First Time Builder Needs Help!

[JeffersonWatkins]

I am a current Apple user wanting to have a "workhorse" PC for my 3D rendering, Photo Editing and Casual Gaming. Would this system allow for fast renders / above par gaming? Will it be stable?

My other choice is a Mac Pro - however it starts at $2500, This set up will only cost me $1600

PSU - X-Power 585 Power Supply, 585W, 24-pin ATX12V, Dual 80mm Fans

Mobo - ASUS P6T Deluxe V2, LGA1366, Intel X58, 6400 MT/s QPI, DDR3-2000 (O.C.) 24GB /6, PCIe x16 SLI CF /3, SATA 3 Gb/s RAID 5 /6, HDA, GbLAN /2, FW /2

CPU - Intel i7-950 Quad-Core 3.06GHz, LGA1366, 4.8 GT/s QPI, 8MB L3 Cache, 45nm, 130W, EM64T EIST VT XD

RAM - 3GB (3 x 1GB) Ballistix Tracer DDR3 1333MH/z

GPU - GTX 275 709MHz, 896MB GDDR3 2484MHz

HDD - Seagate 750GB Barracuda ES 7500rpm

Drive - AD-7241S Black 24x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ Lightscribe

PCI - F5D7000 Wireless G Desktop Card

OS - 64bit Windows Vista


Remember, I am a first time builder, so if you see anything that wouldn't work. Could you please tell me?

[glc]

1. Look for a better brand power supply, that one is made by HEC and it's not good quality. You can't go wrong with Corsair.
2. Excellent motherboard.
3. The i950 is not worth the premium over the i920, spend the money on ram instead, see next comment.
4. Go for a 6gb kit. Stay away from Ballistix, and choose ram that's on the Asus QVL for that motherboard. 1333 speed is sufficient.
5. For a multipurpose machine, I think you will be happier with an ATI card. Determine your price range and read this article.
6. The ES is not a fast drive, it's designed for servers. Look at the Western Digital Caviar Black drives.
7. Sony drives are decent.
8. Match your wireless card to your router if possible. With that said, if there is any possible way to hardwire you will be much better off.

NOW - I'm going to throw a complete monkey wrench in here - have you looked at the i8xx series i7's and the P55 chipset boards?

[Kilauea]

The PSU you linked is not a "reliable" brand and a PSU is one of the most important part of your PC. I would suggest a PSU from Corsair, Seasonic or Antec. For now, I will say the Corsair 650TX. Other great choices would the Corsair 650HX Antec TP-650w.

Then, maybe I'd go down to the Intel i7 920 as its only a bit lower in speed at half the price.

Instead of going for 3x1gb RAM, go for 3x2gb. That way you won't be bottlenecked and it will make the 64bit o/s worth it. I would suggest this set of G.Skill RAM.

You forgot a case, that is a very personnal thing, but if you gave us some information about your needs (ie. quiet, flashy, classy, very good cooling), we can surely give you a few pointers.

If possible, try to wait for Windows 7 64 bit. it will come out officially on october 22nd(if I am not mistaken).

Another thing you might want to consider is another aftermarket heatsink if you plan to overclock your CPU. If you do not plan to overlock it, then you can lower your cost by going with an Intel i7 860 along with a Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R.

Edit: darn I was beaten by glc
I did not saw that the PSU and case were a combo. Anyway, I maintain what I said.
I forgot to add, that if you go with i7 860, then you should get 4 or 8gb RAM.

[JeffersonWatkins]

I see that you both mention stepping down the CPU speed. This plays an integral part in 3D rendering.

I'm guessing either one will be a noticeable improvement over my current Core2Duo 2.0gh/z?


Anyway - Update

I'm now looking at the P55 chipset.

CPU - Core i7-860 Quad-Core 2.8GHz, LGA1156, 4.8 GT/s, 8MB L3 Cache, 45nm

Mobo- P7P55D Deluxe, LGA1156, Intel P55, DDR3-2133 (O.C.) 16GB /4, PCIe x16 SLI CF /2, SATA 3 Gb/s RAID 5 /9, HDA, GbLAN /2, FW /2, ATX

RAM - Kingston 8GB (4 x 2GB) PC3-8500 DDR3 1066MHz CL7

GPU- Radeon HD 4890 850MHz, 1GB GDDR5 3900MHz, PCIe x16 CrossFire

HDD - 500GB WD CaviarBlack SATA 3 Gb/s, 7200 RPM

For $1500, so $100 savings for comprable performance.

[Kilauea]

Of course the i7 950 will yield better performance, but it will be a marginal benefit specially in comparison to the cost.

Edit, what about the case, PSU and dvd drive ?

[JeffersonWatkins]

I knew I was forgetting something.

Case- Antec Three Hundred Black Mid-Tower Case

PSU - Corsair CMPSU-750TX TX Series Power Supply, 750W, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V

DVD- Sony AD-7241S Black 24x DVDR/RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ Lightscribe

[Kilauea]

This whole build looks fine now. I would just consider some G.Skill ram instead of the Kingston simply for brand preferance.

That PSU will be much more than you need (You could get the Corsair 650TX and still have plenty). But having more power(quality) will not hurt you one bit.

So now you'd have a pretty fine build. You could do a few changes to make it even more awesome, but I doubt its needed for just casual gaming.

Any reason for going for P7P55D ? Do you plan on going Crossfire ? You could save on the board too, if you don't plan that. You would only need 1 PCIe x16 slot.

[JeffersonWatkins]

I figure I should just have the ability to go crossfire if I felt the need to. Im guessing the ATI 4890 is good enough to run most games on high settings?

[Kilauea]

Yup, my 4890 runs any games maxed, but it depends on the resolution you play at. If you have a 30in screeen, then you'd be better off with a 5870. Actually the 5870 is pretty much the most powerful single card available, it came out last week and if you are interested in doing some gaming, it may be worth to look at.

[glc]

You should get ram faster than 1066, again, verify on the Asus QVL. I have no complaints with Kingston DDR3 if it's on the QVL.

[JeffersonWatkins]

One last question, would the 7200rpm HDD be causing a bottleneck?

[glc]

Nope, the Black is one of the fastest drives on the market.