New Build - Looking for feedback

[Optima15]

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to get some feedback on this new build that I plan to start soon. I have probably gone a little overboard and wonder if I should downgrade some of these components. The system will be used for things such as productivity software (Word, Excel, email), Internet, watching movies, and playing music. I may run the occasional game or two, and will transfer some of my vinyl to CD using it, and finally I may run software such as Nero to author DVDs and Blu Ray discs. Prices are based on the best price I could find online today. I would consider making changes to everything but the sound card.

ASUS H87-Plus Motherboard $110
PC Power and Cooling Silencer MKIII 600W Power Supply - $59
Intel Core i5-4570 - $160
Crucial 8GB Ram BLT2KIT4G3D1869DT1TX0 - $92
Western Digital WD10EZEX 1TB Hard Drive - $65
Crucial CT120M500SSD1 SS Drive 120GB - $110
EVGA GeForce GTX 650 01G-P4-2650-KR $109
Pioneer BDR-2208 $ 89
Corsair 500R Case - $110
M-Audio Audiophile 192 sound card - $93
MS Word and Excel - $170
MS Windows 8 - $89

 

[g-unit1111]

What's your budget? You do not need a sound card, and you probably don't need an i5 for your purposes. There's also better SSDs you can get. Also don't pay $170 for Word and Excel when you can get Open Office for free and it reads and writes all MS Office formats.

 

[Optima15]

Thanks for the reply.

The budget is around $1,000. What kind of audio quality can I expect without a card? The card I am looking at has RCA inputs, which will be useful for me when I transfer vinyl to CD (I can plug cables in directly from my phono stage). I may also run a signal out of the card to my stereo for DVD-A files.

On my current XP machine, I ran a Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS, which was excellent until it stopped working (quite common for these cards). I bought an entry level ASUS card and the sound quality was noticeably worse, until it too stopped working. Settled on the M-Audio as they are known for making good drivers and cards where the focus is on good sound, not needless frills like lousy sounding effects.

I will look at the i3 and other SSD cards (any recommendations?). And thanks for mentioning Open Office, I think that makes sense.

 

[Optima15]

I can pick up the Crucial M4 for about the same price as the M500 that I was looking at (same capacity). Some reading suggests that it may be a higher performance drive.

Or perhaps the ADATA XPG SX900.

 

[g-unit1111]

I can pick up the Crucial M4 for about the same price as the M500 that I was looking at (same capacity). Some reading suggests that it is definitely a higher performance drive.

It's a good drive but if you want performance get a Samsung 840 series. The OCZ Vector is also another really good option.

Thanks for the reply.

The budget is around $1,000. What kind of audio quality can I expect without a card? The card I am looking at has RCA inputs, which will be useful for me when I transfer vinyl to CD (I can plug cables in directly from my phono stage). I may also run a signal out of the card to my stereo for DVD-A files.

On my current XP machine, I ran a Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS, which was excellent until it stopped working (quite common for these cards). I bought an entry level ASUS card and the sound quality was noticeably worse, until it too stopped working. Settled on the M-Audio as they are known for making good drivers and cards where the focus is on good sound, not needless frills like lousy sounding effects.

I will look at the i3 and other SSD cards (any recommendations?). And thanks for mentioning Open Office, I think that makes sense.

I don't really know, I haven't used a sound card in a long time. Most of the time the onboard audio works perfectly fine. And yeah Open Office is a lot more cost effective than paying $170 for Word and Excel.

I would do something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($163.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($71.30 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $852.21
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-06 19:24 EDT-0400)

 

[Optima15]

Thanks, this gives me some things to consider.

Any opinion on the ADATA XPG SX900? I take it the Samsung is better.

I am a bit of an audiophile, and thus very picky when it comes to sound.