New build : Workstation (Long Hours/heavy usage) and ocassional gaming.

[public_enema]

All right the Questionnaire part to begin with...
======================================
1. What is the purpose of the computer?
A: This machine will primarily be used to run applications such as Maya, Zbrush, Photoshop and Real Flow. Secondarily, I will also be using it for gaming.

2. Are you open to alternate ideas/products giving similar better performance but offering more VFM/ sellers? If not- why?
A: I am open to motherboard suggestions. Otherwise I have pretty much blocked in my components and in some cases purchased them.

3. What is your MAX budget?
A: I am operating on a budget of around 1,75,000 INR.

4. Planning to overclock?
A: No. I want a long lasting, stable system.

5. Which OS are you planning to use?
A: Windows 7 x 64 (Professional Edition)

6. How much hard drive space is needed?
A: I have purchased 2 WD Caviar Green HDDs. I might add a velociraptor in the future as a boot drive.

7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen you want? If you already want have one and want to use it, mention its resolution and size.
A: Currently, I have a Viewsonic VX2235wm (Around 3 years old), I'm thinking about either a VIEWSONIC VG273, an ASUS VK278Q or a SAMSUNG S27A550H

8. How would you rate your hardware knowledge from the count of 1-10? (1 being the lowest, 5 being you are somewhat in sync with the current performers and 10 being the highest)
A:7

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
A:This will be my third build as far as my own machine is concerned.

10. When are you planning to buy the system?
A: Asap.

11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
A: Somewhat.

12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in this new rig? If yes, do mention.
A: um..a floppy drive?

13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from other city/states?
A: Located in South Mumbai. Lamington road is a 10 min drive. having said that I wouldn't mind ordering from new egg.

14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A: Points to follow below.
======================================

All right, now that the questionnaire has been duly filled, I think I would like to mention a few points.

*) Thus far, I have the following parts ready to go.

Chassis : Cooler Master Stacker 830 SE.
PSU : Corsair HX1000 Modular PSU.
Storage : WD Caviar Green 2.0 TB, 5200 rpm x 2.
RAM : G skill Ripjaws X 1600 - 4gb x 4 sticks.
Audio : Asus Xonar Essence STx.
Speakers : Logitech z906 5.1.
Keyboard : Razer Blackwidow ultimate edition.
Mouse : Razer Death Adder Black Edition.
Interface : Nzxt Sentinel TC fan controller.

*) I still need to purchase the following components.

Main -
CPU : Intel Core i7 2600 (No 'K' edition for me as I will leave it at stock clocks.)
GPU : Asus/Zotac - Geforce 580. (590, if I can squeeze out the cash)
Mobo : Shortlisted Asus Maximus IV Exteme Z first but then since I'm never going to OC or so SLI/Crossfire I'm having second thoughts.
Monitor : VIEWSONIC VG273/ASUS VK278Q/SAMSUNG S27A550H.
Others -
Cpu Cooler : Undecided.
Ram Cooler : Undecided.
Others : Wacom Intuos small.

Now, my main confusion is regarding my motherboard purchase. I have been using an Xfx 680i Mobo these past three years and I would like to switch back to an Intel chip-set (Z68). I had, as specified above shortlisted the Asus Maximus IV extreme Z but as far as reviews go, it's primarily an overclockers board. Right? Next I looked up the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO. That seemed a bit more promising. So then which board would you guys suggest I go with. I would like the highest build quality and reliability as this machine has to last me at least 3 - 4 years. What about Intel boards? The last one I'd used was the good old 865GBF. Are they any good now a days?

Also, I would like some opinions regarding the GPU brands. Currently I run a Xfx 9800 GTX. But since Xfx has all but quit Nvidia, I'm left with Asus/Zotac available locally and eVGA/Gainward if I can get it via new egg. Amongst Asus/Zotac, which one would be better in terms of reliability and build quality?

Lastly, would I need an after market RAM cooler/Cpu cooler if I'm not going to OC? Could I get some brand suggestions anyway since extra cooling never hurt anybody.

