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Xolos

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 20, 2010
Messages
65
Right-o first things first.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming and digital audio work
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
~$1,500, preferably less. No taxes or shipping included
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
US, 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.
CPU, Mobo, RAM, PSU, HDD, Case, Fans, CPU Cooler
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Radeon HD 6970 and a LG Opti Drive
6) Will you be overclocking?
Only mildly, not into pushing the limits of everything.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Dual 22" 1080p monitors.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Ordering parts, within a week. Building probably in the course of two weeks (have a busy time at work coming up).
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.
Eh, the only real feature I need is a TI based IEEE 1394 controller, but seeing as almost all modern Mobos that have IEEE 1394 have Via chipsets. More than likely I'm going to have get an add-on card, but thankfully Vantec (UGT-FW210) has a relatively inexpensive one that is PCI-E. Oh and I definitely want an ATX sized board, not uATX.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No, but at $100 for either Win 7 or Win 8 it isn't a big deal to just purchase it. I'm more concerned in getting the hardware down.

So, my current PC is an aging i7 860 on a Gigabyte board with 8GB of RAM and an old Corsiar HX750. 120GB Intel SSD with a couple of really old WD 320GB HDDs and an old WD 1TB HDD. The system is still running quite fine. The real problem I'm having is that I'm just beginning to reach the CPUs limits these days. It just is not nearly as fast as it used to be even after a fresh install of the OS and drivers. I guess new software is just more taxing than it used to be.

CPU: Center the build around an i7 4770K. $340
Mobo: Not sure exactly which to go with. I would like to stay with Gigabyte, but apparently their failing with UEFI implementation. So, I'm not exactly set on any particular set on any board in particular. Looked at a few Asus boards, Sabertooh, Maximus VI Hero, and Z87-Pro. But as I said I'm not certain on exactly which one. Worst case $240
RAM: I just want 16GB. Looks like G.Skill Ripjaws or Ares are on order. $140
PSU: Pretty simple really, the Seasonic X650. $130
Storage: SSD: Samsung 840 Pro 128GB (possibly the 256GB if I really want it, have one in my laptop and love it). HDDs: a couple of WD Blue 500GB and a Green 1TB. $390 with 128GB SSD or $480 with the 256GB version.
Case: Was looking at Fractal Design R4 in particular, but open to recommendations. Just kind of big but well thought out with plenty of room for fans. $110
Fans: Again not really set on anything in particular. Currently running some pretty darn quite Nexus D12SL-12s. Pretty cheap and pretty quiet. They're pretty cheap too. But I'll probably buy a few more fans. So, ~$50
CPU Cooler: I would like to try some of the self contained liquid designs. But am a little concerned on the noise. I know I say this and yet have a stock 6970 that is a freakin' leaf blower :eek: Right now the cooler I'm running is a Cooler Master Hyper 212+ and it is not all bad. Replaced the fan and it keeps the CPU pretty cool. Just want something with some better performance that is also quite quiet. The going price seems to be about $70 - $120

Don't worry about the Vantec IEEE 1394 card, I'll just swing that cost. Just means I don't get to eat out extra this month. That brings the total up to around $1,500. So, yeah. Additionally, before anyone asks about the storage arrangement. I use the 1TB for storage and then the digital audio work gets its own dedicated HDD. Games also get their own HDD. If the game is really load intensive then I load them onto the SSD and call it a day. I just like the way it all works.

Now, the big question I have is whether I should stick with Win 7 since I'm so familiar with it or go to Win 8? Just want some opinions on the matter is all.

Other than that, please point out all my stupid choices and correct them. Thanks in advance for the advice. Also, if I was unclear about anything please do ask questions.
 
First and foremost: Are you near this Microcenter?:
http://www.microcenter.com/site/stores/brentwood.aspx

Motherboard wise, since you;re only doing mild overclocking, you'll be fine with something as low as the $101 MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate motherboard to as high as the $140 Asus Z87-A Motherboard. I would only recommend a higher-end motherboard if it actually has that TI based firewire controller you're looking for. Otherwise, just get the add-on card.

