Approximate Purchase Date: Q1 2011 (after prices settle and my recommendations are firm)
Budget Range: $750-$1100 before rebates
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Photo editing (Photoshop CS5, Lightroom 3), printing, internet surfing, text editing, home networking, video editing. Gaming is a low priority.
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, OS (WIN 7 Ultimate x64)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com, Amazon.com, others?
Country of Origin: US only preferred
Parts Preferences: It sounds like Intel/Nvidia only for CUDA on the GTX 460
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: Not now
Monitor Resolution: Monitor selection seems to be pretty firm = ASUS VH242H
Additional Comments: This is going to be my only workhorse PC that I'll use mainly as my photo-editing machine, as well as for internet/email, office work, and light video editing. No RAID planned for now, but I'm considering a RAID 1 just for backups...which most of these mobos seem to do if they do RAID at all. I've really set my intentions on having this running dependably in 6 years, as my current PC has been upgraded since 2003 and is only now starting to disappoint. So I intend to have the maximum "upgradeability" as I can and this is the main reason I'm looking at the 1155 socket w/ i5 2500K vs. 1156 w/ i7 9X0. The northbridge chipset functionality is also a big factor for me - albeit, it is hard to rationalize the price/benefit of each.
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OCZ Technology Agility Series Solid State Drive - 60GB - Serial ATA/300 - Serial ATA - Internal ... $125
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive ... $69
ASUS P8P67 PRO Motherboard ... ~$190
Intel Core i5-2500K CPU ... ~$200
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply ... $90
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ... $55
ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers ... $180
8GB Crucial DDR3-1600 CAS 7 ... $110
EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ... $160 (Can't afford the $800+ NVIDIA Workstation video cards)
LG WH10LS30K 10X Blu-ray Burner - LightScribe Support - Bulk - OEM ... $100
Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate ... $15
TOTAL = ~$1350
So, as you can see I'm a little over budget with the CPU/Mobo here, but USB 3.0 and Sata 6 are a must. Beyond that I also need to keep the option to crossfire and add a TV Tuner card later on to make this my HTPC. I appreciate any advice on components that come higher recommended that would also lower my total cost - especially with the CPU/Mobo.
Budget Range: $750-$1100 before rebates
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Photo editing (Photoshop CS5, Lightroom 3), printing, internet surfing, text editing, home networking, video editing. Gaming is a low priority.
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, OS (WIN 7 Ultimate x64)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com, Amazon.com, others?
Country of Origin: US only preferred
Parts Preferences: It sounds like Intel/Nvidia only for CUDA on the GTX 460
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: Not now
Monitor Resolution: Monitor selection seems to be pretty firm = ASUS VH242H
Additional Comments: This is going to be my only workhorse PC that I'll use mainly as my photo-editing machine, as well as for internet/email, office work, and light video editing. No RAID planned for now, but I'm considering a RAID 1 just for backups...which most of these mobos seem to do if they do RAID at all. I've really set my intentions on having this running dependably in 6 years, as my current PC has been upgraded since 2003 and is only now starting to disappoint. So I intend to have the maximum "upgradeability" as I can and this is the main reason I'm looking at the 1155 socket w/ i5 2500K vs. 1156 w/ i7 9X0. The northbridge chipset functionality is also a big factor for me - albeit, it is hard to rationalize the price/benefit of each.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OCZ Technology Agility Series Solid State Drive - 60GB - Serial ATA/300 - Serial ATA - Internal ... $125
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive ... $69
ASUS P8P67 PRO Motherboard ... ~$190
Intel Core i5-2500K CPU ... ~$200
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply ... $90
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ... $55
ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers ... $180
8GB Crucial DDR3-1600 CAS 7 ... $110
EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ... $160 (Can't afford the $800+ NVIDIA Workstation video cards)
LG WH10LS30K 10X Blu-ray Burner - LightScribe Support - Bulk - OEM ... $100
Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate ... $15
TOTAL = ~$1350
So, as you can see I'm a little over budget with the CPU/Mobo here, but USB 3.0 and Sata 6 are a must. Beyond that I also need to keep the option to crossfire and add a TV Tuner card later on to make this my HTPC. I appreciate any advice on components that come higher recommended that would also lower my total cost - especially with the CPU/Mobo.
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