My first pc build

[birdazoid]

I am needing some opinions on my first build. I haven't bought any parts yet. I want to keep the price around $1000. This will be used for Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere and some gaming.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Brv7
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Brv7/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Brv7/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($289.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.86 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($80.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.49 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.95 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1081.19
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-04 12:19 EST-0500)

 

[timarp000]

I made a few changes and got a better graphics card...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($289.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($127.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 750GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.95 @ Adorama)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($214.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1042.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-04 12:41 EST-0500)

 

[birdazoid]

So would an aftermarket CPU fan not be necessary for this build?

 

[djangoringo]

Since you're not planning to overclock, you don't need one, and a xeon is a good option for you, it's an i7-3770 without the on die gpu, also a h77 motherboard will do.
For editing, the nvidia cards are better with the cuda cores support.
Also the samsung 840 has tlc nand, which is inferior to mlc nand, get a better ssd.
My suggestion :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($233.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($94.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $950.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[envy14tpe]

@birdazoid ....Trying to keep the build at budget is good idea. I like what you got.

The EVO fan is a Blade Master....which is quiet and strong. Keep the EVO.

Windows 8 vs. Windows 7 ...hm. Why 8? 7 is great.

For your use, this build is great. What is the monitor?

 

[sanilmahambre]

Since you're not planning to overclock, you don't need one, and a xeon is a good option for you, it's an i7-3770 without the on die gpu, also a h77 motherboard will do.
For editing, the nvidia cards are better with the cuda cores support.
Also the samsung 840 has tlc nand, which is inferior to mlc nand, get a better ssd.
My suggestion :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($233.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($94.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $950.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

This is a nice sensible build for heavy video editing at $950. Videos take lot of space and hence you can increase your hard drive from 1TB to 2TB with WD cavier green.

 

[birdazoid]

Since you're not planning to overclock, you don't need one, and a xeon is a good option for you, it's an i7-3770 without the on die gpu, also a h77 motherboard will do.
For editing, the nvidia cards are better with the cuda cores support.
Also the samsung 840 has tlc nand, which is inferior to mlc nand, get a better ssd.
My suggestion :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($233.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($94.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $950.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

I definitely like the lower price point to getting the Xeon E3-1230 V2. I've been looking up information on this processor and finding that it's a server processor. What does this mean and are there any disadvantages to the i7? Thanks for the info on the SSD. I was unaware of the inferiority.

 

[birdazoid]

@birdazoid ....Trying to keep the build at budget is good idea. I like what you got.

The EVO fan is a Blade Master....which is quiet and strong. Keep the EVO.

Windows 8 vs. Windows 7 ...hm. Why 8? 7 is great.

For your use, this build is great. What is the monitor?

Because I want this computer to last a while I went with Windows 8 for continued support from Microsoft. I've never used 8 so I know there will be a learning curve. I don't have a problem sticking with 7 if 8 will be more trouble than it's worth.

My monitor is an old 22" LCD HP 2207. I don't have any problems with it and decided to save some money by not upgrading just yet.

 

[djangoringo]

The xeon doesn't have the on die gpu, the intel hd 4000, since you'll have a gfx card, it's not necessary, performance wise it's about the same.
Also you don't need the hyper 212 evo, it's not what i would call a quiet cooler, it's unnecessary for the locked cpus.

 

[timarp000]

This is what id suggest if you are going with Xeon...
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($233.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G41 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($83.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.95 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $905.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-05 08:04 EST-0500)

A 520W power supply is not needed for a GTX 660... On nvidia it says a recommended wattage of 450. But they include the cheap $10 generic ones that you get in company built computers. A 430W 80+Bronze PSU is sufficient for your needs...

I think that the Zotac GTX 660 Ti is better as it has a dual-fan configuration which will make your PC run cooler and quieter at load

Windows 7 is good enough and i think that its better for multitasking...

A 1TB hard drive is enough for now as you can always upgrade...

I chose that Samsung SSD as i think its reliable and will read data faster which is what you want for a boot drive...

 

[djangoringo]

The samsung 840 has tlc nand, which isn't more reliable than other ssd with mlc nand, by the contrary, it will be less reliable and slower under heavy load.
Evga offers the best customer support and warranty, it's not a 660 ti, but a 660 gtx, that card either with a blower style cooler or a dual fan, the temperatures will be almost the same, the 660 gtx isn't a card that gets that hot.
The antec neo 520 is a better psu, it's not a generic psu, its internal parts were made by seasonic, the cx430 was made by channel well, which has inferior capacitors.
400-600W is fine for the system, but if you can find a 520W with quality for a cheap price(the deal on newegg with promo code) it's fine, as long it's 80 plus, see here for more information : http://hardocp.com/article/2011/10/04/80_plus_irrelevant_to_you_when_buying_psu/2
He doesn't need a z77 board with less features than a proper h77 board.

 

[birdazoid]

Thank you all for your input. I built my computer based on the suggestions and couldn't be happier. Everything works great and I had no problems. At the time of purchase with rebates I paid $1,025.

Here is what I went with:

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($233.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H77-DS3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($96.33 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Mac Mall)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.68 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($214.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($104.18 @ TigerDirect)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($57.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($18.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)

I'm very happy with the Xeon CPU. I went with the AMD video card only because of the promotion they were running with 2 free games that I was going to buy anyway. I've already been doing some video editing and it's great. Everything is so much faster than I'm used to. The 200R case was sold out so I went with the 400R which was on sale. I'm glad I did cause it's a great case with plenty of space, fans, and good cable management. I also went with the Gigabyte H77 motherboard over the ASRock based on a lot of DOA review.

Thank You!

 

[envy14tpe]

Looks awesome. Nice build for $1000.