PC Building - Updates & Questions

[CrypticQuery]

Though I doubt many of you recall, I did have a shortlived PC building topic up quite some time ago; mainly to ask questions on a build I was considering. Now I happen to be back with updates; I'm going to be purchasing parts this weekend and I'm taking the plunge. Once again, I rely on the excellent userbase of SF-O to guide me along with their experience. I'm mainly going to use this system for gaming and general usage. My budget is just about $1200 without including a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. I do NOT plan on overclocking anything as of currently; I'd rather have everything together and working before I delve deeper!

For the build, I've decided upon these particular parts; [Though I'm going to be purchasing from MicroCenter as they have a physical retail store near me, Newegg's site has a better layout and more details/reviews.]

Processor - Intel Core i5 2500k

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115072

Mobo - Asus P8Z68-V LX

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131781

Memory - Corsair Vengeance 8GB

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820145345

HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136533

Optical Drive - Asus DVD Burner

http://www.newegg.co...4B3ST%2fBLK%2fG

Case - Corsair Carbide Series 400R

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811139008

GPU - EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 550Ti

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130625

PSU - Cooler Master GX Series 650W

http://www.newegg.co...20Series%20650W

OS - Windows 7 Home Premium

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116986

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Now for the best part; questions.

1) Although I'm fairly certain, are all of these parts compatible with one another?

2) The RAM chosen is not on the Motherboard's list of compatible RAM. That said, it is 1600 DDR3 which is supported by the mobo. Should I swap the RAM out for something else, or will it be perfectly fine?

3) Are there any common first-time-build mistakes that I should avoid?

4) Are there any basic troubleshooting tips for problems I may encounter?

5) For those that have built a PC before, what should I expect? Is it as simple as throwing an NES cartridge into the system, or does it come closer to rebuilding an automobile transmission?

6) Besides an anti-static wristband and some basic tools [i.e. a screwdriver], what will I need to complete the build?

7) For assembly, I'm purely going off of the manuals for parts as well as Newegg's three-part video series on how to build a computer. I'll link each part below;

Part 1 -

Part 2 -

Part 3 -

Is there anything else significant enough that I should know it?

8) Do you have any recommendations on switching certain parts out for others?

9) Is there anything I should know about installing specific parts? [i.e. the little arrow must be on the bottom-left when installing Intel CPUs]

10) AMD vs Nvidia; which do you prefer and why?

11) What are good testing/diagnostic programs to run and make sure everything is running well? [i.e. FurMark, Intel Burn Test]

----------------------

That seems to sum up my questions and/or grievances for now. Help and/or guidance would be MUCH appreciated. :D

[Steve]

Well first of all, before going through your questions, what kind of games are you planning to run, and what are the settings you are planning to achieve. AND planned monitor res too.

[sroberson]

Now for the best part; questions.

1) Although I'm fairly certain, are all of these parts compatible with one another?

2) The RAM chosen is not on the Motherboard's list of compatible RAM. That said, it is 1600 DDR3 which is supported by the mobo. Should I swap the RAM out for something else, or will it be perfectly fine?

3) Are there any common first-time-build mistakes that I should avoid?

4) Are there any basic troubleshooting tips for problems I may encounter?

5) For those that have built a PC before, what should I expect? Is it as simple as throwing an NES cartridge into the system, or does it come closer to rebuilding an automobile transmission?

6) Besides an anti-static wristband and some basic tools [i.e. a screwdriver], what will I need to complete the build?

7) For assembly, I'm purely going off of the manuals for parts as well as Newegg's three-part video series on how to build a computer. I'll link each part below;

Part 1 -

Part 2 -

Part 3 -

Is there anything else significant enough that I should know it?

8) Do you have any recommendations on switching certain parts out for others?

9) Is there anything I should know about installing specific parts? [i.e. the little arrow must be on the bottom-left when installing Intel CPUs]

10) AMD vs Nvidia; which do you prefer and why?

11) What are good testing/diagnostic programs to run and make sure everything is running well? [i.e. FurMark, Intel Burn Test]

----------------------

That seems to sum up my questions and/or grievances for now. Help and/or guidance would be MUCH appreciated.

