New PC build for around $4k?

Hey everyone, I'm looking to pick up a new PC in about two weeks.
I need something capable of handling multitasking—programming, some light graphic design work in Photoshop and Illustrator, and general browsing. Nothing crazy, but I’m the type who always has half a dozen programs running, way too many browser tabs open, a YouTube stream playing in the background, and I'm constantly alt-tabbing through it all.

Just looking for the tower itself—this is an office machine, so zero interest in gaming. I definitely need licensed Windows, and it would be a huge plus if it comes pre-installed and ready to go out of the box. Also, silence is key; I don't want a jet engine on my desk.
Budget-wise, I'm not entirely sure how things are priced these days, but let's say around $4,000, $1500 max.

I'd ideally like 8GB of RAM, and I have a preference for an Intel processor—purely out of habit, really, since I've always stuck with Intel. I'll need a 1TB hard drive, and I have absolutely no use for a DVD drive. I won't be doing any overclocking, but I'd like some room for future upgrades—maybe adding a better GPU down the road if it makes sense (though I'm not sure if I even need one right now).

If anyone has recommendations for a reliable retailer that offers shipping, please let me know.

Thanks 🙂

1 x Asrock B75 Pro3M - Intel B75, microATX, Dual Channel 4xDDR3
1 x Intel Core i5-3330 3.0GHz (Max Turbo FQ 3.2 GHz) ,6MB
2 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingston, 1600MHz, CL11, Value
1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3,5", 24mj
1 x Zalman ZM-T2 PLUS micro tower case. 189(W) x 427,5(H) x 364(D)mm
1 x Microsoft Windows Home Premium 7, 64bit, English SP1
1 x CORSAIR 430W power supply, CX Series 80+ Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+

$1350
www.bestbuy.com
Free assembly and shipping on orders over $667 🙂

Integrated graphics are fine for what you're looking to do.

I tried to stay right at your minimum budget limit, so that $1333 is plenty... some people will definitely insist on adding an SSD and whatever else 😁 so you might end up going over your maximum budget of $1500

I put together everything you need so when you sit down at this PC, it just works.😁

1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingston, HyperX Blue, 1600MHz, CL10
1 x Procesor Intel Core i5-4440 (3.10GHz,1MB,6MB,84 W,1150) Box
1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3,5", 24mj
1 x MS LOGIC A33 bez napajanja, Midi tower, ATX, 5,25" vanjski utor
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1, 64bit, American 1pk,DSP,OEI DVD,WN7-00622
1 x Napajanje CORSAIR 430W, CX430M, CX Series Modular, EPS12V v2.3
1 x ASUS H81M-E, 1150, Intel® H81, DDR3, Broj utora 2, 1333,1600 MHz
1 x Kingston SSD 120GB V300, 2.5" 7mm, SATA 3 6G, 7mm to 9.5mm

$1484 Adm - free shipping and assembly included

Since the power supply is modular, you can just unplug any cables you don't need, which helps keep things tidy. I guess the i5 should be plenty; most Adobe apps—except maybe Lightroom—don't really demand a ton of cores, so a quad-core with decent single-core speed seems fine. Plus, putting Windows and your main apps on an SSD will make the whole system fly.

I went with Windows 8.1, but you could always go with Windows 7 if you prefer... whatever works for you.

Thanks, I've been stuck Googling all morning 😁
I think I'm leaning toward crimsonstag84's configuration—pairing it with Windows 7 (roughly $1433). I was watching some YouTube videos earlier suggesting an SSD makes a massive difference when running software, which is my top priority here.

One thing is bugging me, though. Looking at http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i...l-Core-i5-3330, the 4440 absolutely crushes the 3330 in benchmarks, yet over at Best Buy, it’s actually cheaper by $33
I'm assuming the SSD will be the primary C: drive, and the hard drive stays as the D: drive just for bulk data storage, right?
🙂

If you toss your OS and all your main programs onto an SSD... man, that computer is going to fly like a Bolt 😁 As for the hard drive, I just use that for downloading torrents and storing my games 😁

Yeah, just grab the 4440. I guess Robert Rodriguez2 was trying to save a few bucks by sticking with an older socket, but honestly, the difference ends up being pretty negligible anyway.

Here’s my take on it, with a couple of small tweaks:
1 x Procesor Intel Core i5-4440 (3.10GHz,1MB,6MB,84 W,1150) Box
1 x Asrock H81M-DGS - Intel ® H81, M-ATX, dual Channel 2 xDDR3 - 1600
1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingston, HyperX Blue, 1600MHz, CL10
1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3,5", 24mj
1 x Samsung 120 GB 840 evo Basic, SSD disk, Kapacitet 120 GB, 2,5"
1 x Chicony HPA-400W, Advanced Highly HPA Series
1 x MS LOGIC A33 bez napajanja, Midi tower, ATX, 5,25" vanjski utor
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1, 64bit, English SP1,DSP,OEI DVD,WN7-00614

$1453

So, I went with a slightly weaker power supply since you probably don't need anything beefier, and a better SSD because Kingston has been cutting corners lately with slow chips...

