In Cart Ready to Buy $1100 CS5 PC- Is it good to go?

[JamesAllen]

I have posted about this build in the past, and have continued to work on it. I am planning to order the parts today or tomorrow (they are already in my carts on the sites) and I wanted a final sign-off from the community that helped me with most of my questions. Thank you for any input you can give about the parts, and/or their compatibility.

Approximate Purchase Date: Today or Tomorrow

Budget Range: $1100 before rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: CS5 Premier, After Effects, and Photoshop, gaming, general use (internet, office, ect.)

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers
While I do not have these item purchased yet, they will be decided on seperately

Preferred Websites for Parts: Amazon, newegg, TigerDirect

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Parts

CPU: [strike]Intel Core i5-2500 Processor with 6 MB Cache, 3.30 GHz for Socket LGA1155 - Boxed[/strike]
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

MoBo: [strike]MSI P67A-C43 B3 Intel P67 Motherboard - ATX, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Intel P67 Express, DDR3 2133MHz (O.C.), SATA 6.0 Gb/s, Gigabit LAN, 1 x PCI-Express x16, USB 3.0[/strike]
[strike]Intel DH67CLB3 Socket LGA1155 Desktop Board - ATX, Socket H2 (LGA1155), DDR3 1333MHz, RAID, SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 1 x PCI Express x16, DVI-I + HDMI, Gigabit LAN, USB 3.0[/strike]
ASUS P8P67 LE B3 Intel P67 Motherboard - ATX, Socket H2 (LGA 1155), Intel P67 Express, 2200MHz DDR3 (O.C.), Gigabit LAN, 8-Channel Audio, SATA 6.0 Gb/s, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, AMD CrossFireX Support

RAM: Patriot PSD38G1600K Signature Line DDR3 Non-ECC Unbuffered Memory - 8GB (4GB x 2), DDR3, PC3-12800 (1600MHZ), CL9
[strike]Kingston Technology HyperX Blu 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 DIMM (Kit of 2) KHX1333C9D3B1K2/8G[/strike]
Went back to previous choice as new MoBo can actually benefit from the 1600MHz.

SSD: Corsair 60 GB Force Series Ultra Fast TRIM Supported Solid State Drive CSSD-F60GB2-BRKT

HDD: [strike]Western Digital 1 TB Caviar Blue SATA 7200 RPM 32 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD10EALS[/strike]
Samsung 1 TB Spinpoint 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.5 inch Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive HD103SJ

Optical Drive: [strike]Sony Optiarc AD-7260S-0B 24x DVDRW Drive - 24x, S-ATA, Black, OEM[/strike]
ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Now purchasing from Newegg for a $10 MIR

PSU: XFX P1-650X-CAG9 650W ATX12V 2.2 / ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit System Builder 1pk

GPU: [strike]I will be purchasing a GTX 470 in the near future because of its compatibility with CS5's GPU acceleration; however, I plan to build the PC without the GTX 470 and then wait for a good deal on it in the next few months. It is still factored in to my price, but I am hoping to wait for a drop below $200 as I have seen some before.[/strike]
EVGA GeForce GTX460 1024 MB DDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Lifetime Warranty 01G-P3-1371-AR

Total (before rebates; [strike]before GPU[/strike]; after tax and S&H): [strike]$874.04[/strike] [strike]$872.04[/strike] [strike]$866.52[/strike] $1,114.66 (1044.66 after rebates)

*Edit* Updated...Almost Everything!

 

[jmsellars1]

Looks like a great, well balanced system to me. WAY cheaper than it is over here too. Better than my PC which cost me about £600/$1000

 

[k1114]

You can go with a H67 mobo if you're not going to OC to save money and also to use quicksync if you want it. Without a graphics card on P67 there are no video outputs so youll need a card to use it.

 

[JamesAllen]

You can go with a H67 mobo if you're not going to OC to save money and also to use quicksync if you want it. Without a graphics card on P67 there are no video outputs so youll need a card to use it.

Thanks, I did not realize their was no video out on the MoBo. I could not find an H67 MoBo that was cheaper than the P67 MoBo and had 4 memory slots which is why I went with the P67. After hearing I will need the GPU day one with the MoBo, I may consider just ponying up the money for the GPU right now unless I can find a MoBo that has the video out, SATA III, USB 3.0, and 4 memory slots for $130 or less.

 

[k1114]

There only seems to be the intel boards and a biostar that fit your criteria. They should do fine.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=40973&CatId=6977

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=40978&CatId=6977

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=40974&CatId=6977

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138296

 

[dalauder]

RAM: Get 8GB (2x4GB), not 8GB (4x2GB). Less slots usually runs faster. It also allows upgradability--1600MHz CL9 DDR3. Newegg.com has the best RAM prices.

Optical: Save $2 and get a cheaper DVD Burner (any brand) on Newegg.com.

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB is faster and guaranteed 2 platters. That amazon link didn't have much info, but if that drive had 3 platters, then that increases the failure chances (more parts = larger failure chance). We won't know failure rates for certain for a couple years.

I'd go i5-2500K and P67. It'll give you a 35% boost, roughly, if you OC. With a K series, it shouldn't take too long either. That'll get you another 2 years out of your system.

