Computers & Electronics

Building Computer - Comments on Specs?

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  • Aug 31st, 2010 9:40 pm
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Newbie
Feb 5, 2010
44 posts
61 upvotes
Ottawa

Building Computer - Comments on Specs?

I am building my own computer through NCIX and am wondering whether anyone have any comments or suggestion of my specs. The most intense use will be for video editing as I rarely play power-hungry games on the PC. Having an abundance of space is a must! Based on the sort of use, should I swap out the nice processor for something cheaper and increase RAM? What about the choice of video card? Did I miss anything? Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated. If there are any ways to cut the cost while still getting a really nice computer that fits my needs, I am all ears!

Component Price
Azza Helios 910 Black ATX Mid Tower Case 9X5.25 1X3.5 4X3.5INT 230MM Blue LED Fans & Window No PSU $64.99
Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.8GHZ 8MB L3 Cache 130W 45NM Retail Box $289.99
Gigabyte P55A-UD4P ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E RAID GBLAN CrossFireX SLI USB3.0 SATA3 Motherboard $169.99
Corsair XMS3 TR3X6G1600C9 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 9-9-9-24 Core i7 Memory Kit $150.98
Western Digital WD20EARS Caviar Green 2TB SATA2 3GBPS 64MB Cache 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM $105.99
Gigabyte Radeon HD 5450 700MHZ 512MB 1.6GHZ DDR3 PCI-E VGA DVI HDMI Low Profile Video Card $57.99
LG GH22NS50 Black 22X SATA DVD Writer OEM $22.99
D-LINK DWA-542 Rangebooster Wireless 802.11N PCI Adapter Network Card $50.83
BFG GS-550 550W Power Supply ATX V2.2 EPS12V 24PIN 6PIN & 8PIN PCI-E 140MM Fan 1 Year NCIX Warranty $35.28
Coolermaster R4-L2R-20AC 120MM Blue LED Case Fan 2000RPM 69CFM 19DBA 3/4 Pin $4.95
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM $93.79
PC Assembly and Testing With 1 Year Limited NCIX System Warranty (PRE-CONFIG WIN. OS If Purchased) $50.00

Total before delivery, taxes $1,097.77
16 replies
Deal Guru
Dec 10, 2004
13194 posts
7650 upvotes
Kanata
RobCanuck wrote: I am building my own computer through NCIX and am wondering whether anyone have any comments or suggestion of my specs. The most intense use will be for video editing as I rarely play power-hungry games on the PC. Having an abundance of space is a must! Should I swap our the processor for something cheaper and increase RAM? What about the choice of video card? Did I miss anything? Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated!

Component Price
Azza Helios 910 Black ATX Mid Tower Case 9X5.25 1X3.5 4X3.5INT 230MM Blue LED Fans & Window No PSU $64.99
Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.8GHZ 8MB L3 Cache 130W 45NM Retail Box $289.99
Gigabyte P55A-UD4P ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E RAID GBLAN CrossFireX SLI USB3.0 SATA3 Motherboard $169.99
Corsair XMS3 TR3X6G1600C9 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 9-9-9-24 Core i7 Memory Kit $150.98
Western Digital WD20EARS Caviar Green 2TB SATA2 3GBPS 64MB Cache 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM $105.99
Gigabyte Radeon HD 5450 700MHZ 512MB 1.6GHZ DDR3 PCI-E VGA DVI HDMI Low Profile Video Card $57.99
LG GH22NS50 Black 22X SATA DVD Writer OEM $22.99
D-LINK DWA-542 Rangebooster Wireless 802.11N PCI Adapter Network Card $50.83
BFG GS-550 550W Power Supply ATX V2.2 EPS12V 24PIN 6PIN & 8PIN PCI-E 140MM Fan 1 Year NCIX Warranty $35.28
Coolermaster R4-L2R-20AC 120MM Blue LED Case Fan 2000RPM 69CFM 19DBA 3/4 Pin $4.95
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM $93.79
PC Assembly and Testing With 1 Year Limited NCIX System Warranty (PRE-CONFIG WIN. OS If Purchased) $50.00

