BetterPHP

Having just finished my GCSE's I now have time to build and (earn money for) a new computer. I have only ever had laptops before so everthing (except my mouse) will have to be new.
I will primarily be using it for gaming, programming and media work (Prmeiere Pro and After Effects primarilly)

This is my current plan:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500k
CPU Cooling: NZXT Havic 120
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth Z77
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 Dual Channel Memory Kit *2
PSU: Hale90 power - 1000w
Graphics Card: NVidia GeForce GTX 670
Graphics Card Cooling: I don't think its necessary for my setup
Sound Card: I am undecided - do you have any suggestions?
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB *2
SSD: Weston Digital SiliconDrive A100 128GB
Case: NZXT Phantom (black)
Optical Drive: I am undecided - do you have any suggestions? It must be able to read and write (preferably blu-ray)
Card Reader: Uspeed PCI-E to USB 3.0 Internal Combo/ USB 3.0 Hub & USB 2.0 All-in-1 Card Reader

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
Screen: BenQ xl2420t 24" Widescreen *2
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth Edition
Mouse: Microsoft Sidewinder (Already owned)

Rough Total (according to amazon.co.uk): £2000

Do you have any suggestions? Have I completely forgoten anything?
Thanks for any help you can proivde!

EDIT: Added PSU

DomC wrote:Graphics Card Cooling: I don't think its necessary for my setup

It's not for any setup !

DomC wrote:Sound Card: I am undecided - do you have any suggestions?

Depends if you are one of those audio people, the built in one is always good enough if you just want to hear it making sounds.

DomC wrote:Optical Drive: I am undecided - do you have any suggestions? It must be able to read and write (preferably blu-ray)

I have used the cheapest and the most expensive dvd writers and they performed identically. Just get a cheap one that looks nice, I am using an unbranded drive at the moment which is pretty nice because it doesn't have any logos on the front

DomC wrote:Do you have any suggestions? Have I completely forgoten anything?

Looks like you got everything, although you may as well invest a bit extra in the CPU and get an i7, would be useful if you will be rendering lots of video or playing badly made games

CPU - Spend the extra cash for top end, some games like say wow tend to run processor heavy over graphics card.
Sound - Its up to you, but graphics cards can take a bit of extra processing power off the cpu/gpu.
HDD - No. Just no get a better Solid state drive you will thank me later.
Cooling - Water cooling is the way to go, than fill up all your fan spots and make sure you set them up properly for optimal cooling.
Optical Drive - he is write they work about the same.

Really if your giong to go this far you need a qualtiy gaming keyboard and a solid gaming mouse and maybe a gamepad like logictech g13 and a quality monitor setup with good head phones or its not a solid gaming system

Power supply?

Setup looks good.

Actually ya, a good solid power supply is very important one with plenty of power

EcazS wrote:Power supply?

Setup looks good.

sturekdrf wrote:Actually ya, a good solid power supply is very important one with plenty of power

Oops sorry - I had to retype this post due to my computer crashing the 1st time (must be an omen) So I must have forgotten it the second time - I am currently thinking of the Hale90 power - 1000w

I'll edit the first post to include this

jacek wrote:

DomC wrote:Sound Card: I am undecided - do you have any suggestions?

Depends if you are one of those audio people, the built in one is always good enough if you just want to hear it making sounds.

I think I'll leave if for now - I can always add one later if I feel its necessary.

jacek wrote:

DomC wrote:Optical Drive: I am undecided - do you have any suggestions? It must be able to read and write (preferably blu-ray)

I have used the cheapest and the most expensive dvd writers and they performed identically. Just get a cheap one that looks nice, I am using an unbranded drive at the moment which is pretty nice because it doesn't have any logos on the front

Ah okay - I was not aware of that!

jacek wrote:

DomC wrote:Do you have any suggestions? Have I completely forgoten anything?

Looks like you got everything, although you may as well invest a bit extra in the CPU and get an i7, would be useful if you will be rendering lots of video or playing badly made games

sturekdrf wrote:CPU - Spend the extra cash for top end, some games like say wow tend to run processor heavy over graphics card.

