Another newbie looking for build advice

Hey all,

After my computer finally died after years of service, I'm looking to replace it. Unfortunately, I assembled my first and last PC back in 2005 (with a patient friend advising me about the components even then), so I really need the input of people with a clue to avoid disaster and disappointment.

My budget is about 1200€ (OS included) ideally, although I'm prepared to add another 100€-150€ if it makes for a significant increase in value for money.

I'm from Austria and I'm planning to order the parts from alternate and get them locally (probably mainly from
here ), depending on what's cheaper. amazon.de is an option, too.


My main focus is digital painting in Corel Painter and Photoshop, although I'd like to get back into doing 3d stuff, too (Maya, ZBrush). I probably can't expect wonders with my budget, but I'd like to get the best possible system for my money.
If at all possible, I'd like it to be somewhat upgrade-friendly.
I wasn't planning on overclocking (I'm not that hardware savvy, and I'd hate to ruin anything).

I do like to play games, but if it's between optimising for games and optimising for the other stuff, the latter has to take precedence.

My general considerations so far, after some research:



- I'm not sure whether the i7 3770 is worth it over the i5 3570k
- Most people who do the Photoshop/Maya thing - that I've read of so far, at least - seem to recommend nvidia, so I went for this one. My first choice was the GTX 660 Ti; but I'm not sure it's worth the extra ~100€, especially since it makes it hard to stay within budget. Or should I go for AMD after all?
- The case is a placeholder (I was planning on getting the Bitfenix shinobi locally, and this one was just similarly priced) Definitely open for other suggestions, though, as pretty as it is. I'd just like to keep it somewhat simple, visually.
-I do want an SSD for the system and my main programmes, and was leery of getting a smaller one - I don't want to have to micromanage it. No idea which one would be best, though.
-I'm completely at a loss when it comes to the power supply unit - I have the nagging feeling that 620W might be a bit much, but I was too paranoid to choose less... And what about the connectors?
-And finally, the internet. I'm stuck with wlan at the moment, so I need a decent adapter - and again, I don't know what to get, starting with wheter pci od usb would be preferable.


I'd really appreciate it if you guys and gals could give me some advice...

First off, get rid of that crappy Windows 8. It's slower, bigger, and less supported. More bugs. Bloated with all that crap on top of the OS. Use Windows 7 64-Bit and you'll be very happy.

1. I5 is a great CPU, in my opinion the 3770 is only worth getting in the 3770K.
2. I think the 660Ti is worth the upgrade, since its got an addition 400 CUDA cores which is what Adobe uses, so the more CUDA cores the better Adobe performance.
3. Corsair SSD Foce GT 60GB, great to install OS and Adobe software, the rest should go on a HDD.
4. SeaSonic 520W Bronze Modular is great, its much cheaper and plenty of power for either 660 or 660Ti. It is cheaper, its modular, so there is less cable clutter. Enough overhead to overclock both GPU & CPU.
5. Linksys USB Wireless - I used one of these vs PCI Wireless, no difference and its very quick and best of all its cheap!

Your build is 200ish away from my build

CPU: I7 3770K
Cooler: Corsair H80i
Case: Carbide 300R
Motherboard: ASRock Extreme4
Memory: G.Skill 1866MHz Timing 8-10
Video Card: nVidia 670 4GB 256Bit
Sound Card: Xonar DS 5.1
PSU: SeaSonic 520W Bronze Modular
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Storage: Corsair Force GT 60GB SSD & HHD 640GB WesternDigital
Optical Drive: Samsung DVD/CD-RW 24X/48X

Media.......

60 GB SSD is too small these days, a 128 GB is min.

We have a PSU forum for the OP if he decides to use his brain and learn about PSUs. Don't wanna shove stuff down his throat as you seem to do in a few posts.

And being a step away from your build means only your build is the best. It's not.

OP: I see no issues with your build post. The 3770K will overclock later when your ready to buy an aftermarket cooler. And it will help you run your proggies.

I have the Shinobi Window, great case. The outside texture is awesome.

If you game on a standard 1980 monitor, then you want more GPU. For gaming the 7950 is the price point and very nice. But if your graphics software needs a NVIDIA GPU a 660 will not be that good for gaming. A 660ti is a better choice, sorry about the cost. For gaming the GPU is most important.

If you MUST have NVIDIA for work and want great gaming, then you should look at a 670.... And your gaming experience will be awesome.

Of course not. It's a upper budget build. Only reason I said 60GB in multiple posts is cause how I set mine up, it worked good. Installed the OS and 5-programs with 20GB headroom and the rest went on a 2nd hard-drive, mechanical 600GB+

Thanks for the input so far!

I think I'll stick with the i5-3570k, after all - apparently Corel Painter doesn't like hyperthreading, so I might as well save the money.
With the help of another local vendor with good prices, I can keep most of the rest and even get the GTX 660 TI and stay almost within my ideal budget.

I'm still somewhat unsure about two things: The PSU and the SSD.

As for the latter - I'm sure that 60GB would just drive me mad, but am I overdoing it with the 256GB version? Or am I better off forgoing it entirely for now and wait until they get less failure-prone and ideally cheaper?

I'd appreciate it if anyone else has recommendations as for what PSU to get - or should I take this question to the PSU forum?

Re: SSD, agree with Conumdrum. My rig is in my sig. I have an older Mushkin 240 gb SATA II and it is about 60% full because I am casual about game removal and leave several on there along with the productivity suite. I could be tidier but usually have the latest game, the one before, and a few I may want to go back and play. So you don't really need a 240 gb + as a boot drive.

I put a 120 gb Corsair SSD in my wife's MS Office machine, I build for her last summer. She is not a gamer. It's about 60% full of programs only (Windows 7 and MS Office) without any games. She uses Intel HD 4000 graphics and it is air-cooled. She has a platter HDD for automatic file and image backup along with another platter HDD for image backup.

You can certainly go smaller SSD and place more files on a platter HDD but with the prices of SSD getting more reasonable, you no longer have to. IMO, in 2013, I think a 120 gb boot drive for a typical Windows 7 user who is willing to be compulsive about removing games is about right. Or get a 240 gb if you want to be more casual about it. If you uncertain then there are some 180 gb around too that should be "just right".

The prices are down and selection is up while sales are common...finally, lol. So get an SSD now and join the fun.

@musicfan: OK, I'm convinced. And I'll probably stick with 256.


Thanks a lot everyone - I'll give you all an update after assembling the thing!