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$1500 for Reliable and Silent Work Computer

Austin808

n00b
Joined
Oct 7, 2012
Messages
5
I have seen this forum help a lot of users choose the right components and for good price to performance ratio. Hopefully you can help me too.

My goal is to make a very reliable and silent work computer. Computer is used 10 or more hours a day.
Must be able to run 3 monitors (1 24" or larger and 2 17")

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
*** Daily Visual Studio, SQL Server, Outlook, Web Browsing, Photoshop, VirtualBox and/or XP Mode for temporary testing, and Watching HD video. Occasional Video encoding and Windows Live Movie Maker or similar
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
*** $1500 including shipping.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
*** Oahu, Hawaii, I usually buy computer parts from Amazon to get free shipping. But have bought from Newegg if price with shipping is cheaper than Amazon.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
*** CPU, CPU Cooler, Motherboard, Memory, 2 SSD, 1 HD, Case, Power Supply, Optical Drive (DVD Writer), Monitor (24" or larger to replace existing 24" monitor)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
*** 2 17" LCD Monitors, Keyboard and mouse
6) Will you be overclocking?
*** Yes
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
*** Current 24" 1900x1200
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
*** Within the next 2 weeks.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
*** USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s, UEFI, maybe onboard video
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
*** Yes Windows 7 64bit Ultimate


Possible Amazon Part List

Corsair Obsidian Series 550D Quiet Mid-Tower Cases CC-9011015-WW
Wanted to Fractal Design R4 or R4 Mini, but Amazon does not have it and shipping from Newegg costs too much.

Intel Core i7-3770K Quad-Core Processor 3.5 GHz 8 MB Cache LGA 1155 - BX80637I73770K

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R​2)
Do I need to buy additional thermal compound?

ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
This board is probably overkill, but I like that it has Intel GB ethernet and wifi(nice for tethering to cell phone when cable internet is down), but I would be willing to save and use a less expensive board.

Seasonic 560W 80 Plus Gold ATX 12V/EPS 12V Power Supply - X-560 SS-560KM

Looks like Amazon is currently out of stock of the Samsung 830 128GB was thinking of getting 2 of these (OS and Data/Work drive) and a 2TB hard drive for backup and other uses.

Not sure what a good DVD Writer drive would be.

Not sure what memory to get. Think I need at least 16GB with possible expansion to 32GB later.

I think I will need a video card to support 3 monitors. Preferably with passive cooling to keep it quiet.

Looking for a good 24" - 27" monitor within my price range. Would like this to be energy saving if possible, my current 24" uses a lot of energy and is hot.

Thanks for any help.
 
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Motherboard wise, that mobo you chose is indeed slightly overkill. I recommend this mobo instead:
$190 - Asus P8Z77-V Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard

HSF wise, you don't need to buy additional thermal compound since the included thermal paste is quite good as is.

SSD wise, the Samsung 830 128GB is a solid choice if it comes back into stock. However, the Crucial M4 128GB are also in stock at Amazon.com.

DVD burner wise, just get the cheapest SATA DVD burner you can find and you're basically set. They're all roughly the same quality and the burn speed differences are so very minor.

RAM wise, I think your budget is enough to fit in a 32GB set of RAM right now:
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Modul...=1349672517&sr=8-27&keywords=Corsair+8GB+DDR3

GPU wise, that's a bit trickier as it's somewhat dependent on monitor you're gonna get and whether or not it has displayport.

What 24" monitor do you have now? What's the total of the PC right now with my recommendations above?
 
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Danny,

Thanks for the feedback and fast response. Is the CPU I chose good for the type of computing I am doing? I have noticed that you recommend the i5 to a lot of people.

Current Monitor Dell 2407WFP - Does not support Display Port. For my next monitor I was hoping it would support display port. Was interested in this one, but still need to research what is in my budget. Asus VE248Q 24-Inch LED Monitor

The current DVD burner I have chosen is not sold by amazon so I might need to change it.

