looking for advice.

[kevinkannguyen]

Looking into a computer that i can slowly invest money into, but I'm not sure if I am starting out right. I am a scrub with building desktops and have not owned one for 6 years. This computer is meant for school (Programming/editing/Graphic Design) and will not be used for gaming. I do not have a case chosen as of yet and am looking at aftermarket cooling. I chose the i7 4770 because it was released this year and I needed this to not need a new cpu for a few years. My budget is $800 and so far I have;

-Intel i7 4770 haswell
-MSI h87 lga1150
-Kingston hyperx 8gb (2x4gb)
-Rosewill Green Series 630w 80plus bronze

Any advice is appreciated and accepted. I am Shopping off of Amazon.com and Newegg.com I live near a Fry's electronics as well if there is a sale.

 

[bigshootr8]

I would say you are thinking within the right terms. What types of programs do you plan on running. Are you looking to perhaps at some point pick of a workstation graphics card or go with a consumer card to do your graphic work? I don't know too much about the h87 platform I know they are normally just fine for those chips you aren't going to overclock. However I will say that there are features that you miss out on by avoiding the z87 platform.

 

[kevinkannguyen]

I would say you are thinking within the right terms. What types of programs do you plan on running. Are you looking to perhaps at some point pick of a workstation graphics card or go with a consumer card to do your graphic work? I don't know too much about the h87 platform I know they are normally just fine for those chips you aren't going to overclock. However I will say that there are features that you miss out on by avoiding the z87 platform.

As of right now the only program i know i'm going to need is AutoCad, the syllabus on my other class has not been sent out yet. I forgot to mention I use CorelDraw and Adobe Photoshop for my self projects.

 

[bigshootr8]

I gotcha. Hmm, well I'm sure in time you could pick up a graphics card wouldn't have to be terribly expensive. The only reason I prefer to have a graphics card is mainly because onboard video will take a chunk out of your memory to produce the video that will be displayed on your screen. The second you place a video card into your computer is the second you get that ram back. You said you live near a fry's electronics do you also live near a micro center perhaps that could be a way to go as well.

 

[kevinkannguyen]

I gotcha. Hmm, well I'm sure in time you could pick up a graphics card wouldn't have to be terribly expensive. The only reason I prefer to have a graphics card is mainly because onboard video will take a chunk out of your memory to produce the video that will be displayed on your screen. The second you place a video card into your computer is the second you get that ram back. You said you live near a fry's electronics do you also live near a micro center perhaps that could be a way to go as well.

Sadly no Micro center for atleast a 1-2 hour drive. I think a graphic card could be bought before summer ends. how strong of a card should i be looking into? and for what price?

 

[bigshootr8]

Well it truly depends. I would probably purchase something within the 150-200 dollar mark. If you aren't gaming that sounds to me a good rounding point for a good use of productivity. But that is just me and I feel cards below that point are probably not a very strong value. Plus you would be able to game a little bit.