[New Build] Advice for sofware development/Photo & Video editing PC

[abitm5]

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: 1-4 Months

Budget Range: up to 1600 After Shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Software development, Photo & video editing, light gaming.

Are you buying a monitor: Yes



Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Please note that if you're using an OEM license of Windows, you will need a new one when buying a new motherboard.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com

Location: Saint Paul, MN, USA

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Yes
Your Monitor Resolution: Highest possible without going over budget.

Additional Comments: I've been reading a lot and this forum has been extremely helpful. I want a system that I can keep for at least 4 years and upgrade as my needs grow. I'll be mostly working on developing apps for Android and maybe Windows 8 in the future. I'll also be using Adobe's Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere and probably After Effects in the future. I want to begin with a 2 monitors setup and more later on if I needed to. I've came up with a build but It's over my budget. I might have chosen some components that are beyond my needs and I would appreciate any advice. I welling to wait and save up if I need to spend more to get the best possible system.
This is what I came up with

CPU: Intel Core 7-3770K Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 Amazon.com)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE LGA 1155 Intel Z77 ($263.48 Amazon.com)
Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 ($79.99 newegg.com)
Storage: Samsung 830 - Series MZ-7PC256N/AM 256 GB ($202.96 amazon.com) + 2 X Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM ($89.93 Amazon.com)
Video Card: GIGABYTE GV-N670OC-2GD GeForce GTX 670 Windforce OC 2048MB GDDR5 256-bit ($399.99 amazon.com)
Case: Antec Dark Fleet DF-35 Mid Tower ($114.99 Amazon.com)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast Series 650-Watt 80 Plus Bronze ( $89.99 amazon.com)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-207DBKS Black 12X SATA Blu-ray Drive ($114.99 Amazon.com)
Monitor: 2 X Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24" LED LCD Monitor ($299.99 Amazon.com)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO ($31.48 Amazon.com)
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I bought a laptop recently with 2nd gen i5 and 6GB RAM but it's not fast or powerful enough for what I want to do, especially multitasking. The lagging is so annoying. I want a fast and smooth system.

Include a list of any parts you have already selected with descriptively labeled links for parts. Please do not post only links.

 

[manofchalk]

For a machine with only a light gaming aspect, you can downgrade the GPU by a lot and still have good performance.
Maybe a 7870 or GTX660, depending on whether your applications can take advantage of OpenCL/GPGPU or CUDA respectively.
Gigabyte HD7870 and GTX660.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125443

Unless you are going to Crossfire/SLI, can downgrade the PSU to ~600W without issue.
Corsair Enthusiast 650W V2, 80+ Bronze. $90 ($20 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

Try Seagate Barracuda Drives, much cheaper than the Blacks and are just as fast.
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM. $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

Also get a Samsung 830 over a Crucial M4. The M4 is a drive known for great reliability, but is a bit long in the tooth and isn't as fast as newer drives.
Samsung 830 256GB. $220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147138

Can get another mobo that is just as good for a lot less.

Would advise on Low Profile RAM so it doesn't conflict with any heatsink's you may get.
Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2x8GB) 1600Mhz CL10 1.5v. $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233367

 

[abitm5]

Thank you for the suggestions. CS6 uses both OpenCL and OpenGL and I want the ability to use SLI/Crossfire in the future if I needed to. I would like a system that I can upgrade easily as my needs grow.

 

[abitm5]

Would the 660 be a better option? I don't want to regret not getting powerful enough GPU when I start dealing with larger videos.

 

[manofchalk]

The 7870 and 660 are roughly the same in terms of gaming performance. Which one to get will depend on the games you play.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/548?vs=660

In OpenCL/GL and GPGPU performance, the 7870 wins hands down. Radeon cards have always outperformed Nvidia in this aspect. But Nvidia have CUDA, which is an Nvidia exclusive feature. So which one to get will depend on what your applications can take advantage of.

A note to the above, your CPU (and likely disk speed) will be a larger factor in how fast video's render than your graphics card.

 

[abitm5]

So would this be enough to handle Adobe Premiere
( http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-2048MB-Graphics-02G-P4-2643-KR/dp/B0086UXQES/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352083233&sr=8-1&keywords=geforce+gtx+640 )

I'll be saving about $70 if I go with the Asus P8Z77-V Pro instead. I was also thinking of skipping the optical drive and getting 1 HD instead of two for now to cut down on initial cost.

 

[manofchalk]

You could use it for its CUDA which would help, but not as much as the 660.
For gaming it is very weak.
Like I said before, the GPU's impact on render times and

You could get an AsRock Z77 Extreme4 instead. It offers all the same core features as that ASUS Deluxe at a much lower price point.

 

[fen456]

There is a Microcenter in St. Louis Park if you don't mind driving. You can get the i7-3770K for $270.

 

[abitm5]

There is a Microcenter in St. Louis Park if you don't mind driving. You can get the i7-3770K for $270.

Thanks, it's only a 20 minute drive from work.

 

[abitm5]

You could use it for its CUDA which would help, but not as much as the 660.
For gaming it is very weak.
Like I said before, the GPU's impact on render times and

You could get an AsRock Z77 Extreme4 instead. It offers all the same core features as that ASUS Deluxe at a much lower price point.

I think I'll skip the GPU for now and add it later on. I'll save up for the 660Ti. If I do that would a 650W PSU be enough?

 

[manofchalk]

650W is arguably enough to run two 660ti's.