Need CPU/MoBo/RAM reqs

[Malachai]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Mostly working with photos and converting audio files. Some very light gaming.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

This is negotiable if it becomes significantly worth it to spend more, from $400-$500.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

US

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

None. Very little gaming will be done on this machine so I don't expect it to matter too much.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

See note below.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Yes. My biggest question is going to be concerning what is best for photo editing.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

I probably will at a later date but not immediately.


8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

1920x1080

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Yesterday.


I've already purchased the following:

* 1 x HITACHI Deskstar HD32000 IDK/7K (0S00164) 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
* 1 x Acer P235Hbmid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor
* 1 x SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
* 1 x LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
* 1 x Thermaltake TR2 TRX-750M 750W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
* Mid-Tower case

This computer will be for someone who will spend a good deal of her time editing photos. She's just getting in to it so she's not sure what software she'll be using other than Lightroom, GIMP, RawTheapee, CS, etc., and I have no experience in that field. She also does a lot of music conversions/syncing. I've looked around and haven't gotten a clear answer on what is going to be best for this scenario.

Currently I'm leaning towards the AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8 GHZ as I've read the extra processors can be utilized well by several photo editing apps like CS4. While cost isn't a huge issue and she is willing to spend more to make sure that she has a good machine, I obviously want to save money for her where I can; I don't want her to spend $50 for a 3% difference in performance.

She has a lot of USB devices so the more possible connections the better. There is no chance she will be setting up SLI/X-fire.

As for RAM, I'm not really sure how much she'll need. I barely use the 6 gigs I have from gaming but I've read that editing raw image files can eat up a lot and that she may want to look at 8 gigs. Is this the case?

 

[LuckiStar]

Opps posted my Building pc here haha sorry buddy

 

[mfenn]

So I'm assuming that the $400-500 is for CPU/Mobo/RAM only?

It basically boils down to two choices in my mind:

1. 1055T, $100 mobo, 8GB of RAM
2. 1090T, $100 mobo, 4GB of RAM

If she's mostly doing a photographer's standard post-production workflow, I would think that the extra CPU speed would be better since she's going to want to blow through a fairly standard set of filters as quickly as possible. More CPU speed will of course help with the audio as well. If she's instead going to be multitasking more, I would say the RAM is more important.

I would also lean towards the faster CPU and 4GB of RAM because bumping the RAM to 8GB down the line is a 2 minute process whereas upgrading the CPU is more involved (and then you have a "useless" CPU laying around).

 

[Malachai]

So I'm assuming that the $400-500 is for CPU/Mobo/RAM only?

Yes, sorry. Should have been more clear on that.

It basically boils down to two choices in my mind:

1. 1055T, $100 mobo, 8GB of RAM
2. 1090T, $100 mobo, 4GB of RAM

Sounds like good reasoning. I think I'll go with the 1090T and 4 gigs of RAM. What's the word on MoBo/RAM manufacturers? Any that are recommend or that I should stay away from?

 

[mfenn]

Sounds like good reasoning. I think I'll go with the 1090T and 4 gigs of RAM. What's the word on MoBo/RAM manufacturers? Any that are recommend or that I should stay away from?

The usual suspects (MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS) all have AMD 870 chipset motherboards in the $100 price range. You really can't go wrong with any of them, but I like the Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3.

As for RAM, I really like G.Skill's DDR3 kits. This is the kit that I normally recommend, just stay away from OCZ DDR3.

 

[Malachai]

Many thanks! I'm going with the 1090T and the motherboard and RAM you linked.

 

[mfenn]

Many thanks! I'm going with the 1090T and the motherboard and RAM you linked.

You're very welcome.