Is this i5 setup for mid-range home PC OK? Any suggestions for changes?

[BlindKensai]

Hi all, am building a new PC for my sister, no gaming - just internet/office use with occasional photoshop and video editing. Decided overclocking isn't really needed (hence H77 chipset) as she wants it as quiet as possible, so gone with really quiet PSU/Case and then potential to upgrade mobo in future to OC and squeeze last performance out of it then. Her budget is quite strict at £500 GBP.

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz
Asus P8H77-V Intel H77
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002)
BeQuiet Pure Power L8 430W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - With 120mm Silent Wing Fan Built in
Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp - OEM
Sony Optiarc AD-7280S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM

The RAM is XMS3 as it's as cheap as lower rated RAM in this sale and gives room for a future mobo upgrade to overclock. This comes to £500 exactly. Anyone have any suggestions for improving the build? Thanks.

[mondena]

If there i5 3570k is the same price in the UK, it would be worth it to switch to that. the rest looks good to me.

[HomeBrewPCiq]

Is there a need for the soundcard?

[BlindKensai]

If there i5 3570k is the same price in the UK, it would be worth it to switch to that. the rest looks good to me.

It's only £10 more! Definitely looks worth it. It says it needs it the new Z77 chipset but will it work with the H77 as well I assume?

"Intel's new IvyBridge based CPU's is a refresh that requires socket LGA1155 mainboards based on Intel Z77 Chipset. "

Is there a need for the soundcard?

She is really into her music and has a fairly decent speaker setup and I read that there is a noticeable increase in quality with a dedicated soundcard and for the price it can't be beat. The article I read might not know what they are on about though. So you don't think it's worth it?

--- Post Update ---

Ok well shipping took it over the budget even without the new CPU so with the new Intel Core i5-3570K and minus the soundcard it's at £498 including shipping! Thanks guys!

[perfectmark]

If she uses Adobe Premiere CS5/6, I might be inclined to get a cheaper motherboard/cpu and put the money towards something like a Nvidia 460 as the Adobe apps can off load processing to the GPU (Premiere/After Effects make better use of the GPU than other Adobe apps though).

[Horrorwood]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3450 3.10GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £143.99
1 x MSI H77MA-G43 Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard £74.98
1 x Asus Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-Express Sound Card £53.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £52.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £44.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £41.99
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £442.91 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Plus...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...e=STRK:MESE:IT

[valtterieranen]

As far as the soundcard goes, if it's any better really depends on the quality of the mainboard's solution. Some onboards are effectively transparent while others are not. The Xonar DG probably is transparent if used with speakers. Possibly not when used with headphones.

[BlindKensai]

It's already ordered and built but thanks for the additional input. Photoshop won't be anything beyond editing photos (and no other adobe software) so hopefully the HD4000 intel graphics will do it.

What do you mean by transparency for the sound card?

[valtterieranen]

It means the card plays the music as it is and doesn't alter it audibly.

[Kpt420]

Slightly old thread I know..

If sound quality is important I would get an external DAC. Sound card is mostly irrelevant then.

I was using my laptop analog out, got an Onkyo receiver that has Burr Brown DAC's. Noticed a huge difference using the laptop HDMI out to the Onkyo.

Same speakers, same amps (only using Onkyo as pre/pro).