Thanks, Kelly

The specs from NewEgg indicated that a heat sink and fan is included with the processor but I have no idea of make/model/etc. I just hope it is adequate.

TomG

If you are talking about the so called boxed processor, it does come with a heat sink and fan. It should be fine, marginally, if you intend running your processor at stock speeds. If, however, you plan to over clock (which you should) then it will definitely be inadequate.

The Intel on chip graphics processor does fine with Vegas. If you intend using BCC or Red, or even use acceleration with the free AAV Colorlab fx, then it will not be enough.

Willem

I'd bump up your RAM up a little to 12GB. My system cruzes between 5-6GB and goes just over 8GB depending what I'm rendering.

http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu208/bk-vegas/cpurender01.jpg

I just had a quick look at that mother board.

It is small and rather limited as to expansion capabilities (it should even fit in a mini tower). It only accepts two sticks of memory, hence it is not possible to use the listed, in the OP, 3 x 2Gb = 6Gb. Ether use 2 x 4Gb or 2 x 8Gb. I have 2 x 4Gb = 8Gb in my system and it seems to work fine - I have never seen it exceed even 6Mb, but then I do not, usually, have lots of other programs running at the same time.

It is also specked as DDR3 1333. Hence 1600 is probably overkill (unless it is intended to be used in a future board upgrade).

Edit: I missed this before. It uses 204pin SO-DIMM memory, basically laptop memory. The choice of memory will definitely need to be reconsidered. Do read the feedback for this board on the Newegg site.

Willem.

Thanks, Willem

I appreciate your comments again. Would you mind sharing your system specs with me? I looked at your profile and noticed you use a Q6600 processor. What MB, Memory, case, do you use?

I do like looks of the Sandy Bridge processor. Does anyone know of a really good MB I can plug it into around $200 and fit into a mid tower?

I like to build a new system every 3-4 years but it's always a nightmare to select the best components to fit the need and then make sure they are compatible.

TomG

FWIW, Tom's Hardware just did a comparo on mobos, and their result was:

"After careful deliberation, Gigabyte’s Z68XP-UD3 gets our Recommended Buy award"

This is considered the best value for gamers. I think it goes for under $200 US.

This board, ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 is a good choice, in that it has the latest features, is upgradable and uses the new Sandybridge processors. Also if you get a Intel processor the "K" on the end of the number (eg 2500K or 2600K) are the only ones that are unlocked, should you want to overclock. I am not sure but I think the 2600K is the only one that you can enable Hypertheading. I also read that the "Z" boards should be compatible with Ivybrigde processors coming out next year. Here is link to some information and price range that you are looking for:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730

You have a few incompatibilities in your component selection:

Memory

According to the specs, the ASUS P8H67-I DELUXE uses 204 pin SO-DIMM (e.g. laptop memory) RAM. The memory modules you listed are standard 240 pin DIMM RAM.

Even if the memory was compatible, the motherboard only has 2 slots, so you would even be able to use all 3 modules from the 6GB set.

Finally, the mobo only supports 1333 RAM, so no benefits would be had with the 1600 8GB kit.

CPU

You really only want the 'K' CPUs such as the 2500K if you're going to be overclocking. However, the H67 chipset on the ASUS P8H67-I DELUXE is very limited in regards to overclocking.

Motherboard

If you don't want to get a separate video card but still want to be able to overclock (which is the only reason to get the 2500K), then you may want to look into getting a mobo with a Z68 chipset. It uses integrated graphics, but is supposed to allow overclocking akin to the P67 chipset.

Form Factor

Also, if you're building a desktop workstation that doesn't need to fit in a smaller space, etc., there's not really any good reason to get a small motherboard (such as Mini-ITX or Micro-ATX). In exchange for a smaller size, you lose expansion abilities (less PCI slots, etc.)

Cooling

All retail Intel processors come with a heatsink and active cooling (i.e. a fan). You can buy aftermarket heatsinks, etc. for improved cooling, but it's not really necessary unless you really want to tweak the overclock of the CPU. Then again, extreme overclocking is best served by water cooling, which is an entirely different arena.

The stock cooler will handle a small level of overclocking though, so I'd start out with that before getting anything else that you may not end up needing.

My specs still show my original system (still in use).
I recently built a new system now in use for two weeks and basically experimental. It seems to perform very well.

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V Pro – Bios version 501.
Processor: Intel i7 2600K Sandy Bridge.
Memory: Corsair Dominator DDR3 1600 2 x 4Gb matched pair.
Cooler: Zalman CNPS10X Extreme.
Power Supply: Huntkey X7 900W

After my original IBM PC (yes all of 4.33Mhz) I have always built my own systems. After the original rush on clock speed (8, 10 12Mhz etc) with the 286s, I now only build a new machine every 4 years or so. Basically following advice on the forum threads started by Grazie (“Grazie's New 2011 PC for Vegas10” and “Really Twisted About here . . PC Sweet Spot . .”) I think the above meet a good balance of cost to performance and match for my needs. The board and processor are new and hence might be “cutting edge” till maybe next month.

