Web Design & Development Build ~$1600 from Newegg

[lewiswharf]

Hi all,

I'm excited to replace my current computer due to performance degradation. This will be the second computer I built, the current one I have being the first and you guys made it happen last time.

I'll be using the computer in my home office for Web design & development work. I'm a nerd with a disability and rely heavily on Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11. The critical programs that I currently use (they run like molasses) include:

• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11
• Adobe Creative Suite CS5
• Microsoft Office 2010
• Windows 7 Professional

I've been reading about solid state drives lately and I'm fairly certain I would like to install the operating system and applications onto an SSD. I'll use a hard drive for data. Do you believe this is a good approach?

I have also chosen two monitors

I have also chosen to go with the Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge processor. I know they recently came out and originally I was looking at the Intel Core i7-2700K Sandy Bridge. Any advice on this?

I have put together a wish list on Newegg through reading lots of threads and reviews. I could use your help making sure everything is compatible and that I'm not wasting my money having a feature that doesn't work in conjunction with the listed items.

How do I get the biggest bang for my buck? What should I change?

Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

Thank you very much for your feedback and advice!

[Nizmo]

If you seek the biggest bang for your buck, go with Core i7-2700K, it's simply cheaper than 3rd gen. at the moment, and for the price premium you only get a performance boost of about 10% at stock speeds. If you intend to overclock, even more reason to go with 2700K as Ivy Bridge has shown to produce more heat than Sandy Bridge when overclocked.

You might save a few bucks also by going with a ATX form factor mobo that'll work just fine instead, but I fully understand if you must have the mATX ROG mobo, it's very good.

SSD for a boot drive and a HDD for storage drive pretty much is the ideal combo.
I would go with Intel for SSD instead of OCZ.

If you are not hell-bent on sticking with a Thermaltake power supply you've picked, I highly recommend to go with another brand like Corsair.

[lewiswharf]

Originally Posted by Nizmo If you seek the biggest bang for your buck, go with Core i7-2700K, it's simply cheaper than 3rd gen. at the moment, and for the price premium you only get a performance boost of about 10% at stock speeds. If you intend to overclock, even more reason to go with 2700K as Ivy Bridge has shown to produce more heat than Sandy Bridge when overclocked.

I just read about the Ivy Bridge from a knowledgeable Dragon NaturallySpeaking user/programmer and he notes that Ivy Bridge is worth the additional money for this program. I am NOT going to be overclocking the processor; too scary!

Originally Posted by Nizmo You might save a few bucks also by going with a ATX form factor mobo that'll work just fine instead, but I fully understand if you must have the mATX ROG mobo, it's very good.

I'll look into this, thank you

Originally Posted by Nizmo SSD for a boot drive and a HDD for storage drive pretty much is the ideal combo. I would go with Intel for SSD instead of OCZ.

Cool, it was really difficult to research SSD because everything I read was back and forth about reliability.

Why do you suggest Intel over OCZ?

Originally Posted by Nizmo If you are not hell-bent on sticking with a Thermaltake power supply you've picked, I highly recommend to go with another brand like Corsair.

Just picked it up from the many reviews. Do you recommend a particular Corsair power supply for my setup?

Thank you

[Nizmo]

If you don't intend to overclock, something like ASUS P8Z77-V LK would be more than plenty, and save $70.

Intel SSDs have the lowest return rate according to NCIX, which means people are satisfied with it and very reliable. Intel also does a very thorough testing of their products before pushing it out to the shelves, which unfortunately I can't say the same for some other brands with their half-baked, buggy firmware SSDs just so they can say they are the first to the finish line.

Yeah, this is what I recommend for power supply Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650M 650W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Semi Modular High Performance Power Supply
This one is semi-modular which works fine, you don't want a non-modular one, a nightmare that will make inside of you case very messy. That Corsair one has a 140mm fan which is bigger than the norm of 120mm, very quiet.

Alternatively this is fine if Corsair is too costly for you Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M600 RS-600-AMBA-D3 600W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply, it seems to have a DVD burner combo deal at the moment as well along with $20 MIR.

[lewiswharf]

I made a bunch of changes based on your recommendations. I dropped the SSD down to 120 GB instead of 240 GB because the Intel price for 240 kills me. Do you think this will be a problem if I only have the operating system and applications installed on this drive?

Also, I went with your recommended power supply is I think it makes sense to have quality power to all the workings.

Lastly, I had to revert my processor choice because my Ivy Bridge selection just went out of stock and Newegg doesn't have an estimate when it will be back in stock.

Thanks for the feedback so far!

[Nizmo]

120GB is pretty much the sweet spot for SSD boot drive as 240GB SSD is still quite costly, 120GB is plenty enough to install the other applications you have mentioned.

You can try other retailers like Amazon if you want to go with Ivy Bridge CPU, the price should be about the same.

