Rate my $2500 Build

[TechnoMan]

Hey guys, I'm going to be building a PC next year in January when Sandy Bridge comes out. This will be my first every PC I build so I'd like some thoughts on it and how I can improve it. This machine will be used for gaming, music production and a lot of HD Video editing. The parts are in AUD by the way.

Case: Antec 1200 - $214
Card Reader: Any card reader - $20
CPU: i7 2600k - around $400
GPU: AMD 6970 - around $500
Hard Drive 1: Samsung F4 2TB - $100
Hard Drive 2: Samsung F4 2TB - $100
SSD: OCZ 60GB - $140
HDTV Tuner - Leadtek Dual Tuner - $50
Memory - 8GB G Skill Ripjaws (1600Mhz) - $160
Motherboard - Gigabyte Sandybridge Model - around $230
Optical Drive - LiteOn Bluray Writer - $120
PSU - Corsair TX-850 - $178
Sound Card - Asus Xonar Essence STX - $190
OS - Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit - $130

Obviously the 6970 and i7 2600k aren't out yet so I'll be buying them in January. Overall though, for mainly gaming and professional media editing, how does this PC look? Is there anything I should change?

 

[ratman]

Why wait for the Sandy Bridge? New technology could and probably will be unstable at least for the first 3-6 months. Also, you could get a 4tb drive instead of the 2*2tb drives currently suggested to save space.

 

[TechnoMan]

Why wait for the Sandy Bridge? New technology could and probably will be unstable at least for the first 3-6 months.

This is generally not the case with processors...

 

[ratman]

Yes, I am proven wrong by the i7 series.

Seeing as the development for the Sandy Bridge architecture began way back in 2005 it will have had approximately 6 years time to have imperfections ironed out.

Nevertheless, it will be insanely expensive at the time of release, just as the i7 was, and 3-6 months later it will become affordable.

 

[bytetracer]

I see money is not an issue

If that is the case, I would add two things:
1. another SSD - to create a RAID for OS installation (OS on SSD = fast; OS on SSD RAID = EXTREMLY fast)
2. OS - I would choose Windows 7 Ultimate x64 or Professional x64. Home editions of MS OS's tend to be too cut-off or limited (just compare XP Home and XP Professional), so saving a few bucks in this category can backfire at you later, specially if you are planning a machine for professional usage.

I must second ratman's opinion:

Nevertheless, it will be insanely expensive at the time of release, just as the i7 was, and 3-6 months later it will become affordable.

That's just the case with every single product Intel puts on market. If you want to save your hair, buy something older, or rip it off when you see prices in a few months

 

[BisVal]

How about this:

Core i7 Six Core Extreme 980X (3.33GHz, 12MB, LGA1366) BOX 1300$

Asus P6X58D-E, X58, LGA1366, DDR3 , 3xPCI-E(SLi/CF), SB7.1 DTS, Lan1000,
SATA RAID 0,1,5,10, 2xSATA 6Gb/s, 2xUSB3.0, 2x1394, ATX 300$

3x2GB DDR3 2000MHz Corsair CMG6GX3M3A2000C8, DHX 400$

SSD 128GB Corsair CMFSSD-128GBG2D, 2.5", SATA 2 420$

2TB WD Caviar® Green™, SATA2, 7200rpm max, 64MB 150$

ATi HD5970, 4GB, Sapphire TOXIC Limited Edition, PCI-E, DDR5, 512bit, 2xDVI (HDCP), mini DisplayPort 1400$

LiteOn IHBS112-37, Blu-Ray DualLayer RWR, SATA, black,
BD-R 12/8x, BD-RE 2/6x, +R 16x, -R 16x, +RW 8x, -RW 6x, DVD 16x, CDRWR 48x 150$

Box Thermaltake Kandalf (VA9000BWS), black alu 200$

PowerColor Extreme 1000W, ActivePFC, 140mm vent 150$

ZALMAN CNPS10X Quiet, 1156/1366 50$

 

[TechnoMan]

I should still make it clear that I DO have a budget of $2500. Just give me suggestions on how I could make my build better.

 

[pparks1]

What about a monitor? With a new build I would certainly consider a bigger and better monitor...considering you look at the monitor all the time.

Doing a raid ssd for th os is pretty pointless. You need random io..not raw throughput. The benefits of going to raid from a single ssd would be minute.

 

[TechnoMan]

What about a monitor? With a new build I would certainly consider a bigger and better monitor...considering you look at the monitor all the time.

I've already got a Dell U2711 so the monitor isn't an issue

 

[ratman]

How about using two SSDs in hardware raid 0 and installing the OS on them? Only an extra $140, so that wouldn't be too much trouble.

You could get windows 7 home premium as an OEM version if you buy it at the same time as you get your parts which would save you a lot. Netplus sells windows 7 home premium x64 for $108 as an OEM.

You could save a bit by going for a 750W psu instead of an 850W. There is no need for 850W just yet.

 

[robin77]

Is there anything I should change?

From my personal experience:
I would not get ANY component when it's brandnew. you meintioned before that CPUs are a different story... but the extremely high price just does not justify it.
I used to get everything on the first day.... but over the years changed my view completely.

in your case i would look into a dual processor setup (two midrange i7 Xeons). depending on what you do with your video editing and software package you might be alot better off and even cheaper.
And eventhough many night dissagree I'd recommend more ram. 8 is the minumum if you plannning on doing some highend stuff.

 

[ratman]

Is there anything I should change?

From my personal experience:
I would not get ANY component when it's brandnew. you meintioned before that CPUs are a different story... but the extremely high price just does not justify it.
I used to get everything on the first day.... but over the years changed my view completely.

See Technoman, I was right. New is not always better!

Also, as well as a possible dual processor, you should go for a cheaper graphics card, perhaps ATI Radeon hd 5850, but get two of them running together in crossfire x.

 

[Kipper]

You might re-think the chassis; the 1200 is pretty old school, heavy, and with the long Video Cards you will have to do some rearranging of the HDD cages.

The Corsair 800D and the newer Mid-tower 600T are dam nice and if its the looks of the 1200 you might consider the CM HAF-X, AZZO Hurrican 2000 or the new Antec DF-85. These cases will house the hottest, sweatiest, longest cards and all have USB 3.0 front panel connections.

I have published reviews on all of the above cases except the 600T and I am working on it right now and can swear by any and all of these.

 

[TechnoMan]

That 600T looks beautiful Might have to reconsider my case now

 

[Zepher]

It looks pretty good to me. If you are going to be using Adobe Products for your editing, you will want to go with Nvidia cards since Nvidia is the only one that accelerates Premiere and After Effects.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

The 600T is a great case but it's reported to have cooling issues with hot running GPU and SLI set ups. I think as long as you don't load all the hard drive bays to allow a good air flow into the case and only run a single wicked GPU then you should be fine but the reports are that the case creates a null air pocket in the lower rear corner. I love Corsair cases and for my next extreme build I will use the 800D. But the 600T is just as sexy in a smaller package and with out hot swap bays. That being said I settled on a cheaper Thermaltake Element V BE and I love it as well. It could have better cable management but at $125.00 delivered I couldn't go wrong.

 

[Tepid]

I will just say that you will be wasting money on ANY hardware that is released day one.

You can get a lesser processor setups and spend the extra savings on other things.

As for Video and Audio editing,,,, it really depends on how much and how heavy you will be doing that stuff,, there is a point of over kill on RAM. I might start with 8G and move to 12G if I was editing large videos,,, because it really depends on the size of the video,, clips don't need as much RAM, as say, 1.5 hours would. The size of the videos would really determine how much ram you really need. and the length and number of tracks would determine with audio.

 

[TechnoMan]

I might get an i7 950 instead of Sandy Bridge's 2600k (all depending on price though)

Edit: Online rumoured leaks have it at $300-$400. If that's the pricing then it's a definite buy as it will beat the i7 950

 

[ratman]

But, the i7 950 is a well known solid performer. People know the heat levels, OC-ability, power usage and just all around ability of it.

On the other hand, the 2600k is new and people won't know the problems etc with it and you may waste your money. My suggestion is that you get the i7 950 for at least 3 months until all the major issues with the 2600k are fixed.

 

[Zepher]

I will just say that you will be wasting money on ANY hardware that is released day one.

You can get a lesser processor setups and spend the extra savings on other things.

As for Video and Audio editing,,,, it really depends on how much and how heavy you will be doing that stuff,, there is a point of over kill on RAM. I might start with 8G and move to 12G if I was editing large videos,,, because it really depends on the size of the video,, clips don't need as much RAM, as say, 1.5 hours would. The size of the videos would really determine how much ram you really need. and the length and number of tracks would determine with audio.

Are you talking about video and audio editing from first hand experience?
I've been editing 30 second spots to 2 hour videos for the past 15 years on computers. For video editing, the length of your videos doesn't determine the amount of ram you need, video just reads off the drive as you edit and play.
For doing effects in After Effects, the more ram you have, the longer you can have a full motion preview.

For rendering your projects, you want to get the fastest processor you can afford, since time is money and you don't want to have to wait hours to render your project.