Have Computer Parts picked, need advice

[jballen92]

I primarily work on photos in Photoshop CS5, and I play a few games on the side (nothing too intensive). I want a computer that will last at least 4 years. I have most of the parts picked out, but I'm unsure if they are all compatible/if they are the right fit for what I want to do. Here are the parts:

CD/DVD Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Case: Antec DF-85 Black ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Hard Drives: 2x Western Digital VelociRaptor WD4500HLHX 450GB 10000 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive


Graphics Card: ECS NGTX570-1280UI-F GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card


PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power ...


RAM: 2x G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL


Aftermarket CPU Cooler: ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-B 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Blue LED

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD5 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

I know that the socket type of the motherboard matches the CPU, the pin size of the RAM fits in the motherboard, and that's about it. This is my first build, any advice would help. Oh and I plan on overclocking the CPU, that's what the CPU cooler is for.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sky03]

Any particular reason why you picked that mobo, cpu, and harddrive?

 

[jballen92]

For the CPU, I prefer Intel, I wanted something I could overclock, and I wanted it to be powerful. The 2600k made sense to me. For the hard drive, I want something that will be fast. I don't want to spend the money on a SSD, so instead I went with a 10,000 rpm hard drive. And as for the motherboard, I basically picked something that would fit the processor. I'm not very attached to it.

 

[Sky03]

Hmm well for the cpu, the main difference between the 2600k and 2500k is hyperthreading (a bit more memory cache and about 100mhz clock speed). From
What you will be doing, you don't need the 2600k.

SSDs are faster than that drive, and a crucial m4 128gb + samsung f3 1tb should cost about the same and perform faster.

Check out the asrock z68 extreme3 or extreme4 gen3.

 

[hunter315]

Due to the smaller platters used in the Raptor drives they arent actually much faster than a good 1TB or larger drive for normal usage, their seek time is a bit lower but their sustained transfer rate is also a bit lower because the newer 1TB and larger drives are using significantly denser platters. You can pick up a couple of 1TB Samsung F3 drives and throw them in Raid 0 for a fraction the price of those Raptor drives. Though given their price my suggestion would be more towards getting a small SSD as a boot drive and a 1-2TB drive for main storage.

Do you use 64 bit CS5? If not you are not going to get any benefit out of going up to 16GB of memory over 8GB, especially if you tend to only work on a couple normal sized images at a time, if you are working on 2GB tiff files then the extra RAM will help.

I would probably stick with a GTX 560 or 560 Ti for now if you arent going to be playing intensive games, it still gives you plenty of CUDA potential for adobe to use, but is much cheaper and nicer on the power bills, if you need more graphics performance in the future it will be much cheaper than it is today, and a 560 Ti is more than enough for any app and moderate gaming.

 

[jballen92]

I currently use CS5 in XP, so 32 bit, and I may or may not upgrade it to 64 bit when I get windows 7. I work on pretty large tiff files, and RAM is so cheap so I think I might just stick with the 16gb.

Thanks for the tip on the graphics card, I think I'll go with the 560 Ti.

What would be the fastest hard drive option, about 1TB? I like the idea of having a SSD for my OS and a 1-2TB hard drive for data storage. On that note, is a 30gb SSD sufficient for a windows 7 installation, or should I get a 60gb?

 

[mjmjpfaff]

Hmm well for the cpu, the main difference between the 2600k and 2500k is hyperthreading (a bit more memory cache and about 100mhz clock speed). From
What you will be doing, you don't need the 2600k.

SSDs are faster than that drive, and a crucial m4 128gb + samsung f3 1tb should cost about the same and perform faster.

Check out the asrock z68 extreme3 or extreme4 gen3.

photoshop will benefit from hyperthreading.
+1 for the m4 128gb and samsung f3 1tb

 

[Sky03]

Personally I'd suggest:
i5 2600k - $320
asrock extreme3 gen3 ($125) or extreme4 (190)
CM hyper 212 evo ($35) or your choice is good too. The hyper 212 should allow you to OC to ~4.5 ghz.
crucial m4 128gb $190
samsung f3 1TB $60
DVD $20 any
8gb Ram
XFX, Corsair, Antec, Seasonic, PC power & Cooling, OCZ (depends on model) for PSU. See notes below for watts
Corsair Carbide 400R ($100) or 500R ($130) or In win Buc ($75) or any of the HAF series. CM690II is good also. All cheaper than your pic.
GPU: I'd suggest minimum of a GTX560Ti or an AMD6950 YOU can also keep your original pic of GTX570.

For PSU, a good unit is a must. Remember to read reviews about the specific model you're looking for. Sometimes companies use different manufacturers for different models.

For a GTX570 a good 650w is enough. About 850w if you're planning to SLI. 6950 on crossfire can be run on 650w, but since you're OCing, 750w is safer. 950w for GTX 580 SLI, or for a single 580, 650-750w is enough. GTX560Ti in SLI is good on 750w. When Buying GTX560, make sure it's the TI version.

EDITED: changed to 2600k since it was mentioned Photoshop benefits from hyperthreading.

 

[jballen92]

That looks like a pretty sweet build. Thanks a ton for the info, it clears a lot up.

 

[jballen92]

Best answer selected by jballen92.

 

[SVX2005]

I'd say your good to go on everything except the motherboard. I don't think you need z68 since your using a discrete graphics card and you chose not to get an SSD. It seems unnecessarily expensive and out of place here. I'd choose a cheaper P67 motherboard.

here's a suggestion:

Intel BOXDP67BGB3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Good solid board, nice features, decent price.