Please Critique My Build, am I missing something

[bngnome]

Approximate Purchase Date: soon unless I decide to wait for Z68 boards
Budget Range: ~$1300-1400
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Photo and Video editing, heavy multitasking (office suite, photoshop elements, premiere elements, firefox, chrome, sketchup), surfing, Light gaming
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com or amazon.com
Country of Origin: USA
Parts Preferences: see below
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: not sure
Monitor Resolution: maybe triple? 22" 1680x1050, 24" 1920x1080, 55" 1920x1080

Parts:
CPU: i7-2600k
GPU: XFX HD 5770
Cooler: Hyper 212 Plus
Caes: Cooler Master Storm Scout
PSU: OCZ Fatal1ty 550W
Ram: 16GB G.Skill Ripjams X Series DDR3 1600
Motherboard: Asus P8P67
OS/Program Drive: Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB
Storage Drive: 2 x Hitachi 2TB SATA 6.0Gb/s Raid 1
Optical Drive: LG Blu-ray burner
OS: Win7 64bit

My previous build was done in March of 2006 with an Athlon X2 4200+. It needs replaced. I'm not a gamer but I do have some young kids that might be in a few years. I'm starting to get into a little video editing and I do a fair amount of photo editing plus a lot of multitasking (can't seem to close anything down). Overall the system would see a lot of general use. I learned a lot building my first system and can't see myself building a basic system. Are the parts overkill? Should I go a little less and just upgrade sooner?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[JoeAdamsIV]

Looks good.
I would recommend the Phenom II X6, or wait for the bulldozer.
You may want a workstation video card.

 

[aznshinobi]

^ well for the things he's using, a workstation card isn't needed.

I suggest dropping the C300 and the Hitatchi 2TB. I also suggest switching somethings.

Switch the 5770 out for the 6790. @ your resolution you'll need a better card for "light" gaming. Plus the 6790 has more ports for Eyefinity. Which is the multi-monitor for AMD.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150534&cm_re=6790-_-14-150-534-_-Product

I also suggest swapping the Crucial C300. Since they suck compared to the Vertex 3's.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/vertex-3-sandforce-ssd,2869.html
Or just the SF-2200 in general.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706&cm_re=vertex_3-_-20-227-706-_-Product
Keep in mind, the Vertex 3 is the first SF-2200 SSD to be released so as more SF-2200 come out, the Vertex 3 will probably drop in value.

Drop the Hitatchi's in raid. SATA III has no real advantage over SATA II in mechanical hard drives. Their just not optimized enough yet.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-Cache-Desktop-HD103SJ/dp/B001U3S5S0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1302128654&sr=8-1
BTW RAID 1 is in no way a way to back up your system. Your better off sticking to your normal Windows back up program.

Drop those 16gb of ram. You'll never need it. I do all the things you want to do with 4gb just fine. Yeah you might think I don't do heavy CS5 stuff but I do. I use my 955 w/ the 4gb to do heavy Panoramic 360 stitching with PTGui and the occasional gun shot project with After Effects. Also some minor video editing with Premiere Pro. Also using Photoshop for photo HDRs and just editing.

Drop the 16gb for 8gb. That's all your going to need I guarantee you. If you buy now, this is the shell shocker deal on Newegg right now for just today.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445&cm_re=8gb_ddr3-_-20-231-445-_-Product
If your waiting, get this.
70$ w/ Promo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231417&cm_re=8gb_ddr3-_-20-231-417-_-Product

Better motherboard for cheaper.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130582&cm_re=G45-_-13-130-582-_-Product
The P8P67 is a rip for 165$ when it has less features than the board I suggested or the Asrock Extreme4 which is the same price.

 

[processor-pro]

I seriously would not recommend letting your kids use your computer for gaming I recommend buying a cheap bare bone, and slapping a decent video card in it, and it will save you alot of problems in the future. You especially don't want them playing free online games they are infected with viruses. Plus you will never have to worry about them messing being on there when you need to get on

 

[bngnome]

^ well for the things he's using, a workstation card isn't needed.

I suggest dropping the C300 and the Hitatchi 2TB. I also suggest switching somethings.

Switch the 5770 out for the 6790. @ your resolution you'll need a better card for "light" gaming. Plus the 6790 has more ports for Eyefinity. Which is the multi-monitor for AMD.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150534&cm_re=6790-_-14-150-534-_-Product

I also suggest swapping the Crucial C300. Since they suck compared to the Vertex 3's.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/vertex-3-sandforce-ssd,2869.html
Or just the SF-2200 in general.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706&cm_re=vertex_3-_-20-227-706-_-Product
Keep in mind, the Vertex 3 is the first SF-2200 SSD to be released so as more SF-2200 come out, the Vertex 3 will probably drop in value.

Drop the Hitatchi's in raid. SATA III has no real advantage over SATA II in mechanical hard drives. Their just not optimized enough yet.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-Cache-Desktop-HD103SJ/dp/B001U3S5S0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1302128654&sr=8-1
BTW RAID 1 is in no way a way to back up your system. Your better off sticking to your normal Windows back up program.

Drop those 16gb of ram. You'll never need it. I do all the things you want to do with 4gb just fine. Yeah you might think I don't do heavy CS5 stuff but I do. I use my 955 w/ the 4gb to do heavy Panoramic 360 stitching with PTGui and the occasional gun shot project with After Effects. Also some minor video editing with Premiere Pro. Also using Photoshop for photo HDRs and just editing.

