Build Critique - Assisting friend with build - graphic design & gaming build

patriot71

Gawd
Joined
Sep 22, 2004
Messages
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1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Photo/Video editing
Graphic design
Web browsing
Gaming
Zbrush
Mudbox
3DSMax
Photoshop

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1850 max including shipping

3) Where do you live?
Missouri

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.
Case
DVD burner
Large capacity hard drive
Monitors, IPS - 2 or 3
Active display port adapter (if 3 monitors)
Video card
Power supply
Speakers
Mouse
Motherboard
Processor
Windows 7 Home Prem 64 bit
SSD
Memory - 16 gig

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

The only part already owned is a keyboard

6) Will you be overclocking?
No

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Looking to purchase 2 or 3x IPS panels. No smaller than 23".

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within 30 days

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
Crossfire
Sata 6Gb/s
eSata
USB 3.0

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No



I am assisting a friend build a PC and here is what I have laid out so far. He really insists on 16 gig of ram so it is what I have configured. 3 monitors would be perfect but 2 is acceptable. He is expecting this use this PC for the next 5 years. Here is the build I have laid out. Your recommendations and comments would be appreciated. I'll try to be quick at answering questions.

This total after shipping is $1,785.27
mikesbuild.jpg
 
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Which programs are being used for graphic design and video editing?

Which games are being played? At what level of visual quality?
 
Which programs are being used for graphic design and video editing?

To the best of my knowledge
Zbrush
Mudbox
3DSMax
Photoshop

I'm not quite sure about the video editing software.

Which games are being played? At what level of visual quality?

CoD
Battlefield
WoW
All sorts
Games hopefully to be play at high quality. Eyefinity would be a giant perk for him.
 
Let's wait a week so that we know what the good NewEgg combo deals are for August. In the meanwhile....

If you want to play any modern FPS well, especially across multiple monitors, you're looking at either the HD 6970 or the GTX 570. Out of the two, I recommend the 6970 due to its triple monitor support via Eyefinity (the GTX 570 can only support up to two monitors). While there are other capable video cards for gaming, the possibility of gaming on multiple monitors limits your choices to the high-end cards. However, to fit one of those cards in your budget, we'll have to cut a few corners elsewhere.

Looking at your answers to the sticky questions, I can tell you right now that you don't need the Core i7-2600K or a Z68 motherboard. Your friend would be fine with the "plain" i7-2600 (that doesn't come with the unlocked CPU multiplier) and either an H67 board or an inexpensive P67 board (like the MSI P67A-G45). If you aren't going to use a dual-GPU setup, you can also save a few dollars by going with a cheaper 650 watt power supply (the Corsair TX650 V1 is currently on sale).

If you want an SSD, I recommend a better model than the OCZ Agility 3. I recommend spending the $5 extra to grab the Crucial m4 128GB SSD. However, you'll probably have to also purchase an adapter bracket to fit the SSD into one of the 3.5" bays.
 
Quick glance shows the Agility 3 has faster read and write speeds than the Crucial. Are there failure or inconsistency issues with the Agility 3?
 
Quick glance shows the Agility 3 has faster read and write speeds than the Crucial. Are there failure or inconsistency issues with the Agility 3?

The problem is that the Agility is from OCZ whose past SSD track record as well as relatively poor customer support have made them a company to avoid. Not to mention that the stated read/write speeds aren't fully indicative of actual SSD performance (random read/writes are a big indicator and normally not disclosed in the specs) and the fact that OCZ has fudged stated read/write speeds in the past. Considering that Crucial has a more a solid track record when it comes to SSDs and good customer support, really no reason to go with that OCZ SSD.

In any case, please come back in a week and bump up this thread. By then, we'll know what Newegg's August combo deals are and therefore help save your friend money.

However, right off the bat though:
1) Go with this slightly faster hard drive for the same price:
$60 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

2) Considering the high resolution and the plans for Eyefinity, you should be looking at the HD 6950 2GB.

3) I'd spend the extra $20 for the Advance version of that case the following reason:
- Comes with an extra 140mm fan.
- Ups one of the included stock fans to 140mm
- Included SSD bracket (you already need to buy one for the Crucial SSD)
- eSATA dock

That's well worth the extra $20 IMO:
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
 
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