New computer setup need comments/help

[AlarM]

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySa ... ID=8873689 is my wishlist. Wondering if you think I'm forgetting something or if you can suggest better hardware or comment on the hardware I picked.

This rig will be used for gaming / graphic design / and some video fx

the basics:
850W PSU
core i7 920 2.66ghz
6gb DDR3 1600
XFX nvidia gtx 285
Gigabyte mobo with USB3.0 ( think this is a nice price/choice?)
2x250gb 7200rpm (going to raid for windows/programs)
1.5tb 7200rpm (data)
DVD/CD +-RW
Coolmaster Full Tower Case
Non stock CPU cooling
Thermal Compound

Overall shooting for around $1500.

Do you think this setup will do well?
Do you know of any compatibility issues with any of the hardware?
I calculated that my hardware will probably use not much more than 550W with its current setup?
Is a SSD worth the extra money?
Does anyone have a nice widescreen monitor they can recommend with excellent color representation?

Thanks.

edit: image for those without newegg accounts / lazy.

[scoTTy]

wouldn't it make more sense to get 2x hard drives raided for your data (so you never lose it) and then use a single hard drive for your main windows install + program installs

[scoTTy]

also get a HD5850 or HD5870 instead of a 285 maybe?

[AlarM]

Well the data is really just TV/movies etc so I'm not really worried about the backup aspect. I was hoping that raiding the two smaller drives would allow for better performance without having to buy a SSD. Also I will look into using the ATI video cards, although I was told that Nvidia cards were better suited for the Adobe Suite.

[Sini]

how is adobe related to video cards? pretty sure thats cpu (could be wrong)

[Eugor]

wouldn't it make more sense to get 2x hard drives raided for your data (so you never lose it) and then use a single hard drive for your main windows install + program installs

Raid 1 is for data back up not Raid 0 which is for performance.

SSD's are a bit overrated. I have an Intel x-25 G2 80gb and while it is fast, I wasn't amazed by it's speed like a lot of people suggested I would be. However, if you plan to raid get 2 good HD's. Getting some crap low space drives won't do a whole lot.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduc ... 6822152181 are much better for the money as far as HD's go. Caviar blacks would be better also.

Don't get a GTX285. Either go Ati or wait for the new Nvidia cards. The price for performance is awful for a 285. A 5850 is better, cheaper, and has DX11.

The CM V8 is horrible for it's price. Get a Dark Knight or a Scythe Mugen 2.

[AlarM]

how is adobe related to video cards? pretty sure thats cpu (could be wrong)

The applications in the CS4 suite can offload some of the work to the GPU.

[AlarM]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduc ... 6822152181 are much better for the money as far as HD's go. Caviar blacks would be better also.

Don't get a GTX285. Either go Ati or wait for the new Nvidia cards. The price for performance is awful for a 285. A 5850 is better, cheaper, and has DX11.

The CM V8 is horrible for it's price. Get a Dark Knight or a Scythe Mugen 2.

Thanks for the help. I changed out the CoolMaster for the Dark Knight. I decided to not even fiddle with Raid 0 on 2 harddrives and I ended up just getting a caviar black. After reading a lot of reviews about game performance I decided to go with the HD5870. I also added a new monitor. With all the changes it brings the new subtotal to around $2000. I am still skeptical of how the ATI will work with Adobe but I am sure that my new processor will be good enough to make it not matter.

http://picpost.resolute-guild.com/alarm/comp2.png new parts image

[scoTTy]

wouldn't it make more sense to get 2x hard drives raided for your data (so you never lose it) and then use a single hard drive for your main windows install + program installs

Raid 1 is for data back up not Raid 0 which is for performance.

I realize that, and was suggesting that data backup might be more worth it than an increase in hard drive performance, when considering what you can do with 3 hard drives. Raid0 will have little impact on his gaming ability, so really will only help with video editting. I just don't see the point of a single 1.5TB hard drive to store all your creative work, and risking losing it all if it dies. Why not get 2 1.5TB drives or 2 slightly smaller ones if money is an issue.


EDIT: Have you considered getting 3-4 hard drives and doing Raid5 or Raid10? Both give the same read performance as an equal amount of disks in Raid0, and data backup. Raid5 would give a bit more disk space than Raid10, but is slower for data writing.

$75 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822145287 (although you should verify that they are in fact 32mb cache)
$70 750GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136359

[Vigil]

http://picpost.resolute-guild.com/alarm/comp2.png new parts image

Raid doesn't do much for games performance. It'll mostly reduce load times but access times are still "slow" "for load on demand" content. That's why SSD is the gaming solution. But as Eugor pointed out, it doesn't do miracles as many seem to say on the internet.

As Amelio said, if you want to raid anything, raid1 it for redundancy for data. I have tons of movies and wouldn't want to lose them. My HD setup is as follow atm:

80GB SSD: Windows 7 + HoN + WoW
74GB 10k RPM raptor HD: Programs + Games I don't play too often (Steam)
2x1TB in RAID1: Movies, Downloads, Documents, etc.

My load times in WoW went from 15-20sec to 8-12seconds (with tons of mods). My load times in HoN don't seem affected (maybe 1-2 seconds difference). In WoW I noticed once I load in dalaran, everything appears faster than it used to. Before, I could run around dalaran for 5-10seconds with stuff popping up as it loaded.

Your new screenshot shows 12GB of ram, 6GB should be plenty for everything you do. I can run WoW and render fraps movies in 1920*1080 and ram usage won't go past 4GB (although CPU does go near 100%).

As others pointed the ATI cards have a good lead on Nvidia atm. When I bought my computer, GTX 285 was 2nd or 3rd best card and it's still a beast card that runs any current game at max settings, but today you should go for an HD card from ATI.

[scoTTy]

The more I read says avoid Raid5, so forget that. Looks like 2 HD in raid1 or 4 HD in raid10 is the way to go.

[AlarM]

Your new screenshot shows 12GB of ram, 6GB should be plenty for everything you do. I can run WoW and render fraps movies in 1920*1080 and ram usage won't go past 4GB (although CPU does go near 100%).

you saved my life and $150 I really didnt mean to have 2 in the cart

[Eugor]

Dunno if you have bought yet, but the 640gb caviar black is a good bit faster than the 500gb. The 640 is the fastest of all the caviar blacks.

[AlarM]

Dunno if you have bought yet, but the 640gb caviar black is a good bit faster than the 500gb. The 640 is the fastest of all the caviar blacks.

both the 500 and 640 are sold out. Im going with the 750gb right now. Still waiting on another friend of mine to look at my list for suggestions.

[Eugor]

All of Neweggs good 7200's are just about all out of stock. They have no Samsung F3 which are even better than the Blacks.