High Demand General Usage Computer Build (Audio/Graphics)

[DJBreeze1979]

I am building a new machine, and I am hoping to get quite a few years out of it. This will be a personal computer, not business, so the uses will vary... I am a DJ and I use Virtual DJ at the moment, but plan on moving to Traktor in the near future, I also dable in music production (Ableton, Reason, Fruity Loops, Acid Pro, Sound Forge, Sound Booth), I am a graphic designer so I use Photoshop and Illustrator, Acrobat (CS4 versions). I usually don't have the time these days, but I used to play games (mostly WOW), but even though I don't really plan on playing too many games (due to time restraints) I'd like to know that the machine could (and do it well) if I so felt the urge.

This will be my second build, my first was for my shop and happened about a month ago (here is the thread about that build). The machine so far seems to run like a champ, I am very pleased with it to date, I built this machine on a little smaller budget than I am working on with this newest build so there are a few minor upgrades from the one I built for work to this one I am building for myself, but honestly they are pretty similar machines.

Anyway as I just wanted to throw this out there and see if I could some feedback before I placed my order, as I was heavily repremanded for not doing so with the previous build...

Here is the link to my "wish list": Rockney Richards Dream Machine

Here is the build:

Case: Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, come with Five Fans, window side panel, top HDD dock

Mobo: ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

GPU: XFX HD-687A-ZNFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model

PSU: XFX Core Edition PRO650W (P1-650S-NLB9) 650W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Boot Drive: Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) SSDSC2MH120A2K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Storage: 2x HITACHI Deskstar H3IK30003272SW (0S03208) 3TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

Soundcard: (recycled from current machine) M-AUDIO Audiophile 2496 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface 4-In-4-Out Professional Audio Card with MIDI

Soundcard: (recycled from current machine) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion 70SB046A00003 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card

DVD: LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH24NS70 - OEM

Card Reader: Rosewill RCR-IM5001 USB2.0 75 in 1 internal Card Reader w/ 3 ports USB2.0 Hub / eSATA port / Extra silver face plate / Molex Power using Antec 30300 Three Hundred 5.25" To 3.5" Drive Bay Adapter Assembly to convert one more 5.25" to a 3.5" External Drive Bay because the other will used for the 3.5" USB 3.0 box that comes with the mobo.

Serial Card: (for connection to my plotter) SYBA PCI-Express 1-Port DB9 RS232 Serial Card with Low Profile Bracket - RoHS Model SD-PEX15021

Extra USB Card: (Mostly for the extra 9 pin USB connection, and the internal 3.0 usb so that I can connect all of my front ports) USB 3.0+eSATA/USB 2.0+9 Pin to PCI-e express 1X adapter

In regards to over clocking and after market cooling: I really don't see a lot of reason to do any over clocking in the near future on this machine, I have a 2600(no K) in the work PC i built, and I love it, therefor I really doubt I will see a need to do any OCing anytime soon with this newest machine, solely based on what I have seen out of the stock performance of a 2600 in the aforementioned work PC i built a month ago.

The computer I am typing this on (my home PC) is an 8 yr old Intel Pentium 4 (3.8GHz), and it has treated me great all this time, and honestly is still a great PC, but when I bought it, I did the same thing as what I am trying to do now (being far less educated back then, lol) I bought what I believed to be the best that was available at the time, so that the computer would last me a very long time, and until I started digital DJing, I would have never even realized how underpowered my CPU was, I mean I get occasional lag in various programs here and there, but for a computer that is near the bottom of 10 year hill, the thing works likes a champ.

So with the K, my plan is to run it as stock, until I start to see a need for boost, and that time, I will start looking into a more in depth cooling system, and piddling with OCing the machine.


Any and All input will be greatly appreciated!!!


Thanks,

Rockney

[Anomo]

You might want to change the HDDs to Western Digital. Preferably black for the boot drive, but blue/green is ok for storage.

The RAM is overkill unless you are going to do high quality video rendering (which it doesn't look like you are doing), 4, possibly 8 GB (still overkill) would be enough.

Nice choice of graphics cards, but I haven't heard a lot of good things about XFX, try to go with gigabyte (asus if your in the USA).

