Seeking critique on a new computer build

The primary purpose of this computer is to run Photoshop CS5, Lightroom 3.6, and to do school related tasks such as: Mathcad 15, Solidworks 2012, Matlab, MS Word, MS Excel, and internet browsing. The most taxing game I have is Civilization IV, and I won't be playing that much during the school year so this is not a gaming PC. I plan on adding a second monitor (already have one), a tv tuner card, and more hard drives as I need the space. I already have a CoolMax CU-700B (700W) modular power supply that has never been used.

I plan on running Windows 7 (Home Premium or Pro), version dependent on my research into Microsoft Sync. I plan on syncing all my school related data between this and my laptop. Depending on if the price of the i7 2600K drops between now and my purchase date, I may by that instead of the i5. Also, depending on the RAM performance, I may add more. The GPU is between the one listed and a Zotac one with the same chipset.

Does anyone see any compatibility issues I may have missed, and does anyone have any recommendations?

• CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K
  
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4 LGA 1155
  
• RAM: 2x 4GB Corsair 240 pin DDR3 1333
  
• SSD: Intel 330 120GB SATA3
  
• HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA3
  
• GPU: Gigabyte GV-N550D5-1GI GeForce 550 Ti (Fermi)
  
• Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite Black Steel
  

That system should do fine.
Only thing to consider is putting in 16 GB RAM up front so you don't need to worry about matching speeds, etc. later down the road. Prices have come way down.

If you're gonna build or buy a new kit, then build with 3-4 years in mind. Get at least 16GB of RAM and go for the fastest i7 CPU you can afford.

Merlin_AZ wrote in post #14620323
That system should do fine.
Only thing to consider is putting in 16 GB RAM up front so you don't need to worry about matching speeds, etc. later down the road. Prices have come way down.

If I want to put more RAM in down the road, don't I just look at the motherboard and current RAM spec and then match it? That's not hard.

stingx wrote in post #14620340
If you're gonna build or buy a new kit, then build with 3-4 years in mind. Get at least 16GB of RAM and go for the fastest i7 CPU you can afford.

I seriously thought about getting the i7 2600K, but everything I read said that Lightroom 3.6 doesn't benefit from hyperthreading. The only difference between my i5 and the i7 was 100MHz and hyperthreading. That wasn't worth $100 to me, unless someone convinces me that there is a major enough performance difference.


But I'll look at putting 16GB of RAM in from the start.

It's $100 over several years. No need to upgrade CPU until next build.

stingx wrote in post #14620715
It's $100 over several years. No need to upgrade CPU until next build.

But what is that performance is that CPU getting me?

imsellingmyfoot wrote in post #14620805
But what is that performance is that CPU getting me?

In the time span you'll own the new rig, software will update many times. For a few bucks more it's always worth it to have more for when you need it. It's not like years ago when this stuff cost big bucks, I remember paying over $400 for 4MB of RAM for an autoCAD program to work better. Anyway, it's just a tip. Desktops aren't really my bag. I architect Unix server systems for high-frequency trading.

stingx wrote in post #14620938
In the time span you'll own the new rig, software will update many times. For a few bucks more it's always worth it to have more for when you need it. It's not like years ago when this stuff cost big bucks, I remember paying over $400 for 4MB of RAM for an autoCAD program to work better. Anyway, it's just a tip. Desktops aren't really my bag. I architect Unix server systems for high-frequency trading.

I do see where you're coming from. I just bought CS5 and Lightroom a year ago and I really don't think I'm going to be upgrading that software anytime soon. I'll keep the i7 in mind though.

I would buy a bigger SSD now personally. There are some amazing deals on Intel, Corsair and Samsung 256GB drives.

stingx wrote in post #14620938
In the time span you'll own the new rig, software will update many times. For a few bucks more it's always worth it to have more for when you need it.

I tend to agree with this. About four years ago I built a Q9450 with 8GB RAM and while not a lot of software made great use of quads then they do a lot more with them now. My next system will probably be built next year (new camera first) but this system has been the longest lasting I've built without leading to me becoming frustrated with its limitations. I have run a mild 20% overclock on it from the day I built it and have no doubt I'll approach my next system similarly.

Why are you going with the old series of processors?

From my understanding there wasn't a whole lot of performance change between sandy and ivy bridge, but there were significant efficiency improvements.


The main point of discussion with everyone here has been my processor choice. If I were to go with an i7 I would need to shave some cost off somewhere else. I'm at ~$900 right now and I'd like to stay right around $1k including Windows. I'm curious to hear everyone's recommendations for my CPU. I looked and read reviews and I could swing the new i5 3570K (or not K, but I'd like to do a mild overclock) in place of the currently picked i5 2500K.

stingx wrote in post #14620715
It's $100 over several years. No need to upgrade CPU until next build.

I agree with this logic. When building for 3-4 years in mind, go with the best CPU on the market currently and the ability to expand RAM and disk space to twice the amount that is recommended today. The form factors change rapidly, making it hard to later go back and upgrade the processor. Everything else, you can be a bit more flexible with.

For disk and RAM, stay scalable, but only buy as much as you need now. Over time the cost of your disk and RAM will go down so you'll save if you wait to expand it. Just make sure you are setup to easily add additional disk without needing to manually migrate data to new drives.

Don't buy more disks than you need to now, they're still quite high after the flooding in Thailand and barring any other freak disasters will continue to drop slowly but steadily. Last time I bought a 2TB drive was about a year ago and it cost me $70. I am glad I'm not in the market for any drives right now.

I'd cut back on the cost of the MB price spent and go up on the processor. Also, depending whare you live, you can get a good deal. I have a Microcenter in my area and they have deals where you buy a MB and processor and get $50 off the combo price. Something like this may help you get what you want and then some.