Help me build a gaming/photo editing computer

[Mitsu3000gt]

Well my current computer is 6 years old and while it is still doing surprisingly well (Plays Diablo 3 at 1920X1200 no problem but without the really high settings), I'd like all the latest mainstream stuff like USB 3.0, PCI-E 3.0, an SSD, etc. and just generally a noticeable step up in performance.

Current system:
Intel Core 2 DUO 2600 2.4 GHz
Geforce 8800 GTS
6GB Ram


I've done a bit of research on Tom's Hardware and similar sites, but I definitely need some help fine tuning things, please! I like to buy at the point of diminishing return for computer stuff, saving money where I can, but I also don't mind spending more if it'll get me a lot more.

My budget is around $2,000, but I'd love to meet my needs for less. The computer will be used exclusively for games (Diablo 3, COD, etc. nothing too crazy) and also a ton of photo editing (Photoshop with a lot of photos open at once).

Here's what I was thinking so far, so please feel free to completely change it haha (from Memex):

CPU: Intel I7 3770k 3.5 GHZ $349.99

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77V Deluxe $289.99 (I know very little about motherboards - I could probably get away with a lot less here)

RAM: GSKILL Ripjaws X PC-10600 32GB quad channel Kit $209.99 special order only?? I just want tons of pretty good RAM.

SSD: Intel 520 Series 120 SATA III 120GB $189.99 (I want speed AND reliability)

Optical: Asus BW12B1ST Bluray read/write: $99.99

Video Card: EVGA Geforce 560 Ti 2GB GDDR5: $284.99 Is this still the best bang for the buck card? I'm open to anything here.

Case: Antec Performance 1 P280 $124.99??? I haven't a clue, but it has to be a mid tower and QUIET. I like brushed aluminium looking ones the best.

Power Supply: Corsair Gaming Series GS600 $99.99 Again I haven't a clue what I need here, but I want a quality PS.

TOTAL: $1639.92


Must have's:
- USB 3.0
- SATA ports for 5 hard drives PLUS the SSD
- Ivy Bridge CPU
- Lots of RAM
- SSD
- Quiet case

Everything else I'm flexible on.

Thoughts?

Thanks so much guys, I know some of you check on this stuff daily and I'm happy to do my own research but I just can't keep up with all the tiny details.

[-relk-]

Looks like you have a good selection there.

You could probably buy a cheaper mobo if you want, but I would recommend staying with the one you have selected, in case you need some of the features it offers in a couple years.

32 gigs of ram?!?!?! Seems like a bit of overkill to me, but I do know that photo and video editing can use up quite a bit, not sure where to draw the line though. You will have PLENTY of room for years and years with that much though.

For the SSD, look into a crucial m4, they are known for their reliability, and are still stupid quick. I have one in my 2+ year old rig, and it made a noticible difference when I added it.

You made no mention of a HDD or monitor? If you havent thought of an HDD yet, get a WD one. Stay as far away from Seagate as possible (known for their failure rates). And since you are getting a blu ray player, I would suggest getting a 1920x1080 screen as well (if you don't already have one), to take full advantage of that.

[schocker]

Get the Ivy bridge i7 not sandy bridge 3770k is $349
Ram maybe get the faster 12800 gskill ram, i have 8gb 10600, works great though
SSD is a tad small but you can always upsize later to say a 240gb, I just got a mushkin, seems to work well, also probably get a storage drive say WD Black 1tb or 2tb
Best bang for buck video card right now to last a long time I believe is the new GTX 670, it is about $400 though.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Sorry guys I should specify a bit more, I already have all peripherals including a 24" 1920X1200 monitor. Might upgrade to a 27 or 30" in the future, so I would need a video card that could handle the extra resolution if necessary.

I have 4 hard drives already I'm going to be using for storage/backup so the only "new" hard drive I need is an SSD, but I need the mobo to have a bunch of SATA ports on it for 5-6 drives.

Ram is so cheap I thought what the hell, I'll get 32GB. If less ram, but faster ram, is better then I'm open to that too.

Thanks for the catch on the processor, I accidentally picked the wrong one on Memex. Ill edit my original post. IS the 3770K worth the .1 GHz over the 3770 for $40? Or should I get the 3.4 Ghz one for $309?

