First computer build help

I'd go for the i7. Man has to think of the future: newer versions of software, more megapixels in images, etc. Besides, only one application running is hardly the case, usually one has a number of them running at the same time.

FWIW, regarding RAM and someone mentioning 8GB not being enough. My i7 system has 16GB and I managed to hog it up with PS and LR once. I had LR 3 running and about 10 hi-res TIFFs with several layers some of them open at the same time. Memory consumption went into the 90%'s and the computer was unresponsive for several minutes. It took easily 10 min or so for PS to respond to my clicking the X and closing.

When it comes to CPU power and RAM, the more the merrier.

Just ordered the following components from amazon,

Corsair Vengeance 16 GB RAM (2x8gb)
Intel 520 series 120gb SSD
ASUS P8Z77-V
Intel i5-3570k processor
Cooler master hyper 212 evo

An i7 definitely won't hurt, but mostly helps for parallel exports I'm told. I'm not an LR user.

Received all of my components this past week from amazon. My final parts list ended up being

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 w/ 200mm intake/exhaust fan
CPU: Intel i5-3570k
Mobo: Asus P8z77-v
Ram: Corsair vengeance 2x8gb
CPU cooler: Cooler master hyper 212 EVO
SSD: Intel 520 series 120gb
HDD: WD black 1TB
DVD burner: Asus 24x
PSU: Corsair cx500w
Operating system: Windows 8 64 bit

Hoping to have it running by this weekend. First drag race is on Saturday so would like to have my ips monitor to edit the pics on. Still have to get a monitor calibration program and plan to add a HD7790 or GTX650ti boost video card to it at some point and a second hard drive. Total build cost came in right around $1100 so within my original budget.

Stick with an nVidia card so that your Adobe programs can take advantage of CUDA processing.

Alveric wrote in post #15790530
Stick with an nVidia card so that your Adobe programs can take advantage of CUDA processing.

Will do, was leaning towards the 650ti boost anyway as its been getting very good reviews and rated better then the hd7790. Picked up a dell S2440L monitor for the computer now just need to order spyder4pro to calibrate it.

MSI 660ti best performance value in the 600 series.

isoMorphic wrote in post #15794570
MSI 660ti best performance value in the 600 series.

That's way out of my budget, I'm not much of a gamer but, would add a lower cost one in case of future needs. The two I was considering are in the $150 range with the 650ti boost slightly over but, based on reviews I'd be willing to spend an extra $20 but, can't warrant the $300 for the 660ti you mentioned.

Sorry to have asked here rather than making a thread. I just want to know if its a good idea to use those "mini itx" motherboards, like the GA-Z77N-WIFI?

I dont know much regarding to "cooling" and graphics card so, another question will be is what gpu to put, i prefer from nvidia, if I tend to use it for gaming (just battlefield 3)?

If there's already a gpu what casing to get?

lastly if I tend to put in an i7 3770/k processor is safe to use just a 500watts psu?

thanks..these questions for now...

Keema wrote in post #15800346
Sorry to have asked here rather than making a thread. I just want to know if its a good idea to use those "mini itx" motherboards, like the GA-Z77N-WIFI?

I dont know much regarding to "cooling" and graphics card so, another question will be is what gpu to put, i prefer from nvidia, if I tend to use it for gaming (just battlefield 3)?

If there's already a gpu what casing to get?

lastly if I tend to put in an i7 3770/k processor is safe to use just a 500watts psu?

thanks..these questions for now...

I built a studio computer with that motherboard and an i5 3570K. It's somewhat limited in SATA ports and memory slots but it's been completely trouble free for me.

Depending on what video card you get, a good 500 watt PSU will work. Stick with Corsair, Seasonic, Antec and the like. A cheap 500 watt PSU probably won't put out even close to 500 watts or if it does I bet voltages will fluctuate badly when you get close to their max rated output. PSU's are one thing where you should never skimp on quality.

Keema wrote in post #15800346
I dont know much regarding to "cooling" and graphics card so, another question will be is what gpu to put, i prefer from nvidia, if I tend to use it for gaming (just battlefield 3)?

MiniITX is for those who need small form factor typically due to limited space. The problem wit that is when you get a compact case to put it in you may not be able to fit a full size video card. You mention BF3 specially and I can tell you first hand your going to need a dedicated GPU to get decent FPS. For gamers (and most people in general) it's best to build as good a system as you can to hold you for a few years rather then buying cheap and upgrading every year or two.

I could get pretty good playability at medium settings on my 8800GTS but that was an overclocked beefed up card for it's day. Now i'm running the MSI 660ti Power Edition and I run Ultra @ 60FPS consistently. I would wait to see how power hungry BF4 will be if your budget is currently limited and save a little more if possible. Because anyone who plays BF3 I likely to get BF4 and there is no doubt it will be more demanding and what you build today (especially with small form factor) might barely be enough to enjoy next gen games.

Finally got the comp up and running, only thing left to get is a copy of spyder4 pro or colormunki display but, Have a quick question. With editing in LR4 would there be any noticeable gains if I overclocked the CPU? I often use the batch feature a lot as after a race I usually have 500-1000 photos so I do a auto correction and add my water mark then go back and fine adjust my favorite shots. Would there be a noticeable speed increase when doing this if I overclocked to 4.2ghz or should I just leave it stock?

Don't, I repeat DO NOT overclock anything, if you value your data. Overclocking can lead to data corruption.

That's a bit harsh, I overclock all the time and as long as you know what you are doing there is no danger. Besides, how can a CPU overheat harm a HDD?

I don't like playing Russian roulette. The corruption occurs before the data is written, whilst it's still going in and out of RAM.