Help - New Desktop Specifications

[MRCC]

Hi Everyone

I'm looking to replace my 5+ year old PC and have been using the website configurator in putting specifications together for a new computer to be purchased in the near future from PCSpecialist as they seem to offer good value and also seem to have some very conscientious and well meaning and enthusiastic employees as witnessed by this very website. Whilst not an official arm of PCS, there are not many, if any, other computer assemblers that do this. This above anything has particularly impressed me. Having watched this website for some weeks now has certainly been one of the major factors in me considering my next purchase from PCS.

I would appreciate comments and advice from people that are more expert than I am in this subject (most, in not all).

Let me start with my objectives, before I add the build:

The computer is required for graphics/photo work and video editing as well as playing the odd game (Flight Sim X). In addition it will also be used by someone who is unable to type and will be making heavy use of using voice recognition software (Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking). Of particular importance is that the computer is to be quiet, so I don't want lots of fan noise. This is a no comprise aspect. I do not frequently update my computer, so am attempting to ‘future-proof’ it for the foreseeable future.

In certain areas I am including the reason for my direction of choice, however please feel to comment if you believe I am wrong in my conclusions. ANY advice, assistance or guidance will be greatly appreciated.

Case
Choose Your Own Case - Click Here to Enter Details (Required)

I am choosing Antec P183 from their Performance One Series.

Please see:
For Product Information Sheet: http://www.antec.com/pdf/flyers/P183_EN_flyer.pdf
For User Manual: http://www.antec.com/pdf/manuals/P183 Manual_EN.pdf

(The reason for this is that quietness is very important. Originally I was considering the Coolermaster Sileo 500. However, one of your competitors (the very cold one!), originally specified this case in their Photo machine. They have now dropped it and although it is still remains one of their options, they do not allow it for this configuration stating that they have had issues with it causing overheating. I have also read about this elsewhere. Have you had any similar issues with this case? Additionally, the Antec P183 does have air filtering. Have you any experience of this case and do you think it is suitable?)

Processor (CPU)
OverClocked Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-930 (2.8GHz @ max 3.8GHz)

(Although selecting the OC version, is it easily able to be brought back to a non OC state should over clocking not be required? I am taking this course as I have read on your forum of quite a few people subsequently wishing they had done this as the system is fully tested in an OC’d state – thoughts?)

Motherboard
ASUS® P6X58D-E DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-way SLI

Memory (RAM)
12GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, INTEL X.M.P (6 x 2GB KIT)

(I have sensed throughout this forum for a preference for SAMSUNG memory, however the configurator does not provide for this. Is this because it is currently out of stock, or is it a technical issue? The Kingston memory is the only 12GB memory listed – why?)

Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11

(Subject to the cost and availability, this may be changed to the 2GB version once you start being supplied with it – thoughts?)

Memory - 1st Hard Disk

1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

Memory – 2nd Hard Disk

1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

(When using the website configurator with these above selections, it advises me to check the specifications about whether the motherboard supports SATA 6GB. Unless I am mistaken, my chosen motherboard does support SATA 6GB, or am I wrong?)

RAID (HDD 1 & 2)
RAID 1 (MIRROR) (£9)

Memory – 3rd Hard Disk
80GB Intel® X25-M 2.5" SSD (34nm / upto 250MB/sR 70MB/sW)***SPECIAL***

(Should I really specify this as Memory – 1st Hard Disk and the other two as 2nd and 3rd Hard Disks respectively? When I tried to do this, it would not allow me to Raid the Disks)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£99)

(What make is the 10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW is it the LG BH10LS30 and does it come with the required software?)

2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)

Power Supply & Case Cooling
CORSAIR 850W PSU (TX850) 80+ ULTRA QUIET (£100)

Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EXTREME DIRECT TOUCH COPPER CPU COOLER

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
NONE

(I will be installing my current sound card which is a Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy™ Audigy 2Z – quite old but will suffice. I believe that Windows 7 64 bit drivers are available for this?)

Network Facilities
WIRELESS N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Firewire & Video Editing
1 x IEEE 1394a FIREWIRE PORT ONBOARD

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£108)

(I have selected this version as there may be some XP programs I may wish to run. I currently have and use Windows XP Pro. Can anyone advice me if some hardware that do not have any 64 bit drivers (no longer supported) but only 32 bit drivers will be able to work on Windows 7 64 bit in XP mode? I have not yet been able to get a definitive answer to this yet.)

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
NONE

External Hard Drive
Seagate FreeAgent Desk 1TB 7,200rpm High-Speed USB External Hard Drive (£78)

Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, Lifetime Tech Support) (£135)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

(If possible and I am able, is it acceptable to come and pick it up?)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days.

This system will be using a DELL ULTRASHARP U2410 MONITOR, which unfortunately you do not seem to be able to provide. What connecting lead would you recommend?

Many thanks in advance for any help, assistance and guidance provided.

Regards
Ian

 

[Gorman]

Hello and welcome, I will try and answer some of your questions in the monster quote below!

