$3,000 All Inclusive Build can you check/tweak?

[dgolden82]

Hey everyone! First let me thank you for your time in checking this out for me I really appreciate it.

Right now heres the deal. I am a college student who has two computers right now:
1.) First Generation Intel imac (so about 6 years old) still ok but any type of multi-tasking with mountain lion and it goes to hairpullingly slow (or synching my iphone for that matter)
2.) Sony Viao VPCF126FM (approx 3 years old) and has a severe random overheating problem -- specs first gen i7 1.73ghz, nvidia 330m, 640GB 5400 platter drive, Win 7 home -- needless to say it does semi ok with papers, research and multi tasking however sometimes it overheats in word, others you can play diablo all day without an over heat...it's possessed and thankfully still under warranty with best buy and will be going out as such when I get the build done

So needless to say I am in a situation where I NEED to do something or else this semester is going to SUCK -- last semester it took me well over 2 days to create a simple webpage on my imac that should of only taken me a few hours, and the laptop is so random with the overheats that I didn't want to try it.

So right now my budget is $3,000 +/- 100 bucks I've been pulling my hair out the last month or so working and tweaking on builds and I am to the point where I'm confident however any tweaking that would allot me more power for the buck would be great


PS I know I can find some money saving at random other places online however to me $5-10 really isn't worth that unless it adds up to well over $100. I also have a compusa in the area but that would be an huge amount of sales tax...

Current Build Specs as I have it (things with the redface next to them I am absolutely set on)


Shopping Cart
Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 ST1000DM005/HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Item #: N82E16822152185 $84.99
3x ASUS VH232H Glossy Black 23" 5ms Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD Monitor w/Speakers & HDMI Item #: N82E16824236079 $479.97 ($159.99 each)
2x EVGA 04G-P4-3673-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW+ 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card Item #: N82E16814130824 $879.98 ($439.99 each)
1x Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Keyboard Item #: N82E16823109191 $44.99
1x G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9Q-32GXM Item #: N82E16820231569 $169.99
1x ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard Item #: N82E16813131819 $198.99
1x CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Water Cooler Item #: N82E16835181032 $109.99
1x ASUS Black Blu-ray Burner SATA BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Item #: N82E16827135252 $79.99
1x ADATA XPG SX900 ASX900S3-256GM-C 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Item #: N82E16820211597 $189.99

Combo
1x CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750 (CMPSU-750AX) 750W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active ... Item #: N82E16817139016
Corsair Graphite Series 600T Silver Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Item #: N82E16811139017 $324.98
I really like the 600T case esp in Silver

Combo
1x Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770K Item #: N82E16819116501
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM Item #: N82E16832116992 $451.98

Subtotal: $3,015.84
Shipping: $31.68
Grand Total: $3,047.52

As you can see the only thing that I am 110% set on is that case, IDK what it is about that case but I have had a sweet spot for that series since I was pricing last year.

My other major concern is that Every website I went to with a calculator for this setup was telling me ~630 Watts which means that the 750 would be fine but that really makes me nervous is that really enough power ?

EDIT I am using the system for Gaming (Wow, Diablo, BL2, ETC), Paper Writing, Research, ETC... Ideally I would like a multiple monitor setup however would be willing to upgrade the card to say the 680 4GB high end if I could run those on 3 monitors to save some money

Thanks for your time guys I look forward to your opinions, I will be finalizing and purchasing here within the next week-10 days.

 

[getochkn]

Do you need surround monitor gaming for designing webpages? lol.

The i7 is overkill unless your video editing
The 32GB ram is overkill unless your video editing

A lot of people say AMD does surround gaming better than Nvidia, I'm sure people will jump in and argue both sides of that coin.


That's really a lot to spend on a PC that will be worth half that in 6 months. Surround monitor means bezels in the way, some games don't like it, some don't like crossfire or SLI configurations.

Myself, I'd get a single big IPS screen and 1 good video card to power it.

 

[g-unit1111]

The i7 is overkill unless your video editing
The 32GB ram is overkill unless your video editing

I completely agree here, Even for basic video editing you won't use more than 16GB of RAM, this is just a waste of money. Also on the original build the BD-R drive isn't really necessary either - even movie distribution is moving toward cloud computing and online, the days of optical drives are coming to an end.