1) After looking through the hardware I think you might have a couple problems. For the most part it looked good, but I can't really tell for sure about the GPU and the ergonomics of the case for the motherboard. My biggest concern with the GPU is the extra (possibly even two) 6-pin PCI-express power cables you will probably need to run the card itself. Some fellow employees at work ran into this problem when they bought a card much like the one you listed. They had bought it for a OEM HP desktop that didn't have the room for it, the power supply to power it, nor the PCI-express power cables for it. Taking a quick look at your power supply, it does look like it has two power adapters for PCI-express so you should be good to go (in fact, looking at the cards a bit more, it looks like you need 1 PCI-express power each, and I think your mother board allows SLI configuration with graphic cards...you should get two graphic cards )

2) RAM is usually my weak point honestly, but it looks like it should work. The speed on it is compatible with the motherboard, DDR3, 240-pin. The specs listed on the RAM actually does end up saying "A perfect match to Intel Sandy Bridge Motherboards" which is what you have. If nothing else, its a "guarantee" on Neweggs part if you want to purchase from them and use that to get a return if it doesn't work. If you want to get more powerful RAM that would work too, according to the Mobo, you can get up to 2200Mhz speeds on the memory if you overclock.

3) Anti-static wrist guards are a good thing for first time builders and even veterans. Also, I operate under the premise that if I have to force anything too hard with computer hardware, then I am doing it wrong. I would also be extremely careful in dealing with the CPU - it is positively the most sensitive part in my opinion if you discount zapping the motherboard on accident with static electricity. Chances are you won't be dealing with ZIF sockets since I that's old technology now...even though I prefered them for their simplicity. I can't remember the name of the socket attachment mechanics right now for some reason EDIT: Its called "LGA" Land Grid Array. I don't like it. It feels like its easier to break.

4) Heh...I do better at tackling the immediate problems. Common issues I have seen when taking apart and putting together computers is errors regarding RAM seating being off. I can imagine another common issue might be issues with the mobo not detecting a hard drive if it has hard drive controler on/off switches in the BIOS. Humm....can't think of any other common issues. I would certainly make myself friendly with the mobo documentation since it should be able to give you a good idea on beep codes and error messages to steer you in the right direction of some sort of issue occuring on the computer.

5) First time building it will probably be nerve wracking, but for the most part it isn't all that difficult. Certainly harder than putting an NES controller in the console...i'd put it closer towards transmission rebuild except if the transmission was smaller, simpler, and easier to break on accident.

6) Oh good you already know about anti-static wrist guards! Ah, other than a screwdriver (flat head and phillips just in case) needlenose pliers might come in handy

7) I was actually surprised to hear that the outside of the anti-static bags conducted electricity....I will have to keep that in mind as bass-ackwards that seems that it could actually shock the computer.

I think the guy that is talking might be a bit mixed up about Zero Insertion Force and Land Grid Array CPUs.

LGA: http://en.wikipedia....Land_grid_array

ZIF: http://en.wikipedia....insertion_force

ZIF sockets have the pins attached to the CPU, LGA has the pins attached to the motherboard. the means of attaching the CPUs are different for either of them. The instructions he gives, and the parts he uses are LGA sockets.

I have never practiced the art of "shorting" the power supply switch that he does in the second video to turn on the computer. It just looks like a dumb idea to me. If I want to test my computer, i'll turn it on the normal way as opposed to sticking screw drivers on arbitrary metal prongs after I plugged the PSU (power supply unit) in. Most computer repair manuals will instruct people to completely remove power from the computer before doing work to it, which to me means you shouldn't be sticking screw drivers on a 'live' board.

His practice of applying thermal paste made my mind hurt a little honestly. It probably works just fine, but all of the A+ manuals I have read suggest that you don't want to apply thermal paste where it doesn't need to go. Sometimes the heatsink or heat pipes do not come in contact with all of the CPU. The practice I have heard of is to apply the thermal glue to the heatsink instead of the CPU, spread the thermal glue, and then put the heat sink on the CPU and clean up any excess mess.

8) Not sure I understand this question.

