Need advice on 1500$ development PC

[lucg]

Hello,

I'm looking for a reliable development PC around 1500$ CAD (I'm canadian). Please comments about the part choices below. Thank you in advance.

Approximate purchase date: Next week

System usage from most to least important:
1) Running simultaneously development softwares (visual studio, photoshop) and a few debian virtual machines (vmware)
2) File server
3) FPS Games

Parts not required:
- Monitor, keyboard, and mouse
- External HD for backup

Preferred website for parts: Newegg Canada (I'm open to suggestions)

Parts preferences:
- Slight bias toward Intel
- Silent & reliable components

Overclocking: As long as the computer remains silent and cool
SLI/Crossfire: Later
Monitor resolution: 1920x1200

Additional comments:
- OS: Win7 RC1
- Because I need data security and good IO performance for simultaneous VMs, I think I should order 3 7200 rpm drives in a RAID 5 array. My preferred choice would be 4 drives in raid 10 but the additionnal cost doesn't seem to be worth it. I'm not quite sure about that. 1 TB of usable data storage is the minimum.

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Case: Antec P182 - 180$
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025

PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W - 120$
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 - 325$
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

CPU Cooler: Scythe SCORC-1000 140mm CPU Cooler - Retail - 65$
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185064

Motherboard: MSI X58 Platinum SLI - 240$
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130220
I'm also considering the Asus P6T SE (+20$) as I prefer the Asus brand.

RAM: OCZ Gold 6 GB (3 x 2 GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) - 105$
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

HDD: 3 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - 125$ x 3 = 375$
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433

GPU: HIS Hightech H485FN512P Radeon HD 4850 512MB - 120$
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161259


Others:
Dvd combo: ? - 25$
UPS: APC BE750G 750 VA 450 Watts 10 Outlets Power Saving Back-UPS ES - Retail - 110$
Wireless network card: Rosewill RNX-G1 USB 2.0 Wireless Black Dongle with External 2dBi SMA Antenna - Retail - 20$

Total: 1665$

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The Seagate ST3500641AS-RK 500GB is currently on sale on Newegg.ca, are they any good? Google doesn't have much to say about it.

Thanks!


Luc

 

[eded333]

Wow that's a superb build.

If you are in for the silence, I dont know if the 4770 would be better than your card.
And for the hard drive, seagate solved all the bugs that plagued the 7200.11 on the 7200.12, and as i have heard, those drives are reliable, although i prefer the Western Digital black, which is a bit better with seek times and overall IO performance, although a bit less throughput, anyway its a personal choice as the performance is similar .

If you really need great io performance, get an ssd, Intel are best performers first their SLC drives and then their MLC, both are pricy in the 400 euro range for 30 or 60 gigs, followd by the OCZ vertex which is also a nice drive and much cheaper.
Here is a quick comparison of raid, ssd, allthough its only of a mysql database. Its an SSD vs 8 drives in raid 10 http://www.mysqlperformanceblog.com/2009/05/01/raid-vs-ssd-vs-fusionio/

If you need 1 tb storage you could use one of these puppys and another 1 tb drive, or not, you could also go with a raid array as you were planning.
Good luck on your build.

 

[lucg]

Wow that's a superb build.

Thanks! I put a lot of effort in putting the info together.

If you are in for the silence, I dont know if the 4770 would be better than your card.

There is a shortage of 4770s 🙁. It was my preferred choice. Do you know another card that would be quieter?

And for the hard drive, seagate solved all the bugs that plagued the 7200.11 on the 7200.12, and as i have heard, those drives are reliable, although i prefer the Western Digital black, which is a bit better with seek times and overall IO performance, although a bit less throughput, anyway its a personal choice as the performance is similar .

If you really need great io performance, get an ssd, Intel are best performers first their SLC drives and then their MLC, both are pricy in the 400 euro range for 30 or 60 gigs, followd by the OCZ vertex which is also a nice drive and much cheaper.
Here is a quick comparison of raid, ssd, allthough its only of a mysql database. Its an SSD vs 8 drives in raid 10 http://www.mysqlperformanceblog.com/2009/05/01/raid-vs-ssd-vs-fusionio/

If you need 1 tb storage you could use one of these puppys and another 1 tb drive, or not, you could also go with a raid array as you were planning.
Good luck on your build.

Too bad I don't have the budget for a SSD drive. Hopefully the price will decrease over time. Great article, thanks for the link and thank you for your comments!

Other comments are welcome!

Have a great evening,

Luc