New beast, need assistance

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Shredocaster

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Oct 8, 2009
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Hey guys, I'm new here, but not new to computers (I know a bit about hardware/software).

My current rig is this:
Core2Duo E6300 (OC to 2.0Ghz)
2GB DDR2
GeForce 8800 GTS 512/ NV92 I think.
X-Fi Fatal1ty Pro.
SATA/DVD Burner etc.
Antec P182/EarthWatts PSU (think its 430W but I'll confirm when I get home)

It's generally good, but I'm in the position to upgrade to a relative beast. I do alot of movie editing and high CPU demand stuff. I don't game much anymore as I've got a PS3 to handle my gaming needs, and the 8800 is sufficient for the moment. I also want to use this new rig for my Home Theater.

I'm thinking of this build
Intel i7 860
8GB G.Skill 1333 Ripjaws (4x2GB)
2x 60GB SSD Drives (RAID 0)
2x 1TB SATA Drives (RAID 1)

At current, I'm going to keep the 8800 in the new rig until the Nvidia 300 series is out and at a good price. I'll also be keeping the Antec case and PSU unless I need a bigger PSU.

I have a few questions:
1) I've seen that there are "Backplanes" and "adapters" for the 2.5" SSD's. What's the difference? I plan on using the Motherboards on-board RAID.
2) Suggest a good motherboard? I'm considering the Gigabyte GA-P55 or Asus P7P55D series. I want something relatively future proof. I don't think I'll ever get SLi but most boards support it anyway. I'm looking in the P7P55D-Deluxe or below price range. I need on-board RAID though.
3) should I keep the X-Fi or get a new sound card with HDMI, given my HT receiver/amp supports LPCM over HDMI. Or should I get the X-fi S/PDIF adapter fro the flexi-jack?
4) Is it worth getting an aftermarket cooler, and if so what's a reasonably priced one that's good? I've seen the Thermalright's but they're a tad pricey. I shouldn't need to OC this CPU just yet.
5) can anyone recommend an online store that ships to Australia? SSD's here are a rip off, and I've seen em cheap enough on amazon.com but I'm not sure they ship hardware out here.

I think that's all my Questions so far, I'll probably think of more haha, but if anyone can help with those for starters I'd appreciate it.


edit:
I've covered most of the sticky questions already but here's a breakdown

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Video editing/transcoding/HTPC/encryption/code processing/general PC use
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Don't have a budget, but also don't want to be stupid with parts. The parts listed are the performance area I'd like
3) Where do you live?
Australia
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Listed above, I need CPU, Mobo, RAM, HDDs
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Re-Using Case, PSU, soundcard, GPU, kb/mouse
6) Will you be overclocking?
no
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
32" Samsung series 6 LCDTV
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
the next 3 months
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
RAID
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
No, I'm getting windows 7, not sure on which bit version 32/64
 
Last edited:
1) backplane means you just slide the drive into place and it connects to data/power on the backplane. adapter is simply a means of mounting the drive into a bigger "slot."

2) Either of those are good. Personally, I like the UD4 because I'm biased towards gigabyte, hehe.

3) Skip the soundcard and just use optical out from the mobo's HD Audio to your A/V receiver. You don't have a 7.1ch speaker system, do you? :p

4) If you plan to OC, yes. Another good reason is if you want a better and quieter than stock cooler. I don't think any of the LGA1156 brackets are out yet, but the Xigmatek Dark Knight or Hyper 212 should do fine.

5) There's some links in the FAQ.

Speaking of FAQ, please edit your first post and answer any sticky questions that haven't already been answered.
Sticky: Asking for Build Help?: ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST

Also, I'd suggest turning your old system into your HTPC and using your new one for your movie editing.
 
I would ditch the idea of going with the 860. In all reality you need the 920 with HT. You can go with 6gb of ram for now, update later. This needs to be the primary rig.

