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Building a Computer - In Need of Advice!

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#1
Undefined

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Heyyy there!! ^-^

 

So, I'm an absolute noob when it comes to building computers (sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear, lol). I do know some stuff, but not nearly enough to actually... you know, build a decent computer. All of my "techy friends" have very different opinions about what I should focus on when it comes to building my computer, which leaves me at a loss.

Hence, why I'm here!

 

I'm an artist, a gamer, and a streamer. I often use Photoshop and Illustrator at the same time, or play video games and use video and audio recording softwares simultaneously. I have a sound mixer and a mic that I plug into said sound mixer, and I run some pretty heavy games.

Unfortunately, I only have about $1000 USD to build myself a computer that that handle all that...

 

Here's the build I threw together (PCPartPicker List):
If you're wondering why I haven't chosen an OS, it's because I already have an unused Windows 10 key.

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" SSD

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card

Power: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX PSU

Monitor: Asus VS228H-P 21.5" 1920x1080

OS: Windows 10 (Got that already tho)

 

Base Total:  $1036.86

Mail-in Rebates: -$65.00

Total: $971.86

 

It's a little over $1000, yes, and I'm most likely not going to take the Mail-in Rebates opportunities because those are a pain. However, it's close, and I'm not going to cry over $36.86, I would just prefer the price not go too far over $1000.

 

I would like to know what I should focus on. I picked a pretty powerful PSU, but I'm trying to take into account all the things that will be plugged into my computer as well. My friends are complaining that I picked an i5, saying that it won't be good enough. It's not really outdated, I mean it's a sixth generation processor, so I don't see what the issue is. An i7 is nearly $100 more than an i5, which wouldn't be too bad if I currently had a way to make money (I'm a freelance digital artist, so without my computer, I'm out of a job).

 

Would this computer build be good for me or should I go for the i7 and spend less money on a different part or multiple parts?

Or what else could I do to improve upon this build?

Do you have any further advice for me that I should take into account while building a computer?

 

Pleaaaaseee let me know!

 

Also, if you just want to build an entirely new computer on PCPartPicker, I wouldn't be opposed to that... I just threw this together and I have no idea what I'm doing.

 

Thanks so much! <3 ^-^


Edited by Undefined, 13 June 2016 - 09:38 PM.

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#2
iammykyl

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:welcome: Undefined 

​Your selected parts would make a very good gamer, but only a mediocre workstation. As your income depends on getting the best performance from the rig, time taken to complete a project being high on your productivity, I would go for the best workstation you can build.   On option later would be to, if suitable, a GPU upgrade of your current build, solely for gaming/streaming. You did not include a case or optical drive in you list. 

 

Would this computer build be good for me or should I go for the i7 and spend less money on a different part or multiple parts?   Or what else could I do to improve upon this build?

Yes, your friends are right, an i7 would be best.   You won't be using multi video cards, your sound mixer won't draw power from the computer so I think a quality 650W PSU would be more than enough.   A smaller SSD with one or more HDDs would b a better setup. 

 

We will do our best to configure a build as close to your budget as possible.   The link will give you info about a possible CPU choice.   Please also follow the two links at the bottom of the article about memory and GPU. 

https://www.pugetsys...erformance-625/


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#3
Undefined

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:welcome: Undefined 

​Your selected parts would make a very good gamer, but only a mediocre workstation. As your income depends on getting the best performance from the rig, time taken to complete a project being high on your productivity, I would go for the best workstation you can build.   On option later would be to, if suitable, a GPU upgrade of your current build, solely for gaming/streaming. You did not include a case or optical drive in you list. 

 

Would this computer build be good for me or should I go for the i7 and spend less money on a different part or multiple parts?   Or what else could I do to improve upon this build?

Yes, your friends are right, an i7 would be best.   You won't be using multi video cards, your sound mixer won't draw power from the computer so I think a quality 650W PSU would be more than enough.   A smaller SSD with one or more HDDs would b a better setup. 

