Budget i7 Build-- 1336 or 1156?

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thescarecrow

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Mar 11, 2010
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Hey all.

So I am building a computer for my parents to replace their 8 year old Dell pentium-based rig (which is falling apart)...but I'm on a pretty tight budget (I'm trying to get it in the low to mid $800's range...if I can go lower than that EVEN BETTER). This rig won't be doing much if any gaming, but photography editing is pretty essential.

But my biggest question is: which processor? I can get an i7 920 at Microcenter for $200. Is there a huge difference, besides the socket type, between 920 (or 930) and the 860 line? In terms of the over-all build, which would keep my costs down but retain solid performance for a few years?

My current items (suggestions to bring my costs down or retain performance/reliability are SO welcome):

Intel i7 920 $200

Asrock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 $160

Super Talent 3GB DDR3 1333 Triple Channel $85

Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM $90

SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB $70

OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W $61 w/rebate +shipping

Lite-on DVD drive $27

Antec 300 $50
 
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Thanks Requiem. Thanks so much for the help.

@Keiki: Lol, I know...best buy? Really? Might as well call them Best Rip-off. (My original post already included links to specific parts on Neweeg and whatnot, so you'd think that it was clear I understand that I should look at different vendors for best prices...kind of a "duh" reaction on my part.)
 
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i5-750 Quad Core $199.99 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 and CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 combo $204.98 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.349202
HD 5670 $94.99 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161319
Thermaltake V9 Black Edition $65 after rebate and promotion code free shipping (this case is amazing for its price)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133074&Tpk=Thermaltake%20V9%20Black%20Edition
CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W and Seagate 7200.12 750 GB Combo $110 after rebates free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.357021
Sony Optiarc Black DVD drive $24 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030
total $699 after rebates and promotional codes

NO SHIPPING COSTS!!! :) $699 after rebates and promotional codes

i found the video card for cheaper, and..... it stayed cheap.

the ram is slightly worse for timings but for $30 cheaper with the combo deal it was too good to pass up.

found some good combo's
 
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How about the Intel BOXDP55WB LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard? The OP's parent is more comfortable with the mainstream brand so they might enjoy to know their MB is made by Intel too.
 
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Sure I have a few suggestions that would bring the cost down.

Number 1 - If you're not going to be gaming, you don't need a 3D Accelerator like a Radeon HD 4670. All you need is a vidcard with a very high max resolution. The Radeon HD 4670 has a max digital resolution of 2560x1600 and max analog resolution of 1920x1200. If your monitor's max resolution is that high, then you only need a Radeon HD 3450 or HD 4650 because they have the exact same max resolutions. All 3 cards also support DirectX10.1 and will have no problem with Windows 7 Aero or HD Video playback. I built an HTPC for my mother using the HD 3450 AGP format and it's perfect for 1080p (she as HD service and a Blu-Ray Drive), even with only 256MB of RAM. All the driving force behind graphics cards these days is 3D Gaming. High-resolution 2D graphics haven't changed much over the years. The HD 4670 costs at least $70 at newegg while the HD 4650 costs $30 ($45-$15 mail-in-rebate=$30) and the HD 3450 costs $20 ($30-$10 mail-in-rebate). Any of those cards will do the job you want perfectly. I gave you some options because if you want to do any 3D gaming at all, you'll want the HD 4650. If you don't want to game, get the HD 3450 because it only needs a 300W PSU instead of a 400W which will save you even more money. As I said, for photography editing, ALL 3 cards will behave EXACTLY the same way. You won't know a difference except your wallet will be heavier with the 3450 and lighter with the 4670. Futureproofing for all 3 is also the same because they all support DirectX10.1. They all have ATi HD Audio carried on their USB ports as well. The only difference between them is 3D gaming.

CPU: Again, photography editing is NOT anything that you need a lot of power for. I'm sure you'll want something decent to run Windows 7 with but an i7, can you say OVERKILL? I would recommend a Quad-Core CPU for futureproofing but not an i7, not for that. The i7 chip is for heavy algorithmic calculations and virtualization in real-time. It doesn't even carry an advantage for 3D gaming. That's all done by the vidcard. The i7 CPU and corresponding motherboard are the BIGGEST wastes of cash in this build that's supposed to be on a budget. Don't spend money on technology that you will not (and most likely cannot) use. Hell, I have a gaming rig and I can't use the i7's power. I don't have any programs that need it despite my nice library of high-end, graphically-intensive games.

You know what? This might take all day so I'm just going to put a list of things that will maximize every dollar spent and give you 100% satisfaction in the build you want to put together. This will have the EXACT SAME photography-editing performance as the build you just listed. All prices will include standard shipping to the lower 48 states.

