diving headfirst into first build, all help greatfully appreciated...

[megamegasleepy]

So my ancient macrpro 3,1 is getting sicker and sicker by the day and now needs to be retired from active duty. My current setup utilises a quadro 4000 (plus an old GTX285 for a few extra cores in Davinci), a 120gb SSD, an 8tb raid (4x 2TB HDD with a PCI Controller), Blackmagic DecklinkPro Card and a paltry 8gig of Ram.

The old girl is used solely for work and runs Avid Media Composer 6.5, After Effects/ PS CS6 and Davinci Resolve 9. I also occasionally use Smoke and ProTools.

I am considering either moving the Raid into the new machine. Likewise I think I'll move the Quadro and add a beefier card for cores for Davinci and AE. Likewise I'll probably move the decklink, although it is really old so I might just buy a new one.

So below is my shopping list. I would love to know what I'm missing and what could be a better choice. In terms of tech ability I am okay having swapped parts in many macs and done countless installations. This is however my first build from scratch. One final thing I'd love my new computer to sound a bit less hairdryer like that my current stuffed to the rafters one...

The Prices below are from Amazon.

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP5 TH £269

Corsair CW-9060007-WW Hydro Series £59

Corsair HX750 Professional Series HX 750W £107

Corsair Graphite CC600TM PC Case £135

Intel 3rd Generation Core i7-3770K CPU £251

TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 N900 Wireless £28

EVGA GF GTX 660Ti £232

Corsair 32GB (4x 8GB) Vengeance Memory Module £161


Total £1242

I'm now thinking I should maybe up the graphics card, also I'm wondering if it is worth another few hundred quid to get the 3930k processor. I chose quite a hefty power pack due to the fact that I may want to add more cards, but it seems most people are getting 650w... please help!

 

[Going Bald]

I'm now thinking I should maybe up the graphics card, also I'm wondering if it is worth another few hundred quid to get the 3930k processor. I chose quite a hefty power pack due to the fact that I may want to add more cards, but it seems most people are getting 650w... please help!

If you need more compute power go with the 680.

See http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU12/407 and try some of the different comparisons with the different cards.

For the power supply, google for PSU calculators and enter in all your hardware + whatever you think yu might add later to expand - another gfx card, HDDs, etc. Try several different ones and average the results, then look for the next highest standard size with the best price.

BTW, the 3930K won't fit the socket 1155 mainboard you list - takes a different socket.

 

[megamegasleepy]

Hi Going Bald,

thanks for replying, do you think the 3930k is worth it? If so am a bit newbie at this, when you say it wont fit the socket assume you mean the motherboard is incompatible. If so what do you suggest, would really like Thunderbolt if possible. Thanks so much for your help.

 

[Going Bald]

Hi Going Bald,

thanks for replying, do you think the 3930k is worth it? If so am a bit newbie at this, when you say it wont fit the socket assume you mean the motherboard is incompatible. If so what do you suggest, would really like Thunderbolt if possible. Thanks so much for your help.

The 3930K is socket 2011 and will not fit a mainboard with socket 1155.
If you want thunderbolt, go for the GA-Z77X-UP5

IMHO, TB is not worth it at this time - limited peripherals that use it and high cost of those peripherals is not worth it.

 

[megamegasleepy]

Thanks again, I really apreciate it. So no thunderbolt with a 3930k then. In which case if I want the extra power I should go with an Asus p9 x79 pro or is there a better option? Also I take it there is no sleep with this processor? I never put my macpro to sleep anyway so this shouldnt be a problem. Am I making a much more complicated build with a 3930k over a 3770k?

 

[megamegasleepy]

so i looked at some scores comparing processors on Anandtech and was kind of suprised at the results

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/552?vs=551


am a bit new to this but why is the 3770k pipping the 3930k in some of these tests? I assumed that the 3930k would smoke the 3770k. I will be overclocking either. If I clock the 3930k at 4.2 it should kill the 3770k right?

 

[Going Bald]

so i looked at some scores comparing processors on Anandtech and was kind of suprised at the results

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/552?vs=551


am a bit new to this but why is the 3770k pipping the 3930k in some of these tests? I assumed that the 3930k would smoke the 3770k. I will be overclocking either. If I clock the 3930k at 4.2 it should kill the 3770k right?

Not if the 3770K is also overclocked.

The 1155 boards are easier to push to higher OC and from all I have been reading, they are more stable (they also have more people using them and fixing/sharing problems encountered and fixes so late comers to the fun have an easier time).

Also, with the release of Haswell coming up, socket 2011 boards are probably going to go the way of the socket 1336 boards - EOL. In a couple of years 1155 will also be EOL and no telling what the new socket will be with Intel coming out with a new CPU version every year.