Advice pls: PC Build for 10k - only the essentials required.

[saor]

Some advice before I go ahead with the buy would be appreciated. Probably gonna buy from wootware as I'm really happy with their service - but happy to shop around for components / take on suggestions if there are any. I'm building this mainly for making music and watching movies as I don't game (only the occasional unreal 2k4). I'm happy to spend a little bit more or less if need be - but 11-12k max. The only components I need to buy are:

Case
PSU
CPU (important!)
Memory (important!)
Motherboard (to suit components)
Graphics Card

I already have a monitor, SSD (coming from my laptop, so I'll get an enclosure for it), USB audio interface, speakers.

The Graphics Card I'm not too bothered about - just gonna get a basic nvidia card. Was thinking probably in the R1000 to R2000 price range max. The less I can spend on this the better. I like nvidia because I've always used it & never had any conflicts with my other hardware. I'm open to suggestions though.

CPU - Is it better go go with a mid-range i7 chip, or a high-end i5 chip? I'd like to stick with Intel here. I'm really not sure what to go for here. I don't intend to do any overclocking but the CPU together with RAM is what's most important when it comes to making music and processing instruments and loading samples. Happy to use the stock heat-sink or buy one if it doesn't come with one.

Memory - I see all the Corsair stuff on wootware and it's crazy expensive. My current laptop (hp elitebook 8530w) has some stock standard 4gb RAM in it and the performance is still fine for most of my needs. I'll probably get 16 or 32gb for the build. Is this still overkill? Better to save money and get a cheaper Kingston chip without all the vents and flashy stuff on it? Spend the money on a better CPU instead?

The motherboard - I seem to be thinking about this the least. I don't need fancy cooling or anything. Just to be able to plug my components in. I take it the Haswell m/boards on wootware are just for Haswell CPU's? There's some really expensive m/boards - but to me it seems like way less a priority than CPU & RAM - so the best bang for buck the better, unless there's a good reason to invest more into a better m/board.

Thanks .

 

[HavocXphere]

I'm building this mainly for making music and watching movies as I don't game (only the occasional unreal 2k4).

You might want to speak to postmanpot & dj specifically rather than taking general advice. They know their sound hardware well.

Thats assuming you have specific needs on this front. If not then you can probably cut the budget a bit...

You can also look at The Jokers posts over at mygaming for inspiration...his builds are always good - though generally gaming focused.

@GFX cards...the higher end CPUs contain OK-ish built in GFX...so if you don't game you can skip that entirely.

@RAM...thats 1333 RAM...you don't want that. Rather get 16gb of non-flashy 1600 or faster. The flashy stuff won't help your cause here.

 

[saor]

You might want to speak to postmanpot & dj specifically rather than taking general advice. They know their sound hardware well.

Thats assuming you have specific needs on this front. If not then you can probably cut the budget a bit...

Thanks. I've got no specific needs re. this hardware I'm buying. The only things I'd prefer are that I stick to nvidia and Intel as they've both played nice with my other audio hardware in the past. The nvidia GPU I'm not really that stressed about - I can always swap it if there's a conflict so I'm open to suggestions on that front. CPU and RAM are the most important.

 

[HavocXphere]

As I said - skip gfx entirely for now & rather spend the cash on CPU. Thats 1k-2k saved per your post which means you can prob push your mid range i7 to highish range i7.

Not 100% sure how sensitive the built in gfx set-ups are to the quality of the mobo though. I haven't used a built in gfx for more than a couple of mins, but I know they'll be good enough for some casual gaming.

I don't see a PSU there...something like maybe (NB too small to support a high end GFX):

http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=30&products_id=6006

 

[saor]

As I said - skip gfx entirely for now & rather spend the cash on CPU. Thats 1k-2k saved per your post which means you can prob push your mid range i7 to highish range i7

Thanks I've added the PSU to the op. That might be a good idea then re. the gfx card. I do a little bit of video editing but it's really basic stuff so if the on-board graphics struggle - I can always get a card at a later stage. It's really not a priority right now. Not sure how the power requirements of the PSU are calculated - but would that PSU be ok if I were to add an entry-level or slightly mid-range gfx card at a later stage?

Will go check out The Jokers posts too, thanks .

 

[HavocXphere]

Thanks I've added the PSU to the post . That might be a good idea then re. the gfx card. I do a little bit of video editing but it's really basic stuff so if the on-board graphics struggle - I can always get a card at a later stage. It's really not a priority right now. Not sure how the power requirements of the PSU are calculated - but would that PSU be ok if I were to add an entry-level or slightly mid-range gfx card at a later stage?

Will go check out The Jokers posts too, thanks .

450 might be a hint low for adding a mid range gfx later. I picked that one assuming no gfx...you can push the psu up if its a concern though...at 100 bucks per incremental increase its not that expensive to cover yourself there.

http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=30&sort=3a&filter_id=12

tbh I can't find any of jokers builds right now....they seem to be everywhere until I search for them. btw he also sells PC components so if you want something that will definitely gel well together you could buy from him & score some free advice in the process.

 

[HavocXphere]

Not sure how the power requirements of the PSU are calculated

They aren't. Or rather there are "calculators" out there...but you're mostly left with eye-balling it since the calculators are crap in my experience.