Which of these 5 builds?

[Ryan_G]

The machine will be used for web design using Adobe CS6 - mostly Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Fireworks, Illustrator and Flash. I don't work with video at the minute but I'd like the option to be available in the future. Most of my Photoshop work is for the web so the images are not huge (it's not like I'm working with pictures that will be published on billboards).

I need a case that will sit on the desk but not block the window and also be easy to move when I need to move offices - hence the Cooler Master HAF XB (expensive but I think I need that shape as an ordinary tower won't work well in the space I have).

I want a machine that will do the job smoothly, without having to wait and will stand the test of time.

But...

I don't want to spend more than I need - if a cheaper machine will do the job well enough then I'll be happy to go with it. I don't want to spend money on overkill.

So I've thought about a few different builds ranging from £525 to £700 - which would you recommend?

Intel i5 With Overclock
---------------------------------------------------------------
i5-3570k Ivybridge £168
RAM £64
Gigabyte NVIDIA GT 640 HD 2GB £66
Gigabyte Z77X-UD4H £132
SSD 128GB Sandisk Extreme £72
HD 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 £40
Antec 520W Neo Eco Modular PSU £48
Cooler Master HAF XB ATX £83
Arctic Cooling Freezer i30 £30
---------------------------------------------------------------
£703

AMD FX 8350 With Overclock
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU | AMD FX 8350 Black Edition 8 Core Processor £153
MOBO | Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 Revision3.0 £76
RAM | Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz (low profile) £64
GPU | Gigabyte NVIDIA GT 640 HD 2GB £66
SSD | SSD 128GB Sandisk Extreme £72
HD | 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 £40
PSU | Antec 520W Neo Eco Modular PSU 80Plus Bronze £46
Case | Cooler Master HAF XB ATX £83
Cooler| Arctic Cooling Freezer A30 CPU Cooler for AMD £27
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
£629

Intel i5, NO Overclock
---------------------------------------------------------------
i5-3470 Ivybridge £148
RAM 16GB £64
Gigabyte NVIDIA GT 640 HD 2GB £66
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 £103
SSD 128GB Sandisk Extreme £72
HD 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 £40
Seasonic SS-400ES 400W PSU £36
Cooler Master HAF XB ATX £83
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total £612

AMD FX 6300, Overclock
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU | AMD FX 6300 Black Edition £102
MOBO | Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 Revision3.0 £76
RAM | Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz (low profile) £64
GPU | Gigabyte NVIDIA GT 640 HD 2GB £66
SSD | SSD 128GB Sandisk Extreme £72
HD | 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 £40
PSU | Antec 520W Neo Eco Modular PSU 80Plus £46
Case| Cooler Master HAF XB ATX £83
Cooler| Arctic Cooling Freezer A30 CPU Cooler £27
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
£576

AMD FX 6300, NO overclock
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU | AMD CPU FX Series 6300 Black Edition £102
MOBO Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 £53
RAM | Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB DDR3 £64
GPU | Gigabyte NVIDIA GT 640 HD 2GB £66
SSD | SSD 128GB Sandisk Extreme £72
HD | 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 £40
PSU | Antec 520W Neo Eco Modular PSU 80Plus £46
Case| Cooler Master HAF XB ATX £83
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
£526

 

[g-unit1111]

Photoshop really won't benefit from overclocking. I'd say go with the second build.

 

[Ryan_G]

Thanks for the info - this is the sort of info that saves money!

So if photoshop won't benefit from overclocking and I'm using the second build could I...

a) go with a stock cooler

b) go with a cheaper mobo ( the reason I chose the GA-970A-UD3 was that it has 8+2 power phases and therefore is good for overclocking). Would the GA-970A-DS3 cut it with no overclocking?

These adjustments would bring the price down to £579 for the second build.

Also, just so that I understand properly - why doesn't overclocking help with photoshop etc?

 

[Outlander_04]

Photoshop and many other programs WILL benefit from overclocking a lot

But photoshop is a suite of programs and some use only one core , so the best balanced performance is probably the intel build .

It will be out paced by the FX 8350 in multithreaded tasks though , and they will tend to be the heavy workload areas

The large gamer case is an odd choice . Why not a quiet office style case? Some of those do have excellent cooling .

 

[Ryan_G]

Ok - so CS6 can benefit from overclocking but only for those that are using a lot of the features.

Do you think that my use would benefit from it or not really require it?

If it wouldn't benefit from overclocking with the i5 or FX8350 (as they are fast enough anyway) would it be better to save money by getting a lower end machine. Would build 5 manage the job? Or an even lower spec. build with an overclock?

So multi-threading...

I don't work with video but I do multi-task a lot and often have several parts of the suite open at once. I will regularly be importing a bunch of pictures into photoshop at full resolution, editing them and transferring them to fireworks where I optimise them for the web (this includes cutting the size down) maybe then do some more work with them in flash and then export to Dreamweaver to incorporate in a website.

Does this sound like the kind of work that would be benefit from the multi-threaded abilities of the FX 8350? I may be mixing up multi-tasking with multi-threading here!

I can see why the case choice looks weird. Height is an issue for me although width and length aren't (I don't want to go micro-ATX though). This case is quite low compared to a tower. Also durability is a big factor as I may have to shift things about fairly regularly and this case has handles etc. and looks good for moving around.