Scott Weaver - Gaming/Photoshop PC

Scott Weaver thought building a system based on Core i7 1366 technology would be an ideal mix for both gaming and Photoshop.  He says: "The components used deliver a fantastic gaming experience with enough system resources to handle any Photoshop tasks with ease.  The added beauty of the system is the potential for upgrades/expansion in the future.  

"Because I love to have a good crack at games I felt it was best to build a gaming machine that could easily serve as a Photoshop rig rather than the other way around.  Had I used a video card specifically for design work such as a Quadro, I would have found my gaming options limited.  

"Ultimately I wanted a machine that would play all of today's games with ease, be sufficient for my Photoshop needs as well as have future upgradeability but stay within a reasonable budget. Given the inclusions of this machine I feel this builds meets all of thos requirements."

A graphic designer, Scott has been building systems for himself and friends for close to eight years now. "I must have built in excess of 150 machines.  I'm most at home with my hands inside a PC and up to my armpits in cables. My lovely wife understands my PC addiction (bless her) and live in North Queensland (a place where stock cooling should never be used!)

CORE SYSTEM

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 - $379
I felt this CPU was the best choice for its sheer performance vs cost ratio. Add to that the potential for overclocking and you've got serious bang for buck.  Additionally I chose this processor over its socket 1156 siblings simply because of the triple channel memory support, and we all know how much Photoshop loves RAM.  That aside, I wanted to build an enthusiast level machine and for me, a socket 1366 machine was the only one to fit the bill.

COOLING: Coolermaster V8 - $95
Apart from the unique appearance of this cooler, I decided to go with the V8 as I had read some good reviews regarding its performance and noise levels.  Given the size of this thing is huge with oodles of heat dispersing fins, it was a fairly safe bet that it was going to be a good solution for my setup.  Even though the stock cooler is sufficient for stock operation, I preferred to get a performance cooler for when I overclock the system. Apart from good cooling, this cooler is extremely quiet and has the convenience of an I/O mounted fan controller.  The V8 was also one of the easiest-to-fit coolers I have worked with, it's a simple yet elegant solution and one which involved absolutely no swearing on my part.

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P6T Deluxe v2 - $369
Having been a regular user of ASUS motherboards I felt confident to continue with them for this system.  What I was after was plenty of USB ports on the IO panel, solid performance plus expandability.  The day may very well come where I will SLI and this board has the added bonus of allowing either nVidia or ATi cards.  With 8 USB ports on board plus headers on the motherboard for 6 more, my USB wants were more than catered to.  ASUS also include small touches which make a difference, the adapter for the header pins is a welcome addition as getting those fiddly power headers etc onto the right pins is fiddly at best.  This board is also well laid out with no congestion around the CPU socket, allowing for easy installation of large CPU coolers.  A nice inclusion are the power and resent buttons directly on the motherboard doing away with the need to short pins to reset the BIOS after pushing things just that little bit too far.

GRAPHICS: Gainward GTX285 1GB Golden Sample - $499
(Previously purchased) Even though there are more current video cards around I stayed with the 285 as it really is a great card.  It comfortably plays all current games comfortably and being a Golden Sample is factory overclocked, giving it more of an edge over stock cards.  The noise levels for this card are quite low, adding to the overall quietness of the system.  While I might consider upgrading this card in the future, for now it is more than suitable for gaming at high settings.  There would have been little point opting for a Quadro series card for Photoshop as gaming would have suffered quite dramatically.  The 285 is the ideal solution for a PC that is used for both gaming and Photoshop.

RAM: G.Skill Trident 6GB 16000 DDR3 - $229
Once again the choice of a setup supporting triple channel RAM was for the benefit of Photoshop.  While I could have gone dual channel and used 8GB of RAM, I felt 6GB was more than adequate for my current needs plus I have the option of upgrading to 12GB should the need arise which would be more than enough for any task.

HARD DRIVE 1: G.Skill Falcon II 64GB SSD - $259
I chose this as the main drive for the OS and certain applications for the extra speeda solid state drive offers.  I chose this particular model as it has TRIM support and has been rated as one of the fastest drives around.  I chose the 64GB capacity as I felt it was far better value in terms of cost per GB compared to the larger capacity ones.  Provided I only install programs on this drive that will benefit from an SSD I doubt I will have too many problems relating to size.  I plan to add a second SSD to the system at some point but by the time I will need this I expect the prices to have dropped.

HARD DRIVE 2:  Western Digital Caviaar Black 1TB  - $118
I bought two of these drives for storage however I chose to set them up in a mirror effectively reducing the storage to only 1TB.  I did this for data security but I also backup from these drives to an external drive on a weekly basis.  I've gone from never backing up to being paranoid about it.  I chose the WD drives as they have received some great reviews and even though I have always used Seagate drives, the recent raft of their drives that seemed to be plagued with problems put me off.  The WD drives are excellent though, whisper quiet, fast and great value.