The PSU will be good enough, but if you live in a warm place, it might not deliver the minimum 500W for your GPU when in a hot room. Wait for more experts to confirm that though.

[jdeb]

Change the power supply to a high quality one
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX
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

Change the SSD to Intel.. Sata III, reliable, excellent controller to match with Z68 Chipset
Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) SSDSC2MH120A2K5 2.5"
Newegg.com - Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) SSDSC2MH120A2K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

If you ever plan on overclocking, then get that same ram but in the low profile version to accommodate an aftermarket cooler
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB)
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML16GX3M4A1600C9B

[DJBreeze1979]

Originally Posted by jdeb Change the SSD to Intel.. Sata III, reliable, excellent controller to match with Z68 Chipset Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) SSDSC2MH120A2K5 2.5" [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167042]Newegg.com - Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) SSDSC2MH120A2K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)[/url}

I looked around some more, and honestly I knew it in the first place (You aren't the first person to suggest it), but I wanted the Vertex 3 specs. But anyway, I went with your suggestion here. Someone else also suggested Crucial SSD. I went with Intel because it had the better specs. But I was wondering if you had any input on the Crucials?

Originally Posted by jdeb Change the power supply to a high quality one CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 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[/url}

I'm not questioning you here, well I guess I am, but not because I am doubting you, simply because I would like some further explanation. Have you had bad experiences with XFX PSU's? Why the preference for the cosair PSU's?

Originally Posted by jdeb If you ever plan on overclocking, then get that same ram but in the low profile version to accommodate an aftermarket cooler CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML16GX3M4A1600C9B

Doesn't the "Heat Releases" simply snap off of these, when you need them to?

Thanks for taking the time to look it over and offer suggestions, I really appreciate it.

[glc]

I agree with jdeb on all 3 points, and Corsair has just introduced modular versions of the TX series - this really helps with cable management.

Now, can I ask why you are getting the Deluxe version of the motherboard? The lesser versions of the P8Z68 are all just as high quality, the only differences are in the features.

If you are using Adobe, consider a Nvidia card instead of ATI/AMD. You may be able to take advantage of the CUDA processing.

You may want to get a cheap 500gb drive to use as a dedicated Photoshop scratch disk. A WD Blue would be fine.

XFX is not a reliable manufacturer - they are a division of ECS. Their customer service in the US is pretty poor. Video card brands I'd stick with would be Asus, EVGA, and Sapphire, with HIS and MSI in the next tier.

[DJBreeze1979]

Originally Posted by glc I agree with jdeb on all 3 points, and Corsair has just introduced modular versions of the TX series - this really helps with cable management. Now, can I ask why you are getting the Deluxe version of the motherboard? The lesser versions of the P8Z68 are all just as high quality, the only differences are in the features. If you are using Adobe, consider a Nvidia card instead of ATI/AMD. You may be able to take advantage of the CUDA processing. You may want to get a cheap 500gb drive to use as a dedicated Photoshop scratch disk. A WD Blue would be fine. XFX is not a reliable manufacturer - they are a division of ECS. Their customer service in the US is pretty poor. Video card brands I'd stick with would be Asus, EVGA, and Sapphire, with HIS and MSI in the next tier.

I'll go more in depth this evening when I have more time, but in the meantime do you have Nvida GPU suggestions? and could you please further explain CUDA processing? GPUs are one place where I really feel really lost.

I went with the deluxe, because I preferred the deluxe ports to the pro ports.

I have a few 500gb HD's laying around for scratch disks, I will do that, usually I just partition a section of one of my HDD's (like 50gb) for that, but I'll have the room for the extra HDD so why not.

I will do some more research on the PSUs, but the XFX PSU's came highly recommended. However I do plan on trying to a lot better cable managment in my personal rig, than I did in the shop PC, and the XFX's didn't offer a lot in those terms.

Again, I can't explain how much I really appreciate the input guys.

[DJBreeze1979]

Thoughts on this GPU as a suitable inline replacement to the GPU I have listed above?

It is in the same budget, it seems to be close to = or > in terms of tech timeline, but I don't know much about performance to reliability...as I stated above, GPU tech is kinda new to me, so I feel a little lost, and I need to do some more research...

