Can you please help review my first compelete build?

[ninjairoc]

Hi everyone, i'm new to Tom's Hardware, but it seems like the place to be, having a solid, knowledgeable body of members. I'm a DIY type of guy and I want my next computer to be home built. I've compared the prices in building your own and ordering a pre-built from a company such as Dell or Gateway. You get so much more for your money and can customize so many more features, when doing it yourself.

My current computer is a Dell 8300 that i've had for almost 6 years now. I have had to replace the video card and the power supply over the years, and I have also added some more RAM. I do some gaming but my current comp is not that great for running games on high settings. My main use for the computer is high resolution photo editing, as I am a photographer. I process large .RAW and .tiff files that consume lots of processing power. I run Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, After Effects and Illustrator. I am going to be getting into video and Final Cut Pro soon.

I'd really like to build a sweet rig, that is open to upgrading in the future. I would like to be able to handle all my photographic work, plus high end gaming. I have never overclocked my PC, but have read some on the topic and am willing to try it in the future. I'm hoping to order the parts to build my first ground up PC in the next week or so.


So Here is my list of components:

-ABS Aplus ABS-CS-Monolith Black SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

-Intel BOXDX48BT2 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX DDR3 Intel Motherboard

-Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9650

-Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

-Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

-Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

-COOLMAX CUQ-1200B 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

-LG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner w/ SecurDisc Tech Black SATA Model GH20NS15

-Acer P243WAid Black-Silver 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP Support

-Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD for System Builders

Additional Fans: One Antec 761345-75120-9 120mm Case Fan, Two Thermaltake A1357 80mm Case Fans (That will make a total of 5 fans in the case)


My reasoning for the monster power supply is I plan to add an additional HD 4870x2 for crossfire in the future, as well as another optical drive(BluRay probably), so leaving some headroom for other components is important to me. I also would like to get another 4GB of RAM when the price goes down a little bit.

I have tried to read all the reviews I can about these components and have tried to check for complete compatibility, but I am eager to hear your opinions. If there is anything else I should be aware of, please let me know. Thank you in advance for any advice you may supply

-Dennis

 

[Proximon]

You have really built more of a gaming comp there... Let me give you a few tips.

Fist off, there is very little use for DDR3 in this system. Given your usage you WOULD see a slight benefit, but not enough to justify the cost... we're talking 2% speed increase when processing big files, possibly.

I guess you can use the GPU listed... your MAIN usage would suggest a workstation graphics card however. Not so good at games though if you go that route.

Really, given your budget and usage, you should wait for x58/i7/Nehalem to come out next month. You'll get more of what you need then.

 

[Proximon]

What I'm saying is I would build a gaming system today, but not a graphics system.

 

[ninjairoc]

Well, honestly I really would like to game a lot more with my next rig and at a very high standard, something I haven't had with my last pc's.

 

[Proximon]

Up to you, we'll give you advice on building now, or wait until November and put together a 6-core i7.

 

[ninjairoc]

Hey guys, i've actually held off on my build til after the i7 came out. I now have a revised list of parts. I'm planning on ordering my parts within the next 2 weeks.

For what I was going to pay for the Q9650, I can now get the i7 940, but i'm actually going to go with the i7 920(save some $) and plan to overclock it. Was also able to upgrade the amount of RAM and the motherboard for about $40 more than what I had selected. I also selected what appears to be a much better power supply than the one I had previously selected.

These are all the changes made:
-Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS Black Full Tower Case w/ 25CM Fan
-i7 920 cpu
-EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
-SILVERSTONE OP1000-E 1000W ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
-CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit
-LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner

This again shall be used heavily for gaming and photo processing on the side. With the current revision, I actually dropped the price from over $2500 to around $2300. I'm probably gonna use that extra $200 to get a nice aftermarket cpu cooler. I've heard good things about the Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler. Can you recommend any others? Also might spend a little money on a cheap 5.1 sound system, or a decent 2.1 system. Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance for any opinions or advice.

 

[ninjairoc]

Also, can I get away with just my 1TB HD by partitioning it partially for my OS, partially for programs and then the rest for files?