 

We will do our best to configure a build as close to your budget as possible.   The link will give you info about a possible CPU choice.   Please also follow the two links at the bottom of the article about memory and GPU. 

https://www.pugetsys...erformance-625/

 

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and for your advice! <3

I should mention that I already have an external optical drive that can be connected VIA USB, and I also have a case picked out in my PCPartPicker list (Corsair SPEC-02 ATX Mid Tower), so that's all covered! ^-^

 

I read through the article, and here are the recommended CPUs for running Photoshop:

$318.99 - Intel Core i7 4790K 4.0GHz Quad Core 8MB 88W 
$314.99 - Intel Core i7 6700K 4.0GHz Quad Core 8MB 95W
$554.99 - Intel Core i7 5930K 3.5GHz Six Core 15MB 140W
$564.99 - Intel Xeon E5-1650 V3 3.5GHz Six Core 15MB 140W
 
If you say that 650W is more than enough, I can downgrade my PSU to 650W and save about $10. However, upgrading to an i7 6700K then puts me about $130 over budget, again.
 
 
Some things to take into consideration:
I do use PaintTool SAI and Adobe Illustrator more than I use Photoshop. Photoshop is a very nice and occasionally helpful tool, but it's not necessary for it to work beautifully in order for me to be efficient and productive in my line of work.
 
This is the laptop I used in the past:
2012 VIZIO Laptop PC Model: CN15-A5 15.6" 
1920x1080 pixels
Intel Core i7-3610QM CPU @ 2.30 GHz
8 GB DDR3
1024 GB Hard Drive
NVIDIA GeFore GTX 640M LE

 

Photoshop would work fine at times, albeit a little sluggish... but quite often, it stopped working or crashed. Whenever possible, I stuck to Illustrator or PaintTool SAI which were both a lot friendlier with my old PC. Illustrator was still quite slow, though.

 

I took your advice and looked at both the Memory Optimization and CPU Acceleration articles, but unfortunately, I don't really understand them too well. That's like a whole other world of computers that I haven't gotten into. :/ I don't understand the difference between most GPUs or chipsets and whatnot...

 

Also, you said I should go for a smaller SSD with one or more HDDs.

In the future, I could add HDDs, correct? So would you maybe suggest going with a Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive to start and purchasing HDDs later on?


Edited by Undefined, 14 June 2016 - 05:02 PM.

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#4
iammykyl

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Thanks fror the additional info.

Your budget is very tight for a workstation build, you will need to use the rebates to get close to your $1000, a pain I know.

Made some alterations.

GA MB, Tiny board with odd placement of header, may be awkward to work on, only the one PCI-E slot, no others whatsoever, you could not install any other accessory card/s, may overheat running an i7 using turbo or OC.   The Asrock, no WiFi, you could add it later, Better overall features including 8 phase power.

http://www.newegg.co...128-847:$$$$$$$

 

Smaller 250GB SSD for OS, main programs, HDD for storage and install large less used programs like Office.

 

Your case only takes a ITX board, only one fan included,   The Spec3 has 2 fans, takes atx/mico/itx.   Ditch the extra fan listed.

http://www.newegg.co...139-040:$$$$$$$

 

RAM, The more the better, 32GB, lower speed, but in real world usage, not determinable in performance, 

 

PSU, gone 80+ gold, 650W with 5 year warranty,   Estimated Wattage for the build is 350W, plenty of headroom.

 

Notes, 

The Evo cooler is OK at stock, under full load will be very noisy and is likely to cause the CPU to throttle back with any kind of OC.   User reviews on Newegg are not very good.

I see my suggestion to upgrade your present PC for gaming, is not very practicable.   This i7 build would play games better than the first original i5 build linked.

 

Be happy to answer any questions.   See what you think.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/3Gsxr7


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#5
Undefined

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Since I last posted, I thought a lot about my budget and I found that if I use Amazon I can use their 12-month financing option. Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't offer the absolute best prices when it comes to parts, but it has the same parts in stock, and this will allow me to go a few hundred over budget, seeing as I already have the $1000 and would really only be financing the rest.

 

Thank you SO much for taking the time to put together a build suggestion and a comparison of the different motherboards! I'll be honest, though... I'm reading through the comparison of the two different motherboards, and I'm just not following. Again, I have no experience with building computers, and I'm sure I'm not the only newbie to wander over to these forums, but I really don't know much...