I'd rather not spend $400 on a graphics card unless you guys think its WAY better than the 560Ti. My ~6 year old 8800 GTS still plays all my games flawlessly at max resolution, I just can't turn on any of the extras like anti aliasing, etc.

How much speed difference is there between PC10600 and PC12800 ram? Worth the $20 price difference? What about the PC 14,400 or 17,000 stuff?

Thanks!

[-relk-]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
I'd rather not spend $400 on a graphics card unless you guys think its WAY better than the 560Ti. My ~6 year old 8800 GTS still plays all my games flawlessly at max resolution, I just can't turn on any of the extras like anti aliasing, etc.

I would agree with you. Don't spend that much on a graphics card if your only gonna use it for games that you listed. Even games like the Witcher 2 will be able to run fine. Hell, the reason most people buy those expensive graphics cards is for e-peen anyway

[Mibz]

The advantage of the 3770K over the 3770 is overclockability and it's definitely worth it.

That said, you could probably do just as well with a 3570K for a chunk less.

[KRyn]

Don't bother with a K chip OP. If you don't know anything about motherboards you shouldn't be over clocking anything. K chips are for guys who want to flex their e-peens on overclocking forums.

Go down to Memory Express and talk to the guys behind the desks. More often than not they are very helpful. Tell them what you want your computer to do and see what they suggest. Make sure to ask as many questions as you can and get them to explain everything to you. If nothing else you will learn a lot and be able to make a more educated purchase.

[msommers]

I built mine for way less than $2000 and it's pretty powerful. This was about a year ago so if you want top end parts that'd obviously add some performance + price.

i7 2600K
Asus P8P67 Deluxe Rev 3.0
Corsair 750W Modular PSU
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB
Western Digital 1TB Black
eVGA GeForce GTX750 SC
16GB G.Skillz Ripjaws X DDR3-1600
Hyper Cooler 212 Plus
Corsair Graphite 600T Case

Make sure to price match stuff if you go to Memory Express. I saved a few hundred dollars that way! I have 3 3.0 USB ports, 4 USB on the top and firewire, case doesn't get hot and I run Battlefield 3 at extreme for hours.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by KRyn
Don't bother with a K chip OP. If you don't know anything about motherboards you shouldn't be over clocking anything. K chips are for guys who want to flex their e-peens on overclocking forums.

Go down to Memory Express and talk to the guys behind the desks. More often than not they are very helpful. Tell them what you want your computer to do and see what they suggest. Make sure to ask as many questions as you can and get them to explain everything to you. If nothing else you will learn a lot and be able to make a more educated purchase.

Isn't overclocking super easy though, if you are happy with modest results & air cooling? I read a Tom's Hardware article where they got the 3770K from 3.5 --> 4.2/4.3 GHz with air cooling and absolutely zero worries of instability (Over 4.5 GHz required special cooling, though some websites say they got it to 4.9 with air cooling). That seems like a pretty significant gain for just typing in a few voltage numbers. I have no interest in crazy overclocking, liquid cooling, etc. but if I can get an extra GHz of performance for 10 min of effort, that might be worth it to me. Is that a fair statement? Or is it a lot more work than that? I don't care about bragging rights haha, but if I can do essentially nothing and get some extra speed, it may be worth it?

I think the asus board I'm looking at even automatically overclocks the chip for you based on what it thinks is good.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/22833/2

[KRyn]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt


Isn't overclocking super easy though, if you are happy with modest results & air cooling? I read a Tom's Hardware article where they got the 3770K from 3.5 --> 4.2/4.3 GHz with air cooling and absolutely zero worries of instability (Over 4.5 GHz required special cooling, though some websites say they got it to 4.9 with air cooling). That seems like a pretty significant gain for just typing in a few voltage numbers. I have no interest in crazy overclocking, liquid cooling, etc. but if I can get an extra GHz of performance for 10 min of effort, that might be worth it to me. Is that a fair statement? Or is it a lot more work than that? I don't care about bragging rights haha, but if I can do essentially nothing and get some extra speed, it may be worth it?