I added the 2 Crucial M4 128GB SSD @ $99.99 each.
Added the 32 GB memory.
Changed the motherboard.

9 items for a total of: $1193.41

Looks like I have $300 left in the budget and I am still missing a 2TB Hard Drive, GPU, and Monitor.
 
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OK, looks like you'll have to stick with 16GB of RAM for now in order to fit in that GPU. So go with this RAM instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-CMV16...PDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1349675809&sr=1-2

If that 2TB is just for simple storage, then go with the WD drive:
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...8-1&keywords=2TB+Hard+drive#replacementWidget

That Asus monitor appears to be the best bang for the buck LCD monitor that has displayport on Amazon.com. If you do go with that Asus monitor, then I recommend this GPU:
http://www.amazon.com/XFX-FX777AZNF...id=1349676052&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=HD+7770

And your choice of cable length here:
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-6-Fe...=1-1&keywords=mini+displayport+to+displayport

Now I should point out that the onboard video of the CPU you have can actually output to three monitors as is if the monitors are connected via one VGA port, one DVI port, and one display port. However I'm not entirely sure how well the onboard will handle three monitor output. If you're willing to be a guinea pig, try out the onboard first, see if it meets your needs, and then buy the above XFX card + cable if the onboard doesn't meet your needs. Also note that you will also be giving up some of your available RAM to power the onboard video so you would have like 15.5GB of RAM available rather than 16GB of RAM available.
 
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I have changed my mind about getting another 24" monitor. I am thinking of getting a 27" Korean monitor instead. Since my goal is to build a quiet computer I was thinking of getting a fanless GPU. I do not do any gaming, just programming and watching videos. These are 2 that I found at Amazon, will these work for the 27" monitor?

Sapphire Radeon HD6670 Ultimate 1GB DDR5 DVI/HDMI/Displa​yPort PCI-Express Video Card 100326UL
$84.99

Sapphire Radeon Ultimate HD 7750 1GB DDR5 HDMI/DVI-I/DP PCI-Express Graphics Card 11202-03-40G
$139.99

Also, I currently do not plan to do any gaming, but if I changed my mind what would be a good graphics card to match with the 27" monitor?
 
Either of those cards you listed will be fine for non-gaming use. If you do decide on gaming, I recommend the GTX 670 for that Korean monitor.
 
Thanks for all the help.

I was able to find some discounts so I finally bought everything. Its just a little over my $1300 budget without the monitor. I decided to keep the 32GB and changed a 128 SSD for a larger 256 SSD.

Sapphire Radeon HD6670 Ultimate 1GB DDR5 DVI/HDMI/Displa​yPort PCI-Express Video Card 100326UL
$84.99

Western Digital 2 TB WD Green SATA III Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive
$109.99

Corsair Obsidian Series Black 550D Mid Tower Computer Case (CC-9011015-WW)​
$129.99

SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PC128B/WW
$89.99

SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PC256B/WW
$159.99

Corsair XMS3 Memory Modules 32GB Kit (4x8GB) DDR3 1333 1600MHz Unbuffered CL 11 32 (PC3 10600) CMX32GX3M4A1600​C11
$149.99

Intel Core i7-3770K Quad-Core Processor 3.5 GHz 8 MB Cache LGA 1155 - BX80637I73770K
$314.99

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R​2)
$29.98

ASUS P8Z77-V LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$174.99

Seasonic 560W 80 Plus Gold ATX 12V/EPS 12V Power Supply - X-560 SS-560KM
$124.99

Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive IHAS424-98 - Retail (Black)
$24.99

StarTech.com 8-Inch EPS 8-Pin Power Extension Cable (EPS8EXT)
$4.99

12 items total: $1399.87
 
If you are going for a silent rig and you need fans I would recommend Gelid Wings. I have 3 of them and I hear nothing with the resistors:D
 
Thanks for the tip. I am planning to test it out stock first and see how it is. Right now I am sure it will be quieter than my current machine and my WHS server sitting next to it.
 
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