EDIT: GTX 470--try to get one with external exhaust. They run hot and loud. I'd pay $10 more for a P67 board with two graphics slots. FYI, the i7-2600K doesn't do better than the i5-2500K in graphics work (hyper-threading can be useless when all cores at load), the main difference is MHz--which is why OC'ing will make all the difference in the world.

 

[JamesAllen]

RAM: Get 8GB (2x4GB), not 8GB (4x2GB). Less slots usually runs faster. It also allows upgradability--1600MHz CL9 DDR3. Newegg.com has the best RAM prices.

Optical: Save $2 and get a cheaper DVD Burner (any brand) on Newegg.com.

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB is faster and guaranteed 2 platters. That amazon link didn't have much info, but if that drive had 3 platters, then that increases the failure chances (more parts = larger failure chance). We won't know failure rates for certain for a couple years.

I'd go i5-2500K and P67. It'll give you a 35% boost, roughly, if you OC. With a K series, it shouldn't take too long either. That'll get you another 2 years out of your system.

EDIT: GTX 470--try to get one with external exhaust. They run hot and loud. I'd pay $10 more for a P67 board with two graphics slots. FYI, the i7-2600K doesn't do better than the i5-2500K in graphics work (hyper-threading can be useless when all cores at load), the main difference is MHz--which is why OC'ing will make all the difference in the world.

Optical: Makes sense, $2 saved.

HDD: I wanted the Caviar Black which is very highly reviewed, but because of price settled for the Caviar Blue. Upon looking at the Samsung Spinpoint F3, it seems it is comparable to the Caviar Black, but the same price as the Blue, so I will follow our advice. I'm going to order it from Newegg though as the reviews on Amazon say the packaging is horrible and numerous people have received damaged HDDs because of it.

CPU: I am going to stick with the i5-2500 because I do not want to OC (plus it saves $10). I've had the 2500K recommended to me before for the same reason you suggested, and if I was focused on gaming I would do just that. However, I am building this PC primarily for CS5 and everyone that I have talked to who is big on editing recommends not to OC due to stability issues. I realize that you can maintain good stability, but never as good as without OC and when it comes to video editing, stability is king.

GPU: I will keep that in mind when I am looking at the GTX 470's. Also, I know you mentioned a MoBo with two graphics slots. Was this because you were suggesting two GPUs rather than the GTX 470, or were you just saying to so that the system can be upgraded in the future?

 

[dalauder]

Newegg hard drive packaging is notoriously terrible (like a loose drive in a box horrible). Go off of price only since you never know who will be selling it on Amazon and different sellings package differently.

 

[dalauder]

I recommend to OC because of the clock rate's impact on encoding. You can stability test an overclocked system to make sure it's stable. My home PC has not crashed since...November, I think. And it's OC'd a lot heavier than you would have to do.

OC'd doesn't mean crashes all the time--or ever if you do it right. The basic idea is, you push it to its limit and stability test it, then back it down 5% or 10% to be extra safe and it's VERY stable if you do it right. And it can have easily noticeable performance improvements.

But I understand if you don't want to spend the time and effort to overclock--but it is stable if you do it correctly. And I'm not sure you want to preclude the possibility of ever OC'ing with a H67.

EDIT: Get H67 and a i5-2500K because Intel HD 3000 graphics encode video very well. Either that, or wait for Z68. The $30 for the "K" is worth the bump from HD 2000 to HD 3000.

 

[dalauder]

I'm not sure exactly how integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics stack up against high-end NVidia and Radeon solutions, but I know they win some races. Here, check this review:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/video-transcoding-amd-app-nvidia-cuda-intel-quicksync,2839.html

And Radeon performs better than NVidia in most video transcoding: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hqv-2-radeon-geforce,2844-10.html

 

[whitey_rolls]

I'd say the prices are great and parts look nice.

I just spend $760 on a motherboard, I7 2600k, a heat sink and memory. I'd say you are getting the better deal.

 

[JamesAllen]

Took dalauder's advice and am going to move up to a 2500k in case I want to overclock in the future. This moved my price up a bit, but I found out I do not need to get a GTX 470 for GPU acceleration as any CUDA GPU can work if you do a little CS5 hacking. This means I will be getting the GTX 460 for $165 (AR) instead of the GTX 470 for $230. The $65 difference is enough to cover the added expense of the CPU and MoBo.

All changes will be reflected in an edit of the original post.

 

[dalauder]

Make sure you have some sort of PCI-e graphics card when your parts arrive or you'll have no video output. I wasn't clear if you were ordering graphics now or later--that's why I mention it.

 

[JamesAllen]

Make sure you have some sort of PCI-e graphics card when your parts arrive or you'll have no video output. I wasn't clear if you were ordering graphics now or later--that's why I mention it.

I ended up deciding to order it now. After someone said the original P67 MoBo I had did not have video out, I looked around and saw that all of the P67 MoBo's lack video out and require a GPU. So I decided to just pony up the cost now, which ended up being less than expected because I decided to go with a GTX 460 after I found out you can make it work with CS5 GPU acceleration.

Thanks for all your help! I thought I had finalized everything this morning, and then I ended up changing everything but the SSD.

 

[JamesAllen]

Best answer selected by JamesAllen.