First Build $1000 Render and Mutli Task Machine

[arwilso4]

I am an architecture student and need a computer that will run programs like Auto CAD, Revit, 3DS, Rhino, and Render Engines with good efficiency. I have chosen The AMD Phenom II x6 as my processor. I like to think this is a good processor for what I intend to do with this computer. I have done some research in these forums and with reviews on New Egg. This is the build I have come up with (I am new to this so please be patient).

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX

ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

LG Black 10X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Combo Model CH10LS20K LightScribe Support - OEM
Newegg.com - LG Black 10X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Combo Model CH10LS20K LightScribe Support - Blu-Ray Drives

Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply
Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

I intend to add a GPU and more RAM within the next 6 months. Some things I am concerned with is the compatibility of RAM (Timing and Latency) and Modular PSU (Modular vs Not). I am currently within my budget and feel this is pretty rocking computer, but being new to this I am very hesitant to hit the "Checkout" button due to my lack of knowledge. Oh and I do intend to overclock but not right away because OC is also very new to me.

Thanks!

[arwilso4]

I already have a Keyboard Mouse and Monitor. I am running a 24" Samsung Monitor if that helps at all. Thanks!

[Nuclear Krusader]

I'd stay away from modular PSU's.

[arwilso4]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader I'd stay away from modular PSU's.

What is the difference between a modular and non modular PSU. So i can understand the reasoning behind the decision.

[Nuclear Krusader]

The modular PSU allows you to plug in to the PSU only the cables that you need, depending on the amount of devices you have, thus allowing for better cable management. The regular -non-modular- PSUs have all the cables soldered and you cannot unplug them from the unit, thus you have to tuck away the ones you don't use in some corner of the case where they don't impede air flow. The main difference is thus convenience.

There is a problem with the modular design, though, only I can't remember which one it is/was, maybe glc can. Hope he sees this thread.

[arwilso4]

Should I be concerned with the number and variety of plugs when it comes to my PSU or do they typically plenty? Does my PSU seem adequate power wise for my set up, plus upgrades of a possible 2 GPU's and 8Gigs of RAM over the next year or so?

[ryuk999]

If your going to use that motherboard, I'd highly recommend going with this hard drive for 2 reasons
1. More reliable manufacturer
2. SATA III vs. SATA II, your motherboard supports SATA III (twice as fast as SATA II) so why not use it?

WD 1TB 7200rpm 64MB cache SATA III

[arwilso4]

Will do! I thought the hard drive i was looking at was SATA III my bad. Thanks Ryuk999

[glc]

Nuc, you are going on old info. Today's modulars from quality manufacturers work very well. You are probably thinking of the original Ultras, which are junk.

A quality 650 watt power supply will power any single graphics card on the planet. If you want a modular, I prefer the Corsair HX series.

[arwilso4]

Sounds good I found a pretty good deal on New Egg for a Corsair HX 750 Watt just to be safe for future upgrades. I noticed it only had one rail rather and the 4 rails the Antec had. From what i understand the 4 rails are typically more stable. Could someone elaborate a little more on how the rails work and how important this aspect of the PSU is.

Does anyone have any thoughts or information on the AMD Phenom II X6 Processor. I haven't found a whole lot of talk about them.

[David M]

For newer systems you want a single rail. The compromise is having one load affect another load on the same rail versus the increased chances of overloading one rail from a power source with multiple rails.

The more rails you have, the less overhead you have to work with for a given rail. For example, with one PSU you might get one rail at 40 amps. For another you might get two rails at 17 amps. (older style) You can see how much easier it would be to max out a 17 amp rail than a 40 amp rail if you are not very careful to balance out your loads. It used to be that all PSU had rail breakers that were limited to 17 amps and guaranteed to cut out before 20 amps. PSU manufacturers are making 12v rails rated for well over 20 amps, which is a good thing. When one rail gets shut down, the entire PSU shuts itself down. Why increase the odds of shutting down a PSU?


Modular PSU's are only necessary if you care about how the inside of your computer looks. There is no harm in taking the PSU cables you do not use, cable tying them together and stuffing them into a space where they are out of the air flow. As far as I am concerned, they are only for cosmetic reasons and serve no functional purpose.

I also know very complex 12 VDC systems well enough to know that the more connectors you have then the more likely you are to have problems such as voltage drops across those connectors. As glc said, the modular PSU's are more reliable than before but no electrical connector has a zero voltage drop across it, and they do have the possibility of their resistance increasing over time. Its not that it will happen, its that it could happen although probably rare.

[arwilso4]

Thanks that helps me understand some positives and some negatives. I am not really too concerned with the appearance I would rather have a reliable computer. I intend for this to be a work horse not a show piece. Thanks!

[arwilso4]

So from the responses I have had these are the changes I have made. I am currently sitting just under $1000 with this set up. If anyone has any ideas of how to reduce the cost while keeping performance would be appreciated otherwise not a big deal I am still within my budget.

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
(I there anything I should know about this mobo that may cause any issues)

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX
(Are there any other processors I may be overlooking that may do a better job?)


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
(are these 100% compatible with my set up other than the need to OC to reach full 1600 potential)

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

LG Black 10X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Combo Model CH10LS20K LightScribe Support - OEM
Newegg.com - LG Black 10X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Combo Model CH10LS20K LightScribe Support - Blu-Ray Drives

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
(Will there be enough room for all the PSU cables in this case?)

[Nuclear Krusader]

There should be plenty of room in that case for the cables.

[glc]

Not to beat a dead horse, but I have a Corsair 520HX modular in this box and I have had absolutely zero issues. I also used the same PSU for a build I did for my son in law with no issues. I really prefer how easy it is to do cable management when you don't have extra cables.

Don't shoot me, but I have one of the dreaded Ultra modulars in my old Windows 2000 box - and no issues so far. The PSU was given to me - I certainly would not have bought it! Then again, it's 600 watts and all that old one really needs is a 350. I would NOT trust it under a high load.

[arwilso4]

So other than the PSU Modular vs Non-Modular, are there any other issues I should be concerned with. I'm really concerned about having any incompatible or mis-matched parts. If this was your build what would you do to make it better? Thanks!

[glc]

I'd replace that G.skill ram with Crucial, Corsair, Kingston, or A-Data. To be completely safe, buy ram that's on the QVL (tested memory) on the Asus page for that motherboard.

[arwilso4]

I made the purchase I moved to Corsair RAM and feel comfortable with everything else.

Thanks for the help I will be posting the results of my build when complete or if i have any issues.

Thanks!

[arwilso4]

Ok so the build is together and started up with out any major issues. Now that windows is running and i have been checking my task manger out and my RAM usage hasn't dropped below 1G. Call me crazy but that seems excessive when I am idling, or have one window of Firefox open.

[arwilso4]

Should this be posted in the ram section of the forum?

[glc]

That's completely normal. Windows will use all the ram it wants to do its thing - if it did NOT use ram, it would run a lot slower!

[arwilso4]

Thanks for your help. If I have any questions in the next few days i will be back. This forum is a great resource. Thanks again!