Advice on spec for new build

Doublespark

Doublespark

Doublespark

Associate
Joined
26 Sep 2010
Posts
11
It's 10 years since I last built a machine, but it's time to give it a go again.

I'm a web developer undertaking lots of image and video editing work using 3 screens. On a quite day I can also be found playing MoH! I desperately need to upgrade my machine to something more suitable for the job.

I have spec'd a new machine, I am hoping someone will take the time to review my suggested components to ensure compatibility.

Also is there anything I have forgotten?

CA-193-LL - Lian Li PC-7FNWX Aluminium Mid Tower Case
CA-165-CM - Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 700W
MB-229-GI - Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3
CP-323-IN - Intel Core i7 980X 3.33GHz (Gulftown) Extreme Edition
MY-044-PA - Patriot Viper 2 Sector 7 24GB (6x4GB) PC3-12800C9 1600MHz
HD-063-OC - OCZ IBIS 160GB 3.5" HDSL Super-Fast Solid State Hard Drive
HD-075-HI - Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 3TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200rpm
GX-191-XF - XFX ATI Radeon 6970 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express
CD-073-PO - Pioneer BDR-205 12x BluRay RW / 16x DVD±RW
Win7 Prof 64

Thanks in advance, Gary.
 
I'd get a lower wattage, higher end PSU that that, it'll run cooler and quieter.

I'd also get a replacement cooler, rather than the stock Intel. Even a cheapo Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 rev 2 would do the job nice and quiet - although there are much better out there, if you're not overclocking though it'd be just spanky.

As Stulid says have a look at the performance between Intel's old CPU architecture (980X), Nehalem, and the new Sandy Bridge. They're due to come out with a high end Sandy Bridge later this year which would most likely sink the 980X.
 
Many thanks for taking the time to review this, much appreciated.

@stulid Wow!! There seems little difference in the performance of the 2 processors but the newer one is £500 cheaper and uses far less power. Thanks for pointing me in this direction.

@The Halk I would like to take your advice on the PSU and a very good cooler, any chance you could recommend for me.

Thanks again.
 
As stulid said the 2600k is a much more economical choice than the 980x and about the same performance overall, if not better.

24gb of ram? That's overkill dude. I do complex motion graphics and 3D work and 8gb would be enough. Particularly with a 2600k next to it.

If I were you I'd actually go for the I5-2500k, it's quite a bit cheaper than the 2600k and is only a tiny bit slower. The money saved down grading could be spent on more ram. There's not really any need to go more than 12gb of ram though (8 would be enough mind).

The only reason I could see for having 12-24gb of ram is if you do very complex 3D work every minute of every day. I'd go for 2500k CPU, 8gb of ram, SSD hard drive. that's what I'm going for - 3D and motion graphics work. Monster computer!

Also if you have 8gb (2x4gb sticks) of ram you will be able to get your CPU to overclock (run faster) much easier. The less ram sticks you have the easier overclocks generally are. And the 2500k and 2600k are excellent overclockers, showing massive performance increases. Some people even get them to run at 5ghz!

Also the money saved from getting less ram and a tint bit slower CPU will allow you to upgrade sooner. This year looks to be quite interesting in terms of CPU improvement.

Enjoy your beast!! :)
 
Last edited:
I do get jealous of my friends who are web developers (just that, not video editors), you don't a powerful machine at all for that type of work!

If only I became a web dev! Save me some money!
 
No problem, all you have to do with your spec above is change the CPU/Motherboard and RAM and your done.
 
This is what I have now:

CA-176-CM - Coolermaster HAF 922 Case - Black
CA-201-CM - Cooler Master GX 550W Power Supply
MB-317-GI - Gigabyte P67A-UD4 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3
CP-365-IN - Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155
HS-003-CS - Corsair Hydro H70 High-Performance CPU WaterCooler
HD-006-CR - Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s
HS-059-AK - Akasa Dual 2.5" SSD/HDD Mounting Kit
HD-075-HI - Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 3TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200rpm
MY-290-CS - Corsair XMS3 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz
GX-191-XF - XFX ATI Radeon 6970 2048MB GDDR5
CD-073-PO - Pioneer BDR-205 12x BluRay RW / 16x DVD±RW Drive

- New MB
- New Proc
- Watercooler (cooler and quiter)
- Diff RAM
- Cheaper case
- Cheaper SSD
- Mount

It's now considerably cheaper, but seems well balanced. Still can't get away from the fact I think the more RAM the better and for an extra £100 I would rather the extra 8Gb. Guess I will still be able to overclok to 4.x

Only doubt in my mind is if the RAM is the best match for the motherboard?
 
Last edited:
Thanks Stulid, I have swapped the MB as you suggest.

The Corsair memory has "Intel XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) Support" but as you say is £20 dearer compared to the GeIL. Would XMP support be beneficial, or am I paying for something I will not use?

Thanks again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom