Need some help with my first build

[BigBill]

Well, I guess it's time for me to start my first post. I've been waiting for Haswell to be release before I post and ask for help.

1. Budget & Location

I live in Australia, my budget for this build is around AUS$ 1,500 but can increase it by a bit if its give a significant benefit.

2. Aim

Well, I'm not a serious gamer but will causally open up a game or two during the week. I'm more interested in video editing, working with After Effects and possibly move to 3D work. However I still would like to play new games on around high with decent frame rates if that's possible.

3. Monitors

I'm looking into getting two 1080p monitor (LG EA63V-P) with this build (budget does not include monitor price), If I do play games, it will be with only one. As for future plans, I might be looking into a third monitor or a 2560x1440 monitor when the price comes down.

4. Peripherals

As for Peripherals, I'm just going to use my current mice and keyboard (will look into mechanical keyboard in the future).

5. Why are you upgrading?

My current pc is around 6-7 years old, the CPU, (intel core 2 quad) is being throttle back to 1.6ghz from 2.4. Because of this, it struggle to sometime perform the basic task such as watching the Linustechtips live stream (once overheated and crashed). The CPU idles at a ridiculous 83 degrees celsius.

For the new build I'm not interested in the aesthetic of the inside, my main aim is to have a quiet computer when on. I prefer the case to be a simple design (might be going for define R4). I also want to go with a custom CPU cooler - maybe H100i, as I will like to do some overclocking later on.

Thanks you for your help.

[xAdam]

Sounds like you'll be wanting an i7 then, now these are quite expensive for a CPU, but since you'll be using multithreaded applications I can see you're one of the few people that actually might need one. The new i7 Haswell chips are out, you may aswell get one of these since they are pretty much the same price as the older Ivy bridge.

 

If you're not a serious gamer I would push you towards a few different graphics cards, something along the lines of a 660ti may suit you, or a 7950 from AMD. If youre wanting something abit more high end go for a new GTX 770.

 

You will need a Z87 motherboard if you're going with Haswell, so google that.. If you want me to look for one, put up what you want but theyre really easier for you to choose.. Go with the big brands at the moment though, since theyre new. Like Asus,Gigabyte, ASrock.

 

Hard drives: this is again dependant on you, if you're using large files a 2TB western digital Red or Black (Black is higher quality and therefore more expensive)

 

SSD: Theyre good, and if youre looking at them I strongly reccomend the samsung 840 for small sizes 64GB-256GB but anything beyond that I would reccomend a M5 , google it if youre interested, however theyre very expensive.

 

PSU: You'll be looking along the lines of a 650W - 750W power supply. If you want to upgrade and maybe run two cards in the future I would go as high as you can afford, use reputable manufactuers, corsair ect. Go to the newegg website, the popular brands at the top section are actually the best.

http://www.newegg.com/Power-Supplies/Category/ID-32

 

Case is really up to you, im not even going to reccomend anything. Since its so personal and you probably wont like what i like, such as the corsair military grade or the zalman z11..

[terrytek]

about the hard drives, you are wrong about western digital. I heard they are all kinds of crap. Instead, get a Seagate Barracuda 2-3 tb maybe, but none of the western digital crap.

[terrytek]

the nzxt h series looks pretty simple and quiet.

[WoodenMarker]

Went a bit over the budget but you said you wanted optimal performance: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/12Uc4 $1573 AUS

 

The Xeon is basically a 3770 but lower 0.1ghz lower clock/0.2 turbo clock speed. The thread should help and it's fast enough not to in all practicality bottleneck anything.

The B75 has front usb 3.0 headers as well as 4 ram slots. It'll do anything an atx board needs.

16 gigs of 1600 memory should give room for editing/multitasking.

Samsung 840--fast ssd, good price. Awesome sauce.

Seagate Barracuda 2TB for storage.

GTX 780--gaming/editing--check.

Antex one is a slightly cheaper, and simple case with what you need. Change the case if you prefer. Looks are all up to you.

Antec 620w will provide plenty of power. 

[BigBill]

Thanks for all your suggestion, been busy with finals coming up.

 

Went a bit over the budget but you said you wanted optimal performance: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/12Uc4 $1573 AUS

 

The Xeon is basically a 3770 but lower 0.1ghz lower clock/0.2 turbo clock speed. The thread should help and it's fast enough not to in all practicality bottleneck anything.

The B75 has front usb 3.0 headers as well as 4 ram slots. It'll do anything an atx board needs.

16 gigs of 1600 memory should give room for editing/multitasking.

Samsung 840--fast ssd, good price. Awesome sauce.

Seagate Barracuda 2TB for storage.

GTX 780--gaming/editing--check.

Antex one is a slightly cheaper, and simple case with what you need. Change the case if you prefer. Looks are all up to you.

Antec 620w will provide plenty of power. 

I have no idea about Xeon CPU, are there any disadvantage that should i know about? Is there any reason that would make paying a few hundred dollars for a i7 more reasonable?  

 

Thanks for your help, I don't know much when it comes to hardware.

[WoodenMarker]

Thanks for all your suggestion, been busy with finals coming up.

 

I have no idea about Xeon CPU, are there any disadvantage that should i know about? Is there any reason that would make paying a few hundred dollars for a i7 more reasonable?  

 

Thanks for your help, I don't know much when it comes to hardware.

Nope. It's pretty much like a slightly watered down 3770 with no integrated graphics.

[BigBill]

Nope. It's pretty much like a slightly watered down 3770 with no integrated graphics.

 

Alright, I'm thinking of going with Xeon CPU and the setup you posted, but just wondering, if my budget was increase to AUS $2000. What part should I change?

 

Thanks

[WoodenMarker]

Alright, I'm thinking of going with Xeon CPU and the setup you posted, but just wondering, if my budget was increase to AUS $2000. What part should I change?

 

Thanks

Upgrade from 120GB to Samsung 840 250GB and save the rest of the money--or spend it on your monitors and nachos...

 

...or if you want to get more performance than you need and spend more money: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/13skG

[BigBill]

Upgrade from 120GB to Samsung 840 250GB and save the rest of the money--or spend it on your monitors and nachos...

 

...or if you want to get more performance than you need and spend more money: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/13skG

Thanks for your suggestion once again. I'm just going to stick with the Intel Xeon and as you suggested, might upgrade to a bigger SSD and a different case. Also i don't like nachos  :lol:

 

Thanks for your help, I'm going to order the parts when my finals are over

[WoodenMarker]

Thanks for your suggestion once again. I'm just going to stick with the Intel Xeon and as you suggested, might upgrade to a bigger SSD and a different case. Also i don't like nachos  :lol:

 

Thanks for your help, I'm going to order the parts when my finals are over

*Gasp* You don't like nachos! 

Moar for me!