custom build advice

[jPadilla]

edit: we have determined that we will be going with 8gb ram max, changing the mobo and 512mb ddr3 vid card.

i started loosely with the set-up recommended on this thread

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=600213&highlight=700+computer


since my comp guy is MIA, i turn to the forum to find some advice.

here is a basic list of what i'm looking at. this comp is going to be used 75% for photo using CS4, the other 25% will be spent doing autocad/sketchup, illustrator CS4, and basic computer tasks.

my original plan was to give me room to upgrade to a fast quad core and 16gb of ram.

is this necessary or even reasonable? keep in mind, i've never actually put together a computer but i am very comfortable around electronics.

in the end, i'm looking for something that is going to be sufficient "out of the box" but gives me room to grow without building a new comp for a while.

budget is not necessarily an issue but i'd like to get it in the 600-700 range.

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC (https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=13860687)
ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299)
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073)
LG 22X DVD±R DVD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152)
EVGA 512-P3-N956-TR GeForce 9500 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130383)
2x CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184)
COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS-500-PCAR-A3 500W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171031)
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488)

after rebates, shipping, tax, picking up the case and a keyboard/mouse locally, this should run right around 600

[tim]

Sounds decent, and pretty good value. I'd get more than one disk. There's a cooler that's meant to be better, but I forget what it's called.

[OdiN1701]

Don't get the LG burner - get this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106282

Same price, also does lightscribe. LiteOn products tend to hold out better than the LG's when it comes to optical drives.

[ChasP505]

I like it. It's almost identical to the system I'm building (parts already purchased and received). I went with 2 of the 500gb HDs, one for a data/scratch drive. I felt I needed at least a 650 watt power supply and newegg.com had an Antec on sale for $49 USD. I second the advice about LiteOn drives. I've used them for years, never a problem, foolproof firmware updates.

[jPadilla]

thanks for the responses team. i appreciate the feedback.

i originally had the liteOn but i don't remember why i changed.

i plan on getting another HDD but i'd like to get something faster and the budget doesn't facilitate that right now. i figure this is enough to get me started.

also, i won't be purchasing for a week or two so i'm sure things will change.

you guys have any thoughts about the mobo? should i consider nvidia S/N bridge or does it matter for photo? i'm not a gamer whatsoever

[OdiN1701]

Stick with Intel chipsets - they built the CPU's, they know them best. They are in my experience the most stable chipsets, vs. the third party vendors that make them.

[BottomBracket]

Your build looks good. A few comments:

- The Xigmatek HDT-S1283 is an excellent CPU cooler and I readily recommend it. However it is quite tall and may be a tight fit for the case you are looking at. I have a Cooler Master CM690 and the Xiggie fits with barely enough room to spare. The CM690's width is listed as 8.4 inches, while the case you are looking at has a width of 8 inches. It may fit, but barely. Your options are you can chance it, or change the case or the CPU cooler. A good shorter cooler is the Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7.

- If you decide to stick with the Xigmatek, you can do yourself a favor by getting the retention bracket (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019) for it. With this it is easier to install than the arcane push pins the Xiggie comes with.

- I like that motherboard. You can pair it up with the nvidia based GPU that you selected. However, I would recommend an ATI GPU, if only to have the ability to Crossfire it with another ATI card should you so decide in the future. You don't really need a Crossfire (or SLI setup for that matter) for photo editing, but having an ATI card on that mobo keeps your options open.

- Don't forget to get a tube of you favorite thermal compound. I use AS5 (Arctic Silver 5) and only because it 's the one I have handy around here. There are other choices, such as OCZ Freeze, MX-2, all good stuff.

[ChasP505]

For my motherboard, I went with the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358), which uses the Intel chips. I've built a couple gaming PCs with Gigabyte MBs and they rocked!

[jPadilla]

thanks for all the great responses.

the case was just a selection of necessity. i actually plan on picking up a case locally to save on shipping. i'll def keep those dimensions/notes in mind.

i have also looking at this power supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182030

as for the gpu, i just need something that is decent enough to do cad work (which i don't do very often as i do it in the office every effing day).

i don't plan on playing games, pretty much ever. and i do very, very light video

thermal compound is on the list of local buys. and the retention bracket has been noted.

[OdiN1701]

If you want to get a better PSU than the CoolerMaster, then look into Antec, Enermax, or Sparkle.

I wouldn't get the Rosewill.

[jPadilla]

thanks for the info.

would the CoolerMaster be sufficient for what i've got going?

[OdiN1701]

It should be fine. They aren't the best brand, but not the worst by any means.

[ChasP505]

Here's the Antec PSU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015) I'm using. It was at $49 when I bought it. Half the price of what it sells for in the big electronics stores, no tax, free shipping.

I can't stand PC components or cases with the dopey blue "bling-bling" lights built in. Seems about half of the PSUs available today have the bling lights.

[jPadilla]

so...i've decided to go with this board
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359
for the fsb and 16gb ram capacity

and this psu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015


i want to get the most for my money but have something that is expandable to last me a few years.

like i stated before, this will be used primarily for photo editing and graphic design, but i also do some architectural design. i'm also entertaining the idea of putting in an hd/blu ray drive and using it as a media center.


i'm kinda lost

[Motley]

so...i've decided to go with this board
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359
for the fsb and 16gb ram capacity

and this psu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015


i want to get the most for my money but have something that is expandable to last me a few years.

like i stated before, this will be used primarily for photo editing and graphic design, but i also do some architectural design. i'm also entertaining the idea of putting in an hd/blu ray drive and using it as a media center.


i'm kinda lost

I would reccomend this power supply is way better for a few more bucks...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005

[Motley]

Here's the Antec PSU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015) I'm using. It was at $49 when I bought it. Half the price of what it sells for in the big electronics stores, no tax, free shipping.

