Who Can't Wait And Is Building A PC?

[Rlnplehshalo]

I never thought that I would ever have to build a computer at least for another 10 years anyway, but I couldn't bare the waiting any longer!
I decided to build my own PC or at least plan it so far (still sourcing my components).

So my real question was to ask how many other people have given in and done the same due to work related requirements? ie. Needing the extra power of next generation graphics cards and processors to render visual objects and drawings etc.

My coursework does require that power especially with the GPU as I use Illustrator, Photoshop etc. quite often.


If anyone was wondering on specifications of my build I'll list them here and hope others do so too just to see who's building what

CPU: Intel Core i7 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz 3770
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 670 OC 2GB
HDD: SanDisk Extreme 120GB SSD(Boot drive)
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
MOBO: ASUS Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard
MEM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB
PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 850w

I have various other accesories like SD readers but they're not worth listing.
If anyone has had any experiences with any of the components I have listed I would be most gracious to have your input as to how they perform and live up to their claims.

 

[charlieegan3]

Don't see why you need a 670 for photoshop work? photoshop uses the CPU in heavy tasks a lot more.

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=15265116#post15265116

 

[philipma1957]

I built one.


a rare i7 3770t cpu -------------------------------------------- $310

a crucial 512gb ssd --------------------------------------------- $349

a 500gb hitachi 2.5 inch hdd ------------------------------------ free pulled from mac mini

a sapphire hd7750 ultimate gpu----------------------------------$115

an intel dz77re-75k thunderbolt motherboard-------------------$299

a samsung blu ray player-----------------------------------------$ 65

4x 4gb samsung ram sticks --------------------------------------$ 99

windows 7 pro -----------------------------------------------------$ 114

Silverstone case tek GD-------------------------------------------$ 146

TOTAL --------------------------------------------------------------$ 1497

room for 6 more hdds

using a 46 inch sony led tv

I score 14500 on 64 bit geekbench .

THIS pulls 52 watts to watch a movie on blu ray the tv pulls 30 more total 82 watts. I don't think this will do a hack- in- tosh. but it does do thunderbolt.

gigabyte will come out with a thunderbolt mobo in the next month if you have a lacie little big disk with one drive as mac and one as windows you may be able to have a great machine that will
hack- in- tosh. since the lacie little big disk has 2 t-bolt ports one can go to the pc the other to a mac. as long as one machine is off the other can boot off the lacie lbd.

 

[iSayuSay]

Not exactly fit into "building a PC because I can't wait" category since I still have 2011 iMac with me here, I was fortunate enough to buy it in June last year. So thankfully it gives me a great value and longevity.

But that's what I'm planning to do for the next upgrade. In the next 2 years I'm gonna build a nice gaming tower, and buying ATD along with MBA. Hopefully Thunderbolt technology has become the norm by the time so I could use ATD with both my box and MBA.

Obviously you'll never have powerful hardware and pro support such as RAID or Crossfire/SLi from OSX. Not anymore after what happened on WWDC 2012. MacPro was essentially killed slowly, Tim's email about prosumer computer in 2013 was also gibberish about what "pro" users mean. It could be just another retina MBP for the pro next years. Nice, huh
If Apple want to stick with mobile devices, I'm gonna do them a favor and fulfill their prophecy.

 

[freshe]

CPU: Intel Core i7 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz 3770
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 670 OC 2GB
HDD: SanDisk Extreme 120GB SSD(Boot drive)
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
MOBO: ASUS Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard
MEM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB
PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 850w

If I were you I would do the following:

got rid of MOBO and PSU and Ram. instead get Silverstone SG08 mini itx with the asus z77 itx mobo and low profile ram. The case come with 600W PSU bronze certified and will easily run GTX680. The whole thing is of the size of a shoe box. Nice, little yet powerful.

 

[Lancer]

I don't get building a PC instead of waiting for the new iMac, it's like buying a SUV because you can't get a new version of your favorite sedan until next Fall.

 

[Rlnplehshalo]

Don't see why you need a 670 for photoshop work? photoshop uses the CPU in heavy tasks a lot more.

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=15265116#post15265116

Oh and I forgot to mention I game a fair bit, thats the reason I needed the extra GPU power.
So I guess you could call it a Gaming rig/Productivity rig

 

[iSayuSay]

I built one.


a rare i7 3770t cpu -------------------------------------------- $310

Sorry but I don't quite understand what's the "t" suffix means? However I understand k, s, or x

 

[forty2j]

Honestly I have to think that the overlap between people who are interested in buying an All-in-one with OS X and the people who are interested in buying components and a Windows license for a do-it-yourself would be extremely small ...

