Custom system (mid-range)

[jayco437]

This is my first time piecing a system together in a number of years (previous computer until recently was a Macbook Pro). I'm encouraged by all the successful build messages I find in the forums and I'd like to throw together a new system. I was waiting for the Mac Pro refresh, but lacking a refresh I think I'd like to give a shot at putting together my own system, rather than wait and see (I may need a computer soon).

The most stressful thing I'll be doing with the system is using Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS4 (CS5 after I get a system back up and running); lots of photo processing and photo editing. No interest in games, minimal video editing. It would be nice if I could set it up as a home entertainment center as well, maybe with a TV tuner card in it at a later date. I might dual or triple boot on a separate drive (Ubuntu and/or Windows 7)

I'm not interested in overclocking at this time. I would like to build a fast, stable system that I can continue to build on in the future. I don't mind paying a little extra for USB3 and the faster SATA even if they aren't recognized or used by OS X at this time.

Here's what I was thinking:

I saw the following on Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.418963

I know the prices might not be the cheapest, but I'm more concerned with the hardware choices. I included some comments/ideas/thoughts/questions that I had in hopes that some might have first hand experience and could help me out. I still have some more research to do

Case: Cooler Master RC-932-KKN1-GP :$139.98 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160
I like the idea of the multiple fans in the case. I'm not concerned with looks so much as functionality (though I would cram it in a Mac Pro case if I could )

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R :$209.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423
I'd like to stick with the Gigabyte boards since people seem to have good luck with them. I'd like to go with an X58 board instead of one of the P55 boards; I'm only vaguely familiar with the differences between them, but it seems the X58 board will have better upgrade options in the near future (with hex core processors, if I have the money for them or if the price drops) but will also have some benefits with multiple GPU's (though not sure if I'll be doing anything to take advantage of them). If I could buy a second video card (see my choice) and have Photoshop take advantage of the GPU, it would be worth the extra $100 to me.

I'm a little bit concerned that I'm missing something with all the motherboard choices. Between $200-$300 is my price point, but with so many designators (GA-X58A-UDR3 vs GA-EX58-UDR3, and also I thought I saw a GA-EX58A-UDR3) and revisions, I may be barking up the wrong tree

PSU: Cooler Master RS850-AMBAJ3-US :$139.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171048
I've read that this may be overkill. I have a number of USB devices attached but most should be low power consumption (scanner, printer, another scanner, phone, wacom tablet, card reader, etc.). I am concerned with power consumption/electricity usage to the extent that I want to be a responsible citizen, but I will likely shut down or sleep the computer when I am not using it.

CPU: Intel BX80601930 :$289.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225
Intel Core i7-930. This is the top of what I thought was a reasonable price range for my budget.

RAM: Corsair (XMS Series) CMP6GX3M3A1600C7 :$269.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145289
I'm not particularly stuck on Corsair brand or the speed settings. As of right now I'm clueless on what's important when looking at RAM--I know there are concerns such as the timings and the speed, but at this point I wouldn't know "good" RAM if it smacked me in the face. I've noticed 2000mhz RAM at prices closer to $200. I'm shooting for about 6GB of RAM for now, 12GB is too expensive.

Hard Drive: Western Digital WD1002FAEX :$99.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533
I will need a new hard drive. I can't say I'm fond of WD, but that comes from experiences a number of years back. The price seems right, and it's received decent reviews on newegg.

Video Card: EVGA 01G-P3-N988-TR GeForce 9800 GT HDMI 1GB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $109. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130534&cm_re=evga_gt_ddr3_9800-_-14-130-534-_-Product
I'm torn on the video card. The last time I had to buy a video card (pre-Mac days) I was debating between an 8MB and a 16MB card (I think the 32MB cards where for "extreme gaming") and I can remember there were a million different versions by a couple big vendors (EVGA, ATI, nVIDIA) with product designators that meant all kinds of different bells and whistles were attached. Now, I see they have about a billion different models. I think the card I selected has everything that I want (and again, is probably overkill) while being in my price range. Primary concern would be something that works out of the box for OS X, and HDMI output. I run one monitor (HDMI, 24"), and may want to output to my TV. I'd like to get a second monitor at some point as well, possibly.

Optical Drive: I have an SATA DVD/CD-RW/Blu-Ray drive that I bought from Macsales.com in an enclosure that I was going to scavenge for my optical drive.

Audio: I'm not super concerned with audio at this point, but it would be nice if the on-board worked. If not, I'd consider spending some money (<$100) on a sound card.

Bluetooth: I'll want to buy a bluetooth receiver as well, so I can use my Magic Mouse (I love that thing)

Networking: I think I still need to research a network adapter. I have a Time Capsule that I'd like to continue using; I think the Time Capsule supports 802.11n (it's fairly new) so that's a concern.