Here's what I would suggest:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4 TH ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($192.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($424.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($424.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Switch 810 (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($179.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 1050W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($191.82 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2160.54
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-09 15:03 EST-0500)

 

[dgolden82]

As for the video editing I do some very basic stuff for YouTube a lot of what I was looking at the ram for was the photography side aspect of things and I've got a lot of photos that I will be digitizing here soon from my grandparents (2 trunks full of photos and memories) this spring on my trip to NY

After the first reply I tweaked the build for a single 27" monitor and changed the GPU a bit. I'd really like to avoid AMD at any cost since every time I ever have anything to do with them it inexorably fails within the first two months.

I guess I was a bit over eager with the initial setup

I'm adding that drive you selected for optical and dropping the blu-ray.

The new build as I have it can be seen at http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9897/imagekzn.jpg

Sorry for the image I'm on my iPad on campus I can email you the cart if you want...

 

[dgolden82]

Ugh I took the wrong image, anyway another question

All the calculators are telling me 600 watts is there any reason that I should go above a 750 watt psu?

Corrected cart image: http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/6188/imagejwz.jpg

I noted in your build that it doesn't include a water cooling setup is that because of the i5? Is there an issue with water cooling (outside of the random chance for a leak) that I should know about? I really want to do this one build and only upgrade randomly over the next few years..

Ps sorry for any errors or misplaced words....autocorrect will be e death of me

 

[2wenty]

If you wanted a nice 1440p monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236294
Everything else seems fine, 750W will do fine with a single GPU.

EDIT: Personally I would go with 7970s (Ghz Edition), but it's a matter of personal choice.

 

[g-unit1111]

As for the video editing I do some very basic stuff for YouTube a lot of what I was looking at the ram for was the photography side aspect of things and I've got a lot of photos that I will be digitizing here soon from my grandparents (2 trunks full of photos and memories) this spring on my trip to NY

After the first reply I tweaked the build for a single 27" monitor and changed the GPU a bit. I'd really like to avoid AMD at any cost since every time I ever have anything to do with them it inexorably fails within the first two months.

I guess I was a bit over eager with the initial setup

I'm adding that drive you selected for optical and dropping the blu-ray.

The new build as I have it can be seen at http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9897/imagekzn.jpg

Sorry for the image I'm on my iPad on campus I can email you the cart if you want...

A lot of the reserves that people have about using AMD cards don't really have any relevance anymore - the quality of them has drastically improved since the ATI merger and Catalyst 12.11 puts the cards way ahead of their NVIDIA equivalents. For basic editing you don't need the 3770 or 16GB of RAM.

That ADATA drive is a good choice but if you can afford it I'd highly recommend the OCZ Vector.

 

[manofchalk]

Closed Loop coolers like the Corsair H series don't perform any better than equivalent air cooling and cost much more. If you want decent water-cooling you have to go straight into custom watercooling.

I would drop down to a GTX670, perform very close to a 680 for $100 less. You also dont need 4GB of VRAM, you only have one screen to power while in games.

Also about getting a 27" screen over three 23". I would go with the 23" screens personally. Multiple monitors is very useful in a productivity rig. I run triple monitors and only video edit occasionally and it is so much easier when all the menu's and such aren't crammed into the one screen.

 

[g-unit1111]

Closed Loop coolers like the Corsair H series don't perform any better than equivalent air cooling and cost much more. If you want decent water-cooling you have to go straight into custom watercooling.

I would drop down to a GTX670, perform very close to a 680 for $100 less. You also dont need 4GB of VRAM, you only have one screen to power while in games.

Also about getting a 27" screen over three 23". I would go with the 23" screens personally. Multiple monitors is very useful in a productivity rig. I run triple monitors and only video edit occasionally and it is so much easier when all the menu's and such aren't crammed into the one screen.

I'd definitely agree with this about the monitors - but that depends on the size and the resolution they're running. If you got a single 27" 1440P display that would suffice for a while but then you could always add more monitors as your needs increase.

 

[jonjonjon]

i would get something like this. if you need the hyperthreading get the 3770k. make sure you get a ssd. for that $600 680 you would be better off spending a little more and getting 2 670's or just get a single 670 and sli later. a 27" IPS 2560x1440 monitor.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($322.28 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H60 74.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($127.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($83.49 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Intel 330 Series 180GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.68 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($369.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($369.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 600T ATX Mid Tower Case ($133.56 @ Mac Connection)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($86.13 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($18.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27.0" Monitor ($678.00 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2565.04
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-09 16:10 EST-0500)

 

[2wenty]

I'd definitely agree with this about the monitors - but that depends on the size and the resolution they're running. If you got a single 27" 1440P display that would suffice for a while but then you could always add more monitors as your needs increase.

