Mid-range 2D & 3D Design/Gaming Build

[Mel17]

Hello all, I’m a designer but also gamer who is looking to build a completely new set-up within the next month or so. I’m not so knowledgeable about what components are best for my needs so I’m asking for help selecting.
I do digital painting everyday and in between that use programs like 3DSMax and ZBrush to do 3D work. With this new system I’ll be playing a bunch of games in my free time, mainly the huge steam backlog of games I bought in the sales in anticipation of this build !! Watching movies, listening to music and internet browsing will also be common practice. I’m wanting this system to last around 4 years.
I’m happy to do things like searching for the best price for the components once I know what specification I’ll be needing.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for
(I’ve linked the system requirements for some of the software)
Digital Painting using Corel Painter, Photoshop CS3 (might upgrade to CS6 after build)
3D modelling using 3DSMax, Maya, Mudbox and ZBrush

Regular Gaming: games such as Sleeping Dogs, Dead Island

2. What YOUR budget is. £1000-£1200 including shipping

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
UK

4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.
http://www.scan.co.uk/ (I have free delivery)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/
http://www.dabs.com/

5. IF YOU have a brand preference.
No preference but I’m aiming for longevity since I want this system to last for around 4 years with minimal parts replacement.

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Nope, completely new build

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Possibly in around 2 years from now

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
1920x1080 (dual monitor set-up using Dell UltraSharp either 22inch or 23inch)

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Within 30 days. Once parts are delivered I’ll be building it within 24 hours.

10. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
I will be buying Windows 7 Home Premium and some Blu-Ray playback software.

Additional notes:
Will definitely be purchasing 16GB RAM, in the 2x8GB format. I also would like a Blu-Ray drive, in terms of what I might do in the future, I thinking RW is best.
I’m aiming for at least 2TB of HDD and a 128GB SSD. Not sure whether to purchase two 1TB HDD and use for work and one for gaming, or just stick to buying a single 2TB HDD.
I’m going to need to buy either a USB wireless adapter or a PCI wireless card. From initial research it seems like the PCI card comes up trumps however any extra advice would be helpful.
I’ve got a mouse already that I can use for now, I just need a wireless keyboard. This was the one I was thinking of buying this one or this one.  

After doing some initial research, I've compiled the following parts:
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H, Intel Z77, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, D-Sub/ DisplayPort/ DVI/ HDMI, ATX
Or
Asus P8Z77-V, Intel Z77, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, PCIe 3.0 (x16), DisplayPort/ DVI-D/ HDMI, ATX
Or
Asus P8Z77-V PRO, Intel Z77, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, D-Sub (VGA)/ DisplayPort/ DVI-I/ HDMI, ATX

Thats where i'm up to at the moment. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[lehtv]

CPU - Xeon E3-1230 V2 £177
Mobo - Asrock H77 Pro4/MVP £71
RAM - 2x8GB Kingston 1600 £75
Wireless - Edimax PCI £16 (why do you need this?)
GPU - Sapphire 7950 Vapor-X £255 (make sure it's 8+8 pin)
SSD - Samsung 840 120GB £78
HDD - Seagate ST3000DM001 £90
Blu-ray - your guess is as good as mine.. maybe this (£65)?
PSU - XFX 550W £49
Case - Fractal Design Define R4 £80
OS - Win 7 HP £72 or Pro £107
Keyboard - Logitech K270 £19

= £1047

 

[Mel17]

Thanks for the reply Lehtv. Just been over at some other forums and its interesting how many different configurations people are suggesting.

I was thinking that the PCI wireless card would be a good idea since i'm unable to get a ethernet cable to the room where the PC will be. I've used the USB versions in the past but found them unreliable and unstable.

What is your opinion on the Seagate drives? I've been reading a lot of negative reviews regarding the reliability.

 

[mfenn]

Any drive will fail. Not "can" fail, will fail. Brand doesn't matter: Seagate, WD, Toshiba, Hitachi, etc., they will all fail.

So what you do is plan for that by making good backups. Lehtv is about £150 below your budget. I would use some of that to get a 3TB USB 3.0 external drive to back up your internal drives. Use some software like Macrium Reflect or even SyncToy to automate the process.

 

[Vectronic]

The Seagate is fine... you'll always find huge debates about any HDD, most of it is gibberish from people that are careless and now *hate* X manufacturer.

I've had all sorts of HDD's, Maxtor, WD, Seagate, Samsung, etc... I've never had one fail... in fact I still had an old 2GB HDD from 1996 still running till I took it apart for the magnets...lol

I generally go with Seagate, then WesternDigital, after that...don't care, decent price?... bought it.

 

[Mel17]

Thats interesting thanks for clarifying guys. I do have an external 1.5TB external HDD i'm using at the moment for my laptop backups so i'll see to investing in another. In terms of budget, i've been able to up it to maximum £1500 to allow for some performance additions. Do you think its worth increasing the budget in this instance of what i'm going to be using it for?

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Do you think its worth increasing the budget in this instance of what i'm going to be using it for?

No, not really. You could perhaps get a slightly faster CPU or a mainboard with more bells and whistles. Not worth the extra cash over lehtv's build...

A note about bluray though. I'd seriously recommend getting a stand alone bluray player. Watching bluray movies on your PC is an expensive undertaking. If you really feel that you need a bluray drive, take a good hard look at the Pioneer BDR-207. Its one of the few drives on the market that can read/write BDXL discs. They are expensive as ****, though.

 

[lehtv]

Thats interesting thanks for clarifying guys. I do have an external 1.5TB external HDD i'm using at the moment for my laptop backups so i'll see to investing in another. In terms of budget, i've been able to up it to maximum £1500 to allow for some performance additions. Do you think its worth increasing the budget in this instance of what i'm going to be using it for?

Dell U2713HM (£430) is a valid reason for increasing the budget, especially nice for multitasking and photo work. A single 7950 with OC will play demanding games on 1440p reasonably well on medium settings. But for optimal performance you'll need 7950 CF which also requires a bigger PSU... Maybe sell your current monitor, get a 750W PSU, then start saving up some more for the GPU upgrade?

Or just stick to 1080p and save yourself £500+.

 

[Mel17]

I prefer to work on dual monitors rather than have just one large monitor. Selling my current one isn't really an valuable option. Its quite old so i think i would probably get around £20 for it haha!!

 

[lehtv]

In that case, stick with the <£1200 budget

 

[Mel17]

Thanks for you're help Lehtv! I've got a couple of builds to consider, and i'll probably do so over a week so as not to make it a rushed judgement. Thanks once again.