£450 Matlab and Sony Vegas pc for brother

I posted for a pc for myself yesterday and seeing the price and specs i got for it my brother decided he wants to build his own pc rather than go to pc world to get one.

His budget is £450-£500 also. He does alot of computer coding on matlab and varius other coding programs and like me uses movie making and editing software quite alot.

His requirements:
fast processor
500gb+ HDD
4gb+ ram
graphics card (HD-connection)
DVD +/- rw
a copy of win 7

as quite as possible with is budget (i assumed i couldnt be done but im no expert)

and he wants a simple, not too big case. something that looks simple like this:
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/8934...-tower-ca.html

not that case but he likes that sort of thing.

keyboard, mouse and monitor he already has

Does he game??

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

Does he game??

---

he does, dragon age (i think thats a game/one of the games), minecraft, gears of war or some game like that might be cod i dont actually know what it is

What is the resolution of the monitor??

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

What is the resolution of the monitor??

---

he is using his hdtv as a monitor currently and he intends to use that, its 22" HD sony bravia

I came up with this, essentially based on what you gave me for my own pc.


http://i56.tinypic.com/m8pbg7.jpg

Just a little over budget, but would this work, or have i not quite matched the components up correctly? what type of cooling would this need?

The graphics card and PSU are not great. The IGP on the CPU is probably faster than an 8400GS. The thing is that you need to spend more money on the build if you want something that will last longer. For example even though your brother is gaming at a lower resolution investing in a decent graphics card will work out cheaper over a few years.

The following build is from Ebuyer.

http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/s...FTH/Build1.jpg

I would check on the Ebuyer forums whether the card will fit the case though!

Getting a cheaper CPU would help reduce the cost of the build. A Core i3 2100 would be great for many games and would be the best choice IMHO at around £90 to £100 for running Matlab. However,a Phenom II X4 955BE or a Phenom II X4 840 would be faster than a Core i3 2100 in most video encoding programmes and will be competitive in games which can use four cores.

Here is a review of the case:

http://www.shay-tech.co.uk/?p=419

You could get the following graphics card instead:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/265342

It is the fastest card ATM for around £60 AFAIK. However,the HD5830 is over 70% faster.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

The graphics card and PSU are not great. The IGP on the CPU is probably faster than an 8400GS. The thing is that you need to spend more money on the build if you want something that will last longer. For example even though your brother is gaming at a lower resolution investing in a decent graphics card will work out cheaper over a few years.

The following build is from Ebuyer.

http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/s...FTH/Build1.jpg

I would check on the Ebuyer forums whether the card will fit the case though!

Getting a cheaper CPU would help reduce the cost of the build. A Core i3 2100 would be great for many games and would be the best choice IMHO at around £90 to £100 for running Matlab. However,a Phenom II X4 955BE or a Phenom II X4 840 would be faster than a Core i3 2100 in most video encoding programmes and will be competitive in games which can use four cores.

---

Would it be better to get a AMD setup instead? i assume it would save on costs.
He would liek the comp to last him atleast 4-5 years if not longer, but then again, i know he is asking for alot.

If gaming was to be taken out of the question could the system work for just matlab, sony vegas, photoshop whilst being quite and lasting for a longer time?


I am sorry if im askign too many questions, im trying to make a setup from him myself but i just dont know how to check compatability of components and what excataly i need.

gaming is just something he does in his spare time, the pc is for his uni work and shoudl last him till masters and such, he needs it more for sony vegas, photoshop, matlab and then general everyday use.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stylis10

Would it be better to get a AMD setup instead? i assume it would save on costs.
He would liek the comp to last him atleast 4-5 years if not longer, but then again, i know he is asking for alot.

If gaming was to be taken out of the question could the system work for just matlab, sony vegas, photoshop whilst being quite and lasting for a longer time?


I am sorry if im askign too many questions, im trying to make a setup from him myself but i just dont know how to check compatability of components and what excataly i need.

---

What you could do is get a decent base system up and running. Then when he has more funds he get a decent graphics card. The IGP should be fine for normal usage and old games. However,the games you have mentioned will probably be pushing it with the IGP.

There is a review of the case in my previous post.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

What you could do is get a decent base system up and running. Then when he has more funds he get a decent graphics card. The IGP should be fine for normal usage and old games. However,the games you have mentioned will probably be pushing it with the IGP.

