[gedmont]

Hello everyone. I'm building a new dream system. Although I'm new at it, I've been a wannabe geek for a long time! I'll be doing some photo and video editing (Adobe) and my son is a lightweight gamer. I was hoping I could run the following specs by some of you gurus to see if you foresee any conflicts or have better suggestions. Many thanks for your help and best wishes. Greg

Chassis: Cooler Master Cosmos II - Ultra Tower
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP7
CPU: Intel Core i7–3770K
RAM: CORSAIR Dominator Platinum 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
Graphics: Ge-Force GTX 690
Sound: HT OMEGA Claro Halo XT PCI
HDD (SS): (x1) Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 256
HDD (Data) (x4 – RAID) – WD Velociraptor WD1000DHTZ 1TB 3.5" SATA
DVD Drive: Pioneer BDR206-MBK Blu-Ray BDXL Writer
Liquid Cooling: Thermaltake Water 2.0 PRO/All-in-One Liquid Cooling System
PSU: Corsair Professional Series 860 Watt Digital ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Platinum Power Supply AX860

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gedmont

You have told us what the computer will be used for but if you let us know what your maximum budget is and in what part of the world you will be purchasing the parts we can also suggest a list of parts for you and save you some cash in the process

Couple of pointers for you, one will save you money and one will save you grief.

You have included an HT OMEGA Claro Halo XT PCI, most (if not all) MBs made today have 7.1 channel audio chips and you would need to spend a silly amount of money to better them, I would suggest that you try the stock audio chip on the MB that you decide upon and see if you are happy with it.

Your aftermarket cooler, a very important thing I must make you aware of is that you do not need the additional heatsink and CPU fan and if you did use it you would void your CPU warranty both AMD and Intel are clear on this, see below;

AMD;

This Limited Warranty shall be null and void if the AMD microprocessor which is the subject of this Limited Warranty is used with any heatsink/fan other than the one provided herewith.

Full AMD article @ http://support.amd.c...earLimited.aspx

Intel;

damage to the Product due to external causes, including accident, problems with electrical power, abnormal electrical, mechanical or environmental conditions, usage not in accordance with product instructions, misuse, neglect, alteration, repair, improper installation, or improper testing;

Full Intel article available @ http://www.intel.com...b/cs-009862.htm

[phillpower2]

gedmont

You have told us what the computer will be used for but if you let us know what your maximum budget is and in what part of the world you will be purchasing the parts we can also suggest a list of parts for you and save you some cash in the process

Couple of pointers for you, one will save you money and one will save you grief.

You have included an HT OMEGA Claro Halo XT PCI, most (if not all) MBs made today have 7.1 channel audio chips and you would need to spend a silly amount of money to better them, I would suggest that you try the stock audio chip on the MB that you decide upon and see if you are happy with it.

Your aftermarket cooler, a very important thing I must make you aware of is that you do not need the additional heatsink and CPU fan and if you did use it you would void your CPU warranty both AMD and Intel are clear on this, see below;

AMD;

This Limited Warranty shall be null and void if the AMD microprocessor which is the subject of this Limited Warranty is used with any heatsink/fan other than the one provided herewith.

Full AMD article @ http://support.amd.c...earLimited.aspx

Intel;

damage to the Product due to external causes, including accident, problems with electrical power, abnormal electrical, mechanical or environmental conditions, usage not in accordance with product instructions, misuse, neglect, alteration, repair, improper installation, or improper testing;

Full Intel article available @ http://www.intel.com...b/cs-009862.htm

[gedmont]

Many thanks, Phil. I'm new to this board but have been checking it out, and you are generous, fast and amazing with your responses. Thanks very much. I'm in France, but will be ordering most parts in the US, where they seem to be cheaper, and I'll be there next month. But I can certainly order from Europe if you have suggestions. I would obviously like to get parts as inexpensively as possible, but don't really have a budget limit. Want to do it right! Question on your last reply: Are you saying that I shouldn't even waste the money on liquid cooling? Thanks again. Greg

[phillpower2]

Hello Greg

Thank you for your kind words

If it is ok with you I will suggest you a list of parts sourced from merchants in France as this will ensure compatibility and availability, you may also have to pay additional taxes back home if you purchase from the US.

The one component that it may be beneficial to purchase in the US is the video card but I will compare the US and France prices and let you know on that.

Regarding the liquid cooling there are a couple of reasons why I advise against it;
1: Using anything other than the heatsink and cooling fan that is provided with your CPU will invalidate your 3 year warranty**
2: There is always a risk of leaks that can ruin the whole system.
3: Liquid cooling requires a lot of regular maintenance and every time that you open the case there is a risk of accidental damage.
4: Liquid cooling is something that overclockers use as it generates a lot of additional heat and the majority of the time overclockers have already invalidated their warranty so using a third party cooler makes no difference, some further guidance available @ http://www.pcpro.co....or-overclockers

It is the add on sound card that I feel that you could do away with.

** An exception to the CPU warranty is if you purchase an OEM CPU as they are not shipped with a heatsink and cooling fan, this is false economy though as they are only marginally less expensive and the warranty is provided by the merchant and not AMD or Intel, these warranties can be as short as 90 days and a maximum of 1 year.

I will post back with a list of parts for you shortly.