I'm open to any suggestions or comments. I think the total comes out to about $1200 or so, prior to any price-shopping, and before the last 3 concerns.

 

[jimx86]

Case: Don't worry, the Cooler Master HAF series are one of the best cases on the market if people are in the price range of those (they're expensive!).

Motherboard: I'm not sure about the X58's hackintosh ability, but I sure hope it will work as I'm purchasing one soon! By the way, the A at the end of X58 (X58A) means it supports USB3 and SATA2, but I'm not sure what the E means

PSU: The PSU isn't one I would recommend, since Cooler Master isn't recognized for it's Power Supplies, but it does everything else really well, as I own 3 Cooler Master products. And also don't worry about your power consumption, 850W means that it can take in a MAXIMUM of 850W , if your system only takes in 400W, then that's all the power supply will take. Actually, it's recommended that the power supply isn't maxed out (enthusiasts prefer it to be around the 50-60% maxed range for best performance/efficiency/fan noise).

RAM: Your RAM looks good, it actually has a 7 cas latency, which is also good

Hard Drive: Western Digital has been in the business for a long time, don't worry.

Video Card: The 9800 GT should work fine. I'm not sure what you're torn about. If you would like a faster one, the GTS 250 is also supported by OSX. For photoshop, if you're editing raw files such as TIFF, then definately get a card with 1GB ram on it. Just an FYI.

Optical Drive: As long as it isn't a Pioneer brand (If I'm wrong anyone, please correct me on this!), your optical drive should be fine. Don't quote me, though. Yeah, I was wrong, avoid the LG brands. They aren't really compatible with Macs.

Audio: Don't worry, your onboard ALC 889 will work. If not by default, use Multibeast, if not then, go to this link:
http://www.tonymacx86.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1686

Bluetooth/Networking: Sorry, I'm not a wireless guy, my mouse/keyboard are even still wired! Can't help you there :?

 

[jayco437]

PSU: The PSU isn't one I would recommend, since Cooler Master isn't recognized for it's Power Supplies, but it does everything else really well, as I own 3 Cooler Master products. And also don't worry about your power consumption, 850W means that it can take in a MAXIMUM of 850W , if your system only takes in 400W, then that's all the power supply will take. Actually, it's recommended that the power supply isn't maxed out (enthusiasts prefer it to be around the 50-60% maxed range for best performance/efficiency/fan noise).

Thanks. I picked that one because it was in the recommended build by NewEgg. I'm looking at one of these Corsair PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010 (leaning towards this, is the SLI support needed?) or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

Video Card: The 9800 GT should work fine. I'm not sure what you're torn about. If you would like a faster one, the GTS 250 is also supported by OSX. For photoshop, if you're editing raw files such as TIFF, then definately get a card with 1GB ram on it. Just an FYI.

The torn comment was in reference to the fact that there are so many options and I don't know the difference between a shader clock and a stream processor. I'm thinking I might look at this EVGA card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130514. When all else fails, put some money on it, right?

Optical Drive: As long as it isn't a Pioneer brand (If I'm wrong anyone, please correct me on this!), your optical drive should be fine. Don't quote me, though. Yeah, I was wrong, avoid the LG brands. They aren't really compatible with Macs.

My current drive/enclosure is an LG and I've used it via firewire with no issues. I'll give it a shot, knowing that I might have to get a new one.

Bluetooth/Networking: Sorry, I'm not a wireless guy, my mouse/keyboard are even still wired! Can't help you there :?

I can run cable to start with, and I have a USB keyboard and mouse I can use.

I'm going to do a little more research and maybe order this setup soon (tonight?).

Thanks!

Edit:

It looks like the RAM I picked out is sold out. I found this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231352

 

[jimx86]

I'm pretty sure that you won't need an 850 or 750 W power supply. You can probably go for a good 500-650W and you'll even have some upgrade options afterwards. But if you don't mind the price, then I would get the 750HX since it's Corsair and modular - if you have any problems the 7 year warranty will definitely cover it. And your whole build only requires 350W, with the 750HX you'll max out at 50% load.. which is maybe a bit overkill for the PSU. Which is in no way bad, mind you, but it's surprising since most people undershoot the PSU.

"When all else fails, put some money on it right?"
Well, that depends if you'll actually use all that horsepower. Before dropping money on the GTS 250, I'll check around to see if photoshop will really use all the graphics power.
Update: Here Adobe tells you the cards that will be utilized by Photoshop CS4:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/405/kb405711.html
So according to this, your GTS 250 may change nothing, sorry for the false advice .
My suggestion would be a 9800 GTX+, although the 512 MB RAM might be a concern if you do dual monitor gaming. Anything else should be fine.

And optical drives are like $20-30 these days, so it shouldn't be too bad.

