Alright so now that my tax return is all squared away and should be arriving in a week or so, its about time to build the computer I have been thinking about the past 8 months. The primary uses are: HD Video Editing (in Sony Vegas) Modern gaming Photoshop editing/Cinema4d Media center Basic general use I already bought the CPU and mother board, which are a Core i7 860 and Biostar TP55. These are the rest of my parts: MONITOR: HP w2338h Black 23" 5ms Full HD 1080P HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824176109 OPTICAL - LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136162 CASE - This a toss up between: eBay [...] 2559wt_939 or Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] Product PSU - OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341016 CPU - (already purchased) Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] Product MOBO - (already purchased) BIOSTAR TP55 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] Product This leaves me with decisions to make regarding the RAM, Video card and hard drive. RAM: I am not the most informed about the differences about DDR3 on a 1156 mother board but recently read it may be a better decision to go with 4GB then 6. However also considering one of my main uses is going to be editing in Vegas, and a lot of h264 encoding would I benefit from having 6gb? Like stated before some of the editing is going to be pretty techy and this is one of my main system focuses. GPU: I think the 5770 is just about the best bang for the buck out there. But I have two concerns; 1) Running games at 1920x1080 and 2)Hardware acceleration when it comes to Encoding. So far I have only really researched CUDA and as of right now Im not sure if any of my software will be taking advantage of it. Am I really going to be that crippled with the 5770 at 1920x1080? Am I missing out by not getting a CUDA capable Nvidia? HDD: So im undecided between the Samsung Spintpoint F3 and the Barrcuda 7200.12. I guess once again im looking for the best bang for the buck on a 1TB. Im totally open to suggestions regarding the RAM, GPU, and HDD as well as any of my other selected components.
Seeing as you have an i7 you can use triple channel memory. I'd get like... Newegg.com - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D - Desktop Memory Also, what's your budget?
Thanks for the suggestion. I was aiming for $1100 total and spent $285 on the processor and mobo combo. So im left with about $850 at most left to spend. The triple channel memory is sort of out of budget. Id be willing to look into upgrading down the line and initially getting something less at first for the RAM and GPU.
Newegg.com - A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AU1600GB2G9-AG - Desktop Memory A-Data has always been a reliable company for me, and its 1600 with pretty good timings, you could just add another single 2gb stick later with the same timings etc. for triple channel. And only about $100 Also, if you have the money, go for a Radeon hd 5850 or 5870, you may not necessarily need the extra gpu power, but in games it's nice to be able to max out the settings
I wish I could afford a 5850 but at $300 I dont think I will be getting it. Im almost 90% set on the 5770 for now. In the future when it may be necassary Ill look into upgrading I guess. So once again considering RAM and my desire for smooth flowing editing in Vegas, dual or tri channel? Is tri channel even possible with my TP55 mother board?
Can you afford to wait? RAM prices right now are a bit high and will come down in a few months. I would buy cheap ram and hold out until then.
Ive been waiting to build this thing for 8 months. Now that I finally have all the money available, im not waiting any longer. I reccently discovered ATI is set to release an HD5830, possibly tomorrow. Im considering upgrading to that if its $210 or less.