Please critique new build 4k graphics workstation

[fulan]

Thanks to many suggestions in this forum, here’s our plan for a new graphics workstation. We want it to be as simple as possible, very upgradeable, quiet and cool. Please critique this plan. Is it in balance? All ideas are very welcome. Thank you!

BUDGET RANGE: up to $4000, preferably less.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: 3d graphics, photoshop, video editing and internet. No gaming.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: sound card, monitor and speakers.

OVERCLOCKING: No. SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No.

MONITORS: dual monitors. Will reuse old ones. Later may upgrade.

MOTHERBOARD: Asus P6T SE ATX MBD SKT 1366 X58 ICH10R 6DIMM

PROCESSOR: Intel I7-940 2.93G 8MB 4.8 GT/SEC

MEMORY (six of these): Kingston 2GB DDR3 PC3-10600 1333MHZ

VIDEO CARD: PNY NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800 768MB PCIe

OPERATING SYSTEM DRIVE: Western Digital VelociRaptor 150GB SATA II 10000 RPM

DATA DRIVE: Western Digital 2TB Caviar Black SATA 7200RPM 64MB CAC

TWO CD/DVD BURNERS: Sony DVDRW SATA AD-7200S-OB 24X

CARD READER: Sony All In One Internal Black Card-Reader

OPERATING SYSTEM: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate

COMPUTER CASE: Cooler Master RC-830-SSN2-GP Stacker 830 Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case

TWO EXTRA FANS: 120MM CASE FAN W/ 3PIN CON 4PIN

POWER SUPPLY: Tagan 900W Quad SLI Power Supply

KEYBOARD & MOUSE: Logitech Desktop USB Keyboard/Mouse

USB 2.0 PCI CARD ADAPTER: StarTech USB PCI adapter 4 ports HS

EXTRA E-SATA AND FIREWIRE PORTS: Black 3.5 Bay I/O Panel with USB Firewire400 & E-SATA.

WIRELESS CARD: Linksys Wireless-G PCI Card WMP54G

 

[Proximon]

I don't think you need a Velociraptor for 180 bucks. If you are really going to spend that much time rebooting the machine or powering it down, get an SSD.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227450

Otherwise you can get excellent performance from a Caviar Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

or Samsung F3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

I can't imagine why you felt you needed a 900W PSU. That one might be OK, but there are far higher quality units at better prices.
This new 650W Seasonic is the highest quality PSU you can buy and dead quiet under normal loads:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088
One of the most efficient PSUs made. Because so little of the power escapes in heat, the fan doesn't even run under normal loads... and it looks to me like you won't be pulling more than 300W.

Kingston makes a lot of RAM. If you are looking at this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104162&cm_re=DDR3_Kingston-_-20-104-162-_-Product
Then that would be adequate. You want CL7 and at most 1.65V at 1333mhz. Preferably less voltage because that means cooler....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231230
That's some good RAM there.

I wonder why you aren't considering a real workstation though? It sounds as if you want to save as much time as possible with large projects.

Something like this Asus dual socket server board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131389

With a couple of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117186

 

[wathman]

I agree with all Proximon said, I also think you can save a bit on your OS by going with Win7 Professional instead of Ultimate. 90% of the additional features that Ultimate adds are aimed at corporate users that don't even apply unless you are connecting to enterprise level IT resources. I'm not sure where you are posting from though, so if it's a non-English native speaking country, there is some use for having the support for an additional 35 languages that comes with Ultimate.

As for wireless card, not sure why you need one, but if you really do, I'd recommend getting one that supports wireless N. If you're willing to drop that much money on a nice system, get the better wireless card and a new $150 router that supports it.