Help choose my build please :-)

[Gazza101uk]

Here is the spec for my new i7 build. Some components I've cut back on, others gone mad on. Gaming is something I do rarely when a good game comes out so can upgrade the GFX card later.

I mainly mainly need the power for Photoshop and the odd bit of video editing of 1080P content.

Spec as follows:

CPU:
Intel Core i7 2600K Unlocked

Memory:
Corsair 8GB (2x 4096MB) DDR3 Vengeance Blue 9-9-9-24 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit


SSD
OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS Sata 6Gb/s

Mobo:
Asus P8Z68-V Intel Z68 Chipset (LGA1155) Motherboard

PSU:
OCZ ModXStream Pro Modular 80+ Power Supply Active PFC 600Watt

GFX:
Nvidia 8800GTX - My old Card

Case:
Antec P182 - My old Case

The GFX could should be ok if I don't play games right?

I'm still stuck on a CPU cooler. Any ideas?

 

[mvbighead]

GPU should be jest fine, IMO. No sense spending more money when it suits your needs at the moment.

As for a cooler, my preference would be this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-...1099277&sr=8-1

or here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103065

 

[Gazza101uk]

Cool. So a better GFX card isn't needed for Gfx enhanced Photoshop and windows 7 at all?

Other proper comments on the spec would be great

 

[Blue Shift]

Are you sure you need that much power (i7 2600k) just for Photoshop?

 

[mfenn]

If you don't game at all, I'd be inclined to ditch the 8800GTX altogether and use the HD 3000 onboard graphics. That'll save you a lot of heat, noise, and power. You do lose CUDA support, but the G80 wasn't that great of a compute chip anyway.

As for the rest of the specs, it looks like you're overspending by quite a bit to me.

- CPU: Unless that odd bit of editing becomes a large portion of your usage, you might as well get the i5 2500.
- RAM: Get something less expensive and without huge heatspreaders. If you're in the UK, I can link you to something reasonable.
- SSD : The "MAX IOPS" isn't really worth it IMHO. Get a normal Vertex 3, Force 3, C300, or m4 instead.
- Mobo: A bit high for what you get. Check out the ASRock Pro3 or Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H instead.
- PSU: OCZ PSU's aren't known for the quality. You also don't need much wattage if you decide to drop the 8800. In that case, a good 380W Seasonic would be more than enough.

 

[Gazza101uk]

While initially I won't be playing games it is something I do tend to do now and again. Therefore, I will be upgrading the graphics card for this use.

Is there that much of a difference between the higher end the vertex in the normal one will I notice the difference?

What memory would you recommend then? In the UK

Because I have the P182 think I need a modular power supply, what would you recommend?

I will need my Gfx as I have 2 24" displays!

 

[Blue Shift]

Is there that much of a difference between the higher end the vertex in the normal one will I notice the difference?

Not likely. IIRC, we're only talking about a 10% difference in synthetic benchmarks... That may seem like a lot, but remember that SSDs can hardly be compared to mechanical hard drives at all, and those are what you're used to.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/350?vs=389
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/350?vs=182

Take a look at that second link. Excited yet?

You might want to consider going with a less expensive CPU, and putting your savings into a larger SSD.

 

[dpodblood]

I would ditch the overpriced Corsair RAM and go with something Like Gskill 1333 instead. You will get the same performance for less money.

Drop OCZ from your build entirely and get an Intel or Crucial SSD, and a power supply from someone more reputable like Corsair, XFX, Seasonic, or Antec. If you are planning on getting a higher end GPU at some point you will probably want a 600w+ unit.

 

[Gazza101uk]

Will probably go for the normal Vertex 3 then. I was looking at the non 6Gb/s version on reviews, so thats why I thought the MAX IOPS was better. Can't afford to double the SSD storage though.

Dropping the memory down doesn't save much money though?

http://www.tekheads.co.uk/product/C...-9-9-9-24-1600MHz-Dual-Channel-Kit_40052.html

The GSkill is only £10 less??

Is this Cooler ok?
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler

PSU now going for:
Corsair 650W HX CMPSU-650HX EPS12V Modular Silent Power Supply

 

[dpodblood]

Will probably go for the normal Vertex 3 then. I was looking at the non 6Gb/s version on reviews, so thats why I thought the MAX IOPS was better. Can't afford to double the SSD storage though.

Dropping the memory down doesn't save much money though?

http://www.tekheads.co.uk/product/C...-9-9-9-24-1600MHz-Dual-Channel-Kit_40052.html

The GSkill is only £10 less??

Is this Cooler ok?
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler

PSU now going for:
Corsair 650W HX CMPSU-650HX EPS12V Modular Silent Power Supply

The G.Skill may only be £10, but you would be spending an extra £10 for no real reason. Otherwise your choices there look good. I'm not a fan of OCZ, but that SSD does make more sense than the one in your previous build.

 

[mfenn]

Is there that much of a difference between the higher end the vertex in the normal one will I notice the difference?

Like Blue Shift said, there is a difference in the benchmarks, but you're not going to notice it. The higher IOPs really only comes into play when you go beyond a desktop workload.

What memory would you recommend then? In the UK

G.Skill is my go-to brand, though there are other good ones including Corsair, Mushkin, and Crucial. Since you are getting the Hyper 212+, you definitely want to avoid Vengeance because of the tall heatspreaders. Actually, this Corsair XMS3 8GB kit looks good to me.

Because I have the P182 think I need a modular power supply, what would you recommend?

You definitely do not need a modular power supply for a P182. What size you should get really depends on what kind of graphics card you're considering. As long as you are going for something reasonable, the XFX Core 550W is more than enough.