Help build $700 photo editing pc

[cromero55]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: (ASAP) BUDGET RANGE: US$500-700

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Word processing, lite gaming, surfing the internet, photo/video editing w/elements

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: does not matter

PARTS PREFERENCES: by brand or type ... I would like to use an AMD phenom II x4 945 other than that don't know much

OVERCLOCKING: pls advise SLI OR CROSSFIRE: pls advise

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: need windows os...getting really into digital photography and need a productive system 12 mp raw files

thank you in advace for your help and suggestions

 

[Outlander_04]

windows is $110
a 22 inch monitor will be about $150

Even if we take your top figure of $700 that only leaves
$450 for
cpu/mb/ram/case/psu/dvd/ hdd/ gfx

and the processor you want is $170.. which means theres no hope of building a quality system based on that processor at that price

 

[shortstuff_mt]

This was as close as I could get using a modern AM3 build with DDR3 RAM.

Rosewill Wind Ryder RZLS142A-P BK Dual 120mm Cooling Fans and Mesh Design Front Panel Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147114 $39.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 $54.99 - $20.00 MIR

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103696 $169.99

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK - Retai
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231189

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.237033 $154.98 (motherboard + RAM combo)

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.235895.22-136-074 $144.98 (HD + OS combo)

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151187 $29.99

Hanns·G Hi-221DPB Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 Built in Speakers - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254035 $139.99

Total - $734.91 - $20.00 MIR

You could save an extra $20 by going with this AM2+ motherboard + DDR2 RAM, but I would try to stretch the budget to fit in the AM3 + DDR3 if at all possible.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.237087 $134.98 (Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H + G.SKILL 4GB DDR2 800 combo)

You mentioned "light" gaming, so I just went with integrated graphics. There's no chance of getting your build with a decent gaming GPU at your budget.

 

[cromero55]

$700 budget is for cpu/mb/ram/case/psu/dvd/ hdd/ gfx I'm not including the cost of an lcd monitor to this budget. The use of a decent gfx card is very important to my build.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

In that case, I would pick up a 4850 GPU:

XFX HD-485X-ZDFC Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $119.99

or

XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $109.99

You could also swap out the case, but that would put you further over budget.

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail