$1000 system, general computing, audio work, and some video rendering (no gaming)

[leatherlips]

I'm looking to replace an old desktop system with something current. spend is around 1K. I've put info below. My understanding is that Strong CPU is needed for video rendering (not super-GPU) but correct me if I"m wrong. I was thinking I could get away with a decent onboard GPU?? I would do HD video play back, but no gaming at all. I suspect one or two SSDs may be appropriate with additional HDD storage for completed projects?
I haven't built a new system in a long time so I"m looking for some advice on the appropriate components.

Thanks for your help!


1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
general computing, audio work, and some video rendering (no gaming)
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
Around $1000.00
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
NOT
6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Keyboard/Mouse/Monitor (1080p),hard drives as EXTRA storage only
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Default

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
ASAP(next week or so)

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
No, Have the OS (win7 64bit), sony Vegas pro etc

 

[lehtv]

My understanding is that Strong CPU is needed for video rendering (not super-GPU) but correct me if I"m wrong. I was thinking I could get away with a decent onboard GPU??

Correct on both counts.

I suspect one or two SSDs may be appropriate with additional HDD storage for completed projects?

One SSD is fine on your budget.

One more question: is there a Microcenter close to you?

 

[leatherlips]

I just looked, no micro center in central Florida...

 

[Cerb]

If you will be doing any real-time recording, or real-time monitoring as you mix/edit, stay away from any motherboard that you can't verify as having low DPC latency. Some review sites (including AT, sporadically) test this. Highly variable DPC latency can cause apparent skips, pops, blips, squeaks, and slight stuttering. Asus and ASRock tend to be safe motherboard brand choices, as far as this goes. If such real-time response isn't important, any are as good as any other.

With no gaming, a 200+GB SSD and either Core i7 or Xeon E3 CPU should work fine, even spending a little more on the case and cooling.

No time to price stuff out right now, but I'll do some of that later.

 

[pcunite]

I just built this ... crazy fast. Go with as much processor as you want to spend. Just nothing less. I did swap out the case fan for silent versions. The key to speed is an SSD no matter what you do. SSD Sata III that is. I actually have two.

CPU - $220 - Intel i5-3570K
Motherboard - $190 - ASUS Maximus V Gene mATX
RAM - Crucial CT2KIT102464BA1339 16GB $110
Power - CORSAIR 650TX $90
Case - Fractal Design Define R4 FDCADEFR4BL $110
SSD Drive - Crucial M4 256GB $200
-------
$920

 

[WhiteKnight]

pcunite, what silent fans did you go with for the Fractal?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I just built this ... crazy fast. Go with as much processor as you want to spend. Just nothing less. I did swap out the case fan for silent versions. The key to speed is an SSD no matter what you do. SSD Sata III that is. I actually have two.

CPU - $220 - Intel i5-3570K
Motherboard - $190 - ASUS Maximus V Gene mATX
RAM - Crucial CT2KIT102464BA1339 16GB $110
Power - CORSAIR 650TX $90
Case - Fractal Design Define R4 FDCADEFR4BL $110
SSD Drive - Crucial M4 256GB $200
-------
$920

OP, this is his build, not one I would recommend though.

I'd pick up a i7 4770 (non-K)
B-85 based Motherboard
16gb (2x8gb) RAM

 

[Essence_of_War]

You could try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($117.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($163.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $939.47
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 16:22 EDT-0400)

There are a number of great newegg deals here: the 500R, the PSU, and the memory. You have to get it in the next week though!

You have enough budget for a video card if you'd like, I included an entry-level one, I think you can get the whole order from newegg for about +40-50 USD if you'd like to deal with only one merchant.

Alternatively, you could use the savings to upgrade to an even nicer motherboard.

 

[leatherlips]

Thanks Essence_ ,
Looks good! I'm liking the i7. Is there any real benefit to using a dedicated graphics card (if no gaming)? Does the integrated graphics on the i7 do ok with just video? And lastly, if I don't get the dedicated video card, what would be a good choice for upgrading the mother board?

 

[Essence_of_War]

Yeah the igpu will play video just fine.

The advantage is that it gives you extra ports and extra display driving capability, draws some heat/work off of the CPU, and if you do any animation/video editing that can be gpu accelerated (almost anything in After Effects, I think) a decent discrete gpu will really shine.

You could probably get by without it though. And you can always add one later if you'd like!

The super-obvious MoBo upgrade choice is the Asus z87 Pro. I've heard good things. You might even have enough to get the Asus AND the video card if you're willing to buy from Newegg and NCIX!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($163.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($76.83 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1010.75
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 17:24 EDT-0400)

This includes the ASUS and an entry-level discrete gpu. It's a hair over budget, but if 1k is a hard limit, a couple of options are:
1) Trim the gpu for now, and get one later if you find that you're using software that can take advantage of it
2) Get the gpu the asus and the i7, cut the HSF, use the one intel provides, and save 30 USD. Fair warning, I probably wouldn't bother overclocking with the stock HSF though...
3) Get the gpu the asus and the i7 but get a more modest SSD. The 120 GB version will work just fine, and cost you about 60-70 USD less.

If you don't think you do a lot of gpu accelerated animation stuff, I'd probably go with option 1. It's really easy to add a discrete gpu later, it's WAY more annoying to upgrade motherboards or HSFs.

 

[Cerb]

Here's a full-ATX, started from Essence_of_War's:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($344.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus H87-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($163.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $917.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 18:16 EDT-0400)

Here's a MicroATX:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($344.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus H87M-E Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($100.07 @ Amazon)
NOTE: the H87M-Plus has 2 PCI slots, should you want or need them, while the H87M-E has 2 more PCI-e 1x slots, instead.
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($163.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Silverstone SST-PS07B MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $905.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 18:14 EDT-0400)

The MicroATX one is smaller, of course, and I really like the Silverstone PS07 . The Xigmatek Gaia will not keep your CPU as cool as the Hyper212+ Evo, but it will do the job much quieter, without any fuss. In particular, much quieter than the Intel stock fan, under load. Being $20fs right now, it's not really worth bothering with others, IMO, unless you want to go all-out passive on the CPU (A TR Macho 120 is a good choice, if you want to, though ).

No overclocking, no video card, known-quiet cases, known-quiet PSU (620W is overkill, but it's the same cost as the 520W, and barely more than the 430W), and no HDD (you'll probably want to add one, but frankly, any 7200 RPM 1TB+ drive will be as good as any other, so pick your poison).

If you start using any Adobe software at any point, then get yourself a video card for it (Asus or Power Color passive cards are great options). Vegas appears to get some help from the GPU when doing rendering of some effects, but not enough to worry about, right now.

 

[pcunite]

pcunite, what silent fans did you go with for the Fractal?

I'm using Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D. However, you'll have an easier time getting Noiseblocker M12-S1 which is what I'll get next time, athough I've not tried them yet.

 

[pcunite]

OP, this is his build, not one I would recommend though.

I'd pick up a i7 4770 (non-K)
B-85 based Motherboard
16gb (2x8gb) RAM

To each his own. I value stability above all else thus Ivy systems don't need endless Bios updates and have well been tested by the masses. Also, once I turn my system on it stays on for 5 years straight.

 

[Cerb]

I'm using Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D. However, you'll have an easier time getting Noiseblocker M12-S1 which is what I'll get next time, athough I've not tried them yet.

:'( Scythes being easy to get was nice. I hope they get N.A. distribution going again, at some point. There's still nothing quite like the Kama Flex and Slipstream PWM out there, w/o doing a little manual fan control work.

Not getting a fancy OC board, I doubt there will be any problems for the OP, but swapping the parts out for a similar IB setup (Xeon E3-1245V2 or i7-3770K + Asus or ASRock B75 or H77, but not the cheapest ASRocks) would make for a good system, too, staying a little behind the curve.

In fact, here's an update of my MicroATX one:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-M/CSM Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($163.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Silverstone SST-PS07B MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $870.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 19:59 EDT-0400)

Note the 2nd stick of RAM and the motherboard have a combo for -$11, not listed at PCPP:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1330947

Also, that RAM is even a little cheaper than the other, even before the combos.

 

[mfenn]

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($344.99 @ NCIX US)

Another CPU to consider is the Xeon E3-1225 V3. It's a good way to get HT for $100 less than the i7.

 

[Cerb]

Another CPU to consider is the Xeon E3-1225 V3. It's a good way to get HT for $100 less than the i7.

That it would (note that I chose the i7 due to the faster base clock, BTW, for LGA1155--the Xeon E3-1245V2 or E3-1235V2 would be good for the money, too), but do we know yet that the motherboard firmware is fully compatible? If someone else has been willing to be a guinea pig for that...

 

[Essence_of_War]

Good catch on the cheaper RAM Cerb!

 

[bononos]

To each his own. I value stability above all else thus Ivy systems don't need endless Bios updates and have well been tested by the masses. Also, once I turn my system on it stays on for 5 years straight.

But you recommended a $200 mb which is not exactly something rock solid and too expensive by half for the OP who explicitly stated that he is not going to overclock or use it for trivial purposes like games.

