Spec list

OK realised this bird im running on now is fine and all but i think its time i do a compleate over haul. Im sure my Hds in this are fooked as,,,, i have hardly defragged them, and they have been switched from the dell to 2nd set up to this set up. I just think it is slowly dying from what i am using it for.

So, with my birthday coming up ive decided im going to make my self A Gaming/Audio development station and use this one im on now purley for Tv/ Films and maybe light tinterweb usage, so the Living room pc , or i could maybe try sell it but im not sure who would buy it.

Right this is the list i came up with on a site (yes i cheated ), I might be going over the top or not but I need it to be able to cope with Audio editing programmes/recording, Graphic design programmes like Maya and also Gaming

Right here is my try at a spec.Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Processor i7-860 (2.80GHz) 8MB Cache + HyperThreading
Memory (RAM)
8GB CORSAIR XMS3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz - LIFETIME WARRANTY!
Motherboard
ASUS® P7P55D DELUXE: DDR3, S-ATA II, 3 x PCI-Ex, 2 x PCI
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
USB Options
8 x USB 2.0 PORTS (6 REAR + 2 FRONT) AS STANDARD
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
3rd Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
4th Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
RAID (HDD 1 & 2)NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
22x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
22x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTS250 PCI EXPRESS
2nd Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTS250 PCI EXPRESS
Sound Card
ASUS XONAR ESSENCE STX - Headphone Amp card for Audiophiles! (£122)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Floppy Disk DriveNONE
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)
Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE (£59)
Power Supply & Case Cooling
800W Quiet Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£99)
Processor Cooling
COOLERMASTER V8 EXTREME CPU COOLER - Experience the power of V8 (£44)
Firewire & Video Editing
2 x IEEE 1394a FIREWIRE PORTS (1 onboard, 1 at back panel)
TV Card
NONE
Monitor
NONE
2nd Monitor
NONE
GeForce 3D Vision
NONE
DVI Cable
NONE
Keyboard & Mouse
NONE
Mouse
NONE
Speakers
NONE
Webcam
NONE
Headsets (VOIP)
NONE
Surge Protection
Belkin 4 Socket 2M Surge Protector with £25,000 Protection! (£8)
Printer
NONE
Anti-Virus
MICROSOFT SECURITY ESSENTIALS - Free Basic Protection
Office Software
FREE 60 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 2007 Professional Edition
External Hard Drive
NONE
Home InstallationNONE
Warranty
2 Year Return-to-Base incl 2 Years Free Collect & Return (£69)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Miscellaneous
FREE Operation FlashPoint D.R. Game (RRP: €49.99) with any Intel® Core™ i5/i7 CPU!
Quantity:
1

OK they Quoted that as £1464.00 including VAT and Delivery.

One thing about the sound card, I will either get that one or will be going for a fully out board set up with firewire connection,amps and music stuff galore. Most likely the 2nd one.

Also i would like 2-3 monitors, I have this dell one now that i will probably use for something, i would like a nice gaming moniter and just and a nice cheap side moniter, that i can buy 2 of. I will be using these for all the windows that come up in the audio editing programmes i use, Its very frustrating comming from the uni 5 moniter systems to my single moniter one.

If u think im mad tell me, if you think im over the top and not futur proofing also tell me pls


Thanking you

I would go for a single ATI 5770 instead of the GTS250s in SLi. Also, why do you want four 500GB hard drives instead of two 1TB drive or a single 2TB drive?

Originally Posted by Saundie

I would go for a single ATI 5770 instead of the GTS250s in SLi. Also, why do you want four 500GB hard drives instead of two 1TB drive or a single 2TB drive?

Well thex 4 500 i put it like that cause iatm i have 3 hdds partitioned into Local disk, a Software drive, Pagefile drive, Media file Drive, Music Drice and Video drive. I thought instea of the partitioning why not get enough seperate hdds? or do you thinkg 2 1tb is a safer option and just partition them? or not partition them and to back to the old fasion normal way of doing stuff >.<

Will A single ATI5770 support 3 monitors?

I got to agree with Saundie on this one.

4x500gb hard drives will produce more heat and noise then 2x1tb or 1 2tb hard drives. Personally I rather have 1 or 2 large cpacity hard drives than small ones.

The ATI 5770 supports triple monitors BUT one of them has to be displayport enabled. Is that why you specced 2x250 gts cards? To get triple monitor support?

Also the asus soundcard you specced. While I have no problem with this soundcard being specced I wonder why you didn;t get a soundcard which facilitate your main primary pc usage which is music based. I.e one that has flexible option for any midi based stuff you have.

And while the Asus soundcards are very good from an sound point they maybe not suited for a sound engineer. Most sound engineers I have encountered prefer their sound to be reproduced with the tone of neutrality. The Asus soundcards tend to romanticise music and stuff. A colouration to the overall sound.

While I am no sound engineer I have a little experience with hi fi based components. The Creative soundcards I would say are on the opposite end of the spectrum to the asus soundcards.

OK so the sensus is less hds but bigger space is better ok thats good advice which i was looking for

The sound card side, well i chose that one on the site as a possible one for when im not using my ourboard stuff. So the inbetween period of me getting this rig and new out board Audio Exuipment. The creative alternative i looked at was Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium - Fatal1ty Champion Series http://uk.store.creative.com/product...id=1&pid=17813

Im currently saving up about 2k for an External fire wire set up for my main audio editing work. this will cover any connections with the mixer desk for all analog midi and digital work.

I speced the 2 250gts for the tripple moniter suport purly as all i knw is that they only have 2 connections on the back each? so id need 2 for 3-4. Also 250's aint bad cards for gaiming, especially compared to the one i have now. I am willing to spend alitle bit more if you think i could do iwith a better option. One big Gfx for the main moniter and one smaller for the side moniters as they wont have games or anything going on other than programme work?