Build My PC

3

3p1c

Banned
Joined
Nov 18, 2010
Messages
435
Reaction score
0
Hi Guys

I'm ready to buy a new machine and honestly I'm kinda out dated with what's happening on the spec scene these days.

My current system I just sold was:

Core2Duo 2.9Ghz
4GB DDR2 800Mhz
500GB Sata HDD
1TB Sata - for storage
Normal LG Black DVDRW
MSI N220 1GB card dual monitor outpout (enty level around R900 bucks 1.5 years ago)
Windows 7 Pro 64 bit

Right so I'll sort my own screens( R1500 inc each -24"x 2) - so that's R3k down already...so it comes down to the internal components I need advice on to fit the budget.

I know I would like these mnimum specs:

Corei7 CPU - something solid - AMD is also an option... dont know it well though?
8GB DDR3 1333mhz minimum 2 x 4GB or 4 x 2GB (advise?)
500GB as primary drive for OS - and 2 x 1TB drives as storage - possibly raid? Good idea or not -raid?
Graphics Card - I'm not playing games anymore :) but I do use Photoshop and other basic editing apps daily - so nothing overthe top needed here..
Decent fast DVDRW - not amped for blueray.
OS - I will sort out
Chassis - i like plain type looking chassis- no fancy gamer type units..
PSU - something reasonable to run the core components and have potential to handle more drives etc later on...

Budget R8000 including screens (too low?)

Suggestions appreciated :)
 
Ha soz , I'm looking for mobo cpu, hdd brand, psu chassis and ram brand suggestions :D
 
3p1c said:
I know I would like these mnimum specs:

Corei7 CPU - something solid - AMD is also an option... dont know it well though?
8GB DDR3 1333mhz minimum 2 x 4GB or 4 x 2GB (advise?) Might just as well then go AMD instead of Intel i7. i7 supports tripple channel Ram that AMD on their new hex cores does not. So 8GB in dual channel or 6GB in Tripple channel. Brand for me personally is CORSAIR DOMINATOR. Can also look at Mushkin or Patriot
500GB as primary drive for OS - and 2 x 1TB drives as storage - possibly raid? Good idea or not -raid?
Graphics Card - I'm not playing games anymore :) but I do use Photoshop and other basic editing apps daily - so nothing overthe top needed here..SSD for System drive. There are a few good ones but you will need to do your homework before you buy. As for the storage I would go for the Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB with 64mb cache SATA 6gig
Decent fast DVDRW - not amped for blueray.Anyone will really do here. LG has a new one out
OS - I will sort out Obviously this will be a 64bit OS. If not there is no use for more than 3gb of RAM
Chassis - i like plain type looking chassis- no fancy gamer type units..Choices, Choices
PSU - something reasonable to run the core components and have potential to handle more drives etc later on...Again my choice is the Coolermaster Silent pro series with cable management but there is a few other good brands out there. Just look at 80+ ratings when the choice is made.

Budget R8000 including screens (too low?) By far to low if the screens is in this budget as well

Suggestions appreciated :)
Click to expand...

For a graphics card you can look at the GTX460's range as well as the new AMD cards (6850) they are reasonably priced.
 
Last edited:
If you're not playing games, get the cheapest GPU you can. (GTX 460 or 6850 is absolute overkill). Even integrated graphics are fine. Heck why do you even need to upgrade in the first place if I may ask?

Get 2 x 4gb DDR3 so it's upgradeable in future - they're cheap now. Get 1.5Tb hard drives, they're cheap now too.
 
Right now for Photoshop especially you'll want an Intel rig. That said a LGA1366 rig will set you back R4500 for just the CPU+mobo.
Sandy Bridge you could get a 2400 CPU and decent mobo for R3500, add 4GB RAM (I prefer G.Skill) and you're are at roughly R4250. Adding in the screens you have R750 left for everything else :/
So either you add another R2k I'd say, or you need to start dropping components with the intention of adding them in later
 
+1 Yeah why are you wanting an upgrade?

I am in the process of upgrading. However due to the SB issues, I have not yet gotten a CPU or mobo.
However I have already gotten my SSD - I popped it in my current C2D 2.67GHz computer with 4GB DDR2 800Mhz.... and I must say, it feels like the whole computer has been upgraded!
When I switch back to my previous seagate 7200rpm hdd, it really makes the whole system feel terribly sluggish in comparison.

So how about considering an SSD?
 
Same. Got an SSD with my C2D Dell laptop, I don't think I can go back, ever.
 
Got a 40gb sandforce based SSD. I forget the brand. It's enough for Mac OS X, all my software, including XCode 4. I use a USB external for extra space - movies, music, photos etc. Bit more of a hassle but worth it.
 
You can always just get like the 23" Dell screens from Game, which are R999 each, then you'll have plenty of cash left for a nice rig:
Core i5 2500K ~R2k
H67 motherboard with DVI+HDMI ~R1200
1TB HDD ~ R600
Power supply ~ R500
Case ~ R400
DVD-Writer ~ R200
8GB RAM ~ R1200

Like most of the guys here suggested, it is really worth while to get a 120GB GB SSD if you're going to be using the PC for work! These drives go for about R2200. Like I got my G.Skill Phoenix 120GB SSD (with SF1200 controller) for R1999 a couple of months ago, and the performance is really awesome!

With Windows 7 I would recommend that you don't go for anything less than 60GB! My office PC has a 30GB OCZ Vertec2 SSD and it's more than enough. I've got like 10GB free on it and it has all my data, applications and OS (Ubuntu 10.04 x64) on it.

So ja, either you'll have to increase your budget, or you'll have to settle for way less.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X