Hi all.
This looks like a busy forum
A little background to my computing history: I've always been a little behind the times: used a Commodore 64 through the 90's, then had an IBM 386 running Windows 3.1 off MS DOS 6.0 between 1996-2004 (yeah, really).
2005 got my first modern PC: AMD 3000 @2.1Ghz with 512MB. Couple of years later upgraded the RAM and boosted it with an Nvidia 256MB graphics card.
2010 got me a fine little laptop: HP NC4400 with a decent Core2Duo and 2GB RAM. Now finally I'm ready to get me a proper high-performance system
I'm clearly not someone who keeps up to date or who needs to upgrade every year or so, but these last few years I've been getting more involved in heavy-duty computer work: RAW-image processing, HD Video editing, digital animation, WAV-audio work requiring fast latency response for software instruments, Access Database management, remote access/server administration, and I'm also partial to a good game or two...
...the last PC game I played was Knights Of The Old Republic...I'm sure there's been a few good ones since then! But things like overclocking and playing the latest games at the highest settings aren't important, tho' it would be nice to play some of the big games of the last few years at the highest settings (Bioshock is one that caught my eye).
So basically I'm looking to invest €1000-€2000 on a high-performance all-round system which will enable me to efficiently work (and play) for a good few years without having to think about upgrades or performance issues.
I've done a lot of research, and thought I'd present two builds I'm looking at. Your experience and feedback would be very welcome :good:
Build 1 (lower cost):
Processor: i7-2600k (this is a fixed choice)
RAM: 4x4gb DDR3 1333Mhz dual-channel RAM (fixed)
Graphics: HD3000 (onboard)
Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 (Z68 chipset)
Housing: (any 1 of many generic cases I see available)
Power: (any 1 of many generic 550w power supplies available
HD: Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1TB (fixed)
OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit (fixed: I need the remote access and server admin functions)
Drive: Samsung SH-222AB
Gamepad: (any entry-level Logitech joypad)
Control: (any generic wireless keyboard/maus combination)
Monitor: HP LP2475W (fixed choice = IPS, 24", 1080p)
Total cost: €1200 approx.
Build 2 (higher cost, higher performance?)
Processor: i7-2600k (this is a fixed choice)
RAM: 4x4gb DDR3 1333Mhz dual-channel RAM (fixed)
Graphics: GTX-560ti 2GB
Mainboard: Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z (Z68 chipset)
Housing: (specialist cube-style case with excellent cooling properties and fan-speed dial)
Power: (branded: the Be Quiet 80+ range looks good)
HD: Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1TB (fixed)
HD2: (any highly-recommended USB 3.0 external hard drive)
SSD: 64GB SSD to act as cache for the main hard drive
OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit (fixed: I need the remote access and server admin functions)
Drive: Samsung SH-222AB
Gamepad: (any highly recommended games controller)
Control: (any highly recommended wireless keyboard/maus combination)
Monitor: HP LP2475W (fixed choice = IPS, 24", 1080p)
Total cost: not far off €2000
Other devices: a printer will no doubt also join the setup, but I'm not too fussed about that right now. That will involve almighty research all on its own (mostly to do with faithful colour reproduction for photos). For audio I already use the Alesis IO/2 and M-Audio Midisport for midi-communications, these are connected via USB and work well for me so far (at least on Windows XP they do, not used Windows 7 yet).
So your feedback on whether Build 2 is worth paying the extra money for, or whether the benefits of a dedicated graphics card and better motherboard, case and power supply are not actually that huge. Also any other suggestions would be great. Regarding the motherboard, I don't need it to have a ton of connections as I don't envisage me building on the setup for a good few years (tho' it seems quite addictive, so who knows?)
Cheers!
This looks like a busy forum
A little background to my computing history: I've always been a little behind the times: used a Commodore 64 through the 90's, then had an IBM 386 running Windows 3.1 off MS DOS 6.0 between 1996-2004 (yeah, really).
2005 got my first modern PC: AMD 3000 @2.1Ghz with 512MB. Couple of years later upgraded the RAM and boosted it with an Nvidia 256MB graphics card.
2010 got me a fine little laptop: HP NC4400 with a decent Core2Duo and 2GB RAM. Now finally I'm ready to get me a proper high-performance system
I'm clearly not someone who keeps up to date or who needs to upgrade every year or so, but these last few years I've been getting more involved in heavy-duty computer work: RAW-image processing, HD Video editing, digital animation, WAV-audio work requiring fast latency response for software instruments, Access Database management, remote access/server administration, and I'm also partial to a good game or two...
...the last PC game I played was Knights Of The Old Republic...I'm sure there's been a few good ones since then! But things like overclocking and playing the latest games at the highest settings aren't important, tho' it would be nice to play some of the big games of the last few years at the highest settings (Bioshock is one that caught my eye).
So basically I'm looking to invest €1000-€2000 on a high-performance all-round system which will enable me to efficiently work (and play) for a good few years without having to think about upgrades or performance issues.
I've done a lot of research, and thought I'd present two builds I'm looking at. Your experience and feedback would be very welcome :good:
Build 1 (lower cost):
Processor: i7-2600k (this is a fixed choice)
RAM: 4x4gb DDR3 1333Mhz dual-channel RAM (fixed)
Graphics: HD3000 (onboard)
Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 (Z68 chipset)
Housing: (any 1 of many generic cases I see available)
Power: (any 1 of many generic 550w power supplies available
HD: Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1TB (fixed)
OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit (fixed: I need the remote access and server admin functions)
Drive: Samsung SH-222AB
Gamepad: (any entry-level Logitech joypad)
Control: (any generic wireless keyboard/maus combination)
Monitor: HP LP2475W (fixed choice = IPS, 24", 1080p)
Total cost: €1200 approx.
Build 2 (higher cost, higher performance?)
Processor: i7-2600k (this is a fixed choice)
RAM: 4x4gb DDR3 1333Mhz dual-channel RAM (fixed)
Graphics: GTX-560ti 2GB
Mainboard: Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z (Z68 chipset)
Housing: (specialist cube-style case with excellent cooling properties and fan-speed dial)
Power: (branded: the Be Quiet 80+ range looks good)
HD: Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1TB (fixed)
HD2: (any highly-recommended USB 3.0 external hard drive)
SSD: 64GB SSD to act as cache for the main hard drive
OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit (fixed: I need the remote access and server admin functions)
Drive: Samsung SH-222AB
Gamepad: (any highly recommended games controller)
Control: (any highly recommended wireless keyboard/maus combination)
Monitor: HP LP2475W (fixed choice = IPS, 24", 1080p)
Total cost: not far off €2000
Other devices: a printer will no doubt also join the setup, but I'm not too fussed about that right now. That will involve almighty research all on its own (mostly to do with faithful colour reproduction for photos). For audio I already use the Alesis IO/2 and M-Audio Midisport for midi-communications, these are connected via USB and work well for me so far (at least on Windows XP they do, not used Windows 7 yet).
So your feedback on whether Build 2 is worth paying the extra money for, or whether the benefits of a dedicated graphics card and better motherboard, case and power supply are not actually that huge. Also any other suggestions would be great. Regarding the motherboard, I don't need it to have a ton of connections as I don't envisage me building on the setup for a good few years (tho' it seems quite addictive, so who knows?)
Cheers!