I think the asus board I'm looking at even automatically overclocks the chip for you based on what it thinks is good.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/22833/2

Overclocking from 3.5 to 4.2/4.3 will give you little noticeable difference in performance. Most (if not all new?) intel chips have a turbo boost feature that will overclock the chip when it is under a heavy load to give you some extra processing power. For what you want your computer to do how much of a difference is a few hundred MHz going to make? Yes overclocking a processor that lightly is fairly easy and straight forward (assuming you have a above average understanding of computers). Do I think it is worth it for you and your application, not really. If the price difference is only a couple of dollars between an unlocked and locked processor I suppose you may as well go for it. If you do get an unlocked chip be sure get an Asus motherboard. I believe they now come with built in software that allows you to very gently overclock your processor and monitor volts, frequency, temperature and a few other vital stats.

Just finished reading that article. Using a fairly budget aftermarket cooler at 4.4/4.5 GHz their processor ran at 50-60 degrees, that is higher than I would have expected considering they didn't increase the voltage at all. I think I like my older 2600k even more now after reading that review. All in all if you are interested in buying an aftermarket cooler and learning how to overclock go for it. But for such modest gains and having to deal with the potential problems that will arise I would advise you against it.

[Mitsu3000gt]

^^^ Thanks, that is good info. I didn't know how much of an increase 0.8Ghz was in real-world terms. I figure for the $30 extra, what the hell - it'll keep my options open, at least.

OK So how does this build look to you guys?

CPU: Intel I7 3770k 3.5 GHZ $349.99

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77V Deluxe $289.99

RAM: GSKILL Ripjaws X PC-12800 16GB (2X8GB) $109.99

SSD: Crucial M4 256GB $229.99

Optical: Asus BW12B1ST Bluray read/write: $99.99

Video Card: EVGA Geforce 560 Ti 2GB GDDR5: $284.99

Case: Antec Performance One P280 $114.99

Power Supply: Corsair Gaming Series GS600 $99.99


Total cost including assembly:$1,619.92

-----------------------------------------------------------

Would you guys change anything there?

Things I'm unsure of:

1) Crucial M4 or Intel 520 ($100 more for intel). I want ~256GB.

2) How big of a power supply do I need? Is 600W overkill?

3) That video card is out of stock...is there anything else nearly as good in that price range, or should I wait for that one? There are similar priced 560 cards with more "cores" but less ram??

Everything will be price matched via NCIX, Newegg, TD, etc.

Thanks! I think I'm in pretty good shape otherwise.

[KRyn]

CPU: Intel I7 3770k 3.5 GHZ $349.99
I see you are getting the K, are you going to over clock? If so add on an aftermarket heatsink. I suggest anything by Noctua, they make great products. Something like this!

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX34315

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77V Deluxe $289.99
Great choice here.

RAM: GSKILL Ripjaws X PC-12800 16GB (2X8GB) $109.99
I have never done any photo editing so I am not sure how RAM intensive it is. If it is very RAM intensive I suggest doubling this order as RAM is dirt cheap these days. Can anyone offer some advice?

SSD: Crucial M4 256GB $229.99
Intel makes the best SSD drives, I would suggest the $100.00 upgrade

Optical: Asus BW12B1ST Bluray read/write: $99.99

Video Card: EVGA Geforce 560 Ti 2GB GDDR5: $284.99
Best card for the price currently, worth waiting for. Unless you want to spend a little more! :P

Case: Antec Performance One P280 $114.99
Meh, this case will do.

Power Supply: Corsair Gaming Series GS600 $99.99
Do you ever plan on upgrading to dual graphics cards when the price drops on your 560? If so look towards a 800W + power supply, also is this Corsair PS modular? If not look for a modular power supply. Also getting a higher end powersupply means you can use it again in a new PC build in a few years.


Check your PMs Mitsu3000gt!!!!

[-relk-]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
Would you guys change anything there?

Things I'm unsure of:

1) Crucial M4 or Intel 520 ($100 more for intel). I want ~256GB.

2) How big of a power supply do I need? Is 600W overkill?

3) That video card is out of stock...is there anything else nearly as good in that price range, or should I wait for that one? There are similar priced 560 cards with more "cores" but less ram??

Everything will be price matched via NCIX, Newegg, TD, etc.

Thanks! I think I'm in pretty good shape otherwise.

TBH, between the M4 and 520, you probably won't see much of a difference. I really like my M4, and its cheaper, so I would suggest that.

600W is more than enough for what you need. I *think* I have around 650W in my rig at home, and I was running 2x 5850s in it for a while, so you will have lots of room to spare. You probably could get away with 500, or maybe even 400, but I am not 100% on th later.