I apologize if this post puts people off due to it's length but since I'm spending so much , I thought it best to be thorough. Looking forward to your replies.

 

[OSxSnowLeopard]

You have a prity nice budget for a new system there. I dont doubt at all on your current picks. But still i would pass few suggestion in some area i hope you might like or find them usefull.-)
Gaming- No suggestions requires(your own taste and picks are good already).
Long system up time - There i would like to suggest you to use an ssd as a os boot drive only, instead of normal drives. Buy 80-100gb normal good brand drive(intel, corsair or whichever you think provides better after sale service support in your location).
Graphics - If you have this much budget then i definitely or strongly suggest you to buy atleast dell u2410 monitor(one or two your wish), nothing less than that.-) I purchsed it at its launch @ 35k now its available for about 29-30k. You should go for it. I use it for graphic work aswell. Trust me all tn based cfl, led, bla bla realy can match output details it gives. Ignore dithering issue(yes it have)(its not even an issue i think). But still when working or dealing with grey scale only, you have to go very close to the screen to point them out and this issue not happens with all or custom preset(only with 2or3 presets it came along with like adobe rgb and srgb). Buying a 30-40k graphic card will only serve you for a 2yrs max or maybe few months more but buying a good monitor will give you atleast 5yrs of no upgrade tention with your monitor atleast. Its a 16:10 monitor with 1920x1200(rare these days) try to avoid resolution above it because leaving the work part every thing else will not look/work good, like HD movies or if you play your xbox, ps3(they wlll strech) or even for pc games higher the resolution more gpu demand will be required. Dell u24 come with 3yrs warranty which you can extend as well(later).

 

[d3p]

So far as i understand, that you don't want the below items.

Cabinet, PSU, Storage, RAMs, Sound Card, Speakers, Fan Controller & finally KB & Mouse.

 

[OSxSnowLeopard]

Sorry i have posted a long reply to assist you but dont know what happend to it, didnt showed up. Np i will try assist you again with few short points again(Dont feel like going to type again that much).
Your budget is nice.
You needa system for gaming and work. Which is almost going to run full day.
for Gaming: No suggetions require. Your current pick is already good to go.
for Long up time: Here i would like to suggest you to buy and use some good/normal ssd instead of regular hdd for booting os only(from where you are going to run all your programes(mostly)). Get a 60-80 or a 100gigs of drive(Corsair, intel ect).
for Work: Here im going to strongly suggest you to go for dell u2410 monitor with 1900x1200(16:10 best for work) not above that resolution because leaving your work part aside rest of the activities like watiching hd videos or playing xbox or ps3(screen will strech alot) and even for pc gaming buying a monitor with resolution above this is going to require a lot of gpu power. Buy a good monitor if you are seriously working with graphic stuffs when you have a budget for it. You dont have to worry about new monitor for next 5yers atleast. Now dell u24 available for just 29-30k with 3yrs warranty(which you can extend later). Once you will start working with it you will not come back to tn monitors (cfl, led ect).
Bye.

 

[public_enema]

Thanks for your the replies guys. Any specific suggestions for motherboards?

 

[avinandan012]

get the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO it's good enough(then again as you won't overclock getting a Z68 board is overkill ,except for it's good build quality).

Do purchase a after market CPU cooler as you are going to run the system for longer hours i suggest Noctua NH-D14

 

[public_enema]

Suppose the Nh-D14 is unavailable, how would a coolermaster v8 work out?

 

[d6bmg]

Suppose the Nh-D14 is unavailable, how would a coolermaster v8 work out?

V8 isn't a good value for money (performance wise, not look wise). If Noctua D14 isn't available at the local market, you can buy it online.

Mobo : Shortlisted Asus Maximus IV Exteme Z

At your budget you can easily afford this motherboard, but as you are not going to overclock, you aren't using its power. So, for your uses, you don't need Z68/P67 chipset based motherboard. So, H67 based motherboards would suffice.