Hi Everyone

I'm looking to replace my 5+ year old PC and have been using the website configurator in putting specifications together for a new computer to be purchased in the near future from PCSpecialist as they seem to offer good value and also seem to have some very conscientious and well meaning and enthusiastic employees as witnessed by this very website. Whilst not an official arm of PCS, there are not many, if any, other computer assemblers that do this. This above anything has particularly impressed me. Having watched this website for some weeks now has certainly been one of the major factors in me considering my next purchase from PCS.

I would appreciate comments and advice from people that are more expert than I am in this subject (most, in not all).

Let me start with my objectives, before I add the build:

The computer is required for graphics/photo work and video editing as well as playing the odd game (Flight Sim X). In addition it will also be used by someone who is unable to type and will be making heavy use of using voice recognition software (Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking). Of particular importance is that the computer is to be quiet, so I don't want lots of fan noise. This is a no comprise aspect. I do not frequently update my computer, so am attempting to ‘future-proof’ it for the foreseeable future.

In certain areas I am including the reason for my direction of choice, however please feel to comment if you believe I am wrong in my conclusions. ANY advice, assistance or guidance will be greatly appreciated.

Case
Choose Your Own Case - Click Here to Enter Details (Required)

I am choosing Antec P183 from their Performance One Series.

Please see:
For Product Information Sheet: http://www.antec.com/pdf/flyers/P183_EN_flyer.pdf
For User Manual: http://www.antec.com/pdf/manuals/P183 Manual_EN.pdf

(The reason for this is that quietness is very important. Originally I was considering the Coolermaster Sileo 500. However, one of your competitors (the very cold one!), originally specified this case in their Photo machine. They have now dropped it and although it is still remains one of their options, they do not allow it for this configuration stating that they have had issues with it causing overheating. I have also read about this elsewhere. Have you had any similar issues with this case? Additionally, the Antec P183 does have air filtering. Have you any experience of this case and do you think it is suitable?)

I like this case and believe Meds has one at the moment, i will leave the comments on it to him. I owned a Sileo and did not have any heat issues with it even with a high end (GTX280) graphics card in it. I suppose it all depends on the ambient temps though

Processor (CPU)
OverClocked Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-930 (2.8GHz @ max 3.8GHz)

(Although selecting the OC version, is it easily able to be brought back to a non OC state should over clocking not be required? I am taking this course as I have read on your forum of quite a few people subsequently wishing they had done this as the system is fully tested in an OC’d state – thoughts?)

Based on the uses you described i see no need to overclock this system as its going to be beefy enough. Any additional performance increases for graphics/photo work and video editing will be gained from using CUDA enabled programs with your Nvidea GPU.

Motherboard
ASUS® P6X58D-E DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-way SLI

Memory (RAM)
12GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, INTEL X.M.P (6 x 2GB KIT)

(I have sensed throughout this forum for a preference for SAMSUNG memory, however the configurator does not provide for this. Is this because it is currently out of stock, or is it a technical issue? The Kingston memory is the only 12GB memory listed – why?)

We have had an issue with Corsair dimms and certain configurations, the Corsair is good ram when applied correctly. The samsung does not provide the option for Samsung as you have selected an OC machine which is limited to 1600mhz memory, the Samsung is 1333 only. Same reason for the Kingston being listed.

Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11

(Subject to the cost and availability, this may be changed to the 2GB version once you start being supplied with it – thoughts?)

1Gb should be adequate unless your a serious gamer.

Memory - 1st Hard Disk

1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

Memory – 2nd Hard Disk

1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

(When using the website configurator with these above selections, it advises me to check the specifications about whether the motherboard supports SATA 6GB. Unless I am mistaken, my chosen motherboard does support SATA 6GB, or am I wrong?)

You are correct.

RAID (HDD 1 & 2)
RAID 1 (MIRROR) (£9)

Memory – 3rd Hard Disk
80GB Intel® X25-M 2.5" SSD (34nm / upto 250MB/sR 70MB/sW)***SPECIAL***

(Should I really specify this as Memory – 1st Hard Disk and the other two as 2nd and 3rd Hard Disks respectively? When I tried to do this, it would not allow me to Raid the Disks)

This has puzzled me a bit, if you are going for an SSD drive it should be the system or "first" drive. This will give you fast boot times and access to programs installed on it. The second and third can be set in raid mirror for backup, although its always better to have an external drive and backup manually than rely on raid.

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£99)

(What make is the 10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW is it the LG BH10LS30 and does it come with the required software?)

They come with Power DVD i believe, i am unsure on the make. Will edit this once i find out.

2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Is this needed, 1st drive will do it all.

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)

Power Supply & Case Cooling
CORSAIR 850W PSU (TX850) 80+ ULTRA QUIET (£100)

spot on

Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EXTREME DIRECT TOUCH COPPER CPU COOLER

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
NONE

(I will be installing my current sound card which is a Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy™ Audigy 2Z – quite old but will suffice. I believe that Windows 7 64 bit drivers are available for this?)

correct, no issues there.

