[spitfire7]

My budget is around $1500 - 2000. My intended use of the PC will be hardcore gaming, Rendering, HD playback. I will be using major software's like Autodesk Maya, Adobe Photoshop CS5, Adobe After Effects CS5, Sony Vegas Pro 10, ZBrush 4. I wont be working hardcore on the CAD programs.
And about the monitor, I have a Acer AL1916W and i am not sure if it will do me any good. Oh and i also want a Wacom Intuos 4 Large tablet. I have a Razer Deathadder. Not sure what keyboard i should get. And about the case, I have my eyes on Silverstone RV01 and NZXT Phantom. They look awesome! I am not really up for the Cooler master HAF X since it's got this rugged construction look. I do know that it's got great airflow. Kindly suggest me your opinion.

Edit: If possible i would like to save the extra bucks.

 

[Astral Fly]

I'll put up a few suggestions here.

i7 2600k
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB
MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III PE/OC
Crucial M4 128GB
CORSAIR AX750

Get the case you like best. The ones you mention are all good.

You can get the 2500k instead if you'll mainly be gaming, but the hyperthreading of the 2600k will come to good use with some of the software you mention.

The videocard go hand in hand with the resolution of your monitor. If your's is only 900p, I think it would be a good idea to get a 1080p monitor.

 

[spitfire7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Astral Fly I'll put up a few suggestions here. i7 2600k ASUS P8Z68-V PRO G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III PE/OC Crucial M4 128GB CORSAIR AX750 Get the case you like best. The ones you mention are all good. You can get the 2500k instead if you'll mainly be gaming, but the hyperthreading of the 2600k will come to good use with some of the software you mention. The videocard go hand in hand with the resolution of your monitor. If your's is only 900p, I think it would be a good idea to get a 1080p monitor.

What about the cooling?

 

[inchy97]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spitfire7 What about the cooling?

A noctua dh14 would be awesome for a cpu cooler.

Gpu- get yourself a asus/evga/msi gtx 580

 

[TerrabyteX]

GPU get a 580 3gb version to have enough VRAM not to worry about anything and it's the fastest single gpu on the market atm so you're assured for games and editing. Cooling of the cpu a noctua dh14 as inchy97 recommanded or a Corsair H80/H100.

Case ? I would go with the NZXT Phantom , Corsair 600T/800D , Thermaltake Chaser MK-1, Cooler Masters Storm Sniper.

Ram ? I would pick Vengence from Corsair they are cheap at 1866 @ 1.5v you can upp them to 2200mhz easy at 1.6v.

CPU ? The i7 2600k is the best pick.
Mobo ? P8z68V Pro or Gigabyte Z68 UD 5. but i would go with the ASUS one.

Power supply ? : Corsair 750 wich is 80+ certified or a 850W from Corsair if you want to add another GTX580 in the future.

 

[ttaylor0024]

Could you wait like 2 months for the next gen processors and GPUs?

 

[spitfire7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TerrabyteX GPU get a 580 3gb version to have enough VRAM not to worry about anything and it's the fastest single gpu on the market atm so you're assured for games and editing. Cooling of the cpu a noctua dh14 as inchy97 recommanded or a Corsair H80/H100. Case ? I would go with the NZXT Phantom , Corsair 600T/800D , Thermaltake Chaser MK-1, Cooler Masters Storm Sniper. Ram ? I would pick Vengence from Corsair they are cheap at 1866 @ 1.5v you can upp them to 2200mhz easy at 1.6v. CPU ? The i7 2600k is the best pick. Mobo ? P8z68V Pro or Gigabyte Z68 UD 5. but i would go with the ASUS one. Power supply ? : Corsair 750 wich is 80+ certified or a 850W from Corsair if you want to add another GTX580 in the future.

Thank you for replying!

 

[spitfire7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ttaylor0024 Could you wait like 2 months for the next gen processors and GPUs?

Good question. Uhm i waited a long time for bulldozer. Well you have point but i dont know what to do...

 

[TerrabyteX]

Your welcome. you can get your build today par example and add a second gtx580 next year and keep the rig for 3 years and then upgrade or you can wait more and spend more a bit on the new CPU as for new gpus you have to wait more then 2 months.

