First time build, have rough parts list, need advice.

[SniperWulf]

For photo work, IPS is definately the way to go. I think Asus just released a 24" monitor thats supposed to be the cats pajamas for color reproduction. I think its the P248Q? Will probably run you about $350 or so

 

[mikeh1981]

For photo work, IPS is definately the way to go. I think Asus just released a 24" monitor thats supposed to be the cats pajamas for color reproduction. I think its the P248Q? Will probably run you about $350 or so

Do you mean this one? PA246Q

 

[Campy]

Remember the Antec 300 doesn't come with intake fans, so you might want to add a couple 120mm case fans to your shopping list. Good choice though

 

[mfenn]

My wife says she would rather have a single large monitor. It will probably be better for playing games too. Someone said IPS is the way to go for photo work and I am not sure the U2711 is IPS. I am looking in to it more. Any other suggestions for a 27-30" monitor? There is some talk about IPS having color issues from one side of the screen to the other but people still seem to think they are the way to go. Ideas, suggestions?

The U2711 is IPS and great for photo editing. The U2311H, U2410, and U3011 are also IPS.

 

[mfenn]

I will be doing more photo/video editing and programming on this machine than gaming. I completely forgot to mention that I do my programming in a VM and it is likely that I will at times have at least 2 virtual machines spun up at the same time (I am sorry I didn't mention this sooner, completely spaced it). I really think I can take advantage of the I7.

VMs actually add another interesting wrinkle to the mix. Basically, there are two things to understand:
(1) The VMs are scheduled as processes within the host OS.
(2) The host OS process scheduler doesn't really know anything about HT.

So, what can happen is that you can have the two virtual CPUs from one VM get mapped to two logical cores that in turn map to the same physical core. This is obviously going to halve your performance. The same thing could happen with two virtual CPUs from difference VMs as well.

Hyperthreading does indeed help out in a data center environment where the servers are really loaded down with VMs and the main goal is consolidation and overall throughput. Not so much in a desktop scenario.

I like the PSU you picked out, bronze certified and a large (hopefully quiet) fan. Not sure how I missed it, thanks for turning it up for me. If I go non modular but would like gold certified what should I look at?

Glad you like it. Don't too hung up over the various 80+ levels. It is not worth doubling the price for 5% more efficiency.

I was away from the computer most of the weekend and did not have time to shop for memory after the responses about latency. I have changed to the G.Skill sniper. It is only $10 more than the chip you picked out and it has better reviews.

Newegg reviews are silly. Given equal specs, the memory chips are the same. You're just paying $10 more for some fancy (read: useless) heatspreaders.

As far as the mobo goes, the AS Rock Pro3 is a great value. It has most of what the ASUS has but lacks some expandability. I am also afraid that it might be a little more difficult to tinker with. My original goal of just building a PC and using it without modification might be changing. This whole process has got me fired up and thinking that I may sometime int he future want to learn about and attempt overclocking. I am not really interested in that right out of the gate but once the machine has a year or two on it I might want to give it a try. When it comes to overclocking, the ASUS seems to have a lot of user friendly features built in. Will the ASUS be easier for me to cut my teeth on?

My thinking is actually the complete opposite. "Auto-OC" is fine for people who know what they're doing but just want to save time. It is not OK for people who are just learning. When you're just starting out, you want to be exposed to the raw guts so to speak so that you are forced to learn what is safe and what is dangerous. If you just rely on the automatic features, you could be burning up your chip and never realize it.

As for expandability, that's the way ASUS makes their money. They provide products at $10-20 increments to suck you up the product ladder. "What if I want to...?" is a very dangerous question for your wallet. :awe:

I would like to add that I am so appreciative of everyone's support. This is a great community of people who are obviously very passionate about hardware. I feel that everyone has been kind and thoughtful in their responses. I may seem a little difficult at times but I put a lot of thought in to all of the responses I have received. Thank you for being patient with me.

You're welcome!

 

[mikeh1981]

Alright, going to need to pull the trigger on this one.

After more research and strong opposition to my processor and motherboard choice in this forum (especially from mfenn ), I have decided to switch to the ASRock Pro 3 Z68 motherboard and a I5 2500K processor.

