Preliminary Custom Build Review/Advice

[casingletoncc]

I need advice on the components that I am selecting to build a custom desktop computer.


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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: ASAP BUDGET RANGE: $900-$1050

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Home PC for: 3D residential design (Chief Architect X1), home video editing, picture editing, surfing web, researching/multitasking - The 3D Design Program is the most important and this software requires a computer that is built for gaming. I design and build custom houses and was planning on taking on some design work that will be worked on at home in the evenings.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com - due to vast choice of parts as well as service which is extremely important to me.

PARTS PREFERENCES: EVGA Motherboard due to reviews of customer service and great instructions provided for building.

OVERCLOCKING: No SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Probably not but the motherboard I picked out just happens to have everything that I want that I cannot find in a motherboard that is not SLI

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: As I said above, this will be a home pc but actually a lot more - my current pc's at the house are becoming obsolete and it is time to replace them so I have finally talked my wife into purchasing another. I recently had a custom pc built by AVA Direct to use for my office (reference above what I do for a living) and was very pleased but I am want to try to tackle my own build - I have a friend of mine that does computer trouble shooting for a living so I have a little bit of a safety net but would like to choose good reliable parts so that the build can go as smoothly as possible.

My goal is to future proof my build as much as I can for my budget and thus my top design requirements are:

- Motherboard with support for DDR3
- Motherboard with support for PCI 2.0
- Large Monitor for Design Work (Very Important)
- Fast Processor
- Decent Graphics Card
- Large amount of Memory to utilize 64 Bit OS

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My Preliminary list of parts are as follows:

(1)MOTHERBOARD: EVGA 132-YW-E179-TR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - ($200) $20MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188040

(2) PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - ($190) $30 Combo discount for purchase with Vista 64 Bit OS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041

(3) MEMORY: Patriot 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - ($77)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220278

(4) GRAPHICS CARD: EVGA 01G-P3-N959-TR GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - ($65) $15MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130395

(5) HARD DRIVE: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - ($60)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

(6) OPTICAL DRIVE: SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q - ($27)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173

(7) POWER SUPPLY: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 - ($65) $20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

(8) CASE: Thermaltake SopranoRS VG7000BWS Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - ($70)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133046

(9) MONITOR: Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - ($160)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009145

(10) OPERATING SYSTEM: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit for System Builders - ($145) $30 Combo discount for purchase with Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116493

SHIPPING: ($27)

TOTAL: ($1059) with MIR ($1004)

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Your expert opinions please?

Thanks!

 

[Proximon]

The Q9550 has come down a bit I see.

I don't think the combo deal with Vista Ultimate is a good idea. You can download Windows 7 now, and it will go retail in October. It will actually be more compatible with old software than Vista, so I think it a better choice.

I also think you can build a system that is just as fast but will have an upgrade path if you go with AMD. LGA 775 is going away, AM3 is not.

In a few months the new mainstream platform will be released by Intel, and I'm sure we'll be using that for builds, but right now AMD makes a good choice.

X4 955
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674&Tpk=X4%20955

Asus AM3 790GX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131366

G.Skill DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231180

I suggest a WD Caviar Black 640GB as it's faster and WD has been more reliable lately.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319


Any interest in this case? it's better cooled, better designed, and it comes in combo with the PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.200608

 

[gkay09]

^+1
The AMD would be more suitable for your requirements...
But you can build an i7 config, similar to yours but would add about $100 more because of the OS...

 

[casingletoncc]

I am unfamiliar with the AMD setup - not that I much at all about computers, but I would rather lean towards intel if I could.

Having said that what do you think about this setup:

(1)MOTHERBOARD: EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard - Retail - ($239) $20MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188049

(2) PROCESSOR: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail - ($280)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

(3) MEMORY: OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail - ($100) $20MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

(4) GRAPHICS CARD: EVGA 01G-P3-N959-TR GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - ($65) $15MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130395

(5) HARD DRIVE: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM - ($70)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

(6) OPTICAL DRIVE: SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q - ($27)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173

(7) POWER SUPPLY: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7

(8) CASE: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
COMBO PRICE - ($170) $20MIR

COMBO LINK: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.200608

(9) MONITOR: Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - ($160)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009145


SHIPPING: ($29)

TOTAL: ($1113) with MIR ($1058)

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Thank you so much for your input so far.

 

[rescawen]

PII 940 OCs as well as 955. DDR3 is not profitting your so stay with 940 and ddr2 and buy a good GFX, I'd go for 4850 CF or 4850x2.

 

[Helloworld_98]

that would be a lot better, however if you don't plan on overclocking it, then get as much 1066mhz ram as possible, since anandtech compared ddr3 dimms and 1066mhz offered the best price/performance.

 

[casingletoncc]

Thanks for all the help and advice - I ended up purchasing a Dell Studio XPS Refurbished Desktop for $679 with i7 processor, 4 GB or RAM, and a 512 MB ATI Radeon 4850 Graphics Card

I then purchased from Newegg 4 GB of Kingston RAM to add to the desktop and the 22" Acer I stated above at $159

All said and done the total came up to $1000 give or take some change.

Thanks again for all your help!