There is a review of the case in my previous post.

---

I think i might just do that instead, a good cpu, processor, ram, cooling uni, case, hard drive in his budget, and then he can add in a graphics card when he saved up a little more.

I shall try to get working on this.

Do you intend to overclock the CPU or will the CPU will kept at stock speeds??

Is virtualisation important??

Edit!!

I am asking since you can get a Core i5 2500K or a Core i5 2500.

The Core i5 2500K has the HD3000 IGP but lacks certain virtualisation abilities.

The Core i5 2500 has the slower HD2000 IGP but has full virtualisation support.

However it also means Quick Sync will work faster on the Core i5 2500K:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/t...-2100-tested/9

However,Quick Sync will work only if you use the IGP. If you add another graphics card it will be deactivated. Supposedly some third party software my be released to overcome this problem but AFAIK it has not been released.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

Do you intend to overclock the CPU or will the CPU will kept at stock speeds??

Is virtualisation important??

---

For longevity of the machine he doesnt intend to overclock the CPU and virtulizastion is not important. He has seen the build you made for me and likes the look of the case but would like something bigger, so im just trying to adjust the setup you made for me to his needs.

If i could find the thank you button i would give you all the thanks i could, just can see the damn thing!

I edited my previous post. This thread also indicates when user privileges are unlocked:

http://forums.hexus.net/welcome-hexu...r-rewards.html

the Quick sync would be ideal for what the system needs, then if a graphics card needs to be added later on he would have saved enough money by then to buy a decent graphics card.

EDIT! -double post

I have come with the following build.

http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/s...FTH/Build3.jpg

Here is the product page for the case:

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Produc...C=1465&ID=2029

The Intel motherboards are meant to have a stable BIOS. The motherboard has both USB3.0 and SATA3.0 ports. It is not in stock ATM so I would ring Scan.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

I have come with the following build.

[IMG]http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss33/CAT-THE-FIFTH/Build3.jpg[IMG]

Here is the product page for the case:

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Produc...C=1465&ID=2029

The Intel motherboards are meant to have a stable BIOS. The motherboard has both USB3.0 and SATA3.0 ports. It is not in stock ATM so I would ring Scan.

---

The build is perfect, just shown my brother, he loves the setup, just not the case...i almost give up, you have done so much, thank you very much.

Ive decided im going to go for this build (i shall acquire the room to put the base somewhere), ill let him choose his own case, he wants a smaller case, maybe a micro-atx. ill leave that to him to sort out, even though ill be building it.

I've run into memory management problems in the past using MATLAB with only 4GB RAM. MATLAB likes to hold all of an array in memory at one time (yes I could have used multiple smaller arrays, but it was to much of a performance hit) so it may not be a bad idea to go for 6 or 8GB if depending on the type of programming your brother will be doing.
There is also a nice Library for MATLAB to off load some routines to the GPU, but IIRC it's a CUDA (aka Nvidia) only affair so if your going with a discrete GPU solution I'd start looking 9500 GT (pci-e 2.0) and above.

Hope this helps!

Here are some articles looking at the gaming performance of the Intel HD3000 IGP:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/t...2100-tested/11

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/gra...mance-review/5

http://techreport.com/articles.x/20188/17

Like I said ATM Quick Sync will not work ATM with a discrete graphics card although Lucid was working on a solution a few months ago:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4113/l...n-sandy-bridge

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stylis10

The build is perfect, just shown my brother, he loves the setup, just not the case...i almost give up, you have done so much, thank you very much.

Ive decided im going to go for this build (i shall acquire the room to put the base somewhere), ill let him choose his own case, he wants a smaller case, maybe a micro-atx. ill leave that to him to sort out, even though ill be building it.

---

You can go with the Biostar mATX motherboard or a better quality Gigabyte motherboard for your brother's build:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...-raid-matx-vga

The are also the Intel mATX motherboards which also have USB3.0 too:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel...-raid-matx-vga

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel...s-raid-atx-vga

This case is not too big:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...finish-w-o-psu

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...s-atx-uatx-psu

The PSU is used as the main system exhaust though. AFAIK,the stock cooler should be able to fit under the PSU fine.

