advice on new build for video, some gaming

[kirkcauldy]

My current homebuilt PC is 8 years old and I am ready to build an updated machine. After studying this site and others the parts I'm considering are listed below. It's been a long time since I looked at PC hardware and would appreciate any advice on better parts or any parts that might be a problem. I want a fast, reliable machine but will not be doing any overclocking. Primary use would be for video encoding, rendering, etc., home office work, with possibly some light gaming (but no crossfire etc.). Also I keep a machine a long time so it needs to have some room for future growth. I will look at mice, keyboard, etc. later as I can use my old equipment for now.

CPU: Intel Core i7 870
Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D-E Pro
Memory: Corsair----CMX8GX3M4B1333C9 DDR3-1333 (XMS3-10600C9*8GB) 8GB Kit (4 x 2GB) 1.5v 9-9-9-24-2T
OR
Corsair-----CMV4GX3M2A1333C9 DDR3-1333 (PC3-10600C9) 4GB Kit (2 x 2GB) 1.5v 9-9-9-24-2T

OR Crucial--8GB Kit (4GBx2) Part #: CT2KIT51264BA1339 CL=9 • DDR3-1333 • 1.5V • 512Meg x 64
OR
Crucial---4GB kit (2GBx2) Part #: CT2KIT25664BA1339 • CL=9 DDR3-1333 • 1.5V • 256Meg x 64

System Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6402AAEX 640GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5

Graphics card:ASUS CuCore Series EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit
OR
GIGABYTE GV-R577SO-1GD Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5
TV Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 1850
PSU: Corsair HX850
Case: Antec or Lian Li
OS: Windows 7 Professional full version (with the Win XP license)

[glc]

Any of that ram would be fine. The Asus video card would be preferred. 850 watts is a lot more than you need, if you want a modular PSU, the 650HX is plenty. You will need an optical drive, SATA DVD burners are only 20 bucks.

[matt99881]

If it's not an issue (price wise) I would push for the Corsair 8GB of RAM. Also, for your video card, I would suggest getting Gigabyte. I definitely recommend them for their customer service as well as powerful hardware. Here's a good link for a Gigabyte 5770. It is overclocked to 900MHz and noticeably cooler than other 5770's.

[glc]

Matt, have you read our sticky thread on component brand recommendations yet? It's been put together by a professional builder with wide brand experience. Gigabyte video cards are "okay" - better than XFX - but it's not top tier like Asus.

[matt99881]

Actually yes I have read that thread, and I do not believe I said anything about XFX. In fact I compared a Gigabyte card to an ASUS card on NewEgg, and chose the Gigabyte.

[kirkcauldy]

Thanks for your input. I'm changing the PSU to a TX750. I do plan to add in a DVD burner and a couple of more HD's for storage. Since there is a little difference on the video card brand I will look for some online reviews of each card and try to make a decision. There isn't a lot of difference in price between the 2 cards.

[Nikon]

our recommendation of asus comes from many reasons professional builders look for. these include quality of the unit. good end user support from the company. good RMA system to handle the occasional bad component. there are more, but those are the most important reasons.

[glc]

You need to take Newegg reviews with a grain of salt. Some of the reasons you will find bad reviews are operator error and ignorance. You can buy a card made by an absolutely terrible company and have no issues whatsoever. The key is how things get handled when you DO have issues.