I'm embarking on my first custom build; I haven't ordered anything yet, just deep in research mode, so I would love feedback on whether I'm on the right track. I'm new to this (abandoning Dell and stepping up from a laptop), and having more fun than I expected learning how everything works together, but I'm unsure on what else I should consider. It's possible I overshot on specs; but it's more likely I've missed a few things. Any insights would be appreciated.
How I work:
I spend most of my day with multiple applications open at the same time, using GoToMeeting, Adobe CS6, MS Office, multiple browsers, and web crawlers for analyzing sites that have millions of URLs (very data processing heavy.) I also work in Sketchup, and want to expand my video editing capabilities to work with very large video files; I'm sitting on a ton of editing projects that my laptop could never handle. I can't live without my two 24" monitors, and I'm considering adding a third smaller monitor in portrait mode for documents.
I'm hoping for a relatively silent but high performance machine. I'm frequently on the phone with clients, and my home office space requires a fairly quiet machine, but I also want a high performance machine that doesn't slow me down during web conferences (or at any other time.) I have no overclocking experience, so not sure how that might fit into my build yet, but I'm considering a motherboard that allows for it.
Most of my gaming has been on the XBOX, but I'm hoping to expand my horizons.
With that in mind, I have a $4000 budget but don't want to overspend just for the sake of getting the latest gear; but I do want a machine that makes ME the bottle neck in my workflow.
Here's what I'm currently looking at:
CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Intel BXRTS2011LC 74.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 WS SSI CEB LGA2011 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card: ATI FirePro V5900 2GB Video Card
Sound Card: Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card
Case: Cooler Master Cosmos II (Black) ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 1050W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Plextor PX-LB950SA Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit)
Notes:
- Right now I'm sitting around $3200; I'm more concerned with performance over price, but looking for the best value.
- I want to splurge on the Cosmos II because I figured not only would it be easier to build and expand in the future, but the extra room in the case could help with air cooling and noise reduction.
- I'm still pondering options for water cooling vs. air cooling, but I'm starting with the idea of a liquid CPU cooler and and a few fans and later adding more once I have it up and running.
- the ASUS moterboard accepts 64GB RAM, but I'm starting with 32GB using 4 slots. In what scenario could I possibly use that much memory?
I'm clearly in over my head, and I throw myself at your mercy.
How I work:
I spend most of my day with multiple applications open at the same time, using GoToMeeting, Adobe CS6, MS Office, multiple browsers, and web crawlers for analyzing sites that have millions of URLs (very data processing heavy.) I also work in Sketchup, and want to expand my video editing capabilities to work with very large video files; I'm sitting on a ton of editing projects that my laptop could never handle. I can't live without my two 24" monitors, and I'm considering adding a third smaller monitor in portrait mode for documents.
I'm hoping for a relatively silent but high performance machine. I'm frequently on the phone with clients, and my home office space requires a fairly quiet machine, but I also want a high performance machine that doesn't slow me down during web conferences (or at any other time.) I have no overclocking experience, so not sure how that might fit into my build yet, but I'm considering a motherboard that allows for it.
Most of my gaming has been on the XBOX, but I'm hoping to expand my horizons.
With that in mind, I have a $4000 budget but don't want to overspend just for the sake of getting the latest gear; but I do want a machine that makes ME the bottle neck in my workflow.
Here's what I'm currently looking at:
CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Intel BXRTS2011LC 74.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 WS SSI CEB LGA2011 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card: ATI FirePro V5900 2GB Video Card
Sound Card: Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card
Case: Cooler Master Cosmos II (Black) ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 1050W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Plextor PX-LB950SA Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit)
Notes:
- Right now I'm sitting around $3200; I'm more concerned with performance over price, but looking for the best value.
- I want to splurge on the Cosmos II because I figured not only would it be easier to build and expand in the future, but the extra room in the case could help with air cooling and noise reduction.
- I'm still pondering options for water cooling vs. air cooling, but I'm starting with the idea of a liquid CPU cooler and and a few fans and later adding more once I have it up and running.
- the ASUS moterboard accepts 64GB RAM, but I'm starting with 32GB using 4 slots. In what scenario could I possibly use that much memory?
I'm clearly in over my head, and I throw myself at your mercy.
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