There is also this case too:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...silver-w-o-psu

The black one costs more though:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...silver-w-o-psu

Here is the product page for the Silverstone case:

http://www.silverstonetek.com/produc...G02-F&area=usa

There is also this Antec case and PSU combination:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/antec...bays-120mm-fan

However,the 380W PSU will limit the graphics card you can use and some longer cards like the HD5830 1GB may not fit unless you remove the hard drive cage.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by circuitmonkey

I've run into memory management problems in the past using MATLAB with only 4GB RAM. MATLAB likes to hold all of an array in memory at one time (yes I could have used multiple smaller arrays, but it was to much of a performance hit) so it may not be a bad idea to go for 6 or 8GB if depending on the type of programming your brother will be doing.
There is also a nice Library for MATLAB to off load some routines to the GPU, but IIRC it's a CUDA (aka Nvidia) only affair so if your going with a discrete GPU solution I'd start looking 9500 GT (pci-e 2.0) and above.

Hope this helps!

---

It is interesting to know that CUDA can accelerate Matlab - it has been a few years since I last used it myself TBH!

To the OP don't forget the free Scan postage and the special offers web-pages I mentioned.

Edit!!

For the build with the full sized case I would get the following RAM:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-(...-9-24-xmp-150v

Right, now that im back (i needed a break my eyes were straining from all the searching), i shall try to build 2 systems (for me and brother). CAT, would you mind just approving the choices if i show them in the thread...considering all the systems considered and put together by you anyway i suppose they should be fine.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stylis10

Right, now that im back (i needed a break my eyes were straining from all the searching), i shall try to build 2 systems (for me and brother). CAT, would you mind just approving the choices if i show them in the thread...considering all the systems considered and put together by you anyway i suppose they should be fine.

---

No problems!

Here are the builds i have come up with, the first is for me, and i dont know which of the last 2 to get for brother, please can you comment on any changes and such?

1.
http://i52.tinypic.com/dw6yr5.jpg

2. Case coems with PSU
http://i56.tinypic.com/11h9jrs.jpg

3. Case and PSU seperate
http://i55.tinypic.com/2cd7628.jpg

I will be gone for a while but will comment more when i get back.

If you want a system to last you need to get a decent PSU and the CiT ones are not that great TBH.

I would be looking at a much better PSU. The second build looks better but I would change the PSU.

The XFX 550W or the following 520W PSU would do the job:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/520w-...ps12v-v291-psu

Both will give you enough power in case your brother wants to get a discrete graphics card.

Alternatively if he is going to stick with IGP or goes for a low powered graphics card you could get one of the following PSUs instead:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/400w-...mm-fan-atx-12v

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/pro45...l-power-supply

Note that Matlab now supports GPGPU computations using CUDA, so nab an nVidia graphics card.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

If you want a system to last you need to get a decent PSU and the CiT ones are not that great TBH.

I would be looking at a much better PSU. The second build looks better but I would change the PSU.

The XFX 550W or the following 520W PSU would do the job:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/520w-...ps12v-v291-psu

Both will give you enough power in case your brother wants to get a discrete graphics card.

Alternatively if he is going to stick with IGP or goes for a low powered graphics card you could get one of the following PSUs instead:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/400w-...mm-fan-atx-12v

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/pro45...l-power-supply

---

Considering the 2nd and 3rd systems are excataly the same just different case and PSU, is it worth just gettign a different case witht he PSU's you reccomended as the idea for the CiT was that it came with the PSU and it was "shiny" (my brothers words not mine).

Im not extremly good with spotting differences, but would i be right in thinking all 3 systems are fundamentally the same? just different case and motherboard for system 1?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stylis10

Considering the 2nd and 3rd systems are excataly the same just different case and PSU, is it worth just gettign a different case witht he PSU's you reccomended as the idea for the CiT was that it came with the PSU and it was "shiny" (my brothers words not mine).

Im not extremly good with spotting differences, but would i be right in thinking all 3 systems are fundamentally the same? just different case and motherboard for system 1?

---

The thing is that the CiT PSUs are not that great. One of my mates had one and went kaput relatively quickly and took out a hard drive in the process. I ended giving him a very old Globalwinn PSU(was a decent PSU at the time) as a stop gap and it still works!

At least you will get a few years of good service out of a better quality PSU.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

The thing is that the CiT PSUs are not that great. One of my mates had one and went kaput relatively quickly and took out a hard drive in the process. I ended giving him a very old Globalwinn PSU(was a decent PSU at the time) as a stop gap and it still works!

