Dear all,
I'm looking to build myself a new i7 computer mainly for graphic design.
Before anyone says anything, Yes, I can buy a mac, but I want to build something for myself
Once everything is setup I will be installing osx86 on it as well so i can have the best of both worlds.
My pc right now is a Pentium 4 Dell xps gen 3 ( i think ) which dual boots win7 & osx without a problem.
The computer must be able to run multiple programs at once (Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign and Web browser)
I would like it to be able to handle basic video editing as well but it's not a must.
I've checked out some parts but wanted to get some feed back since I have not built an i7 or anything with SLI/Crossfire and dont want to mess anything up.
Does anyone know if having a SLI / Crossfire setup help with video / graphic editing?
The below parts will be for a SLI / Crossfire system but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm listening.
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE:
within 1-2 months
BUDGET RANGE:
$1200-$1500 Before Rebates
SYSTEM USAGE:
Running Illustrator Photoshop Bridge Firefox at the same time, video editing, gaming, web, etc...
PARTS NOT REQUIRED:
keyboard, mouse, speakers - i just need the system really, i plan to get a second monitor.
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS:
newegg, buy.com, amazon, tigerdirect, ???
OVERCLOCKING:
Maybe - I haven't done it before so I'm not sure how comfortable i would be with doing this.
SLI OR CROSSFIRE:
Maybe - If it helps with performance then yes
MONITOR RESOLUTION:
1920x1200
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Don't care about the bling but don't want it to be ugly, I would like a quiet PC
PARTS PREFERENCES:
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Mother Board:
I've looked up the reviews for a couple and was thinking about either ASUS P6X58D Premium or Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5.
I like the fact that both of those have the new usb 3 and SATA ports.
ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $299.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $289.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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CPU:
Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor - $289.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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Fan/Heatsink:
COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Is this any good? The articles I read suggested replacing the stock fan/heatsink.
Should i getting something else?
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Power:
Thermaltake W0319RU 850W ATX 12V 2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Should I get something else? More power?
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Hard Drives:
I'm not sure what i want to do here.
I know I will be getting a 1TB drive for storage but im not sure about the boot drive.
SSD? or a smaller sata? - Is ssd really worth it? i haven't looked into installing osx on one either.
My original plan was to get two smaller boot drives and have one for windows 7 and one for osx
Western Digital AV-GP WD10EVDS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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RAM:
I'm not sure about this either.
I know i want at least 6gb of DDR3
Is there going to be a big difference between 1600 and 2000?
Will i actually be able to get it up to 2000 (read some reviews that some are not able to get full speed)?
I'm a little overwhelmed by the choices here.
Is lower latency better or speed?
I was looking at OCZ and Kingston
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G2000LV6GK - $200.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Cas Latency 8
Timing 8-8-8-24
OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK - $205.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Cas Latency 7
Timing 7-7-7-24
Kingston HyperX T1 Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory Model KHX2000C8D3T1FK3/6GX - $239.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Cas Latency 8
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VIDEO CARD:
Very confused. I wanted to buy two but I don't want to go crazy here.
My system will not be for 100% gaming but I would like to play some games (starcraft 2 if it ever comes out would be nice).
Again, would having 2 cards help me with video editing and photoshop / illustrator?
Which is better, ATI or NVIDIA ?
I was looking at the following but I'm not even sure if they're any good:
MSI N250GTS TwinFrozr 1G OC GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $279.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
MSI R5770 Hawk Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - $174.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - $159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
MSI R5770 and XFX HD-577A-ZNFC are DirectX 11
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Case:
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
I think everything will fit in here.
I would like to have a tool less case if possible.
Don't care about having any led lights etc...
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CD/DVD drive:
LG Black SATA DVD Burner - OEM - $24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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The total is coming to about 1450-1500 for the above parts.
I am willing to swap out parts.
If you think I should getter a better cpu, psu, etc...
I've read articles saying not to get too good/cheap of a video card because you bottleneck your system.
I would like to avoid this.
Any help and suggestions would be appreciated.
I seem to be confused most about the RAM, VIDEO CARD and PSU.
Ideas on the case would be helpful as well.
Please let me know if i've overlooked anything.
Again, I'm not really sure if i will be over clocking my system but i do like the idea of being able to get more ram and use usb 3 sata6 in the future.
Thank you all in advance.