Drop the 16gb for 8gb. That's all your going to need I guarantee you. If you buy now, this is the shell shocker deal on Newegg right now for just today.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445&cm_re=8gb_ddr3-_-20-231-445-_-Product
If your waiting, get this.
70$ w/ Promo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231417&cm_re=8gb_ddr3-_-20-231-417-_-Product

Better motherboard for cheaper.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130582&cm_re=G45-_-13-130-582-_-Product
The P8P67 is a rip for 165$ when it has less features than the board I suggested or the Asrock Extreme4 which is the same price.

Thanks, great suggestions. I really appreciate it.

As far as the video cards goes. This is where I'm most lacking in experience/knowledge. I use dual monitors everywhere and thought it would be cool to have three. I'd like one to be my HDTV and then the others to be on the desk. Unfortunately they are all different sizes.

Is this basically as simple as connecting all three (one has to be DP correct) and setting up extended desktop?

I was/am strongly looking at the Vertex 3's. I just saw that Newegg has the C300 128GB for $200 today and that is $100 less than the out of stock Vertex 3 128GB. I know they'll come be in stock soon and come down in price but when will that be?

Thanks for the tip on the Sata III mechanical drives. I'll go with the Sata II drives. I wasn't planning on using Raid 1 as a backup, I use Crashplan as a on site/off site backup. Also thought about setting up the built in Windows backup. I've had drives crash (never lost data) so I'd like to have all my bases covered.

I'll take a look at the G.Skill Sniper 8GB today.

For the boards. I was also looking that the MSI P8P67. The only big difference I can see is the addition of 2 extra SATA 6.0GB/s ports. Am I missing something else?

I'm ready to pull the trigger but I'm wondering if I should just wait for the Z68 boards. I'm wondering if QuickSync would be of benefit to me for video editing. I guess I could also go with the cheaper MSI board know and then upgrade to a Z68 board when it comes out and then use the P67 MSI board in a smaller build for the kids.

Thanks for the help.

 

[bngnome]

I seriously would not recommend letting your kids use your computer for gaming I recommend buying a cheap bare bone, and slapping a decent video card in it, and it will save you alot of problems in the future. You especially don't want them playing free online games they are infected with viruses. Plus you will never have to worry about them messing being on there when you need to get on

Good thoughts. Maybe I'll put something together now and then in a few years I'll upgrade and give parts of this system to them. They are still a little young to have their own system, 5years and 2years.

 

[aznshinobi]

Alright I'll just start from the top of your post bng.
1. I believe Eyefinity (AMD's Multi-monitor) requires all monitors to be of similar resolution and DPI (I believe that's what's called I forget). It'll look awkward for them to be different. Meaning like a 55" TV then dragging something onto a 23" monitor.

2. Vertex 3's are bound to be expensive. They're newly released and have no competition. Wait a bit until other SF2200 SSDs are released. IE Patriot WildFire.

3. Brings me to waiting, Z68 should be a bit more powerful, but as it will replace x58 it should be more expensive as well. So be aware some parts of the budget are going to be skimped on.

4. Are you referring to the ASUS P8P67? Asus is the only one that uses that naming scheme. That's exactly what I mean though, there is virtually no difference between the boards, yet the P8P67 costs 40$ more than the G45. The G45 has a bit more onboard motherboard features.

5. QuickSync is something that is really annoying. If you want to game a little you can't use a dedicated card. Since QuickSync requires the chip to be using the H67 chipset and on the die CPU/APU. If you add a graphics card into the mix, your no longer using the chips graphics. That cancels out quicksync. So that's just the down fall. It's either no gaming at all, or dropping quicksync.

 

[bngnome]

Alright I'll just start from the top of your post bng.
1. I believe Eyefinity (AMD's Multi-monitor) requires all monitors to be of similar resolution and DPI (I believe that's what's called I forget). It'll look awkward for them to be different. Meaning like a 55" TV then dragging something onto a 23" monitor.

2. Vertex 3's are bound to be expensive. They're newly released and have no competition. Wait a bit until other SF2200 SSDs are released. IE Patriot WildFire.

3. Brings me to waiting, Z68 should be a bit more powerful, but as it will replace x58 it should be more expensive as well. So be aware some parts of the budget are going to be skimped on.

4. Are you referring to the ASUS P8P67? Asus is the only one that uses that naming scheme. That's exactly what I mean though, there is virtually no difference between the boards, yet the P8P67 costs 40$ more than the G45. The G45 has a bit more onboard motherboard features.

5. QuickSync is something that is really annoying. If you want to game a little you can't use a dedicated card. Since QuickSync requires the chip to be using the H67 chipset and on the die CPU/APU. If you add a graphics card into the mix, your no longer using the chips graphics. That cancels out quicksync. So that's just the down fall. It's either no gaming at all, or dropping quicksync.

Thanks for the feedback.

I'll have to investigate the AMD Eyefinity cards a little more. I thought the Eyefinity was more for gaming and if I just wanted to have an extended desktop on three monitors they could all be different. If that's not the case then I'm ok with just two monitors.

I think I can wait a little longer for the prices on the Vertex 3s to come down.

I can wait a little while, maybe till the middle of May but if the Z68 boards aren't out by then I'll probably just pull the trigger on a P67 board. Now that I've started looking at all the components, I want a new system yesterday but I can wait a bit and maybe pick up a few pieces when they go on sale.

I had read that there might be a software solution for the QuickSync and discrete graphic card situation. Maybe that won't happen though.

Thanks again for the thoughts.

 

[bngnome]

Best answer selected by bngnome.