Little unusual new build

1) What will you be doing with this PC?
Adobe CS6, Video Editing (sony vegas/premier), photoshop, reason & fl studio (using huge multi GB sample libraries), ARMA2/ARMA3 (only game I play).


2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
~£800 including tax and shipping

3) Which country do you live in?
UK

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
MOBO, CPU, RAM. Possibly CPU Cooler. I also need a sound card for music software and recording but perhaps this is not the best place to ask but I am open to suggestions.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
DVD Burner, Antec 100 Case, Corsair TX 650W PSU, Radeon HD 7950 3GB, Seagate 1TB HD x2, Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB HD, WesternDigital 120GB WD Caviar HD (might scrap this drive or replace with SSD in future)

6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes, at some point for future proofing, hence why I would like to have a Cooler on the CPU.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1200, 24" benq monitor and LG 1080p HD TV 32"

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Next week.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
SATA x6 (would like 8), HDMI, 4 memory slots (up to 32GB), Virtu MVP(?)

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yes.

I have a novatech shop near my house so I would prefer to purchase from there.

CPU: £275 i7 3770K
MOBO: £110 GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H
RAM: £215 Corsair XMS3 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 C11 1600MHz

Total: £600 (leaving £200 for sound card and CPU cooler)

I have not upgraded since 2007 and must admit I am out of touch with the hardware market. I want a pc for quite specific purposes. I have done my research and am stuck with a lot of tough decisions to make. I am really unsure which MOBO to buy, as everyone I consider seems to have some slight flaw or issue or not fit with my build well. I want a reliable well built system that will last the test of time as a media editing suite. A little room to upgrade, especially more than 6 SATA ports, would be a bonus. Would duel and quad channel ram be worth it for me with 32GB, it seems worthless for gaming?

Motherboard wise, I recommend the Asus P8Z77-V LK since it has the better UEFI interface. As for the HSF, I recommend the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ HSF as it's a solid yet relatively cheap HSF. Sound card wise, yes you're better off asking recommendations for that over in the Computer Audio subforum.

Now for the RAM, yes 32GB of RAM would be worth it for you assuming that you have the appropriate 64bit OS. Speaking of which, which OS will you be using?

Danny Bui said:

Now for the RAM, yes 32GB of RAM would be worth it for you assuming that you have the appropriate 64bit OS. Speaking of which, which OS will you be using?

Click to expand...

I will be using windows 7 pro 64bit.

I like that Asus MOBO, it looks well made like all the boards in that series and has lots of features and SATA for its price.

The Asus Xonar DX looks like a good entry level sound card, but I may delay a purchase until I have learned more about making computer music and spend the money on the other components.

Well besides the mobo and HSF, the rest of the build looks solid.

Thanks for the advice, I have decided to take your recommendation of the Asus P8Z77-V LK as it looks like it comes from a series of well built boards. I plan to buy in the next few days, is there anything I should know about the MOBO that might tempt me to go for one in the next price range?

The only reason to go with one of the more expensive ASUS boards in your case would be for 8 SATA ports, since the LK only has 6. The two or three models above that have 7, then the after that it's got 8 SATA ports. Though in the US the 8 SATA port version is $175 vs $135 for the LK version which IMHO, isn't worth the cost for just 2 SATA ports.

Well for recording, I do not recommend the Asus Xonar. Latency and sound quality will definitely be an issue. I suggest you get something like a Focusrite Scarlett 2I2 which you could use for gaming as well . What applications are you using for music production if you don't mind me asking?


In regards to your question with the amount of memory. Unless you perhaps utilize some type of ramdisk software that can backup and restore to a mechanical drive. You would see no noticeable benefits going 32gb of RAM (theoretically it would help if you were opening a huge WAV file), Although, I wouldn't go past 16gb to tell you honestly. Other then that your build looks pretty solid

Nothing wrong with that MOBO im sure you'll be quite happy with it. CPU Cooler you could do a little better. I have a Spare Phanteks TC14PE i would be willing to sell if your interested.