New Build Advice

[Iglooman]

Hello,

I've been following Hardware Canucks for a few weeks now since I started looking at building a new system. Had some suggestions over at Tom's Hardware and wanted to broaden my final build opinion to see if anyone is running this setup/combo, or has tried and found issues. Here's the current build, weighting in at around $2350 taxes in.

Antec 1200 case
Corsair HX850 PSU
i7 930
Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5
12GB Gskill - F3-10666CL9T-12GBRL
PNY GTX 470 Video Card
WD Caviar Black 2TB SataII - WD2001FASS
DVD Writer

I'd like to overclock, but not to great extremes. Maybe push to 3.6-3.8 GHz. The main purposes for this machine will be running Adobe Production Suite CS5 (Premiere, After Effects, Photoshop mainly) for advertising and web design and copious amounts of World of Warcraft (dual boxing) in my spare time...

Love to hear if anything might be an issue before I buy, looking at ordering parts Thursday.

Thanks for your time, and I'm sure I'll be around looking for overclocking advice, as this is completely new territory for me, but it sure gets my inner geek excited!

[_dangtx_]

besides getting a 5870 instead and psu too much for current needs and you need a 64bit of for all that ram? looks ok :)

[jcmaz]

I'm sure there are plenty "nicer" cases than the Antec 1200 and cheaper too.

NCIX.com - Buy Azza Solano 1000 Black ATX Full Tower Case 10X5.25 1X3.5 8X3.5INT 2X230MM LED Fans & Window No PSU - CSAZ-1000 In Canada.
NCIX.com - Buy Coolermaster ATCS840 ATX Tower Case Black 6X5.25 6X3.5INT 1X3.5EXT Front USB Firewire eSATA Audio - RC-840-KKN1-GP In Canada.

Coolermaster HAF series

[ForTheGG]

Looks good, I'd scrap the Antec 1200. It's not a very good case, go with something like a CM Storm Sniper or the HAF-X.
Get an EVGA GTX 470, and jump on the lifetime warranty. They're the only Nvidia vendor I recommend because their community and customer service is simply unmatchable, and is worth the extra $10-$20 for it. If you're on a budget you may look into getting 2x GTX 465's? They're being sold at an MSRP of $249 right now I believe.

[Iglooman]

I want to leave room for going dual video card in the future, if needed - this machine will need to last a while for me, hence the bigger PSU. Plus, if a secondary computer goes down, I might end up transferring some of this to another case and going bigger in mine (benefits of being the computer tech guy )

I went with the NVidia (I'm more of an ATI guy) because of the acceleration it supports for Adobe's Mercury Playback Engine, which doesn't support ATI that I know of.

And yes, Windows 7 Pro 64 bit is planned (for backwards XP compatibility for some older business software I need to run.) I keep forgetting to list that...

[IvanAndreevich]

Good parts selection, minus the case. Get a HAF instead.

[SugarJ]

Iglooman, your parts list is fine. And cases are really a matter of personal preference. If you like the looks, chances are you'll only be working inside it a couple of times unless you are a diehard enthusiast, so anything with decent airflow will do. And if you find you don't like it after you build it, sell off the case and buy another one. I'm on my 6th case in the last 3 years.

[fishingfanatic]

Nice selection of components. The only thing I might suggest is another HDD for the OS. If you can afford a SSD, then this would be preferable. If not, then perhaps a 160/250 gb drive. I don't believe the 80s are available anymore. A smaller drive for the OS is more efficient. Good luck with the build and enjoy the new unit!

[Iglooman]

I hope to upgrade to a SSD main drive in the future, but it isn't in the cards now. I'll have a secondary 1.5TB drive coming from my main system now as a redundant data backup/program install/swap file drive. When I do manage a SSD, this main drive will go towards data & programs, and my older drive will be mainly redundant backup of photos and video (my other hobby is photography).

I know HAFs are highly recommended, but unless you can tell me the fans are tri-color and I can turn them blue, without ordering new fans for the entire case, I just can't do it. I can't stand red. :(

The Sniper case looked intriguing. The Antec 1200 I found for $150, so it would have to be in that price range or lower to be of much interest. I was also rawn by the number of fans included with the case, which I thought would mean good airflow for the 3.6-3.8GHz overclock I'm looking for.

I fix computers as a hobby (translation - I get to tinker with everything old and clunky, meaning lots of screws and far worse mounts). While my last two mains have been Dell XPS systems with a nice setup for cases, a screw heavy case isn't a big deal to me for the amount I go into it. I'll look at the other blue case tomorrow, and hopefully have a decision made so I can order by Thursday.

Thanks so much all for the input, I really appreciate it, and look forward to stepping into the area of overclocking once I get my system stable, even if I don't get time to do it until fall when our busy season ends... You can bet I'll be doing lots of reading here in the meantime. :)

[timbruun]

I completely agree about the red. I'm looking for a case right now and like the cooler master except the red fans that they come with. I was also debating on the 1200. That or a thermaltake armor. Just can't find too many good reviews on the armor...