Building a High End i7 Ivy Bridge PC ($2500)

[timothyemay]

All,

After running a 15" Mac Book Pro (fully loaded) for the last couple of years, I've decided to build a new PC that will be my main computer. The main use of the PC will be heavy photo editing, video editing, software development and medium gaming usage.

I've set a budget of $2500.

Here is what I have spec'ed out so far. I would like to hear some feed back from the forum members.

CPU: - Intel Core i7-3770k ($229.99)
CPU Coooler: - CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Water Cooler ($109.00)
Additional Cooler: - (2) Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm Case Fan (these will replace the stock fans on the H100i) ($54.00)
Motherboard: - ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel ($279.99)
Memory: - Crucial Ballistix Tactical 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) ($224.99)
Storage:- SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ($249.00)
Additional Storage: - Western Digital RE WD2000FYYZ 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Enterprise Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive ($209.00)Video Card: - EVGA 04G-P4-3685-KR GeForce GTX 680 FTW Standard, w/Backplate 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ($559.00)
Case: - Fractal Design Define R4 Titanium Grey Silent ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.00)
Power Supply: - SeaSonic Platinum Platinum-860 860W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply ($199.00)
Opitcal Drive: - ASUS Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS ($79.99)

The current price is around $2325.00

The following items will also be part of the system. (Currently own)
Display: 2x - NEC MultiSync PA271W-BK 27" Widescreen LCD Computer Display
Speakers: Bowers & Wilkins MM-1 Speakers
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit (may upgrade to Windows 8)
Keyboard:- Logitech K800 Wireless
Mouse: Logitech Darkfield Performance MX Wireless


Software that will be used: Lightroom 4, Adobe Creative Suite 6 (Photoship, Premier Pro), Visual Studio 2012, Sql Server, etc...


Thank you,

TMAY

 

[peer_o]

The only real input I would have is to maybe change your cpu to a 3930k if you are going to spend that much money, and maybe you could change to a full case instead of a mid case.

 

[rmiiirusty]

Changing to a 3930k would also require a change of socket and therefore a mobo change. That is an idea, but imo it would be a waste of cash.
It looks like a good build, just make sure that there is room for your liquid cooler in the fractal case.
Also, you have went a little overboard on your psu... that is not a problem, especially if you think you may want to sli in the future, and or if you will be adding more hdd's and peripherals later. If not, you could save a few bucks and go with a good 600watt psu, which some would still consider overkill.

 

[burritobob]

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($80.44 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($249.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($94.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($157.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($229.89 @ Mac Mall)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($439.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($439.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill THOR V2-W ATX Full Tower Case ($137.67 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($125.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($56.23 @ Amazon)
Total: $2513.14
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

This is basically the same PC but it performs ALOT better.

 

[burritobob]

Also you should at least switch from the WAY overpriced 680 and look into a 7970, unless you're going for Adobe editing that is, but that was not specified so i have no way of knowing.

 

[jupitor45424]

Be different and go with 3 gtx 660 ti cards.

 

[burritobob]

Be different and go with 3 gtx 660 ti cards.

😵 what logic...

 

[redeemer]

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($80.44 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($249.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($94.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($157.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($229.89 @ Mac Mall)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($439.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($439.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill THOR V2-W ATX Full Tower Case ($137.67 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($125.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($56.23 @ Amazon)
Total: $2513.14
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

This is basically the same PC but it performs ALOT better.

Excellent build right here, with your budget there is no reason not to go with LGA 2011!