Need Advise on $700 - $1000 build

[laka]

Hello,
I would like some advice on choosing parts for a new build


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This week

BUDGET RANGE: 700-800 (give or take) Before Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Revit use and rendering, photo editing, gaming, web surf with multiple tabs open at once, being able to have multiple programs running efficiently at the same time, watching hd movies.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: no preferenses

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US

PARTS PREFERENCES: no preferenses

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe..towards yes

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: would that benefit me?

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1024x768, 1600x1200, 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I would like a quiet PC, something that will last at least 3+ years


Thank you for your time.

 

[Alvin Smith]

You can start by searching "DIY PC Combos" at NewEgg, and then sorting by price but, I just did that and did not see anything that looked "really smart" for the $$$

An Intel or AMD quad core is called for ... but not a socket 1366.

You do not want Intel GMA "on board" graphics (duh).

You do want a silver rated PSU that is 600W-750W and SLI(nVidia) or CrossFireX(Ati) "ready". This is plenty of power for a two card gpu setup.

You do want your graphics card to be ATi (DirectX-11), 1GB PCIe 2.0(+) x16

You do want at least 4MB of dual channel or (3 or 6 GB of 3 channel memory.

More memory will make your system faster than "faster" memory.

The graphics card should prolly cost $250, or more. (as a % system cost/persform)

Go with a matched pair of 1TB 7200RPM SATA-II drives (boot vs. content)

There will be a choice of "display-port vs. VGA D-Sub" on the gpu card ...
You may need a vga port for your old monitor but a display port-to=vga or DVI-to-vga adapter would be more forward looking. So, even with an older VGA monitor, imy first choice would be Dual DVI (Dual Link) with HDMI and ... Alternately, trade one of the DVI ports for a display port.

3 channel mem may be (even) noticably snappier than 2 ch mem but the diff is not that great and most maainstream gamer builds opt for 4GB of 2-ch mem (fine!).

Dual Gigabit Ethernet ports can be nice, if your computer has "friends".

Firewire is very helpful (especially for DV-25 and HDV camcorder import/cntrl )

= that about covers the gammut =

 

[whitefang]

Here's an excellent build for $806 after Mail in rebates.



http://i47.tinypic.com/2a0wew.png

 

[whitefang]

If you can't afford that then. Same as the above build except with a lesser CPU.

$767 after mail in rebates.


http://i48.tinypic.com/ea5kkz.png

 

[Alvin Smith]

veery nice ... drool ... a fast quad core and a great gpu plus, everything else you need ! ... definately worth the very few extra bucs (so step up to a truly snappy future platform).

 

[Alvin Smith]

Of course, if you are not the type to "follow thru" on mail-in rebates, you are over by $45.

 

[laka]

Thank you!

what would the difference be if between

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920

AND

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor ???

I was considering the i7 920 but i guess that would mean a different motherboard too.

 

[whitefang]

The I-7 is out of the price range, you would have to sacrifice your GPU in order to fit the I-7 in and it wouldn't be nearly as good as if you were to go with a 925/945 + 5850 rather then a I-7 and get a poor gpu.

 

[whitefang]

And to answer your question, they perform almost identical in games.

 

[laka]

cool, but I dont want my build only for gaming, I want it to be productive, do several heavy things at the same time.

please correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the 925/955 more gamer oriented?

 

[whitefang]

Not really, both the 955 and I-7 920 will perform about the same at every thing and the I-7 cost way more then the 955 especially in $700-$800 build.

 

[Alvin Smith]

With your attitude and needs, I don't think it would be a hoorible mis-step, to step up to a socket 1366/i920 ... True, you *would* have to sacrifice much, on the front end.

It really depends on lots of personal factors like if anyone else you live with has an upgrade cycle too. Like, if you cheap-out on the graphics and drives, up front, and get a generic "case w/PSU", you could swing the platform upgrade.

We are really talking about how many i/o oins are on the proc, vs. what is inside it or the speed.

My best recommendation is a socket 1156 Core i5 750 with the best 1GB ATi graphics card you can afford (5850?)

Kinda like this ... except upgd to 5850

 

[Alvin Smith]

ooops ... the link ...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883241022&cm_re=core_i5_750-_-83-241-022-_-Product

 

[Alvin Smith]

...and, all else being equal, I am guessing the 1366/i920 (and fancy mobo) would run the price up (at least) another $250 (O.C. air cooler, etc)

= Al =

 

[laka]

sorry, I'm illiterate with computer components. $1000 is my maximum

 

[Alvin Smith]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883241022&cm_re=core_i5_750-_-83-241-022-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102857&cm_re=5850-_-14-102-857-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106139&cm_re=1156_cooler-_-35-106-139-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100009&cm_re=thermal-_-35-100-009-_-Product

I'm not gonna add it up, but I designed on the basis of balanced performance with emphasis on graphics related functions.

= Al =

 

[Alvin Smith]

sorry I GOOFED

Replace the first link, in my last post ...

The links sould have been . . .

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.328623

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

= there =