[lewiswharf]

Originally Posted by Nizmo 120GB is pretty much the sweet spot for SSD boot drive as 240GB SSD is still quite costly, 120GB is plenty enough to install the other applications you have mentioned.

Cool, I'll stick with the crowd.

Originally Posted by Nizmo You can try other retailers like Amazon if you want to go with Ivy Bridge CPU, the price should be about the same.

I just got a notification via e-mail that the Ivy Bridge processor is back in stock, but it doesn't appear the webpages been updated yet. Crossing fingers :-)

[lewiswharf]

Also, I came across one of your other posts in another thread and added a cooler that you recommended for the processor. While I don't plan on overclocking, I can if you like my current build has always run hot.

Originally Posted by Nizmo I also like to have new people avoid trouble, installing the stock cooler is the most unpleasant experience of building a rig. But with an aftermarket cooler it's as easy as putting in RAM sticks.

I was curious what you meant by this statement in one of your other posts from another thread?

Also, will I have a problem fitting everything in the case that I picked?

[Nizmo]

It would be wise to get an aftermarket CPU cooler since the case you've picked is not really optimized for ventilation, Lian Li case is very good.

The Intel stock cooler has push-pin mechanism which takes a considerable amount of force to install, sometimes as much as watching the mobo bend beyond your comfort level in the process. Aftermarket coolers mostly use screws instead so there's no such difficulty during installation.

The CoolerMaster cooler you've picked may get in the way of your tall memory sticks though, it may be advisable to go with low profile sticks like these instead Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML16GX3M2A1600C10, those tall ones really don't make much difference, it's mostly decoration.

[lewiswharf]

Originally Posted by Nizmo It would be wise to get an aftermarket CPU cooler since the case you've picked is not really optimized for ventilation, Lian Li case is very good. The Intel stock cooler has push-pin mechanism which takes a considerable amount of force to install, sometimes as much as watching the mobo bend beyond your comfort level in the process. Aftermarket coolers mostly use screws instead so there's no such difficulty during installation.

Ahh, now I remember, so true! It's worth the extra money so I don't scare myself, I remember watching the motherboard bend and boy was it uncomfortable!

Originally Posted by Nizmo The CoolerMaster cooler you've picked may get in the way of your tall memory sticks though, it may be advisable to go with low profile sticks like these instead Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML16GX3M2A1600C10, those tall ones really don't make much difference, it's mostly decoration.

Cool, made the switch. I'm not about flashy, I only chose the other one because of its reviews.

Also, I spoke with Newegg in the Ivy Bridge processor that I want did indeed come back in stock but it sold out quickly because of the limited amount. I'm going to give it a few days, but if I do have to go with the other processor am I correct that both of the processes I mentioned are interchangeable with the rest of the equipment?

Thank you!

[lewiswharf]

Hmm... I don't need the "K" do I? Just found Amazon has this in stock:

Intel Core i7 3770 processor 3.4 4 LGA 1155 BX80637I73770
Amazon.com: Intel Core i7 3770 processor 3.4 4 LGA 1155 BX80637I73770: Computers & Accessories

Don't see why not to purchase from Amazon, I have Prime for 2-day ship too!

[Nizmo]

Not really, the premium of K series is its ability to overclock. Any non K Core i7 is very capable as stock.

A notable difference between Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge is that Ivy Bridge supports PCIE 3.0, so when PCIE 3.0 graphics becomes the norm 3 years from now, you may not benefit from it with Sandy Bridge and be stuck with PCIE 2.0, so Ivy Bridge CPU is a little more future-proof in that regard.

[lewiswharf]

Purchased! I was able to get the 3770 at Newegg too because it came back in stock tonight.

After a couple coupons that were on the individual pages the total came in at $1542.89 which includes a $9.01 shipping charge :-)

There are an additional $30 in mail-in rebates that I will take advantage of.

That will bring the total to $1512.99.

I'll let you know how the build goes and if I have any questions I will post them here. Cheers for all your help!

[lewiswharf]

MemOK! button on motherboard lights solid red and does not boot. Each stick of RAM is in the blue spots (DIMM_A2 and DIMM_B2) What should I do next?

[lewiswharf]

Reading the manual I wasn't sure if I should push the MemOK! button because the second bullet item in the manual states that it also lights when the DIMM is not properly installed. However, I believe it is properly installed and then I came across this link: ASUS

Seems like I should push the button…

[glc]

Do it this way first:

PROBLEMS with a NEW BUILD? Try This!!

[Bronxbomber90]

I remembered pushing the button before attempting to boot when I did my built as mentioned in the Asus manual. But if that doesn't take care of the solution I would follow GLC advice just to make sue there isn't a defective part.

[lewiswharf]

I was able to boot the system with one DIMM but the red light came on and the system would not boot when I tried adding the second DIMM back. Sending the RAM back for replacement.