New Build Help

[raidenfreeman]

I'm planning on building a new PC for my girlfriend, mostly aimed at productivity in scientific applications (she works at the university as a traffic engineer). It's not really a new PC, as we're keeping HDDs, DVD and the case, as well as 2 DIMMs of RAM, but when you're changing the motherboard, it's effectively a new computer, so...

 

1. Budget & Location
Budget: Not above 700euros (the lower the better)

Location: Greece

2. Aim
The usage in descending order: Web, Matlab, AutoCAD, office, games (currently Diablo 3 and Minecraft - mostly light stuff).

3. Monitors
Strictly 1080p, mostly one monitor, but maybe 2 from time to time (only for office usage, no gaming)

4. Peripherals
None "necessary". No Windows license needed (MSDNAA).

Currently, her monitor "trembles" horribly from time to time, which causes a lot of strain when reading. It might be because of the D-Sub cable (analog), but it's not that close to power cables or anything else with a strong magnetic field (as far as I can remember), so maybe the monitor needs a replacement too.

5. Why are you upgrading?

Current PC is really old, and pretty dead . Lately her computer will not turn on, which is either a dead PSU, or a faulty GPU that broke the PSU. Either way, it's a PSU with not enough wattage output to boot the system. (She was getting GPU crashes with vertical lines filling the screen, which is usually the GPU dying/overheating).

 

The current system has these specs:

Intel Core2 Q6600 @ 3.2 GHz

MSI 775 socket mobo (can't remember which)

Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 1GB VRAM

3x1GB DIMMs of DDR3 RAM @1333MHz (I'm not even sure that the 2x1GB match timings and voltage with the 1GB she had earlier)

1TB Samsung F1 HDD

And a PSU, can't remember the brand, ~600W (probably Corsair, not sure about series).

 

The PC had problems booting in the past, but was covered by warranty, and had replaced the GPU (originally a 4870), the mobo and the PSU. 

 

Anyway, I'd normally just buy a new PSU and if the GPU kept failing, I'd replace that too, but given the age of the CPU and the amount of RAM, I belive it's better to just get a new one altogether.

 

So I was thinking of buying the following:

 

A mid to high end CPU with integrated graphics.

8GB RAM and possibly keep the extra 2GB.

A Samsung 840 Evo 120GB (the capacity is enough). I have the 840 Pro and I'm very happy with it, until I told a friend of mine to buy the Evo and it was laughably faster, given the fact that it's CHEAPER than the Pro (I know that the Pro has MLC Flash, but still, I paid like 30% more than the Evo and it's a tad slower!), so  I'm really happy with this SSD.

A mid range cooler, aiming for silence, since it's unlikely that we'll ever OC the CPU.

 

My girlfriend told me she would rather not buy a new GPU, at least for the moment, so I was thinking of keeping the 6850 and using mostly the CPU, and if necessary, switching to the GPU (because of its unreliability).

 

 

My problem is that I'm quite the intel fanboy, having never tried an AMD system before. I'm also scared of the way that you attach coolers to them, which is much harder than say socket 1155. Still I considered buying these:

 

CPU: AMD FX-8350 166 e(uros)

mobo: ASUS M5A99FX Pro 124 e

cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO 32e

PSU: XFX Pro Series 550W Core edition 55e (I have the same PSU and I think it's a bargain at the price)

SSD: 840 EVO 120GB 75e

RAM: Corsair XMS3 8GB DDR3 1600MHz CL11 (2x4GB DIMMs) 68e (could find something a bit cheaper, but I like the heatsink)

 

Total: 520e / 700

 

If I went intel, I'd buy the i5 4670K which costs 210e, and the ASUS Z87-Plus for 133e, which is more money for less features compared to the  M5A99FX Pro, and also the AMD CPU outperforms the newer i5. Unfortunately, the aforementioned CPU is 2 years old, and requires much more power than the i5.

Given the fact that I want it to run Matlab, it's going to take advantage of multiple cores. But Intel had newer instruction sets, which are used by Matlab, and can also speed up the execution times (although I can't find the instruction set differences between the 8350 and 4670K and if they're utilized by Matlab). Gaming perfomarnce doesn't matter too much, but I'd like it to run a modded Minecraft with a demanding ENB.

 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and comments!

 

 

 

PS: It's best if the total price is not over 500euros, and I was thinking of convincing her to buy a Dell U2312HM which is an incredible IPS monitor... So no GPU for the moment!

