Help with first build, £1200~ (uk) multimedia/animation/gaming.

[krazyk]

Hi all. I have recently been looking into my first build and like everybody else, I want the best for my money! This rig is more for college than it is gaming. Programs used will be Cinema 4D, Photoshop, Premiere pro, After effects and more. Would also like to be able to dualboot with mac osx to run other programs used in college (garageband, final cut) I will be doing lots on this computer including watching movies etc.

The parts plan on getting so far...

CPU: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006WVVA28/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Motherboard: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006665HCS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

RAM: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006QAXVYA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A1F8YGP86NG3IP

Graphics Card: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-018-KF&tool=3

SSD: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007P3RMLU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

If a second SSD will break my budget then I will buy it at a later date, but i plan on getting one.

Power supply, case and cooling are all things i need help with. If somebody could recommend me them even if they're in a bundle it would be greatly appreciated. Same goes for the monitor, i just know it needs to be hi res and LED.


Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: £1100-£1300

All parts are needed.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon.co.uk and Overclockers.co.uk which I plan on using.

Country: England

Overclocking: Maybe

Thanks in advance, First time post so let me know if i missed anything.

 

[metal orient]

When you say all parts are needed does this includes: mouse, keyboard, OS and speakers (on top of the tower and monitor)?

 

[krazyk]

Hi thanks for reply, i already have speakers and i'm getting the OS from a friend. I am loaning monitor at the minute but i do need a new one. Yes I also need a new mouse and keyboard. If i reach my budget i dont mind saving a little more for a nice monitor.

 

[metal orient]

Did a bit of digging (as i have previously looked at making my laptop a hackintosh) and it's going to be pretty difficult to dual boot OSX off of your PC as it doesn't play well with non Apple hardware. It's doable but requires more time than i have.

The 2 Links you should check out i'll list below;
http://lifehacker.com/5841604/the-always-up+to+date-guide-to-building-a-hackintosh
http://lifehacker.com/5837615/how-do-i-choose-the-right-hardware-when-building-a-hackintosh

If making it dual boot is really important then you'll have to come to us with what parts that work or not as it looks like quite a laborious process to check. If you don't really mind about OSX i'd recommend this:

From aria.co.uk:
Intel Core i7-3820 3.60GHz (Sandy Bridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - Retail
GIGABYTE X79-UD3 Intel X79 Socket 2011 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard
Microsoft Comfort Curve Desktop 2000 Wired Black USB Keyboard & Mouse Bundle - OEM
24" Dell UltraSharp U2412M Widescreen IPS LED Monitor - Black
£623.28

from dabs.com:

(2 RAM sets for 16GB)
Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) Ballistix Sport DDR3 1600MHz CL9 1.5v 240pin
Quicklinx:7Y8SWS00 | Mfr#: BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU
Ordered upon request £34.99 £69.98

Sapphire Technology ATI Radeon 7850 860MHz 2GB PCI-Express 3.0 HDMI
Quicklinx:80T9WS00 | Mfr#: 11200-00-20G
In stock £179.98 £179.98

Seagate 1TB Barracuda SATA 6Gb/s 64MB 7200RPM Hard Drive
Quicklinx:7XD5Q200 | Mfr#: ST1000DM003
In stock £64.99 £64.99

XFX 550 Watt Core Edition Full Wired 80+ Bronze PSU
Quicklinx:7NSWQ200 | Mfr#: P1-550S-UKB9
In stock £49.99 £49.99

Samsung 128GB 830 Series SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" SSD Laptop Kit + FREE Norton Ghost 15
Quicklinx:7SR9Q200 | Mfr#: MZ-7PC128N/EU
In stock £77.98 £77.98

£443.91

from amazon.co.uk:
Fractal Design Core 3000 Series ATX Case - Black Pearl
£50.92

Total price including P&P and VAT: £1118.11

 

[metal orient]

Another link to look at:
http://tonymacx86.blogspot.co.uk/

 

[krazyk]

Hi, thanks for looking mate and after reading that i think i'll give the osx dual boot a miss. I dont think i have enough time or know how to do it.

I have a few questions though..

 

[krazyk]

Will the speed of ram help me greatly? eg 1866 instead of 1600 as it's quad channel.
Saying as my budget can splash a tiny bit more, what does anyone think about upgrading to a 6 core i7?
and finally, wondering if i should get a second GPU. thanks.

 

[metal orient]

I do not believe the extra speed will increase the productivity but i can say for sure that it will not make any difference gaming.

If you can fit the 6 core in great but i don't see how you can as the step up is £200+

a second GPU would be a waste, as gaming cards aren't that good for productivity stuff (Quadro or Firepro are what you want for GPU acceleration) and unless you play at really high resolutions a 7850 will keep you playing at max settings for a while.