My first build! Some help?

[Lukeguy]

Hey! I'm new here and would like some advice on my first build.
I have a list of parts and would like some input on how they suit my needs. I am heavily involved in video editing and special effects rendering for work, and I also would like to do a lot of gaming as well. Here's what I have so far:

CPU: Buy the AMD Phenom II 1055T Six Core Processor at TigerDirect.ca

MoBo: Newegg.com - ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

RAM: Buy the Corsair XMS3 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 RAM at TigerDirect.ca

Graphics: Buy the EVGA GeForce GTX 465 SuperClocked Fermi 1GB GDDR5 at TigerDirect.ca

PSU: Buy the Ultra LSP650 650-Watt Power Supply at TigerDirect.ca

Case: Buy the PowerUp ATX Black Mid-T Case w/ 450w PSU at TigerDirect.ca

I'm looking to spend just a bit over 1000$
I've never done this before, so let me know if I've missed anything very important! Any help/advice is welcome

[glc]

First off, we do not recommend Tiger Direct. To our Canadian members, we recommend NCIX.com or Newegg.ca.

Is your $1000 CDN budget for case, power supply, CPU, motherboard, ram, video card, hard drive, and optical drive? What about an operating system and peripherals?

The Ultra PSU is no good, and the GTX 465 is a poor choice.

[Lukeguy]

thanks for the reply! I can go a bit over 1000, but yes that would be for the full thing. And thanks for the buying tip, I'll make sure I grab the parts from there! If those two choices aren't good what might you suggest for this build? Is there a better PSU and graphics card in a similar price range i could look at?

Oh and as for peripherals I have that covered already. The OS would be XP or Windows 7, I'm undecided as of yet.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Ncix ships faster as their warehouses are in our country. Plus they're a Canadian company, so that's one more reason to buy from them.

Their current weekly special has this PSU.

Personally I don't care for Corsair units, but they are favs here because they're good. With the exception of one of their series, but I think the CX series is good quality.

Now if you want real quality and can afford to spend a mite more, you can take a look at this unit.

[Lukeguy]

That PSU and cooler looks like a good deal! I think I might go with that considering the value. Also I think I might upgrade the Graphics card to a GTX 470 after looking at a few benchmark tests and reviews. Thanks again!

[Nuclear Krusader]

Just noticed that you do rendering work. I'm not entirely sure how much difference there is now, but ATi has always had better image quality than nVidia. You might want to look at their cards: Asus and Diamond are top dogs when it comes to ATi cards.

Oh, and avoid cases that come with the PSU, as they usually have crappy units in them.

[cantputt04]

If I may suggest, instead of the GTX 470, getting an HD 6870 instead. They're in the same price range, but run cooler, quieter, and put out about 10% more power than the 470.

Which, now that I think of it, I don't see too many people suggesting ATI cards these days... is there some fault with them that I'm right now unaware of or are they having a difficult time nudging the green team out of the spot light again?

Also, an Asus card:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...-401-_-Product

[Lukeguy]

So i changed my case to one without a built in PSU. I will check out the other card and compare.

[David M]

It used to be the case that Radeon drivers had more problems than Nvidia drivers. That gap has closed significantly to where I don't think it does not makes a difference any longer.

[Nuclear Krusader]

The problem is or was mainly the Catalyst Control Centre and its using that buggy thing called .NET Framework.

[glc]

The CX series is the Corsair NOT to get. The TX650 is an excellent unit.

Best video cards for the money:

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: December 2010 : December Updates

Those are US prices and vendors. I'd personally get an Asus, Diamond, or HIS Radeon 6870.