Gaming/Photoediting PC - w/ overclocking potential

[covellite]

Approximate Purchase Date: This month

Budget Range: 1000 - 1250€

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Photoshop CS5 (my wife is a professional), maybe movies

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: http://www.hardwareschotte.de/

Country of Origin: New Zealand but living in Germany

Parts Preferences: nVidia GPU with CUDA for photoshop

Overclocking: Maybe later

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe later

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200

Additional Comments: as quiet as possible

After a whole lot of research and comparison - here are my thoughts:

Processor: Core i5 2500K (ca. 180€) - for overclocking potential
http://www.hardwareschotte.de/hardware/preise/catid_1200177/preis_INTEL+Multiprozessor?searchstring=Core+i5+2500K

M'board: ASUS P8P67 Pro (ca. 150€)
http://www.hardwareschotte.de/hardware/preise/catid_1200168/preis_Intel+-+Sockel+775?searchstring=ASUS+P8P67+Pro

GPU: nVidia GeForce GTX460 / 1GB (ca. 140€) - for CUDA in photoshop, possible SLI later
http://www.hardwareschotte.de/hardware/preise/catid_3002024/Geforce-GTX400-Serie?pfpd=62,1024MB-_88,nVidia+GeForce+GTX460+%28GF104%29&searchstring=nVidia+GeForce+GTX460&srt=preis

Monitor: Dell UltraSharp U2410 24" (ca. 450 – 550€)
http://www.schottenland.de/preisvergleich/Monitore/catid_20?searchstring=Dell+UltraSharp+U2410

HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C (ca. 40 – 50€)
http://www.hardwareschotte.de/hardware/preise/catid_1100079/preis_S-ATA?searchstring=Hitachi+Deskstar+7K1000.C

Memory: OSZ Platinum 6GB (ca. 70€)
http://www.schottenland.de/preisvergleich/preise/proid_9799621/6GB-3er-Kit-OCZ-Platinum-Low-Voltage-Triple-Channel-OCZ3P1333LV6GK

DVD: Lite-On 24X DVD Burner SATA iHAS 124-19 (ca. 15 – 20€)
http://www.schottenland.de/preisvergleich/preise/proid_9910742/LITEON-IHAS124-IHAS124-19

Case: Cooler Master Centurion 534+ (ca. 55€)
http://www.hardwareschotte.de/hardware/preise/proid_8038197/preis_COOLERMASTER+Centurion+RC-534-SWNA2-GP

Power supply: Seasonic X-650 650W (ca. 140 – 150€)
http://www.hardwareschotte.de/hardware/preise/catid_120084/preis_Netzteile?searchstring=Seasonic+X-650


Because this is my first build I'm worried there might be some glaring problem or weakness I'm overlooking, specifically: compatibility, PSU, overclocking, cooling etc.

Should I make the jump to a bigger power supply? Is this only necessary if I go an SLI setup with 2 GTX460s or overclock? Do I have enough cooling for the base setup and what would I need to add for an overclocked + SLI rig?

Thanks in advance for your comments!

 

[sofyanator]

For the quietest setup i would recomend corsair h50 lqiuid cooling for your cpu and a haf 922 case which looks nice, peformance is great, and is an unbeatable deal. Also i would recomend a 700/750 watt power suply from any reputable compmany. As for the card i would recomend upgrading to a gigabyte gtx 560 ti. Its is extremly quiet, stays very cool, and overclocked can beat a gtx 570! The price is also great and its cheaper then the 480 and can beat it.

 

[covellite]

Hi sofyanator.

Thanks for the tips. A couple of questions:

What kind of performance difference is there between the case in my list and the one you suggested? Will it make a huge difference to cooling/airflow vs noise? I don't know much at all about cases, but the reviews on the Centurion said it was a good starter case and, I have to admit, I think the version with the brushed metal front panels looks fantastic, better than the haf.

Regarding the power supply - I've had another look at Tom's ranked PSU list and reviews and prices. Currently I'm weighing up the Seasonic X-750 (170€), the Corsair AX-750 (140€) or maybe the HX-850 which is a comparable price but is also 180mm long and may not fit... I'm tending to the AX-750 because it doesn't change my costs at all and seems like a reliable, quiet unit. Thoughts?

Have you got any links for reviews of the gigabyte gtx560? It'll probably cost me 60€ more to get it here and I'd like to know what I'm getting for that price, particularly as I may want a second one for an SLI setup at some stage - this was part of the attraction with the gtx460 - I was looking at the ECS GTX 460 Black Series, which comes with the Artic Cooling Accelero Twin Turbo Pro attached. Another question is whether two ECS board would fit on my m'board. I read somewhere they take up three slots each!

I have no idea really about cooling, but bear in mind this is my first build and the installation and maintenance of a liquid cooling system sounds a bit extreme to me... any alternatives?

 

[covellite]

More than 40 views and only one reply

Come on guys! Please, I really need some feedback here! Even a simple "sounds good" or "don't be a fool" would be an improvement.

 

[Martin9630]

Hi there,

From what I've heard the Phenom II X6 Series were made for photo/movie-editing, I might be wrong though...

 

[Martin9630]

Oh and Photoshop benefits alot from extra RAM.

 

[covellite]

Oh and Photoshop benefits alot from extra RAM.

Hmm. Everything benefits from extra ram, so perhaps more than 6GB wouldn't hurt - but I've also heard that photoshop is primarily processor dependent. Do you use cs5 a lot? My wife needs to be able to run p'shop, indesign and possibly lightroom at the same time with a lot of RAW images open at the same time.