ASUS ENGTX560 DC/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

or

EVGA 02G-P3-1559-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

[glc]

The guys using Adobe Premiere are recommending GTX570's.

CUDA

[DJBreeze1979]

GTX 570's are just a little out of my price range... I was hoping to keep the card in the $200ish range...

Thanks for the CUDA link, when I get home, I'll look into more, and see what Adobe offers in response to CUDA, as well.

[jdeb]

EVGA 01G-P3-1561-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti
Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1561-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

I have had bad experiences with the XFX brand and their customer service. I have built many PC's / Workstations and regularly use the Corsair I linked and Seasonic brand power supplies. I occasionally use Antec green power supplies in budget or low wattage systems as well. The failure rate on the three brands I mentioned is less than 1% and those that do fail are usually the result of power surges from improperly protected lines. The good thing about high quality power supplies is that they do not take down system components when they fail.

I have only used the smaller (64GB) Crucial's for SSD caching or Linux builds. I actually like the Intel 320 better for those if the price is right. In terms of larger SSD's where the OS and applications reside, Intel are the only one's I use because of the reliability, controller, and their Intel's excellent customer service. The performance is great as well. I have yet to have a failure with a drive. I had a couple of issues with the Crucial Sata II's but in my opinion, user error.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Originally Posted by DJBreeze1979 GTX 570's are just a little out of my price range... I was hoping to keep the card in the $200ish range... Thanks for the CUDA link, when I get home, I'll look into more, and see what Adobe offers in response to CUDA, as well.

There is a 'hack' you can use to enable CUDA for other nVidia cards. Make sure you buy a card with at least 1GB of memory, regardless of anything else.

Yes, you can partition a fast hard drive for the scratch disk. 100-200 GB should be fine. Just make sure you use the first partition in that drive, as it's the one closest to the centre of the disk and, by virtue of spinning faster than the outer sections, will give you a better scratching.

[DJBreeze1979]

Okay guys, I did some searching, and again I have to admit how ignorant I am when it comes to GPU's...

But I am looking around and I see two that both seem fairly comparable, but in my ignorance, I don't know really know what I am comparing and/or why...anyway the two that I found, (ironically Jdeb, one was the one that you suggested):

1. EVGA 02G-P3-1559-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

2. EVGA 01G-P3-1561-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Really comparing the two, is there really that much of a performance difference. As I am not that big of a gamer, I am pretty big fan of the price tag of the 550. Would I really be shooting myself in the foot to go with the 550 vs. the 560? Both are CUDA supported.

Thanks,

Rock

[Nuclear Krusader]

The higher bandwith of the 560 can give you an advantage, but it all depends on how heavy your video processing is going to be, and even then it'd be nothing world-shaking. In this case, it's better to go with the one with the largest buffer, since more memory helps more than faster memory.

[DJBreeze1979]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader The higher bandwith of the 560 can give you an advantage, but it all depends on how heavy your video processing is going to be, and even then it'd be nothing world-shaking. In this case, it's better to go with the one with the largest buffer, since more memory helps more than faster memory.

So you're recommending the 2GB 550?

[Nuclear Krusader]

I am.

[DJBreeze1979]

Updated Build:

Case: Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, come with Five Fans, window side panel, top HDD dock

Mobo: ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

GPU: EVGA 02G-P3-1559-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model

PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 (CMPSU-650HX) 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Boot Drive: Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) SSDSC2MH120A2K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Storage: HITACHI Deskstar H3IK30003272SW (0S03208) 3TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Backup: Western Digital Caviar Green WD30EZRX 3TB SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

Soundcard: (recycled from current machine) M-AUDIO Audiophile 2496 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface 4-In-4-Out Professional Audio Card with MIDI

Soundcard: (recycled from current machine) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion 70SB046A00003 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card

DVD: LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH24NS70 - OEM

Card Reader: Rosewill RCR-IM5001 USB2.0 75 in 1 internal Card Reader w/ 3 ports USB2.0 Hub / eSATA port / Extra silver face plate / Molex Power using Antec 30300 Three Hundred 5.25" To 3.5" Drive Bay Adapter Assembly to convert one more 5.25" to a 3.5" External Drive Bay because the other will used for the 3.5" USB 3.0 box that comes with the mobo.

