Tying to Slim down my PC Build (currently at $1200 and seems high)

[VTHokiEE06]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within the next month

BUDGET RANGE: $1000 - $1300 Before Rebates (cheaper the better)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Photo Editing, Light Gaming, general internet use

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: mwave.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel i7 (if it makes sens financially)

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe (in the future)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024 (I think)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Cheaper the better, but I would like the option to insert a new CPU/more RAM in the future to extend the longevity of the computer. At the same time not sure if I should move to an i5 because I really don't plan on doing a lot of gaming.

Parts:

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=AA73298 ] 640 GB Harddrive - $64 (To Raid with existing 640 GB HDD) [/url]

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=3005598 ] Radeon 5750 - $145 [/url]

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=BA24313 ] corsais 750W PSU - $100 [/url]

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=BA25453 ] Antec 300 Case - $56 [/url]

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=BD11274 ] Card Reader - $7 (should I just get a USB external one?) [/url]

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=SA02281 ] Samsung DVD R-W - $23 [/url]

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=BD11295 ] i7-930 - $285 [/url]

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=BA61015 ] ASUS P6t SE - $200 [/url]

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=AA76407 ] Kingston 6GB RAM - $197 [/url]


Or what would be a better alternate build that is cheaper. I mainly plan to use it for Photoshop equivalent software, light gaming (I would love to be able to play the new Starcraft when it comes out), and then general internet usage. Realistically, I don't game that much and the computer I would like would be good at photoshop above all else.

Also, I plan on having mwave put together this system for me. Has anyone here had any experience with that?

Thanks!

Thanks for the help!

 

[MadAdmiral]

Are you only able to use mwave, or are you doing it just to have them put it together? I ask because many of the parts are cheaper on Newegg. Putting it together yourself is extremely easy and is genearlly a good experience to have. I can already tell just by looking that you could easily save quite a bit by buying from Newegg...

You don't need such a big GPU for your resolution. Drop down to a much cheaper card like the HD 4650 for $30 after rebate (from Newegg).

G.Skill Pi 3x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $190. Cheaper, faster sticks. Of course, they're from Newegg...

Antec Earthwatts 750W $85 after rebate. Cheaper, just as high quality PSU. Also from Newegg.

Seagate 7200.12 500 GB $55. This drive will be faster. I'm not a fan of RAID, unless you're talking about RAID 0.

I highly recommend getting the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R for only $10 more (on Newegg again. Seeing a trend?). It's got USB 3/SATA III support, making it much more future proof.

 

[Silmarunya]

Rather than saving on the GPU, which I don't see a reason for, you should look into your CPU.

Gaming does not require a big CPU. Photo editing doesn't either. You're not interested in crossfire with high end graphics cards. That means there is no rational reason for an X58 platform computer.

Get either a P55 platform with an i7-860 (which is more powerful than the i7-9XX series in general and motherboards are way cheaper) or go AMD for insanely good upgrade perspective and great price/performance.

Thuban is coming out in a week or two. For video editing, it looks like it's more powerful than the 930, and AM3 motherboards are a lot cheaper.

So either you go for P55, giving you very high performance and a low power consumption, or you go for moderate performance with a quad core AMD, or you wait a week or two and go for very high performance at a reasonable price using an AMD hexacore CPU.

Either way will be cheaper than X58 and just as powerful.

 

[VTHokiEE06]

So about a year ago I tried to help my brother put together a build and it crashed and burned and he ended up giving me the parts to try to resurrect it. After pulling my hair out and replacing practically every part to no avail I decided I should just get a working computer. Mwave offers a service for $80 where they put the computer together for you/test it/install OS etc. This seemed like a much better deal (even if it costs more than newegg) than going through the process again. I built 5 or 6 systems before that no problems, but I'm scared of blowing my money of a system that I can't bring up again.

I'm open to suggestions, but I'm not sure I really want to take on a build again right now...

 

[MadAdmiral]

@Silmarunya: Did you even look at the resolution? It's 1280x1024. You could game on that with integrated graphics. Spending $150 on a GPU to play games on a monitor with that low of a resolution is just plain insane. Just dropping the GPU down results in a $100+ savings with absolutely no impact on performance. How could downgrading the CPU even compare to that? If you lower the CPU, you're taking a performance hit no matter what.

When you built it yourself, did you actually look at the compatibility of the parts? How about doing research into the building process? Those woudl be the only reasons why putting it together yourself would fail. I would recommend taking another shot at it...

 

[VTHokiEE06]

In a game I may up the resolution somewhat, but really I don't plan on doing a ton of gaming in general. All the parts were compatible (or so I was led to believe from my research if I could figure that one out I'd live with that computer for a bit, but that's neither here nor there at the moment).

I'll spec if out in NewEgg and see if I can convince myself to try it again (have a case/psu/hdd's etc that I could use in that case...)

 

[mosox]

Mobo GIGABYTE GA-790XT-USB3
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=BH00300

CPU Phenom II X4
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=BD11182

RAM KINGSTON KVR1333D3N9K2/4G ValueRAM 4GB kit
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=BA25731

GPU SAPPHIRE 100284L Radeon HD 5750
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=3005598

HDD
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=AA73298

DVD LG
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=AA75590

PSU CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=BA25093

Case ANTEC THREE HUNDRED

$794.92

LE: for photo editing get a good monitor.