9) I just try to take great care in installing cables the proper direction. They are usually "keyed" so it will help guide you in installing it the proper direction. As I said, forcing things with computer hardware is generally a bad sign (though I guess I should mention, some force is needed to install RAM). Also, hardware like RAM and the CPU are keyed, but what I noticed is with the Land Grid Array CPUs is the key is extremely hard to notice. Have to pay careful attention to where the notches are and where they line up

10) As far as graphics cards are concerned? Not sure. I usually go with what has a better review by people of newegg since they most likely have more experience in building more up to date computer. I usually aim for affordability and quality. Its like a game for me really

11) Hmmm...Never have been into diagnostic software since I am wary of "free" programs given online if they aren't associated with the GNU project or Microsoft. I think the UltimateBoot CD (http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/) has a ton of software to use to check RAM, hard drive, CPU stress testing, etc. Mind you, Windows has built in functions for checking the health of RAM and hard drives too.

Other thoughts: Have you taken a look into buying a CPU heat sink and fans for the computer case? Also, I couldn't immediately find any information on it, but the frontside bus speed of the motherboard is pretty important, as well as the bus bandwidth between the expansion slots especially in the case of SLI graphic card configuration. I remember a conversation I had with a friend of mine who studies computer architecture...I wish I remembered what he said but it was something to the effect of having a bottleneck occur at the bus level of the motherboard between each expansion slot sharing the same bus and then the bottleneck that occurs at the North bridge between the expansion slots and the CPU.

[Steve]

1) That processor is all you need for today's gaming and future gaming, there's really no need to go over that. I'd recommend finding a mobo with PCI express 2.0 that would allow you at least x8,x8 mode when going sli/crossfire, in case you want to do cheapy future upgrades, if you are not interested in this, then the mobo is fine. Switch the gpu, there's no need to go for the 550ti if you have that budget. For around 30 more dollars you could go for the HD6870, which is one of the best price/performance cards out there, it will run almost all the games your throw at it, at max settings (without going crazy on the AA) at 1080p. It will put your rig price at 1000 dollars. For 100 more dollars, you could go for a GTX 570 and that will basically handle whatever you throw at 1080p at max settings (I'm talking about games like BF3, on ultra, at 60fps). While the gtx550 is a good card, it's not outstanding at 1080p. Everything else is fine. 650w is more than enough, and it will give you room for future expansions. Try going for 8 gb of ram (2x4gb), you have the budget, while most games list 4gb of ram as their top use, having a little bit more will help you in case you need to alt tab and do other stuff, besides, ram is cheap nowadays.

2) if you are worried about the mobo having trouble with the ram, just do random google search about it. I wouldn't worry about it too much, but if you want to be safe, just go with whatever is listed on your mobo manual.

3)Make sure to align your mobo screw holes before putting stuff together, since if they are not aligned, and one of the pins touches the back of your mobo, it will fry after you turn your rig on. For easier cable management, put the psu first, then do some cable management before putting the mobo. DISCHARGE yourself before touching anything, you can easily do this by touching the back side of your case. Plan ahead of time, make sure you have at least 2-3 hours to build your rig, and make sure you read your mobo manual, that's important. Be extra careful while handling the cpu, just let it drop slightly into place, don't force it or it might get damaged. Basically, you can follow those videos you posted and you should be fine.

4)You may have trouble putting the heatsink if you are too paranoid about breaking your mobo, the snatches thingies from intel require a little bit of pressure to be secured.

5)It's not a walk on the part nor is it calculus, you just need patience and time. Again, those newegg videos are great to follow.

6)Nothing else, you don't really need the anti-static band, I have never used it, just discharge yourself once in a while with the back of your case. Well, if you have rug on your room or if you want to be extra careful, then yeah, it might be better to get one.

7)Nuff said.

8)Like I said, try finding a mobo with better pci express bandwith (if you are not planning to put a second card on that build, ignore this comment, then the mobo is fine). Definitely switch that gpu, try either an HD6870, gtx560TI or gtx570. If your retailer doesn't have the cards or they're just more expensive, see if you can catch an HD6850, I currently use it on my rig, and alongside the HD6870, it's one of the best performance per dollar cards you can get.

9)Most of the stuff you need to know is showed on the second video that you posted.