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 630 2.8GHz Quad-Core - $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103704
Motherboard: ASUS M4N68T-M AM3 - $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131626
RAM: 4GB (2 X 2GB) OCZ Gold DDR3-1333 - $106 (-$20 mail-in-rebate=$86)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227479
Video Card: ATi Radeon HD 4650 512MB - $45 (-$15 mail-in-rebate=$30)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131180
Hard Drive: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s - $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145287
DVD Burner: Samsung 22X SATA w/LightScribe - $26
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188
Case: APEX PC-389-C Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Case - $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154095
Power Supply: Cooler Master RS-400-PSAR-J3 V2.31 400W - $36
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171042

Pick your keyboard, mouse, etc as you like. I chose the Cooler Master 400W PSU because it's a good, respected name and it gives you upgrade options later on. Since the Cooler Master 400W was a good price, I upped your vidcard to the Radeon HD 4650 because it's usable for games, has 2x the RAM of the HD 3450 and after rebate is only an extra $10. I also changed the hard drive to Hitachi because it's $5 cheaper and I've had a firmware failure on my own Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1TB drive. I didn't lose any data but it was a pain because I was without it for over a week. I haven't heard of any problems with the Hitachi Deskstar 32MB cache drive. I also changed the RAM (obviously, this isn't triple-channel anymore) to 4GB for the same price you're paying for 3GB. I also changed the DVD Burner to one with Lightscribe because as a photographer you might appreciate being able to laser-etch your photos onto Lightscribe DVDs.

Total: $473 (-$30 mail-in-rebate) = $443 (Again, all prices shown include shipping to the lower 48 states.)

Anything more that you spend would be a complete waste of money based on your requirements. I hope this helps you. I used to work at tigerdirect.ca so I'm very well acquainted with the products shown. This will be a great system for you for years to come and you sure can't go wrong for under $500 can you??? :sol:
 
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@Avro Arrow

I agree that an AMD setup can be cheaper, however i cannot get behind more than half of the parts you mentioned.

1. the motherboard you specified doesn't even have standards that would make it useful for the future and would allow the computer to become out of date very quickly.

2. the power supply is completely worthless with less than a 70% efficiency, you couldn't really pick much anything worse, look at its reviews... or lack thereof and it will tell you everything you need to know (1 egg) i wouldn't be surprised if it died within a week, if it wasn't DOA.

3. your case... would be ok... but it has absolutely no fans, which would be ok... except you wouldn't have as much system life.

4. the hard drive, IS good, however the one i recommended is better/cheaper.
comparing the two, the seagate scores better.

5. the CPU is the best product you have in there, and I would rather see a phenom as it is a much higher quality product. better architecture too.

6. the RAM isn't nearly as good for the same price as the RAM i found. recently based on the reviews Ive read, and Ive researched thoroughly since i just built my computer and am about to build another one OCZ isn't looking like a good brand to go by, in comparison to Corsair, and others.

7. the graphics card you offered would run just fine, however it doesn't have technologies that allow it to survive into the future as far as the 5670.

8. all in all, the system you built is decent. however i wouldn't expect it to last much past 3 years, if specific parts didn't die before then. the one i built should last 5 or more for their uses.

ALSO, i just realized this the link you have to the graphics card you are recommending is to the 3450.


If anything i said was incorrect (anyone) feel free to let me know but i think my research has been thorough enough. in the case of this recommended system as it is now i cannot agree with the recommendation.
 
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its an ok motherboard to be honest... although no USB3.0 or SATA III, so i cannot get behind the board fully, another reason is because it is just about as expensive when you take into consideration the combo deal that i posted.
 
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Ok well the research I did is the fact that I used to work at tigerdirect.ca and this is what I did for a living EVERY SINGLE DAY. I specialized in helping people maximize their dollars and get the builds they needed. I know what is needed for each task and I use that professional expertise in my recommendations. I don't just look at the net, I have real-world experience. I only left tigerdirect because I'm in university. I'll go back there for the summer or I might stay and work in my university's IT department. THAT is where I get my ideas. Not from rumours or perceptions on the 30 or so builds I've done.

The HD 3450 was a mislink. I fixed it. It was supposed to be to the HD 4650. Thanks for the heads up. :)

I agree with some of what you said. The asker said he was on a tight budget so I just gave him what he needs so he won't suffer any performance penalty. Let's face it, what does a person need for 2D graphic editing? ANSWER - A Pentium 3. I was considering recommending the ASRock M3A770DE because it has 4 RAM slots and a second PCI-Express slot for only $15 more but couldn't justify it. For what he wants, the setup I'm showing is more than enough. For what he wants, 4GB of RAM would last him 10 years. He doesn't need a 5670. He's not going to be gaming. He's doing 2D editing! Why do you want him to pay more for things he doesn't need? And tell me what's going to fail. Everything in there is good quality. Samsung DVD Burner, Hitachi Hard Drive (I have an 8-year old Hitachi drive in my Dell Latitude c610), ASUS motherboard, AMD CPU, OCZ RAM, Cooler Master PSU... what exactly do you expect to fail? If there are a few things in there that you feel could be more reliable, then by all means say so. I have 8GB of OCZ PC6400 DDR2-800 in my gaming rig and I've never had a problem. There's nothing in there that is of low quality. If you have better latencies on your DDR3-1333 then by all means, he should use that if it's the same price. The Vidcard I stand firm on. If you can give me one GOOD reason why he should spend an extra $60 for a video card with the EXACT SAME max resolution, I might change my mind. Truth be told, if it would've saved him more than $20, I would have recommended a Radeon HD 3300 IGP. He doesn't need a Phenom and he doesn't need a DirectX11 card to edit non-moving 2D graphics. In fact, he doesn't REALLY need the HD 4650, the HD 3450 would work, I just decided that since the Cooler Master PSU is 400W that he might as well spend the extra $10. I'd love to hear how he's going to benefit though because maybe I'm wrong. So tell me how a non-gamer who doesn't need any 3D acceleration AT ALL is going to benefit more from an HD 5670 over an HD 4650 keeping in mind that the resolutions are the same, keeping in mind that Windows 7 (which is still new) uses DX10 and the 4650 is DX10.1 and keeping in mind that the card you recommend is an extra $60. I want to know how he'll benefit from that. CHEERS! :sol:
 
