Lost Newbie, help needed for building dream machine

Question

Hello everyone!
I was wondering if you could tell me what you think about this setup for premiere, after effects and speed grade use:
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/trundrumbalind/saved/#savedbuild_167634
I know it's probably an overkill, but what do you guys think?

Answer 1

First off, I would not go for that particular discrete sound card: It is not sufficiently better in quality than onboard audio to justify the $58 cost. What's more, that card is not a true X-Fi card at all; in fact, it is basically a descendant of the old software-based Ensoniq AudioPCI, which (mis)uses the CPU for most audio tasks (there is a controller chip on that card, but that chip is very similar to the codec-based onboard audio).
Second, the RAM and motherboard are both overkill. In fact, you might not be able to run all four sticks of RAM at anywhere near its DDR3-2133 speed. Intel (and JEDEC) officially limit the maximum memory speed with a fully-populated memory controller to only DDR3-1333 speed. You can run that memory at the DDR3-2133 speed using an XMP profile - but then, you're limited to running only two sticks of RAM total at that speed. Besides, that quad-channel kit is really meant for LGA 2011 platforms, not LGA 1155 platforms. And the motherboard actually costs as much money as or more money than many good X79 LGA 2011 motherboards. Remember, the LGA 1155 platform has only two memory controller channels, not four. The official JEDEC spec allows the implementation of up to four ranks per memory controller channel - albeit at only up to DDR3-1333 speed. With DDR3-1600 and higher-speed RAM as well as all RAM running using XMP profiles, JEDEC officially limits such operation to only two ranks per channel (one double-sided DIMM, such as in all 8GB DIMMs, already eats up two ranks per slot).
In other words, that setup is a waste of money at that price point. Why spend $2600+ on a limited LGA 1155 build when you could have gotten a superior-performing LGA 2011 build with an i7-3930K for the same price or slightly less? As a matter of fact, I would personally not spend more than about $2000 for LGA 1155.