PC for CS5 and streaming movies. Low noise and responsiveness is a priority.

[petebere]

Hi,

I'm considering the specification below. The machine will be mainly used for photo editing in CS5 and streaming/downloading movies. I will also be doing occasional video editing and web design work. I will not play video games.

I have two equal priorities:
1. The machine should be very quiet. It may have to be left on overnight in my bedroom. I used to have a PC for 5 years but I had to switch eventually to a laptop because I could not stand the noise coming from the desktop.
1. The machine should be very snappy and responsive. Currently I work on a T43 IBM Thinkpad laptop and although I'm extremely satisfied with the low noise levels, I have to upgrade because I can't afford waiting 30 seconds to see the effects of almost every photoshop action. Also, I would like my programmes to open very quickly.


Could you help me in answering the following questions:

1. Power supply: Have I selected the right size power supply? I may want to upgrade to a better graphics card or two GTX 460 cards in 2/3 years time.

2. Processor cooling: Will the Titan Fenrir Evo be quieter than the selected 'Super Quiet 22dBa cooler'

3. Network facilities: What are the benefits of the '300Mbps PCI-E CARD' over '300Mbps PCI CARD' Will the PCI-E provide faster downloads?

4. USB Options: How many USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports will it have at the back?

5. Any other advice on the selected specification?


Much appreciated.

Case
COOLERMASTER SILEO 500 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-870 Quad Core (2.93GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost
Motherboard
ASUS® P7P55D-E: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB OCZ VERTEX 2 SATA II 2.5" SSD (upto 285MB/sR | 275MB/sW) - This is sufficient as I own an external USB drive that I intend to use to store my photos/videos.
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TX SERIES (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£76)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£19)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£69)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,180.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Len]

titan fenrir is quieter
according to other forum guys unless you're overclocking you don't need to get a after market CPU fan/cooler, so the SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19) isn't nessecary unless you plan on overclocking or the standard fan is louder which I don't know

 

[petebere]

Thanks Len for you reply.

I'm not planning overclocking, but I would like to make my machine as quiet as possible. From what I've googled so far, either of the Titan coolers will deliver lower noise levels than the default cooler. I'm just not sure which of the Titan coolers is quieter.

Have you got any comments on my other questions?

 

[Phoenix]

The triple heatpi

 

[PCS]

Welcome to our forums

1. Yes

2. The Fenrir will be cooler and quieter than the Super Quiet cooler.

3. No difference, apart from one sits in a PCI slot and the other in a PCI-E slot. We list both so that customers who fill up one type of slot and put a card in the other.

4. 2 x USB 3.0, 4 x USB 2.0:

5. All looks good to go!

 

[petebere]

Thank you for your advice Phoenix, I was considering the WS SUPERCOMPUTER motherboard with the QUADRO 512MB card as well, but I need at least 1GB graphics card and unfortunately I can't afford a better QUADRO one.

Also, thanks PCS for your answers - very helpful.