Serial Card: (for connection to my plotter) SYBA PCI-Express 1-Port DB9 RS232 Serial Card with Low Profile Bracket - RoHS Model SD-PEX15021

Extra USB Card: (Mostly for the extra 9 pin USB connection, and the internal 3.0 usb so that I can connect all of my front ports) USB 3.0+eSATA/USB 2.0+9 Pin to PCI-e express 1X adapter


Per suggestions, I have made a few changes...

I went with a Corsair HX 650 PSU,

a CUDA EVGA GPU,

swapped a Hitachi 3tb for a WD Green 3tb, since i will only really need "performance" out of one, and I'll use the Green as my "Back Up Drive",

and went with an Intel SSD, rather than the OCZ for the boot drive for reliability reasons.


Thanks for the input, and keep it coming, as I was stating in another thread on here, while I really appreciate the input, I am really here seeking knowledge, so anything you have to offer will be very greatly appreciated.



Thank You very much everyone, and like I said keep it coming!,

Rockney

[DJBreeze1979]

Here is another thing I have been wondering about, could I get another small SSD like a 20gb or 30gb, and set it up as a cache for the one main storage drive, to further improve performance, or is it way over kill and unnecessary? Personally it kinda sounds like it would be, but curiosity has me on it... lol!

[Nuclear Krusader]

That's actually the only thing I'd use an SSD for. I was thinking that was what you wanted it for.

[DJBreeze1979]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader That's actually the only thing I'd use an SSD for. I was thinking that was what you wanted it for.

No I was going to use it as my boot drive. No caching, just straight up, windows & program files.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Not what I'd recommend, but anyway. Just don't put the Windows swap file on the SSD (which is why I don't trust SSDs in the first place, as Windows does not like the swap file on any other partition but the one the OS is installed onto).

[DJBreeze1979]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader Not what I'd recommend, but anyway. Just don't put the Windows swap file on the SSD (which is why I don't trust SSDs in the first place, as Windows does not like the swap file on any other partition but the one the OS is installed onto).

The page file on machine I am using now is not on the "C:\" drive on, this is a vista machine (but came from the early XP age), is this new page file error something new to windows 7?

BTW, you got me good with the whole swap file, I racked my brain trying to figure out what you meant, but good ole' Google saved the day.

[Nuclear Krusader]

No, it's on all versions of Windows. Sometimes it leads to problems, sometimes it doesn't.

[glc]

I do not know if you can run a SSD as your boot drive, and also a SSD to cache a standard drive. However, I DO know that you can "split" a SSD - use up to 64gb for cache and the rest of it as a standard drive. I do not know if that can be your boot drive!

[DJBreeze1979]

Is an SSD "cache" drive specific? Or is it Global? as in the cache is used for all the mechanical drives? or do you need a separate cache for each individual mechanical drive (and/or partition)?

[jdeb]

The best an advisable method is one of two scenarios.

1. For best performance use a larger SSD for OS and applications. 120GB would be the smallest I would recommend in this scenario since Windows is going to use at a minimum 17 to 20GB. You can expect the 120GB SSD after format to display 111 GB. So that leaves you with roughly 91GB for applications. If this is not enough, then 250GB (232 after format)would be the next choice. I do not recommend breaking the drive up as it really defeats the purpose and poses no advantage to caching. Using the single larger drive for OS and applications gives you the best performance.

2. Use a smaller drive 64GB for SSD caching, while utilizing a larger spin drive like you always have. The Z68 chipset offers this caching as a low cost enterprise solution for performance enhancement. This is a great feature but it is not the fastest from a performance standpoint. If you have the money to spend on a larger SSD, then this is the best performance choice.

Simply put, if you want to save money and turn your spin drive to near SSD performance, then the smaller SSD scenario (#2) is the way to go. If you are looking for the maximum performance, then scenario 1 is the choice.

