New gaming/work computer

[Always Z]

Howdy folks, so I'm looking to get a new computer. This will be the first build I've done myself so I need your help! I am a little useless when it comes to putting together a computer so I need your guys help in putting together a system that can last me for a few years. I've included a list of my current system, I'm hoping I can scavenge a part or two from it for the new system (Power supply? Sound Card maybe?) but I don't know enough about these parts and whether any of them would be worth keeping or not.

Few things,
-I have a budget of roughly $1500, it's not set in stone and I am willing to go over a bit if it would be worth it.
-I would like to play newer games at max settings, but while this is my only PC, gaming isn't my only priority on it.
-I am an animator/modeler by trade so I need a system that will really benefit this. Now my understanding of this is a good processor with multithreading, a lot of ram and the sort.
-I'm in the US
-I'm curious on the OS, obviously I need to upgrade to 64 bit, but windows 7 or 8? Does it really matter? I don't like the metro setup in windows 8, but I know there are a variety of ways to keep the traditional desktop so thats not a huge issue so my question is, is there any real advantage to running windows 8 over 7?

Ok, now for my Current System:
OS: Windows 7 32 bit (6.1, Build 7601)
MotherBoard: p67a-d3-d3 Gigabyte
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2100 CPU @3.10Ghz (4 CPUs), ~3.1Ghz
RAM: 4GB Ram
Memory: 1 TB Hard Drive, 250 GB Hard Drive
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Sound CardSound Board - PCI -24 bit - Internal
Power Supply: Corsair TX CMPSU - 650TX ATX12V & EPS12V Power Supply 650W

I will need a new case, other peripherals I am fine as I can reuse my speakers, monitors, mouse and keyboard etc.

I don't really know what parts would be good but there are a few things I know I'm interested getting, one is 32GB of ram. I'd like to get an SSD for my main HD, I can reuse the 1TB drive and the 250GB drive is already used as backup. I would like to get 1 more 1TB drive as well while I'm at it. My last project folder was ~75GB, so the additional space could be useful!

As I am absolutely rubbish at this I appreciate the help!

[Deleted]

32 GB of DDR3 RAM is a huge waste right now - if you can wait a few weeks, you'll probably get some beastly deals, as retailers try and replace their IB stock in preparation for Haswell and GTX7xx series cards. A provisional build for right now would be:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($135.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($109.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($162.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($389.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.96 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1425.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-04 04:03 EDT-0400)

However, I'd wait until we see performance for the Haswell architecture first, as it may be far better bang for your buck. Later on, you can change out the HDD for a 2TB Caviar Black (as the SSD will be your OS drive) or you can get a 3TB NAS drive, such as the RED, dependent on your needs later on. The reason I've gone for the 3770k is mainly because of the fact that you'll be doing considerable rendering work as an animator.

tl;dr don't buy this yet! This is provisional partslist.

[Killora]

32gb of ram is only necessary if you're running a Virtual Desktop host machine or want to use it as a ramdrive, a rather small one at that.

The above build should work, 16gb is all you need for what you do.

[Iyarashii]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($88.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: GeIL EVO Leggara Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.60 @ Amazon)
Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card ($426.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 650D ATX Mid Tower Case ($175.75 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: CoolMax 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($67.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($94.44 @ Amazon)
Total: $1633.68
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-04 05:33 EDT-0400)

That would probably be better suited to what you are looking for IMO.

[chazus]

Memory: GeIL EVO Leggara Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.60 @ Amazon)
Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 650D ATX Mid Tower Case ($175.75 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: CoolMax 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($67.98 @ SuperBiiz)

No on all these parts.

Useless fast ram, A Pro drive isn't needed, Toshiba is a meh brand, the case isn't bad, but silly expensive, and shit-tastic power supply.

[lockblock]

Upgrade your video card now and do the rest after Haswell processors are released next month.

[Iyarashii]

No on all these parts.

Useless fast ram, A Pro drive isn't needed, Toshiba is a meh brand, the case isn't bad, but silly expensive, and shit-tastic power supply.

I thought people usually doing video editing benefited from the speed of ram a good deal but i guess not, and how is a pro drive not needed? It's one of the best out there and wouldn't need to be replaced a long time as well as the Toshiba hard drive, nothing but good reviews on it. Same goes for the PSU but I agree the case is too much but I only picked it out of personal preference and liking the overall build design

[vesseblah]

and how is a pro drive not needed? It's one of the best out there and wouldn't need to be replaced a long time

Look at the parts list above... 250GB Samsung 840 for $160 vs 120GB Samsung 840 Pro for $140 is no contest at all. Double size will make bigger difference in the long run than some minor speed boost. Especially when 250GB SSD is big enough to even host whole project files (OP mentioned 75GB) which wouldn't be possible on the 120GB model.

nothing but good reviews on it. Same goes for the PSU

Who gives a damn about some random nobody's starts in a webstore when you can find proper reviews too.

Short version of the conclusion is that the so-called 750W PSU is actually 450W and if you try to pull 500W from it it'll blow up. They even tried with two different PSUs with same results.

Also I found no good reviews of it at all from Newegg or Amazon, only bad ones.


Free advice: when googling for reviews, www.hardwaresecrets.com and www.jonnyguru.com are two sites that are reliable and actually test the PSUs to their absolute limits. Even occasionally blowing those up (good PSU should never blow up btw when overloaded, just shut down).

[chazus]

and how is a pro drive not needed?

I guess my question is... how is a Pro drive needed? Do you know the difference?
The read speeds are the same, and that's where the SSD really shines. The write speed on the Pro is faster... But nothing is really ever being written enough to utilize it anyway.

Same goes for the PSU

And yet, on Amazon, Newegg, and other sites, that same PSU is averaged at a bout 2/5. Did you read one good review ("Works awesome. Did not explode.") and call it good?

[ebah]

Buy used radeon 6950 2GB example (should be around 100$) flash it into 6970 & oc it and u have good gpu for bf3/wow max graphs.

I wouldnt buy new parts just yet, because haswell and gtx 7xx series is coming in a few months.

[Deleted]

I thought people usually doing video editing benefited from the speed of ram a good deal but i guess not, and how is a pro drive not needed? It's one of the best out there and wouldn't need to be replaced a long time as well as the Toshiba hard drive, nothing but good reviews on it. Same goes for the PSU but I agree the case is too much but I only picked it out of personal preference and liking the overall build design

The Pro series from Samsung has better write speeds to that drive, and the PSU you recommended is not 80 PLUS certified (which means that it runs at 80%+ efficiency of the wattage rating).

A also recommended to hold off for a month, as newer parts are coming out before mid-June, and to check the prices on those. Everything else from my build should be purchasable right now, leaving us with something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($47.30 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($109.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($162.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.96 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $637.19
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-04 14:35 EDT-0400)

I had to change the cooler as the one I initially had has changed for the LGA1150 socket fitting, but also fits the LGA1155 (SB/IB) fitting.

[Always Z]

Good to know on all that, thanks folks. I'd been reading these forums and knew some new stuff was going to be coming out but wasn't sure when, so I'll be taking a look at that all, much appreciated