I was told that it is often just as good to get an i5 and overclock it (which I have done a lot of for other people) - Is there really that big a difference?

sturekdrf wrote: HDD - No. Just no get a better Solid state drive you will thank me later.

I would although, due to my work I have loads of camera footage and photos all shot in RAW which means I would fill up a SSD to quickly for now but I am getting one to put system files and main programs on etc.

Thanks for all your help!

You COULD do that, though A overclocking is not with out its risks and honestly can be very damaging if done wrong or something happens, I prefer to leave it be. Look at it this way sure you could over clock it to work just as well, but at the risk of damages even if it is small, and if you over clock pretty much voids warranty a lot of the time. Besides if you where that adamant about over clocking you could over clock the faster cpu and get better results.

Bottom line, think of it like this. By buying the better processor you can get the faster speeds with out having to worry about if something goes wrong, on top fo which later on when you need more power but may soon upgrade you can than overclock that processor for better performance and get a bit extra life out of it before doing this all over again in a few years.

I think you should either get an i7 from the 2k series or get a next-gen i5 from the 3k series.

The CPU you have now and combined with that graphics card you will be able to run any game you want. The higher CPU speeds would only be good for Adobe products and multi-tasking (especially multi-tasking with Adobe products). So if you use Photoshop, Illustrator, In-Design, After Effects etc etc, a lot then I would suggest an i7 or the new i5.

Also, if you do overclock then you HAVE to stay under the temperature threshold, an overclocked CPU has a lower threshold because it's... overclocked. The current threshold is for what the CPU can do originally.

DomC wrote:I think I'll leave if for now - I can always add one later if I feel its necessary.

I had a high end set of headphones for a while and all the did was highlight how crappy my soundcard was

DomC wrote:I was told that it is often just as good to get an i5 and overclock it (which I have done a lot of for other people) - Is there really that big a difference?

True. But you can overclock the i7 too, I'm running my 2.3Ghz i7 at 3.5 with no problems you'll never get that same performance with an i5. Plus the i7s are a completely different architecture so it's not really a fair comparison.

DomC wrote:I would although, due to my work I have loads of camera footage and photos all shot in RAW which means I would fill up a SSD to quickly for now but I am getting one to put system files and main programs on etc.

There is no harm in having an SSD for the OS and programs and then a second cheap HDD to use for storage.

sturekdrf wrote:You COULD do that, though A overclocking is not with out its risks and honestly can be very damaging if done wrong or something happens

The only way you can really damage it is by setting the voltage too high and you can leave that alone. Adding more volts will improve stability at the same clock rate and you might get it to run when it would previously fail but just be sensible and don't go straight up from 1.2V to 2.0V. Just addinv .05V is often enough to get it stable

Right, but he was asking about a computer setup. So I am going to assume he is not a expert with over clocking, not saying thats bad but still things can always go wrong when tinkering wtih stuff like that if your not paying attention

Also something to do with power supplies, remember that more voltage rails is not better. Each one of these rails works like a separate PSU so you can't actually draw the full 1000W through a single plug but only a fraction of it. Since they are often not marked you can very easily draw too much from one rail and break it

Bit off topic, I have a 1200W PSU that I converted to a bench power supply. It can deliver 60 Amps on the 12V cable which is enough to start my car. Pointless but fun I'm currently using it to power my 0.4A desk fan

Didn't know you had a car!

OnT:
I doubt you need a 1000W PSU. I would save some money and buy an 850W. You're still future proof with 850W. Also, try and get a modular PSU.

In regards to overcloxking, I am extremly comfortable with it as I have overclocked friends machines before many times.
I have in fact, planned (loads of) builds before, however I have never physically put the parts together to make a machine before which is why I decided it would be best to get some other peoples opinions. The reason I have never made a computer is mainly due to lack of money and my parents wanting to use laptops only due to "less clutter"

Back on topic: I'll have a look at some 850W PSU's then. I was not aware about the voltage rail thing - I will have to look a bit more into it.


I actually just found a sound card I had lying around so I might try and use that temporarily.

DomC wrote: I actually just found a sound card I had lying around so I might try and use that temporarily.

You could just get a high-end USB headset. They have their own soundcard built-in.