I mean, jeesh, if I'm not even willing to plug my monitor and computer into the wall separately, why would I want to route SATA and power cables through a tower case?

 

[philipma1957]

Sorry but I don't quite understand what's the "t" suffix means? However I understand k, s, or x

super low power.


here is the t spec sheet

http://ark.intel.com/products/65525/Intel-Core-i7-3770T-Processor-(8M-Cache-up-to-3_70-GHz)

the s spec sheet

http://ark.intel.com/products/65524/Intel-Core-i7-3770S-Processor-(8M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz)


the k spec sheet

http://ark.intel.com/products/65523/Intel-Core-i7-3770K-Processor-(8M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz)


the no letter spec sheet


http://ark.intel.com/products/65719/Intel-Core-i7-3770-Processor-(8M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz)



the trade off is a tiny bit slower with the t spec but low power.

low power means low heat.

low heat means slow quiet fans.

so my build is really really quiet.

the only noise you ever hear is the blu ray player.....


I geek bench at 14500. the mac pro hex geekbenchs at 15800.

 

[iSayuSay]

super low power.


here is the t spec sheet

http://ark.intel.com/products/65525/Intel-Core-i7-3770T-Processor-(8M-Cache-up-to-3_70-GHz)

I geek bench at 14500. the mac pro hex geekbenchs at 15800.

Thanks for the information, didn't realize there's another super low power beside "s" variant. Maybe I will take that for low noise box.

That's a great benchmark score. Don't understand though a few weeks ago I saw a so-called 2012 iMac benchmark leaks showed it only score 12000 something with i7 3770. I assume the "t" variant should be a little bit slower, right?

So you think that was a fake benchmark? The result should've been a bit higher than your setup.

 

[Nandifix]

Honestly I have to think that the overlap between people who are interested in buying an All-in-one with OS X and the people who are interested in buying components and a Windows license for a do-it-yourself would be extremely small ...

I mean, jeesh, if I'm not even willing to plug my monitor and computer into the wall separately, why would I want to route SATA and power cables through a tower case?

Exactly, people who want an iMac are not willing to suddenly start to build there own pc.

 

[appletechpro]

Exactly, people who want an iMac are not willing to suddenly start to build there own pc.

Generalizations, generalizations.

I want an iMac. I've built PCs/servers/hackintoshes before, and I might just build a new PC if Apple drags their feet for much longer...

The bottom line is this: anyone paying full price for technology from May 2011 is pretty much a sucker.

 

[philipma1957]

Thanks for the information, didn't realize there's another super low power beside "s" variant. Maybe I will take that for low noise box.

That's a great benchmark score. Don't understand though a few weeks ago I saw a so-called 2012 iMac benchmark leaks showed it only score 12000 something with i7 3770. I assume the "t" variant should be a little bit slower, right?

So you think that was a fake benchmark? The result should've been a bit higher than your setup.

the lower score may have been 32 bit not 64 bit score.
my 32 bit was 12300.

also mother boards factor into the speed.

the imac has a custom mobo maybe foxconn.

my mobo was the top of the line from intel.

I have 4x 4gb sticks of ram at 1600 maybe the imac has 4x 4gb sticks of ram at 1333.



point is my machine is faster and works for my needs. if an imac user has 3 or 4 k in apple based software and needs to buy 2k or 3 k worth of microsoft

soft ware to do his work my solution will not cut it for him.

My house was all mac since 2000 at one time a mac pro 2 mac minis and an imac.

now I am at 3 mac minis and the pc. most likely will sell off a mac mini and build another pc.


not that i want to but apple does not make what i need;

a machine better then a mac mini that is cheaper then a mac pro.

the max mini or the mini mac pro.

to be honest it is a P.I.T.A. that has been a problem since 2009 for my needs.

i tried the imac it was not exactly what i wanted.

the 2010 mac pro did the job but was more then 4k with a hex and the good graphics card. also really noisy when pushed.

I did my homework for this build all my fans run at 500 rpm . very quiet no matter what i do.

 

[snberk103]

All very good information. It is always interesting to see "the other side" of Macs...

I will just add, for the sake of other - undecided - readers who are waiting for Apple to release 'their' Mac: Don't forget the warranty coverage that comes with a Mac, including Apple Care.

