Post
by bonestonne » Sun May 06, 2012 9:20 am
I'm going to go out there and say that the Echo Gina 3g really is not the interface you're going to want to keep using. PCI, since Sandy Bridge was released, has been very hit or miss. I believe the Q67 chipset had native PCI capabilities, but it was really dependent on the ITE bridge used to send PCI data over the PCI-e bus. Some users have luck, some don't. Unless you've seen other people using this board successfully with PCI audio interfaces, I'm going to say you're much better off with an external interface, USB or Firewire. Less hassle that way.
As far as the graphics go, I agree with CA_Steve, that's a lot of GPU for a basic use machine. If you're bent on using a dedicated GPU, I'd really look into a lower end card (GTX520, GTX430) rather than such a monster of a card. It'll keep the heat, noise and power consumption down considerable. The integrated GPU on the newer Intel series CPUs is very good, much better than older motherboard IGP, so I would opt for just using that. It will also keep the heat down considerably. I just don't see the need in such a high powered card for this. Photoshop is demanding, but not in the same way as a game.
The Fractal Design is a big case for a mATX board, it's not really going to be the best thing for you to use, IMHO. I've been playing around in Silverstone cases, specifically the PS07B, and it's an absolutely wonderful case to work in. Separates the power supply, ships with very good fans, looks nice, and has a support for larger tower heatsinks built right in. Very manageable case, so I would strongly suggest looking at it. Not expensive either.
For recording, to keep the noise down, I would also opt for using a tower heatsink in a semi-passive cooling setup, with just a rear exhaust fan being used, if you opt for the PS07B, it's a very small, and friendly case for lots of airflow, so you can run the case with two fans (CPU + Exhaust) and be done with it. Lots of tower heatsinks to chose from. I'm a long time fan of the Scythe Ninja, but there are many to choose from. Again, the PS07B has a support for tower heatsinks built in, so you don't have to worry about the weight.
If you choose to stay away from a high powered GPU, I think you could get away with 300-400W max. in terms of a PSU. There are a lot of good passive units in that range, CA_Steve can elaborate on that.
Only thing is that for basic use, I'm not sure an i7 would give much benefit...I do both audio work and photo editing, and my Q9400 gets the job done just as good as any other. I'm sure Ivy Bridge is faster, but I'd be tempted to go for the i5 3570T if you could find it, more out of personal preference, I just don't see the need to go all out with 3.7GHz.
