Another "Need Help Building PC" Thread

[AwkdShellfish]

1. Are you building this computer yourself or having one built for you?

Myself.

2. What is your budget and does that include shipping/taxes?

$1,500-$2,000 excluding monitor, monitor brackets, case, input/output devices. Not including shipping/taxes. I've settled on a $350 case. My budget for monitors is yet to be determined because I haven't got the slightest clue of what's actually practical or not.

3. Where do you live?

Bay Area, California. At least for now. Thinking about relocating to Southern California.

4. What do you need this computer to do (like gaming, Photoshop, and so on)?

Mostly for work (accounting, photoshop, massive file transfers). My definition of work is still expanding, but those three should be sufficient for now. Gaming of course occasionally, however not a priority. I would just like to have a system that is powerful enough to game once and a while. As much as I would like to spend hours and days in PS2, I do not have the time to dedicate to that anymore.

5. What parts will you need for the computer? List what parts specifically, saying you need everything will not do.

The most important thing for this new build is that I require a multi-screen layout, mostly for work. I am not sure if multi-screen gaming is a pro, but if it is, why not? And with this multiscreen system, i want it to run it smoothly as possible without lagging.

1 x DVD burner

2 x HDD (2 is a must, 3-4 if budget allows)

Motherboard

CPU(s)

RAM

Video Card(s)

PSU

Monitors

Monitor Brakets for Multi-screen

Aftermarket CPU Heatsink?

Thermal Grease?

Keyboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823109148)

Mouse

For Macros in photoshop & gaming (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823114015)

Document Scanner (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16838115052)

Case Fans (Was looking at Newegg and I can't believe the amount of different kinds of fans there are from ball bearings to hydralics.)

Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119252)

6. Are you reusing any parts for this computer? If so say what parts (make and model).

No. I'm starting fresh.

7. What kind of monitor/resolution do you have or want to get to use for the computer?

Sorry. I have no clue as to what is a good size/resolution, or in fact, I don't know how many screens would be practical. I'm guessing at the very least, 3 monitors.

8. Do you have already have a OS or do you need one? What OS is that?

Yes. Windows 7 Ultimate, using a cracked key. I have both the 32-bit and 64-bit.

9. What are you looking for the motherboard to have feature wise? Like SLI, Crossfire, Firewire, USB 3.0, Sata 6.0 Gb/s, and so on.

Just so long as I can transfer huge amounts of data in a relatively short/reasonable time, and output multiple screens, both for work, and for gaming, without ghosting or lagging or anything of that nature. I have read up a little on SLI and Crossfire, but I don't know enough to really start putting the pieces together, or if I even need an SLI or Crossfire system.

10. Any plans to overclock the CPU or GPU?

Hell No.

11. What time kind of time frame are you planning on ordering these parts?

Next several paychecks. My reason for this post is so I can familiarize myself with what is available at the time. The last time I built something was during the Pentium 4 era. I'm so lost now, I can't even begin to fathom what's out on the market. I would really appreciate any input, suggestion, or recommendation anyone has.

[Rbstr]

Sending up to 2k on a computer.
Won't buy Windows.

I need to go find a Scumbag Steve meme generator.


Frankly, even with the cash I wouldn't get anything fancier than an i5 3570k, a Z77 motherboard, 8gb of DDR3 1600 and a GTX 670. If you decide to go multimonitor, think about a AMD 7970 or GTX680. After that it's diminishing returns, big time. Get a 128gb SSD and whatever hard disks you need otherwise.

[AwkdShellfish]

Actually, I did buy Windows Ultimate. Problem is, there's 14 computers at shop and home. Workstations at work and plus kids at home, 14 can really stack up for just one person. I bought mostly laptops, mainly because of it's compact size and easy installation. Whatever I can get by.

That list above is just something I've been wanting to do for a long time, yet never have the time to put into, until now. Doing all this research really is overwhelming, which is why I'm posting this thread as a means to learn about what's practical.

What I plan is to just buy these parts, put it together, and hope that it last me a GOOD long while until any system components break. If I can get this type of system together, not only would it help my work, but I can finally have a system to play games with lol.

[Rbstr]

What I mean is go with the upper mid-range and save the money you would have spent on crazy parts that aren't all that much better (like the i7/Extreme Edition CPU and GTX690 and stuff) and use it in a year or two for upgrades.

Spending BIG with the intent of it lasting forever is usually not the most sane way of doing things. Computer technology moves far too fast to future-proof.
Especially when a console generation is about to tick over.

If you want to run a big 3x monitor setup, you'll need powerful stuff, but the lifetime of high settings and full resolution without $$$ upgrades is going to be fairly short.
If you want to run at 1080p you can plan so you're running on high settings for much longer, on the same budget, regardless of where the tech goes.

[AwkdShellfish]

lol sorry. I don't even know what upper mid-range is.