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i do not think i would change my mind on the card, and the only reason why i say that is because if he is looking for future use, the 5670 is going to last a lot longer, i posted in a previous comment about why i would choose the 5670, and that is because of advances in photo editing software, and what would be able to keep up with it. if you are going to be using CS4 or CS5 i recommend at least that card, that and it leaves it open for higher level processing, it will be able to compute a small amount of filters upon a large-ish photo fairly quickly. (previously mentioned in another post as well) for if his parents ever get even more into photo editing. last but not least compiling all of the previously said statements (future proof)

I also stand by the fact that the PSU is no good at all. less than 70% efficiency is not what i call quality.

your motherboard does not have USB3.0 or SATA III both of which will speed up productivity yet another "future proof" feature i would think should be had. it is stupid not to upgrade.

and the only part i can see failing is the PSU.
 
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Well the PSU might perish and it's possible that a Radeon HD 5xxx card will last a bit longer, however the 5670 is again, a low-mid level 3D accelerator card. For what he's doing, to use Radeon HD 5xxx technology he only needs a Radeon HD 5450. Anything more is a waste. It will have all the same technological features as the 5670 so the card won't suffer from deficiencies from newer photo editing software vis a vis the HD 5670 but it costs a good deal less. As for USB 3.0, he can always upgrade the motherboard later and STILL be cheaper than what you're suggesting. To me, it is stupid to get something now that's brand-new when you end up paying more for it than if you upgrade later. The market is still flooded with USB 2.0 equipment so you're going to have him pay more for something he can't even use yet? Nope, not buying it, sorry. I'll agree that he'd probably be better off with an Antec Basiq BP500U and if he wants to pay the extra for it, then that's up to him. Now, if you start knocking on Antec, then I know for SURE that you don't know what you're talking about. He doesn't need to pay through the nose for this machine, no matter how much you want him to. (And I don't even know why you want him to.) :sol:
 
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1156, or Amd system. The 1366 Is not worth it all, imho the 1156 processors are faster, and newer. 1366 is only useful if you are trying to build a high end system, not at all for a budget system. And even then I don't personally think the 1366 is worth it, but it makes atleast somewhat more sense then.
 
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the Antec PSU isn't horrible.

i dont understand why you wouldnt just recommend the same PSU i did. it was better than both with the 80 plus certification, and it is cheaper.

also, i tired of arguing once again, i already had to deal with that earlier in the thread, both setups are good, the difference is that yours might have to be replaced after 3-4 years, where the one i made will still be acceptable in 5-6 years if not more, so which system is really saving money in this case.
 
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i5-750 Quad Core $199.99 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 and CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 combo $204.98 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.349202
HD 5450 $54.99 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161319
Thermaltake V9 Black Edition $65 after rebate and promotion code free shipping (this case is amazing for its price)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133074&Tpk=Thermaltake%20V9%20Black%20Edition
CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W and Seagate 7200.12 750 GB Combo $110 after rebates free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.357021
Sony Optiarc Black DVD drive $24 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030
total $669 after rebates and promotional codes

NO SHIPPING COSTS!!! :) $669 after rebates and promotional codes

I would still go with the 5670, however i remade the build with the 5450 just for a price variation, the 5450 will not do you wrong though.
 
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AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3$159.99 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808&cm_re=phenom_ii_x4-_-19-103-808-_-Product
GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 AMD 890GX and A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 $224.98 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.353857
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3750528AS 750GB and CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W $109.98 after rebate free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.357021
SAPPHIRE 100292L Radeon HD 5450 (Cedar) 1GB 64-bit $54.99 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102876
Thermaltake V9 Black Edition ATX $65 after rebate and promotional code free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133074
Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD $24 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030

total $638.95 after rebates and promotional codes, + no shipping costs

i would say that this setup would be a lot better than the other AMD setup based on the fact it will last a lot longer. i still recommend the 5670 but i did not put that in. if you would want the 5670 then the price would be $678.95
 
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