New pc spec - advice/suggestions wanted

[peter7769]

Hi
i am looking to but a new rig as my current one is around 6 years old and getting a bit long in the tooth, i mainly use my pc for video/picture editing both dvd & HD inc Burning, my current set up really struggles with processing HD clips so i am looking for something that will carry out these tasks with ease.

i currently play a few games but plumbed for a fairly decent graphics card (i think?) so if in the future i wanted to play more up to date ones then it would be ok

Also i have put down for windows 8.1 but to be honest i may well wait for windows 10 and have everything new (plus i dont like windows 8.1!)

Can someone take a look at the specs and see if this machine is capable of what i want, or have i missed something or even gone over the top?

Thanks Pete

New Rig

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache
Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM TROOPER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Motherboard
ASUS® Z97 WS - ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 6 GB/s
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
500GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
3rd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
Corsair H80i GT Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Extra Case Fans
2 x 12CM Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
2 x ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORTS
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases*
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) Professional DVD with paper sleeve

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I can't quickly find any review of that PSU. Do you have a more detailed model number or a link to it? Some Corsairs are fine and some average. Without more detail and reviews, I'd shy away from it.

I'm not sure you need 750 watts either, with a single video card. Near as I can tell, that card might use 150 watts.

Is noise a factor to you at all?

Do you have overclocking intentions?

How long can you put this off? New Intel processors will be out within 60 days and may be worth the wait, but there's not a lot of detail out there yet. In your price range, the new CPU would be the i7-6700K.

Have you examined and rejected Intel 6-core processors?

If the WD Blacks are intended for storage only and you don't want anything larger than 1 TB, I might go with the Blue series.

 

[peter7769]

Hi
Thanks for the reply, firstly here is the psu

CS Series™ Modular CS750M — 750 Watt 80 PLUS® Gold Certified PSU


well to be honest i was told that i would need a 600w supply but thought i would play it safe, as you never know what else i might add at a later date, plus the difference in price wasn't that much.

yes i may overclock later, i did look at the i5's but thought that the i7 would be the faster option?, like i said most of my stuff is video editing so very cpu intensive, at the moment this takes hours & hours with my current set up.

ill take a look at the blue series drives, at the moment ive got some green ones but they are sooooo slow!

im not looking at getting the pc until maybe the end of next month, but surely the new processors will be a premium price, but then again they may well drop the price of the old ones

 

[ignatzatsonic]

PSU: I could not find a review of that PSU, but did find comments to the effect that that series is not the best available from Corsair.

I gather you are across the pond. What can you find from your suppliers from XFX, Seasonic, EVGA, or Super Flower? Possibly the Corsair AX or TX series? I'd look in the 500 to 600 watt bracket, unless you honestly think you will want to run 2 video cards.

Again: did you examine and reject the Intel 6 core processors--the model numbers beginning with a 5?

Your video projects might be able to take advantage of the added cores, but I don't know the details of your video plans. The 4790K is the fastest choice right now for a quad-core. That may or may not be true when the new "Skylake" series is released in August--that would be the i7-6700K at the top of the quad-core line.

You should Google for benchmarks of the 4790K versus the 6-core processors to see how much they might help on your video work.

Re drives: Blacks are somewhat faster than greens of the same generation. I think the speed difference between black and blue is less. Blues have a lower warranty, but I'm not at all sure you'd notice the speed difference. New greens are faster than 3 or 4 year old blacks. All of them are much slower than SSDs. It's not a big deal unless your budget is a major concern.

Again: does noise concern you at all?

Re prices: Intel CPU prices typically do not fall when new lines are introduced. The old CPUs are just replaced by a new model--normally you get a faster processor that uses less power for a 5 to 10 percent higher price. The clock speeds may not go up, but the work done per clock does.

 

[AddRAM]

How much are you paying for this motherboard ?

http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z97WS/overview/

 

[peter7769]

How much are you paying for this motherboard ?

Motherboards | Z97-WS | ASUS USA

i cant say as its just a custom pc site that doesn't give you individual prices, just a total amount for the build.

Pete

 

[peter7769]

PSU: I could not find a review of that PSU, but did find comments to the effect that that series is not the best available from Corsair.

I gather you are across the pond. What can you find from your suppliers from XFX, Seasonic, EVGA, or Super Flower? Possibly the Corsair AX or TX series? I'd look in the 500 to 600 watt bracket, unless you honestly think you will want to run 2 video cards.

Again: did you examine and reject the Intel 6 core processors--the model numbers beginning with a 5?

