New Year New build

[futura65]

So I think my old tower is about as tapped as it can be at this point. It was built 6 years ago. DFI lanparty MOBO, AMD 64 Processor 3200, Winfast PX6600 GT, 4 internal hard drives, 4gb Ram...it's old like I said, but when I built it it was near top of what I could obtain I've recently bought a new quad core laptop for work and am loving most everything about it. So I need to upgrade my home workstation to match the portable system in OS, performance etc...

My work involves 3D modeling/rendering, extremely large photo and video files, multi tasking as usual between all those while building a project. Needless to say I push my machines to their max and nearly everything I use taps multi core to its full potential. I'm looking to do the same thing as I did last time which is build a machine that will last for a good long while. I don't care to build a machine every couple years.

I don't want to say price isn't an option, but I'm well expecting to drop some money on the system. I bought the dell quad core i7 M6500 laptop over the summer when it wasn't nearly as cheap as it is now. So I like to buy for the long haul
-I'm in USA
-I prefer Intel, nvida, segate.
-I don't do overclocking and all that...I just hit render.
-I always have dual monitors, might go for 3+ since I've got several around, and as money comes in and price goes down I'll be looking for possible dual 24" or 30"

I built this wish list back in August on newegg. The mobo and v-card are no longer available. So I'm looking for input on the list I had built in general and how I can improve on it and replace the items that are no longer available. I appreciate any input and thank you in advance. I'll answer any questions anyone has to help understand what I'm looking for in this new system. Hopefully the parts list bellow will give you and indication where I am heading and looking for it to land. If there are any new developments in hardware I should be aware of from August when I compiled this list please let me know.

CASE

--COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

MOBO
--GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD9 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 XL ATX Intel Motherboard

VIDEO CARD
--SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100281-2GVXSR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support ...​

POWER SUPPLY
--CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active ...

CPU
--Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition Gulftown 3.33GHz LGA 1366 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80613I7980X

MEMORY
--CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8 G

 

[mfenn]

Sorry, but buying the most expensive component in every category isn't a very smart idea. The only thing on your previous list that was even remotely justified was the 980X. The rest of the stuff was a complete waste of money that didn't add to the performance for your intended task. So I guess it's a good thing that you didn't buy it. :awe:

Also, a little general education on buying machines for longevity: buying the top-end component is still a really dumb idea. In 5 years, you will not care that your part was 10% faster than anything else that was available at the time. You'll just know that it is still slow as dirt. If you don't care to build a machine every 2 to 3 years (understandable), you should probably look into getting a Dell every 2-3 years instead. That'll keep you far more current.

Finally, here's a build:
i7 970 + ASUS Sabertooth combo $1050 - Westmere without the premium for the unlocked multiplier
G.Skill DDR3 1333 12GB $150 - if your projects are as big as you say, you should be looking at 12GB minimum. This gives you the option to go to 24GB later. No point in going for DDR3 1600 since the Westmere won't run it at that speed without an OC.
GTX 460 1GB $180 - You want CUDA, but you don't need to go crazy
Vertex 2 120GB $230 - It's a crime not to put an SSD in a machine of this caliber
Samsung F3 1TB $70 - Add as many of these as you need
Samsung DVD Burner $18
Seasonic S12II 520W $70 - You really don't need a huge PSU
Antec P183 $162 - Quiet competence
Total: $1930 w/ 1 HDD