Windows 7: Considering building a computer

This seemed like a good place to post.
I was thinking about upgrading my current desktop (Dell XPS 8100) to sandy bridge and a few other things, but then I thought it would be more fun to build a custom computer.
I have never done this, so I will ask noobish questions. I do a lot of video editing and I love to have many monitors and my ATI Radeon 5770 that I have now seems to do the job fine. As for Processor, I want an i7 Sandy Bridge but I'm not sure what is the best out of them. I'm not to savy on processors so if someone cold fill me in on what to look for in a processor or link me to the best i7 (excluding extreme, I might look into those later).
PSU, I'm sure Ill need a good one, I have a 750W in my current desktop.
On the mother board I'm looking to have room for my GPU (obviously), a possible wireless card, and a TV tuner. Another member sent me this motherboard and it seems to have what I want as long as it can support Sandy Bridge. Newegg.com - ASUS P7P55 LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
I've been looking at a completely clear case at Microcenter for a wile, and I think it would be fun to put LED's in it to make it light up and look nice.

So anyway, I have typed a lot and probaly have a lot of nooby questions in there. If you all could point me in the right direction of this project it would be greatly appreciated.

The board you linked is an lga 1156 P55. It won't work with Sandy Bridge, which is lga 1155. You'll be wanting a P67. Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Motherboards, Intel Motherboards, LGA 1155

As far as the "best" i7... well, the one with the highest default clock speed is the 2600. If you want to overclock it, then you'll want a "k" model. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ame=LGA%201155

CPU: Core i5 2500K

MOBO: Asus P8P67

RAM: Crucial Ballistix 8GB DDR3 1600MHz.

GPU: GTX 570 (gaming, otherwise the 5770 is fine).

PSU: Enermax Revolution 85+ Gold series, otherwise an Antec TP is good too.

That will have no problem for an all rounder 1080p system.

From the sounds of it, your not much into gaming?

If not, Being as video encoding appears to be something you do alot of, youll want to focus on CPU power and RAM.

Without knowing much on budget:

I would go for the i7 2600K. This way, overclocking is an option in the future should you decide to try it. Its not that much more expensive than the locked version.

Find you a good P67 Motherboard that offers a good layout, and support for the periphials you want. ASUS and Gigabyte are a good place to start.

And I would go ahead and go with 8GB of DDR3 1600 RAM.
Something like these:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B

Also, being as youll probably be working the CPU hard for long hours encoding, I would invest in a decent aftermarket cooler. It doesnt have to be top of the line, or water cooling. But a nice cooler that will do better than stock.
Something like: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ermaster%20212



For a power supply, if you are not pushing a large Graphics Card, you really will not need that much power. A good Quality 500-550W would be more than enough.

However, I would look into a Corsair, Antec or Seasonic (650W)
This way, you have plenty of power and theres even enough to push a higher end GPU, (like a 570) if you choose to add one later.

Hard to argue with any of the above recommendations, especially if you look at my sys specs. LOL

You might want to consider the new Z68 boards since you will be doing video; they will allow you to use the on-board GPU of the processor at the same time as using a dedicated GPU.

RAM is cheap right now and on all the Sandy Bridge systems I have put together or have reviewed I would recommend you stick with the Corsair Vengeance or the G-Skill RipJawsX and stay with RAM that is 1.5v. 8Gigs is plenty and I can tell you that you should not waste your money on anything faster than 1600 DDR3 Dual channel.

If you plan on overclocking then definitely get the unlocked chips they have the K identifier after the number.

I would stay away from the clear case. Looks cool for like a month then dust, and scratches will creep in and seriously detract. You can still use leds and light up the HAF case which will be with you much longer than a clear case in my opinion. This is a nice turn key bare bones set up.
http://biz.tigerdirect.com/applicati...348&CatId=4149