In that case, you'd probably be better off going with a 7970 with default 3Gb of VRAM. Very similar performance, would cost less (you could go with a reference card as opposed to a nvidia aftermarket one), and that should be a decent amount to handle 3 screens. Like I said before though, it's personal choice, and if you prefer nvidia cards, go with a 4Gb version of the 670 or 680.

 

[g-unit1111]

In that case, you'd probably be better off going with a 7970 with default 3Gb of VRAM. Very similar performance, would cost less (you could go with a reference card as opposed to a nvidia aftermarket one), and that should be a decent amount to handle 3 screens. Like I said before though, it's personal choice, and if you prefer nvidia cards, go with a 4Gb version of the 670 or 680.

The 670 and 680 can support three monitors with one card, that's not just limited to AMD cards.

 

[redeemer]

The i7 is overkill unless your video editing
The 32GB ram is overkill unless your video editing

I completely agree here, Even for basic video editing you won't use more than 16GB of RAM, this is just a waste of money. Also on the original build the BD-R drive isn't really necessary either - even movie distribution is moving toward cloud computing and online, the days of optical drives are coming to an end.

Here's what I would suggest:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4 TH ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($192.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($424.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($424.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Switch 810 (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($179.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 1050W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($191.82 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2160.54
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-09 15:03 EST-0500)

+1 excellent build

 

[redeemer]

though I would go for Ballistix Tracers 1600, as they would look very nice behind that Big Switch window, I7 3770k is only $100 more that should be considered

 

[dgolden82]

OK wow so many replies in this thread since I went off to class a little bit ago!!!!

I see a few of you saying get two 670s in SLI or a 4GB card...I know that SLI will provide the best oomph also do you think the 670s 4gb will be around in a year or so if I decide to SLI?

OR.......

I would prefer to triple monitor it since it would greatly help (or hinder depending) my multitasking ability but lets say I decide to go with the 680 4GB FTW will that handle say 3 27" monitors with ease or would I have to setup SLI (in all honesty I won't be doing anything super gaming until I get some time later this semester when things settle down so most likely WOW at that point and diablo...the other games I really like to play for hours on end and I can just hop on fast on one of those others for 30 min and say DONE )

I don't mind buying a bit higher up now and then having room to upgrade later but I want it to be pretty beast to start with so those addons when added will make it even more beast mode.

As for the CPU, when I photoedit I primarily use Photoshop. Video editing I have sadly been doing on that first gen imac so I would be looking for some software to do that with however mainly I video my fish tanks and how tos for youtube so it's nothing overly serious (although some of them end up being 10+ minutes)

I guess after doing a bit more research and seeing some things in the pipeline I know that some things will drop in price (such as the 600 series GTX cards)

As for cooling after hearing some of your opinions on the closed loop WC option I am thinking that I will move back to the Air cooled side of things (which makes me feel better not worrying about springing a leak)

As for my reasoning for the i7 it's two fold..A a future proofing of sorts and B it gives me options for later if I decide to get into some of that other stuff since I'll have a PC that can handle it

 

[jonjonjon]

its more about the resolution then the monitor size. 3 monitors at 1920x1080 is a lot different then 2560x1440. a single 670 will be able to handle 3 monitors just don't expect to be able to max the settings in every new games. you could also consider a 7970.

don't count on getting a really cheap 670 even after the 700 series comes out. go look on newegg at the 580, 570 or 560ti prices.

 

[dgolden82]

its more about the resolution then the monitor size. 3 monitors at 1920x1080 is a lot different then 2560x1440. a single 670 will be able to handle 3 monitors just don't expect to be able to max the settings in every new games. you could also consider a 7970.

don't count on getting a really cheap 670 even after the 700 series comes out. go look on newegg at the 580, 570 or 560ti prices.

Now this makes me feel better I think I will go with a 4gb 680 then just to have that small oomph and back to the 3x 23" monitors, it also gives me a goal to save some money up to SLI it if I can't find a 4gb 680 would I be able to SLI it with a 2GB?

After looking at the prices meh I guess in the long run it allows me to move some stuff around and who knows the money I save on the SLI at this point may allow me to start saving for upgrades or a road trip

 

[manofchalk]

You can SLI a 2GB card with a 4GB, but then you will be reduced to a total of 2GB effective memory, not 4GB.

 

[dgolden82]

Think the 4GB 680s will be easy - ish to find in say 6-12 months ? And will a 750W PSU be enough to power 2 680s ?

 

[manofchalk]

Dont know to be honest, I think the fact that the 500 series cards are still available means that it will be.

Yep, a good quality 750W will be enough.