I said a cheap one can't support a 650ti boost? The better quality ones can. I know this from personal experience.

.....I have no idea how I missed the first half of that post oy. Sorry!

I think it's safe to assume he'd be getting a high end one though, since he's going with Seasonic.

 

 

Just get a decent 500w man, look at my sig and it's running off a 520w and my rig is a lot more power hungry then that you are looking to build.

8gb will be fine even for photo editing, I mean if its that intense your gonna need a more powerful cpu? 

Photoshop uses RAM to store the images (often very high res) you're working on. So the more you have, the better you'll be. It can actually utilize as much RAM as you can fit into the system.

[JoshM]

.....I have no idea how I missed the first half of that post oy. Sorry!

I think it's safe to assume he'd be getting a high end one though, since he's going with Seasonic.

 

 

Photoshop uses RAM to store the images (often very high res) you're working on. So the more you have, the better you'll be. It can actually utilize as much RAM as you can fit into the system.

I think if she was doing some serious stuff we wouldn't be looking at apu's...

[dizmo]

I think if she was doing some serious stuff we wouldn't be looking at apu's...

Why not?

PhotoShop just needs a 2 ghz quad core processor.

[mkessler9]

Why not?

PhotoShop just needs a 2 ghz quad core processor.

Yea and your going to be getting a lot of lag along with that. 

[dizmo]

AMD's APU's handle it quite well due to their OpenCL performance.

Sure, it's not as great as a fully dedicated system, but that will boost the price up quite a bit. For it's budget, it's a good choice.

 

@mkessler9

[brob]

I might get a Seagate Barracuda 2TB instead but not 100% sure about their reliability one died on me recently, but probably just a bad one-off. Thanks

 

The Seasonic 650W is because I have some peripheral white sleeved cables from the Corsair AX650/750/850 series which fit in the sockets. I also have Bitfenix white sleeved extensions for the ATX power and CPU power cables (I am going for a White build with black accents). Also some head room in case she wants to add storage or if she does get into graphics card intensive games. It is more possible with a 650 given AMD's marginally power hungry GPUs compared to Nvidia.

 

The 16GB of Ram is because she will be photo-editing high-res alot, if you can prove that I can get away with 8GB let me know.

 

Finally the fan controller was just an after-thought, I really just need enough fan headers for 3 fans.

 

Thanks for the quick feedback!

 

Presuming the primary purpose of the computer is for work, mostly involving Photoshop I've put together the following build. Just a few notes first.

 

Stock cooler is sufficient.

 

8 GB will be sufficient given the other resources in the system.

 

An ssd is almost a requirement for providing a very good user experience. Judiciously configured it can also make a difference with work-flow. As low-end as the gpu is, it will make a difference in accelerating many functions in Photoshop and other Adobe applications.

 

The Silverstone psu is far more than needed, but it allows for a good gpu upgrade should it ever be desired. That particular model was selected because it is modular and 140mm long which provides a little more space in the box. It is a quality unit with very positive reviews. The price quoted is from techworld.co.nz and it is in stock. I realize this might mean that the sleeved cables you have cannot be used. The Silverstone cables are sleeved in black mesh and there is a short cable set available as an option, although it might have to be ordered from Silverstone.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($259.95 @ Computer Lounge)

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($193.55 @ Aquila Technology)

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($137.00 @ Paradigm PCs)

Storage:  Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($135.00 @ PC Force)

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($125.00 @ PC Force)

Video Card:  Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card  ($199.00 @ PC Force)

Power Supply:  Silverstone Strider 600W 80+ Silver Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($163.19)

Optical Drive:  LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer  ($43.00 @ Paradigm PCs)

Other: Bitfenix Prodigy (Purchased)

Total: $1255.69

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-13 18:47 NZDT+1300)

[WoodenMarker]

AIO's come with rather loud fans and you're better off with an air cooler like the 212 Evo if you want quiet.

No, little point going with a fan controller.

The psu is overkill. The apu system would easily run off of a 200w.

I might get a Seagate Barracuda 2TB instead but not 100% sure about their reliability one died on me recently, but probably just a bad one-off. Thanks

 

The 16GB of Ram is because she will be photo-editing high-res alot, if you can prove that I can get away with 8GB let me know.

 

Finally the fan controller was just an after-thought, I really just need enough fan headers for 3 fans.

Seagate and WD are equally reliable. 

