~$700 Video Editing/Gaming PC

[rahl]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE:
This week (today would be great)

BUDGET RANGE:
~$700 After Rebates (lower is better, as I'm supposed to squeeze $340 of Win7 and Office in while keeping it below $1K)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT:
video editing, gaming, home office

PARTS NOT REQUIRED:
keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS:
newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
USA

PARTS PREFERENCES:
AMD CPU with a mid tower case

OVERCLOCKING:
No (this system is for my dad, and he doesn't trust anything but stock settings)

SLI OR CROSSFIRE:
No (may add another Radeon for Crossfire in a couple years though)

MONITOR RESOLUTION:
Unknown, 1920x1080 or lower (not yet purchased)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Although it will be used for gaming, the only games it'll ever run are Civilization 4 and Civilization 5. SysReqs aren't out yet for Civ5, unfortunately, but I'm hoping some of you might have some ballpark estimates and can tell me if I'm going overkill (or short) on the gaming end. Also, it will be used for enthusiast/hobbyist level video editing, and my dad doesn't mind waiting overnight for it to process. Ideal lifespan is 4-5 years; parts don't necessarily need to be carried over to the next system.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Parts I've chosen (not firm, please offer advice/criticisms/substitutes):
Note: Prices include current sales, shipping, and rebates, but not taxes

Case:
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Price: $69.98

CPU:
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
Price: $159.00

GPU:
HIS IceQ H567Q1GD Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity
Price: $104.99

HDD:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (x2 in RAID 1 setup)
Price (for 2): $109.98

Mobo:
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
Price: $108.99

PSU:
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
Price: $75.98
It's probably overkill for this build, but it's on an awesome sale right now. If it turns out I need to do a lot more research and can't catch the sale, I'll switch to a PSU with a smaller capacity.

RAM:
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1333LV4GK
Price: $114.99

DVD Burner:
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Writer - Bulk - LightScribe Support - OEM
Price: $31.97

Software:
Microsoft Office Standard 2007 Version Upgrade
Price: $201.94

OS:
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Price: $139.99

Summary:
Total cost (taxes not included): $1,117.81
Target price: $1,000.00 or below
I'd like to knock a couple hundred bucks off the build, but I'm not sure which components are expendable given the fact that it needs to work well for both video editing and gaming. Any assistance anyone cares to offer would be greatly appreciated. This forum has already been very helpful, but mostly it's made me realize how little I know!

 

[rahl]

lol, yeah - I'll be looking into one of those systems... just as soon as I win several lotteries. The beautiful thing about computers is that by the time I die, I just might own a system with more power than that thing has.

 

[Alvin Smith]

Hate to say it, but I am old enough to guarantee that you WILL be wearing that thing on your wrist, in ten years !

 

[rahl]

haha Really though, if you could change one thing about the build to make it capable of editing, what would it be? Is it possible, while only changing one thing? Your earlier post wasn't very encouraging. I really want this to work for my dad's needs. If I have to, I can increase the budget $200 or so - he's worth it.

 

[Alvin Smith]

Naw ... Everything I said in my FIRST POST (go back) ... Is what I really meant and what is also very true.

I am just making a point over "what we are calling this build", here, on this particular forum.

I once had that same card that you have in my own shopping cart, and that was only weeks ago ... but I am using a really whimpy PSU and want 3 monitors and so, now, I have two 9800GT-EEs in my build ... maybe even just one ... AND ... The $94 version of VEGAS is just great and even leads you thru various procedures ... it just works and it "eats anything" you are likely to drag onto your timeline.

I just have a "burr under my saddle" (a moon rock in my EVA boot) because I have just made the move from DV-25 (SD) to HDV and, at full rez and highest constant bit-rate and using the 2-pass method to convert 1080/60i to 1080/30P ...
... Well, I just did a 5 minute fireworks segment that took 7 hours and 42 minutes to render on THIS Northwood 3.2GHz P4 Hyperthreading single core with max RAM.

Yeah ... I am a little sensitive on such issues so, EXCUSE ... (inhale) ... MEEEeeee!


= Al =

 

[rahl]

Thanks everyone for all your input (especially coldsleep and Alvin). I think this'll serve my dad's needs very well - certainly much better than what I had originally.

 

[rahl]

Best answer selected by rahl.