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I really don't want a Mac

sMiLEy sLOth
By sMiLEy sLOth
in New Builds and Planning
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Hi awesome people!,

 

I just started a new job as a graphic and web designer and the boss said he is going to buy me a new computer. The problem is he said he is going to get me an iMac and I hate the apple system. I have used them extensively in the past and I just HATE the system. They are "easy" to use but I'm at work and I need to be productive, which they don't seem to be designed for. I want to present him the option of me building a better PC for cheaper than the price of an iMac but I'm not sure where to start with regards to spec. At the moment I'm just doing basic photo manipulation and website management so I don't really NEED a top spec beast machine but it would be nice to have something that will "last as long as a Mac". I also want a good quality screen and was looking at the Asus PB278Q. 

 

I was thinking the following specs should be more than good enough but I'm not sure about specific parts:

 

Intel core i5

8GB Ram

256 SSD (Or any size SSD)

1-2TB HDD

2GB Graphics card

 

I went on PC Specialist and the total came to about £1200 with the monitor but I know that's too much.

 

Any suggestions welcome as always.

 

sMiLEy xxx

 

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just run Windows on it

INTEL CORE I5 4670K | NVIDIA GTX 980 | NOCTUA NH-L9i | GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-SLI | KINGSTON 120GB V300

CM STORM QUICKFIRE TK | BENQ XL2420TE | ROCCAT SAVU | FRACTAL DEFINE R4

 

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-snip-

You can bootcamp Windows on an iMac, but I see what you mean.

I will try to make a system for you. I suppose you're from the US?

"We're all in this together, might as well be friends" Tom, Toonami.

 

mini eLiXiVy: my open source 65% mechanical PCB, a build log, PCB anatomy and discussing open source licenses: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1366493-elixivy-a-65-mechanical-keyboard-build-log-pcb-anatomy-and-how-i-open-sourced-this-project/

 

mini_cardboard: a 4% keyboard build log and how keyboards work: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1328547-mini_cardboard-a-4-keyboard-build-log-and-how-keyboards-work/

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just run Windows on it

 

Although I could do that, the cost of an iMac + the cost of a legit copy of windows (it is a legit business) would be too much when I can build a better performing computer for less than the price the iMac alone.

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nvm

CPU: 4790K (4.8 ghz) | COOLING: Custom Liquid Cooling (240 mm rad) | GPU: GTX 980 ti Superclocked+ (2x)  | MOBO: Gryphon Z97 Armor Edition | RAM: Kingston (4x4 gb 1600 mhz) | SSD: 850 Evo (250 gb) | HDD: Black (1.5 tb) | CASE: Enthoo Evolv | PSU: G2 850 (850 w) | DISPLAYS: Acer XB270HU bprz / Philips 246V5LHAB/27 (3x) | KEYBOARD: Vengeance K60 | MOUSE: Naos 7000 | HEADSEAT: H Wireless / Cloud 2 | For the exact parts visit my PCPartpicker it even includes my Desk and some other stuff.

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You can bootcamp Windows on an iMac, but I see what you mean.

I will try to make a system for you. I suppose you're from the US?

 

Thanks. I'm from the UK. 

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boot camp is really good i used it

CPU: 4790K (4.8 ghz) | COOLING: Custom Liquid Cooling (240 mm rad) | GPU: GTX 980 ti Superclocked+ (2x)  | MOBO: Gryphon Z97 Armor Edition | RAM: Kingston (4x4 gb 1600 mhz) | SSD: 850 Evo (250 gb) | HDD: Black (1.5 tb) | CASE: Enthoo Evolv | PSU: G2 850 (850 w) | DISPLAYS: Acer XB270HU bprz / Philips 246V5LHAB/27 (3x) | KEYBOARD: Vengeance K60 | MOUSE: Naos 7000 | HEADSEAT: H Wireless / Cloud 2 | For the exact parts visit my PCPartpicker it even includes my Desk and some other stuff.

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Thanks. I'm from the UK. 

Realized way too late :P

"We're all in this together, might as well be friends" Tom, Toonami.

 

mini eLiXiVy: my open source 65% mechanical PCB, a build log, PCB anatomy and discussing open source licenses: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1366493-elixivy-a-65-mechanical-keyboard-build-log-pcb-anatomy-and-how-i-open-sourced-this-project/

 

mini_cardboard: a 4% keyboard build log and how keyboards work: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1328547-mini_cardboard-a-4-keyboard-build-log-and-how-keyboards-work/

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what i5 ?, its like saying im gonna get an macbook which one air? pro? 2015? 2014?

 

That's what I meant by I'm not sure about specific parts. Which i5 would be best for my use case?

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CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£200.71 @ Scan.co.uk) 

CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen MAX 97.2 CFM CPU Cooler  (£36.97 @ Amazon UK) 

Motherboard: Asus H97-PRO GAMER ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£98.40 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£190.10 @ More Computers) 

Storage: OCZ ARC 100 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£137.99 @ Novatech) 


Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  (£419.99 @ Novatech) 

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  (£85.93 @ Scan.co.uk) 


Total: £1302.69

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-10 21:20 BST+0100

 

4 core, 8 thread cpu for those graphical intensive tasks. Also, 32GB of RAM is quite useful is you are running VMs or high-end graphics software. Oh, and a GTX 980 for the heck of it xD (500GB SSD, super quiet PSU)

Spoiler

Samung Tab S 8.4

 

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That's what I meant by I'm not sure about specific parts. Which i5 would be best for my use case?

xD yeah i saw it xD already edited the post to nvm

CPU: 4790K (4.8 ghz) | COOLING: Custom Liquid Cooling (240 mm rad) | GPU: GTX 980 ti Superclocked+ (2x)  | MOBO: Gryphon Z97 Armor Edition | RAM: Kingston (4x4 gb 1600 mhz) | SSD: 850 Evo (250 gb) | HDD: Black (1.5 tb) | CASE: Enthoo Evolv | PSU: G2 850 (850 w) | DISPLAYS: Acer XB270HU bprz / Philips 246V5LHAB/27 (3x) | KEYBOARD: Vengeance K60 | MOUSE: Naos 7000 | HEADSEAT: H Wireless / Cloud 2 | For the exact parts visit my PCPartpicker it even includes my Desk and some other stuff.

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CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£200.71 @ Scan.co.uk) 
CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen MAX 97.2 CFM CPU Cooler  (£36.97 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: Asus H97-PRO GAMER ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£98.40 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£190.10 @ More Computers) 
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£137.99 @ Novatech) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  (£419.99 @ Novatech) 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  (£85.93 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Total: £1302.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-10 21:20 BST+0100

 

cm hyper 212 ftw

CPU: 4790K (4.8 ghz) | COOLING: Custom Liquid Cooling (240 mm rad) | GPU: GTX 980 ti Superclocked+ (2x)  | MOBO: Gryphon Z97 Armor Edition | RAM: Kingston (4x4 gb 1600 mhz) | SSD: 850 Evo (250 gb) | HDD: Black (1.5 tb) | CASE: Enthoo Evolv | PSU: G2 850 (850 w) | DISPLAYS: Acer XB270HU bprz / Philips 246V5LHAB/27 (3x) | KEYBOARD: Vengeance K60 | MOUSE: Naos 7000 | HEADSEAT: H Wireless / Cloud 2 | For the exact parts visit my PCPartpicker it even includes my Desk and some other stuff.

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xD yeah i saw it xD already edited the post to nvm

 

xD no worries

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CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£200.71 @ Scan.co.uk) 
CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen MAX 97.2 CFM CPU Cooler  (£36.97 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: Asus H97-PRO GAMER ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£98.40 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£190.10 @ More Computers) 
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£137.99 @ Novatech) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  (£419.99 @ Novatech) 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  (£85.93 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Total: £1302.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-10 21:20 BST+0100
 
4 core, 8 thread cpu for those graphical intensive tasks. Also, 32GB of RAM is quite useful is you are running VMs or high-end graphics software. Oh, and a GTX 980 for the heck of it xD (500GB SSD, super quiet PSU)

 

this doesnt include the monitor but this cpu get this one

CPU: 4790K (4.8 ghz) | COOLING: Custom Liquid Cooling (240 mm rad) | GPU: GTX 980 ti Superclocked+ (2x)  | MOBO: Gryphon Z97 Armor Edition | RAM: Kingston (4x4 gb 1600 mhz) | SSD: 850 Evo (250 gb) | HDD: Black (1.5 tb) | CASE: Enthoo Evolv | PSU: G2 850 (850 w) | DISPLAYS: Acer XB270HU bprz / Philips 246V5LHAB/27 (3x) | KEYBOARD: Vengeance K60 | MOUSE: Naos 7000 | HEADSEAT: H Wireless / Cloud 2 | For the exact parts visit my PCPartpicker it even includes my Desk and some other stuff.

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cm hyper 212 ftw

Mugen Max is the new king of 35 pound / 40 euro coolers though. Keeps my 5820K @ 4.1ghz @ 50*C @ full load lol.

Spoiler

Samung Tab S 8.4

 

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this doesnt include the monitor but this cpu get this one

He wants the monitor included?

Spoiler

Samung Tab S 8.4

 

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CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£200.71 @ Scan.co.uk) 
CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen MAX 97.2 CFM CPU Cooler  (£36.97 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: Asus H97-PRO GAMER ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£98.40 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£190.10 @ More Computers) 
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£137.99 @ Novatech) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  (£419.99 @ Novatech) 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  (£85.93 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Total: £1302.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-10 21:20 BST+0100
 
4 core, 8 thread cpu for those graphical intensive tasks. Also, 32GB of RAM is quite useful is you are running VMs or high-end graphics software. Oh, and a GTX 980 for the heck of it xD (500GB SSD, super quiet PSU)

 

all the quotes lol get a baracuda hdd or something with 7200 rpm its way faster

CPU: 4790K (4.8 ghz) | COOLING: Custom Liquid Cooling (240 mm rad) | GPU: GTX 980 ti Superclocked+ (2x)  | MOBO: Gryphon Z97 Armor Edition | RAM: Kingston (4x4 gb 1600 mhz) | SSD: 850 Evo (250 gb) | HDD: Black (1.5 tb) | CASE: Enthoo Evolv | PSU: G2 850 (850 w) | DISPLAYS: Acer XB270HU bprz / Philips 246V5LHAB/27 (3x) | KEYBOARD: Vengeance K60 | MOUSE: Naos 7000 | HEADSEAT: H Wireless / Cloud 2 | For the exact parts visit my PCPartpicker it even includes my Desk and some other stuff.

