New Build Advice - Web Design/Gaming $750-$1000

[FlyingSwami]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for some help for a web design/gaming PC. My wife does a lot of web design, and I use the PC for more fun reasons (gaming). I generally keep my PCs for 4 years. I was hoping you could help find a PC that gives good performance now, with the ability to upgrade in the future.

I was thinking I would do a home-build, but I saw in other posts that cyberpower and ibuypower were running a lot of promotions for the holidays that might make a pre-built machine worth it; so I'm open to either.

Approximate Purchase Date: As early as this week but definitely by December

Budget Range: After Rebates; After Shipping $750-$1000 (I would be curious to see what different price points could get me)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Web Design, digital art, Gaming, web browsing/streaming, media streaming (I use bluetooth to connect to sound system)

Are you buying a monitor: Yes (see detail below)

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I am good with any reputable vendor. However, for more expensive parts, Amazon is preferred as I have a credit available there.

Location: City, State/Region, Country - Greer, SC, USA

Parts Preferences: N/A

Overclocking: Maybe (I keep my PCs for about 4 years, so upgradeability a plus)

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe (I keep my PCs for about 4 years, so upgradeability a plus)

Your Monitor Resolution: 27" monitor preferred, touch screen a plus (for windows 8 and drawing purposes) - I would be curious to see this priced out separately in case I need to budget an additional amount. As for resolution, not sure what would be best for a 27" monitor and my use; I would think 1920xXXX and perhaps IPS could be useful.

Additional Comments:
Software - Adobe CS6 suite, Games - new releases (I have not gamed in a while as my current laptop cannot keep up).
Aesthetics - I wanted to note that for the pc and monitor aesthetics are important. I don't want a case or tower that looks super gamer-y (no case lights, avoid windows if possible). I like the looks of the Lenovo A720 a lot, but it's overpriced and underpowered.
http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/desktop/ideacentre/a-series/
Quiet - I would be keeping this PC in the living room, so I want to make sure the PC will be quiet, even under a heavy load.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading:
My wife and I currently have two 2-4 year old laptops that struggle to keep up with the adobe suite or can't even play newer games. Our plan is to purchase a solid desktop for work/games, then replace our laptops with tablets (most likely android) while on the go.


Thanks for your help!

 

[butremor]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($104.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB Video Card ($133.62 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Silencio 550 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($90.93 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($53.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($33.99 @ Mac Mall)
Monitor: LG E2742V-BN 27.0" Monitor ($206.94 @ Adorama)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1278.41
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-19 16:26 EST-0500)

Overclocking ready.
SLI half -ready - would need to change PSU, to ~700-750W

 

[FlyingSwami]

Thanks Butremor,

Can you provide some insight on why you made those selections? I would like to understand how the different parts work together. For example, why you selected an i7 versus an i5, etc based on my needs.

Also, do you have any suggestions to bring the cost to $1,000 or less?

Regards,

 

[butremor]

Yeah,
i7 is so much better at CS6 and heavy load applications(3d, maya) and it fits your budget thats why is chose it.
I can make you i5 build but i5 is not so good at cs6 as i7.
Right at the moment build i made is perfect for the needs you listed. But you have yo decide for sure, not as maybe, about need or not overclocking and sli.

 

[butremor]

Okay here new build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($231.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($53.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($33.99 @ Mac Mall)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $942.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-20 05:28 EST-0500)

 

[FlyingSwami]

Hey Butremor,

Overclocking CPU - I would say no - from what I've read on this forum, it seems overclocking does not give a significant performance boost though it does significantly increase heat - requiring more fans/cooling - resulting in more noise.

SLI - I would say yes because I assume (let me know if this is incorrect) that it would be less expensive for me to add another video card down the road than have to upgrade to a single card that can outperform 2 SLI'd cards.

 

[butremor]

Then that build i posted last is way to go. There's is no OC in picture, but crossfire is. Just to clarify, there is Radeon card and they crossfire together. Nvidia cards SLI together.
Honetstly, if you can just spend a bit more, you just buy any gpu from top line and it will serve you well, without need to run dual graphics, until when it's time to buy new pc.

 

[FlyingSwami]

Just to get a few other opinions, can anyone else weigh in on either Butremor's build or suggest a build of their own?

Also, if pricing is reasonably close, I might go with an NVidia as there are apparently some CS6 features optimized for Nvidia and Quattro cards.

 

[butremor]

Oh, right they have CUDA.
Here's build with nvidia card which is superoir to 7870, but also costs more:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($53.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ CompUSA)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1014.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-21 05:37 EST-0500)

 

[FlyingSwami]

Any potential updates for any black Friday deals?

 

[FlyingSwami]

Hey Butremor,

I made some minor changes to your revised build - most of these changes were to update for current prices. Following are other changes I made:

- Video card - previous version you had selected price increased, now the least expensive gtx 670 is the FTW version (which should perform slightly better?), so I chose that
- Changed the case to a case I preferred the looks of, let me know if the case I picked is not compatible with any of the options
- Switched back to Windows 8, in case I can get a touch-screen monitor

Let me know if you think these revisions are ok.

Other questions:
- I like to play music from my stereo from bluetooth on the PC. What do I need to add to the desktop for bluetooth capability (or does it already have it)?
- I noted this PC doesn't have a soundcard, do PC's not need sound cards anymore?
- Does the desktop of a wireless network adapter (ok if not, just curious if this is just in the motherboard)
- I looked at the suggested $1,000 gaming builds threads and saw that they all used the intel i5 3570 and a CPU cooler. For my understanding, why do you suggest the 3470 instead with no CPU cooler?

Thanks

 

[butremor]

There was cooler because 3570k needs more cooling while overclocking. 3470 is just fine without it (though it comes with standart cooler together)
Sound card are integrated into mobo.
To add bluetooth option just buy bluetooth dongle they are cheap 2-5$ and connects to usb

 

[FlyingSwami]

Cool thanks,

Forgot to link my revised build:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pw8X

 

[FlyingSwami]

Best answer selected by FlyingSwami.