Multi tasking PC

[tommatthews]

Hello. First time building my own PC - though I have been around the block a while (I had an Osborne 1 and Osborne 2!). I'm not a gamer but run multi-tasking is important and would love a Win machine that runs as nicely as Linux.

My applications are Photoshop CS3, Adobe Premiere Elements, MS office and a fair amount of in-the-clouds computing. My goal is to avoid watching the hourglass.

Based on reading here and videoguys.com, here is the build I cam up with. I would like to stay under $2,000. I have two dell monitors, keyboard, mouse and speakers.


Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366 $280
Asus P6X58D-E $220
Corsair XMS3 12GB (6 x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM DDR# 1600 (PC3 12800) $225
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200rpm SATA 300 MB/s $88
GTX470 $270
BDR-206 Blu-ray Burner $110
MS Win 7 Professional OEM (64 bit) $140
Antec Sonata III with 500-Watt power supply $140

Total in this build is $1,472.

Power supply in case is 500W. I have read the Antec PSU is pretty good. Will this work?

Three things I am looking for - 1) any hardware conflicts 2) better choices given my goal (multi-tasking) and 3) any overkill items in the list.

I appreciate you guys. Lot of brains and experience in this forum.

Thanks, Tom.

[glc]

Instead of a X58, I'd recommend a socket 1155 P67 build. The only downside would be choosing between 8gb or 16gb ram. The 500 watt PSU is not enough for a GTX470, Nvidia specifies 550 watts. Pick a case without a PSU.

Newegg.com - ASUS SABERTOOTH P67 (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

If you plan on overclocking:

Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9

If no overclocking:

Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600

Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1333C9

Choose either 1 or 2 ram kits for 8gb or 16gb.

Get the SATA 6.0 version of that hard drive.

[tommatthews]

Thanks a bunch. I will do the research and let you know what my new config is.

[tommatthews]

With help from GLC, here is my current configuration. My question is the case. As I plan to allow for OC, I want to have a case that will provide adequate cooling - but don't need anything real pretty (i.e., expensive).

Any ideas to point me to a tutorial on assembly is greatly appreciated.

• GTX470
• BDR-206 Blu-ray Burner
• MS Win 7 Professional OEM (64 bit)
• ASUS SABERTOOTH P67 (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
• CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
• Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
• COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7
• CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9
• Antec Sonata Elite Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
• Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Again, thanks. Tom

[glc]

If you are going to be running that furnace of a video card and overclocking the CPU, I'd get one of the Cooler Master HAF series cases. HAF stands for High Air Flow.

[birddog_61]

Why are you going with a gtx 470? Bench - GPU11 - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

The 560 is faster takes less power, produces less heat, is quieter, plus its a little cheaper.
I would go with one of these two.
Fastest
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE Super Overclock Series GV-N560SO-1GI-950 GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Better company + lifetime warranty
Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

[glc]

He is going with a 470 because that's the specific recommended video card for Adobe software. It is NOT for gaming purposes.

[tommatthews]

Just to close out this thread, I did not build this machine. I backed off the higher end video and built a very nice machine (based on GLC recommendation) that I love after using it for a few weeks. Love this forum.