need advice for a mid-high range build

[elconejito]

You guys have always been good to me whenever I've needed some advice on parts, so I'm back again. I haven't kept up much with recent news and upcoming product launches, so over the last few days I've been shuffling through the boards here and I think I know enough to get in trouble, so here goes....

I'm currently running a Q9650 at 4Ghz w/8GB RAM, 2 sets of WD 640GB drives in RAID0 as a boot drive and scratch drive, and a WD 1TB and 1.5TB as storage. This works great for most of the stuff I do.

The improvement I'm looking for is in video encoding speed, and also lowering power consumption/heat when I'm just surfing the web (don't need 4Ghz for that).

====================
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
A mix of a lot of things.
-The most intensive will be video encoding (the more threads the merrier) primarily using Handbrake to x264, but some other encoders as well.
-Some VMs. Nothing really heavy duty but often enough where I want good support for it
-Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, InDesign. Also Premiere Elements (not the Pro version) for light video editing. Basically graphic design, web design
-coding/development - mainly web right now but I will soom be experimenting with some android development

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
Max $1000 but the lower the better.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA. Newegg and Amazon mostly

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.
Not really.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
PSU (corsair 650), case (antec 1200), GPU (ATI 5770), HDDs, DVDRW, monitors, keyboard, mouse, speakers

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Yes. I have a decent idea of what I want/need

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Light overclock. I want to keep the turbo-ability, meaning it only clocks up when needed. If I overclock can I still keep turbo? I assume so but just checking...

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
1680x1050

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Ideally mid August

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.
Goes without saying... I'm looking for advice here.
====================

PARTS:
CPU/Mobo
CPU = Intel i7 2600k - Picked
MOBO = GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 - Contender
I've been eyeballing the i7 2600K and a Z68 mobo (don't know which to get). I like the fact that it will run at a lower clock and turbo (OC) by itself when needed instead of constantly running at 4Ghz. I would like to squeeze out a little more performance (because I can ) by lightly overclocking. I should be able to do this and still keep a big separation between "normal" clock speed and "turbo" clock speed right? I don't know what types of speeds to expect here though.

I'm guessing it's not going to be worth the wait for the 6-8core SB-E CPUs? However IB CPUs may be out this time next year if there is something I might want to upgrade to that will still work in this mobo correct?

CPU Cooling
Cooler = Prolimatech Megahalems - already bought, likely re-use
Cooler = Corsair H100 - looking into it further....
I'm currently running a Megahalems, but I'm thinking I want to try a closed loop water setup. The Corsair H80 is out now and the H100 might be out by the time I'm ready to place the order. Thoughts?

RAM - Lots of it. The few Z68 boards I looked at supported up to 32GB so I'm thinking 16GB is a no-brainer and I'll see if 24 or 32 is feasible in the budget. I'm a little partial to G.Skill and I read an article somewhere that DDR3 1600 was a good fit. True?

SSD Lots of contenders - Seems like Intel 320/510, Crucial M4 and Corsair Performance 3 are in the mix for somewhere around 120GB of space (I'm currently using 100GB on my OS drive, not sure if I can prune that down a bit). Any advice here?

Video
ATI 5770 - Keeping it.
I'm currently running an ATI 5770. Not sure if it would be worth it to upgrade? I don't game much but when i do I like to turn up eye-candy as much as possible. However I do need to balance that with having a low-idle power consumption since I don't use it much. My monitor is 1680x1050. If I did upgrade this, I'm only looking to spend *maybe* $150-ish, but only if it's worth upgrading from the 5770.

Updated 7/28 based on some feedback.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

If you want to lower the power consumption find out how much you are drawing from the wall, first of all. Secondly get a more efficient PSU. The Kingwin Lazer 550w Platinum is a phenomenal PSU but costly. ~ 149$

I had a similar setup:
Q9650 - stock & never overclocked
Asus P5Q Premium board
8G
SSD
couple of 120mm fans

The rig drew somewhere around 100w at idle from the wall with a Enermax Revolution 950w PSU. I broke it down and put the platform and all the guts into another case, gave it to my brother with a Seasonic 400w Gold, PSU and it idled around 80w - same everything just the Seasonic PSU

 

[mfenn]

Sounds like you've done your research. My advice:
- CPU: The i7 2600K is definitely a good fit for your needs.
- Mobo + RAM: Check out this GA-Z68X-UD4 + G.Skill DDR3 1600 16GB kit combo. It's got a massive $50 combo discount, so you are basically getting the RAM for $100 and mobo for $135, which is a very nice price.
- Cooler: Coming from a Megahalems, you're likely to be disappointed by an AIO liquid cooling setup. I'd probably just grab the 1155/1156 bracket for your Megahalems and call it a day.
- SSD : All the ones you named are good. I'd probably get the M4 128GB since it costs the least.
- GPU: I'd hold on to what you've got for the time being.

