$500 Graphic Design First Build

[wombat41]

My main question is what motherboard I should get, then I'm sure I can fit everything else together. I'm looking at building a rig that I will be using for medium/heavy use graphic designing. It's for school and later for work, so I would like it to be a nice machine. I'm not looking at skimping on parts. I would also like it to be upgradable in the future.

Approximate Purchase Date: June

Budget Range: $500-700, can be reasonably flexible.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Adobe Creative Suite Standard, multimedia, light gaming (Diablo 3 at the most), surfing the web.

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon, Newegg

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: ?

Monitor Resolution:1920x1200 (have already)

Additional Comments: I want it to be as quiet as possible. I'm not looking for a gaming rig, but one that can handle Photoshop with no problems or slowdowns.



I already have a monitor: Samsung SyncMaster T240HD 1080p

I am so far looking at a Intel Core i5-2500k. What motherboard would you guys recommend?

I'm looking at getting an SSD for OS and Adobe, and then a HDD for storage.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148448

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Caviar-Internal-Desktop/dp/B0036Q7MV0/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1337303957&sr=1-5

For my memory, I'm thinking of 16gb in the future but right now 8gb will do.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

I would also like to find a nice (relatively cheap) graphics card that I can instal right away.

So, what I would like suggestions on is: Motherboard, Graphics card, and if you're generous, a case and power supply. I know I'm asking for a lot, so if I could just be pointed in the right direction to choosing a motherboard that would be great. Also let me know if my price range is doable for what I'm asking.

Thanks!

 

[vrumor]

You arent looking to skimp on parts but you only have $500 for a workstation basically that you want to put an i5-2500k CPU in thatll take up almost half your budget? Not sure its possible. Someone may have some advice mine would be to save more money.

 

[wombat41]

Okay. I updated budget range. I'm not stuck in any price range, I can go higher, but I don't want a super machine that I will only use half the power with Adobe, but at the same time I want everything to run as smooth as possible.

 

[dudewitbow]

budgetwise, the i5/i7 series would pair up with the asrock pro3 gen3 z68 board, or the lower end z77 boards. i can give the combo deal for them in a bit brb

edit:

I5-2500k + Asrock Pro3 Gen3 z68 307$

Alternatively if you magically chose a i5-3570k, the cheapest mobo/cpu combo would be

Biostar Z77 TZ77b + I5-3570k 325$ or 360$ with 8 gb corsair ram (you can always add a bit more $ if you prefer a different mobo for all the choices above)

for the rest of the cost, you will need to allocate into a case, psu, gpu, os, hdd and a dvd drive

lets say hypothetically all 3 above is 350$ combined(cpu mobo and ram), then you have a 350$ budget to fit the rest

dvd drive should cost ~17-24$
os will cost at least 100$ unless you already have one
hdd will cost ~80-90$ for 1tb, additional if you want an ssd

so that leaves about 136$ to fit a case, psu, and gpu(ssd will probably destroy the budget)
at 136$ you cant do much with a gpu, unless you have an OS CD already, which is the next question i ask

 

[wombat41]

Thanks for the reply!

I'm liking that bundle with the RAM.

do not have a case, OS, power supply, or graphics. I am building this all the way up from nothing. I can get Win7 for $60-80 through my university (nice discounts!).

I've found this case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153 ($50)

DVD Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 ($17)

HDD: I'm looking at 1tb MAX. really, anything lower than $100. space is not much of an issue, i also have a portable drive, so even a cheaper 500gb will work.

SSD: 64gb, for OS and Adobe http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441 ($80)

So I'm looking at $360 + $20 for DVD drive + $50 Case + $100 for OS (in case I can't get the discount) + $90 for HDD + $80 SSD = $700!! but...

Still need: Power supply. Graphics card.

What's a good power supply that isn't a wallet buster?

After that, all I would be looking at is a graphics card. Would any of you think this would necessary? Would the integrated graphics do the job?

I saw this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161403&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Video+Cards-_-Hightech+Information+System+Ltd.-_-14161403 ($120) yay? nay?

Thanks for any input, again.