Anything G.Skill should be fine, the cas latency is also not bad. I'm not sure about pricing since I don't really buy triple channel RAM, but $200 doesn't sound too high.

Edit: I actually think you'll like the G.Skill a lot better, the RAM timing is shorter and it uses less power (which means it will last longer, too). So even if you prefer the aesthetic looks of the Corsair Dominator, the G.Skill will perform better.

 

[jayco437]

I ended up going with a free 600W psu that came with the case. I waited til this morning to order and it just popped up in my cart. It's a cooler master, 600w silent pro. I couldn't delete it, so I figured I'd save the $130 over the Corsair for today. The cooleraster got decent reviews, so I'll wait and see. I shouldn't have too much crazy stuff going on that would require a high end psu, but I figured getting one now would save in the long run. But hey, free saves me now

I went with the gts. The price was comparable to the 9800, I think, so no worries. I should have checked te adobe site for their list; I only see a limited number of cards there. None are in the 1gb range, but I think the Gts 250 meets the general minimum requirement list. The pricepoint was right, for now, and either should be a fine card.

I should get everything by Friday, I hope. The case ships from TN amd the rest from CA. The total was 1192. I'll post my "shopping list" later this evening. I also added a CPU cooler and a Bluetooth adapter (which I hope works-I can't remember if I checked compatibility now).

Thanks!

 

[jimx86]

Oh wow I remember seeing that free PSU with the case this morning, I just forgot that you were going to buy the HAF 932 so I didn't think of telling you that - sorry.

Ok, the GTS should also outperform the 9800, it's also a new architecture and I think it may even be built with a smaller manufacturing technology. (aka - it will be more power efficient and run more smoothly ).

Cool, you got stuff shipping from CA? All mine was from TN. And from what I heard, bluetooth adapters shouldn't be too much of a problem as most of them seem to work out of the box. If you have any trouble just post on the board (but sadly I can't help you - I know nothing about bluetooth ). Good luck!

 

[jayco437]

Here's the part numbers for the parts I ordered from Newegg:

CPU COOL ZALMAN| CNPS9900ALED R $62.99
BLUETOOTH TRENDNET|TBW-105UB 3M RTL $14.99
CPU INTEL|CORE I7 930 2.80G R $289.99
PSU CM|RS-600-AMBA-D3 600W RT $69.99 (free after instant rebate)
VGA EVGA|01G-P3-1158-TR GTS250 RT $154.99
HD 1T|WD 7K 64M SATAIII WD1002FAEX - OEM $99.99
CASE CM|RC-932-KKN1-GP BK RT $139.98
MEM 2Gx3|GSKILL F3-12800CL6T-6GBPI $209.99
MB GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R $209.99
CPU THERMPASTE|AS5-3.5G % - OEM $9.99

Subtotal: $1189.91
Total Amount: $1203.26

It was marked as "Shipped" earlier today, I'm just waiting on the tracking number to catch the date. I saw new mini's were released today and I had a brief moment of panic: I wanted a Mac Pro to begin with, but now that I look at my total and realize that I can't touch a Mac Pro for even double my cost, it made me smile a little.

 

[jimx86]

I saw new mini's were released today and I had a brief moment of panic: I wanted a Mac Pro to begin with, but now that I look at my total and realize that I can't touch a Mac Pro for even double my cost, it made me smile a little.

Don't worry, the new mini's aren't game changing in any way, they don't even use the Intel i cores!

And not to mention your computer will be faster than any old xeon! (unless you're looking at the 8-cores). Once you reach the price point of a Mac Pro which beats your build, you're at $4000!

Good luck on your build! If you have any trouble, feel free to post on this forum for help!

 

[ksj602]

G'day

I would be really interested to find out performance comparison between.

GB "P55M-UD4" vs "x58A-UD3R" which also involving i7 860 / i7 930

of course i know that i7 930 will be better but with compatability and all that

I just want to know if it will run on full potential compare to i7 860

I'm looking to build a system that will require heavy rendering as well, so stability is big issue for me.

Good luck on your build and please update us !

 

[jimx86]

Hello ksj602, if you're looking for the best stability, I would recommend the i7-860 with the P55M-UD4. Mainly because the P55's are supported best by Snow Leopard and the i7-860 has native support in Snow Leopard. The main difference between the i7-860 and the i7-930 is the L2 cache which the 930 has, allowing it to store more information for faster accessing, which really gives it a performance boost during load tasks. The i7-930 also has more PCIe bandwidth which allows up to 4-way SLI no sweat. You could have 4 graphics cards in a i7-930 motherboard whereas you'd be a bit bottlenecked with 2 cards on a i7-860 board and completely run out of slots with 3 cards. There are also several minor differences, but those are not hugely impacting.