 

[pcunite]

But you recommended a $200 mb which is not exactly something rock solid and too expensive by half for the OP who explicitly stated that he is not going to overclock or use it for trivial purposes like games.

But it is rock solid ... every so often a product enters the market that does not match up with the "marketing" dept. Supposedly we have server, desktop, high performance, over-clockers, and gamer boards.

Most of this is needless market segmentation. The server boards have ECC support, the over-clocker board has more VRM control, the gamer board has stupid plastic, and so on. When you take away focusing on features (that hide what the board should do for you), you can find what makes for a great board.

The Maximus V Gene thankfully is just a great board because it has the best capacitors money can buy, thick PCB material, and righteous VRM heat sinks that actually work. For features, it does not have ECC support ... its only knock.

 

[mfenn]

That it would (note that I chose the i7 due to the faster base clock, BTW, for LGA1155--the Xeon E3-1245V2 or E3-1235V2 would be good for the money, too), but do we know yet that the motherboard firmware is fully compatible? If someone else has been willing to be a guinea pig for that...

You have a good point. Swap the mobo for the ASRock H87 Pro4 which officially supports the Xeons.

 

[Cerb]

You have a good point. Swap the mobo for the ASRock H87 Pro4 which officially supports the Xeons.

Or the Micro version, with the PS07, which also lists them as supported. Nice to see they are actually updating the lists. Nobody had specific Xeon model support a week ago.

Oh, also, I didn't mention it before, but if the video editing is for business use, and the OP gets drive-limited, the H-series chipset would allow SRT (SSD caching) and/or RAID 0 to be used to speed up disks. It might never be needed, but either one could be a good option to have for such a use case (otherwise, I'd be all over saving $10-15 for a B85).

So, in that case, the OP could save $50-100 with a Xeon E3-12x5V3 CPU.

For reference, since Intel made their models complicated:
Name: speed/relative - cost/relative
i7-4770K: 3.5GHz/100% - $345/100%
i7-4770: 3.4GHz/97% - $320/93%
E3-1245V2: 3.4GHz/97% - $290/84%
E3-1225V2: 3.2GHz/91% $240/70%

Since you'll not use ECC, the other features and performance will be identical.

Going down to the E3-1245V3 would save $50 on the H87 build, and you'd only see any difference, except very small ones in benchmarks, and quite a few wouldn't be any different without being run in a clean-room environment like review sites set up. The E3-1225V3 is much cheaper by itself, but looking at the difference in total system costs, you might be better off in the long run to get the extra 200MHz. The last 100MHz will definitely be overshadowed by storage, anti-virus, anything running in the background, etc..

 

[leatherlips]

Thanks all for your advice/help!
Here's what I think I'll go with(let me know if I missed something here):

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/14fQ1
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/14fQ1/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/14fQ1/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($314.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus H87-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($163.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $937.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)


I added a second SSD for the OS, and will use the Samsung for "projects". Then the existing 2TB HDD I have can be for archiving.

 

[Cerb]

1. The RAM is a bit more expensive. Not much, but why pay more for the exact same thing?

2. Going with the ASRock would allow for a cheaper CPU at 97% worst-case performance of the i7-4770K. It would be a good way to get a bigger OS SSD at nearly no performance penalty .

3. A 64GB is barely big enough for the OS. On any Windows newer than XP, it will get tight quickly. Better to just have one bigger SSD, and also use it for projects, or have two SSDs of 120GB or bigger each.

Windows will make the page file about the size of RAM to start with, so that's around 16GB right there. Windows will take 12+GB. If you leave Hibernate on, that's another 16GB. That's before even getting into programs that want to add files into the Program Files and Windows directory trees, and WinSXS growing to 5+GB as programs get added and updated.

Here's a slightly overbudget version, but with a 500GB SDD:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Performance ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($112.86 @ Newegg)
Note: chosen due to more ports; the H87 Pro4 should be just as good of a board, but a little cheaper.
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Other: Intel Xeon E3-1245V3 Haswell 3.4GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1150 95W Quad-Core Server Processor ($289.99)
Total: $1019.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-08 18:46 EDT-0400)

Obviously, going to a 120GB + 250GB would give a lower price, as would just using a single 250GB (the load the OS puts on it is going to be minimal, so don't worry about saving bandwidth by having a 'project' SSD).

And, here it is with just a 256GB SSD:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Performance ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($112.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($179.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Other: Intel Xeon E3-1245V3 Haswell 3.4GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1150 95W Quad-Core Server Processor ($289.99)
Total: $869.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-08 18:52 EDT-0400)

The Plextor is a good drive, and will offer better write performance than the Samsung 840 non-Pro. Either would be good choices, though. Current promos make it mostly a Newegg set, now...