Other random thoughts:
- You can indeed overclock by changing the turbo frequencies. That'll let you keep it cool while just puttering around but still be able to ramp up to 4.5GHz+ when necessary.
- SB-E is likely going to be Christmas or next January, so that's quite the wait. It'll be faster, but not that much faster. I will probably cost a lot more though.

 

[elconejito]

If you want to lower the power consumption find out how much you are drawing from the wall, first of all. Secondly get a more efficient PSU. The Kingwin Lazer 550w Platinum is a phenomenal PSU but costly. ~ 149$

I had a similar setup:
Q9650 - stock & never overclocked
Asus P5Q Premium board
8G
SSD
couple of 120mm fans

The rig drew somewhere around 100w at idle from the wall with a Enermax Revolution 950w PSU. I broke it down and put the platform and all the guts into another case, gave it to my brother with a Seasonic 400w Gold, PSU and it idled around 80w - same everything just the Seasonic PSU

If I recall right, it was pulling just under 200w at idle measured by a Kill-A-Watt. At load I think it was around 300w. At one point I had it down around 150w at idle, but then I added a bunch of drives and swapped video cards...

My goal isn't just lower power consumption though, I also want more horsepower

 

[mfenn]

If you want to lower the power consumption find out how much you are drawing from the wall, first of all. Secondly get a more efficient PSU. The Kingwin Lazer 550w Platinum is a phenomenal PSU but costly. ~ 149$

I had a similar setup:
Q9650 - stock & never overclocked
Asus P5Q Premium board
8G
SSD
couple of 120mm fans

The rig drew somewhere around 100w at idle from the wall with a Enermax Revolution 950w PSU. I broke it down and put the platform and all the guts into another case, gave it to my brother with a Seasonic 400w Gold, PSU and it idled around 80w - same everything just the Seasonic PSU

The OP doesn't have a ridiculously overpowered PSU though. Only a moderately overpowered one. I think it would be a very long time indeed before he made his money back in terms of reduced electricity costs.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFoe3wYvFUA

hehe

 

[mfenn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFoe3wYvFUA

hehe

Whaaaaa?

 

[elconejito]

Sounds like you've done your research. My advice:
- CPU: The i7 2600K is definitely a good fit for your needs.
- Mobo + RAM: Check out this GA-Z68X-UD4 + G.Skill DDR3 1600 16GB kit combo. It's got a massive $50 combo discount, so you are basically getting the RAM for $100 and mobo for $135, which is a very nice price.

That's a really nice price. I've had good luck with Gigabyte on S775. Most of the what I've been reading for S1155 has been around ASRock and Asus. I assume these are all good choices? When I'm ready to buy I'll definitley keep an eye out for the combo deals.

- Cooler: Coming from a Megahalems, you're likely to be disappointed by an AIO liquid cooling setup. I'd probably just grab the 1155/1156 bracket for your Megahalems and call it a day.

I'm disappointed in my potential disappointment I saw some reviews out for the newer Corsair AIOs (H80 & H100) that looked pretty promising. They usually matched up at least one air-cooled for comparison. HardOCP gave them a good review here comparing to a ThermalRight Macho (never heard of it?). I thought it might be a good bridge between air-cooling and making my own WC setup someday.

- SSD : All the ones you named are good. I'd probably get the M4 128GB since it costs the least.
- GPU: I'd hold on to what you've got for the time being.

Other random thoughts:
- You can indeed overclock by changing the turbo frequencies. That'll let you keep it cool while just puttering around but still be able to ramp up to 4.5GHz+ when necessary.
- SB-E is likely going to be Christmas or next January, so that's quite the wait. It'll be faster, but not that much faster. I will probably cost a lot more though.

Good to hear about the turbo freqs. I will look up some OC guides between now and when it all arrives.

SB-E was kinda a long shot anyway. Sounds like it will be priced much higher although the six cores/12 threads is very tempting. Is it safe to assume that IB will have a 6 or 8 core CPU come next year? Because they are keeping the same socket if I'm not mistaken.

Sounds like I can get everything I want for under $800 which is pretty good :thumbsup:

 

[philosofool]

SSDs wise, the Intel 510 is probably a better bet than the 320. There's a definite performance edge when using a 6 Gbps SATA (320 controller only uses 3 Gbps SATA, which it can basically saturate), and the 320 has what's being called the "8 MB bug" (google it, or search these boards) where power loss can kill the drive.