I have a cheap 500Gb Seagate Baracuda as system drive. That should be good for all the software I usually load (Vegas, Office and compilers with associated requirements), as well as allowing some temp files for Vegas etc. I have added a small cheap (that is relative since it is still 3x the price of the Seagate) 64Gb Adata SSD (Sata 6Gb) – smallest I could get at the price – and use it and the Seagate with Intel Rapid Store Technology.

I added a second Seagate 1Tb drive as data drive for internal storage. That can hold current project with Media Manager libraries and thumbnails etc. For the balance of project storage I added a Zalman Dual HDD bare Sata docking station. It hooks up using USB 3.0 and, from initial tests, can run the external drive at basically the speed the drives can handle.

I had an ASUS GTX460 graphics card on the system but moved it to the Q6600 after my old GS7600 finally gave up. I now only use the on board graphics.

Performance: I over clock the i7 to 4.5GHz and memory to 1600 (basically a single click option – perfect for me).

Rendertest-2010:
360Mb Preview Memory – 2:35 (155 sec)
1024Mb Preview Memory – 2:05 (125 sec)
Real Temp claims average ~51 Degrees C (Room heated to about 23 – it is winter here) Fan speed about 1820 (max speed is 2300). So I could probably get the temp down by running the cooler fan at max. It is however real quiet as is. I could probably push the over clocking further but I am a beginner at this and since I do not need more at present, I am happy.

Bios is quite slow on cold boot, about 25 sec till the “Hit Del to enter bios...” message turns off and then Windows 7 Ultimate takes another 15 sec till the doughnut stops spinning (It seems that Windows need to finish the animated logo first – the “Welcome” screen never shows).

Vegas loads in about 2 secs and another 3, with rendertest-2010, for the doughnut to stop spinning. I still need to see what happens with a big MM library in the dock (I usually have “Save media usage relationships...” turned off).

Intel Rapid Storage Technology seems to work.

Sorry for the long post but I thought that you might like some reading material at this stage of your build. Grazie may also like some feedback on my experience.

Willem

I would ditch the mini ITX form factor as too limiting unless you are specifically wanting to make the system as small as you can.

Look at the full size Z68 boards if you can tolerate the size and you'll likely get a lot more long-run satisfaction for an editing workstation.

Thanks everybody for your suggestions/comments.

Once again I am just a hobbyist videographer and only do 1 project at a time and maybe do 1 project every 2-3 months but I love doing this stuff.

Processor: I think I like and will stick with the Sandy Bridge Intel Core i5-2500. I don't plan to overclock and I understand that is the only advantage to the K

MB - Lot's of good info on the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO and I think that the one for me.

Case - Decided to return my mid tower and will get a well-ventilated full tower. The Florida heat make that "well ventilated" aspect very important. WillemT, what case did you go with. Anyone else have a good experience you could share.

Power Supply - I hope my new 650W will do the trick since I expect to have three drives (1 SDD, 2HDD).

Memory - Any big difference in the Corsair or G.Skill? Should 8 GB be enough?

Video Card - I'm only using one 25" monitor but I do appreciate good, clear, crisp video for editing on Vegas Pro, Sound Forge, and DVDA. Any suggestions? NVidia?

BTW, I have never monitored my system temps or speed. Can anyone share with me a source of information on how I might begin to do this?

Thanks again, I appreciate everyone taking the time to share.

TomG

Here is a program that installs to show temperature, etc. The motherboard companies frequently ship a utility to monitor temps or you can boot into bios and find a page that shows the information.

I look at the information in bios rarely. I have installed an ASUS utility in the distant past and removed it just to reduce the number of services running on the machine. I have rarely overclocked in the last six years, but with the "k" series processors, it appears to be sanctioned by Intel. I'm likely to do it in the future.

I was going to install all in one of my existing cases but at the last moment decided to get a new case (why take down a perfectly working Windows XP machine).

I ended up getting the CM Storm Enforcer case at the nearest store. I needed a case deep enough to take the Zalman Express, it is a huge cooler, and the Enforcer was the only Mid-Tower case they had which met that requirement (I find full towers just too bulky). It turned out to be a really nice case (good reviews as well). It can house 4 x 5.25” and 7 3.5” drives (not that I will ever use that). It is intended for gamers and hence well prepared for water cooling.

It comes with a 200mm front and 120mm rear fan and can take an optional 200mm top fan (all low speed so no problem with fan noise) – real decent ventilation. The power supply is bottom mounted. So, yes, a Mid-Tower is fine for the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro board (it is actually quite small).

Do get the K processor since the ease to over clock with the P8Z68 begs for it.

If you do not use BCC or such requiring OpenCL or Cuda you do not need a discrete graphics card. The on board chip works really well. It allows for two monitors (including a full size HDMI) You can always add a discrete card when it is required. I opted for NVidia with Cuda (used in my other machine at present).

650W should be fine. I initially (before adding the GTX460) used a 450W and it seemed OK. It is the graphics cards which are real heavy on the 12V bus (the GTX460 specifies 24Amps for 12Volt).

CoreTemp is good for the temperatures and the ASUS utility does a good job of reporting the fan speeds (in fact all of the sensors).

Willem