i7 PS/Audio Editing/VMware Build Advice?

[StupendousMan]

I've been a long time lurker, and have learned quite a bit from these forums, but this is my first post.
I'm looking to build a system for running Photoshop CS4, a couple of virtual machines, and audio recording/editing as well as everyday computing. Maybe some gaming, but not much. I'm trying to stay around $1400 without a monitor/input devices, with all parts bought from Newegg/Amazon, etc. Here's my proposed specs:

Core i7 920, OC/d ~3.6 ghz
Cooler Master V8
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W PSU [already purchased]
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P (edited from UD5 - won't need 10 SATA connectors)
12GB OCZ Platinum Series (OCZ3P1600LV6GK) [already purchased]
XFX PVT98GYDLU GeForce 9800 GT 512MB
M-Audio 2496 sound card (for recording) [already purchased]
Western Digital Caviar Black 640 GB WD6401AALS (System)
Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB WD1001FALS (Data)
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD Burner w/LightScribe
EDIMAX EW-7128G IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Card
Vista Ultimate x64
Antec P182 (Case) [already purchased]

1. I'm not sure which motherboard to go with, but the UD4P seems to be pretty popular. Asus? MSI? Any ideas on if the price will go down within the next month or so?
2. I'm hoping the V8 cooler won't block the memory slots, I'll be using all 6.
3. While I don't plan on playing many games (besides trusty Flight Simulator), I want to stick with nVidia because of Photoshop's use of CUDA. Would this card be overkill?
4. I've been using the M-Audio card for recording, but it's been out for a little less than a decade now. Is it worth upgrading to a sound card from HT Omega?

I'm admiring the P182 case that arrived this morning...hopefully I can finish the build by the end of this month. Thanks for any suggestions!

Peter

 

[StupendousMan]

Bump - can anyone recommend a motherboard/video card for me?

 

[MykC]

It looks fine, the Asus PT6 to me is just a difference in brand preference. I wouldn't really touch a thing.

 

[Arglebargle]

From the Audio vantage point, the early word I have been hearing is that the Core i7 (and the Phenom II for that matter) are performing very well, and are getting lots of recomendations for future upgrades. Nvidia GPUs tend to have more problems with audio than ATI. Personally, I have never had any issues. Also, Win7 (unlike Vista) is getting very good reports as an OS for computer audio.

Can't address the Photoshop aspect of it all though.

 

[Blain]

For a beefy system, I'd rather use a VelociRaptor for the OS & Apps.

 

[somethingsketchy]

If you are going to stick with the Nvidia cards, I would go with the GTX 200 series. If you got the cash a 280 or 285 would be great (unless you really want a 295). A GTX 260 is great for many games (I primarily play L4D on max settings (no joke) and have liquid smooth framerate especially when a zombie hoard rushes in. If you want to branch off to ATI, the 4870 or even 4850 are very good contenders.

Generally a 295, 4870x2 or 4850x2 are great if you have the cash and resources to pull it off, but I generally don't like 2-cards-in-one deals. I'd prefer 2x cards instead of an x2 card, but that's just me.

+1 to other recommendations (Blain's VelociRaptor, it's a good overall HDD for speed and size).

 

[StupendousMan]

Thanks all.

Blain, the cost per GB of a VRaptor is a bit high for me, I'm planning on upgrading to an SSD once the quirks (and the prices of SLCs) have been worked out.

sketchy, I really don't plan on playing any games for now, so I think that spending $$$ on graphics would be overkill, as all I want is a) CUDA support for PS (the entire GeForce line has it) and b) somewhere to plug my monitor's DVI cable . I ordered a Gigabyte 9600GT for $67 shipped to do just that. If I go into gaming I'll be sure to get the good stuff, though.

 

[Blain]

As far as the OS HD goes, it's not really about capacity, it's about performance editing large files.
Your 1TB drive is for storage, the OS HD is for "working".

 

[StupendousMan]

I've read that the WD640 is about par with the VRaptor in terms of write speeds, but would the VRaptor's faster seek times made a noticeable difference for what I'm doing? i.e. would my system drive become a bottleneck if I didn't go with a VRaptor?

 

[Blain]

Your system drive will be the bottleneck, even with the VR.