Overall, Intel SSDs were what got recommended to me when I started probing because Intel has a reputation for (1) reliablity and (2) customer service, when reliability fails. The big thing I hear about SSDs is that the jump from HDD to any SSD is like the jump from a Pinto to a BMW, while (on desktops, servers may be a different story) the jump from a middle of the road SSD to a the best fastest SSD money can buy is like the jump from a BMW to a Mercedes (small, if anything).

Sounds like you shouldn't upgrade your video card right now if $150 is what you're thinking about spending. Yes, you could get a good increase in a lot of games, but a 5770 is a very strong card at your resolution that will run most games at 35+ fps at high (if not max) settings. I think you would be happier sinking that money into more RAM, a better SSD, or whatever.

 

[elconejito]

SSDs wise, the Intel 510 is probably a better bet than the 320. There's a definite performance edge when using a 6 Gbps SATA (320 controller only uses 3 Gbps SATA, which it can basically saturate), and the 320 has what's being called the "8 MB bug" (google it, or search these boards) where power loss can kill the drive.

Overall, Intel SSDs were what got recommended to me when I started probing because Intel has a reputation for (1) reliablity and (2) customer service, when reliability fails. The big thing I hear about SSDs is that the jump from HDD to any SSD is like the jump from a Pinto to a BMW, while (on desktops, servers may be a different story) the jump from a middle of the road SSD to a the best fastest SSD money can buy is like the jump from a BMW to a Mercedes (small, if anything).

Sounds like you shouldn't upgrade your video card right now if $150 is what you're thinking about spending. Yes, you could get a good increase in a lot of games, but a 5770 is a very strong card at your resolution that will run most games at 35+ fps at high (if not max) settings. I think you would be happier sinking that money into more RAM, a better SSD, or whatever.

Thanks for the tip on the Intel 510. I'll see if I can dig up some reviews for it (unless somebody has it handy), I wouldn't mind an approx $50 premium if the performance is worth it. The Z68 boards seem to all have SATA 6Gbps connections so I should be able to take advantage of it.

 

[mfenn]

SSDs wise, the Intel 510 is probably a better bet than the 320. There's a definite performance edge when using a 6 Gbps SATA (320 controller only uses 3 Gbps SATA, which it can basically saturate), and the 320 has what's being called the "8 MB bug" (google it, or search these boards) where power loss can kill the drive.

Overall, Intel SSDs were what got recommended to me when I started probing because Intel has a reputation for (1) reliablity and (2) customer service, when reliability fails. The big thing I hear about SSDs is that the jump from HDD to any SSD is like the jump from a Pinto to a BMW, while (on desktops, servers may be a different story) the jump from a middle of the road SSD to a the best fastest SSD money can buy is like the jump from a BMW to a Mercedes (small, if anything).

As a BMW owner, I take offense to this statement.

But seriously, my main problem with the 510 is the cost. It just isn't worth the premium over one of the ~$200 120GB SSDs IMHO. Largely for the reasons you mentioned.

 

[mfenn]

That's a really nice price. I've had good luck with Gigabyte on S775. Most of the what I've been reading for S1155 has been around ASRock and Asus. I assume these are all good choices? When I'm ready to buy I'll definitley keep an eye out for the combo deals.

Yep, ASRock and ASUS are both good boards. ASUS seems to be a bit overpriced on the Z68 side though.

I'm disappointed in my potential disappointment I saw some reviews out for the newer Corsair AIOs (H80 & H100) that looked pretty promising. They usually matched up at least one air-cooled for comparison. HardOCP gave them a good review here comparing to a ThermalRight Macho (never heard of it?). I thought it might be a good bridge between air-cooling and making my own WC setup someday.

The HR-02 is pretty similar to your Megahalems, hence why I said you'd probably be disappointed. $120 for 3 degrees isn't my idea of value.

SB-E was kinda a long shot anyway. Sounds like it will be priced much higher although the six cores/12 threads is very tempting. Is it safe to assume that IB will have a 6 or 8 core CPU come next year? Because they are keeping the same socket if I'm not mistaken.

Ivy Bridge will indeed use the 1155 socket. I'm not sure if there will be a 6 or 8 core though (except for the inevitable IB-E).

Sounds like I can get everything I want for under $800 which is pretty good :thumbsup:

Yep, good deals about right now. Intel will probably lower prices even more if Bulldozer turns out being good.