I went for getting a new rig in september and will add another 590 and go watercool on them and get the next cpu after ivy bridge since ivy is only 35%-40% faster then i7 and the next gen will be 100% faster. Also keplar ( new nvidia gpu ) will be 40% faster then fermi ( 570 580 590 ) so i will get the next one after keplar wich promisses 16 times more performance.

Just my way of thinking. I can track down the info i am telling you about if you wish or you can google it yourself. so my vote would be get your rid now if you think like i do or wait more if you want.

 

[Maximillian-E]

For those rendering programs it might be worth getting a 16GB kit so that you dont run out of memory. DRAM is cheap right now so why not?

 

[TerrabyteX]

Very true maximillian !

 

[spitfire7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TerrabyteX Your welcome. you can get your build today par example and add a second gtx580 next year and keep the rig for 3 years and then upgrade or you can wait more and spend more a bit on the new CPU as for new gpus you have to wait more then 2 months. I went for getting a new rig in september and will add another 590 and go watercool on them and get the next cpu after ivy bridge since ivy is only 35%-40% faster then i7 and the next gen will be 100% faster. Also keplar ( new nvidia gpu ) will be 40% faster then fermi ( 570 580 590 ) so i will get the next one after keplar wich promisses 16 times more performance. Just my way of thinking. I can track down the info i am telling you about if you wish or you can google it yourself. so my vote would be get your rid now if you think like i do or wait more if you want.

After what you wrote, i am very confused now. Do you think it's worth waiting for like 2 months as you know i will be building this rig from scratch. When will the CPU/GPU hit the market? Approx. date? It would be really nice of you if you could point me towards the information regarding this. Once again, Thank you for being really helpful.

 

[darthjoe229]

I think IB/SBE would be worth the wait, fairly confident Intel won't have the issues BD is having (but even those should be fixed soon (I hope)). If you gotta buy now I'd roll with this:

Mobo: EVGA Z68 FTW
CPU: Intel i7 2600K
GPU: MSI Lightning Xtreme Edition GeForce GTX 580
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB 2133
PSU: Corsair AX850
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 60GB SSD and Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
Case: Raven if you want to spend a few more bucks, Phantom if you want to spend less. Both are great cases.
edit: Forgot cooler. I'd grab an all-in-one, like the Corsair H80, especially if you get a midtower like the Phantom. In a bigger case aircooled vs watercooled isn't as big a deal, but it looks cleaner imo. The price/performance is usually a little bit steeper, but not much.

I suggest the SSD, it's proably the most noticeable upgrade you can make to your rig, and I love mine. With your budget it's not a problem. I've been outta the game for a while though, so I'm not sure what the "best of the best" SSD is right now. I've also heard good stuff about the OCZ Agility 3, and I'm sure other OCNers can dump their opinions. My Mushkin's treated me very well, though, so I still support them.

 

[TerrabyteX]

Ivy bridge ? very soon. Next nvidia GPUs that are middle or high end ? next year second - third quarter meaning june/july/august the least. and you are welcome.

Like darthjoe said for a GPU DEFENETLY ! 580 lightning if you don't plan to watercool it but on motherboard i would go asus z68 maximus if you want to spend upward 300$ for a mobo. For style i would go with Corsair 600T or uhm Storm Sniper but that's me.

 

[feralBit]

On occasion, I haunt the hardware section of the Adobe forum, and the sentiment there is to wait for Sandy Bridge-E or Ivy Bridge. The rationale being the 4 channel memory will give better ram access for memory intensive applications like Adobe and other rendering applications.

 

[darthjoe229]

This is very true, also the processor architecture is getting revamped. It's not just the addition of quad channel memory, we're jumping from 1155 to 2011 pins here.

 

[spitfire7]

But if i waited, i would be spending more wouldn't i?

 

[goldcrow]

Yep. SB-E is more expensive. Just go for the Sandy Bridge now and enjoy it. I'm building an SB rig too after seeing the disappointment Bulldozer had to offer. No real point in waiting.

 

[spitfire7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by goldcrow Yep. SB-E is more expensive. Just go for the Sandy Bridge now and enjoy it. I'm building an SB rig too after seeing the disappointment Bulldozer had to offer. No real point in waiting.

Oh cool! So if i go for SB now, i wouldn't have to worry about upgrading for the next 2 years...right?