Network Facilities
WIRELESS N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Firewire & Video Editing
1 x IEEE 1394a FIREWIRE PORT ONBOARD

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£108)

(I have selected this version as there may be some XP programs I may wish to run. I currently have and use Windows XP Pro. Can anyone advice me if some hardware that do not have any 64 bit drivers (no longer supported) but only 32 bit drivers will be able to work on Windows 7 64 bit in XP mode? I have not yet been able to get a definitive answer to this yet.)

Xp mode is a virtual machine running xp pro x86, so your 32 bit drivers will be fine.

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
NONE

External Hard Drive
Seagate FreeAgent Desk 1TB 7,200rpm High-Speed USB External Hard Drive (£78)

Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, Lifetime Tech Support) (£135)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

(If possible and I am able, is it acceptable to come and pick it up?)

Absolutely, delivery will be refunded after the order is placed.

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days.

This system will be using a DELL ULTRASHARP U2410 MONITOR, which unfortunately you do not seem to be able to provide. What connecting lead would you recommend?

A DVI lead.

Many thanks in advance for any help, assistance and guidance provided.

Regards
Ian

 

[Sleinous]

Memory (RAM)
12GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, INTEL X.M.P (6 x 2GB KIT)

(I have sensed throughout this forum for a preference for SAMSUNG memory, however the configurator does not provide for this. Is this because it is currently out of stock, or is it a technical issue? The Kingston memory is the only 12GB memory listed – why?)

The Kingston RAM is faster, and, runs stable on ASUS motherboards I'd strongly recommend it over the Samsung.

EDIT: Does the BD drive burn dual layer discs?

Spot on with the 1TB WD 6gb/s drive btw.

Also be aware that once you fill up the PCI slot at the bottom of the board, you can no longer add a double thickness fermi graphics card there. Meaning SLI is out. only one will be able to be added in the top most slot, just below the PCIe x1 that you would presumably use for your audio card. The other two PCIe x16 slots would have to be used for single width addons (middle one because if the PCI slot directly underneath it is taken then you can not fit a double thickness card above, and bottom slot because its too near the edge of the mobo and therefore, can not fit due to PSU being at the bottom too).

 

[MRCC]

Thanks Sleinous for your inputs.

EDIT: Does the BD drive burn dual layer discs?

If there is no input from PCS on this forum, I will ask about this before ordering.

Also be aware that once you fill up the PCI slot at the bottom of the board, you can no longer add a double thickness fermi graphics card there. Meaning SLI is out. only one will be able to be added in the top most slot, just below the PCIe x1 that you would presumably use for your audio card. The other two PCIe x16 slots would have to be used for single width addons (middle one because if the PCI slot directly underneath it is taken then you can not fit a double thickness card above, and bottom slot because its too near the edge of the mobo and therefore, can not fit due to PSU being at the bottom too).

Unfortunately this is way above my knowledge base! What I believe that you are getting at is, will I have enough connecting points for cards etc. Again if I am not provided with any solutions or suggestions on this forum by PCS, then I will take it up before ordering and see if any compromises or work arounds are possible.

Your input has been most helpful - many thanks
Ian

 

[PCS]

Hello MRCC

In an update to your questions that have been answered by Gorman and Sleinous:

1. 1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive (10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£99)) - the current model we have in stock is the LG BH10LS30: http://www.lg.com/us/computer-products/optical-media/LG-internal-dvd-burner-BH10LS30.jsp - this drive does support dual layer DVD writing at 8X and Blu-ray dual layer writing at 4x.

2.

Also be aware that once you fill up the PCI slot at the bottom of the board, you can no longer add a double thickness fermi graphics card there. Meaning SLI is out. only one will be able to be added in the top most slot, just below the PCIe x1 that you would presumably use for your audio card. The other two PCIe x16 slots would have to be used for single width addons (middle one because if the PCI slot directly underneath it is taken then you can not fit a double thickness card above, and bottom slot because its too near the edge of the mobo and therefore, can not fit due to PSU being at the bottom too).

Please refer to this image:

If you divide the board above into 4 quarters, and look at the top left quarter, you can see vertical running ports parallel to each other. What slienous was saying is the GTX 460 is a thick card that covers two ports. Because you have selected a wireless 802.11N card, you will not be able to add a second GTX460 (should you ever wish) without firstly removing the wireless card. It would only ever be a problem if you wanted to add a second GTX 460 graphics card, so with the current configuration you have chosen there is nothing to worry about.

If you have anymore questions, please do not hesitate to post these here

 

[Sleinous]

^Thanks I forgot to add a pic, also if you look at that white far top left slot (the last pcie x16 slot, it is I think possible to squeeze in a fermi in there, providing you tuck the cables that connect below it very neatly, and providing you have a cm or two free below the mobo (i.e. no massive PSU)

Problem would be getting an SLI bridge from slot 1 to slot 3, is that even possible to buy? I guess so seeing as there is tri SLI now

 

[PCS]

Unfortunately you cannot add a fermi into the white PCI-e x16 slot - as fermi cards take up two slots. The PSU site right next to the motherboard regardless of what PSU model you order, and as far as I know SLI bridges won't stretch that far, not the ones we sell anyway...