Going for the The Double-Stuff Workstation Oct 2011
Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 6:34 pm
Afternoon Everyone,
A few years ago I built my own Sweeter Spot system and it was rock-solid until last week when my primary and backup HDs both suicided on me. While I have some tech geeks trying to recover the data from the backup I figure its time for a new machine.
I've got a budget of an easy $3K, have some experience building computers, and mostly use mine for gaming, graphic design, and 3ds Max. I've already got an NEC 24" monitor which has done pretty well for me.
Okay, here's what ol' Tech Report is suggesting:
Processor Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz $314.99
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V Pro $199.99
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 (x2) $60.99
Graphics MSI Radeon HD 6950 2GB (x2) $279.99
Storage Intel 510 Series 240GB $579.99
Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 3TB (x2) $159.99
LG WH12LS30 Blu-ray burner $69.99
Audio Asus Xonar DX $92.99
Power supply Corsair AX850W $189.99
Enclosure Corsair Obsidian Series 800D $279.99
Total $2,729.87
My first question is about cooling the cpu. With my last machine I installed a ZALMAN LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler but based it appears that its fallen out of style as compared to other cpu coolers. Right now I am thinking about either going with a COOLER MASTER GeminII 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835103046 or a CORSAIR CWCH50-1 High Performance CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835181010. I don't actually overclock my PCs but my towers always seem to run a little hot. Thoughts? (Should I look into getting better quality fans for the inside of the tower?)
When it comes to graphic cards I have always done well with Nvidia. Can I swap out the Radeons for something comparable in the Nvidia family? Go nuts for GeForce GTX 580? Or am I just snorting pixie sticks?
The 3TB HDs looked sweet except for the fact that Newegg isn't carrying them anymore. Guess I could look at buying a pair of Samsung EcoGreen F4 2TB...
According to my research the Cosair PS is a bit noisy but that shouldn't be a problem, my plan is that my new machine would be in my spare room.
Well, that's everything I can think of. I'm open to suggestions/pointers as I'm a little rusty here.
A few years ago I built my own Sweeter Spot system and it was rock-solid until last week when my primary and backup HDs both suicided on me. While I have some tech geeks trying to recover the data from the backup I figure its time for a new machine.
I've got a budget of an easy $3K, have some experience building computers, and mostly use mine for gaming, graphic design, and 3ds Max. I've already got an NEC 24" monitor which has done pretty well for me.
Okay, here's what ol' Tech Report is suggesting:
Processor Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz $314.99
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V Pro $199.99
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 (x2) $60.99
Graphics MSI Radeon HD 6950 2GB (x2) $279.99
Storage Intel 510 Series 240GB $579.99
Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 3TB (x2) $159.99
LG WH12LS30 Blu-ray burner $69.99
Audio Asus Xonar DX $92.99
Power supply Corsair AX850W $189.99
Enclosure Corsair Obsidian Series 800D $279.99
Total $2,729.87
My first question is about cooling the cpu. With my last machine I installed a ZALMAN LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler but based it appears that its fallen out of style as compared to other cpu coolers. Right now I am thinking about either going with a COOLER MASTER GeminII 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835103046 or a CORSAIR CWCH50-1 High Performance CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835181010. I don't actually overclock my PCs but my towers always seem to run a little hot. Thoughts? (Should I look into getting better quality fans for the inside of the tower?)
When it comes to graphic cards I have always done well with Nvidia. Can I swap out the Radeons for something comparable in the Nvidia family? Go nuts for GeForce GTX 580? Or am I just snorting pixie sticks?
The 3TB HDs looked sweet except for the fact that Newegg isn't carrying them anymore. Guess I could look at buying a pair of Samsung EcoGreen F4 2TB...
According to my research the Cosair PS is a bit noisy but that shouldn't be a problem, my plan is that my new machine would be in my spare room.
Well, that's everything I can think of. I'm open to suggestions/pointers as I'm a little rusty here.