Help with a build

M

medbot

n00b
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
50
Hey guys, I've been out of the loop for a bit and could use some help piecing together a PC for my girlfriend. I'll just go down the handy list in the sticky:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Photoshop and Illustrator are the two big things she'll be using on the computer, she won't be doing any real gaming or anything.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$500-$600 including tax and shipping

3) Where do you live?
the Dallas, TX area

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
I'll need CPU, RAM, motherboard, harddrive, case

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I've got either a Corsair 450 or 550w power supply, peripherals, monitor, and a 7900gt that may or may not work, but we'll assume it does

6) Will you be overclocking?
if possible, but I wasn't planning on budgeting for high end cooling

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
22" 1650x1080

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
this weekend would be good

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
nothing special

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
I have a 64bit copy of Vista I can use

I'm really most unsure about the processor/mobo for such a budget build, and I'm not really clear on whether Photoshop and Illustrator benefit more from more cores or higher frequencies and that kind of thing. I'm open to AMD and Intel, I just need the most bang for the buck for graphic design work. Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate the help.
 
x2 for the above build. Photoshop is optimized for multiple cores, so the 1055T should do quite well with it. If you live near a fry's you could save money with one of their AMD proc/mobo deals, usually ran on fridays, but you'll most likely have to "settle" for a quad.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. It's been a while since I've done a build and I'm looking forward to it.
 
lt_shiro said:
why would anyone buy a dead socket?
Click to expand...

Or more specifically, why would anyone buy a platform that will see absolutely nothing worthwhile being introduced before it is retired for good? This is exactly the case with LGA775 as of now: The quad-core processors for that socket are way too expensive for the performance that they deliver, and even some of the dual-core processors are being matched by newer AMD dual-core processors selling for half the price. Add to that the only new Intel processors coming out for 775 are Pentiums and Celerons which would get easily beaten by AMD processors at the same price points, and I see that platform as "dead end."

However, the one "positive" that the Fry's E7500/P43 special has is that the motherboard uses DDR3 memory instead of DDR2 memory. Hence, the purchaser of that combo deal has more memory models to choose from (as opposed to fewer and fewer DDR2 kits being sold nowadays). However, DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600 memory used with an E7500 will run at a maximum of only DDR3-1066 spec.
 
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