Building a new AMD system - looking for input

[ave05]

I'm helping a friend configure/build a new system, and would appreciate some feedback. He'll be using it for HD video editing and gaming (Half Life 3, when it comes out).

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Power Supply: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W

Motherboard: MSI 890FXA-GD70

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz

GPU: XFX HD-597A-CNB9 Radeon HD 5970 Black Edition 2GB

RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Ridgeback 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Should I consider going with 8GB?

Primary HD: Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAA064MAG-1G1 1.8" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Secondary HD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Blu-Ray Burner: Pioneer Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Internal Blu-ray Burner Blu-ray Disc/DVD/CD Writer BDR-205BKS

Will also need a wireless adapter (computer will not be in the same room as the router). I'm used to using Linksys, however reviews on their adapters haven't been that great lately... Should support G/N. Any thoughts?

His budget is ~$1500, but with Win 7 this build is just under $1950. He's expecting not to have any compromise in performance....he recently purchased a 23" monitor, and wants no glitches when watching HD video on Vimeo...in multiple tabs..full-screen (probably while encoding HD videos and firing up itunes at times). I typically reboot before and after gaming/encoding, which he doesn't. All reasons for going a bit overboard on hardware.

Thanks for any input, the plan is to order all of the components in the next 2-3 weeks.

 

[ave05]

Apparently I was off on the order date. Seems it needs to be placed this weekend. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[batuchka]

The Half Life series requirements are really rather light so it could be the HD 5970 is overkill @@
Also elaborate what software is used for video editing i.e Premiere, Vegas, etc? I also would not splash for such a high end board - stick to single GPU solutions and a 870 chipset, 1055T + air cooler is all one needs ^^

 

[batuchka]

Perhaps something like

$744AR tower

OCZ Vertex2 SSD + OS $215AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.526045

CM 212+ cooler $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&cm_re=hYOER_212%2b-_-35-103-065-_-Product

$989 (USD)

 

[ave05]

The Half Life series requirements are really rather light so it could be the HD 5970 is overkill @@
Also elaborate what software is used for video editing i.e Premiere, Vegas, etc? I also would not splash for such a high end board - stick to single GPU solutions and a 870 chipset, 1055T + air cooler is all one needs ^^

Thanks for your reply, and the build post. Right now he has Pinnacle v12, but will probably either upgrade to the latest version or purchase another program. I've used the program on my desktop (X2 4800/2GB RAM/7800GTX/XP), and everything seems to slow down quite a bit. Editing HD video isn't even worth trying on mine.

His main objective is to edit video from his HD camcorder, then burn to Blu-ray. He isn't looking to do anything spectacular, simple cuts and menus, but that may change.

As I mentioned in my original post, it's likely he will jump between editing and running HD videos on Vimeo (multiple tabs)...all while running itunes and a few other programs. Then, go directly from encoding to gaming. HL2 runs extremely well on my desktop, but I imagine things will change quite a bit when they release the next version. Without knowing when that will happen, he's hoping to be as prepared as possible. This is part of the reason he's ~dedicated to the 1090T, and the 5970, to a lesser degree.

I'm trying to build in as much overhead as is practically feasible, so I'm not getting regular calls asking why things are "glitching" or hanging up... The plan is to build the machine over the Thanksgiving holiday, when he'll be in town from FL to visit his parents. Being that I am in MI, this is a one-shot deal.

Having said that, the build I posted is well over the budget of $1500, and doesn't include a wireless adapter. If I were to email it to him, he'd probably order it as-is, but maybe it would be best to find a compromise between the original version and the one you posted. Now that I've included extra information, would that still be overkill?

Another thing to mention; This machine will not be overclocked. He would rather invest a few extra $$ than potentially create an unstable machine.

Lastly, how necessary is it to use the aftermarket CPU cooler?

Thanks for the help, looking forward to finally get things moving on this.

 

[karma831]

Edit: Crap I forgot the case...I'll fix this later.

Ok! I went with more well-rounded build (8gigs of ram+SSD) since hes using this for gaming and video editing.

Like batuchka said, the Half Life series requirements are really light and I don't believe that will change. The 5970 is a giant waste of money. I suggest he go with the 5850 for now and if he feels its not enough for him he can always pop in another one for crossfire. The performance will be relatively the same as the 5970 (I doubt he'll need it though).

Oh and the ram has a promo.

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Average Rating 5 out of 5 eggs(26 reviews)
$25 off w/ promo code EMCZYZR54, ends 10/20

 

[ave05]

Edit: Crap I forgot the case...I'll fix this later.

I had a chance to check out the build you posted, seems we're getting really close to ordering.

How about this card as an option? XFX HD-587A-CNF9 Radeon HD 5870 2GB

Seems he's set on this case, even if it pushes the price over-budget: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

I'm still not sure which wireless adapter to go with. The highest rated ones on Newegg are from Rosewill and Edimax, but both are b/g only. His Blu-ray player supports dlna, and is plugged into his wireless-n router. I imagine the desktop adapter should support n as well.

Thanks for all of the help, much appreciated.

 

[mosox]

Nice CPU/PSU combo there. ave05, get a card with custom cooling. The Lian-Li is better though IMO and it's bigger and in the 900 the PSU is mounted low but the PSU is facing up (ew).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4XCT9yibwQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL_OhZipul8

LE HAF 922:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119224

This case has some very good reviews:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517006

 

[karma831]

I had a chance to check out the build you posted, seems we're getting really close to ordering.

How about this card as an option? XFX HD-587A-CNF9 Radeon HD 5870 2GB

Seems he's set on this case, even if it pushes the price over-budget: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

I'm still not sure which wireless adapter to go with. The highest rated ones on Newegg are from Rosewill and Edimax, but both are b/g only. His Blu-ray player supports dlna, and is plugged into his wireless-n router. I imagine the desktop adapter should support n as well.

Thanks for all of the help, much appreciated.

A 2GB 5870 is definitely not worth the money over a 1GB version unless you're going to be running multiple monitor displays. And even then its not really worth the $120-100 premium unless you're going for some super high resolution with 6 displays.

The best 5870s in my opinion would either be this MSI Lightning
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127509&cm_re=5870_lightning-_-14-127-509-_-Product

or

Gigabyte's OC version
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125326&cm_re=gigabyte_5870-_-14-125-326-_-Product

The k62 is a great case...I don't see why he would prefer the 900 over it but theres a better version of that case for $10 more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129058&Tpk=antec%20902

Edit:
For the wireless N adapter I really have no idea. Just check out the higher end Linksys, Netgear, D-Link, or Trendnet adapters. Newegg never really had the best selection for networking hardware.