If you use your Mac for a living, don't underestimate the value of a one stop warranty. If your Mac stops working, you take it to an Apple Store and drop it off. You go home and use a backup system until the Apple Store calls to tell you to pick up your fixed system. You pick up the system, go home and continue working.

With a build-your-own system, even when the failed components are covered by a warranty, you still need to spend the time to diagnose the problem, disassemble the system and arrange for shipping of the broken bits and receiving the replacement bits back, and then of course reassembling and testing.

Not saying that this is a reason to not build-your-own, just that part of the cost of a Mac includes this coverage and a BYO doesn't.... so just account for this 'cost' when assessing whether a BYO is appropriate.

I used to build my own PCs, and could build my own hackintosh if I wanted to... but I use my system to make a living. A couple of years ago my 2008 MacPro had a graphics card blow, that took out the logic board too. Cost me two days in Victoria (one day to take it in, and one day to pick it up), parking, two sushi lunches, and two ferry tickets (the most expensive bit of the adventure). In between the two trips I just kept working away on my old MBP, pleased that someone else was pulling their hair trying to figure out why the diagnostic LEDs were throwing out weird codes. Apparently having both the video card and the logic board fail (at least in my case) causes a 'bad cpu' code. Not my problem.

 

[jmhart]

I haven't given in yet and won't until all the components I need are available, but like you I am assembling my components list for a gaming rig:

Silverstone Temjin TJ08B-E
Gigabyte G1.Sniper M3
I5-3570K
GTX 660 (which won't be released until early August anyway)

I figure I'll keep the cost relatively low for the gaming rig then buy a Mac Mini to sit beside it whenever Apple decides too pull their head outta their ass when it comes to their desktop hardware. This of course all assumes they hold back the iMac beyond what's reasonable. I don't want to sound too critical yet.

 

[charlieegan3]

Oh and I forgot to mention I game a fair bit, thats the reason I needed the extra GPU power.
So I guess you could call it a Gaming rig/Productivity rig

That makes a lot more sense.

 

[Sam Spade]

I built one.


a rare i7 3770t cpu -------------------------------------------- $310

a crucial 512gb ssd --------------------------------------------- $349

a 500gb hitachi 2.5 inch hdd ------------------------------------ free pulled from mac mini

a sapphire hd7750 ultimate gpu----------------------------------$115

an intel dz77re-75k thunderbolt motherboard-------------------$299

a samsung blu ray player-----------------------------------------$ 65

4x 4gb samsung ram sticks --------------------------------------$ 99

windows 7 pro -----------------------------------------------------$ 114

Silverstone case tek GD-------------------------------------------$ 146

TOTAL --------------------------------------------------------------$ 1497

room for 6 more hdds

using a 46 inch sony led tv

I score 14500 on 64 bit geekbench .

THIS pulls 52 watts to watch a movie on blu ray the tv pulls 30 more total 82 watts. I don't think this will do a hack- in- tosh. but it does do thunderbolt.

gigabyte will come out with a thunderbolt mobo in the next month if you have a lacie little big disk with one drive as mac and one as windows you may be able to have a great machine that will
hack- in- tosh. since the lacie little big disk has 2 t-bolt ports one can go to the pc the other to a mac. as long as one machine is off the other can boot off the lacie lbd.

Thanks for this post.

How does this build stack up as a gaming rig?

After reviewing all the evidence, I don't believe an updated iMac will be released in July and I'm now at a point where I have to have a new machine. Looks like I'll be building a PC in the next 10 days.

 

[ixodes]

I'm in the process of building a new PC, just for the fun of it. I never let Apple influence the timing of any of my other tech projects. If I did, I'd never get anything done.

 

[philipma1957]

Thanks for this post.

How does this build stack up as a gaming rig?

After reviewing all the evidence, I don't believe an updated iMac will be released in July and I'm now at a point where I have to have a new machine. Looks like I'll be building a PC in the next 10 days.

it games okay but buy this card


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127663


read this thread


http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2239216


it will smoke just about anything out there.


that card is only 80 more then my card.

my build is okay for gaming great for htpc.


add that card and use the i7 3770k cpu and it is a great gamer.

the i7 3770k is a more powerful cpu that would use a bit more power then the i7 3770t (hard to find this cpu). if you game you could go with the i7 3770k and the hd7850 gpu

 

[Yeroon]

I'm on the same boat. If there's no new iMac later this month, I'll consider to buy a pc. I'm using a pc already, but decided to switch to a Mac in April, but only with a decent spec bump with a faster graphics card, more SSD options and USB 3.0. I'm not investing >3000k for hardware thats more than 441 days old - the price is way too high and it's getting outdated.

