Need Help Building Hi-Performance PC

[dkoolit]

I'm currently gathering information for building a new system. I need advice,suggestions and/or recommendations for building a hi-performance pc. I'm an animator/editor and gaming enthusiast, and I don't really have specs to follow, so I'm only using what I think is ok config ofr my system:

CPU = intel core i7 980 or better
motherboard = EVGA x58 or better
RAM = 6-12 Gb not sure what brand is best
Graphics card = nvidia 2x dual sli geforce gtx 480 or better (not sure if radeon is better cuz i'm used to nvidia product)
Hard drive = 1TB no idea what brand is best
Case = full tower with liquid cooling room
cooling system = liquid cooling system(no idea which brand is best)
Audio card = logitech/creative or better

I'm not sure if the parts that I've mention is ok so if you have any suggestions or recommendation I will really appreciate it.

 

[proewkster]

Well, I can give you some input, because I'm also building a new machine, and did some research so I can tell you what I've found so far...

CPU: Core i7 or Core i5 will do fine. If you really want the fastest cpu out there, you might want to take a look at the Extreme Editions but these cost quite a bit. You might be better off with a cheaper version, which you can then overclock. I don't have any experience in overclocking, so I can't help you on that one, but a lot of forums tell the same story...

RAM: There are a lot of solutions out there, but from what I've learned during my research you're best off with a 3channel DDR3 RAM set. The price difference between 1333 and 1600 is rather small, so it doesn't really matter which you choose. Note that some processors only work with certain RAM speeds (like 1066) unless you start overclocking. Overclocking on most motherboards is made rather easy from what I've read, so that shouldn't be a problem. 2000 MHz memory will most likely be overkill for most users, and at most a waste of voltage.

Graphics: At this time ATi has an advantage over NVidia. I also sticked with NVidia until now. In a few weeks the 6xxx series will be released, so switching to ATi is really worth considering. If you search for benchmarks on the GTX 480, you'll probably see that a ATi XFire setup will be faster.

HD: There are a lot of good brands of HD's out there. For speed you might want to consider a Solid State HD, but these are still quite expensive. I've also chosen Western Digital but there are a lot of other good brands.

Case: The ANTEC Twelve Hundred has a built in space for a radiator, so that might be worth looking at, but there are a lot of other good cases around.

Audio: Creative are still market leader in audio devices and they have the best soundcards around. The X-Fi sound cards are simply phenomenal. But you don't have to invest in a sound card if you don't especially need one. The onboard sound cards are usually sufficiant for decent 5.1 or 7.1 audio. I still use a X-Fi because I can plug in my instruments into the front bay, but if you don't need that than you can save some money by using the onboard solutions. Some MoBo's even have the X-Fi cards onboard (ASUS Rampage)

Hope this helps a little, but I really can't tell you what to buy exactly. You will have to figure that out yourself according to your needs and wishes...

 

[dmn_pro]

alright whats your budget?

heres my humble opinion

your RAM question my fav brand is Kingston their reliable and dont bother with 12GB you will never need that much even 6 GB is too much.

i like you mother board choice!
the 2 480's will cost you heaps so id say get 2 ATI 5850 CF and that would run anything at max.

DONT GET LIQUID COOLING, its costly and risky... if your looking at a full tower case get a thermaltake armor+ which is really good but i hate the design, or a go for a mid tower aerocool bx500 (I LOVE IT <3 ) or the antec 902

dont bother with audio card cause you motherboard's audio is already wicked.

for hard drive go for a seagate and brands arent a big deal with HDD, but i recon go for a 2TB hardrive if you want to store big files.

the I7 980 is good but unnecessary, 950 is the best because of the price and + you can always OC it

PS. i just joined this site but my advice is reliable
hope it helps

 

[Onus]

If this is essentially going to be a professional level system for making money, not just playing games, then stability and reliability issues are paramount. To that end:
1. Water cooling is an unnecessary risk, furthermore you will not overclock a business machine to the point that liquid cooling becomes necessary.
2. Unless your work can benefit from CUDA, found only on nVidia cards, avoid the GTX480 and GTX470 because of the heat they produce. Even if it does, determine if the much cooler GTX460 can handle your CUDA needs.
3. Buy an excellent PSU. In your place, I would choose a Seasonic X750 or Antec SG-850. If you need higher wattage, then an Antec HCP-1200. Enermax also makes some very high quality, well-reviewed units in the 1000+ wattage range.
4. Avoid 2TB and larger hard drives. They are still apparently experiencing high failure rates. If you need to create large volumes, consider RAID 5.

 

[dkoolit]

Thanks guys for the your suggestions and recommendations,I'm glad that your there to give me advice.

@DMN_pro about my budget its$2000-3000 but if I could find an online discount price for the hi-performance parts then that would be great,right now I'm looking for the best price at frys,amazon,buy.com if you have suggestion where I can get the best part at discounted price that would be much appreciated.

@jtt283 yes its going to be a professional level system for my custom pc, and I'm not a big fan of overclocking my system,I prefer to have a stock production than risking of burning my pc even with liquid cooling. and thanks for adding the psu I completely forgot about it. what recommendation you can give me in getting a better HDD 1tb.

@proewkster thanks for the advice regarding which brand I should get,I really appreciate your help even we're both 1st timer building our own pc.

1. I have question regarding liquid cooling, how is it risky?do you have recommendation what I should get if liquid cooling system is too risky?
2. I also want to know if Physx technology support ATI graphics card, I use nvidia products because of physx technology due to rendering time and others. I'm not against ATI just that I haven't tried ATI products before, but if ATI has better performance than Nvidia then I'll get ATI as long as its reliable and have great graphic output since I'm going to use it for presentations.

 

[Onus]

PhysX only works on nVidia cards. Unless you're interested in playing games with hacked drivers, you cannot run PhysX if there's an ATi card in your system, even if you also have a nVidia card; nVidia says "All or nothing."
The biggest risks of liquid cooling are leaks, and failures of other components that don't (and can't) have water blocks on them; with air cooling, even the CPU cooler contributes to the airflow over nearby components. For a non- or minimally-overclocked system, water cooling is simply unnecessary; you get all risks, but no benefits over air cooling.
For hard drives, I would stick to Seagate, Samsumg, or Western Digital.

 

[dkoolit]

Best answer selected by dkoolit.

 

[Onus]

Good luck with your build.

 

[dmn_pro]

il check them out cause im building a new gaming system aswell, if i can find good prices, il let you know

+ let me know your benchmarks after you build it

 

[dkoolit]

ok I'll do that,by the way thanks for your time sharing info about the system, I'm glad you guys are there to help.