New Computer Build Question

[MuleShack]

I was thinking of upgrading my 2003 PC up in my office.

I was browsing the Dell site and looking at the XPS 8500.

I put a package together with:

• Intel 3rd Gen I5 processor
• 12 Gig dual core memory
• 1 Tb hard drive
• 1 Gig Nvidia Video card
• basic DVD drive R/W
• Wireless mouse and keyboard (logitech)
• Windows 7 professional 64 bit
• office basic (word and excel)
• 15 month Mcafee subscription

I already have the office 2010 pro software and a subscription to ESET and an extra license for windows 7 32 bit ... so I would just delete the Mcafee junk anyway.

I would be using this for my GoPro video processing so I may also get the 2Gig video card to speed things up.

This package listed for $910 with no monitor

I have heard that a person can save a lot by building their own computer. I'm pretty confident that I can put something together, no problem, my issue would be finding some place that can answer questions about compatibility between parts and where you can buy locally. I know I could get parts cheap on newegg too.

For the folks that have built computers before, what would a new build cost based on the same specs as listed above and is it actually worth building your own? I have heard micro center mentioned many times...do they sell parts to make your own? will they help you get the right parts and steer you in the right direction.

How much can a guy actually save vs buying direct from Dell?

How much else goes into a build other than the obvious buying and installing?

[Kyhl]

Check out General Nanosystems on University. They built to order my last PC. I found it cheaper than building my own, which I have done in tha past.

[MuleShack]

I see General nano has a system similar to the Dell but has 16 Gig memory for $980

I was on New Egg piecing together parts and I was at $1067 before my time to put together. However I did upgrade the video card and the power supply.

I suppose if I would go down there, I can have them upgrade certain parts of the system.

[mamohr686]

I would check out the forums at the tomshardware HSOforum. There are numerous posts about builds and parts for any budget. I would upgrade to a 240 gb SSD and 2TB HD configuration for movie editing. Mabie consider adding a BD-RW drive for burning your hd movies. You could build a sandy bridge I5 2500K processor and overclock it easily in the bios with the new mobos. That would save you enough money for the SSD and BD drive, and even upgrade the gpu.

[Nick Kuhn]

Without knowing the model of the video card it could be anything from perfectly adequate to completely inadequate. Since RAM is practically free, look at other things when considering your purchase: you can update the RAM afterwards for next to nothing.

[MuleShack]

I would upgrade to a 240 gb SSD and 2TB HD configuration for movie editing.

[MuleShack]

Without knowing the model of the video card it could be anything from perfectly adequate to completely inadequate. Since RAM is practically free, look at other things when considering your purchase: you can update the RAM afterwards for next to nothing.

On Dell's site they offered a AMD 1 GB basic video card.

The update was to a NVidea 1 GB card for like $50

The next step up was back to an AMD 2GB for $150 more.

[MuleShack]

Here is my New Egg Wish list:

• Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, come with Five Fans, window side panel, top HDD dock

  Model #:BlackHawk

  Item #:N82E16811147107

  In Stock $99.99 -$10.00 Instant $89.99

• MSI Z77A-GD55 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

  Model #:Z77A-GD55

  Item #:N82E16813130644

  In Stock $164.99 -$10.00 Instant $154.99

• XFX Double D HD-695X-CDFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with ...

  Model #:HD-695X-CDFC

  Item #:N82E16814150549

  In Stock $259.99 -$10.00 Instant $249.99

• CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified ...

  Model #:CP-9020031-NA

  Item #:N82E16817139010

  In Stock $169.99 -$25.00 Instant $144.99

• Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ...

  Model #:BX80623I72600K

  Item #:N82E16819115070

  In Stock $289.99 $289.99

• SAMSUNG EcoGreen F4 HD204UI 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

  Model #:HD204UI

  Item #:N82E16822152245

  In Stock $139.99 -$20.00 Instant $119.99

• LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

  Model #:iHAS124-04

  Item #:N82E16827106289

  In Stock $17.99 $17.99

• Subtotal: $1,067.93

I guess I did select the I7 processor in this scenario....

