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Season's Greetings!
I'm an old skool builder but haven't done so in a while now. Last serious builds I did were with P4 2.4GHz on Abit AI7 mobos about 5 years ago. 30% overclock and rock solid stable with daily use ever since. So, I'm old to the game but not up to current playbook.
Here's the low-down on what I'm trying to accomplish:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Primary focus is Photoshop and Lightroom related work. Some video and audio as well, and some gaming. Of course, some general purpose work too, as this will end up as my primary workstation.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$2000 without monitor. This is flexible in case there's a good argument. I intend for this box to last me a few years with little to no adjustments.
3) Where do you live?
USA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
I'm starting from scratch on this one.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Ground up build from the case in. Will keep mouse, keyboard, speakers, and monitor only.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Absolutely. Air cooled only.
7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have?
For budget's sake, I'm keeping my 21" Viewsonic CRT for now. It's got the best color gamut and calibration I've seen except for the $$$$ newer high-gamut LCDs that I can't justify expense-wise. I've got a Dell 30" as well, but don't see using it on this box - color quality is just too important.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Now.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Overclockability and stability. Pretty much settled on the Asus P6T Deluxe unless someone has a compelling argument against it and/or for another product.
Here's the list of what I think I want so far:
Mobo: Asus P6T Deluxe
Processor: Core i7 920
Processor heatsink: Noctua NH-U12P or Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120 (which?)
Thermal compound: What's the gold standard these days? I've used some of the early variants of the Arctic Silver brand. But what's the current leader?
RAM: Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 6GB kit. Suggestions welcome here too as to Mushkin or other top quality alternatives.
Case: Antec 1200. Decided against the P182 - like the look, don't like the relatively low airflow potential. I'm not crazy about all of the open space with the 1200, figuring that dust will be a problem even with the filters, but I suspect it cools well. Alternatives?
Power supply: Good question, like the Antec Signature 850 but hate the $, but I wonder if the Corsair CMPSU-650TX is up to the task. Alternatives welcomed.
Hard drives: 2x Either the WD Black Series 1TB or the WS6500AAKS. Performance difference?
Optical drive: Good DVD burner. Not interested in Blu-Ray right now.
Video card: ATI HD4870 unless someone can convince me otherwise. I'd consider a GTX260 Core 216, but as I understand it, the OpenGL acceleration that you get for both Photoshop CS4 and Premiere Pro CS4 really want a Quadro if you're going the Nvidia path. I'd really rather not shell out that kind of dough or have to softmod to make that happen. Also, which manufacturer(s) should I consider or avoid?
Thanks!
I'm an old skool builder but haven't done so in a while now. Last serious builds I did were with P4 2.4GHz on Abit AI7 mobos about 5 years ago. 30% overclock and rock solid stable with daily use ever since. So, I'm old to the game but not up to current playbook.
Here's the low-down on what I'm trying to accomplish:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Primary focus is Photoshop and Lightroom related work. Some video and audio as well, and some gaming. Of course, some general purpose work too, as this will end up as my primary workstation.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$2000 without monitor. This is flexible in case there's a good argument. I intend for this box to last me a few years with little to no adjustments.
3) Where do you live?
USA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
I'm starting from scratch on this one.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Ground up build from the case in. Will keep mouse, keyboard, speakers, and monitor only.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Absolutely. Air cooled only.
7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have?
For budget's sake, I'm keeping my 21" Viewsonic CRT for now. It's got the best color gamut and calibration I've seen except for the $$$$ newer high-gamut LCDs that I can't justify expense-wise. I've got a Dell 30" as well, but don't see using it on this box - color quality is just too important.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Now.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Overclockability and stability. Pretty much settled on the Asus P6T Deluxe unless someone has a compelling argument against it and/or for another product.
Here's the list of what I think I want so far:
Mobo: Asus P6T Deluxe
Processor: Core i7 920
Processor heatsink: Noctua NH-U12P or Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120 (which?)
Thermal compound: What's the gold standard these days? I've used some of the early variants of the Arctic Silver brand. But what's the current leader?
RAM: Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 6GB kit. Suggestions welcome here too as to Mushkin or other top quality alternatives.
Case: Antec 1200. Decided against the P182 - like the look, don't like the relatively low airflow potential. I'm not crazy about all of the open space with the 1200, figuring that dust will be a problem even with the filters, but I suspect it cools well. Alternatives?
Power supply: Good question, like the Antec Signature 850 but hate the $, but I wonder if the Corsair CMPSU-650TX is up to the task. Alternatives welcomed.
Hard drives: 2x Either the WD Black Series 1TB or the WS6500AAKS. Performance difference?
Optical drive: Good DVD burner. Not interested in Blu-Ray right now.
Video card: ATI HD4870 unless someone can convince me otherwise. I'd consider a GTX260 Core 216, but as I understand it, the OpenGL acceleration that you get for both Photoshop CS4 and Premiere Pro CS4 really want a Quadro if you're going the Nvidia path. I'd really rather not shell out that kind of dough or have to softmod to make that happen. Also, which manufacturer(s) should I consider or avoid?
Thanks!