Sure, if you don't mind, I'd suggest going with that Samsung 120 GB 840 evo Basic SSD instead. To be honest, the Kingston V300 just isn't what it used to be, and there really isn't much of a price gap to justify skipping the Samsung.

Windows 8.1 64-bit Zalman ZM-T1
Zalman ZM-T1 PLUS
Patriot Signature, DDR3, 1600MHz, 8GB
WD Caviar Blue 3.5" HDD, 1TB
Samsung 120 GB 840 evo Basic
ASRock H81M-VG4, 1150
Intel Core i5-4570
Chicony HPA-350W

$1388 Best Buy
free assembly

dustyskipper77 said:Windows 8.1 64-bit Zalman ZM-T1
Zalman ZM-T1 PLUS
Patriot Sig., D3, 1600MHz, 8GB
WD HDD Caviar Blue 3.5", 1TB
Samsung 120 GB 840 evo Basic
ASRock H81M-VG4, 1150
Intel Core i5-4570
Chicony HPA-350W

$1388Best Buy
free assembly

shipping is $33 😁

Well, it’s back below $1433 again, even though he said it would hit $1500 at most... I see you went with the budget build just to brag a little bit 😁
...

dustyskipper77 said:Alright, so it's under $1433 again, even though he claimed he was hitting $1500... looking at this now, I see you just built the cheapest rig possible, so why the bragging? 😁

😂 Everyone loves to talk up their own ride.

fadedorca66 said:Here’s my take on the build—tweaked just a hair:
1 x Procesor Intel Core i5-4440 (3.10GHz,1MB,6MB,84 W,1150) Box
1 x Asrock H81M-DGS - Intel H81, M-ATX, dual Channel 2 xDDR3 - 1600
1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingston, HyperX Blue, 1600MHz, CL10
1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3,5", 24mj
1 x Samsung 120 GB 840 evo Basic, SSD disk, Kapacitet 120 GB, 2,5"
1 x Napajanje Chicony HPA-400W, Advanced Highly HPA Series
1 x MS LOGIC A33 bez napajanja, Midi tower, ATX, 5,25" vanjski utor
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1, 64bit, English 1pk,DSP,OEI DVD,WN7-00614

$1453

Thanks, this looks solid. I'm going with this setup. 🙂
I completely blanked on how the company handles the payment—I assume it's just some standard $1067 😁
corporate thing.
I'm still torn on whether to go with Windows 7 or 8. I've been reading that Windows 8 is riddled with bugs and tends to reboot itself out of nowhere...

fadedorca66 said:So, a slightly weaker power supply since you don't really need anything beefier, and a better SSD—Kingston has started cutting corners lately by using slower chips in their drives...

The performance gap seems pretty significant here: 🙂
http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare...0GB/1886vs1892

🙂

Check out what the Metro UI looks like (if you haven't already) and decide if it’s actually something you need. Personally, it just gets on my nerves and feels like a distraction, so I'm sticking with Windows 7. I guess that modern Metro look just isn't my thing, period.

It isn't just about dealing with a buggy BIOS (which you can usually fix to get a smooth boot); looking through various threads here, it's clear that plenty of people run into all sorts of glitches and bugs. Since you aren't exactly a casual user, you might feel a bit more secure sticking with Windows 7.

1 x Intel Core i5-4440 (3.10GHz,1MB,6MB,84 W,1150) Box
1 x Asrock H81M-DGS - Intel H81, M-ATX, dual Channel 2 xDDR3 - 1600
1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingston, HyperX Blue, 1600MHz, CL10
1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3,5", 24mj
1 x Samsung 120 GB 840 evo Basic, SSD disk, Kapacitet 120 GB, 2,5"
1 x Chicony HPA-400W, Advanced Highly HPA Series
1 x MS LOGIC A33 bez napajanja, Midi tower, ATX, 5,25" vanjski utor
1 x WN7-00614

The PC itself is solid. 👍

The only thing giving me grief is the printer... troubleshooting keeps throwing this error at me:

USB Printing support is an older USB device and might not support USB 3.0

It suggests I plug it into a USB 2.0 port.
I've been reading online that this motherboard has both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports—anyone know how to tell them apart?
There are 2 USB ports on the front of the case, and 6 on the back (2 higher up, 4 further down).
I've been plugging things in at random so far... no luck yet.

USB3.0 ports are the blue ones:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/photo/IO/H81M-DGS(m).jpg