Another FNG with some questions about a new build

[uplayhard2]

I'm just another FNG with some questions about a new build. My budget is about $2700. My intended uses include general computing, perhaps some minor video editing/creation, very little gaming (although you never know), integration with my home theater via hdmi for dvr purposes, watching movies and listening to music, and connecting to Charter Cable. I'm sure this is some overkill but with changes in the computer world occurring so rapidly I'd like to be future-proof for quite some time. I don't think I'm savvy enough to build the system myself so I've been configuring the system on cyberpowerpc (and thus restricted to their product offerings for the most part). Some of my questions include:

Do I need a dedicated sound card with my GPU for listening to high quality music through my home theater system?

Should I substitute the Corsair Professional Series CMPSU-AX850 80 Plus Gold PSU for the 1,000 Watts - CoolerMaster Silent Pro Gold PSU?

Would the Ceton infinitv 4 digital cable quad-tuner be a better choice than the AverMedia AVerTV Dual Tuner?

I've selected 16 MB (4 MB X 4), would 2 MB X 8 be a better selection (I was hoping to be able to increase memory to 32MB in the future without replacing all 8 memory cards unless there is a compelling reason to use 2 MB X 8)?

Would I be better off trying to build this PC vs having Cyberpowerpc build it. I'm fairly techie... spent 20+ yrs in IT mainframe programming but not much on hardware, bios, operating systems, etc. (although I'm learning a lot from investigating and reading on Tom's Hardware)

Also any other suggestions and or comments are welcome. Thanks in advance for the responses!! Here's the current configuration -

• Case: Xion Predator 970 Gaming Series Mid Tower Case w/ 2 External Removable HDD Bays
• Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Maximum Enermax 120MM Case Cooling Fans for selected case
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3930K 3.20 GHz 12MB Intel Smart Cache LGA2011
• Cooling Fan: Corsair Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid Cooling System
• Motherboard: (3-Way SLI Support) Asus P9X79 Deluxe Intel X79 Chipset Quad Channel DDR3 ATX
• Memory: 16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB 16X PCIe Video Card
• Power Supply : 1,000 Watts - CoolerMaster Silent Pro Gold 80 Plus Power Supply ( 80 Plus Gold)
• Hard Drive: * 120 GB OCZ Agility 3 SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 525MB/s Read & 500MB/s Write
• Data Hard Drive: 2TB (2TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
• Optical Drive: LG 12X Internal Super Multi Blu-Ray Rewriter
• Sound: Asus Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCIe 124 DB
• Keyboard: (Keyboard & Mouse Combo) Logitech Wireless Desktop MK320 Keyboard & Mouse Combo
• Operating System: Microsoft® Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit Edition)
• Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner: AverMedia AVerTV Dual Tuner (ATSC/QAM/NTSC) Combo PCIE Media Center with Remote

 

[BohleyK]

I'm just another FNG with some questions about a new build. My budget is about $2700. My intended uses include general computing, perhaps some minor video editing/creation, very little gaming (although you never know), integration with my home theater via hdmi for dvr purposes, watching movies and listening to music, and connecting to Charter Cable. I'm sure this is some overkill but with changes in the computer world occurring so rapidly I'd like to be future-proof for quite some time. I don't think I'm savvy enough to build the system myself so I've been configuring the system on cyberpowerpc (and thus restricted to their product offerings for the most part). Some of my questions include:

You really are new aren't you? [:bohleyk]

First, build it yourself. Its easy with a few videos off YouTube. Second, for what you want to do with this you don't want to dish out that much cash for 2011. Seriously stick with socket 1155. With nearly $3K you can build a monster but I'd suggest you spend half of that on an awesome machine instead. I'll list some parts and talk you though whatever questions you have. I have nothing better to do until next week.


I went with a Red color scheme. Its just an idea. You can buy whatever.

