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Vince Bevan
Vince Bevan Calculating status...
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Advice sought for PC build

May 15, 2012 9:34 AM

Hi,

 

I would really appreciate some advice on this PC that I'm having built as it is the first time I've put a machine together like this, so I'm on a bit of a steep learning curve.

 

At the moment it will be used for working with some rather hefty files in PS CS5 but will also be needed for video editing with Premiere Pro very soon.

Case

Silverstone TJ09B Black Aluminium Full Tower Case

CPU

Intel Core i7 3930K, Six Core, 3.2GHz, 12MB Smart Cache

Motherboard

Asus P9X79 Motherboard - X79 Chipset

Cooler

Corsair H100 Hydro Series Extreme Performance CPU cooler

Memory

16GB (4x4GB) Corsair Vengeance LP, DDR3, 1600MHz

Nvidia Graphics

1280Mb EVGA GTX 570, 797MHz GPU, 480 Cores, 3900MHz GDDR5

Power Supply

650W PSU, Corsair Modular, 85% Eff', Quiet Fan

SSD’s - X 2.

128GB Corsair Performance Pro, Marvell, Read 500MB/s Write 340MB/s

1 for OS & 1 for scratch drive.

Hard Drive

1TB Western Digital Caviar Black, SATA 6Gb/s, 7200rpm, 64MB Cache

Blu-ray

LG BH10LS38 Blu-ray Writer

On board sound card

Windows 7 Pro 64 bit

 

The guys that are building it are suggesting that it should be overclocked but I'm wondering if this is necessary as I've read that it is not always a good idea? They have also mentioned that this graphics card might not be totally suitable for PS CS5 but I seem to have read that this isn't the case?

 

I have an external hdd system set up so don't need any more storage drives.

 

If anyone has an opinion on whether I can lower the spec. to save some money or up it to improve performance it would be very welcome.

 

Thanks,

Vince ######

679 Views   7 Replies   Latest reply: Vince Bevan, May 17, 2012 10:08 AM
 
Replies
  • Harm Millaard
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    1. Harm Millaard,
    May 15, 2012 9:42 AM   in reply to Vince Bevan
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    Not much wrong with this system, but you can shave off a couple of $$$ by exchanging one SSD for a WD Black. SSD's are not really suitable for writing. One thing I really suggest is a much beefier PSU. 650W is cutting it very thin and with overclocking in mind it will not do. Consider a Gold+ label Corsair AX range with at least 750W power, maybe even 850W.

    Have a look at where I'm going http://ppbm6.com/Planning.html.

     
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  • Vince Bevan
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    2. Vince Bevan,
    May 16, 2012 2:30 AM   in reply to Harm Millaard
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    Thanks Harm, I'll take your advice on the PSU.

    While using 1 SSD for the OS I had been wondering whether the same SSD would be a little uneccessary as a scratch disk?

    Could I ask your opinions on overclocking this system, necessary or otherwise, I've heard it can shorten the life of the PC?

     
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  • Harm Millaard
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    3. Harm Millaard,
    May 16, 2012 2:52 AM   in reply to Vince Bevan
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    Overclocking is harmless (says Harm) if you keep the temperatures in check. The higher the temperatures of the components, the shorter the life expectancy. This also means that a non-overclocked system with a bad thermal design will probably die much earlier than an overclocked system with a good thermal design. In a short while (several weeks) I'll be discussing cooling on this page: http://ppbm6.com/Planning.html

     
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  • Vince Bevan
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    4. Vince Bevan,
    May 16, 2012 8:06 AM   in reply to Harm Millaard
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    Thanks Harm, very helpful. Time to make a decision I guess.

     
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  • JEShort01
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    5. JEShort01,
    May 17, 2012 4:53 AM   in reply to Vince Bevan
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    Vince,

     

    Nice build!

     

    Regarding Corsair Performance 128GB for os/programs - yes, all the way!

     

    Regarding a 2nd SSD - no, no, no!

     

    Regarding OC - yes (my thoughts are identical to what Harm wrote)

     

    Regarding power supply - definitely 850 watts or more; AX850 or even larger (the more you oversize, the less likely fan is likely to get noisy when rendering)

     

    Regarding only one HD, I would definitely suggest another; you can use the savings from not getting a 2nd SSD. Depending on workflow and setup you could RAID 0 the 1st WD 1TB or run it as a 2nd drive.

     

    You do not mention HOW you will be connecting to your external storage. If you will be connecting via eSata no worries. If you are connecting in some other way that can be done, but there can be lots of gotcha's. You may be best to start a simple thread on your plans for the ext. storage and how to best configure CS6 to align with yours.

     

    Regards,

     

    Jim

     
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  • JEShort01
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    6. JEShort01,
    May 17, 2012 4:59 AM   in reply to Vince Bevan
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    Vince,

     

    Oh, regarding how to save $$$, you could dump your plans for that gorgeous Silverstone case for a Coolermaster design for half the price (i.e. HAF 932).

     

    Don't do it though! You're going to have a really nice and good looking system with the TJ09B.

     

    Jim

     
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  • Vince Bevan
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    7. Vince Bevan,
    May 17, 2012 10:08 AM   in reply to JEShort01
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    Jim,

     

    I've upped the spec. to include the 850W Corsair CMPSU-850HXUK ATX and am swinging towards the OC option. The guys building it reckon they can comfortably push the CPU to 4.2Ghz. I've been told the Corsair H100 will be enough to sort out the increase in temp. 

     

    I've always assumed that having another drive as a scratch disc for PS is a good idea are you saying I shouldn't bother or that I should choose another one?

     

    For storage I've got a basic JBOD system set up with a couple of WD greens that will be connected via eSata, which I'll be keeping to for now.

     

    I know the TJ09B is stretching the budget a little but I'm pretty sold on it, I have an older version at present that I've always been very happy with, it's a solid bit of kit.

     

    Thanks for your help,

    Vince

     
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