CGTalk - Looking for a critique of specs / hardware I've came up with for a custom PC

View Full Version : Looking for a critique of specs / hardware I've came up with for a custom PC

legmog

03-23-2009, 05:46 PM

Hi people... As you may have known, these past few days I've been hanging around the C4D forum and this forum asking tons and tons of questions relating to the creation of a custom PC.

I am a freelancer in the field of 3D / VFX and am currently working on a general 4 year old Dell. The time came to get a new PC, and the price of retail ones was too much for the kind of money I have..... So I asked around and a few friends of mine said they could build a custom one if I provide them with a list of exactly what it is I want.

I had NO knowledge whatsoever of PC techno stuff.... So I have been posting here / doing relentless Google and Wikipedia searches to research as much into what kind of stuff I need to get. This forum has been extremely helpful and I thank everyone who has helped me on my other topics.

I now have come up with a list of components for a custom PC, and I want to run it by everyone on this forum to see what you all think.
Tell me if what I've came up with is good, or point out any erroneous choices I have made in terms of equipment and compatibility.

So here is the list... I've provided links to all the pieces so you can check them out in further detail too.

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PROCESSOR
Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz Socket 1366 8MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Price: £241.60
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151477

GRAPHICS CARD
Gainward GTX285 1GB GDDR3
Price: £309.98
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158600

OPERATING SYSTEM
Windows Vista Business SP1 64-bit
Price: £129
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Windows-Vista-Business-64-bit-English/dp/B0015CCFUK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1237823176&sr=8-3

POWER SUPPLY
Corsair 750W TX PSU - 120mm Fan, 80+% Efficiency, Single +12V Rail
Price: £101.18
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134677

RAM (MEMORY)
Corsair 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz XMS3 Memory
Price: £78.75
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152637

HARD DRIVE
Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB Hard Drive (+wire)
Price: £78.25
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143288

MOTHER BOARD
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4 iX58 Socket 13667 (Probably get this one)
Price: 199.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/156173

FIREWIRE/ USB PORT
Plexus PCI Combo Card
Price: £9.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139073/show_product_overview

CASE
Antec Nine Hundred Two 902 Ultimate Gaming Case
Price: £99.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/155939#

CD-DRIVE
Sony DRU-860S 22X DVD
Price: £17.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159310/show_product_overview

----------------------------------------------------

I would like to hear your thoughts on this before I green light it so to speak ^^.

I'm still unsure of a few things.... No.1 being the OS... I have listed the Vista Business edition, but perhaps the Premium edition would be a better bet?

Also for RAM.... I just chose a fairly cheap'ish one which will give me 6 GIG. So is that ok? Or should I go for a more expensive one perhaps.

The only other queries I have is the Mother Board.... Does what I've listed seem to be a good choice?

And also have I chosen the right kind of Case...

Thanks a lot and look forward to your responses. :D

olson

03-23-2009, 06:36 PM

The power supply has multiple 12V rails to obtain the wattage advertised. This is not a very reliable configuration, a large single 12V rail power supply is a much better option (PC Power & Cooling, some Corsair units, some Silverstone units). Not sure how those are price wise but in the US they are about the same as the Antec listed. A good choice would be the 750W from PC Power & Cooling.

The case is a little overkill but would work, only a mid tower ATX is needed for the setup since the motherboard is standard ATX size and not SSI EEB (extedned ATX). For the money there are better cases like Lian Li that offer better materials and build quality.

Vista Business is the way to go for a workstation since it has all the features that might be needed like the higher memory capacity without any junk like the media center. I bought Ultimate a while back for a few machines and have regretted it since all of the Home features are a waste and would buy Business if doing it again.

No need to go with the extra sound card since the motherboard already has basically the same thing built on. Good luck with the system. Cheers!

andytw

03-23-2009, 09:11 PM

As you are using Vista I'd suggest getting a sound card from Creative's X-Fi range rather than the Audigy as I've seen a lot of reports of problems with the Audigy soundcards and Vista.

Unless you have a specific reason for getting a separate sound card you may find that the onboard 7.1 sound is enough for your needs.

legmog

03-24-2009, 11:34 AM

Ok thanks guys... I've edited my list now.

I've replaced the case with this

CASE
Antec Nine Hundred Two 902 Ultimate Gaming Case
Price: £99.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/155939#

And the power supply has been replaced with

POWER SUPPLY
Corsair 750W TX PSU - 120mm Fan, 80+% Efficiency, Single +12V Rail
Price: £101.18
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134677

I also removed the sound card from the list...

So what do you think now?... Am I good to go? ^^

olson

03-24-2009, 04:33 PM