10) For gpu, it doesn't really matter, they both have cons and pros. However, some games perform better on different platforms, so let's say, if your super demanding favorite game performs better on a nvidia card, then sure, go for it. Just follow whatever has the best price/performance rating or whatever has the best ratings, that's usually the safe way to go. For cpu, Intel has the advantage when it comes to gaming, its architecture is simply better than amd's for the moment being, it's also more expensive as well. The i5-2500k is all you need for gaming, really. Even if you side it up with one of those new FX eight cores, at a higher frequency then the i5, it won't matter, on the benchmarks, the i5-2500k still wins. Though, for cheapy gaming builds, like 600 dollars or so, I would recommend the phenom II series from amd, they are nice still .

11) Since you are not planning to overclock the cpu, then you shouldn't really need to test for stability there, though, for the gpu, I would recommend getting the unreal heaven dx11 demo and run it for 1 or 2 hours. It will test your gpu for extremely demanding gaming settings without going off-board, it also stresses the cpu in a gaming related environment too. I don't recommend furmark, as if you don't know what you are doing, you could damage your hardware, furmark throws your gfx into absurd benchmarks. Make SURE to check your rig temperature while testing, make sure to check the limits of your hardware.

Other thoughts: Have you taken a look into buying a CPU heat sink and fans for the computer case? Also, I couldn't immediately find any information on it, but the frontside bus speed of the motherboard is pretty important, as well as the bus bandwidth between the expansion slots especially in the case of SLI graphic card configuration. I remember a conversation I had with a friend of mine who studies computer architecture...I wish I remembered what he said but it was something to the effect of having a bottleneck occur at the bus level of the motherboard between each expansion slot sharing the same bus and then the bottleneck that occurs at the North bridge between the expansion slots and the CPU.

No need to get a heatsink if he's not planning to overclock. I would only see this advisable if his room is kinda hot or if the cpu gets around the 70C mark when gaming. PCI express x8 is more than enough bandwidth for most mid and high end cards, you might lose some performance at x4 with high end cards tho, most of today's motherboards come with a dedicated 16x pci express anyways. I don't really recommend doing sly/crossfire unless intended as future expansion, as it's usually better to go for a higher end card. Even the supposed "new HD7000 and gtx600" cards, that list to use pci express 3.0 work perfectly fine at pci express 2.0 16x.

[sroberson]

Just saw that it only has a single 16 channel PCI-express and then a 4 channel. Scratch whatever I said about a second graphic card and SLI configuration.

I like the idea of an extra heatsink and fans on any custom computer I would build. I like lots of air flow and cool temperatures all around . I'm honestly not a "high-end" type of computer guy. I like to try and build budget PCs, so I am usually a bit behind the times on the greatest hardware configurations/options. I still eye the tri-core processors that AMD has because they are so dang cheap even though they are technically considered "faulty". Graphic cards for me are "eh"...i'm hoping I can make off with some parts that my work is getting rid of so I can get something together.

[conaly]

Hi,

the parts look quite good so far. But maybe you could exchange the 2500K with the 3570K. It is slightly faster, has a lower power consumption and costs only 20$ more. A Z77 mainboard would also be better prepared for the future, as they already support natively PCI-E 3.0 and USB 3.0. But i.e. the ASUS P8Z77-V LK would cost additional 30 bucks. Still you would get fine results with your current choice.

But have you already decided on a CPU-cooler? The stock cooler of the Intels would normally do the job, but a 30-40$ cooler like i.e. the Scythe Katana 4 or ARCTIC COOLING ACFZ13 would bring you better temperatures (as long as you don't plan to overlock - in this case you would need much bigger ones).

The RAM looks good, compatibility-problems are quite rare, especially with products of good brands. But maybe the PSU is a little bit overpowered. If you don't want to overlock and only want to use one GPU, a 500-550W PSU would be more than enough (but it should be a product from a good brand like be!Quite, Corsair, CoolerMaster, OCZ and such - never use a no-name-PSU, a friend had already bad experience with a cheap one). If you want to be prepared for a second GPU, then keep the 650W PSU.