[gedmont]

That's great - thanks. I'll hold off on the sound card, steer clear of liquid cooling (we probably won't be overclocking much), and install a few extra fans in the unused space in the chassis (if you have any suggestions on those, would be nice to have good but silent LED fans...). Speaking of overclocking: I see on the Gigabyte site that they have tested and approved the Dominator Platinum 2133 MHz RAM for use with the Z77-UP7 motherboard, and that it supports 2400+ with overclocking, but in order for the system to make use of extra mhz beyond 1666, will I need to overclock the mobo ... and do you think it's worth it to go for the 2133? And do you think I'm all set with 16 gb of RAM? If so, would it matter if I used 2x 8gb sticks instead of 4 x 4gb sticks. I ask because if I use 4 gb sticks and were to add more memory later, as it's dual channel, I'd lose all or at least 2 of those sticks. That's all I can think of to ask you! And I'll await your parts list -- happy to buy from France if it makes sense. Thanks again! g

[phillpower2]

A list of parts for you to consider and some comments below regarding their selection http://pcpartpicker.com/fr/p/pes9

CPU, i7 chosen for the HyperThreading technology required for video editing/rendering.
MB, chosen for upgrade potential and built in wifi and Bluetooth capabilities.
Ram, the fastest, value and best brand I could find.
SSD, anything larger than 120GB is not cost effective at present + an SSD is best suited for booting from due to the speed advantage they have over standard HDDs, 120GB will also provide plenty of free storage space for the many updates that will be released in the years to come and your favourite game/s.
HDD, fast quality brand with plenty of storage space and 64mb of cache, adding more of the same drives in the future will be inexpensive.
Video card, the price and performance ratio make the card a better buy than the GTX 690, it will do all that you require and costs a lot less, see benchmarks @ http://www.videocard...h_end_gpus.html some guidance from adobe regarding approved cards http://www.adobe.com...tech-specs.html
Case, excellent cooling, accepts the extended MB, plenty of expansion bays.
PSU, many would say that Seasonic is the best brand that you can buy and the output is over and above what you require, see PSU calculator results below which allowed for two HDDs.
Blu Ray, again the best brand and value that I could find.

Sorry but I have never been a fan of overclocking and so I have very little knowledge of it.

Let us know your thoughts and any questions please ask.

NB: You have not included an OS such as Windows 7 64-bit, what will you be using.

[gedmont]

Wow - thanks for all that!

[gedmont]

And I'll be using Windows 8 pro. Thanks again.

[iammykyl]

Adobe does not officially support windows 8 yet and will probable not do so until mid, late 2013, same goes for most CAD software vendors. I would stay with 7 and upgrade later if you feel it is worth it.

[phillpower2]

You are welcome

NB: Thanks for your input iammykyl

Some further information regarding W8 and Adobe http://blogs.adobe.c...-photoshop.html

[iammykyl]

Thanks for the update link Phillpower2, I was behind the times. Good to see that most resent releases of the Adobe products are now supported.

[phillpower2]

You are welcome Michael

[Crackintush]

Hello everyone. I'm building a new dream system. Although I'm new at it, I've been a wannabe geek for a long time! I'll be doing some photo and video editing (Adobe) and my son is a lightweight gamer. I was hoping I could run the following specs by some of you gurus to see if you foresee any conflicts or have better suggestions. Many thanks for your help and best wishes. Greg

Chassis: Cooler Master Cosmos II - Ultra Tower
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP7
CPU: Intel Core i7–3770K
RAM: CORSAIR Dominator Platinum 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
Graphics: Ge-Force GTX 690
Sound: HT OMEGA Claro Halo XT PCI
HDD (SS): (x1) Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 256
HDD (Data) (x4 – RAID) – WD Velociraptor WD1000DHTZ 1TB 3.5" SATA
DVD Drive: Pioneer BDR206-MBK Blu-Ray BDXL Writer
Liquid Cooling: Thermaltake Water 2.0 PRO/All-in-One Liquid Cooling System
PSU: Corsair Professional Series 860 Watt Digital ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Platinum Power Supply AX860

let me know how your building is going. im interested in building a system almost identical to yours. if you havent gotten the blu ray yet, check out the newer versions: the pioneer BDR207 or BDR208.
instead of corsair AX860, i would go for Seasonic PLATINUM-860 ATX 860 Power Supply... the best in its class, or go with the corsair AX860 "i" but it doesnt seem like you want or need that.
if you're not going to overclock, or maybe you are a little in future, you can bring cost down and bonus features up choosing the i7-3770 not "k"
If youre going to be working with media, maybe the GA-Z77UP5 TH is best fit, but i havent decided yet if i want UP7 or UP5 TH

SINCE YOU'RE IN Europe... make me jealous and go with a superb quiet and cool case: NANOXIA Deep Silence 1.
an alternative great Case could be FT02 also German built.

regarding SSDs... i highly reccomend anything OWC that is SATA 3 = 6G (other world computing)

for meeting the cooling needs of such a setup, spring for corsair H80i
check out Enermax Magma 12mm fans for all other fans needed, highly rated, top pick, very efficient
if you plan on adding more GPUs to make an SLI bridge later on, then you should go with a platinum rated PSU at or above 1000W, preferably Seasonic, or Corsair.