[DJBreeze1979]

Jdeb,

Thanks, that is what I thought, I was just hoping someone could verify it for me. I really want the larger Intel SSD, but that sticker on it has me in shock. I have the 120gb in my list at present. But more than likely I will switch it over to the larger one before I build.

I checked my C:\ drive on the current machine and it was like 84gb w/o user files, and generally speaking it is a pretty close mirror of what I am wanting to put on this newest build.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by DJBreeze1979 Jdeb, Thanks, that is what I thought, I was just hoping someone could verify it for me. I really want the larger Intel SSD, but that sticker on it has me in shock. I have the 120gb in my list at present. But more than likely I will switch it over to the larger one before I build. I checked my C:\ drive on the current machine and it was like 84gb w/o user files, and generally speaking it is a pretty close mirror of what I am wanting to put on this newest build.

If money is an issue, the 64GB SSD is not a bad choice. You would be taking advantage of what the Z68 chipset has to offer. I was just trying to break it down for you.

[DJBreeze1979]

Originally Posted by jdeb If money is an issue, the 64GB SSD is not a bad choice. You would be taking advantage of what the Z68 chipset has to offer. I was just trying to break it down for you.

It's only an issue because I have to justify it to my wife, lol.

That the idea of dropping $600 on a hard drive is hard to swallow. It was another reason I went with OCZ in the first place, they had more sizes available.

Originally I went with a 180gb, cuz that felt like more than amble space, and the ticket on the item wasn't quite as shocking. But I suppose as the saying always goes, you get what you pay for.

[glc]

The most cost-effective solution is to use a WD Black for your main OS/apps drive, and a 40gb Intel 320 for a cache.

Newegg.com - Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G3B5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD7502AAEX 750GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

[DJBreeze1979]

I am going to use an SSD as my boot drive, and it will be an Intel 510, the question is whether or not, I pony up on the funds and get the big dog 250, rather than the 120, the other stuff was just stuff I was curious about.

You guys have helped a lot, and I understand a lot more thanks to you, so I wanna see if I can't learn some more. And we kinda went off track a bit so I thought I'd repost this, and see if I can't some more food for thought:

Updated Build:

Case: Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, come with Five Fans, window side panel, top HDD dock

Mobo: ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

GPU: EVGA 02G-P3-1559-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model

PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 (CMPSU-650HX) 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Boot Drive: Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) SSDSC2MH120A2K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Storage: HITACHI Deskstar H3IK30003272SW (0S03208) 3TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Backup: Western Digital Caviar Green WD30EZRX 3TB SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

Soundcard: (recycled from current machine) M-AUDIO Audiophile 2496 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface 4-In-4-Out Professional Audio Card with MIDI

Soundcard: (recycled from current machine) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion 70SB046A00003 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card

DVD: LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH24NS70 - OEM

Card Reader: Rosewill RCR-IM5001 USB2.0 75 in 1 internal Card Reader w/ 3 ports USB2.0 Hub / eSATA port / Extra silver face plate / Molex Power using Antec 30300 Three Hundred 5.25" To 3.5" Drive Bay Adapter Assembly to convert one more 5.25" to a 3.5" External Drive Bay because the other will used for the 3.5" USB 3.0 box that comes with the mobo.

Serial Card: (for connection to my plotter) SYBA PCI-Express 1-Port DB9 RS232 Serial Card with Low Profile Bracket - RoHS Model SD-PEX15021

Extra USB Card: (Mostly for the extra 9 pin USB connection, and the internal 3.0 usb so that I can connect all of my front ports) USB 3.0+eSATA/USB 2.0+9 Pin to PCI-e express 1X adapter


Per suggestions, I have made a few changes...

I went with a Corsair HX 650 PSU,

a CUDA EVGA GPU,

swapped a Hitachi 3tb for a WD Green 3tb, since i will only really need "performance" out of one, and I'll use the Green as my "Back Up Drive",

and went with an Intel SSD, rather than the OCZ for the boot drive for reliability reasons.


Thanks for the input, and keep it coming, as I was stating in another thread on here, while I really appreciate the input, I am really here seeking knowledge, so anything you have to offer will be very greatly appreciated.



Thank You very much everyone, and like I said keep it coming!,

Rockney