I'm not quite sure with the GPU. It's ok, but not really good. For the most games it should do the job, but I think it could be too slow with very graphic-intense games and a very high resolution like 1080p. The HD6850 as Mr. Steve mentioned could do better.

Whether taking a NVidia or a AMD GPU, it's some kind of personal preference. I've used AMD-Cards for three years, then switched to NVidia, as AMD-cards had one little but annoying bug with the Flight Simulator series. I switched from the HD6950 to GTX560TI. There was no difference in performance in most games, but the Flight Simualtor bug was gone and I'm happy now Both have their advantages and disadvantages...

Besides that: have you thought about a SSD? A Cruicla M4 (64GB or 128GB edition) on which you install Windows and the programs you use the most (like your browser etc.) could boost your whole system. Startup of Win7 and all on the SSD installed programs would be much faster.

[Scourge]

Well I'm an IT student and I would've answered this but SOMEBODY did it before me so I am unable to provide any information of use, instead here's a picture of Navi

[Sarita]

ITT: Everyone shows off their technology boners. c: Otherwise mild-mannered members monologue about mindful matters.

[CrypticQuery]

This thread;

----

I seriously cannot thank all of you that took the time to write impressive walls of text enough. As I'm sure you can tell by the time of this post, it took me quite awhile since I got home to sift through all of the great information. Since I doubt I'll be overclocking, I think I'll pass up on any aftermarket heatsinks and/or anything of that nature; stock is fine to me at the moment.

Sroberson, thank you for being one of the first to post, let alone provide your insight and quality information. I'll be sure to take most of what you said into mind, especially those installation precautions! Criticism on the Newegg build is also welcome; It's always good to have someone with experience add their input.

Steve, your post was definitely one of the greatest PC-related ones I've ever had the pleasure of reading; I'll be sure to compare both the 6870 and 560/560Ti, but it will come down to what my local MicroCenter has in stock. I knew that 550Ti was a bit underpowered anyway, but knowing that you can get much more quality for just a small increase in cash, I can't say no to a higher card. Though I'm still a bit wary on the RAM and mobo compatibility, [The compatibility list shows odd or out-of-the-way DIMMs that are actually quite expensive compared to others] I'm sure it will either be fine, or a MicroCenter employee will steer me in the right direction. I'm also going to pass on SLI/Crossfire for now; it's something I don't quite need and saving money is always nice.

Conaly, you always seem to pop up whenever I need some PC help, and for that I am thankful. I'll probably be upgrading the GPU as per your, along with others, suggestions. At the moment, I think the stock heatsink fan will be perfectly suitable for my needs, but I'll keep those smaller fans in mind in case I ever need them. Thanks for the suggestions on the PSU; it still blows my mind on how prebuilt PCs cut corners the most in one of the more important components of a build. [i saw a prebuilt Asus system in BestBuy once; it had an i7 2600k, AMD Radeon HD 4850, and only a 350w PSU!] I also have to throw in that I'm definitely a fan of Flight Simulator as well.

Everyone has just about boosted my confidence and preparedness for this build tenfold. If I have any other questions, I'll try to articulate them as best as I can, and I'll be sure to post a follow up if everything goes to plan. Once again, thanks to all that gave their thoughts. :-P

[LoneWolf]

Processor - Intel Core i5 2500k

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115072

GPU - EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 550Ti

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130625

First of all, if you're going to drop that much cash, get the new i7 3770K, then buy the new Nvidia 680. Set for the next few years. Otherwise the specs look good. I can't help you with building it, though. I'm not knowledgeable in that area in any way.

[CrypticQuery]

First of all, if you're going to drop that much cash, get the new i7 3770K, then buy the new Nvidia 680. Set for the next few years. Otherwise the specs look good. I can't help you with building it, though. I'm not knowledgeable in that area in any way.

I would, but since this is my first build I'd really like to not go overboard with power; the i7 is just about overkill when it comes to PC gaming in its current iteration IMO. The 680 is pretty sweet, however. :P

[LoneWolf]

I would, but since this is my first build I'd really like to not go overboard with power; the i7 is just about overkill when it comes to PC gaming in its current iteration IMO. The 680 is pretty sweet, however.

