First ever build. Would love some feedback on the parts I chose.

[jayfid]

Hey all,
I'm building my first PC ever and was hoping someone could look at the parts I chose and let me know if there's anything that i'm missing or that I should be aware of since I don't really know what I'm doing. :confused::confused:

As for what I'm using it for-
I'm a developer who has traditionally worked on linux and mac computers. I'd like to be able to run IDEs, text editors, multiple browsers, local servers/services and virtual machines for development/debugging purposes. I'd also like to be able to run photoshop and illustrator for when I'm developing to a design. Beyond that, I've never really played many games on the PC, but I'd really like to have the option.

Parts-
Case: Cooler Master HAF X
PSU: SeaSonic 750W Power Supply X750 Gold
Motherboard: ASUS Deluxe Intel Z77 ATX DDR3 2600 LGA 1155 Motherboard P8Z77-V DELUXE
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K Quad-Core Processor 3.5 GHz 6 MB Cache
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3
Graphics card: Radeon XFX HD 6970 2 GB Graphics Card
Hard Drive(s): Corsair Force GT 60 GB SATA III/6G 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive for the OS, Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache
Optical Drive(s):ASUS 24x DVD-RW
OS: I'll either wait for windows 8 before I build it, or (if I get impatient :) ) put windows 7 on it

Does all this look kosher to everybody? I'm open to all suggestions, feedback, etc.

Thanks,
J

[RickyTick]

Considering what you're using this computer for, I'd be inclined to max out the ram to 32gb. I'd also go with a HD 7950. Better performance for the same price.
I know you're only putting the OS on there, but a 60gb SSD is going to fill up kind of fast. You might consider something around the 120 gb range.

[luciasar00]

Whoa. Doesn't 32 gb seem over the top for this?
I'm pretty new to the build-a-pc community, and I've only just recently completed my first build [which looks almost identical to yours, by the way - the only component different is the ram], but in my history as a web developer and a programmer I have never needed that much memory for my work. Using photoshop to build website pngs or jpegs and running any kind of normal IDE is not going to need that level of power.
What kind of IDE are you using? And at what level are you programming? I've been able to do everything you just mentioned on my LAPTOP. I only recently transitioned to a desktop PC for more advanced digital artwork. I'd just consider what you are really planning to use before breaking the bank on memory.

[zburns]

Take a look at this Adobe Photoshop article advising the owner to 'MAX out Ram on the computer when using Win 7, 64 bit: http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/optimize-performance-photoshop-cs4-cs5.html

Lots of other good Topics including: (1) Use a fast, large hard disk for working on large images, and (2) Solid State Disks (SSDs)

[jayfid]

I agree that 32MB sounds like far more than I've ever needed (or considered) to accomplish my goals. I'll probably stick with 16 for now (which I could still consider overkill compared to what I've used in the past). I use eclipse, along with a slew of mac-based text editors right now, but I'm interested in taking visual studio for a test drive. Like you, I get pretty much everything I need, in terms of performance, out of a macbook pro with maxed out RAM right now, but I'd like to try my hand at windows development and have the ability to play some games. As for PS, I'm pretty confident that 16GB will serve my needs for slicing up websites/UX designs and occasionally designing for my own projects, especially if I can devote some space form the SSD to swap space.

[jayfid]

Thanks for the link. Seeing as most PS installs max out at < 3GB, I'd imagine that the unbounded RAM consumption is for more industrial, rendering intensive uses, which is a far cry from my use case.

[zburns]

When I first read the article some months ago, the RAM was being used as the Hard Drive Scratch Disk so that when you complete an editing process on a still frame or a video frame, you essentially have an instant complete frame to look at with no delay. This discussion is part of the article and it is in the first para with the heading 'Max out on RAM'.

[luciasar00]

Try Aptana studio - it runs off eclipse and is multi platform. Very flexible, nice interface, lots of tools, stable. I haven't ever cared much for visual studio.
I still think you could get away with 8gb of ram if you don't plan on painting backgrounds.
As for gaming, are you talking tf2 or Crysis? I think gaming performance on your build would mostly depend on you upgrading that graphics card. I defer on this to the experts, though.

[jayfid]

@luciasar00 Thanks for the recommendation. I've actually used aptana before, but I'm pretty comfortable with my current workflow, which is using eclipse for OO/compiled languages and using text editors with syntax highlighting for ruby/python/php/js/etc. I can't say I've ever really liked what I saw of VS or general windows/.NET development, but I want to try out working on some personal projects for win7 and 8, which is why I'm looking at VS. If for no other reason than to learn something new.
For the actual games, I'm definitely thinking TF2, along with some other source engine games and some other 3D games. I'm not necessarily looking to run crysis with ultra high rendering, but being able to run modern games with decent graphics would be nice