 

[dudewitbow]

Thanks for the reply!

I'm liking that bundle with the RAM.

do not have a case, OS, power supply, or graphics. I am building this all the way up from nothing. I can get Win7 for $60-80 through my university (nice discounts!).

I've found this case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153 ($50)

DVD Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 ($17)

HDD: I'm looking at 1tb MAX. really, anything lower than $100. space is not much of an issue, i also have a portable drive, so even a cheaper 500gb will work.

SSD: 64gb, for OS and Adobe http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441 ($80)

So I'm looking at $360 + $20 for DVD drive + $50 Case + $100 for OS (in case I can't get the discount) + $90 for HDD + $80 SSD = $700!! but...

Still need: Power supply. Graphics card.

What's a good power supply that isn't a wallet buster?

After that, all I would be looking at is a graphics card. Would any of you think this would necessary? Would the integrated graphics do the job?

I saw this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161403&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Video+Cards-_-Hightech+Information+System+Ltd.-_-14161403 ($120) yay? nay?

Thanks for any input, again.

I should ask how much are you willing to spend on the gpu and psu combined:

Samsung Spinpoint(post seagate aquisition) 80$-10$ if you want to cut hdd price, though that deal ends at midnight.

Alternatively

Seagate Barracuda 100-15$=85$ ending on the 21st


as for PSU

Seasonic m12II 520 60$

OCZ ZS 550w 70$(45$ after rebate)

Challenger case + Rosewill Hive 550w combo 100-10.50(89.50, thats your case + psu) with code RW15PSUM till 21st

 

[quilciri]

While I would go with an i3 or an phenom II on a $700 budget, a 2500k can be had for $170

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589

you can also get an i3 2100 for $90 there
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0359809

 

[wombat41]

Looking at the prices of a gpu, I think I'd rather hold off on that for now. If I can stay under $800 with everything, I consider that a win.

Thanks for the inputs!

 

[blakphoenix]

you don't want a 2500k, you don't need an unlocked cpu for this computer. You'd be better off putting the money into a 8 core locked cpu. You also want Ivy Bridge as the onboard graphics increase will help you a LOT more than SB cpus + the extra core count.

CPU: $319 i7 3770 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116502
MoBo: $139 Gigabye Z77-UD3 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512
RAM: $49 8GB Corsair Vengance - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144
SSD: $79 Cruicial M4 64GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441
HD: $95 WD 1TB Green - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236070
PSU: $45 Antec 380W - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

Total: $726

It's a bit over your original budget but it will fly for what you're planning to do. You won't need a graphics card as Diablo 3 can be played using the onboard GPU, albeit at low graphics (but that doesn't matter in D3 anyway). If you in the future want to upgrade you can easily add a dedicated GPU. If you want to drop the price further drop the SSD. You can drop down to the 3550 if you like but you will notice a drop in Adobe performance and in gaming performance.

 

[wombat41]

Thanks blakpoenix,

that mobo seems to be getting some bad reviews... but I like the setup.

Would there be any downside to getting an unlocked cpu if i dont plan on OCing it? getting a i5-2500k or 3570k would save me a considerable amount of money, and should be enough power, right? forget about gaming, that would only be a luxury for this build, i really just want it to run Adobe suite efficiently.

And for now, video card and (maybe) sound card will be bought in the future. They don't fit very well in my budget right now. I've expanded it enough hah.

 

[wombat41]

So I've kind of taken what some of you have said and put them together, and created this build:

CPU
Intel Core i5-3550 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 ($210)

Motherboard
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS ($150)

SSD (for loading OS and Adobe only)
Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive ($80)

HDD (for just storage)
Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ/ST500DM005 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive ($80)

Memory
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) ($55)

GPU
HIS H675FS1G Radeon HD 6750 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card ($90)

Optical Drive
ASUS 24X DVD Burner ($18)

Case and Power Supply
Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower, Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-550 550W ($100)

Total = $783

This seems like a good price point for me.

Apparently a friend can help me out with the OS so that is no longer an issue. But what do you guys think? Is everything in this build compatible? Any tweeks or recommendations?