New PC build, budget $1000 to $1500

[AimerPaddle]

Hi I was looking to build a new PC for my dad for father's day or his birthday and he would use it to run two small businesses and also for media (such as watching high definition movies, video/audio editing, photoshop, etc.) I would also be using it to game whenever I come home from college but thats not as important as fulfilling all his needs.

My budget would be around $1000 to $1500 as previously stated in the title. I won't be needing any peripherals, and I plan on using the cooler master haf x tower.

Any suggestions on the rest of the build? This would be the first build by myself but I've helped and observed a few other builds. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

If you could be a little more specific about what you'll need it for; running a small businesses is broad.

Do you need a blu ray drive?
I suggested two 2TB drives in RAID I for data redundancy, which I would think might be important, but that's to your discretion; same goes for the capacity.

2x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM
GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface 124 dB SNR / Headphone AMP Card
SAPPHIRE 100327L Radeon HD 6750 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power

Total ≈ $975 USD.

 

[AimerPaddle]

Yeah, he runs two motels, the programs he uses aren't really that intensive. I was thinking 6-8 GB RAM. I know a lot of that wouldn't be used, but would you think that's resonable?

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

For photoshop and video editing, I think 8GB is preferred.
I don't know if you saw my edit or not, I wasn't done with my first post.
I'd consider using an SSD, but that's just me.

 

[red1776]

Definitely want 8GB for Photoshop...but c'mon..A HAF X for Dad's business machine?? c'mon ...tell the truth

 

[AimerPaddle]

alright i'm liking your build a lot so far. few questions i had though:

1. Do you know of any good Nvidia cards? I'm not a big fan of Radeon and would it be a good idea to dual up on cards (so i can keep up with games being released) if i don't plan on upgrading this computer for a long time?

2. If i did end up getting the SSD, what would be the benefits besides speed?

3. GIGABYTE GA-P67X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

i was thinking that motherboard before you posted the one you did.

I was thinking that mobo before you posted yours

and red... I'm planning long term on that haha, it'll eventually be mine

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

GIGABYTE GA-P67X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

2. If i did end up getting the SSD, what would be the benefits besides speed?

?
What do you want other than speed?

 

[red1776]

I am going to offer you some advice as a builder of high end gaming systems that will probably be ignored, but here goes. I don't know if the reason you are"not a fan of Radeon" is because you owned one a long time ago, or you know a guy who knows a guy who dispenses wonderful advice like "Radeon sucks" ...and is about as useful as a bumper sticker of Calvin pissing on a Ford emblem.
One of the best performance to dollar configurations out there right now is a pair of HD 6870's in CF. The scaling is superior (up to x1.9) and is about $100.00 less expensive than a pair of GTX 560Ti's, and will get you about the same frame rates. Anyway, if you want to be open minded, have a look.
a little light reading:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6850-6870-crossfirex-review/12

 

[AimerPaddle]

let me rephrase that stupid question haha... would the extra speed be worth the buck?

 

[AimerPaddle]

Do you need a blu ray drive?

and I missed this.. yes I'd prolly need a blu ray drive

 

[red1776]

So in response to the PM LOL, I like HK's pick for MB, and PSU. That mb also supports Crossfire as well. If you want an option on the PSU, the HX series from Corsair is excellent as well.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

these (in my opinion) are the best Brands of cards. I read an article last week that confirmed what I had thought. Asus and MSI get the 'bin selected' GPU's
They also have great VRM's and cooling.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121418&cm_re=hd_6870-_-14-121-418-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127545&cm_re=hd_6870-_-14-127-545-_-Product

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Wow really? But not Saphire?
I've always thought of Saphire as a top ATI/AMD cardmaker; I'd have thought they'd be the first choice for higher binned chips.

 

[red1776]

Wow really? But not Saphire?
I've always thought of Saphire as a top ATI/AMD cardmaker; I'd have thought they'd be the first choice for higher binned chips.

Well I guess technically the article said that Asus and MSI did get the pick of the bin, not that Sapphire did not . I know that overall the Asus and MSI do OC better, part of that could be a beefier VRM as well.

 

[dividebyzero]

Unless our OP needs to put a system together right now, I would wait for the (Gigabyte) Z68X-UD3-B3 to come into stock. Looking at local prices there doesn't seem to be any great disparity between P67 and Z68 boards (model-for-model). The UEFI interface (and maybe SRT) should be worth any small price differential. The video-out (the UD3 has the same I/O as the P67A board) version is the -UD3H ( HDMI, DP, DVI, VGA)

Well I guess technically the article said that Asus and MSI did get the pick of the bin, not that Sapphire did not . I know that overall the Asus and MSI do OC better, part of that could be a beefier VRM as well.

Asus and MSI have effectively stopped production of reference designs for virtually all Barts and Cayman based cards. Adding in better/more reliable switching power delivery should be allied with a better bin -although I'm not sold on Asus/MSI being provided with higher tolerance gpu's exclusively. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that Asus/MSI/Gigabyte/PowerColor (the latter fast becoming Sapphire's performance division given TUL and PC Partners* business ties) get the higher bin, while such stalwarts of mediocrity such as VisionTek and Diamond get the "regular" bin -along with HIS and XFX**


* TUL - PowerColor's parent company, PC Partner- Sapphire's (and Zotac's) parent company
** More likely if rumours of XFX returning to Nvidia's fold hold any truth.