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CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£200.71 @ Scan.co.uk) 
CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen MAX 97.2 CFM CPU Cooler  (£36.97 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: Asus H97-PRO GAMER ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£98.40 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£190.10 @ More Computers) 
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£137.99 @ Novatech) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  (£419.99 @ Novatech) 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  (£85.93 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Total: £1302.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-10 21:20 BST+0100
 
4 core, 8 thread cpu for those graphical intensive tasks. Also, 32GB of RAM is quite useful is you are running VMs or high-end graphics software. Oh, and a GTX 980 for the heck of it xD (500GB SSD, super quiet PSU)

 

 

Thanks but that seems a little bit overkill don't you think? Plus I don't think I'd be able to avoid playing games on that xD

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He wants the monitor included?

W7Uhq7X.png

CPU: 4790K (4.8 ghz) | COOLING: Custom Liquid Cooling (240 mm rad) | GPU: GTX 980 ti Superclocked+ (2x)  | MOBO: Gryphon Z97 Armor Edition | RAM: Kingston (4x4 gb 1600 mhz) | SSD: 850 Evo (250 gb) | HDD: Black (1.5 tb) | CASE: Enthoo Evolv | PSU: G2 850 (850 w) | DISPLAYS: Acer XB270HU bprz / Philips 246V5LHAB/27 (3x) | KEYBOARD: Vengeance K60 | MOUSE: Naos 7000 | HEADSEAT: H Wireless / Cloud 2 | For the exact parts visit my PCPartpicker it even includes my Desk and some other stuff.

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Thanks but that seems a little bit overkill don't you think? Plus I don't think I'd be able to avoid playing games on that xD

what is your budget my friend without the monitor

i want to do a build for you because its fun

CPU: 4790K (4.8 ghz) | COOLING: Custom Liquid Cooling (240 mm rad) | GPU: GTX 980 ti Superclocked+ (2x)  | MOBO: Gryphon Z97 Armor Edition | RAM: Kingston (4x4 gb 1600 mhz) | SSD: 850 Evo (250 gb) | HDD: Black (1.5 tb) | CASE: Enthoo Evolv | PSU: G2 850 (850 w) | DISPLAYS: Acer XB270HU bprz / Philips 246V5LHAB/27 (3x) | KEYBOARD: Vengeance K60 | MOUSE: Naos 7000 | HEADSEAT: H Wireless / Cloud 2 | For the exact parts visit my PCPartpicker it even includes my Desk and some other stuff.

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SNIP

 

Just curious as to why you think macs are not productive? they are literally mainly used by people for productive work and editing 

parallels / boot camp is awesome giving you the best of both worlds

 

Just saying, that if your boss is buying you an iMac it should still be a decent PC, he might not let you build your own  as he will want support and warranty etc

Desktop - Corsair 300r i7 4770k H100i MSI 780ti 16GB Vengeance Pro 2400mhz Crucial MX100 512gb Samsung Evo 250gb 2 TB WD Green, AOC Q2770PQU 1440p 27" monitor Laptop Clevo W110er - 11.6" 768p, i5 3230m, 650m GT 2gb, OCZ vertex 4 256gb,  4gb ram, Server: Fractal Define Mini, MSI Z78-G43, Intel G3220, 8GB Corsair Vengeance, 4x 3tb WD Reds in Raid 10, Phone Oppo Reno 10x 256gb , Camera Sony A7iii

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He wants the monitor included?

 

yeah monitor included. I basically want a better PC+monitor than an iMac. I think my boss is looking at the £1100 iMac so it all needs to come in below that if possible.

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Bootcamp it I guess so you can use Windows when you want to, but not at a time he'd like you to use an OSX application?

 

It's a free computer after all, and he's your boss so you need to work within his workflow :)

 

But along the lines of

 

1231V3

R9 270 --with display port

16GB RAM

Decent PSU

SSD/HDD solution- perhaps a hybrid drive

mATX H97 (for decent amounts of USB3.0 etc)

Decent mATX case (big case probably not necessary).

And a decent enough PSU like a CX500M

 

And then a monitor like the ProArt you mentioned would work nicely.

LGA775 Overclocking Guide - LGA771 to LGA 775 mod - Rigs in spoiler - Subzero Overclocker - HWBOT - Sandybridge-E Frequency WR Holder

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all the quotes lol get a baracuda hdd or something with 7200 rpm its way faster

The WD Green is a HDD that runs at 5400rpm IDLE and 7200RPM under load. Better for power consumption and noise. I use it and it scores very similarly to a black in my bros rig.

 

As for monitor: Monitor: Dell U2515H 60Hz 25.0" Monitor  (£249.54 @ Aria PC) 

Spoiler

Samung Tab S 8.4

 

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