At least you will get a few years of good service out of a better quality PSU.

---

oh i will undoubtably choose a PSU you suggested, but just wanted to know how similar all the systems are, they seem pretty much the same to me hence i was thinkign i might just stick with a small build too.

Im probably driving you mad with my decision changing, but i do appreciate all the help, for myself i want the pc to last a good 5 years before i replace it.

Is the CiT case a decent case or should i look for something more upmarket?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stylis10

oh i will undoubtably choose a PSU you suggested, but just wanted to know how similar all the systems are, they seem pretty much the same to me hence i was thinkign i might just stick with a small build too.

Im probably driving you mad with my decision changing, but i do appreciate all the help, for myself i want the pc to last a good 5 years before i replace it.

Is the CiT case a decent case or should i look for something more upmarket?

---

The Dokker is still a better case especially for the extra ventilation and expansion it offers. The same goes with using an ATX motherboard as you have more slots.

My current computers are a Shuttle SFF PC and a mini ITX based one but they tend to cost more and have more limitations when compared to a full sized build.

Edit!!

Here are some other micro ATX cases worth looking at in addition to the ones I suggested earlier:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/nzxt-...-(atx-psu-fits)

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/inwin...ng-case-no-psu

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...ro-atx-w-o-psu

right so ive ordered my build, managed to get some of the parts of ebay at lower prices, and a family friend had some of the parts i needed (HDD and win 7).

now for my brothers build, he decided he ias adamant on gettign the Lian-Li Q08 case, for which i told him, he has to pay a min of £100 more to do this, he accepts, and so this is the final build for him.
I know there are many builds on this thread, but i am dealing with a very fussy person, thank you all for your patience and help.

http://i53.tinypic.com/2exu6py.jpg

do i need to add any coolign to this or are the stock fans okay?
and is all of it compatible?

Out of interest what parts did you order??

One thing - do realise that the Core i5 2500K will be at the limits of what the Gigabyte mini-ITX board can handle(I have that motherboard myself). Hence,stick with the stock cooler as it does blow some air over the VRMs which should keep them cool and the top mounted fan on the Q08 should help with air flow unlike the cheaper cases.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

Out of interest what parts did you order??

One thing - do realise that the Core i5 2500K will be at the limits of what the Gigabyte mini-ITX board can handle(I have that motherboard myself). Hence,stick with the stock cooler as it does blow some air over the VRMs which should keep them cool and the top mounted fan on the Q08 should help with air flow unlike the cheaper cases.

---

hmm this may pose a problem, is there a different motherboard i could go for with out too much more expense or should i get a slightly less powerful processor. Im thinking maybe AMD for my brother might be better price wise, but i no next to nothign about AMD processors and motherboards.
all in all aslogn as the system doesnt fry or blow up and does what he needs, he will be happy.

For myself i went with the top build out of the 3 i suggested, but i found out a family friend of ours builds computers like this, so he gave me a hdd and win 7 at a cheaper price (only 1 spare win 7). he also ordered me a different dvd rw that he said would go fine with the sytem.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stylis10

hmm this may pose a problem, is there a different motherboard i could go for with out too much more expense or should i get a slightly less powerful processor. Im thinking maybe AMD for my brother might be better price wise, but i no next to nothign about AMD processors and motherboards.
all in all aslogn as the system doesnt fry or blow up and does what he needs, he will be happy.

---

An Intel Core i5 system will be the best for his purposes. The AMD Phenom II X6 processors are good but AMD mini ITX motherboards are very expensive and the higher performance processors tend to have a higher wattage and yet the motherboards are limited to 95W CPUs. Lower wattage 95 Phenom II X6 processors also cost more. This is why for my back up build I got the Gigabyte mini ITX motherboard and a Core i3 2100.

The Core i5 2500K will probably work fine and maybe I am worrying too much about things. OTH,I generally don't like pushing hardware too much as I like keeping my computers for years. My Shuttle SD37P2 is around four and a half years old for example and still works.

The Core i5 2400S I mentioned earlier only has a 65W TDP and there is an OEM Core i5 2500S on sale on Ebay which I linked to also although you will need to get a cooler with the latter.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stylis10

For myself i went with the top build out of the 3 i suggested, but i found out a family friend of ours builds computers like this, so he gave me a hdd and win 7 at a cheaper price (only 1 spare win 7). he also ordered me a different dvd rw that he said would go fine with the sytem.