So, just in case I thought about a possible pc configuration. I'm a power user and I really need a fast CPU & GPU and a lot of storage (mainly for photoshop, video editing and gaming). I currently have a 2,67 GHz Core 2 quadcore with 8 GB RAM and over 5 TB of storage. I was aiming to get the most high-end 27 inch iMac with 6 TB Thunderbolt storage and an SSD (preferably 512 GB).

I'm considering this:

MSI Z77A-GD80 motherboard (with Thunderbolt!)
Intel® Core™ i7-3770
MSI Nvidia 680 graphics card
Aerocool XPredator White Edition case
be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 750W power supply
ICY BOX IB-864-B cardreader (usb 3.0!)
Samsung 512 GB SSD (MZ-7PC512B/WW)
Blu-ray player (LG CH10LS28)
4x 3 TB HDD in RAID5 (Western Digital WD30EZRX)
Corsair 16 GB DDR3-1866 memory
Apple Thunderbolt Display 27" (the most expensive part) ;-)

 

[Rlnplehshalo]

I'm on the same boat. If there's no new iMac later this month, I'll consider to buy a pc. I'm using a pc already, but decided to switch to a Mac in April, but only with a decent spec bump with a faster graphics card, more SSD options and USB 3.0. I'm not investing >3000k for hardware thats more than 441 days old - the price is way too high and it's getting outdated.

So, just in case I thought about a possible pc configuration. I'm a power user and I really need a fast CPU & GPU and a lot of storage (mainly for photoshop, video editing and gaming). I currently have a 2,67 GHz Core 2 quadcore with 8 GB RAM and over 5 TB of storage. I was aiming to get the most high-end 27 inch iMac with 6 TB Thunderbolt storage and an SSD (preferably 512 GB).

I'm considering this:

MSI Z77A-GD80 motherboard (with Thunderbolt!)
Intel® Core™ i7-3770
MSI Nvidia 680 graphics card
Aerocool XPredator White Edition case
be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 750W power supply
ICY BOX IB-864-B cardreader (usb 3.0!)
Samsung 512 GB SSD (MZ-7PC512B/WW)
Blu-ray player (LG CH10LS28)
4x 3 TB HDD in RAID5 (Western Digital WD30EZRX)
Corsair 16 GB DDR3-1866 memory
Apple Thunderbolt Display 27" (the most expensive part) ;-)

Sounds like quite the 'monster'.
I would probably end up getting a cinema display a few years down the track as well, I mean they just look great.

 

[theSeb]

I'm on the same boat. If there's no new iMac later this month, I'll consider to buy a pc. I'm using a pc already, but decided to switch to a Mac in April, but only with a decent spec bump with a faster graphics card, more SSD options and USB 3.0. I'm not investing >3000k for hardware thats more than 441 days old - the price is way too high and it's getting outdated.

So, just in case I thought about a possible pc configuration. I'm a power user and I really need a fast CPU & GPU and a lot of storage (mainly for photoshop, video editing and gaming). I currently have a 2,67 GHz Core 2 quadcore with 8 GB RAM and over 5 TB of storage. I was aiming to get the most high-end 27 inch iMac with 6 TB Thunderbolt storage and an SSD (preferably 512 GB).

I'm considering this:

MSI Z77A-GD80 motherboard (with Thunderbolt!)
Intel® Core™ i7-3770
MSI Nvidia 680 graphics card
Aerocool XPredator White Edition case
be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 750W power supply
ICY BOX IB-864-B cardreader (usb 3.0!)
Samsung 512 GB SSD (MZ-7PC512B/WW)
Blu-ray player (LG CH10LS28)
4x 3 TB HDD in RAID5 (Western Digital WD30EZRX)
Corsair 16 GB DDR3-1866 memory
Apple Thunderbolt Display 27" (the most expensive part) ;-)

How are you going to do RAID 5 without a RAID controller card?

 

[Yeroon]

How are you going to do RAID 5 without a RAID controller card?

There's a RAID5 controller on the motherboard. Though I'm considering a standalone RAID controller with a dedicated chip as it might be better for RAID5.

 

[theSeb]

There's a RAID5 controller on the motherboard. Though I'm considering a standalone RAID controller with a dedicated chip as it might be better for RAID5.

Really? I am impressed. I would go with Areca for the RAID controller.