$1400-1800 multitasking/engineering computer Urgent

[amreiss]

I need to pull the trigger on this desktop within the next few days.
Importance from most to least: Multitasking(having multiple windows up at once, internet/itunes/skype. etc. Next: Autocad and 3D rendering, Programming. I do not game. i could care less about how good of a gaming computer i have.


Currently i dont plan to OC because i am not experienced enough to trust myself with it


my current build

Motherboard: Gigabyte Ga-x58A-UD3R

Processor: Intel Core i7-930. I am debating between the 930 and the i7-860 since i hear it is better when in superspeed.

Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600mhz triple channel. SHould i be getting more RAM? also is the 1600mhz worth it? should i get 1800?

Graphics: need suggestions? i was thinking Radeon 5850 or GTX 470 but then i started reading about a Quadro which is supposedly better for autocad.

Hard Drive: Samsong Spinpoint F3. Or i hear the Velociraptors are very good. i think a SSD drive will help me since i care most about how fast my apps load up. i was thinking a 30 GB SSD Drive.

Case: Antec 900? or something cheaper i dont care much

Power: What do you reccomend for voltage i was currently thinking Silverstone Da 750W or a thermaltake 750 Watt

CPU cooler: Prolimatech Megaharems Rev. B? or should i go with liquid cooling

CPU Fan: Scythe Slipstream SY 1225SL...

Optical: i dont care anything cheap.


I would appreciate any advice/critic you guys have. thank you so much for your help.

Is it complicated putting all these components together myself and adding the thermal compound etc and buying from Newegg or should i just use a website like ibuypower,buyxg,cyberpower?

 

[gkay09]

^ Have you checked out the AMD Phenom II X6 ??
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-phenom-ii-x6-1090t-890fx,2613-8.html

 

[lowriderflow]

Gigabyte mobo's are great... so stick with that. I'd vote for the 930 CPU. 6gb triple channel is fine... and 1600 is fine b/c the bottle neck will not be at the RAM. You only need faster if you plan to do some BIG overclocking... so you're ok on RAM.
For you, a quadro will be best. Look on newegg at PNY VCQFX1800-PCIE-PB Quadro FX 1800 768MB 192-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card... it's $400 and should be perfect for you!
I'd reccomend a Velociraptor 10k rpm harddrive for sure. THey perform as well as SSD, but you get more storage for same price (150gb velociraptor vs 30gb SSD)
Case is fine, either of those Power supplys will be fine.
Use the hyper 212+ cooler, it's the best bang for buck!

**Basically it comes down to your knowledge on building your own. It's overwhelming at first, but toms has lots of how-tos for you. Basically you're going to pay a $500 dollar premium to get an ibuypower over building it yourself.
Also, you should be using Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste if you do build it yourself

 

[amreiss]

^ Have you checked out the AMD Phenom II X6 ??
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-phenom-ii-x6-1090t-890fx,2613-8.html

is it cheaper? it doesnt look to be better than the i7

 

[amreiss]

Gigabyte mobo's are great... so stick with that. I'd vote for the 930 CPU. 6gb triple channel is fine... and 1600 is fine b/c the bottle neck will not be at the RAM. You only need faster if you plan to do some BIG overclocking... so you're ok on RAM.
For you, a quadro will be best. Look on newegg at PNY VCQFX1800-PCIE-PB Quadro FX 1800 768MB 192-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card... it's $400 and should be perfect for you!
I'd reccomend a Velociraptor 10k rpm harddrive for sure. THey perform as well as SSD, but you get more storage for same price (150gb velociraptor vs 30gb SSD)
Case is fine, either of those Power supplys will be fine.
Use the hyper 212+ cooler, it's the best bang for buck!

**Basically it comes down to your knowledge on building your own. It's overwhelming at first, but toms has lots of how-tos for you. Basically you're going to pay a $500 dollar premium to get an ibuypower over building it yourself.
Also, you should be using Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste if you do build it yourself

Thanks alot. what will be the bottle neck for this build? also how risky is overclocking in terms of messing something up? i already have a 2TB WD external drive idk if that changes anything.

 

[gkay09]

^ The overall platform would be cheaper...
And if am not wrong, it keeps up with i7 in most of the apps and slightly better in 3ds Max 2010 and media transcoding apps...

And as for graphics card, check out the latest FirePro V5800...based on DirectX 11...

 

[lowriderflow]

Well with taht build I recomended everything should be about on point. Well your gigabyte motherboard will come with overclocking tools... and with that hyper 212+ cooler... its not risky at all. You can click one button, and the gigabyte software will overclock you 15%... and with that cooler you'll be running at the same temperatures as the stock cooler at stock speeds. So essentially for the $30 dollars the hyper 212 costs, you can boost your procesor 15%. pretty good value there

 

[lowriderflow]

In response to gkay09... going AMD brand 6core is also another route you could go. Basically for your usage of uber-multitasking with autocad, rendering, and programing... you should stick with an i7 for hyperthreading purposes.

However, if you wanted to save $200 dollars or so total, the phenom 6core is an option.

 

[Orac]

If you have and old pc you're not using or have files backed up with current pc, use it to get a feel for assembly. Unplug cables then reinsert, take out memory then put back in, disassemble it all and put it back together. I did this with my old win98 pc and definitely was familiar with putting stuff together when I built my first pc.

 

[Orac]

I need to pull the trigger on this desktop within the next few days.
Importance from most to least: Multitasking(having multiple windows up at once, internet/itunes/skype. etc. Next: Autocad and 3D rendering, Programming. I do not game. i could care less about how good of a gaming computer i have.


Currently i dont plan to OC because i am not experienced enough to trust myself with it


my current build

Motherboard: Gigabyte Ga-x58A-UD3R

Processor: Intel Core i7-930. I am debating between the 930 and the i7-860 since i hear it is better when in superspeed.
i7-930 is slighter faster per Tom's cpu charts. Note: i7-930 uses 1366 cpu socket, i7-860 uses 1156 cpu socket.

Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600mhz triple channel. SHould i be getting more RAM? also is the 1600mhz worth it? should i get 1800?
Note: 1156/i7-860 uses 2 channel to 1333mhz and 1366 can use two or 3 channel with 3 channel more up to date.

Graphics: need suggestions? i was thinking Radeon 5850 or GTX 470 but then i started reading about a Quadro which is supposedly better for autocad.

Hard Drive: Samsong Spinpoint F3. Or i hear the Velociraptors are very good. i think a SSD drive will help me since i care most about how fast my apps load up. i was thinking a 30 GB SSD Drive.
Velociraptors are fast but at 10,000rpm the noise will be noticeable. SSD if you don't have large files and programs.


Case: Antec 900? or something cheaper i dont care much

Power: What do you reccomend for voltage i was currently thinking Silverstone Da 750W or a thermaltake 750 Watt
750Watt psu is fine unless getting 2 high end video cards, then 1000Watts.

CPU cooler: Prolimatech Megaharems Rev. B? or should i go with liquid cooling
CPU Fan: Scythe Slipstream SY 1225SL...
Note: Intel CPU's come with a stock fan and paste that is adequate if not overclocking though Scythe will keep cpu cooler if you do a lot of CAD.

Optical: i dont care anything cheap.


I would appreciate any advice/critic you guys have. thank you so much for your help.

Is it complicated putting all these components together myself and adding the thermal compound etc and buying from Newegg or should i just use a website like ibuypower,buyxg,cyberpower?