I would appreciate critique from those in the know

[dazzlerdee]

Hello everyone. I'm attempting to purchase a p.c for my son. I've tried my best to research the in's and out's of pc's through purchasing a stack of magazines. Below is the specification I've arrived at. It would be appreciated if those more knowledgeable than I on the subject could peruse it and give any feedback.

He uses the pc for gaming, live streaming, video and photograph editing and for making 'montages'.

Based upon these uses if there's anything I've missed in the parts I've picked out could you please let me know. I'm also about bang-for-buck and this shows, I believe, in the specification below.

Thank you in advance and a very Merry Christmas to all.

Case
COOLERMASTER COSMOS 1000 SILVER SILENT CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-760 Quad Core (2.80GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost
Motherboard
ASUS® P7P55D-E PRO: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, CrossFireX™ / SLI SUPPORT
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1280MB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX570 - 2 DVI,mHDMI - DirectX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card
1280MB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX570 - 2 DVI,mHDMI - DirectX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
3rd Graphics Card
NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB OCZ VERTEX 2 SATA II 2.5" SSD (upto 285MB/sR | 275MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
3rd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
4th Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
RAID
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD) (£9)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£48)
Memory Card Reader
NONE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W PRO SERIES (HX1000) 80+ MODULAR PSU (£169)
Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)
Sound Card
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Xtreme Gamer (£59)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Floppy Disk Drive
NONE
Firewire & Video Editing
NONE
TV Card
NONE
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£143)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
NONE
2nd Monitor
NONE
DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
NONE
Eyefinity / GeForce 3D Vision
NONE
Keyboard & Mouse
NONE
Mouse
NONE
Speakers
NONE
Webcam
Logitech® Webcam Pro 9000 - 2.0Mp, AutoFocus and Carl Zeiss Optics (£59)
Headsets (VOIP)
NONE
Surge Protection
NONE
Printer
NONE
External Hard Drive
WD My Book Essential 2TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive WDBAAF0020HBK (£110)
Home Installation
NONE
Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour) (£135)
Data Recovery
2 x Hard Drive Data Recovery Service - Protect 2 Hard Drives Against Failure (£58)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 13 working days

 

[PCS]

Wow - great spec there! Your son is very lucky

This configuration will be great for gaming, live streaming, video and photograph editing and for making 'montages'. However, I have a few points to suggest:

1. You don't need two optical drives - the blu-ray drive can do just about everything that the DVDRW drive can do, and therefore consider removing the DVDRW drive.

2. You may we able to get away with a lower spec PSU - perhaps 850W, should you wish to save a little.

3. Do you really need Windows 7 Ultimate? Compare the differences here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/compare

 

[dazzlerdee]

Thank you for the prompt response PCS. Is the hard disk drive configuration I've selected suitable? The SSD is for his games and editing software (hence going for the 240gb version), The 6gs/s second drive is for his projects as he's working on them and the 2tb 3gb/s drives are for more permanent storage of said projects. The external hard disk drive is for archiving purposes. Regarding the external hard disk would it be possible to purchase more than one of these? The configurator doesn't give me the option to do this.

Regarding your points:

1) He does a lot of disc to disc copying hence going for two optical drives. Or am I missing something?
2) I went for the Corsair 1000w as it has received some glowing reviews and, advise if I'm wrong here, having a 1000w will give some headroom meaning it won't always be working at peak which will promote longevity?
3) The link was a great inclusion to your post and I thank you. Considering the two 'advantages' to Ultimate over Premium it makes much more fiscal sense to go for Premium. Many thanks for that.

 

[dazzlerdee]

I've just been back on the main site and seen that you offer an overclocking service as well. It's my understanding that manufacturers of components are more friendly towards overclocking nowadays. Am I correct in this? For an extra £244 I can purchase the specification below. Would the extra cost be worth it for the improved specification or am I getting into the 'overkill' zone?

My apologies for all the questions I just want to ensure I purchase the correct specification as I'd hate to miss something.

Case
COOLERMASTER COSMOS 1000 SILVER SILENT CASE
Overclocked CPU
OverClocked Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-950 (3.06GHz @ max 3.8GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® RAMPAGE III EXTREME: 3-Way SLI & CrossFireX, SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0
Memory (RAM)
12GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (6 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1280MB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX570 - 2 DVI,mHDMI - DirectX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card
1280MB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX570 - 2 DVI,mHDMI - DirectX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
3rd Graphics Card
NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB OCZ VERTEX 2 SATA II 2.5" SSD (upto 285MB/sR | 275MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
3rd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
4th Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
RAID
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD) (£9)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
NONE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W PRO SERIES (HX1000) 80+ MODULAR PSU (£169)
Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Xtreme Gamer (£59)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Floppy Disk Drive
NONE
Firewire & Video Editing
NONE
TV Card
NONE
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
NONE
2nd Monitor
NONE
DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
NONE
Eyefinity / GeForce 3D Vision
NONE
Keyboard & Mouse
NONE
Mouse
NONE
Speakers
NONE
Webcam
Logitech® Webcam Pro 9000 - 2.0Mp, AutoFocus and Carl Zeiss Optics (£59)
Headsets (VOIP)
NONE
Surge Protection
NONE
Printer
NONE
External Hard Drive
WD My Book Essential 2TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive WDBAAF0020HBK (£110)
Home Installation
NONE
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£69)
Data Recovery
2 x Hard Drive Data Recovery Service - Protect 2 Hard Drives Against Failure (£58)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 13 working days

 

[PCS]

Thank you for the prompt response PCS. Is the hard disk drive configuration I've selected suitable? The SSD is for his games and editing software (hence going for the 240gb version), The 6gs/s second drive is for his projects as he's working on them and the 2tb 3gb/s drives are for more permanent storage of said projects. The external hard disk drive is for archiving purposes. Regarding the external hard disk would it be possible to purchase more than one of these? The configurator doesn't give me the option to do this.

Regarding your points:

1) He does a lot of disc to disc copying hence going for two optical drives. Or am I missing something?
2) I went for the Corsair 1000w as it has received some glowing reviews and, advise if I'm wrong here, having a 1000w will give some headroom meaning it won't always be working at peak which will promote longevity?
3) The link was a great inclusion to your post and I thank you. Considering the two 'advantages' to Ultimate over Premium it makes much more fiscal sense to go for Premium. Many thanks for that.

1. The hard drive configuration is excellent - I assume you will need over 5TB of storage, it's well thought out.

2. You can purchase additional external hard drives phone us over the phone after you have placed your order, but unfortunately not online.

Regarding my original answers:

1. OK - fair enough.

2. This is correct, my suggestion was merely based on your comments about bang-for-buck - because it looks a little overkill to me.

3. Great.

I've just been back on the main site and seen that you offer an overclocking service as well. It's my understanding that manufacturers of components are more friendly towards overclocking nowadays. Am I correct in this? For an extra £244 I can purchase the specification below. Would the extra cost be worth it for the improved specification or am I getting into the 'overkill' zone?

I think you would be stepping over to the overkill zone by spending an extra £244 on this configuration. For extreme gaming, and if you want only the best, then this option is available, but other than that what you have put together is more than adequate.

 

[Goosey_J]

Edit, ignore me, didn't see you changed the processor to the i7 950.