[mamohr686]

this is what I would consider:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($141.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ Newegg)

Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.86 @ Outlet PC)

Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($409.99 @ NCIX US)

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: XFX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ NCIX US)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $1150.77

The SSD is wicked fast for load times because you don't have to wait for a disc to spin. Basically you load all your programs on the SSD and then use the standard HD for all your data files. I had to scale back on the size of the drives to meet your price point. pcpartpicker is a good site to find the best prices on the core components on trusted websites. I think you can get a better video editing value by going to the newer processor and getting a top of the line gpu. You can jump to 16gb of ram for another $50

[Shack]

Yeah, solid state as the master and 2 tb as the slave would be a fine option and one that will allow you the best overall performance.

Do not get me wrong as I love detail and precision in my graphics display, but I have been struggling to see any difference, even preview rendering 3D creations, between a GeForce with 512mb and one with 2gb. I will say that I can set up a Mindcraft Multi-Player server, front-end, help-desk, billing and all while in my sleep, but have only spent 10 minutes ever playing the game, so I am certainly not considered to be a World of Wizardcraft gaming freak type. I assume this is where the need would become justified other than being for bragging rights. Personally, I would put the extra money in another area or in the media center within your home where you watch what ever it is you create. The price difference is just to huge.

The reason for any need to "Over Clock" is to make up where your funds or machine could not or can not bring you set at OEM specs. Unless you are on the ultimate high-end already with your system and wanting to pierce the barrier to render something extraordinary for the first time ever, if the resources and power you need are obtainable during a build, my suggestion is purchase the hardware needed to bring you their instead of clocking from start up. Plus over clocking just is not what it used to be, but that is not another story.

Don't get me wrong, I love "clockin" but only when it involves dry-ice and attempting to break a benchmark record of my own or for the books.

[MuleShack]

Thanks for all the info.

I may run down to micro center and look at some of this stuff and look at what i'm getting into first hand.

As I mentioned earlier, my main reason for looking at the higher end graphics card would be for processing videos. I'm not entirely sure how all that works as far as internal handling goes.

Going to assume the video processing itself using Pinnacle is handled thru the hard drive loading and the amount of RAM in the computer.

I was originally thinking that having more GB in the video card would speed up the editing process. After thinking about it a little more, that is probably not the case. The video card is still only going to help the display of the video with a bigger cashe.

Help me understand what the video card does...does It only increase video quality or does it actually help with loading and processing speed while using a program?

If it does help with speed, is the difference between 1 gig and 2 gigs going to justify the big cost difference?

My main objective with this is to be able to take a 1 hour go pro video and load it and be able to edit it with out lagging or being slow. The video quality is not a great concern.

So maybe I should be taking the extra money from video card and increase the processor and ram?

Right now, I use a 2008 Dell Studio 15 laptop with a core 2 Duo and 4GB ram, so the machine described above "Should" kick its but processing the same video with the I5 or I7 processor and 12-16 GB ram along with the 2 hard drives.

[masoct3]

This is a site I like to use. It changes daily. You can either scroll down or click a manufacturer on the top. I ended up getting an XPS 15 for $700 (all the bells and whistles). I was also debating between a tablet but it doesnt even have a cd player. I know...mp3.

http://www.edealinfo.com/

[jac714]

Thanks for all the info.

I may run down to micro center and look at some of this stuff and look at what i'm getting into first hand.

When you go, go to the hardware area and ask one of the folks that work there who among them is the best to talk to about video editing hardware. It may turn out to be someone who works the front desk or in software. The people who work there are basically the archetypal geek with people skills. They probably have someone who works there who is a video person and can help you get exactly what you need.

Good luck.

[Elybound]

With your original question (how much can you save?) it's not only cheaper but extremely higher quality. Yes you can go to all the major computer websites (dell, hp, etc) and customize your build but they don't tell you who the manufacture of each part is. Most of those companies skimp on lower quality motherboards and power supplies along with value class ram.

When you build yourself you can choose top quality components like Corsair, SeaSonic, Gigabyte, Msi, G-Skill and so on. I would not take the chance of overclocking a computer built by dell vs a home built with quality parts.

[MuleShack]

With your original question (how much can you save?) it's not only cheaper but extremely higher quality.

[MuleShack]

pcpartpicker is a good site to find the best prices on the core components on trusted websites.

Just went back and saw this now...pretty cool to have everything in one spot and it lets you choose, add to system and gives you the best price between 10 or so sites. AND lets you set a price watch on the parts as well. It also advises of potential conflicts between components.

Pretty cool.

