Non-Gaming High End X58 system.. advice for a first-timer?

[iQi]

Hi Canucks

I'm very pleased to find this forum.

I want to build a high end system which I intend to use at my home office to run 3D modelling (Max/Maya/Revit), audio-visual editing, and usual surfing and fun applications. I am not a gamer.

Still, as a gadget addict, I want to get the best out there for a reasonable budget of approximately 2000-2500 USD excluding monitor. I'm planning to order most components from newegg/ebay (unless you can make some better recommendations.

I am currently looking at the following (please help me decide the alternatives, and do let me know if some of what I'm suggesting will be just a waste of money for the sort of uses I need):

• CPU: i7-950 or i7-975 Extreme (is it worth the $400 difference?)
• MoBo: ASUS P6X58D Premimum or Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5 (or UD7??)
• Memory: 12 GB of Corsair Dominator 1600 or OCZ platinum
• Video: ATI (HD 5970 or 5870??) or nVidia (GTX 285 or 295 ??) 1 or 2 GB?? (most undecided yet)
• Case: I have no knowledge, but read good reviews of Corsair Obsidian 800D, Cooler Master HAF 932, Thermaltake Armor+.... please recommend something for me here, I do not want a flashy case but rather an elegant simple one with good specs.
• Power Supply: Corsair 850TX, Thermaltake or Antec equivalents?
• System HDD: Thinking of an SSD to speed boot-up and all: Intel 25 160GB, Corsair P128? or should I just settle for a 300GB WD @10k rpm?
• Data HDD: 2 TB WD Black
• Cooler fan: Cooler Master Hyper 212+ or Thermaltake V1 AX or something else?

Should I go for a full or mid ATX?

your views will be much appreciated guys.

[martin_metal_88]

Go for the 950 the 975 is not worth the difference, or get the 920 and OC it more like 4Ghz.
For the mobo the UD5 is the right choice, the difference with the UD7 is onlythat the UD7 have additional NB cooling in a expension slot.
memory : go with corsair, if you want to look other brand then patriot G.skill Mushkin.
A single 5870 should be enough for what you will do but if you plan to do 3D RENDERING then try to stick with Nvidia ( if you don;t game go with the quadro series they offer better performance in 3D rendering and thing like that)
Case: Corsair 800D is a water cooler case, if you plan to go air then you can have a lack of airflow so it get pretty hot. try the HAF 932 or ATCS 840 they are 2 of the best on the market.
PSU : 850TX should be enough but I would look at a modular one, so you don't have a bunch of cable laying in the case. Silverstone strider plus, seasonic M12D, HX850.
HDD intel make the best SDD out here get it if you can afford it;)
HDD : with 2 tb you should be able to stock most of what you need and they are also great disk, I would like at the green series if you want this disk to be cooler and silent but less fast in acces time.
Cooler : in a high end build, go with a high end cooler. Prolimatech megahalem, thermalright Venomus X, Noctua NH-U12P.

Full tower will allow you to play easy in the computer they are huge but nice, stick with that if space isn't issue.

[Arinoth]

I would save some money and do what martin metal said with the CPU. It is relatively easy and straightforward to overclock the i7 920 (especially since most batches are the better D0 revision) to about 4Ghz

[iQi]

Thank you martin_metal_88, Arinoth!

I am not so keen on overclocking, so I might go for the 950.
UD5 doesn't have USB 3.0 AFAIK, which is something I'd like to have as a future-proof measure

Any thoughts about Gigabyte's Sumo 5115 case?

[Jd007]

Originally Posted by iQi

UD5 doesn't have USB 3.0 AFAIK, which is something I'd like to have as a future-proof measure

Any thoughts about Gigabyte's Sumo 5115 case?

The new X58A-UD5 has both USB 3.0 and Sata 6Gbps.

As for case, I strongly recommend the Corsair Obsidian 800D, since you are building a pretty high end system. It's one of the best cases ever made.

[Sushi Warrior]

I would say drop the gaming graphics card and get a Quadro.

So...
1. Get an i7 920 and use the OC'ing capability of that board. You can get it to 950/975 clocks without breaking a sweat or hurting stability at all.
2. Good support goes a long way. I would stick to EVGA boards because of the excellent support, both warranty-wise and update wise. The EVGA X58 SLI should do it for you, I think (don't quote me on that).
3. You will need all of that 12GB of RAM. Maybe even look into 24GB....
4. Drop the gaming card and get a http://ncix.com/products/?sku=37707&...nologies%20Inc or similar. I'm not an expert on Quadro/FireGL cards, so I'm just throwing out a random guess.
5. Lian Li for sure. Nothing says professional like a Lian Li. http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...acture=LIAN-LI
Newegg.ca - LIAN LI PC-B10 Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Canada Computers - Cases > Mid Towers : LIAN-LI PC-A10B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case.
6. I'd get a Corsair HX850. It's very efficient and modular, so you will have a nice low power bill. That 5-10% of efficiency makes a huge difference if you're rendering for a long amount of time.
7. I'd want an SSD for OS and your common programs for sure. The Intel should do excellently.
8. Samsung F3's are usually quite a bit better. I might also consider 2-4 1TB's in RAID1 or similar for some back-up protection.
9. Get a Noctua NH-U12P or a Thermalright Venemous X and a nice quiet fan. You want a system you don't notice too much, right? Who wants a loud, hot PC?

I think that should do it.

[lowfat]

In all seriousness there is no need to go w/ an X58/LGA1366 system. An LGA1156 860 system will be both cheaper and likely perform better. The boost on the LGA1156 systems is a lot more aggressive and since you aren't going to overclock you want the most CPU speed possible.

Also since you are only going to be using a single videocard, you don't need the extra PCIe bandwidth.

There is also no reason to go w/ such an expensive motherboard when not overclocking.

Grab the i7 860 & a Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3. Slightly cheaper and more performance.

[Sushi Warrior]

Originally Posted by lowfat

In all seriousness there is no need to go w/ an X58/LGA1366 system. An LGA1156 860 system will be both cheaper and likely perform better. The boost on the LGA1156 systems is a lot more aggressive and since you aren't going to overclock you want the most CPU speed possible.

Also since you are only going to be using a single videocard, you don't need the extra PCIe bandwidth.

There is also no reason to go w/ such an expensive motherboard when not overclocking.

Grab the i7 860 & a Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3. Slightly cheaper and more performance.

He has the upgrade path of the 980X when it releases, 12 threads would be great for him I should think. Also 1366 has triple channel memory which makes it easier to use more RAM.

Also, you would probably want a good sound card for audio editing. I would suggest the Asus Xonar Essence STX.

[MarkOne]

Originally Posted by lowfat

Grab the i7 860 & a Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3. Slightly cheaper and more performance.

remove the "a" to the GA-P55A-UD3 and that's the combination I have, combine with my Intel SSD it's very fast.

[iQi]

Originally Posted by Sushi Warrior

I would say drop the gaming graphics card and get a Quadro.

4. Drop the gaming card and get a http://ncix.com/products/?sku=37707&...nologies%20Inc or similar. I'm not an expert on Quadro/FireGL cards, so I'm just throwing out a random guess. ......
I think that should do it.

Thanks for the advice, but I notice that most newqer 'gaming' cards also support OpenGL 3.0/3.1 (in addition to DirectX 10/11) with more onboard RAM and lower prices than the Quadro.

I am no expert there either, so appreciate some experienced opinions here...