Please advise if this spec looks OK, advice on speedup, and USB3 question

[Growltiger]

I need a quiet PC but it needs to be powerful. Heavy duty photo editing, no gaming.

Q1. How does this spec look?

Q2. What speed do you think I could sensibly increase it to from 3.06GHz? I'm the most cautious type of overclocker, in the past I only changed BCLK (on an i7 920, from 133 to 166, giving 3.48GHz).

Q3. One other question, about the USB3. Is this just one USB3 socket on the back of the machine?

Case
COOLERMASTER SILEO 500 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-950 (3.06GHz) 4.8GTs/8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P6X58D PREMIUM: DDR3, USB 3.0 & SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
Memory (RAM)
12GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (6 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
160GB Intel® X25-M 2.5" SSD (34nm / upto 250MB/sR | 100MB/sW)***SPECIAL***
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£88)
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W TX SERIES (TX850) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£99)
Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£59)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Mouse
Black Logitech® Optical Wheel Mouse USB (£5)
Speakers
LOGITECH Z323 2.1 Stereo speakers with Rich bass and 360-degree sound (£45)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,618.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Len]

From what I've read the COOLIT ECO A.L.C isn't as good as the fenrir on keeping ur CPU cool but it is quiter, but one of the more expensive water coolers are prob better then the fenrir in both quiteness and coolage, also PCS do offer stable overclocks: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-1156-overclocked/ - no idea about the USB question

 

[Growltiger]

Thanks Len. I assume the Fenrir comes with the fan installed and working? I had chosen the Coolit Eco because I thought I had been told it was better than the Fenrir. If the Fenrir is better (and cheaper) than that sounds best. Does anyone else have an opinion on this?

When I asked PCS previously they only overclock 6GB machines and I want 12GB. But this may no longer be the case. As I mentioned above I previously did my own overclocking experiments with a lot of sucess, getting 3.48GHz from the 2.66GHz 920 by changing just one setting (after installing a cooler like the Fenrir).

 

[Phoenix]

Yeah the titan fenrir does perform better and comes with the fan pre-installed and working although it is louder than the Coolit ECO. Getting a stable overclock with lots of RAM modules is harder to do which is why they won't be able to guarentee a high overclock. I can't really predict how far you personally will be able to take the CPU but just know that you'll void the warranty by doing this. There will be two USB 3.0 ports at the back of the computer.

 

[Growltiger]

Thanks, in that case I will definiitely get the Titan Fenrir.

The previous machine is an i7 920 with 12GB. I was very careful to monitor the temperature while running prime95 to make the system work flat out. Before I improved the cooling overclocking was not possible, the original speed was 2.66GHz.

Once I improved the cooling I was able to run it with BCLK=166, giving 3.48GHz. It was tested with prime95 running for at least 24 hours and with Realtemp reporting no more than 80 degrees. In normal use Realtemp is under 50. The system is completely stable and has been running for months.

The i7 950 starts at 3.06GHz. I'm assuming it will be possible to reach the same as the 920 managed, 3.48GHz, but perhaps it will go further.

I am very cautious. I never play with timings or voltages. The approach I have used seems simple and pretty safe.

 

[Growltiger]

Thanks for the info. I made a couple more small changes and ordered it (I decided against the SSD and got two of the 1TB drives instead.) Final price inc VAT £1297.

Now I just need to buy a monitor. You don't sell any 1920*1200 monitors so I'm looking elsewhere. I need a good quality one for photo work, the NEC LCD2490WUXi2 looks good though expensive.