Computer advice.....

[dv8_fx]

My daugther completed her course in Multimedia Design. And the proud dada is planning to surprise her with her very own, hi-powered workstation. It'll be loaded basically with PS, COREL Xara, Illustrator, 3Dmax, Dreamweaver Suite, as well *sigh*... her music and video collection. Thank God she's not into games.

She's a chip of the old block and even 10 times better ( yahhhh...)... She's into PS and planning to take up 3d-modelling and animation (her plans of a Master's Degree is gonna kill me)....

After checking with computer shops here and on the net , I've come up with a build. But I need advice from other users like you guys whether these choices are sound. I'm concerned in its component compatilbilty especially choice of motherboard as well as over-clocking .

Here's my specs....

FOR PC

Mobo: ASUS P6T Deluxe Version 2
CPU: Intel i7 920 1366 chipset
RAM: 6 GB Crucial DDR3 Ballistix PC-12800 Memory
CASE: Coolermaster HAF 932 (Optional) ( but with filter )
GPU: ATI FirePro v7800 - v8800 - v9800
PSU: Thermaltake toughPower (over1000W) PSU
Heat-sink: Prolima Megahalem w/2 120mm Yate Loon fans (with filter)
HD: Western Digital Caviar Black SATA II HD ( 2 HD's )
OS: Windows 7 64-bit


What do you think.... some of the components might be old... would appreciate being kept up to speed with new stuff or if I missed out on something.

Any suggestion is greatly appreciated.

[iDad]

Apple.....

[admin]

Hey dv8_fx, that's a good build.

I actually have the same mobo and cpu in one of my computers.

Personally I would change out the mobo to a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R... better OC ability and more SATA ports.

I would also change the PSU to a Seasonic, Corsair or Antec.... more reliable. You don't need 1000w for that setup, you could go with something like the Seasonic X650 and be perfectly fine. It's an amazing PSU and in my PC right now running 2 video cards and 8 HD's

The cooler you picked is awesome, it's what I'm using now also

For the main HD, go for SSD if you can afford it, the performance boost is very noticeable. Just use a second (or several) HD for storage and you can get away with a small (90-128GB) SSD for your OS and Apps. You will see a huge difference when launching big Gfx programs.

[dv8_fx]

Personally I would change out the mobo to a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R... better OC ability and more SATA ports[/QUOTE]

I was torn between ASUS & Gigabyte.... ASUS is the most widely used here but there were cases of defective units most especially with the higher end ones. Rough handling in shipment or the chance you get a defective one they say. With this setup with GIGABYTE, is it UPGRADEABLE? If it is, I think I'll go for the Gigabyte tho first time I heard of that model number.

And I think I might go for Corsair RAM... Crucial is hard to find here....

I would also change the PSU to a Seasonic, Corsair or Antec.... more reliable. You don't need 1000w for that setup, you could go with something like the Seasonic X650 and be perfectly fine. It's an amazing PSU and in my PC right now running 2 video cards and 8 HD's

You think so? The guy in the shop was suggesting it would be better to go for 1000.

The cooler you picked is awesome, it's what I'm using now also

Yaaaa.... its what I'm using on mine too but the shop I've chosen to do it has to order it from Singapore..... It's OK , thank God for friends of mine and not charging me much on assembly.

For the main HD, go for SSD if you can afford it, the performance boost is very noticeable. Just use a second (or several) HD for storage and you can get away with a small (90-128GB) SSD for your OS and Apps. You will see a huge difference when launching big Gfx programs.

SSD is hard to find here. What about Raptor? And how is the terabyte capacity HD right now? At one stage after tera came out, there were a lot of defective ones. Are they stable now? I was thinking of getting 3HD's - the 3rd for her music and whatnots...... when she was in college, you won't believe what's in her laptop- more music&videos than college work..... lol....



Thanks for the input, admin.... just curious, how much would this setup be in the US. Here, this would be over RM7000.00 - about US$2,000.

Oh yeah.... the GPU.... is there a suitable substitute? The shop is is hunting for the model I want but couldn't find it.

That's one.... I need more input..... Anyone?

[admin]

Both Gugabyte and Asus make solid mobos. I'm only recommending that particular Gigabyte board because of the features.... it's the best value x58 board for a Core i7 computer.

You may want to consider going with a newer Sandy Bridge setup if you can get your hands on it. The Core i5-2500K CPU beats the i7 920 and may even be cheaper.

On the PSU, yes I am 100% certain you don't need 1000w if you get a good one. A 650w Seasonic is better than a 1000w Thermaltake. Corsair and the good Antec PSU's are made by Seasonic anyway... and these 3 brands are considered the best. They also happen to be the quietest. Thermaltake is not that great.

If you have a hard time getting the Megahalem cooler, you could get the Corsair H70.... it's just as good and takes up less space.

I don't think Raptor drives or any premium standard HD's such as the WD caviar black are worth getting. Go for SSD or else just save money with a cheap HD until you can get SSD.

1TB+ standard HD's are fine. I have 4 Samsung 1.5TB drives and 3 Samsung 2TB drives that I have used 24/7 for more than a year straight and I have never had an issue. Samsung F3 and F4 drives seem to have a lot lower failure rates than most other brand HD's. I know the big brands like WD and Seagate had a lot of failures initially with their 1TB+ drives, but they probably got it sorted now.

If you are curious about prices in the US, just check NewEgg. They have pretty much everything.

You should consider building it yourself rather than paying a shop. All the parts are made so there's really only one way to put them together and it's hard to mess it up. Usually all you need is a screwdriver. After doing it once you will wonder why you ever thought it would be hard If you need any help I can answer any questions, I have built a lot of computers over the years.

[dv8_fx]

Apple.....

Oh, the apple of my eye.... I'd love to have one myself. Wishful thinking.....

But here, with the price of one, I could get 2 PC's at my specs with leftover for scanners, tablet, printer, and misc.

And there's the matter of the applications. At the time I upgraded to CS3, we used a student's discount (cheat)... and it was so damn cheap at the time, no one could resist. And it was only for PC version with 2 licenses. That's just CS. So that means I have purchase all the apps again for MAC version just for her.

Serious wallet dent. Unless they go on sale at 50% off........ wishful thinking again.....

I envy you , iDad........

[hawkeye]

I built a new PC last December with a quad core i5-760 2.8GHZ, Antec Sonata case and PS, Nvidia 1gb video card, MSI board, 6 gigs of ram, Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, 1 TB hard drive, DVD drive with Lightscribe for roughly $750. So far it's taken everything I've thrown at it and Windows 7 has yet to crash, after about four months of use. Photoshop CS5 Extended loads in less than 3 seconds, and it plays the HD video from my Canon 5d II flawlessly.

Just for grins I overclocked it to 3.5 GHZ and it still ran fine, even with the stock cooler. I couldn't see any real performance gains with what I do, so I set it back to stock.

Perhaps if was doing a lot of video or 3D rendering I could justify spending 3 times as much but otherwise, no.

[dv8_fx]

The proud Dad is going all out to get her the best.... and I'm anticipating her video and 3D rendering needs. In fact , hawkeye, I'm thinking of replacing my secondary computer with a setup like yours. Hmmmm, you're giving me ideas..... thanks.

[dv8_fx]

Another reason why I'm particular with the HD's and motherboards is because of where they are made..... For the US-side , (I may be wrong), I think most of your components are US or European made.... here, it's made mostly in China, Singapore , Taiwan and HongKong. I'm not being biased but Asian-assembled components sometimes cannot compare to US or European standards.

[TerryC]

APPLE of your eye, and your POCKETBOOK