Need help with my new rig

[ananya.dragon]

Hey guys. What do you'll think of this build... Im pretty new to this tech scene(this is my first comp)


1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Video/Movie Editing, Master Suite CS5, dualboot macosx through virtual box, light gaming, loads of schoolwork, song editing, database managing(for my GCSE in computer studies You guessed right, im a student). BitTorrent dwnloading


2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
To keep things going say $2000+

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Preferably India(i stay there) but i can order parts through amazon i think

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.
Only for processor i want to use i7


5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

none

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
yes. And many websites

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Wont turbo boost be fine?? or isnt that overclocking?? (but i still want it OC ready!)

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
im not sure actually cos i game on my ps3. But i want a 1080p 23-27 inch LCD/LED

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
1-2 months from now

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.
tell me what you think... thats why im here no

My Build/B]

-Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition 3.33GHz 12 MB L3 Cache LGA1366 Desktop Processor BX80613i7980X

-Asus Rampage 3 Extreme Motherboard*.

-Seagate Momentus XT- Hybrid drive with NAND storage. 2.5 Inches. Can be used in desktop with a adapter like Upgradeware HD25-S, costing about $10. The HD25-S allows you to install a 2.5 inch hard drive into a desktop computer's expansion card slot.

-WD Caviar Black 1TB 6gb/s

-Corsair HX3X12G1333C9 12 GB XMS3 6 x 2 GB PC3-10600 1333MHz 240-Pin DDR3

-Wacom Tablet : Bamboo pen and touch.

-Antec Nine Hundred Two Ultimate Gaming Case.

-Cooler Master v6 GT:

-LITE-ON 4x Blu-ray Disc SATA Internal Optical Drive iHOS104

-Samsung*Syncmaster 2494HM.

-Swiftpoint Mouse-

-ZOTAC GeForce GTX465.


So should i use a proper SSD for the boot drive instead of the hybrid seagate(though it'll be less of a value for money). And what PSU should i use? will the cooling b adequate? is the GPU fine or ill change it? What else can i change?

i want a 1080p monitor. I am not sure bout that so i picked a samsung. Lemme kow if i should change it.

And is there a student discount fr win 7 pro in india?

thanks a lot
im new to this so peace out if i've made a mistake somewhere and skipped something

Thanks
Ananya

 

[darkewaffle]

You know with that mobo and that CPU, you're probably pretty close to going over budget since thats about 1400/2000 of your budget already without the monitor/gpu/case/psu/ram/hdd.

i7 980x is an awful value, thats over half your budget burnt. Go with an i7-950 or if you're really hell bent on hexcore, go AMD.

The Rampage 3 again is a terrible value choice, and since you aren't a serious clocker or gamer, completely unnecessary. At a glance, I'd say one of these three are much more suited to you.

A true SSD is a better selection IMO. You have no need for a Momentus because you've got loads of room for extra storage drives, whereas capacity is really the only advantage of the Momentus to a SSD. Hybrid drives really shine only if you need the hard drive space but don't have room for more than one drive, like a laptop or very small formfactors.

Caviar Black is a fine choice, but Spinpoint F3 drives are cheaper for the same performance. Your call.

Chances are you won't need 12GB of RAM, but I'd recommend taking advantage of triple channel RAM since you're running Socket1366 platform, which does limit you to 6GB or 12GB kits pretty much. Depending on your workload, 6GB may not be enough admittedly. It sounds like you do need a workhorse from your tasklist. Look for a triple channel 3x 4GB kit.

The GPU is overkill and not a great choice. You're better off going with the GTX 460 if you want to keep a powerful GPU, though for light gaming you won't need it. I'd recommend sticking with Nvidia though for CUDA support which may be beneficial to some of your applications in the coming future. A 460/450/240 are all good choices.

And you need a power supply, 500-600w from Antec/Corsair/Seasonic/XFX is probably a good place to start, it's going to depend what you can find.

 

[mfenn]

Agree with Darke.

Anandtech reviewed the Momentus XT and found it to be pretty much crap for two reasons: (1) The amount of onboard flash is small, so the flash is constantly being thrashed. (2) The flash cache is a write-through cache instead of a write-back cache, so it is useless for improving write performance.

 

[ananya.dragon]

Hey guys... thanks a ton

i've taken all your advice and read up a lot online

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/291239-31-first-build-2000-multi

I also need a 1080p monitor that is popularly available. Since i dont want to spend much on the monitor, i dont care for stuff like USB ports on the monitor...

