April 09 build - realistic expactations?

Well, I didn't see how my question fit into any of the sticky categories, so I thought I would start a new thread. This is not a request for specific components, but rather a request as to what I should be watching out for and what I may want to wait for.

I'm looking to build a rig in the March-April 09 timeframe. I'd like to spend between $1,200 - $1,500 max on it. I have a case already. I started buying big ticket items this year, like a huge full tower Coolermaster case (that I am currently using for my existing older setup), a decent 22" monitor with HDMI-in, plenty of HDD storage (I have TB's floating around the house for various reasons). The only advice I am looking for is mobo, processor, video card and OS, and what direction they are headed in the next 5-6 months. I can figure out the rest once those items are taken care of.

What I want to do -

Mainly, I want to be able to process and edit HD video, as well as do some blu ray authoring. My collection of 1080p family movies that I've been shooting with my Vixia HF-10 is growing and I want to eventually be able to compile, edit and author them to blu ray to give to family members. I also want to be able to rip my blu ray movie collection for use with my Popcorn Hour. I've never been a fan of any disc format and have always found ways to convert to digital and stream. I'm sure that the cost of a bluray burner will go down in that time, and regardless of any drop in bluray media, it would still be worth it for me for what I want to do.

I would like to experiment with gaming. I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I would like to be able to try out any game out there and not be limited by my specs (at least for a couple of years).

Are my PC needs realistic? What are the hardware/software limitations with what I want to do?

Appreciate any feedback!

Thanks in advance.

 

The PC hardware market changes too fast. Your needs are certainly realistic, but which components are worth buying will change completely by the time you come to build your system. Ask again nearer the time

 

Thanks for the advice sammorris. Will do!

 

youd ideally want a 24" and i7 with a P55 chipset, 3*2GB of DDR3

 

Thanks spamual. Not sure I want to wait that long though. Looks like Q3-Q4 09 before we see P55 and 8 cores. And then what software will be available that would utilize that processing power and justify the pricetag? At least from what I've read. If you have other sources, let me know. Not sure about upgrading to a 24". I'd rather put the $$$ toward high quality components. I guess if I end up giving my wife my current build, I can give her this 22" monitor and got to 24", but I don't see the need right now. I have a 26" LCD HDTV and will be getting a 46" Plasma sometime in 09. I'm more of a console gamer, so a larger PC monitor would just be a luxury rather than a necessity. And with my HDMI-in, it suits me very well right now. I may try to dabble in overclocking, but not for gaming. It would mainly be for handling full 1080p HD video.

 

1080p video will obviouslt display on a 24" PC monitor...
but all you need to play it on an external screen like a full size HDTV is a HD graphics card, and a cheapy HD4550 will do that job fine for 50 dollars.

 

Yeah, even though my max res now is 1680x1050, I don't mind. I'm not looking to really watch anything on it for any period of time. I can always minimize the video to fit in the screen. 22" is large enough for me to use as a work space to edit and author HD content....but it would be a nice luxury to have a 24" eventually I will not be outputting to a TV from my PC. I will have a 1TB HDD in my Popcorn Hour and transfer my 1080p rips to play locally off that device. But good to know that all I would need is a cheap video card if I ever wanted to!

Thanks for the input guys! Much appreciated!

So if I wanted to spec out a mobo, CPU and video card now, what would be my best bet? P45? How about video card? Should I consider 2 cheaper video cards for SLI, or get a single more powerful video card? Any links to a top of the line mobo on newegg that you can post?

It seems like the nVidia 9 series cards actually seem relatively cheap, but from what I've read, they are not much more powerful than the higher quality 8 series cards.

 

4 series ati are the way to go with their AVIVO with 7.1 HDMI surround sound

 

SLi is never the way to go, especially not with cheap cards, as one $100 card will beat two $60 cards every time. The Radeon HD4000 series has better HD playback than nvidia's cards.

 

Ok, well I came across some extra funds and I thought I wold revisit this now because I am in the market for my new rig. It's been a while (approximately 4 years) since I built one and I haven't kept up with all the changes since then, except for most basic stuff on video cards, processors, mobo's.