The E6300 should/suggested be replaced with the new E6300, and that used in the HTPC.
 
gwarren007 said:
I would ditch the idea of going with the 860. In all reality you need the 920 with HT. You can go with 6gb of ram for now, update later. This needs to be the primary rig.

The E6300 should/suggested be replaced with the new E6300, and that used in the HTPC.
Click to expand...

I thought the 860 had HT. What's the main differences between the 2 sockets? All I know about is the triple data rate RAM.

I should mention that I only have the 1 machine, I don't have the space to run 2. My 1080p LCD TV acts as my monitor so it makes little sense in my situation to run a separate HTPC

enginurd said:
1) backplane means you just slide the drive into place and it connects to data/power on the backplane. adapter is simply a means of mounting the drive into a bigger "slot."
Click to expand...
So there's no performance difference?
enginurd said:
3) Skip the soundcard and just use optical out from the mobo's HD Audio to your A/V receiver. You don't have a 7.1ch speaker system, do you?
Click to expand...
I have 5.1 but yeah, somewhat of an audiophile, I guess most of my HD stuff will be played via the PS3 anyway, so soundcard isnt a HUGE factor for me.

also, I forgot to ask, I know 32bit OS can only address 4GB of Memory, but I've also heard there's a feature in Windows that lets you work around that? I'm still contemplating 32 or 64 bit windows7.
 
Main difference is memory bandwidth and OC'ing, IIRC. Both of which are better on LGA1366.

No, no performance difference... they're simply holders of the SSD.

If you're using optical, then you don't need a soundcard, as your receiver does all the processing.

Go 64 bit. And please answer the unanswered questions from the sticky (edit your original post with the questions/answers).
 
I personally would go i7-1366.
Why?
You can run 6gb in triple channel.
6gb with windows7 will go along way.
i7 is the "Premium" socket, and I believe more products will come to this socket.
The cost difference isn't THAT much different.

i5 / 8gb ram $595
i5 860, gskill, and Asus mobo $500 + $95 for 4gb more
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.263475


i7 - 6gb ram 580
Msi $165
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130227
ripjaws $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231304
i7 920 $280
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
 
Okay, yet another question.

I'm a bit paranoid about backing up/data redundancy as I have a lot of intellectual property that I store.

I'm going to be getting 2x1 TB Hard drives for it, and I've got 2 options:
1) get 2 different brands so there's no chance of a batch fault on 2 drives, but that'd mean I cant RAID correct? So if I do this I'll write a batch file to copy from one drive to another.
2) Get 2 identical drives and RAID them. I don't know how mirrored RAID works, only that it protects your data.
 
1) You can RAID different brands, but its not recommended.

2) RAID is NOT backup. If you accidentally delete a file on drive, it will also be deleted on the mirror.

Get an external HDD and do periodic backups.
 
Shredocaster said:
Ok, I can get the 860 with 8GB for the same price as the 920 with 6GB.

Which would be best?
Click to expand...

Personally I'd go with the 920 since you can upgrade to 12GB of RAM whereas 8GB of RAM is about the max you can go with the 860. And then there's the slightly better chance of a CPU upgrade path with the Core i7/LGA 1366 route.

Also, that AT review shows the 860 only being a second or two faster than the 920 in most encoding tests. Not that much of a difference IMO.

If you don't ever need 12GB of RAM and/or don't want a slightly better CPU upgrade path, then go the 860 route.
 
I ordered some parts, and they arrive today.
I decided to buy the parts in a few stages, so I got:

Asus P6T motherboard
Intel i& 920 CPU
6GB OCZ DDR3
2x G.Skill 64GB Raptor SSD.

Next stage will be the BD-R drive and 2x1TB SATA storage.
Then either a new GPU or tricked out cooling/case (depending if I OC the i7)

I'd like to thank everyone here for their advice, I joined this site because I wanted some help with this system, and I'm thoroughly impressed with the response time and quality of answers.
 
you might consider a 4830 (i think that is the model). it is a great card for HTPC and it has hdmi on the card.
 
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