With rising RAM prices and the fact that the above motherboard recommendations will saves you money, I recommend maxing out at 32GB of RAM if possible. I recommend buying this RAM ASAP as 8GB of RAM has been above $70 lately:
$61 - Corsair CMV8GX3M1A1333C9 8GB DDR3 1333 RAM

PSU wise, I don't recommend the Seaonic X650 at $136 shipped (you forgot to factor in shipping costs you have to pay) since it's been on sale for as low as $90 to $100. I recommend getting the Seasonic SSR-550 instead:
$85 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU

Even though the 550W will be more than enough power for you, $15 more does get you its 650W brother:
$100 - Seasonic G Series SSR-650RM 650W Modular PSU

SSD wise, get the 256GB if you can afford it. It's a tad faster than the 128GB and that extra storage does let you be a bit more lax in what you can and can't install on the SSD. Also, how are you getting that $390 and $480 pricing for the 128GB nad 256GB SSDs respectively? Does that include the HDDs or something?

As for the case, if you're aiminng for low noise over cooling, the Fractal Design R4 cases are very solid.

I'd continue but I gots to go. Hope the above helps.
 
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Dangman,

I am sadly nowhere near a Microcenter. Just about everything has to be bought online. The few computer shops around where I live are more helpful in getting the little things you forgot to order and really cannot wait too long.

I think you're right in going with a cheaper board. I'm not that big of an overclocker in general so something simple would probably be best. Plus I seem to have an attraction to more "sparse" designs anyway.

I didn't factor in shipping because I automatically assume it is going to cost more than it does. So, I always have a nice cushion.

I didn't think of the SSR series lol. I guess I need to lay of the alcohol when I do these things.

Storage: $390 = 128GB SSD, 2x 500GB HDDs, 1x 1TB HDD and $480 = 256GB SSD, 2x 500GB HDDs, and 1x 1TB HDD. Sorry if I were not more clear.

I'll have to do some adjusting but it'll take me a little bit to fine tune it.

Thanks for the advice!
 
Xolos said:
Storage: $390 = 128GB SSD, 2x 500GB HDDs, 1x 1TB HDD and $480 = 256GB SSD, 2x 500GB HDDs, and 1x 1TB HDD. Sorry if I were not more clear.
Click to expand...
The WD 500GB drives aren't worth the money since $7 more gets you twice the space and a tad more performance:
$61 - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive

EDIT: And to continue since I have a little downtime:
If you're aiming for low noise, avoid the self contained liquid coolers since the pump inside them are a bit noisy. THe Noctua NH-D14 is a solid choice for a low noise air-cooling HSF.

OS wise, I haven't spent an extensive amount of time or really got down to the nitty gritty with Windows 8. But the few hours I've spent in total with Windows 8 hasn't been encouraging.
 
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Dangman,
Hmmmm, even the 2TB is like the exact same price as the one I was looking at. Looks like I'll be getting more storage than I expected for almost exactly the same price.

About Win 8, that is what I had feared.

Edit - All right so the current look of the system is this.

i7 4770K $340
Asus Z87-A $145
32GB of Corsair DDR3 1333 $248 ($62 ea)
Seasonic SSR-550RM $85
Fractal Design R4 Titanium Grey $95
Samsung 840 Pro 256GB $222
Seagate Barracuda 2x 1TB and 1x 2TB $212
Noctua NH-D14 $78

That comes out to $1,475. Though I am not positive I really need or want 32GB of RAM. I'm running 8GB right now and I'm not even using 2GB despite having quite a bit of things going on at the same time. I'll just have to give it some thought.
 
Last edited:
Xolos said:
Though I am not positive I really need or want 32GB of RAM. I'm running 8GB right now and I'm not even using 2GB despite having quite a bit of things going on at the same time. I'll just have to give it some thought.
Click to expand...

...Are you not using Windows 7? Or maybe your definition of "having quite a bit of things going on" might be a lot lower than my definition. Without any virtual machines running and having multiple web browsers opened, I'm sitting at 6GB of RAM used right now. There have been times where I've almost hit 15 to 16GB of RAM usage.

Do note that if you do decide to go with 32GB of RAM, you'll need to get Windows 7 Pro or regular Windows 8 as WIndows 7 Home Premium has a maximum RAM limit of 16GB of RAM.

In any case, if you don't think you'll need 32GB of RAM, that's fine.

Speaking of cases, the Black Pearl version of that R4 case is on sale for $80:
http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/106...ne-r4-black-pearl-atx-mid-tower-computer-case
 
Yeah the most intensive thing I typically do is digital audio and that typically does not push RAM over the top. That is unless I decide to work with Omnisphere but even then I might push 3-4gb of RAM. But by far the area where I run out quick is in CPU. Very easy to max out.

My definition of a lot going on is the rendering digital audio, listening to some music, running several web pages and the like. Most games I play do not push RAM to super high levels. So, I will have to consider if I really need 32gb.
 
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