High End Home Office Build Advice Needed

[saidas]

I need to upgrade my desktop for home office/home use; no gaming. Price range $800-$1k. Almost all of the recommendations are for gaming PC's and as hard as I've tried to learn, I don't have enough knowledge to make a good decision personally and who better to ask than AT readers? Any and all suggestions are welcomed and will be USA purchased.

I want to replace everything but the case/PSU/monitors/keyboard & mouse. I will be doing moderate to fairly heavy graphics use with dual monitors (maybe more later) with HD video/audio use. PC is main source of music.

I've been waiting for Bulldozer to surface to consider against Sandy Bridge. I want maximum performance and future proofing without overkill.

I also need advice for SSD (size?) & normal HD (500gb) combination.

Time frame: anytime in next 2-3 months.

Windows Ultimate 64 bit. PC is on 12-14 hrs. daily.

Existing kit:

ASUS P5N-E SLI 775 socket set w/ NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI/430i Series ATX Intel MOBO
Intel Core 2 Dual E6600 2.4GHz 1066 FSB
Super Talent STT DDR2-800 PC6400
Cooler Master Hyper L3 Heatsink
EVGA 8600GT, 256MB Graphic Card
4 GB RAM
500GB SATA HD
NVIDIA GeForce 200 Series
Ultra Grid ATX case Ultra ATX 700 watt PSU

 

[fffblackmage]

If you're waiting for BD, then you need to wait a little longer. BD isn't out yet.

 

[saidas]

I know. I'm not even sure if BD is a consideration for my needs or not. AT members are well read and I thought perhaps there was enough available information already for BD to know if it is a consideration.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

I will be doing moderate to fairly heavy graphics use with dual monitors (maybe more later) with HD video/audio use. PC is main source of music.

Could you please elaborate on 'heavy graphics use' and 'hd video/audio use?' Specific programs you use would be most helpful. I suspect you're not going to need to spend anywhere near $1k... Edit: also, that's a nice case, I used one myself. But you will want to replace that Ultra PSU with something more modern and more appropriate for your needs.

 

[saidas]

I won't be doing heavy graphics use like architectural and web design but will have a number of windows open and programs running at once like SalesForce, Office, Xactly and others we don't even have yet. I will be doing HD video/audio IP calls with a Polycom 550 HD phone & 720p or 1080p web cam, web meetings and webinars (MegaMeeting, Livestream) with other sales people and clients.

What improvements exactly would a new PSU provide and be more "appropriate"? I thought this was way more than I needed with 750 watts.

Thanks for taking the time to reply G!

 

[mfenn]

What improvements exactly would a new PSU provide and be more "appropriate"? I thought this was way more than I needed with 750 watts.

"More appropriate" in this case means "lower capacity". I can think of a couple of benefits off the top of my head:

• Less likely to blow up (Ultra PSUs are seriously bad)
• More efficient (both due to greater absolute efficiency and being better positioned on the efficiency curve.

Here's what I would recommend:
i5 2500 + MSI H67MA-E35 combo $275 AR
PNY DDR3 1333 8GB $55 AP AR
OCZ Solid 3 120GB $195 AR
Samsung F3 1TB $65
ASUS DVD Burner $20
Earthwatts 380W $40
Total: $650 AR AP

You could also add a nice case like the Fractal Design Define R3 and still be way under budget.

The Sandy Bridge HD 2000 can handle 2D apps and video conferencing all day long.

 

[saidas]

Great reply Mfenn! Btw...what are pro/cons of BD & SB processors for my needs or is it too soon to tell because BD hasn't released yet?

 

[Gigantopithecus]

mfenn's recommendation looks great to me, though if you want to shave a few bucks off the cost, 4GB of RAM are more than sufficient for your purposes. BD's not out yet but from what I can gather from leaks and rumor online, it will be competitive performance-wise at the respective price points, but likely not as power efficient. We'll know more specifics and details on these generalities in the next few weeks. I seriously doubt pricing on Intel parts will change when BD is introduced. As mfenn said, the integrated graphics on the i5-2500 will handle your needs, and the integrated graphics on the Zambezi (BD) platform will also be sufficient.

 

[saidas]

A big thanks to both of you!

 

[VirtualLarry]

and the integrated graphics on the Zambezi (BD) platform will also be sufficient.

there's no on-die graphics on bd currently, are you talking about a 990GX chipset?

 

[Gigantopithecus]

there's no on-die graphics on bd currently, are you talking about a 990GX chipset?

Yep, hence "integrated graphics on the platform" not "BD's on-die GPU."

 

[mfenn]

Great reply Mfenn! Btw...what are pro/cons of BD & SB processors for my needs or is it too soon to tell because BD hasn't released yet?

We don't really have any solid performance numbers on Bulldozer to make that call. It's supposedly going to be announced this week at Computex though. Like Giga, I doubt that it will be significantly faster than Sandy Bridge, but it will probably be competitive.

 

[mfenn]

A big thanks to both of you!

You're welcome!