My first question is what should I be looking for in a motherboard. I want high quality and one that is upgradeable and it has to be Intel. I'm looking for support for a quad core processor.

My second question (which may be related to the 1st one) is 64 bit OS or 32 bit OS? 64 bit will alow me to use more RAM, and I know there may be other hardware compatibility isses, as well as software. Remember that my main function will be processing full 1080p video (which I know is also partially dependant on the video card).

How close are we to a shift in technology where the existing high-end mobo's, processors, ram, video cards etc.. will be upgraded to new ones with higher specs? Depending on what is coming down the pipe, would it be a good idea to hold off just a little while longer?

Do you know if there are there upgrades in the near future to the P55 chipset?

 

well i7 came out yesterday, its an encoders heaven

64bit vista has been better then XP ever was for me since july 07

(though i wont guarranty that for you, and my software luck is of handed by my HW woes...)

 

Vista 64 generally works OK, but does have some software incompatibility issues, so you'll need to check if all the programs you use will work with it. Give us your total budget and we'll design a system for you.

 

Thanks guys. $1,500. Although, I may try to justify a little more depending on how much increased performance it would get me.

I already have a Coolermaster full tower ATX form factor, so space is not an issue.

I already have a 22" monitor that I am happy with. I won't be using my PC to actually watch movies. Resizing a 1080p image to fit in a 1680x1050 screen for editing is not a problem. I may upgrade to a 24" LCD in a year or 2.

I don't care for RAID right now, but a mobo with RAID would not hurt to look into. I never bought into it in the past since the importance of my data never justified spending money on space that I won't use. I have backups upon backups on DVD's and numerous HDD's in enclosures scattered about. In the past 10 years, I've never had a HDD fail - even with PC's I've had on 24/7 for a couple of years. So my primary HDD will be 500GB and I'll throw in a secondary 500GB. For ripping blurays, I have TB's of storage and use an external media tank to watch them. I store all of my HD home video on DVD-9's right now, and in the future, plan on using bluray to store them (if the price gets a little more reasonable). In summary, this PC will not be used to store important data. It will be a workhorse (and occasional game station , whose data will continuously be transferred to other media.

I would like a video card that is HDCP compliant and would allow for a lossless signal to a HDTV. Is this realistic? Someone told me that most TV's have a PC input limit of 1080i. I will be getting a new 46" Plasma next year some time, probably one of the Panasonics. I'm still doing the research.

So, what I need:

mobo
processor
ram
video card

I can spec out the power supply with those items.

Also, any suggestions in terms of non-stock CPU cooling would be much appreciated. Any other suggestions and/or corrections will be much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Actually, let me revise my budget. I want to be inthe $1,200 range, but will entertain up to $1,500. And like I mentioned, it would depend on the ratio of performance to cost increase. How much performance would I really be getting for an extra $300. In the end, it may be worth it.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128336
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145197
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129114

That's just shy of $1200, below $1150 after rebates.
It's basically the same system I run, but you'll have a newer motherboard chipset.

1080p TVs have been commonplace for 6 months or so now, they're easy to find. Something like the Samsung LE-656 series is a good choice.

 

Great. Thanks for the recommendations. I "wish listed" it and am using it as a base system. I've been creating other wish lists building off that one to see what the cost would be for more. It's a great comparison. I may have more questions shortly!

 

How does this look?

MOBO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131346

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

PS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152036

GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102759

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193

 

you could get a cheaper motherboard that would do the same stuff. the ram you chose will not work well with i7. any ram with a voltage over 1.65 can hard the cpu. also it is not a triple channel memory so you wont get the best possible ram performance. the power supply you chose is not very good. you should always get a good quality power supply. the corsair 650 should be more than enough for your build.

mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130216
ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231223
psu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

 

Agreed on all those changes, especially the power supply and RAM. Raidmax PSUs are terrible.

 

Any thoughts on Blu Ray burners? I found 2 - LG 6X. 25GB media 2X is only $7.99. 4X is $10.99. 50GB media is ridiculous. 25GB is reasonable for what I want to do.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136155

What are the chances the price will come down soon? I guess I could wait if it was expected for the price to come down soon. $1,129 is pretty good for everything else in my cart.