Help me shave some $$$ off my build.

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G

Guest

Guest
Hi everyone:

I would like you to critique my build to see if I can shave off some $$$. My current computer I bought about 7 years ago still does most everything I want it to do- to give you an idea about the increase in processing power over time required for the work I do as well how long I plan to keep this next computer. But I wish to upgrade it for various reasons including moving to 64-bit Win7 from my current 32-bit WinXP as well as smaller form factor and new monitor interfaces.

Here are my goals:
-I no longer play games
-Video conversion, file hashing, electrical/electronics CAD work, FPGA synthesis, and code compilation
-dual monitors (Display port preferred, but my current monitors are both still in excellent condition and are DVI)
-I need a GOOD soundcard for music and movies, mainly music- no games.
-futureproofing from an interface perspective (USB, SATA, PCI-E, etc)
-I need storage space and harddrive expandibility
-small case for portability and just not taking up a lot of space
-more than one eSATA port and more than one internal SATA port at 6Gb/s (or whatever HDDs can handle since I often spend 16+ hours a day hashing all files on my internal and external harddrives...works out to be 8TB total or so)
-enough computation power, memory size, and memory bandwidth for the future
-I wish to keep the computer at least as long as my current one (7 years so far)- please consider this when weighing how overblow the specs might seem to be against what I use it for

The current build below is currently at $2k which is quite a bit higher than I was expecting since my current PC cost me $1200-$1500 when I got it. But maybe that's okay if I intend to keep it longer than 7 years.

Silverstone
Sugo SG09 Micro ATX Case, Black (MX42031)
None
$99.99

Corsair
Professional Series Gold AX750 Modular Power Supply (MX29513)
$149.99

Microsoft
Windows 7 Professional x64 (64-bit) SP1 DVD - OEM (MX32998)
$149.99

Microsoft
Office Home & Student 2013, Product Key Card (MX43713)
$139.99

Asus
Rampage IV Gene w/ DDR3 1866, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, CrossFireX / SLI (MX37079)
$289.99

Intel
Core™ i7-3820 Processor, 3.60GHz w/ 10MB Cache (MX37546)
$334.99

HIS
Radeon HD 7850 1GB PCI-E w/ DVI, HDMI, Dual DP (MX42656)
$184.99

Asus
Xonar Essence STX PCI-E Sound Card (MX25771)
$199.99

WD
4TB Caviar Black SATA III w/ 64MB Cache (MX42855)

Corsair
Vengeance 16GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 Quad Channel Kit (4 x 4GB), Black (MX36708)
$134.99

Intel
RTS2011AC CPU Cooler, Socket LGA-2011 (MX36956)
$22.99


Sub Total:
$2,017.89 (Canadian Dollars)
 
0

05akari23

Honorable
Feb 2, 2013
32
0
10,530


Motherboard is unnecessary, you can get a good one for $150. (I think ASUS does ones that are made for media and productivity in mini-itx)
You really only need 8gb of ram.
The GPU is good especially with 2 monitors.
Power supply is overkill, you will only need 600 watts at max.
You might want to replace the cooler with a Coolermaster 212.
Another nice mini-itx case is the bitfenix prodigy, you might want to check that out.


 
M

MOMOJOJO-1302146

Honorable
Apr 15, 2013
73
0
10,640
Im not sure why you need a $200 video card when you are not gaming. I am sure there are some reasons but I believe most video, photo, music editing, and code compilation use the cpu. Some programs can use the video card to boost performance but other than that small boost its not very useful (or so I believe). $200 for a sound card seems a bit much, but I am not that experienced with those so I wouldn't know for sure. You could also save some money on the motherboard, im sure you can find one with the features you want for cheaper.
 
0

05akari23

Honorable
Feb 2, 2013
32
0
10,530


The more expensive the sound card the better the sound quality. It is not unusual for someone who really likes high quality sound to spends hundreds on a sound card.
 
ksham

ksham

Splendid
Mar 29, 2013
8,398
1
29,960

- Not unnecessary. The CPU requires LGA2011 socket boards. None of which are $150.
- I'd stick with 16 GB of RAM given the applications that OP is running.

As for changes, since you're only $18 over budget, I'd replace the PSU with a SeaSonic 650W one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088
 
G

Guest

Guest
Hi guys, thanks for your resposes:

THe power supply was a result of me trying to get a full modular power supply since I really want to only have the exact plugs I need without needing to use adapters and none of the ones I don't. Lower wattage would be just fine for me but it didn't seem like I could fine one that was modular.

I agree about the RAM. The most obvious part to cut down (and by that the one easiest for me to do) is the RAM. I just have zero idea how critical it is since it has been so long since I checked and I am still running on 2GB. With my current machine I had always planned to upgrade it to 8GB eventually but never needed to (and apparently it wouldn't have done much since WinXP 32-bit can only handle so much).

The second biggest chunk of the $$$ is indeed the motherboard and CPU. I am kinda stuck on the mobo though since I do like bells and whistles and I actually usually pick the mobo ahead of the CPU. I forgot to say in my first post that I never overclock, but my theory was that getting an overclockable setup and not overclocking it increases it's longevity. That's what I did on my current PC and it's about twice the lifetime of all my previous ones now and still running like new, whereas all my other ones would start misbehaving a few years back. Not sure if that's true though since a sample size of one isn't a very large sample size. But I will try and revisit the mobo again to try and get what I need. Any opinions on the I5 vs I7 vs I7-extreme for computational tasks? The strategy I used with my current machine was to pick the lowest end CPU of the highest end line and that's what I did again and that's how I ended up with the I7-3820 but it's really tying my hands with the mobo so I might go another way to save some cash.

THe video card ended up that way because I kept comparing specs and it was always "just a little bit more money for a lot more". It seemed I could get 2-3x as much for only $60 more on top of a $120 video card. Terrible, yes I know.

Oh, and I didn't say my budget WAS $2000. I just said teh cost of the current build is $2000 and I'd like to cut it down if possible (obviously!) But I will check out that Seasonic...modular. NIce.
 
ksham

ksham

Splendid
Mar 29, 2013
8,398
1
29,960
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3820 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($287.95 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Gene Micro ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($93.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card ($123.98 @ Newegg)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($184.99 @ Amazon)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($98.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($96.04 @ Amazon)
Other: Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 ($139.99)
Total: $1654.36
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
 
G

Guest

Guest
I've been looking into it and it seems that the second generation Intel i5/7 processors don't support PCI-E 3.0 even though the mobo might, and there are 3rd generation LGA2011 processors yet (except for the $1200 one). It also seems that X79 chipset that goes with the LGA2011 does not support native USB 3.0 either. It seems like going that route (to get more PCI-E lanes, quad-channel memory, and hyperthreading) means sacrificing native USB3.0 and PCI-E 3.0.

There are 3rd gen I5s though that do have PCI-E 3.0 and native USB3.0 support...and would also cut the CPU and mobo costs down quite. But you would be giving up the extra PCI-E lanes, quad channel memory, and hyperthreading in exchange. Grrrrr.

Opinions? Wait until reasonably priced 3rd gen LGA2011 come out? THough it seems like LGA2011 (or rather than X79 chipset) may never support native USB3.0
 
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