Thanks

[MuleShack]

I just picked out my "ultimate" PC on PCpartspicker and it was a hair over $2000.

I suppose I'll take this list down to the place in Minneapolis and have them tell me where I can shave some corners to get down to $15-1600 but still have a fast unit.

CPU Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core $329.98

Motherboard ASRock P67 Extreme4 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 $148.49

Memory Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $94.65

Hard Drive Seagate Constellation ES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM $226.99

Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" SSD $189.99

Video Card Asus Radeon HD 7870 2GB $304.98

Case Corsair 600T (Black) ATX Mid Tower $146.71

Power Supply Corsair 850W ATX12V / EPS12V $152.99

Optical Drive Sony BWU-500S Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer $109.99

Monitor Dell S2330MX 23.0" $180.00

Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit) $130.20

Keyboard Logitech MK710 w/Optical Mouse $69.99

Yea, I got a little more on the case, but those fans are cool

[Elybound]

Right now you are looking at a very fast computer when built.

You will save a little $ buying the CPU at the MicroCenter. They got the best prices on them.

A few places to shave off the price would be:(1) 650 to 750W power supply (850W or bigger only if you plan on a second video card) (2) Keep with the Seagate hard drive but not the Constellation (3) Asus 23 inch monitor (4)Windows home vs professional.

I would still add a CPU cooler to your list. The ones that come with the CPU are usually not enough. The one mentioned above (Cooler Master Hyper 212) is cheap but does a sufficient job.

[MuleShack]

I was going to ask about the cpu cooler, to see if it was still neccesary.

The box that i picked out, has 3 fans built into it. One on the front, one on the top and one on the back. With those 3 moving air, would a small cpu fan still be needed?

[Nick Kuhn]

Intel's stock coolers are just fine for that processor. Even running a torture test I couldn't get the new i7 to hit 60c. You have plenty of margin. Unless you really are set on going for a significant overclock, the stock cooler is all you need.

[MuleShack]

Another quick question: How many hard drives can you hook up in a tower? I was thinking of using two 7200rmp drives and keep photos and videos on one and files on the other. This route would have the SSD drive and two other hard drives. Is this feasible or not? Does the power supply come with enough harnesses to hook up?

Reason i ask is the reviews for the barracuda drive all state that they are wondering how long it will last...meaning for half the price of a Cruciable drive (which is rated high) everyone was expecting it to fail rather quickly.

[Elybound]

Most ATX cases will hold 5 to 6 internal drives and most quality power supplies will run around 8 drives.

[upnorth]

You can easily put 2 drives in standard PC chassis, if you order a mini chassis you are going to be limited by space. If your power supply doesn't have enough power outputs you can get a splitter. But I would go too far with that route or you may over tap the power it is capable or delivering.

It is a fairly standard configuration to run the Operating System(windows, linux, apple, etc) on one drive and use the second drive for data files(pics, docs, videos or other created or downloaded files).

Or you can mirror the drives so if one fails the other takes over and you lose nothing.

[Scott K]

You can easily put 2 drives in standard PC chassis, if you order a mini chassis you are going to be limited by space. If your power supply doesn't have enough power outputs you can get a splitter. But I would go too far with that route or you may over tap the power it is capable or delivering.

It is a fairly standard configuration to run the Operating System(windows, linux, apple, etc) on one drive and use the second drive for data files(pics, docs, videos or other created or downloaded files).

Or you can mirror the drives so if one fails the other takes over and you lose nothing.

I run 3 hard drives in my pc. I run my OS on a SSD for fast and quick start ups, then I have my data on another, then I have the 3rd as a mirrored back up (this one I leave unplugged). I also have an external HD that I have scheduled to do daily back ups of my system, so when one of the other hard drives crash, I wont loose to much info. But, looking back, the SSD I have for start up, was a great idea, but the way I use the system, it really never gets shut off, other then an automatic restart that is scheduled at midnight every night.

[Tator2k]

Most OEM Manufactures lockdown their BIOS, so it can't be overclocked. Typically you'll be only able to add a new video card and OC that or purchased one OC'ed from factory.

I think you already hit on it but, if you can find a decent starter box and add RAM and video card you can save a huge chunk if you don't already own a number of current re-usable components.

Todays modern video cards process at ton more data than in the past. They effectively are an CPU added to your system to process data. In many video and gaming cases, the GPU ran faster and process more data than CPUs.