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First time build - Multi Purpose Rig

J

JWVT

Junior Member
I have tinkered with computers, replaced parts before but never built one. I am looking to build a multi-purpose rig that is capable of handling video editing and has large amounts of storage space. I would also like to consider adding a TV tuner so that I can use this rig as PVR also (Not included in $800 budget). Budget also does not include OS. Thanks for any input!


1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing. HD Video Editing & storage, photo editing, autocad, office tasks and potentially want to add a TV tuner to use as a PVR.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread ~$800

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. US, I have a Microcenter within driving distance (6% tax rate) or willing to buy parts online

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc. Best bang for the buck

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are. Dont need screen, keyboard or mouse

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. Willing to give OC'ing a shot

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with. Not too concerned with gaming performance

9. WHEN do you plan to build it? ASAP
 
With your budget of $700 for parts (assuming $100 for an OEM copy of W7 Home Premium), I'd recommend building a system around a Core i5 2500K or an AMD Phenom II X6 1090T. You can see from Anandtech's Bench comparison that they perform somewhat similarly in encoding and photo editing. Both are more than sufficient for office work. The Core i5 chip is clearly faster, and uses less power. However, since you're near a Microcenter, you can pick up a 1090T + a very nice MSI 880G-E45 combo for $20 more than the 2500K by itself. That would free up more money for other things, namely, an SSD. I'd much rather have an AMD X6 cpu and an SSD than a 2500K with a mechanical hard drive.

Which autocad programs are you using? It'd be helpful in recommending the GPU.
 
Most often running a LT version of CAD, so no 3D, not too intensive. I was budgeting $800 which did not include OS. I have a student copy of Win 7.
 
Would i need a graphics card with that mobo?

I would be curious to see what the AMD build might look like. I don't see the AMD chips recommended too often lately though.
 
JWVT said:
Would i need a graphics card with that mobo?

I would be curious to see what the AMD build might look like. I don't see the AMD chips recommended too often lately though.
Click to expand...
Well, that's weird. A Z68 chipset-based mobo, but without the video outputs.... I guess you do need a gfx card with that particular mobo.

This combo's mobo has built-in video outputs:
$330 - i5-2500K + GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3

An AMD build isn't recommended unless your budget is very very limited. If you can afford the i5-2500K, then there's no real good reason to go with a Phenom II X4 or X6, because at that point, SB just outperforms Phenom II's by a wide margin.

Hopefully, once BD comes out, we'll see more AMD builds being recommended.

JWVT said:
Also should I run 64bit or 32bit windows 7?
Click to expand...
64-bit. You'll need it to make use of >4GB of ram.
 
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Oops, didn't even notice that board didn't have video outputs... Didn't even know a Z68 board would do that. I guess that's what happens when you assume. Thanks for linking to the Gigabyte D3H. And yes, you will want 64-bit windows 7 build I proposed as you will only be able to address 4 GB of RAM if you go with 32-bit.
 
fffblackmage said:
Well, that's weird. A Z68 chipset-based mobo, but without the video outputs.... I guess you do need a gfx card with that particular mobo.

This combo's mobo has built-in video outputs:
$330 - i5-2500K + GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3

An AMD build isn't recommended unless your budget is very very limited. If you can afford the i5-2500K, then there's no real good reason to go with a Phenom II X4 or X6, because at that point, SB just outperforms Phenom II's by a wide margin.

Hopefully, once BD comes out, we'll see more AMD builds being recommended.
Click to expand...

I agree, though as Giga suggested, having a Microcenter nearby essentially means that he can get a free mobo. OP, if you want to do that, then keep everything the same, but swap the CPU and mobo for the Phenom II X6 1090T + MSI 880G-E45 for $212 /w tax at MC. That gives you about $120 to spend on an SSD like this OCZ Solid 3 60GB.
 
So I have not had a chance to thank everyone for their input on my build, Thanks! Now here is what I ended up with. Please don't beat on me too much. I know I made some mistakes. I decided since this was my first build I wanted to buy all my parts from Microcenter. Unfortunately they did not have any Z68 boards in stock at that time.

Processor: i5-2500k
Mobo: ASUS P8P67 (They had a combo deal that was good that weekend)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB
PSU: Corsair CX-500, V2 500W
Case: Antec Three hundred
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda XT 2 TB (Ok, I probably spent too much on this but it is fast and big)
Video Card: GeForce 8400 GS (Obviously I needed a video card with that motherboard, this one was $20 and kept me in my budget)

A few follow up questions

1.) First I obviously need a different video card, this one isn't going to cut it for video editing), recommendations < $150?
2.) Is it OK to overclock with the stock cooler or should I buy somthing else before overclocking?
3.) I assume I could still add an SSD, should I, what should I get?

Thanks again for your input. I will be following this up with a new post on a build for my Dad I want to order this week and would appreciate your advice.
 
Here is my recommendation for a video card, this is the bare minimum I would recommend for decent gaming. And this is the limit of your budget of 150 bucks.

It IS okay to overclock however, i would not push it very far, the stock cooler sucks. If you can pick up a decent 92mm or 120mm HSF (30 bucks or so) then do so.

Yes you can still install an SSD, you will however need to reinstall the OS onto the SSD when you get it. If you just want an OS SSD, then a 60GB drive like this would be fine.
 
I agree with mnewsham for the most part. I would like to point out that unless your video editing software takes advantage of CUDA or OpenCL, then you won't really see any benefit in those applications by upgrading.

As for your parts, yeah the Barracuda XT wouldn't have been my first choice, but it is not terrible. The only glaring issue I see is the Vengeance RAM, which probably cost too much and has tall heatspreaders that will get in the way of a large HSF.
 
Glad you pointed that out, I was getting ready to get a HSF. How do I know what will and will not work with that memory? Price wasn't too bad, $100 after MIR.
 
Yikes, I've been seeing 8GB kits of DDR3 hit $60 without rebate recently, and a 500W PSU is about 100% more than you need. But, you live, you learn.

How do you know what HSF will work? By looking at how high the memory protrudes from the board, and seeing if a particular cooler will hit it based on inaccurate eyeballing of internet stock photo images, haha. Or by reading Newegg reviews or posting here if anyone has experience using aftermarket HSFs X, Y, or Z with Vengeance RAM.

As mfenn said, if your video editing software uses CUDA or OpenCL, make your decision about the GPU based on that info. Otherwise, if you're not gaming, your 8400GS is fine.

That said, you can definitely OC on the stock HSF. Anand was able to hit impressive OCs on air at stock volts. Unless you're a balls-to-the-wall enthusiast who OCs for the sake of OC, you gotta ask yourself what you're gonna do with an i5-2500K at 4.5GHz+ that you can't do at 4GHz? (The answer is "not much.") That is, do you want to bother with an aftermarket HSF? See what you can do with the stock fan first, that's my suggestion before dropping $30+ on a good aftermarket cooler.

Personally, the first thing I'd do is dump the Seagate and buy a 60-80GB SSD and a 2TB green storage drive. I cringe whenever I see a $1,000 PC with no SSD.
 
Really? Dump the Seagate? Why not just add the SSD. I only have $800 in the computer at this point not $1000.
 
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