 

[public_enema]

To be honest, I am more concerned about cooling performance than looks since I have a closed chassis. As for the motherboard, I'm thinking about an ASUS P8Z68-V PRO mainly because of good build quality.

EDIT: As far as the CPU cooler goes, I will be using 4 Gskill Ripjaws X modules. The Noctua is way too big and will cover at least one slot if not more. So I will have to locate a cooler that leaves ample room for 4 sticks.

 

[d6bmg]

EDIT: As far as the CPU cooler goes, I will be using 4 Gskill Ripjaws X modules. The Noctua is way too big and will cover at least one slot if not more. So I will have to locate a cooler that leaves ample room for 4 sticks.

AFAIK, even Noctua D14 (biggest noctua air cooler) won't block any ram slots when combined with Z68 V-pro. So, don't worry about ram clearance when you are planning to buy z68 v-pro.

 

[public_enema]

Well, I ended up buying the corsair H80 hydo series. oh and the Obsidian 800dTower as well...

 

[d6bmg]

^^ Pics!!!! Post pics! And, what was the price of 800D?

BTW, congrats on your awesome purchase!

 

[Extreme Gamer]

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Motherboards- ASUS P8P67 WS Revolution

Get this mobo if you can.

2700k CPU will be good. A GTX 580 3GB will be good.

8-16GB of RAM will be great.

Z68 Motherboard Series Manufacturing - ASRock Inc.

This is also a great mobo.

 

[public_enema]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'm in the midst of assembling and will have some pics up asap.

 

[Extreme Gamer]

Have you already purchased mobo,CPU and all?

For rock solid stability the aforementioned boards by me are perfect. Even MIVE will equal them.

Those who say that one should steer away from ROG/high end mobos because of "extra features" should not forget that those features come very close to true server/workstation board stability at a lower price.

 

[008Rohit]

I'd still suggest the 2600K processor even if you "don't" overclock. That's because, you can keep it at stock for now and when it gets a bit old a few years later, you can squeeze the most out of it.

For the motherboard, I suggest a Z68 chipset based motherboard and I myself am a great fan of ASRock's Z68 Gen3 series. Check if you can get Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 in India.

I prefer EVGA for NVidia cards and XFX/HIS for AMD Cards. You can at first try with a single GTX 580. If that doesn't meet your criteria, add another one in a SLI setup.

CM Hyper 212 Evo is a great affordable air cooler and I think you shouldn't have bought the H80 as you're not even overclocking the processor.

I also suggest SSDs (64GBs are plenty) as boot drives as your 2TB drives are all 5400RPM ones. :\

Your PSU, RAM, Case, CPU Cooler looks great. I just prefer seagate/samsung over WD because their drives seem faster to me and they're also cheaper.

and BTW, newegg doesn't ship to India.

 

[public_enema]

Well, I ended up buying an Asus GTX580 Direct CU II card. I read some rave reviews about it and damn those looks.......(drool)

As for the water cooler, well, it was a long time dream (8 years actually, ever since I saw a water cooled voodoo machine in a computer gaming world mag..)

 

[S_V]

Congrats for Purchasing Corsair 800D......... Welcome to Corsair Obsidian Series world...

 

[Extreme Gamer]

008Rohit: 2700k+ one of the mobos I listed is better for workstation use. The Asus WS Revolution model is a beast.

 

[d6bmg]

Well, I ended up buying an Asus GTX580 Direct CU II card. I read some rave reviews about it and damn those looks.......(drool)

As for the water cooler, well, it was a long time dream (8 years actually, ever since I saw a water cooled voodoo machine in a computer gaming world mag..)

congrats on buying a very good card with very good cooling system

008Rohit: 2700k+ one of the mobos I listed is better for workstation use. The Asus WS Revolution model is a beast.

According to present Indian price 2700K is a good choice because of very small price difference between 2600K & 2700K, but only 100MHz speed bump is really worth of spending ~ 3K?