 

I noticed the reviews on Newegg said that the Asrock motherboard has 3 pins instead of 4? Whatever that means (aka, this is making me feel like I'm way out of my league here). I don't want to be cheap about the motherboard. I don't need the absolute best, obviously, but I don't want to be having issues in the future... I also don't know what kind of Wireless Network Adapter I should get in the future if I do go with a motherboard like this?

 

The Spec3 case looks very nice, it'll be nice to also be able to ditch the extra fan. I can do a 250GB SSD and a 1T HDD, that's not a problem and it saves money.

 

As for RAM, I mean anything newer than 2012 and larger than 8GB is a huge upgrade from what I originally had. I'm not going to complain about 32GB even if it is a little slower than DDR4 2400... I probably could never even tell, haha.

 

For the PSU, the 5-year warranty is nice, and hopefully, I won't have to use it. Not entirely sure what the differences would be between Bronze 80+ and Gold 80+ besides the fact that one sounds like it won the Olympics. But I'll trust your judgement.

 

I'll look through the links and read up so I can try to compare things a little better. I do have a bit more of leeway on my budget, though.

 

Edit:

It looks like the G.Skill Ripjaws memory isn't available on Amazon, but I could always go with 16GB for now and add more RAM later, too.

Also, the Spec3 case isn't available on Amazon, or well Amazon Prime at least... so maybe it would be better to go with the Spec2 and get some additional fans, in my case.


Edited by Undefined, 15 June 2016 - 11:44 AM.

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#6
Undefined

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So this is what my build looks like now:

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

     Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM SSHD

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card

Power: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Monitor: HP 22cwa 21.5" 60Hz Monitor

Case: Corsair SPEC-02 ATX Mid Tower Case

OS: Windows 10

 

Total: $1166.24

 

Possible Wireless Adapter (?): Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter

 

Please, any more advice on this build would be greatly appreciated!


Edited by Undefined, 15 June 2016 - 10:38 PM.

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#7
iammykyl

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Sorry for the delay, not a lot of time yesterday.

With regards 3 pin connectors in Asrock review.   They refer to case fan ones, the board has 3 x Chassis Fan Connectors (2 x 4-pin, 1 x 3-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control), the 3 pin can be used with a 3 pin fan, so plenty.   The GA WiFi board, 1 x 4-pin, so limiting you to 1 case fan.

 

Your GA-Z170X-UD3 is a good choice and the upgrade GTX 960 with 4GB is better.

Yes, added, Amazon Prime. Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter, 

Yes, added the RAM. 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/CB6ZLD

 

Notes.

From the parts list, if you buy as listed, the cheapest prices.   If you buy the following using Prime financing, with free shipping, you can still get the Spec3 case.

 

EVGA 210-GQ-0650-V1  $69.99

Asus VS228H-P/VS228 21.5-Inch $99.99

Seagate 1TB Desktop HDD $49.99

 

Tip.

When on CPP, click on , Price Breakdown By Merchant


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#8
Undefined

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Unfortunately, I didn't see your message... I didn't end up going with the Spec3 case, but it's not the end of the world.

So I've ordered the parts and the moment of truth will arrive once I've gone and assembled everything, which will probably be next Wednesday or Thursday depending on when I receive all of them.

 

I can't thank you enough for your help, for your guidance and for the time you put into finding parts and creating builds on PCPP. ^-^ It really means a lot!


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#9
iammykyl

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Ye, sorry about that, lost a day.

Download your Hardware manuals and get familiar, Post if any questions.

The Downloaded MB manual may be more up to date than the boxed one, > http://www.gigabyte....pid=5499#manual

For the official Intel installation video, CPU,  please choose from this page https://www-ssl.inte...stallation.html

 

You are very welcome Undefined  :thumbsup:   :rockon:   Any questions at all, please post.


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#10
iammykyl

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Gday.
Not heard back from you.   How has the build progressed? If you no longer need help, please let us know and update your Topic, click on a  Mark Solved box, for best answer.
 
Thanks.


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