For the video card, just go with another 560 that they have in stock. From my experience, they usually are all pretty similar, and the ones that are "superclocked" are simply clocked higher than the others. For the regular clocked ones, the superclocked speeds can easily be achieved via a small overclock.

[Mitsu3000gt]

RE: CPU - I don't think I will ever overclock, but that Asus motherboard has automatic/user friendly overclocking features on it, so I figure the extra $30 for the "K" CPU will let the motherboard do it's thing. I don't think I'll ever really get into it though. Do you still think I need a $90 fan?

RE: RAM - That motherboard is only dual channel, so I'm not sure I would see any gains from quad channel RAM?? I don't know though. Googling and reading on other forums suggests its incredibly hard to require more than 16GB, and I can always add more later, so I think I'll be OK there. I agree it's so cheap though, 32GB is tempting. All the 32GB kits are special order though, which is also annoying.

RE: SSD - My research suggests the intel drive is better too...maybe I'll spend the $100 im saving on ram on the better Intel SSD. My thought was kind of along the lines of that it's going to be so much faster than a regular HDD, do I really care? I don't know!


RE: Power Supply - It's unlikely I will ever get SLI because my current 6yr old 8800 GTS runs all my games flawlessly at 1920X1200, and if it's reasonable to expect the same of the 560Ti or equivalent, then I almost for sure would never buy a second one.

RE: Case - I want a clean looking QUIET high quality case. I am using a previous version of that case now and I love it. I don't like the cases that look like a space ship, or ones that have lights & windows.

RE: Power Supply - The PS is not modular, but does that really matter? I think there is a lot of room in that case, based on what I read. Is Corsair not a good PS brand? I thought they were pretty decent.

Thanks for all your input.

[KRyn]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
RE: CPU - I don't think I will ever overclock, but that Asus motherboard has automatic/user friendly overclocking features on it, so I figure the extra $30 for the "K" CPU will let the motherboard do it's thing. I don't think I'll ever really get into it though. Do you still think I need a $90 fan?

No you don't need a $90.00 cooler, maybe a $40.00 unit then. If nothing else it will be much quieter with a small overclock.

[blitz]

If you use photoshop, I've heard a dedicated SSD for the scratch drive helps speed things up.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by blitz
If you use photoshop, I've heard a dedicated SSD for the scratch drive helps speed things up.

I *think* that would be overkill, because just going from a regular HDD to a SSD is already going to blow my mind in terms of speed haha.

I am, however, getting a much larger SSD than necessary as I read they slow down significantly when they get close to their capacity.

[ipeefreely]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
RE: RAM - That motherboard is only dual channel, so I'm not sure I would see any gains from quad channel RAM?? I don't know though. Googling and reading on other forums suggests its incredibly hard to require more than 16GB, and I can always add more later, so I think I'll be OK there. I agree it's so cheap though, 32GB is tempting. All the 32GB kits are special order though, which is also annoying.

What OS are you going to run? Over 16GB you need Win 7 Pro or Ultimate (or Enterprise).

Max Ram for Win 7 versions

Do you have the 64 Bit version of Photoshop (CS5 or up i think)?

No point in getting all that ram if you can't use it...

[Mitsu3000gt]

I have Win 7 Home premium, so I guess 16 GB would be the max!

I think I'm going to buy another copy of windows though, I'm using a CD key from a family pack right now, and I'm far too lazy to sit on the phone with MS Support and have it swapped over, plus I want a working second computer still as well.

So, I could just buy Win 7 pro for the 32GB but I think I'll be ok with 16GB and another copy of home premium.

Yes, I am running 64bit and CS5 64bit.

Thanks though, I thought 192GB was the limit for ALL Windows 7's.

[Mitsu3000gt]

So, a little research suggests the GTX 560Ti 448 core Ultra is better than the GTX 560 TI 2GB, and it's only $10 more. If I go with a new video card, that seems to be the one to get. A GtX 570 (base) seems to be the same price as well, not sure what is better. Some googling suggests the 570 might be a bit better, and price is identical.

I'm thinking I could probably get away with a $150 card haha, and just upgrade when I need to, which will probably won't be for quite some time. How much worse is a 550Ti? It's only $150.