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Multimedia / Gaming Build - Revisit

S

shipwreck-zombies

n00b
Joined
Mar 15, 2010
Messages
26
I was dead set on building a new machine exactly a month ago. Not so unfortunately, an opportunity for adventure arose and I ended up on the road for three weeks. I apologize for a double post, but I was hoping I could get another once over before ordering

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Multimedia work; design and illustration, video editing / motion, 3d, web development. I don't have as much time for gaming as I'd like but that's definitely a factor
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around $1000 but I'm flexible if something is particularly shiny
3) Where do you live?
British Columbia, Canada - I have had great experiences with newegg.ca
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Case, PSU, Motherboard, CPU, RAM, CD/DVD, Maybe mouse and keyboard if something comes highly recommended
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
HIS 5850, WD Black 1TB
6) Will you be overclocking?
Not seriously, no
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I have three 22" 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the week, for real this time
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
No strict demands, though I would like to experiment with Crossfire at some point
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7 64bit


I am thinking:
Case: Corsair 800D
PSU: 850HX
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R
RAM: 8GB G.Skill

I have a Saitek Eclipse keyboard and Logitech MX 518 mouse but I'd be into something new if it comes recommended. Perhaps the Logitech G15 and G500

I'm pretty stoked on this setup, and plan to run 16/24GB RAM at some point. I'm a bit paranoid that something amazing has happened in a month that would cause me to reconsider

Thanks for your time
 
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I'd go with this slightly better quality PSU for $60 less:
$150 - XFX XPS-850W-BES 850W Modular PSU

CPU wise, flip a coin between the i7 930 and the i7 950.

HDD wise,

Rest of your other choices seems fine to me.
 
The i7-860 is a Socket 1156 processor; it won't fit the Gigabyte X58A-UD3R. And the i7-950 isn't that great of a deal when the board that you're looking at has a combo deal with the equally capable i7-930.

I take it that you're going to buy two more 2x4GB kits in the near future? Have you thought about instead grabbing 12GB (two 3x2GB kits) right off the bat and using part of the memory as a swap disk (using a RamDisk program)? And are you planning on buying additional HDDs for storage and/or an SSD for a faster OS drive? (I believe that this was what Danny Bui meant by "HDD wise"....)

Are you sticking with one video card for the time being or is a CrossFire/SLI setup calling your name? An 850 watt power supply is overkill for your current setup.
 
shipwreck-zombies said:
"HDD wise" ... ?

Were you going somewhere with that?
Click to expand...

Yeah my last few posts have been a bit scattered brained :eek:

But yeah, Tiraides hit the nail again: that's what I meant by hard drive wise .




Damn mind reader :D
 
For your HDD try a Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB -$75
It is large, fast, and a great deal.
I absolutely love my G500 and with 3 high res monitors like that you could utilize a high DPI laser.
It also has two buttons on it to alter the DPI instantly, which is very convenient.
 
I can't believe I kooked out so hard on that CPU I linked - I saw the i7 and jumped to conclusions I guess... Thanks for being tolerant in the face of total delusion! That Motherboard / CPU combo looks great, I'll definitely go with that.

The Samsung drive is out of stock, but I'll keep my eye on it. I don't really need it but at that price why not? At this point I'm not looking for SSD but more storage never hurts

I don't have any experience with swap disk, but I'll look into it and definitely consider your alternative.

I would probably invest in more RAM before another 5850, but I will probably end up with two video cards at some point.


What keyboard / mouse setup do you guys use? I'm passing along my current setup when I swap out this machine so I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks for all the great replies
 
Are you getting a new keyboard and mouse because you want to, or did you promise someone your stuff a while ago? What you have already are still excellent choices -- hell, I still use an MX518 for gaming, and I've owned it for nearly five years now.

How serious is your multimedia work? If push comes to shove, you'd be better off with more memory than an additional video card. If you use a lot of Adobe products, you may also benefit by switching the HD 5850 to, say, the GTX 470 as Adobe benefits greatly from Nvidia's CUDA technology.
 
I need a new keyboard for sure, but I have an extra MX518 which I find to be an excellent mouse. The Logitech G15 looks appealing, and I know it has mixed reviews but the RAT9 kind of piques my interest

I do lots of work in Photoshop and Illustrator and I've been getting more into motion and HD editing. I'm planning on having a Canon 7D this winter and I'd like to have the brawn to work with heavy files easily. I already own the 5850 so switching for a GTX is a bit unreasonable but I will keep an open mind to shuffling some things around

I'm also stoked to have some free time for gaming - Guild Wars 2 has been on my radar for a while now
 
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