Maximum PC

A few weeks ago I went to the Dell website and was very disappointed! They don’t let you customize like they use to so I’ve decided to try and build my own this time with a little help from you guys and Max PC.

I’m looking to build a computer that will run Adobe Photoshop, Premiere and let me do HD video editing. Would like to stay under $2000.

CPU - Intel i7-3770 or 3770K?
3770K – 3.5 Gbs - unlocked
3770 – 3.4 Gbs - locked but has some extra features

Which one should I go with? Will I ever use those extra features?

Mobo?

PSU – Corsair 650 or 750?

GPU – AMD or Nvidia?
I’ve heard Photoshop runs faster with Nvidia cards is that true?

RAM – When looking at memory do you go by what the CPU supports or Mobo or both?

Blu-Ray Burner – Is one brand better then the other or are they all about the same?

Do I need a CPU cooler or is the one that comes in the box good enough?

Hard Drive 1TB – WD or Seagate?

Thanks for the Help!!

A few more questions??

Windows 7 or 8?
What do you guys think of Windows 8 so far?

What are some of your favorite websites for buying computer stuff?

Monitor – 20” Any recommendations on which brand?

Hopefully this post doesn’t take 4 or 5 days to show up like the last one did!!

Some one has been watching Kung Fu reruns?

Master Kleinkinstein when I am able to take the CPU from your hand will I then be ready to build??


Thanks for the link to that other build it was helpful!!

Why Seasonic over Corsair?

Blu-Ray Burner – Any recommendations?

What do you think of the new OCZ Vector 256GB SSD?

What are some of your favorite websites for buying computer stuff and getting good info?

Thanks

Seasonic is a top shelf PSU builder, Corsair's best is the next shelf down Although to be fair, it looks like Seasonic's quality in the last 6 months has dropped a bit... check out the newegg.com feedback in the past 6 months on the X650 & X750... way above average number of 1 & 2 egg reviews (for Seasonic), makes me wonder if they've switched manufacturing facilities...

I love the LG Blu-Ray Burners, but Maximum PC's "Best of the Best" choice is pretty darned good too: Lite-On iHBS212-08

As for the SSD, Vector (Vertex 5) is fine when it's at least 10% cheaper than the equivalent Samsung 840 Pro, otherwise the 840 Pro is a better choice. However, performance wise, most people will never see or feel the added performance of the bleeding edge generation over the last generation of drives, or even the 1st generation SATA III SSD's. Unless your running a media server for multiple PC's (which can access the true advantages current SSD's bring to the table), save a little cash & get a still very impressive performing Vertex 4 or Samsung 830, especially if you can find a sale on one.

Newegg is my #1 source, but I also shop Directron Provantage B & H Photo & Video & Mwave from time to time when they have better deals. Most recently, I saved over $40 off the newegg price on twelve AeroCool Shark fans for my PC (six 120mm & six 140mm - nine currently in use, stepped on & broke one, plus one of each as spares) through directron after sale price & free shipping!!!

BTW... since you're inquiring about a Blu-Ray burner, and are talking about using Photoshop and Premiere, I have to ask... doing much (few hundred "running time" minutes a year...) Blu-Ray encoding? If so & you can stand the wait, Haswell will be a much better option. But if you're in need now, the 3770k will give you the best price to performance ratio, and if you're only encoding a few dozen minutes a year, then the 3570k is a great option as well.

One other option is to step up now to the semi-pro level with an LGA-2011 board & i7-3930K 6-core/12-thread processor, especially if you're regularly encoding Blu-Ray video's over 15 minutes in length. Premiere Pro CS5 & later really loves those extra threads. This setup also gives you the potential of a future upgrade to Ivy-Bridge E in October of next year.

You hear right about nVidia Vs ATI, however the difference may be negligible depending on which version of Photoshop / Premiere you use. Also, GPU acceleration in Photoshop / Premiere only works in-program, i.e. effects, transitions, in-program previews, etc... which can be a nice time-saver, but sadly, all encoding tasks are still handled solely by the CPU.

I just purchased an OEM 3-pack of Windows 7 Pro so that I won't have to mess with Windows 8. Windows 8 is fine for touchscreen use, but come-on... to launch into the "desktop" upon startup, you have to install a 3rd party program... really Microsoft... WTF??? It takes a good while to get accustomed to it, but even after more than 6 months, I still think it's simultaneously their best and worst OS ever. Performance wise, it's faster overall than Windows 7, but not blazingly so. As far as an intuitive interface for a desktop PC, it's the worst thing I've ever seen... took me 3 hours the first day to figure out how to shut down the PC & I only found it by accident, I've also had several problems with the Release Preview & SSD's that didn't exist in previous beta versions

Chaosdsm thanks for the Great info!!!