Total before delivery, taxes $1,097.77

Please get another HDD, the Green's are good for storage but I wouldn't recommend it as your sole drive for both storage and OS.
I'm not a huge fan of BFG PSU's but that one should be ok.
I'm guessing you like the window on that case. I personally would go for the Antec 300 but that's cause I don't care for the bling and all that.
How much flexibility is in your budget?
Newbie
Feb 5, 2010
44 posts
61 upvotes
Ottawa
goofball wrote: Please get another HDD, the Green's are good for storage but I wouldn't recommend it as your sole drive for both storage and OS.
I'm not a huge fan of BFG PSU's but that one should be ok.
I'm guessing you like the window on that case. I personally would go for the Antec 300 but that's cause I don't care for the bling and all that.
How much flexibility is in your budget?

Thanks for your reply Goofball. I'd like to keep it under $1200 after taxes if possible, so there isn't a ton room. If I need to go over by $100 to made a nice improvement, it could be considered.

The Antec would save a few bucks. It does seem to be the popular choice among those who have posted on other boards.

That PSU seems like a good price for what it is.
Jr. Member
Feb 22, 2009
157 posts
1 upvote
Canada
dude, the socket type for your cpu won't work with that board.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Oct 21, 2009
1535 posts
94 upvotes
Markham
You need a 1366 board, the 1156 do not work with Bloomfield processors which are the i7 900 series variant and some hex cores (i9).

I would continue though to go with 1366, the 1156 sockets has issues with cpu's not getting enough contact with VTT pins which can cause overheating. Plus the number of pins on 1156 is about 20-30% less than 1366, when both processors use similar power. Conclusion bad idea.

If you want a gaming system, get at least a 5770 card, if not the 5850-5870. I don't know about nVidia cards though.

Ram is fine.

PSU I would get Antec or Corsair, unless you got cash for Seasonic ones. Get a 750-850 for overhead and future proof in case you want to CrossFire your cards.

Get a SSD HDD for OS/main drive or at least a 7200rpm one. Don't use the 5400 green drives with high capacities as a main drive, they'll probably break down faster, especially the EARS WD drives which are problematic with the 6 sec head rest.
Banned
Feb 10, 2010
789 posts
37 upvotes
adassus wrote: dude, the socket type for your cpu won't work with that board.

"Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.8GHZ 8MB L3 Cache 130W 45NM Retail Box $289.99
Gigabyte P55A-UD4P ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E RAID GBLAN CrossFireX SLI USB3.0 SATA3 Motherboard $169.99 "

Good spot! I totally missed that too
Newbie
Feb 5, 2010
44 posts
61 upvotes
Ottawa
will2009wpg wrote: "Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.8GHZ 8MB L3 Cache 130W 45NM Retail Box $289.99
Gigabyte P55A-UD4P ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E RAID GBLAN CrossFireX SLI USB3.0 SATA3 Motherboard $169.99 "

Good spot! I totally missed that too

Thanks. When I upgraded the processor, I failed to upgrade to an appropriate motherboard.
Sr. Member
User avatar
Jan 27, 2008
875 posts
236 upvotes
Toronto
Not trying to hijack the thread, but I'm building a similar computer from NCIX also, and OP may find responses useful.

I'm thinking about using an existing WD Caviar WD5000AKS (500gb, 7200rpm, 16mb buffer). Its about 2 years old but seems pretty quiet and powerful enough for my purposes.

In a year or so when SSD becomes more affordable, I will swap out the WD :)

Anyone have any other suggestions for a fast, quiet hard disk? Are the newer WD Caviars better? (I am not so concerned with capacity as I will have some WD Greens set up in RAID).
Newbie
Feb 5, 2010
44 posts
61 upvotes
Ottawa
New build based on comments and suggestions:

