First Build: i7-950 gaming, modeling & some graphics

[calCE11]

Greetings, I am attempting my first build within the next 2 weeks (wanting to take advantage of November sales) and would appreciate criticism. I am interested in a build that can handle games such as sc2 and civV as well as some other programs like Maya, Autocad, and Adobe CS5. My budget is a max of $1500 for the system (already have monitor, keyboard, os - Windows 7 Professional). So far my build is about $1250 - I'm only willing to spend more if there is a significant improvement, but the more I save the better (eventually want a new monitor). Also if you could comment on the balance; don't want overkill in one area if not worth it. Thanks in advance!

CPU: i7-950 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211 - 294.99

MB: Asus P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614 - 264.99 (with rebate) (suggestions here would be helpful)

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277 - 74.99

GPU: GIGABYTE GV-R577SO-1GD Radeon HD 5770 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7&cm_re=radeon_hd_5770-_-14-125-327-_-Product - 129.99 (with rebate) (again, suggestions...)

Sound: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102003 - 34.99

HD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 - 74.99

SSD: SAMSUNG 470 Series MZ-5PA064/US 2.5" 64GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147062 - 139.99; 2.5" mounting: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817997013&cm_re=ssd_mounting-_-17-997-013-_-Product - 4.99

Optical: Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW... - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118040 - 19.99

Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066 - 69.99

Power Supply: COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M700 RS-700-AMBA-D3 700W ATX12V V2.3 SLI - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171037 - 89.99

HSF: COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible Hyper N 520 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103057 - 34.99

Thermal compound recommendations?

Grand Total: 1254.87

Essentially, I am going for a well-rounded PC that is both good for gaming and some light graphics work and modeling. Once again, thanks for your help!

 

[batuchka]

Hmm for machines like these i would hit 1055T with air cooling + OC and a GTX 460/1GB/256bit? HD 5770 with such a budget seems way too GPU lite for gaming

Thuban + 8GB DDR3 + 1GB/256 bit GTX 460 + 64GB SATA 6GB/s SSD?

$711AR

Scythe MUGEN-2 Rev.B cooler $34
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=FAN-MUGENB&title=Scythe-SCMG-2100-MUGEN-2-Rev-B-5-Heat-Pipes-CPU-Cooler

Review
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2535-16.html

64GB SATA 6GB/s SSD $135 Free Ship
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148357


$880AR Grand Total

 

[gkay09]

Good build, some suggestions -
1. Mobo -
Get this board if you wont overclock very high
ASUS Sabertooth X58
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131665
A good combo with a good cooler -
ASUS X58 + Xig Dark Knight
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.544920

2. Free game with the CPU -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.512707

3. RAM - Get a Tri-Channel kit to take advantage of the Tri-Channel memory controller present on the i7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225

4. CASE + HDD
HAF 912 + Samsung F3 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.543371

5. Video card - IMO the HD 6850 would be a good option if you game at high resolution
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125348

6. SSD - Cheaper, faster and better
OCZ Agility 2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227542

7. DVD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136168

8. PSU - Even the Corsair 650TX would be a good option and with the rebates and coupon cost less
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

And finally about the sound card - Just avoid it...IMO the onboard would be as good...

 

[BlueFireAngel]

I agree w/ gkay about the sound card and the RAM. I think the motherboard comes with 7.1 sound built in. Even if you do editing, the software you have will be more important than having a sound card.
On the RAM, again I'm pretty sure your motherboard is set up for triple channel RAM. So you'll need 3 sticks or a triple channel pack. I'd suggest 3 x 2GB. It's probably more than you need but it should help with AutoCAD at least. Corsair and Kingston are pretty good choices.
I'm interested in a similar setup so this is good practice for me. Thanks & good luck.

 

[calCE11]

Thanks for the input! Definitely going to upgrade the video card (did not see that deal) and the ram to 6GB, switch to the Sabertooth X58 mobo, etc. Been wanting to do this for almost a year now and I feel now is the time...my 4-year-old laptop just won't cut it anymore.

 

[Stokesy3]

For using cs5, adobe forum recommend 12gb ram, min. And also the nvidea card so that it uses during editing/ rendering etc ... Min prob gtx460. There is a set of supported cards for cs5 , min gtx470, that the mercury engine utilizes in cs5, , but there are ways out there to mod the 460 if you search and it should be just as good in this context.