Lindelium18

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Aug 15, 2012
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Hello,
Let me first say hello to everyone. I have been on the boards here a little while as I am researching a home build I am planning. Through all my reading and research, I have built an excellent system, but then I came up with a new question...do I need all that.
My built system was/is going to be a Corsair 300R case with a ASUS P8Z77-V PRO Thunderbolt Mobo holding an Intel i7 3770K. I had planned 16GB of Corsair XMS3 1600 ram, a Samsung 256GB SSD and a Barracuda 2TB HDD. Video would be a EVGA GTX 570 and a NZXT 750W Bronze power supply. Also, I would have a LG Blu-Ray Burner. Lastely, I planned on putting in a H100 for the inevitable over-clocking that would occur in the future. As I searched for the best prices, I can do all that for about $1600. Then I realized $1600 is no small chunk of change and I started looking at my current system...
Currently I have a Dell XPS 430 which has the original dual core duo and 6GB (2x2 and 2x1) ram with a 600W power supply and two hdd's. I don't remember the video card but I bought it in a previous upgrade I did. So, I started to look at an upgrade package and came up with this:
Crucial 128GB SSD
Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2x4)
EVGA GTX 570
LG Blu Ray Burner

This package would run about $500. With all that being said, a majority of the time I use the computer for PhotoShop CS5, but I plan on upgrading to CS6 as soon as I make a decision on which way to go. So, I'm just trying to decide which way to go. I know the new system would be a lot faster, plus have Thunderbolt, USB 3.0 and overclocking abilities. I would just like som opinions on whether all of that is worth $1,000+ Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!
 
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Nope nope nope, I wouldn't try upgrading that older system. I just don't think it's worth sinking $500 into. It's a money pit at it's age, unfortunately. As always, there's something to be said for upgrading an older system, but gamers/multi media users need to...

Augray37

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May 4, 2011
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Nope nope nope, I wouldn't try upgrading that older system. I just don't think it's worth sinking $500 into. It's a money pit at it's age, unfortunately. As always, there's something to be said for upgrading an older system, but gamers/multi media users need to upgrade their systems more often than other folks. That being said, I think there are definitely some ways to cut down on that $1600 mark and still turn out a killer system. For example, you can save a lot of money by exchanging the i7-3770k for an i5-3570k, getting only 8GB of RAM (2x4GB), getting a hyper 212 plus CPU heatsink instead of a water cooler (the water coolers aren't really worth it IMO), getting a 600W PSU instead of a 750W one (it will be more than enough power for a 570), getting an ASRock Z77 Pro4 motherboard, and getting a cheaper GPU (I think an HD 7770 would be a awesome choice, especially since you won't be gaming much).
 
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Lindelium18

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Aug 15, 2012
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Budget is probably about as high as $1750.
Location is Ohio (USA)
I'm not sure what's not required...monitor I guess...
I plan on over clocking but not until later...when I upgrade other parts. Like a spring cleaning :)
I don't plan on SLI since I wouldn't see any benefits from it. I don't do any gaming.

As for water cooling, I like the numbers the H100 put out in multiple tests. Equally, I like the numbers the i7 has put out in comparison tests to the i5. I realize the i5 is no slouch, but since the CPU is the workhorse, I want to go all out (4 cores is plenty) here. Also, the 16Gb of ram will help a ton with PhotoShop. As for PSU, I'd rather play it safe with the 750w. I want thunderbolt so the mobo stays. As for GPU, this was the only place I thought I could go a little cheaper but I figured I've made it this far, why not keep the ball rolling, especially since PS6 takes advantage of the CUDA cores!
 
well you probably never heard how loud the h100 fans are

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFi39czpsac&feature=plcp

skip to 6:32

550w is more than enough for no SLI. a 670 uses less than 180w when at 100% with a large overclock

i also dont see the point of thunderbolt when hardly anything uses it, the products that use it are expensive (cables are like 30-50 bucks), and to me it isnt all that exciting


heres the build nevertheless. this motherboard has 2 thunderbolt headers (happy?)
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/eKrn
 

Lindelium18

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Aug 15, 2012
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As for the fan noise, yeah I've heard it, but it really won't matter for what I do. If it is absolutely unbearable, it'll give me something to upgrade early on. Actually, I looked at that motherboard but since it is really new, I hadn't gotten a chance to really check it out yet. It is definitely a competitor. As for thunderbolt, I'll agree that it is a little impractical right now, but it's brand new to PC's. With me moving large pictures and large quantities of pictures, I believe it will be the technology to have in the future. I've been told by multiple parties to stay away from the 600 series GPU's if you aren't gaming. I don't know much about why, but enough people said it I just believed them. I figure the 570 would be plenty anyway. As for power, if you say with all of that plus a moderate overclock (4.5 ish) only needs 650, then that's cool with me, I was just trying to play it safe!
 
the reason they said to keep away was because nvidia put a serious compute cap with their 600 series cards unlike the 500 series. it should be fine anyways but if you are looking to create video games or creation related tasks you should be looking at a quadro card.

rendering takes place in the CPU
transcoding takes place in the iGPU (faster than consumer cards)
 

Lindelium18

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Aug 15, 2012
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Yeah, I looked at the Quadro 2000 (that's what was recommended) but when I looked at the specs on paper, it didn't seem as good. Plus, I know the new Mercury Engine in CS6 is supposed to be better at using the GPU's ram and processing power to complete tasks. That being said, I truly appreciate all the help! I guess my question has been answered? So, we're saying no to an upgrade?
 

Lindelium18

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Aug 15, 2012
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Let me start with, I truly appreciate the assistance! Then, I have to say I'm not sure I believe $2.98 for a 1TB WD HDD? I'd be a little concerned to order from that company. None the less, let me say what I didn't like about your build.

First, I can get the i7 from MicroCenter for 308.84 with tax here in Ohio from MicroCenter. Either way, that brings the price of both of our builds down. Second, if I truly could get a 1TB name brand drive for $2.98, and I was convinced the comapny was real and not going to send me something random or any of the other problems, I would buy 2 of them. However, when I click on the link, it takes me to a HDMI cord. That being said, your build cut my hard drive space in half. On the same note, the SSD you chose was half as large as well. Also, if I go with 4 x 4GB of ram, if I want to upgrade in the future, I have to buy all new ram. with an 8 x 2 setup, all I have to do in the future is add more ram. Not to mention, newegg has the XMS3 in 8x2 for $88.99. The last thing is that I want a blu-ray burner and your setup did not include that. Also, Thermaltake's PSU calculator suggests 705W.
 

Augray37

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May 4, 2011
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You sound pretty set on the parts you've chosen, so I would just go ahead and get what you've already picked out. At the end of the day you've got to get what makes YOU happy. Otherwise you'll never get the build finished and when you finally do, you won't be content.