Component Price
Antec Three Hundred Mini Tower Gaming Case 300 ATX 3X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB & Audio $49.79
Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.8GHZ 8MB L3 Cache 130W 45NM Retail Box $289.99
Gigabyte X58A-UD3R ATX LGA1366 X58 DDR3 4PCI-E SATA3 USB3.0 Sound GLAN CrossFireX SLI Motherboard $219.99
Corsair XMS3 TR3X6G1600C9 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 9-9-9-24 Core i7 Memory Kit $150.98
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM $87.99
Gigabyte Radeon HD 5450 700MHZ 512MB 1.6GHZ DDR3 PCI-E VGA DVI HDMI Low Profile Video Card $57.99
LG GH22NS50 Black 22X SATA DVD Writer OEM $22.99
D-LINK DWA-542 Rangebooster Wireless 802.11N PCI Adapter Network Card $50.83
Corsair TX750W 750W ATX 12V 60A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 140MM Fan $104.99
Coolermaster R4-L2R-20AC 120MM Blue LED Case Fan 2000RPM 69CFM 19DBA 3/4 Pin $4.95
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM $93.79
PC Assembly and Testing With 1 Year Limited NCIX System Warranty (PRE-CONFIG WIN. OS If Purchased) $50.00

Total before delivery, taxes $1,184.28

I didn't change the video card because this will not be a gaming system, but rather for video editing.

For a monitor, I'm looking at Philips 244E1SB 23.6IN Widesceen LCD Monitor Black 1920X1080 5ms 16:9 25000:1DC VGA DVI-D HDMI $189.99
Sr. Member
User avatar
Jan 27, 2008
875 posts
236 upvotes
Toronto
Thanks. FYI it's the same price at {Best, Tiger} Direct.

I may opt to get a WD Caviar Blue for my main drive since it is quieter by 2-3 db compared to the black. That's just me though, I want as close to a silent PC as possible.
Deal Addict
Feb 11, 2005
4250 posts
460 upvotes
I'd ditch the TX750 for that build; it's extreme overkill to run a 5450. Even if you're OC'ing i'd snap up the Seasonic S12II 520W to power that system instead. It's a bit more efficient than the Corsair being a Bronze rated unit and a rock solid quality unit for $69 from Newegg.ca
Deal Addict
Mar 27, 2006
1064 posts
324 upvotes
RobCanuck wrote: New build based on comments and suggestions:

Component Price
Antec Three Hundred Mini Tower Gaming Case 300 ATX 3X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB & Audio $49.79
Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.8GHZ 8MB L3 Cache 130W 45NM Retail Box $289.99
Gigabyte X58A-UD3R ATX LGA1366 X58 DDR3 4PCI-E SATA3 USB3.0 Sound GLAN CrossFireX SLI Motherboard $219.99
Corsair XMS3 TR3X6G1600C9 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 9-9-9-24 Core i7 Memory Kit $150.98
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM $87.99
Gigabyte Radeon HD 5450 700MHZ 512MB 1.6GHZ DDR3 PCI-E VGA DVI HDMI Low Profile Video Card $57.99
LG GH22NS50 Black 22X SATA DVD Writer OEM $22.99
D-LINK DWA-542 Rangebooster Wireless 802.11N PCI Adapter Network Card $50.83
Corsair TX750W 750W ATX 12V 60A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 140MM Fan $104.99
Coolermaster R4-L2R-20AC 120MM Blue LED Case Fan 2000RPM 69CFM 19DBA 3/4 Pin $4.95
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM $93.79
PC Assembly and Testing With 1 Year Limited NCIX System Warranty (PRE-CONFIG WIN. OS If Purchased) $50.00

Total before delivery, taxes $1,184.28

I didn't change the video card because this will not be a gaming system, but rather for video editing.

For a monitor, I'm looking at Philips 244E1SB 23.6IN Widesceen LCD Monitor Black 1920X1080 5ms 16:9 25000:1DC VGA DVI-D HDMI $189.99
I'm actually looking at building a similar system. I would look at a better video card though. A shame to bottleneck the system with a basic card. Perhaps cut back on the power supply and case and go with an upgraded video card. The other option is to go with a i5 system with the cheaper motherboards.
Deal Expert
Feb 29, 2008
30106 posts
5547 upvotes
Montreal
If the OP has no interest in gaming the 5450 is perfectly adequate. It supports windows 7 aero, HD video playback, and can be obtained in passive cooling models.

If video playback is of prime importance, and you need vector adaptive de-interlacing, upgrading to a 5570 may be beneficial:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3601/the- ... -htpc-card

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