"productivity" PC

[Lipcot]

Here are the components.

PC Part Picker Link (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QmMpxr)

the 600w psu and the 1x8 gb ram is to leave some upgradeabillity to the pc, in case i need to add a graphics card or increase RAM.

This PC is for someone who's studying graphic design and needs a PC in a Mini ITX. Its a girl who knows nothing about PC's so she just wants something that looks nice and can get the job done. My knowledge in PC building is very limited (2 PC's built in my whole life). It will probably end up being used as a TV also

What do you think about it?

PD: im looking online for used I5's to see if i can save some money on it.

EDIT: New build HERE (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WCgwwP)

[Harrier]

What sort of graphic design are we talking about here? Since she might need a good video card

[Citrus]

IIRC the 'K' processors are unlocked. I doubt she's going to be doing any over-clocking based on your post. You'd save some money getting the standard version. https://pcpartpicker.com/parts/compare/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690,intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k/

Another thing to consider is a dual-core CPU with hyper-threading. It depends on the programs she'd be using and whether or not they can effectively utilize 4 cores. or something like that

[Lipcot]

What sort of graphic design are we talking about here? Since she might need a good video card

Photoshop, Adobe, Corel draw, and some 3D stuff but CPU concentrated. I am leaving the option of a video card open in case she eventually needs it, but at least for the short term she wont be needing it i believe


IIRC the 'K' processors are unlocked. I doubt she's going to be doing any over-clocking based on your post. You'd save some money getting the standard version. https://pcpartpicker.com/parts/compare/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690,intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k/

Another thing to consider is a dual-core CPU with hyper-threading. It depends on the programs she'd be using and whether or not they can effectively utilize 4 cores. or something like that

Nice, i shall do that, i had thought of making it overclock the whole time (turbo or sth like that?) since i had read something of it around, but dont really know much about it so its probably a good idea to save a few bucks there and leave it stock.

I'll look up specifically which programs she will be using and check core effectiveness. What i know is that the she will be using "keyshot" for 3D rendering.

Keyshot description:
"KeyShot is an entirely CPU based standalone render engine for 3D data. It is designed to use 100% of all CPUs available in your system to deliver maximum rendering performance. It is also near linear in scale, so as you double the amount of CPU cores in your system you will nearly double performance"

Ty both guise

[Citrus]

...

Here's a very recent article on Keyshot and core performance: https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Keyshot-Multi-Core-Performance-789/

Looks like you'll need 20 cores :p

[tls]

Photoshop can get RAM heavy, might wanna start at 16gb

[srlMW]

If she even slightly plans on upgrading ram in the future I'd definitely find a good deal for 2x8 now because it's always best to have identical memory on a board... plus, you can never go wrong with having room to grow especially when it comes to editing.

E: If you can get a cheap(used?) GTX 760, that would be the perfect (budget)video card for anything and everything CUDA(Adobe).

[Thomas]

I'll have a look later. First glance is get the 4690 non k with that motherboard.
But I would suggest an Intel 6500 with msi h110i pro motherboard. Gives you m.2 (pcie only) and ddr4 at a great budget.
Also the psu is total crap, just go to overclock.net psu subforum and ask for a psu within your budget (probs rm550x and evga 550 g2 are best psu's for your needs)

More info later

[Lipcot]

Photoshop can get RAM heavy, might wanna start at 16gb

Great, bumped it to 2x8 GB


If she even slightly plans on upgrading ram in the future I'd definitely find a good deal for 2x8 now because it's always best to have identical memory on a board... plus, you can never go wrong with having room to grow especially when it comes to editing.

E: If you can get a cheap(used?) GTX 760, that would be the perfect (budget)video card for anything and everything CUDA(Adobe).

Looked for used GTX 760's and they can be bought for around 120-140 dollars, not bad at all. I'll consider it if she needs realizes she needs GPU.


I'll have a look later. First glance is get the 4690 non k with that motherboard.
But I would suggest an Intel 6500 with msi h110i pro motherboard. Gives you m.2 (pcie only) and ddr4 at a great budget.
Also the psu is total crap, just go to overclock.net psu subforum and ask for a psu within your budget (probs rm550x and evga 550 g2 are best psu's for your needs)

More info later

Great idea with the intel 6500 and h110i, got more for the same money. I've been looking at overclock.net and evga 550 g2 is probably the best choice.

Thanks to everyone for their help :)

[Thomas]

Great idea with the intel 6500 and h110i, got more for the same money. I've been looking at overclock.net and evga 550 g2 is probably the best choice.

Thanks to everyone for their help :)

I just ordered my new htpc, I'll post specs.