The picture and video editing is more of a hobby so I think the i7 3770K will be more then enough for me but I did look at the 6-core/12-thread processors.

Any recommendations on Mother Boards?
Kleinkinstein really likes ASRock but I’ve never heard of them before, what are your thoughts?

GPU – Any recommendations?

I’m going to go with the Corsair PSU because a friend can get me a really good price! Should I go 650 or 750? AX or HX Series? Is the AX Series worth the extra money?

ASRock used to be a division of ASUS, then broke off & began turning out some really top notch boards that IMO are better than ASUS for the most part, especially when you look at them from an equal price standpoint.

I'm running the ASRock X79 Extreme9 for my LGA-2011 6-core HD video editing rig & couldn't be happier, and feel very confident in recommending them, even over Gigabyte & ASUS which had been my #1 & #2 choices for motherboards till I gave ASRock a shot.

RE GPU acceleration: here's a clip of a rough draft of the accelerations: http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-premier ... ancements/ This was a video created by Adobe to show a glimpse of what "GPU acceleration" can do. Now, this was for CS5, which only supported CUDA (nVidia), CS5.5 added support for OpenCL (ATI cards), and CS6 has full support for both ATI & nVidia. A wider range of supported cards has also been added. Initially it was only the top-tier cards, now pretty much the entire line-up supports acceleration.

If you're not gaming, go with a GT-640 like this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814127679 & spend the money you didn't use on the GPU for a larger and/or better monitor. Performance wise, the acceleration difference between the GT-640 & GTX-680 is tiny in CS6 and only slightly more pronounced in CS5 & CS5.5.

Kleinkinstein

CORSAIR HX750 - $105 after rebate – Is that a good price?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139010

Is it worth it to pay extra for a mobo with Thunderbolt?


Chaosdsm

I have a few questions about your “HD video editing rig”.

Are you using CS5 or CS6?

Which GPU or GPUs are you using?

Which Monitor or Monitors are you using?

Are the IPS Monitors worth the extra money?

I guess I'll butt in for a second.


It certainly beats my usual go-to for PSUs at that wattage and features. So I say it's worth it.


No. Thunderbolt seems to be only limited to hard drives and displays. USB 3.0 provides plenty of bandwidth for hard drives (Hell, I achieved 100MB/s from a USB3.0<->SATA 6Gbps transfer yesterday) and I don't really find a reason to use DisplayPort over DVI yet. To be honest, at the moment, Thunderbolt is more useful on laptops than desktops because of its daisy chaining capability and where connectors are a precious commodity.


Yes. If anything this test is a huge reason. On my 24" TN panel, the color shifting is bad even at a normal viewing angle. On my eIPS panel, there's no color shifting. If you're working with color and graphics, you'll want consistency.

Well, if you want to look cool I guess.

I don't measure my e-peen by the amount of money I dumped on my computer.

Here's my build thread for my current config but I'm still in desperate need of further upgrades all-around lol. My editing monitor is an ancient Viewsionic Pro series VP-201s 20.1" LCD, my gaming/every-day use monitor is an el-cheapo Hanns-G 28.1" TN panel LCD, it's barely okay for gaming & movies, but sucks the big one for editing, color acurracy is virtually non-existant Software is Photoshop Elements / Premiere Elements 8 bundle (no GPU acceleration), & GPU is GTX-460... okay last one isn't really in need of upgrade... at least not until I can get the Dell 30" LCD I've had my eye on

IPS is the only way to go for any decent editing results.

Fortunately, I get the pleasure of using a bunch of the big-boy editing toys... CS6 Master Collection, & decent IPS panels... unfortunately, I don't get to keep them Sometimes owning a computer upgrade/repair business is a real drag... like when I have to give up those sweet systems to the customers But at least I get to try out a few things while they're in my posession

Well I learned 2 new words today Ubiquitous and e-peen.

LatiosXT
Thanks for the advice!!

Kleinkinstein
Corsair does make big boy cables for the HX750 if you’re willing to pay $40 extra for them.
http://www.corsair.com/us/power-supply- ... ories.html

Chaosdsm

Have you seen this - Corsair AX760i - $230
http://www.corsair.com/us/power-supply- ... r-psu.html


You may not get to keep them but you also don’t have to pay for them and you get paid to play with them. Sounds good to me!!

Sorry for all the Mobo and GPU questions but they confuse me! !

Why would I need WiFi built into the mobo?

Could they possibly make GPUs any more confusing?!!?

I’m looking for a GPU that would be good for Light Gaming, Adobe CS6, HD Video Editing and let me run 2 20” IPS Monitors in the future.
Which brands do you guys recommend?
How much memory should the card have?

Also having problems finding a case I like, any recommendations?

Thanks