Input on New Build Hardware

[Harveyshot]

I am a first time builder and would appreciate some input on the hardware I have selected. It will be my everyday computer and Photoshop will be the most demanding program used. I'm not a gamer. Current computer is six years old, 512 MB ram, 110 GB HDD and slow as molasses.

NZXT Technologies SOURCE 220 CA-SO220-01 Matt Steel Mesh Front Mid Tower Case with USB 3.0

Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus Series 500W ATX12V V2.3 Power Supply (RS500-PCARD3-US)

Intel Core i5-2400 3.10 GHz 6 MB Cache Socket LGA1155 Processor

Gigabyte Intel Z68 ATX DDR3 2133 LGA 1155 Motherboards GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3

Seagate Momentus XT 500 GB 2.5 Inch Solid State Hybrid Drive ST95005620AS

Kingston Technology HyperX Blu 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 DIMM (Kit of 2) KHX1333C9D3B1K2/8G

Windows 7 Home


Thank you.

 

[MMM]

With those specs you wont know your self!!!
It will be OK but you did not mention what type of video card so make sure your PSU is up to task if you install a high end card....

 

[Harveyshot]

Thanks for the input.

A 500w PSU wouldn't be enough? With a mid-range GC? How good is the on board video?

 

[MMM]

Most new on board video should be OK these days, depends on what maximum resolution it will give, if you think it is not good enough upgrade to a dedicated card.

 

[Macmaster4k2]

I have said this many of times and will always say it to every new builder out there. DO NOT GO CHEAP ON YOUR POWER SUPPLY. Even though the computer may be for just basic needs, the power supply is very important. I highly recommend getting more wattage than you need and with the name brands such as corsair, antec, thermaltake and such because of the higher quality. Going with a cheap brand like coolmax may cost you more than what you put in because of the very possible risk of it frying out and damaging your motherboard and/or cpu. I myself have experienced this before in the past and have learned from that costly mistake.

Though to be honest, i am unfamiliar with the quality of cooler master psu. You should do a little research around to find out more about it before buying it and read the reviews on newegg and other sites to get a good idea about it. I hope this was helpful to you

 

[keshavkd]

I have said this many of times and will always say it to every new builder out there. DO NOT GO CHEAP ON YOUR POWER SUPPLY. Even though the computer may be for just basic needs, the power supply is very important. I highly recommend getting more wattage than you need and with the name brands such as corsair, antec, thermaltake and such because of the higher quality. Going with a cheap brand like coolmax may cost you more than what you put in because of the very possible risk of it frying out and damaging your motherboard and/or cpu. I myself have experienced this before in the past and have learned from that costly mistake.

Though to be honest, i am unfamiliar with the quality of cooler master psu. You should do a little research around to find out more about it before buying it and read the reviews on newegg and other sites to get a good idea about it. I hope this was helpful to you

^This.
Go for this instead.
OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular High Performance Power Supply

And if you have a slightly bigger budget then you can get this GPU.
Asus GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5

 

[Harveyshot]

Thanks all. And Macmaster, I'll seriously look into the other PSUs. And I'm also considering switching to an AMD Phenom II X4 3.7. It seems for my needs, it should be good.

 

[MMM]

I have said this many of times and will always say it to every new builder out there. DO NOT GO CHEAP ON YOUR POWER SUPPLY. Even though the computer may be for just basic needs, the power supply is very important. I highly recommend getting more wattage than you need and with the name brands such as corsair, antec, thermaltake and such because of the higher quality. Going with a cheap brand like coolmax may cost you more than what you put in because of the very possible risk of it frying out and damaging your motherboard and/or cpu. I myself have experienced this before in the past and have learned from that costly mistake.

Though to be honest, i am unfamiliar with the quality of cooler master psu. You should do a little research around to find out more about it before buying it and read the reviews on newegg and other sites to get a good idea about it. I hope this was helpful to you

Nothing wrong with cooler master PSU's, just as good what you quoted.

I think your comment on higher wattage was valid.