I have to say the move to the I5 was easier for me than the mobo switch from the ASUS Z68 Pro. Sometimes I get shiny things syndrome and it hard to talk me down. There is a definite need vs. want struggle going on. I reluctantly chose need over want.

Thanks to everyone's help I took a build that was just over $1500 and reduced it to $1150, and that doesn't even include rebates or shopping around (which I plan to do). Best of all I don't feel the new build is too much of a compromise in performance.

I will be purchasing the items tomorrow morning. One last chance for someone to add suggestions/tips/etc... Thanks everyone for your help so far. Once the parts are purchased I will post my final configuration for posterity.

 

[mfenn]

Alright, going to need to pull the trigger on this one.

After more research and strong opposition to my processor and motherboard choice in this forum (especially from mfenn ), I have decided to switch to the ASRock Pro 3 Z68 motherboard and a I5 2500K processor.

I have to say the move to the I7 was easier for me than the mobo switch from the ASUS Z68 Pro. Sometimes I get shiny things syndrome and it hard to talk me down. There is a definite need vs. want struggle going on. I reluctantly chose need over want.

Thanks to everyone's help I took a build that was just over $1500 and reduced it to $1150, and that doesn't even include rebates or shopping around (which I plan to do). Best of all I don't feel the new build is too much of a compromise in performance.

I will be purchasing the items tomorrow morning. One last chance for someone to add suggestions/tips/etc... Thanks everyone for your help so far. Once the parts are purchased I will post my final configuration for posterity.

Glad to be of service to your wallet. *bows* :awe:

But seriously, if you run into trouble during the build, don't hesitate to update this thread.

 

[Campy]

use the money you saved on something nice, that tends to patch things up with the "want" side of you quite nicely, lol

 

[mikeh1981]

OK, building out the shopping cart. Looks like NewEgg has best price on everything but the video card. Amazon is cheaper for the GPU.

Made 2 small changes, hopefully not bad ones.

Changed from the intel 120Gb 320 series to the 510 series. I noticed that the 320 is SATA 2. If I am getting a board that supports SATA 3 shouldn't I get a drive that takes advantage of it? It is not too much more expensive because it has a $30 mail in rebate right now.

Also, instead of the G.Skill sniper memory I switched to Muschkin Silverline model 996770. mfenn mentioned it earlier.

I am ready to push the order button but am worried that there is a reason someone did not suggest the Intel 510 series SSD. Thoughts?

 

[mfenn]

OK, building out the shopping cart. Looks like NewEgg has best price on everything but the video card. Amazon is cheaper for the GPU.

Made 2 small changes, hopefully not bad ones.

Changed from the intel 120Gb 320 series to the 510 series. I noticed that the 320 is SATA 2. If I am getting a board that supports SATA 3 shouldn't I get a drive that takes advantage of it? It is not too much more expensive because it has a $30 mail in rebate right now.

Also, instead of the G.Skill sniper memory I switched to Muschkin Silverline model 996770. mfenn mentioned it earlier.

I am ready to push the order button but am worried that there is a reason someone did not suggest the Intel 510 series SSD. Thoughts?

Both are fine changes. The 510 is indeed faster than the 320, but not by as much as you would think. At normal price, I don't think the 510 is worth it, but its not bad with a MIR.

 

[mikeh1981]

Had a little delay but finally got all of the parts ordered and put together. Some of them are a little different as the rebates and sales had changed from the time I was initially configuring the machine until when I actually got around to purchasing. Also picked up a cpu cooler from a local computer store, probably not a very good one but I figure it has to be better than stock. Running Windows 7 x64 and it absolutely screams. I have an experience rating of 7.1. I guess the top of the scale is 7.9 right now so I suppose that is pretty good. Anyway, no trouble putting things together. Again, thanks to everyone who posted for your help.

Processor:
--Intel Core i5 2500K Processor

Motherboard:
--ASRock Z68 Pro 3 Motherboard

Memory:
--G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

Video Card:
--EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti

Hard Drive:
--Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) SSDSC2MH120A2K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Case:
--Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Power Supply:
--XFX P1-650X-CAH9 650W

BD Player/Writer:
--LG Black Super Multi SATA WH12LS30 LightScribe Support

CPU Cooler:
--Thermaltake Silent 1156 CPU Cooler

Monitor:
--Dell UltraSharp U2711 27-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor

 

[mfenn]

Looks good to me! Glad you like it.