Is this a good set-up for the Intel Core i5 3570K?

[micahacobb]

Hello,

I am trying to update a 3-year-old desktop to make it snappy enough to run Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign...none of the video editing software) for my wife's graphic design work.

I wanted to limit my expenses to $500-$600, but I'd like to buy powerful enough components that my wife can comfortably use this computer for 3 years before we need to upgrade.

I thought about getting an AMD FX card and using the savings to get a better GPU. But after countless hours of research, I have decided that an Intel Core i5 processor would give more longevity and power.

So, I am planning to buy the following:

EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Intel Core i5 3570k

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard



Questions:

1.) Is the graphics card too weak for the CPU? Will it bottleneck it? Is there a graphics card for ~$150 that'll pair well with this CPU?

2.) If I need to have a better GPU, then I'll need to get a cheaper CPU. If I need a $200+ dollar GPU, that's going to put more in the i3 or AMD FX range. Is that okay for a rig that needs to last about 3 years?

3.) Would it be better to get a cheaper AMD chip (FX 4100 or 8120) and put the savings into a $250 graphics card?


Sorry for so many questions. I just don't want to spend $500-600 and make a stupid purchase.

--Micah

 

[rolli59]

1 HD6850 is more powerful and if you shop with rebate you can get either HD6870 or GTX560 for $150 which are still better.
2 2500K is cheaper usually.
3 No.
A combo like this leaves space for a better CPU and 8GB ram under $600. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.959055

 

[micahacobb]

1 HD6850 is more powerful and if you shop with rebate you can get either HD6870 or GTX560 for $150 which are still better.
2 2500K is cheaper usually.
3 No.

Thank you so much.

 

[InvalidError]

If I read the CS6 docs right, CS6 supports OpenCL in OSX only while Windows is stuck with CUDA which means AMD GPUs are no-go for CS6 GPGPU rendering.

 

[boabs]

deffo get a 6850 alot better card. ive never seen any cards released since 6850/6870 the whole ati 7 series card rip off amd had them reduced in price 2weeks after release.thats a company just churning out cheap stuff to make there money up asap.

 

[boabs]

even better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161389

 

[boabs]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/541?vs=540