$1500 Gaming/Photoshop Computer

Suntro

Distinguished
Nov 4, 2011
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18,510
Hey there guys I plan on building my first PC, completely new to this thing. What I need is something that can successfully handle some heavy Photoshop use and play modern games well (think BF3/Skyrim).


Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next month

Budget Range: $1500-2000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Photoshop, games, web surfing

Parts Not Required: mouse, monitor, keyboard

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: directcanada, amazon.ca (anywhere that gives free shipping to Canada wins my heart)

Country of Origin: Canada

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: Would prefer an Intel processor with an Nvidia GPU

Overclocking: Nope

SLI or Crossfire: Not necessary

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 (already owned)

Additional Comments: I need a computer that'll last me for years to come, something I can upgrade when needed. Something quiet and won't melt on me is also a big plus. I'll be needing 8GB of RAM minimum. I also read on one website that having multiple HDDs is extremely handy when dealing with Photoshop if it makes a big difference I'll be wanting that.



I haven't made any final decisions yet but based on a few other threads here I've been checking out these sound good:

Coolermaster Haf 912 Black Mid Tower ATX Case 4X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB Sound
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC0700&vpn=RC-912-KKN1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER

Silencer Mk II 750W (if necessary?)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003U29C3Q?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=dynadata-20

ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II Fermi 830MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI Mini HDMI PCI-E Video Card
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530BD2617&vpn=ENGTX560%20Ti%20DCII/2DI/1GD5&manufacture=ASUS


Thanks in advance, I'm new to this stuff so if anything I've said makes absolutely no sense please bear with me.

EDIT: I've believe I've chosen pieces that'll work for me. Could somebody please confirm compatibility and quality? Am I missing anything?

Case: HAF 912


Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V Pro Z68 LGA1155 ATX 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2 PCI B3 Motherboard

Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K Quad Core Unlocked Hyperthreading Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Sandy Bridge 8MB

RAM: Kingston HyperX KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 XMP Dual Channel Memory Kit

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD Fermi 732MHZ 1280MB GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card

HDD: Seagate Barracuda XT ST32000641AS 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Optical drive: SAMSUNG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Combo w/LightScribe Support Model TS-HB43L/HPBHF - OEM

PSU: PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II PPCMK2S650 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Active PFC Power Supply
 
Solution
Try this build - it's pretty similar to what I'm using:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 - $59.99
PSU: Corsair Builder Series CX600 - $69.99
Motherboard; Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P - $169.99
CPU: 3.30 Ghz Intel Core i5-2500K - $219.99
Cooler: Corsair CFA70 - $38.99
SSD: 64GB Crucial M4 - $114.99
HD: Seagate Barracuda XT 1TB - $148,99
RAM: 16GB (4 x 4GB) Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz 1.5V - $89.99
Optical: LG CD/DVD Burner - $18.99
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 560 TI 1GB - $249.99
Keyboard / Mouse: Logitech MK260 - $28.99
OS: Windows 7 Pro - $139.99
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.6" 1080p - $189.99

Total: $1546.99

roblaw42

Distinguished
Oct 21, 2011
144
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18,690
For cpu, get i7 2600k. It has hyperthreading which will make it very fast in photoshop.
For GPU, EVGA is better than Asus so get the EVGA Geforce GTX 560 Ti. Since you have such a large budget, you might as well go up a level and get the EVGA GTX 570.
PSI and case look good.
For storage, you could get a mid size ssd and run photoshop and the OS off that for speedy startup times. You could then get a 1-2 tb hdd for data storage.
Also try newegg.ca for shopping.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
Try this build - it's pretty similar to what I'm using:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 - $59.99
PSU: Corsair Builder Series CX600 - $69.99
Motherboard; Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P - $169.99
CPU: 3.30 Ghz Intel Core i5-2500K - $219.99
Cooler: Corsair CFA70 - $38.99
SSD: 64GB Crucial M4 - $114.99
HD: Seagate Barracuda XT 1TB - $148,99
RAM: 16GB (4 x 4GB) Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz 1.5V - $89.99
Optical: LG CD/DVD Burner - $18.99
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 560 TI 1GB - $249.99
Keyboard / Mouse: Logitech MK260 - $28.99
OS: Windows 7 Pro - $139.99
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.6" 1080p - $189.99

Total: $1546.99
 
Solution

Suntro

Distinguished
Nov 4, 2011
6
0
18,510


Looks good to me! And if it works for you it should work for me. Thanks for your help.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Mine's just a couple of minor changes - I'm using exact everything except the CPU (i3-2120), fan (Cooler Master Hyper 212), RAM (XMS 3 instead of Vengeance), and video card (ATI 5800 instead of Geforce 560) but other than that it's all the same.