[Shd0w2]

Why not go for a MINITX APU based build? It offers portability with some nice graphics without screwing your wallet.

[WoodenMarker]

Which shop(s) are you using?

 

Why not go for a MINITX APU based build? It offers portability with some nice graphics without screwing your wallet.

It's be a bit of a downgrade from a 6850.

[P e r s e p h o n e]

I just wanted to say this is one the most explicit help questions I've seen, everything is perfectly listed without us having to really ask for anything basic. Really helps us help you. 

[Thebman712]

 i would say something like this 

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3QeNw

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3QeNw/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3QeNw/benchmarks/

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£163.90 @ Amazon UK) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  (£25.45 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£61.04 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£57.36 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  (£48.92 @ CCL Computers) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£35.94 @ Aria PC) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card  (£126.79 @ Dabs) 

Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  (£39.95 @ Amazon UK) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£36.99 @ Amazon UK) 

Monitor: LG 22MP55HQ-P 60Hz 22.0" Monitor  (£104.93 @ CCL Computers) 

Total: £701.27

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

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-24 23:23 BST+0100)

 

Also if you want to reuse things like the hdd you could upgrade the gpu to a 270x or 760 but you cant sli on that mobo just keep that in mind. You could also reuse the psu and case, put some more money into a sli supporting mobo and get a 760

 

there are also other builds in my sig if you want to look

 

(if you take out the gpu, case, psu, hdd it will be well under 500)

[raidenfreeman]

 

 i would say something like this 

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3QeNw

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3QeNw/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3QeNw/benchmarks/

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£163.90 @ Amazon UK) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  (£25.45 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£61.04 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£57.36 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  (£48.92 @ CCL Computers) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£35.94 @ Aria PC) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card  (£126.79 @ Dabs) 

Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  (£39.95 @ Amazon UK) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£36.99 @ Amazon UK) 

Monitor: LG 22MP55HQ-P 60Hz 22.0" Monitor  (£104.93 @ CCL Computers) 

Total: £701.27

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

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-24 23:23 BST+0100)

 

Also if you want to reuse things like the hdd you could upgrade the gpu to a 270x or 760 but you cant sli on that mobo just keep that in mind. You could also reuse the psu and case, put some more money into a sli supporting mobo and get a 760

 

there are also other builds in my sig if you want to look

 

(if you take out the gpu, case, psu, hdd it will be well under 500)

 

That's almost the exact same build I suggested to a friend of mine . I was just considering the AMD 8350 due to double the cores, and higher benchmark results (I've never owned an AMD CPU so I don't really know how they translate)

 

 

Oh and I forgot to say, the motherboard MUST be ASUS, I'm not trusting any other company with mobos (EVGA is awesome too, but much more expensive and enthusiast oriented). 

 

I just wanted to say this is one the most explicit help questions I've seen, everything is perfectly listed without us having to really ask for anything basic. Really helps us help you. 

Thank you . I've helped a lot of people too on other forums, so I know what to include from what they were missing!

 

 

Why not go for a MINITX APU based build? It offers portability with some nice graphics without screwing your wallet.

 

Well, the extra space offered by the ATX is always nice, plus the extra SATA ports may be needed in the future. As for the APU, I don't have much experience, but they don't have anything close to a discreet GPU's power, even compared to the very cheap GPUs. I could consider it though! Do you have any suggestions for an APU and a mobo?

[Thebman712]

That's almost the exact same build I suggested to a friend of mine . I was just considering the AMD 8350 due to double the cores, and higher benchmark results (I've never owned an AMD CPU so I don't really know how they translate)

 

Thank you . I've helped a lot of people too on other forums, so I know what to include from what they were missing!

how does it seem to you, amd kinda hyperthreads their cores even when they dont say they dont, the 4670k is really good but if you wait for devils canyon you can get better performance for the same price

[WoodenMarker]

how does it seem to you, amd kinda hyperthreads their cores even when they dont say they dont, the 4670k is really good but if you wait for devils canyon you can get better performance for the same price

They don't. Hyperthreading and cores sharing resources is hardly the same thing. 

[raidenfreeman]

They don't. Hyperthreading and cores sharing resources is hardly the same thing. 

Also hyperthreading is copyrighted by intel But I digress...

[Thebman712]

They don't. Hyperthreading and cores sharing resources is hardly the same thing. 

well the architecture is different, but  a 8 core amd cpu does not tend to perform as good as a 8 core xeon