Anyways, i've changed the config to this:


-Intel Core i7 970. $899

-Asus X58 LGA1366 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Motherboard : P6X58D-E

-Crucial Technology 128 GB Crucial RealSSD C300 Series for $276

-ICY DOCK MB882SP-1S-1B 2.5" to 3.5" SSD & SATA Hard Drive Converter - Black $20

-samsung spinpoint f3 $71

-Corsair HX3X12G1600C9 XMS3 12 GB PC3-12800 1600Mhz 240-pin Triple Channel Core i7 DDR3 Memory Kit Approx $290 or Rs. 13,422

-Wacom Tablet : Bamboo pen and touch. Aprox $99

-Antec Nine Hundred Two Ultimate Gaming Case.
$120

-Cooler Master v6 GT:
Rs.5k in LamRd, $64 in Amazon

-LITE-ON 4x Blu-ray Disc SATA Internal Optical Drive iHOS104
$54.99

-Samsung Syncmaster 2494HM. $200

-Swiftpoint Mouse- $69

-nVidia GTX460. 1GB. $229


Ignore the Ruppe prices... theyre for my own reference.... (incase u wanna know, $1 is Rs.46)
Thanks a ton... lemme know if there is any other change i need..

And BTW, i picked a hexacore mainly cos ill have a VM running along with win7 professional...
I shall be installing OSX through virtual box so if i gove OSX 2 cores, i will have 4 for win7...

And the SSD will be the boot and application drive.

 

[mfenn]

That's still a stupid amount of money to be spending on a CPU.

Are you aware of how virtualization works? Just because you have a VM with 2 VCPUs, that does not mean that two CPU's are somehow "dedicated" to those VCPU's. You absolutely do NOT need a 6-core fora VM that you will be performing "desktop"-type tasks on. The whole point of virtualization is consolidation after all.

A 930 or 950 would be a much better value. LGA 1156 would be a better value still.

 

[Davidh373]

I'll cue in here. I do video editing, Graphic Design and 3D Rendering professionally. I do it all on a 920 CPU with 6GB Ram. That said, benchmarks show the 1055T From AMD does a better job video encoding than the 930 at the same clock speed. I would actually go for a build like this.

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%20elite%20335

PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...orsair%20650tx

Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-851-_-Product

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-649-_-Product

Ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-311-_-Product

G-Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-391-_-Product

SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-542-_-Product

HDD (get 3)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-185-_-Product

BD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-181-_-Product

Total AMD = $1258.88

Total Intel = $1370.88

Intel Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-213-_-Product

Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-292-_-Product

If you decide against AMD please consider 1156 from Intel. Get an i7 870. The performance you get from triple channel memory is minimal and not worth the premium. You will be plenty happy with AMD (Built one for the friend i'm in business with) and based on benchmarks side by side (if you decide to stay Intel) the 1156 socket and 1366 socket processors aren't that different. You also save on utilities with 1156, as it has a 95W TDP, where the 1366 has 130W.

 

[Davidh373]

-Crucial Technology 128 GB Crucial RealSSD C300 Series for $276

and don't get this. It may be SATA III, but there are MUCH faster SATA II SSDs like the one I listed which are faster!

 

[ananya.dragon]

thanks davidh. What r the specs of what you use? and how much did it cost?

this is actually being funded by my parents for doing really well in school and partly as a bday gift so the budget has been pushed to say $3000. Should i still consider the i7 970. How is the asus rampage2 extreme? will it be compatible with this core i7?

thanks for all the help guys... i really appreciate it

and what tools will i need to buy when i make this?

 

[darkewaffle]

Get the cash instead, but if you're insistent in spending it all get yourself a good display at least.

Expensive components aren't better, they just cost more.

 

[mfenn]

Get the cash instead, but if you're insistent in spending it all get yourself a good display at least.

Expensive components aren't better, they just cost more.

This.

I'm sure your parents would be super proud if you asked them to put 1/2 of it into savings.

 

[Davidh373]

This.

I'm sure your parents would be super proud if you asked them to put 1/2 of it into savings.

Agreed!

Mine at the time cost $1600 with a crappy monitor and a nice keyboard. I would not recommend 1366 like I've got though. At the time I got it 1156 processors weren't out. Get the 1156 i7 or the AM3 1055T (preferably the 6 Core 1055T). Spend close to $1500 on everything for the build and save the rest for a few year's worth of upgrades or tuition/ clothing/ food/ other. Better yet, (sorry, only since you said bittorrent) you should buy legal software like:

Adobe Production Premium: $400 (for student with legal production usage)

Windows 7 Professional X64: $140 OEM

$540 isn't bad for 2 pieces of useful software, and you'll feel better if you aren't already doing things the legal way .

Another thing you could do is get a medium Intuos4. The touch functionality is pretty cool on the bamboo, but the Intous4 series is much better for all it's shortcut keys and wheel functionality.