Well here's something quick I just put together.

PSU $129.99 after $20 mail-in-rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139009

CPU $219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115072

Mobo $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130646

Video Card $499.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127671

RAM $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233232

More than welcome to scold me for my choices, as I have no clue if this is too much, or too little. Should I go with that 850W PSU? Should I go quad-core or dual-core?

Questions regarding the Vid Card, do I have to get at least one adapter going from HDMI/DP --> DVI in order to set up 3 or more monitors?

[Rbstr]

That's pretty OK.
I would go with an Ivy Bridge CPU, the 3570, especially if you're not overclocking.
I don't think you need that much wattage on the power supply with a single video card. You could easily go to 700w, probably 650. With your mutli-monitor dreams you might want to keep it, though, so you can pick up a second 680 and do SLi in the future.
Don't buy that ram, it's the right kind, but it's a silly amount if you're gaming. Right now 8gb (2x4gb) is plenty. You could stretch it to 16, but why not wait for it to get cheaper. The only reason to need that much is HUGE photoshop files or CAD stuff.

If you want to SLi in the future you'll need to get a bit fancier motherboard. Like this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157293

[AwkdShellfish]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116504

This guy right here for the CPU?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130647

Ok that asrock mobo has two PCI Express 3.0 x16. So if the specifications doesn't mention anything, and I plug in two GTX680s, both cards will run at x16? However, if I use that MSI board, and plug in two GTX680s it will run at x8/x8? What gives? Is there a noticeable difference between x16/x16 vs x8/x8, especially running multi-screen, whether it be for gaming or photoshop?

I'm thinking 3 screens is good, but preferably 4 max. Anymore than it starts to become a rubbernecking-fest.

As far as the RAM is concerned, I think I'll take your suggestion and go 16 gb. I do like the idea of 32 gb for autocad, but that's down the line in the future for shop expansion (if I ever get to that.) By then we'll probably have this stuff:

Last thing before I forget, what's a good screen size, when going multiscreen?

[Rbstr]

If you're not overclocking there is little reason to get the 'K' version CPU. There's a 3570 that's the same except for that.

SLI/crossfire won't run 16x/16x on either, it will do 8x/8x on both. Until you get to insane-o world http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131822

I don't think you want a micro ATX sized board, though. Adding any add-in cards like a sound card could be impossible if you've got two graphics cards in there.

Monitor size? I dono, that's personal preference. I would want at least 1080p resolution (1920x1080) no matter the size...and after 24inches I think I'd want higher resolution.

[AwkdShellfish]

Hmmm I see.

So 8x/8x is the best as it gets for a "budget" build huh? If that's the case, maybe it's not such a good idea to spend 2k for internal parts? Hmmm so confusing lol

Well it's late, let me see what I can conjure up the end of this week....

*EDIT*

Oh btw, before I forget again, thanks for the replies. I've been out of the loop for such a long time, it's nice to be "informed" again.

[Rbstr]

PCI express has all the bandwidth in the world. 8x isn't a big deal.

[AwkdShellfish]

$146.99 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card powered by THX TruStudio Pro

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102033

$139.99 MSI Z77A-G45 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130645

$349.99 COOLER MASTER COSMOS II RC-1200-KKN1 Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119252

$859.98 2 x SAPPHIRE 21197-00-40G Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102961

$91.99 CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233143

$269.97 3 x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152185

$149.99 KINGWIN Lazer LZ-1000 1000W Modular 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC W/ 3-Way LED Switch and Universal Modular Connector Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121068

$40.99 Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823109148

$59.99 RAZER Nostromo Black 16 fully programmable hyperesponse keys Normal Keys USB Wired Gaming Expert Gaming Keypad

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823114015

$414.49 Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 Instant PDF Sheet-Fed Scanner for PC

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16838115052

$75.99 Cyborg CCB437080002/04/1 Black USB Wired Laser 6400 dpi R.A.T. 7 Gaming Mouse

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826102062

$759.96 4 x ASUS VS Series VS247H-P Black 23.6" 2ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 50000000:1 (ASCR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236174

$214.99 Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637i53570

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115233

$3,575.31 Before Uncle Sam.

$3,888.15 After Uncle Sam. (If my tax calculations are correct.)

A custom computer never use to cost that much. Damn inflation.

Hmmmmmm, last one I'm missing is, do I need a aftermarket CPU Cooler?

...and maybe a monitor bracket to hold 4 monitors.

I know I said was going to rest after the last post, but someone was on the . Should be done by now...

[Pancake]

Get some rest. Hopefully when you wake up Goku will be online.

For your purposes, here are my recommendations.

CPU: i7 3770K - Hyperthreading will be a HUGE benefit for Photoshop.
GPU: 680 or 690 if you can - Nothing can top these cards.
RAM: 16GB DDR3 1600 - Enough but not overkill. Go for 32GB if you use 3D modeling.