BUilding a super fast pc but not for gaming

[CoryP]

So my friend is tired of his slow computer and wants me to build one for him that will be super fast. So I want to price out the best products but still keep it in a budget of under $1700. I was starting to check on some products I do like the CoolerMaster Haf cases, but as for processor not sure if I should go with the i7 or maybe the Phenom x6. Also if he isnt doing gaming does he need a separate graphics card or will the onboard be ok. Will having a separate graphics card make the pc faster? I think I am gonna have more questions as we go further, so thanks for taking the time to read this and helping me out.

 

[Trotter]

Go with an Intel 1155 build. The 2500 or 2600 (he won't need the K model). Give it at least 4GB or the highest native speed RAM supported by the motherboard, probably 1600. He will want a SSD for his OS for sure.

A lower end graphics card will help keep the graphics off of the CPU and will allow him to run two screens (three if the card is an ATI/AMD Eyefinity card).

 

[CoryP]

ok here is my first options , let me know what you think

case
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

cpu
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500

mobo
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

heatsink
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

ram
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBXL

ssd
Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

hd ( kind of thinking about getting 3 and setting up raid )
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

video card
Newegg.com - MSI N440GT-MD1GD3/LP GeForce GT 440 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

psu
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M600 RS-600-AMBA-D3 600W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

total $985

 

[JoshuaJay]

Looks decent.

If speed really is his goal I'd go up from the 7200 RPM to maybe a 15k RPM HD. Also while a 600W PSU will do the job you really may want to consider a 750.

Just suggestions! It all depends on what your ultimate goal is

 

[Slaymate]

With the i5 2500 you won't need the Cooler Master Hyper 212 heatsink. The i5 2500 is the non-overclocking version and it runs pretty cool with the stock heatsink. If you go with the i7 2500K which is the overclocking version (it's only a few dollars more) the Hyper 212 will help.
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

Don't waste your money on a bunch of hard drives just buy one big one, with the SSD you'll be fast. If anything I would recommend looking at getting a slightly bigger SSD, maybe a 120GB. A 120GB will give you room for Windows and all of your Applications and working files. Then you just buy a large HDD for storage and your page file.
Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

I would go with the EVGA version of the GT 440, it has a 10 year warranty.
Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1441-KR GeForce GT 440 1024MB (Fermi) DUAL DVI PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card

I would go with this memory, it has better latencies (8-8-8-24) at 1600 MHz. If you want to run them at 1866 you can raise the latencies to match the memory (9-10-9-28) you've linked to and save a few dollars.
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM

I would go with this power supply over the Cooler Master 600w
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply