Build Advice Proposed £650 Gaming (1080p) / Photoshop rig - Critique Please!

http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/ae669a5f0a304d92910202e4724f311e

So here it is, my first proposed build, made with information from both friends and the internet!

I'm still new to all this, so please anyone who wants to advise me feel free!

This will be for photo processing Photoshop work, and also gaming on an HDTV, I'm hoping to not have to upgrade any parts for about 3 years (except maybe adding in an SSD at some point).

So, how does it look? (Be brutal, I can take it!)

 

Its been a while since I went amd on processor so things may have changed but isnt it worth sticking a CPU cooler in their and going OEM on processor? The new h65 looks nice at a great price

Last I remembered amd runs hot

 

I would change the GPU to a different make. Photoshop loves loads of ram.

 

Amd gpus have more than normal nvidia, or are you thinking professional grade?

 

I didn't see an OEM CPU listed (I should have pointed out Im using Scan for everything for their finance option). Will that processor not be OK with the stock cooler as long as im not overclocking ?

 

Does the GPU make a big difference to Photoshop? I'll not be doing anything too intensive although there will be batch processing at times.

 

Unsure tbh prob worth waiting for a second opinion, last one I had was amd athlon 3000+ and on stock heatsink with no oc it ran at nice temps really

 

If you did plan on overclocking or adding a second card the psu you have picked would be struggling for the record.

Photoshop wants memory little else. 8gb would be the min I'd want 12-16gb if truly doing it a lot.

Pro grade graphics cards Irelivent at this price point.

Andy or harle both own the CPU in question or a version of it you could ask them how the stock cooler is.

 

Not trying to start an intel vs amd flame war here, but doesnt photoshop respond better to ipc rather than more cores?

 

I doubt very much that there'll be another card added at any point, but OCing might be something I'd look at in the future, but not at present.

 

Change from xfx to another make. xfx have a bad rep.
I would add a SSD.
Photoshop loves Ram.

 

I've been advised that at this price point AMD is a better bet from a gaming point of view. But would I be better with an i3? That's really all I could stretch to processor wise.

 

Aah. Sorry bud got mixed up though you meant The GPUs ddr5 not ram. In the case of ram I would have to agree 8gb minimum for small stuff but I personally wouldn't go for less than 16. If it was for my job go full 32 as I'd have multiple projects open all the time ,

If you can't afford the 4*4gb now no harm n waiting a bit

I would advise upgrading the mobo . one thing buying a new PSU to accommodate second GPU but a mobo to usually just pushes for full revamp and adding a second card in a year or 2 will add some great value longevity.

 

Are there any Mobos in the sub £100 price bracket that you would recommend?

 

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus...r3-sata-iii-6gb-s-raid-sata-pcie-20-(x16)-atx

That seems fairly good, though I could be wrong but. these both say PCI e 2.0 can't be sure but the R9 280x may not work or at least not properly on that format, not too familiar with and chipsets etc ATM.

EDIT: deleted Intel option as realised it has no crossfire supp. Either :-( need some more knowledgeable folk to answer that in bud

 

The Asus M5A99X EVO Rev 2.0 is a killer board.

With FX stuff you really do benefit from a decent board.

The Asus M5A97 Evo R2.0 is also very good.

That said if you don't overclock a haswell i5 system is prob in reach. Would be a bit easier too cool too.

 

I could probably get an i5 4670k if I shaved some money off the GPU (say £200 limit rather than £250) and case. Is the trade off worth it from a gaming POV? Or is a better card and the AMD a more long term solution?

 

Like a few people, I have both and both play games just fine.

Is a genuine bit of swings and roundabouts at the moment.

I love messing with the FX system and in threaded apps/games it is a monster, but the big downer is heat and power. If you turn off all the power saving features they are very difficult to cool.

On contrast you can overclock a i5 with your eyes closed with a £20 heatsink and budget motherboard.

 

See I would like to play about with OCing, even if its just to extend the systems life time, but I've no knowledge of it at all. In that sense the Intel would be the winner, but will a £200 GPU be able to last 3+ years?

I realise that no system is ever future proof especially at my budget, but ideally I'd like to not have to upgrade anything (barring RAM and an SSD) for 3 years at least.