[mkessler9]

Presuming the primary purpose of the computer is for work, mostly involving Photoshop I've put together the following build. Just a few notes first.

 

Stock cooler is sufficient.

 

8 GB will be sufficient given the other resources in the system.

 

An ssd is almost a requirement for providing a very good user experience. Judiciously configured it can also make a difference with work-flow. As low-end as the gpu is, it will make a difference in accelerating many functions in Photoshop and other Adobe applications.

 

The Silverstone psu is far more than needed, but it allows for a good gpu upgrade should it ever be desired. That particular model was selected because it is modular and 140mm long which provides a little more space in the box. It is a quality unit with very positive reviews. The price quoted is from techworld.co.nz and it is in stock. I realize this might mean that the sleeved cables you have cannot be used. The Silverstone cables are sleeved in black mesh and there is a short cable set available as an option, although it might have to be ordered from Silverstone.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($259.95 @ Computer Lounge)

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($193.55 @ Aquila Technology)

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($137.00 @ Paradigm PCs)

Storage:  Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($135.00 @ PC Force)

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($125.00 @ PC Force)

Video Card:  Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card  ($199.00 @ PC Force)

Power Supply:  Silverstone Strider 600W 80+ Silver Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($163.19)

Optical Drive:  LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer  ($43.00 @ Paradigm PCs)

Other: Bitfenix Prodigy (Purchased)

Total: $1255.69

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-13 18:47 NZDT+1300)

You can get a 650ti on amazon for $146 not sure whats up with pc force.

http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-GeForce-PCI-Express-Graphics-GV-N65TOC-1GI/dp/B009L946F6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1392326637&sr=8-3&keywords=gtx+650ti

[mkessler9]

Presuming the primary purpose of the computer is for work, mostly involving Photoshop I've put together the following build. Just a few notes first.

 

Stock cooler is sufficient.

 

8 GB will be sufficient given the other resources in the system.

 

An ssd is almost a requirement for providing a very good user experience. Judiciously configured it can also make a difference with work-flow. As low-end as the gpu is, it will make a difference in accelerating many functions in Photoshop and other Adobe applications.

 

The Silverstone psu is far more than needed, but it allows for a good gpu upgrade should it ever be desired. That particular model was selected because it is modular and 140mm long which provides a little more space in the box. It is a quality unit with very positive reviews. The price quoted is from techworld.co.nz and it is in stock. I realize this might mean that the sleeved cables you have cannot be used. The Silverstone cables are sleeved in black mesh and there is a short cable set available as an option, although it might have to be ordered from Silverstone.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($259.95 @ Computer Lounge)

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($193.55 @ Aquila Technology)

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($137.00 @ Paradigm PCs)

Storage:  Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($135.00 @ PC Force)

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($125.00 @ PC Force)

Video Card:  Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card  ($199.00 @ PC Force)

Power Supply:  Silverstone Strider 600W 80+ Silver Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($163.19)

Optical Drive:  LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer  ($43.00 @ Paradigm PCs)

Other: Bitfenix Prodigy (Purchased)

Total: $1255.69

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-13 18:47 NZDT+1300)

Also the ssd you can get for $80 on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Digital-2-5-Inch-SV300S37A-120G/dp/B00A1ZTZOG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392326710&sr=8-1&keywords=Kingston+SV300S37A%2F120G

and the HDD on amazon for $88 http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST2000DM001/dp/B005T3GRN2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1392326758&sr=8-2&keywords=seagate+2tb

Motherboard-  http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GA-H87N-WIFI--LGA1150-Chipset-Motherboard/dp/B00FMIAQ3G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1392326815&sr=8-3&keywords=Gigabyte+GA-H87N-WIFI

 

 

All the stuff on pc part is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy over priced

[brob]

Also the ssd you can get for $80 on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Digital-2-5-Inch-SV300S37A-120G/dp/B00A1ZTZOG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392326710&sr=8-1&keywords=Kingston+SV300S37A%2F120G

and the HDD on amazon for $88 http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST2000DM001/dp/B005T3GRN2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1392326758&sr=8-2&keywords=seagate+2tb

Motherboard-  http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GA-H87N-WIFI--LGA1150-Chipset-Motherboard/dp/B00FMIAQ3G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1392326815&sr=8-3&keywords=Gigabyte+GA-H87N-WIFI

 

 

All the stuff on pc part is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy over priced

 

The pcpartpicker list I posted is based on purchasing in New Zealand, not the United States.