---

Once,your builds are up it would be nice if you posted some pictures!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

An Intel Core i5 system will be the best for his purposes. The AMD Phenom II X6 processors are good but AMD mini ITX motherboards are very expensive and the higher performance processors tend to have a higher wattage and yet the motherboards are limited to 95W CPUs. Lower wattage 95 Phenom II X6 processors also cost more. This is why for my back up build I got the Gigabyte mini ITX motherboard and a Core i3 2100.

The Core i5 2500K will probably work fine and maybe I am worrying too much about things. OTH,I generally don't like pushing hardware too much as I like keeping my computers for years. My Shuttle SD37P2 is around four and a half years old for example and still works.

The Core i5 2400S I mentioned earlier only has a 65W TDP and there is an OEM Core i5 2500S on sale on Ebay which I linked to also although you will need to get a cooler with the latter.


Once,your builds are up it would be nice if you posted some pictures!

---

i think it shall just have to be the Core i5 2400S, does that mean i can get a cheaper less powerfull PSU or is the one im goign to get fine?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stylis10

i think it shall just have to be the Core i5 2400S, does that mean i can get a cheaper less powerfull PSU or is the one im goign to get fine?

---

Don't fall for Intel's low wattage overpriced stuff. They name the chip as a way faster part with addition of S suffix but in fact it's simply a lower clock part using same voltage (variable btw). And clock is more responsible for heat/power then volts. You could easily get yrself regular 2400 which runs at 3.1GHz max Vs 2.5 for the "S" part and simply limit the multiplier and save some cash for a pint or two.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CooperXS

Don't fall for Intel's low wattage overpriced stuff. They name the chip as a way faster part with addition of S suffix but in fact it's simply a lower clock part using same voltage (variable btw). And clock is more responsible for heat/power then volts. You could easily get yrself regular 2400 which runs at 3.1GHz max Vs 2.5 for the "S" part and simply limit the multiplier and save some cash for a pint or two.

---

so should i just go for a Core i5 2400 95W processor? and i have no idea how to go about limiting the multiplier

I have i7 860 (95W chip) running in Lian-Li PC-Q07 and cooled with Scythe Big Shuriken. Never had a single issue with stability in the 1.5 years and that case has way more restricted airflow then the one you opted for. Besides Sandys do run cooler then Lynfields.
Multiplier setting can be changed in BIOS or via some Windows tool. But this may not be even necessary if you want to get the max out of the chip.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CooperXS

I have i7 860 (95W chip) running in Lian-Li PC-Q07 and cooled with Scythe Big Shuriken. Never had a single issue with stability in the 1.5 years and that case has way more restricted airflow then the one you opted for. Besides Sandys do run cooler then Lynfields.
Multiplier setting can be changed in BIOS or via some Windows tool. But this may not be even necessary if you want to get the max out of the chip.

---

well as this is a budget build and its already £100 over budget adding in a cooler will just increase costs. the only other option would be to scrap the case and make one myself, for which i could easily do if i had a tutorial (im handy with plexiglass, wood work, not extremly great with metal sheeting. (we have a mini workshop in otu garage so building a case could be done i would just need dimentsionas and a tutorial on how to lay one out ansd stuff) but thats goign a bit far i would assume

Stylis10 check your inbox.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stylis10

well as this is a budget build and its already £100 over budget adding in a cooler will just increase costs. the only other option would be to scrap the case and make one myself, for which i could easily do if i had a tutorial (im handy with plexiglass, wood work, not extremly great with metal sheeting. (we have a mini workshop in otu garage so building a case could be done i would just need dimentsionas and a tutorial on how to lay one out ansd stuff) but thats goign a bit far i would assume

---

Doubt you'd need to change the cooler. Also you would save a lot of cash by going standard ATX/mATX case/mboard anyway :)

Okay its done, managed to come up with abuild my brother likes, he even likes the case (i never thought it would happen), the case also has ample room for GPU if he wants to install one later on and its quite spacious i would assume due to its size for a matx case.

If anyone can spot any problems with the setup, please let me know asap, i shall order this within the next 2 hours
http://i56.tinypic.com/27y5tvr.jpg