I can't stand PC components or cases with the dopey blue "bling-bling" lights built in. Seems about half of the PSUs available today have the bling lights.

LMAO Like this??? I love bling bling lights...

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_q6KLXVhw0p8/SPTLfkp_gYI/AAAAAAAAAYk/A5eZ78DqFdc/s800/IMG_0525.JPG

[BeritOlam]

jPadilla,

As one who's assembled numerous systems for myself over the past decade, let me just say that you've got yourself a pretty good system so far. Just a few quick comments:

(1) Memory. I see you've opted for DDR2. If you can afford the upgrade, I would consider getting DDR3. Something like this motherboard/mem combo:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121348
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231190

As a Macbook user running DDR2, let me just say that the new Macbooks with DDR3 and the Macbook Pros running DD3 run Photoshop *noticeably faster* than my 4 gigs of DDR2.

And as someone that dabbles in AutoCad (2006) for my dad from time to time, I can't help but think DD3 will run it *noticeably faster* than DD2.

(2) Power Supply. Antecs are good quality. I have an Antec 430W running my one remaining home PC -- 4 years old this Christmas and still running strong.

I think if I were putting together a new box, I would also give Thermaltake power supplies a look as well. Equally as good; some might say better. The primar reason I would switch is because their psu's typically have bigger stock fans for cooling (140mm), which translates into less noise....if that kind of thing matters to you.

And I'd also strongly consider paying extra to get a psu with *modular* connectors. It's going to bump up your cost. But if you spend much time adding/upgrading hardware inside of your box, the modular system sure makes for a neater "guts" of your computer and thus easier to mess with. I personally dislike cables dangling all around inside my computer that aren't doing anything.

Something like this, for example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153059

(3) DVD player. I'm convinced most of the name brands selling are all about the same. The one exception would be Plextor, which is generally regarded as the "BMW's of CD/DVD players" (and hence the reason why they are more expensive)! I had to replace my LiteOn earlier this year after about 3 1/2 years of *heavy* usage. No big complaints. I replaced it with a newer LiteOn.

(4) Hard Drive. One 500gb drive should do you just fine. SATA drives are really easy to add onto the new motherboards. Just keep track of the HDD you buy, if you have plans of ever running a RAID setup later.

Happy building!!! :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

[tim]

I've read a few articles about benchmarking DDR3 RAM, they said the difference was small given the cost. Before you decide on DDR2 vs DDR3 I would suggest checking some hardware review sites.

[jPadilla]

for CAD, i'd have to say that my work comp runs perfectly on >4gb pc2-6400 (vista 32) but i also have a fireGL v5600 gpu!

i'm sticking with the antec for power/money

ddr3 vs ddr2? i've thought about going ddr2 but the price point is great when trying to achieve 16gb. i can load my current set-up with 16gb for ~120-150

[Tony-S]

Don't forget to get a tube of you favorite thermal compound. I use AS5 (Arctic Silver 5) and only because it 's the one I have handy around here. There are other choices, such as OCZ Freeze, MX-2, all good stuff.

So, do these third-party thermal pastes make that much difference? How do they compare with the paste that comes with the cpus? Can you squeeze a few more mhz out of the cpu by OC'ing if you use Arctic Silver over the standard stuff?

[Bobster]

if you can get a GF8800GT instead of your 9500

[ChasP505]

Tony... Years ago, when I was still enthusiastic about building custom PCs, I read many comparisons between specialty compounds like Arctic Silver and the standard strip of goo that comes on stock coolers and the thin white ceramic stuff. In my memory, the "good stuff", applied correctly, always reduced temperatures by several degrees Celsius and yes, often allowed you to OC just a little bit further. "Lapping" the mating surface of the cooler helps just as much.

Personally, I'm a lot more conservative now about PC building. I don't like running a PC that is always just barely staying stable and is flirting with overheating. But I do continue to use Arctic Silver.

[Tony-S]

Well, when I assembled my hackintosh, I just used the paste that came with the Intel Q6600 processor (2.4 ghz native; OC'd to 3.2 ghz). The blower is still in the box as I put on a Zalman copper heat sink and fan assembly for heat dissipation. I get to the mid-50s (C) with my fan on a medium setting using PS CS4. (One thing that's different about my Macs is the fans ramp up/down on their own with changes in cpu temps. Not sure if I can do this with the PC box.) The only time it's locked up my machine is when I do video encoding, when it gets to the mid-70s (and I'm not paying attention to turn the fan to full speed). If the Arctic paste can bring that down 4 or 5 degrees, it would be worth re-seating the cpu on the Zalman.

[tim]

55C seems too high. Mine was about that initially, I didn't have the heatsink attached to the motherboard properly. Take it off, put on the new paste, and have another go at putting everything together again. Mine's about 45 degrees C and goes up to 55 or slightly higher when under full load. The fan goes up and down constantly, not sure if it's controlled by software or hardware.

[lens pirate]

If you are not going to over clock the stock CPu cooler will be fine,that could save enough money to get a better PSU.

If at all possible I would save for another month and get a i7 system.

[Moppie]

(One thing that's different about my Macs is the fans ramp up/down on their own with changes in cpu temps. Not sure if I can do this with the PC box.) T

If the m/b supports it, they will (I think most do now)

Even my case and PSU fans ramp up and down as needed.



55C seems too high. Mine was about that initially, I didn't have the heatsink attached to the motherboard properly.


I also had this problem, but never realised until the m/b failed and had to be replaced (fortunalty under warrenty).

The LGA775 socket does not have a very well designed fan location system, it is easy to think you have all 4 clips in, when you only have 3 of them in.

[lens pirate]

Actually PC's and Mac run on the same hardware now. The O/S is now the only difference.