Thinking of a new computer build... what should I get?

so I'm thinking about a new computer build, this computer is a few years old and wasn't very high spec when I built it... sure I could upgrade the processor and few other bits but for the $$$ I think I just want to build something new and am wanting it to last for a good 3+ years.

for use it's mostly mundane office stuff and web surfing/videos with some photo editing and occasional video editing tossed in... my current computer struggles with the RAW files and pretty slow with adobe premier pro CC (my laptop is faster than the desktop even with the "1.6ghz" dual core i5... games get played on my xbox...

after some research and based on what I primarily do I am leaning towards the newer intel processors with the HD4600 graphics, the hd4000 out benchmarks my current video card by a significant margin and based on my reading the only place a better graphics card would be really helpful is in video editing which is fairly infrequent at the moment (and a decent card is easy to add later on)

I'm thinking about a budget of about $500, I have a good copy of win7 so that's "free" and I have 8gb of ddr3 1333 ram in this computer that I could donate to the build for the cost of a 4gb stick (just enough to keep this thing running) until the price of ram comes back down. my peripherals and monitors (2 1080 screens) will stay.

the only thing I'm truly set on for the build is to have a decent sized SSD to run the OS from (thinking 120gb), I've got a few 7200 1tb+ drives for data, I also need an internal card reader for CF and SD cards

as it stands my theoretical build looks like this at the moment

processor - intel core I5-4690k motherboard MSI z97 pc mate ($319.98 combo price with $10 rebate) HDD - samsung 840 evo mz-7te120bw $89.99 case - raidmax atlas atx-295wbp (includes 500w power supply) $59.99 card reader rosewill rcr-IC001 $14.99 with $7 discount so $7.99 Ram - crucial 4g ddr3 1600 $39.99 (will be traded out for the 8gb 1333 that is in this computer)

so what say the GRM collective? after shipping we're right at $525.93 on newegg with this theoretical build, down the road I can add ram and a decent video card.

note that because I am in TX I have to pay tax at tigerdirect so take that into account :-/

so given the budget how would you build?

I'd go i7 if you can afford to.

I'd suggest something with 4k video support if you're doing video or photo work.

I don't think going to an i7 would help much. Processing-wise, computers in general are ridiculously overpowered these days. Storage makes the big speed difference and SSDs are the quickest (but most dangerous - back up often!) storage technology. In my experience RAID can come close in speed and it's a lot cheaper in $/GB and somewhat safer, but much heavier on power usage.

More RAM would make a bigger speed difference than a faster CPU, 8GB is pretty good though. The way Windows manages swap space is stupid, it always uses it no matter how much RAM is free, if you have enough RAM to disable swap you'll get a nice speed boost - 8GB is the bare minimum I'd recommend for a "swapless" setup (Edit: You won't get much of a speed boost going "swapless" with an SSD though).

I've done a few AMD A-10 systems recently and have been really happy with them. Get the best one and use AMD branded RAM. You should be in the $400 range if you need a case, PSU, and optical drive. I would also suggest splurging for a SSD.

The combined CPU and GPU is where the savings are. I like the ASUS boards the most as they seem to have the most features.

This might help you narrow down performance/$

http://pcpartpicker.com/builds/

Computers are at a weird place right now (IMO) performance-wise, where there is only so quickly a single core of a multi-core processor can open a program/file.

I noticed minimal difference going from a AMD X2 5000+ to a I7 4670K. Same with going from 4g of ddr2 3200 to 16g of ddr3 12800 or whatever the crap they call it now.

In short, unless you are heavily gaming, my recommendation for noticeable performance difference:

1) SSD. It will change the way you view computers. <10second startup times, programs load instantly. 2) GPU. Everything is more GPU intensive nowadays, even basic programs. A high end GPU will help massively. I still run a old nvidia 9800gtx, which is fine, but you can get more power for cheaper equivalent dollars nowadays. I'd recommend something AT LEAST equivalent to it.
3) Ram. speeds dont matter anymore, anything ddr3. You also will notice virtually no difference between 8 and 16gb. Hell, you'd be hard pressed to notice the difference between 6 and 8.
4) Processor. Individual core speeds aren't going up a lot anymore, and unfortunately, programs do not utilize multiple cores (for the most part) yet. If you are dead set that a processor matters, get a I5. But I wouldn't waste my money on a I7.

In short, SSD, SSD, SSD. It will be the single biggest change in computing performance you have experienced in the past decade, even if you've been using raptor raid arrays!

I've wanted to get back into CAD, used to do it for a living, still have a connection or two, and some "acquired" software that I use on my laptop for little stuff, a 15.6" laptop screen isn't great, but my laptop (Vostro 3550, i5-2410m, Radeon 6630m, 8 GB DDR3, 7200 RPM HD) is faster/more powerful than my desktop so I tend to use it. I thought about a docking station, but I know that Radeon GPU will be my biggest bottle neck.

My desktop consists of an Asus 780i Mother Board, Core 2 Duo E6850, Nvidia 7900GT (Dinosaur), 6 GB DDR2 Corsair XMS2, and who knows what hard drive, it might actually be an IDE drive, I don't remember, Win 7 64.

So I speced out a new build, and just like you Donaldson, I have my heart set on the 4690K and the Samsung Evo SSDs, I was planing on one of the SLI capable ASUS LGA 1150 mother boards though. Keeping my current case, getting 16 GB of DDR3, the 250 GB SSD, CPU, and MB I was at $700 and hadn't addressed the monitors or GPU yet. A used Quadro 4000 can be had for ~$250 if your quick on the draw. I'll need a new PSU too.

So now I'm thinking about still going with a new GPU, PSU, and SSD, but keeping my current desktop and seeing if I can't find a deal on an E8600 or Q9XXX on eBay.

That 4690K is screaming "over clock me" and stirring up computer geekery in me that I had buried deep down long, long ago. So far the cheap bastard in me keeps rearing it's ugly head and preventing me from going down that particular rabbit hole again.

Keep us posted on what you decide, document the build here, I can live vicariously through you.

HiTempguy wrote: In short, SSD, SSD, SSD. It will be the single biggest change in computing performance you have experienced in the past decade, even if you've been using raptor raid arrays!

Actually my gaming PC with a raptor array is about as fast as a friend's laptop with an SSD. My startup time is actually slightly less.