i7 for CS4

[Carefree Chris]

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18010100

I'm looking to build myself a new system within the next couple of months, and have a spec list in mind. But before I go ahead, I'd appreciate any tips.

The system will mainly be used for After Effects CS4, and Photoshop CS4 too. Budget, not including a monitor, of around £800-850. I've never overclocked before and I'm not really that interested in doing so, unless there are serious performance advantages from doing so. Also, I'd want to make minimal changes or upgrades to the system (except perhaps for RAM) for at least 3 years.

...

I have the rest of the system - HDD, mobo (depending on CPU type), PSU, case, etc worked out, its just the integral processing part that I want to make sure is best suited to get the most I can out of CS4.

Cheers in advance!

As a follow-up to my previous thread (which should really have been put in here, so I'm correcting that now), I've decided to take the plunge and go i7 which, sourcing the components I've listed to make s system designed to get the most out of CS4, comes to a total of just under £890 delivered.

The components:

- Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping

- MSI X58 Pro

- 6GB GSkill DDR3 1333Mhz

- XFX 260GTX 216 Core

- Samsung F1 1TB (x2)

- Corsair 650TX

- Coolermaster CM690

- Titan Fenrir

I might swap the GSkill for the OCZ 1600Mhz, and possibly upgrade the 260GTX for a similar 275GTX, depending on fluctuations of cost between now and in 2 months time when I will purchase and build the system.

Firstly, does the setup seem fair, in terms of compatibility and bottlenecks?

Secondly, I do now plan to overclock, but not to a silly degree - long term stability is my preference, but if I can achieve that with an overclocked system, even better! What would you suggest is a fair overclocking, yet safe enough to virtually guarantee long term reliability and stability? 3.6-3.8Ghz?

Thanks all