Your video projects might be able to take advantage of the added cores, but I don't know the details of your video plans. The 4790K is the fastest choice right now for a quad-core. That may or may not be true when the new "Skylake" series is released in August--that would be the i7-6700K at the top of the quad-core line.

You should Google for benchmarks of the 4790K versus the 6-core processors to see how much they might help on your video work.

Re drives: Blacks are somewhat faster than greens of the same generation. I think the speed difference between black and blue is less. Blues have a lower warranty, but I'm not at all sure you'd notice the speed difference. New greens are faster than 3 or 4 year old blacks. All of them are much slower than SSDs. It's not a big deal unless your budget is a major concern.

Again: does noise concern you at all?

Re prices: Intel CPU prices typically do not fall when new lines are introduced. The old CPUs are just replaced by a new model--normally you get a faster processor that uses less power for a 5 to 10 percent higher price. The clock speeds may not go up, but the work done per clock does.

i know i can get a better PSU but that was mid range with the power i was looking for, and yes a second GPU is a possibility in the future.

yes i am UK based, ill take a look at the benchmark figures like you suggest, noise is not a concern but obviously i don't want it sounding like a jet taking off when its busy working away.

im looking between £1500-£2000 on my budget.

Pete

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Do you have no control over individual parts and must buy pre-assembled, as is?

I assume you've totally rejected the idea of building it yourself?

Can you provide a link to your vendor, and ideally 2 or 3 others that you would at least consider?

 

[peter7769]

Do you have no control over individual parts and must buy pre-assembled, as is?

I assume you've totally rejected the idea of building it yourself?

Can you provide a link to your vendor, and ideally 2 or 3 others that you would at least consider?

you can customise the build but on the model i was looking at it didn't give me a choice to change the motherboard so i cant see what the price difference would have been.

no confident enough to build it myself :-(

here is the link, i have looked around at various ones but the one i choose was the cheapest.

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/

also

UK’s Most Awarded Custom Gaming PC and Computer Builder
https://www.dinopc.com/

Regards

Pete

 

[ignatzatsonic]

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/

What about the above vendor? I can't vouch for it personally, but I've heard of it and know it's well known in UK.

 

[peter7769]

Yes i did look at them as well today, but with so may options and so many suppliers my head is spinning!
i suppose i'm just looking for some reassurance that im not wasting my money building quite an expensive machine when something half the price would do the same job, but pc's are my only vice so i guess its better to spend the money on it rather then cigarettes and alcohol!!

 

[ignatzatsonic]

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=2473

Overclockers.co.uk seems to have a wider variety with more brands and control over components.

They have 10 or 15 machines that can be custom-configured at the above link.

See what you can do with one of those samples, customizing it the way you want.

Maybe start with this one; you can put a 4790K in it.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/syscon_int.php?prodid=FS-206-OP

 

[peter7769]

I'll take a look, thanks.

The only problem with them is that they only ever seem to show one optical drive as an option, i
Would like a minimum of two.

Pete.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I'd guess it may be worth a phone call to find out if they can do a second DVD for you.

First, I'd get it configured as you want it, without the second DVD. Then call them or email them and ask re the second DVD.

The advantage of that site is more detail on the components.

I see some good brands---Super Flower PSUs, Prolimatek coolers, etc.

If you like the looks of a particular case from the first link in post 12, start with that model and then custom configure it and report back.

 

[CountryBumkin]

I have that same Corsair power supply in my Server case. It is a great PS. As you probably know it comes with "modular" plugs so you plug in (use) the ones you need and leave out the ones you don't (saves on case clutter).

Also what really impressed me was that I needed an extra SATA cable so I e-mailed Corsair to see if I could buy one, and they send me a complete second cable set for free.

 

[peter7769]

I have that same Corsair power supply in my Server case. It is a great PS. As you probably know it comes with "modular" plugs so you plug in (use) the ones you need and leave out the ones you don't (saves on case clutter).

Also what really impressed me was that I needed an extra SATA cable so I e-mailed Corsair to see if I could buy one, and they send me a complete second cable set for free.

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

Pete

 

[peter7769]

I'd guess it may be worth a phone call to find out if they can do a second DVD for you.

First, I'd get it configured as you want it, without the second DVD. Then call them or email them and ask re the second DVD.

The advantage of that site is more detail on the components.

I see some good brands---Super Flower PSUs, Prolimatek coolers, etc.

If you like the looks of a particular case from the first link in post 12, start with that model and then custom configure it and report back.

i have sent them a message regarding the drives, will have to wait and see.

Pete