Graphics Machine Parts Purchase.

[mikotondria]

Hello good folks of TH!
I have a need to purchase some hardware this week, and hopefully I've nailed everything
in the guide about requesting advice

Thanks so much !

Approximate Purchase Date:
This coming week.

Budget Range:
$600-750

System Usage:
AfterFX, Cinema4d rendering, Photoshop.

Monitors:
Already have 2x. Need dual monitor capabilities from mobo.

Parts to Upgrade:
CPU, mobo, RAM, (probably GPU), RAM, HDD, SSD.

Do you need to buy OS:
Yes. Have a legit XP CD, but will need Win7 or 8 probably. : /

Preferred Website(s) for Parts:
Can get Bestbuy.com employee discount, but not on refurbs.

Location:
Missouri, USA

Parts Preferences:
No strict preference, was looking at i5 etc.

Overclocking: No.

SLI or Crossfire: No.

Your Monitor Resolutions:
1600x900 & 1920x1080

Additional Comments:
Looking for most of a machine - I have a case, optical drive, keyboard, mouse, monitors, speakers,
on which to produce static graphics (photoshop, Illustrator etc), and motion graphics (AfterFX, Cinema4d etc).
No requirements for any gaming at all.
I would like as many cores running as possible, and appropriate levels of RAM, as this the metric that
allows for quickest rendering of motion graphics, which is the primary goal.

 

[AMD Radeon]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($193.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: MSI H87M-G43 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($92.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $646.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-13 15:35 EDT-0400)

it is up to you to put GPU inside

but i think iGPU intel hd 4600 can handle it

 

[mikotondria]

That sounds great, thanks so much for your response, AMD, I really appreciate it. !

 

[mikotondria]

Let's say I wanted to bump up to the i7 and take advantage of 8 threads.. Would I then be better off with 16G of RAM, and could I use that same mobo ?

Thanks so much !

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($193.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: MSI H87M-G43 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($92.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $646.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-13 15:35 EDT-0400)

it is up to you to put GPU inside

but i think iGPU intel hd 4600 can handle it

 

[AMD Radeon]

yes you can, i7 and 16GB of ram will perform great in render process

 

[mikotondria]

Awesome, thanks so much.
I did plump for the i7 sandybridge with the 16G of RAM.
Most of the other parts were the same, a few offers had expired and I got a good Amazon deal on the OS.
Other than that the parts all came from NewEgg.com. Ended up running at about $800 with the extra cpu and ram and shippings.

Splendid timing as my old machine refuses to start today, and I failed trying to reseat the
cooling fan onto the mobo. It just wouldn't 'click' into place no matter what I did - I hate that job.

Thanks again for your help with this, very much appreciated.

yes you can, i7 and 16GB of ram will perform great in render process

 

[mikotondria]

well boo for me : /
I plumped for an i7 rather than an i5 because I wanted those 4 cores and hyperthreading.
I did however, without due care and attention buy a third-gen i7 3770, so the socket on the mobo
is wrong, and I have to get another with LGA1155 socket. I had opened the box for the mobo so NewEgg.com won't take it back : (
It was a fairly expensive way to learn that I should have learned more about cpu and sockets
Still looking forward to having a great machine when I've got the correct config.
Beginners' error !