Core Components
Total Price: $1,714.93
-$25 Rebates

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K [Why not?]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

HSF: ZALMAN 135mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118075

Mobo: ASRock Z68 PROFESSIONAL GEN3 [3.0PCIe]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157263

RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Redline 8GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226178

GPU: MSI N580GTX Lightning GeForce GTX 580
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127579

SSD: Corsair Force Series 3 180GB SATA III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233220

Optic: SAMSUNG Black 12X BD-ROM, 16X DVD-ROM, 48X CD-ROM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151222

PSU: SILVERSTONE ST85F-P 850W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256058

 

[hunter315]

That system is massive overkill for what you intend to do, i would go for a 2500k or a 2600k on a Z68 board, the 570 is also an expensive space heater for your purposes, a 560 or 560 Ti should cut down the price a bit and will do just as well for your uses. With on a single graphics card you dont need over a 650 W unit, a good 650 W from Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, or XFX will support your system with plenty of headroom for upgrades.


That should cut the cost of the system almost in half which will let you get either some nice monitors, or save it for another system in several years. If you spend 1500 on a system today and 1500 on a system in 2 years, you will spend the same amount and end up with a better system in the end.

 

[uplayhard2]

I am new.... I realize I don't need near this much computer but, again, I want to be future-proof. My initial hope was to run my entire house audio/video (5 rooms & 5 TV's) from the computer. After investigating I found I really couldn't do that without considerable more expense and components. I was hoping this could be an HTPC for my living room running my HD flat screen through my A/V receiver. Perhaps act as a media server in the future also. I'm also not going to probably start the build until after the holidays (I'm short of cash until then). I'd love to take you up on the offer of help if it works out.

 

[hunter315]

Honestly, a 2500k and a GTS 550 is overkill for a HTPC right now so it will be "future-resistant" for a while, nothing is ever "future-proof" and getting an extra 10% of usable time out of your machine may add 30% to the price today so its really not worth it. By the time a 2500k is no longer capable of running a HTPC there will have been several more generations of CPUs.

If you are tight on cash check and see if you have a microcenter near you, they tend to have good deals on intel CPUs in store. They have an i5 2500k for $180 now vs neweggs $225

 

[BohleyK]

Well I thought you wanted a PC. If you want a HTPC they tend to be smaller and less powerful. You said your budget was 3K so I figured you wanted power. My signature is a HTPC. It does the job well and cost me about $700.00. Thats all, 700.

 

[uplayhard2]

I do want the PC to act as an HTPC but also will be using it to do some picture editing, video creation/editing, web surfing, networking, and anything else I can think of. I want to be able to watch HD Video from the internet, HULA, etc. I know that there's lots available but I'm just know educating myself as to the possibilities. So, Still $800 to $1500? Could the rest be used for a media server?

 

[uplayhard2]

Thanks for the build specs. I also want to run wifi and from what I saw I'll either need a diff motherboard or a wifi card. I want to be able to burn dvd's, music, and perhaps blu-ray so a different drive will fix that. And I'll need 1 or 2 TB storage (I've got lots of pictures, family videos, and music). I'll also want about half the 2 TB for backup.... I'll also need a tuner card for TV, and will I also need a sound card or will the graphics card or mother board support my need to integrate into my a/v receiver and home stereo? Again, thanks for the advice and help!!!

 

[BohleyK]

You're going to want to spend around $1000 for a HTPC. You won't need a sound card. Onboard audio is tip top these days. Just run everything through the HDMI port on a graphics card to your Receiver and then run it through the receiver to your TV. I ran everything through the receiver so if you can do that, do that.

The best tv tuner card I've heard about is a european one called Happhoughen or something of that sort. There pricey but people love em. Graphic wise you won't need anything killer. 6670 - 6870 will do fine which is around $100-$200. You can also get away with an i3 2100 like I have just fine or you can just go all out on an i5.

 

[uplayhard2]

Thanks so much for your time and advice. I'll reevaluate my picks based on the new information you and others have provided.

 

[uplayhard2]

Best answer selected by uplayhard2.