PCPartPicker part list (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/T7KBf7) / Price breakdown by merchant (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/T7KBf7/by_merchant/)

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80662i76700) ($307.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG C1 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cryorig-cpu-cooler-crc1a) ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus B150I PRO GAMING/WIFI/AURA Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-b150iprogamingwifiaura) ($122.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmk16gx4m2a2133c13) ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mzv5p256bw) ($181.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Rosewill Legacy V3 Plus-B Mini ITX Tower Case (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-case-legacyv3plusb)
Power Supply: Corsair SF 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cp9020104na) ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $825.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-19 13:02 EDT-0400

Should probs have gotten the MSI H110I pro, but wanted a little better audio and wifi/bluetooth that i'll never use.
The memory I got wasn't listed at pcpp, I got the 2133 MHz DDR4 with 13 cas latency. (Non K CPU's only support up to 2133 mhz without modded motherboard bios)

Have a look at cryorig for CPU cooling, great company, great products so far! All reviews on all of their products have been great.
I'm getting M9i's for my desktops (great performance/price and lovely looks imo) and that C1 for my HTPC (best top-down cooler with like 80mm clearance AFAIK).

As for cases I like jonsbo/lian li, should check out those.

[AFools]

Geeez; I just built an entire i5 unit for $1150 AUD - 900USD. Half the price was the GPU. - in hind sight i should have gotten a 'k' and a better mobo.

But she purrs nicely.

I will post the specs soon - i would say you could build one for 450-500 USD minus GPU with a i5 non K

the i5 - 6400K is the much cheaper option with the most overclocking potential afaik. if you have the know how to overclock it too match the higher cpu 3.2-3.4 ghz they goto 4.8 or 5.2 in some cases (off the top of my head)

reply to OP.. CPU + motherboard are the only two things i would buy brand-new; substitute the rest for second hand parts to save money.

-Case
-PSU
-Tower

Many people upgrade and will have these as a bundle for 50-100 AUD - 70ish USD (they may even throw in some ram. just be aware of ddr3 or 4

[Kasi]

Doing graphics, 8 GB is the minimum I’d have. 16 is the standard, if on a budget 8 is fine. There's a setting in PS where you can limit your RAM usage and use your HD/SSD as a scratch disc. SSD is a massive requirement when building a graphics design PC. IDK if you really need a separate HDD. Especially if you aren't gonna be doing video editing. if considering video editing. Pick a GPU with a lot of VRAM.

Have you asked about the screen etc? or is that not part of the build? Decent screen is pretty important.

[Lipcot]

Geeez; I just built an entire i5 unit for $1150 AUD - 900USD. Half the price was the GPU. - in hind sight i should have gotten a 'k' and a better mobo.

But she purrs nicely.

I will post the specs soon - i would say you could build one for 450-500 USD minus GPU with a i5 non K

the i5 - 6400K is the much cheaper option with the most overclocking potential afaik. if you have the know how to overclock it too match the higher cpu 3.2-3.4 ghz they goto 4.8 or 5.2 in some cases (off the top of my head)

reply to OP.. CPU + motherboard are the only two things i would buy brand-new; substitute the rest for second hand parts to save money.

-Case
-PSU
-Tower

Many people upgrade and will have these as a bundle for 50-100 AUD - 70ish USD (they may even throw in some ram. just be aware of ddr3 or 4

I've been looking for used parts, but cant seem to find any GOOD trustworthy place to buy from. Do you know any place i could look around?


Doing graphics, 8 GB is the minimum I’d have. 16 is the standard, if on a budget 8 is fine. There's a setting in PS where you can limit your RAM usage and use your HD/SSD as a scratch disc. SSD is a massive requirement when building a graphics design PC. IDK if you really need a separate HDD. Especially if you aren't gonna be doing video editing. if considering video editing. Pick a GPU with a lot of VRAM.

Have you asked about the screen etc? or is that not part of the build? Decent screen is pretty important.

I put in a small SSD to install OS, programs and such, and an HDD for the heavier stuff, she is into photography so she has tons of photos that are around 15-30mb each.

Oh you remembered me, what do you think about the screen? from what i've seen this one is pretty good for the price:ASUS 27' monitor (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-mx279h)

It has to be pretty, thin bessels and 27'

Thanks for the input :)

PD: edited the main post with the new-better build

[Kasi]

Oh you remembered me, what do you think about the screen? from what i've seen this one is pretty good for the price:ASUS 27' monitor (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-mx279h)

It has to be pretty, thin bessels and 27'


Sorry bruh, bad memory, don't really remember you. Did I say / do something offensive?

As for screen size, most graphics designers in my office are okay with 27inch monitors. They can't stand 1920x1080 though. They all have 2560x1440.

[Lipcot]

Sorry bruh, bad memory, don't really remember you. Did I say / do something offensive?

As for screen size, most graphics designers in my office are okay with 27inch monitors. They can't stand 1920x1080 though. They all have 2560x1440.

Sorry, bad english. I did not mean to say that you remembered me, but that you made me remember to ask about the monitor, i made a direct translation from spanish. Im from Argentina and my english is getting rusty, havent talked much since finishing school :P

[Thomas]

I wouldn't recommend the GS series from EVGA, like I said the G2 or the RMx from corsair would both be far better. You shouldn't skimp out on a PSU :)

I myself got the new corsair SF450 as I wanted a smaller PSU for more space inside my case (Jonsbo V3+):
http://jonsbo.com/en/products_9_2.html
Are you sure you want something as massive as the Prodigy? Here is a decent and organised list of smaller cases:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1300645/official-usff-sff-club

[slayer12bot]

Im a big fan of the corsair 900D case, have you pulled the trigger yet?