Ivy vs Sandy Bridge

[gowans07]

Looking to buy a new desktop for video editing/production along with using after effects and bunch of other stuff at Uni. The new Ivy Bridge proccesors have just reached the market, whats your verdict should i get one or not. If not what would you recommend Sandy i5 or i7. Below is a specification i found/built.

CPU - Intel Core i5 2500k Unlocked (4 x 3.3GHz) 6MB OEM
CPU Heatsink - Corsair Cooling A50
Memory - Corsair 16GB PC3-12800 1600 MHz (4x4GB) DDR3
Graphics Card - NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 - 2 GB - (PALIT) - (PCI-E)
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-B75-D3V (Intel B75)
Sound Card - Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 (PCI)
Power Supply - 450W PSU
Hard Drive #1 - 1 TB SATA-III HDD 7200 RPM 32MB
Optical Drive #1 - Samsung 24x DVD Re-Writer/Reader /- RW - Black - Lightscribe (SATA)
Card Reader - Internal Card Reader 50 - in - 1

This totals at £679 with no OS. I'm unsure whether to upgrade to the i5 to take advantage of the multithreading. Also i dont require a top end graphics card, would you go for the 1GB or 2GB graphics card, there is only £6 between them.

Cheers
(Can provide more info)

[JorgeM]

For £6, I would probably take the 2GB graphics card. Unless you have a specific need for the extra CPU power, I would focus on the slowest components of your system. The slowest component is generally second storage (hard drive). A SATA III, 7200 RPM 32GB is pretty good though. However, compare the transfer rate of that drive with some others to make sure you are getting the most for your money on the hard drive. If you could spend a little more to get a faster drive, I would do so. The different between drives is minimal when you compare the difference between CPUs. You could always get a faster/better CPU, but not see a substantial difference if you secondary storage and primary storage (RAM) are slow. I dont see that as the case for you based on the description above, but just wanted to point that out. I always focus on RAM and HDD first, then if my budget allows, put more money into the CPU(s).

enjoy, looks like its going to be a real nice computer. Make sure you put an 64bit OS, so best performance and ability to maximize on RAM.

[gowans07]

Cheers for the post, 64bit is definatly the only option, upgraded laptop few months back wouldnt change back now! I presume i cant go wrong with Corsair Ram and its a decent spec DDR3 too. The MHz rating of the RAM what does that improve on, is it the access speed?

Would you be more inclined to go for the i5 rather than an i7? The price is about £40 more than a Sandy i5. Finally the PSU is 450W, would this need upgrading to 650/750 for the other components?

Cheers again

[JorgeM]

Correct on the RAM, it does have to do with access speed. however, if you benchmark it you'll see that its actually about 1/2, you can read more about how DDR works online.

So the decision to spend a bit more on the CPU is personal. For me, if its a machine I will be using personally, I probably would knowing that I may just notice a slight difference. If I was consulting for a company for busines workstations, I would suggest they find something else to spend the money on.

Since the difference is about £40, that sounds like the cost of a dinner. I'd skip the nice dinner and get a better CPU. The reality is though in 18 months, you'll be thinking about another CPU anyways...

So with regard to power, 450W I think you may be OK, but that will take some more research. Again, if the cost doesnt upset your budget, you may want to invest in more power now. Even if you upgrade the PC in 18 months, you wont need to upgrade the power supply, so that is probably a good choice to buy.

[gowans07]

Awesome cheers. Looking into building the system myself now, seems to be coming in about £60 cheaper so i cam probably upgrade some components, might look at getting an Asus mb instead of the gigabyte one. Or maybe going for a modulated psu just to tidy things up a little.

With regards to cabling in the build, will i require any extra cables or do they all come as standard. I understand that if a cable is too short i may have to purchase one. I've done a brief check with regards to psu, the graphics card recommends atleast a 400W psu so i will probably upgrade to a 700~W.

And a Ivy i7 3770k is probably on the cards too now. Thanks again.