HARD DRIVE 3: Western Digital Caviaar Black 1TB  - $118
As above

OPTICAL DRIVE: 2 x Samsung Writemaster DVD Burner - $40
I was originally going to replace these previously-purchased drives with SATA versions, however in the end I saw no point replacing them while they are working.  When I did purchase these I chose this brand simply because it was the only brand available in black at the time.  Another reason I chose not to replace them at this stage is because I am waiting for the price of Blu-ray burners to drop, when they do then I will replace these drives with one of those, plus a SATA based DVD ROM.

PSU: XFX 650watt XXX Edition - $189
I already knew I what capacity I would be needing so part of my decision was based on the aesthetics of the PSU.  I was going for a green and black theme with this build and the XFX fit this theme nicely.  Reviews showed that the efficiency exceeded the 80 plus standard plus it had a good solid 12v rail which is essential for high end video cards.  Finally, being a modular PSU is a big plus but one of the biggest pluses is the number of ports this thing has, oodles of them!  In the end, my choice of case negated the need for the PSU to have a colour scheme!

CASE: Silverstone Raven RV01 - $229
I like a good looking case but it also needs to be functional.  Initially I was in two minds over this case, the design is quite radical with its rotated motherboard so the IO panel is at the top of the case and unique looks.  Now that I own one I can honestly say it's one of the best cases I've ever used.  The rotated motherboard is quite ingenious as access to the IO panel is easy and convenient.  Internally the case has 2 huge fans at the bottom of the case spinning ominously, almost taunting you to put your fingers in the blades just to see what happens.  Add to this the 120mm fan at the top of the case and you get a pretty effective flow of air dissipating heat through the top of the case.  Size-wise this case is a monster. My previous case was a Thermaltake Armor, which is comparable in size, but the Raven is lighter, quieter and feels more solid in terms of build quality.  A nice touch is the interior of the case, which is also black and really adds to its striking looks.

Core system cost: AUD $2,524

EXTRAS

MONITOR:     2 x HP2309m 23.5" LCD - $399 
Beautiful colours, stylish bezel and a good price to boot made these monitors hard to resist.  Granted the price of monitors is now lower but when I bought them, this was a decent price for the size.  Resolution is 1920 x 1080 and while there are those that prefer 16:10 for PC monitors, the difference really is minimal.  While these may only be 6-bit panels, there is plenty of control over the picture and colours, from presets to individual RGB controls.

KEYBOARD: Logitech Illuminated Keyboard - $115
I'm often typing away in the dark and have used Saitek backlit keyboard before which is effective to a point but after trying this Logitech Illuminated keyboard, I was converted!  Apart from beautiful backlighting on each individual key, the keyboard oozes class and style.  Slimline with a clear plastic bezel set this keyboard apart from the rest.  Keys are similar to those on a laptop keyboard but more tactile and responsive.  I liked this keyboard so much I went and bought another for my wife!

MOUSE: Microsoft SideWinder X8 cordless - $100
What struck me about this mouse was the convenience in charging.  I love a good cordless mouse but hate most charging solutions as they wear out over time.  The X8 has an ingenious system where a cord sits on your desk and when the mouse needs a charge all you do is move the mouse near the cord and it snaps into place (every time!) through the use of magnets. Voila!  You now have a corded mouse happily charging allowing you to continue using it.  Ergonomically good for big hands and nice and weighty, this mouse is not only great to use, it looks good to boot.

TV TUNER: Leadtek Winfast PalmTop DTV200H USB - $69
I was hesitant to use one of these as I've had a few cheaper ones give me nothing but grief.  I took the chance with this one after reading a number of good reviews and I'm happy to say that it works exactly as it should.  Great picture, bundled MCE remote with some pretty decent software.  While Windows Media Centre does detect it, playback is a bit jittery, however this is not present using the bundled software. Easy setup and great picture means I have a second TV in the bedroom now for the ultimate in laziness!

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
I had run the beta and RC for a number of months without any problems and fell in love with it pretty quickly.  Coming from Vista the improvements were immediate and more than welcomed.  Initially the whole Homegroup thing had me a bit bamboozled trying to communicate with XP-based machines but after a bit of a poke around I was sorted.  Naturally I chose 64-bit to take advantage of the higher allowance for RAM and I went with Ultimate so I could have everything Windows 7 offered - whether I needed it or not.

SPEAKERS: Altec Lansing FX5021 - $N/A
These have served me well for a few years now.  Massive sub-woofer and fairly hefty satellites produce a brilliant sound with solid bass and clear mid and high range.  Other accessories are a couple of in-desk USB hubs which are quite useful and of course, some green neons in the case because neons are cool.  Whether they are vital is questionable, but for me, they are.