If you go overboard it will last you longer. I went for a laptop with the 8600M GT when I upgraded, and I'm regretting it. Most games require the 8800. Swim the seas of raw ridiculous power.

[Steve]

Going mid range on the gpu will at least make sure you can run most of the games out there on high settings, and will give you room to buy more mid range cards in the future whenever you need to. The GTX680, however, is a damn nice card, sad thing is, it's a pain to find retailers with it since everyone is "whoring"' them. Even if it costs about 500 dollars, you can pretty much set up a 1,200 dollars rig with it if you play smart with your components.

On the cpu market tho, that's a little bit different. Buy a i5-2500k, and you will be set up for a loooong time. Overclock when needed.

[DZComposer]

Save yourself some trouble and use a Cooler Master HAF Series case. These cases are awesome.They actually seem like they were designed by people who build computers. Very roomy, things aren't in stupid places, excellent ventilation (HAF = High AirFlow), mostly tool-less, and they look goo to boot.

I recently upgraded my machine, and I put it in one of these cases. I am never buying a case that is not a HAF now.

Only complaint I have is that the 5" external drive bay clips don't go very deep into the screw holes on your devices, so some devices may not lock-in properly. My front panel from by SB X-Fi Titanium is one of the things that gets loose if I yank on it. But it isn't bad enough that it pops loose during normal use.

[CrypticQuery]

Save yourself some trouble and use a Cooler Master HAF Series case. These cases are awesome.They actually seem like they were designed by people who build computers. Very roomy, things aren't in stupid places, excellent ventilation (HAF = High AirFlow), mostly tool-less, and they look goo to boot.

I recently upgraded my machine, and I put it in one of these cases. I am never buying a case that is not a HAF now.

Only complaint I have is that the 5" external drive bay clips don't go very deep into the screw holes on your devices, so some devices may not lock-in properly. My front panel from by SB X-Fi Titanium is one of the things that gets loose if I yank on it. But it isn't bad enough that it pops loose during normal use.

Thanks for that recommendation, DZ; I have seen the HAF912 before but largely ignored it because of its lack of extras, like tool-less drive bays. I seemed to have neglected how cheap the price was and how well Cooler Master built them though - I just may have a cost-cutting candidate now. :-P

[CrypticQuery]

Apologies for the double-post, but I visited my local MicroCenter location today [the place was MUCH bigger than I thought it would be] and finally took the plunge. I've gotten every part that I need, though the motherboard I wanted was out of stock, and instead the sales associate recommended the Gigabyte Z77X-D3H [MicroCenter always has deals when you buy a processor; I got the i5 for $170 instead of $210+ at other retailers, and the motherboard was purchased at $90 instead of $140+ at other retailers.] Everything else has stayed the same, though I did also pick up a cheap keyboard/mouse combo from Logitech and a 1080p monitor from Acer. I'll be posting pictures along the build sometime soon!

[Mind you, this picture was taken from Google Images; I forgot to bring a camera on my trip there.]

[Fox-Shot]

Now to jump on with my own PC building concerns

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144076

APEVIA X-Infinity ATXB6KLW-BK/420 Black Steel ATX

I got this case from my school, it's pretty rough looking but I'd enjoy saving the money if it does a good enough job at keeping the stuff cool, it's pretty roomy from what I've messed with. If it won't work, I'll likely go with what DZ linked to.

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

I don't know a whole lot for motherboards, so I'd like the most help here, making sure that this definitely won't turn into my bottleneck later on.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=19-115-070&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I72600K

For anyone calling overkill, my current laptop is a total piece of crap that was already behind when I bought it (single core, 2.2 gigahertz Celeron....o So I'd like to make sure I have a CPU that will do a great job for a long time.

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL

No idea here, let me know if there's better choices.

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130610

EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1563-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

560ti Seemed like the best choice for the buck, especially since superclocked is just 4 bucks more than what the non superclocked was.

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697

Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Iunno.

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207016

XFX PRO750W XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80Plus Silver 750 Watt Power Supply

Once again not much for ideas, might be a bit too much power.

Disc Drive: People still use these?

Whatever I'll just buy some DVD drive, they don't cost that much.

I have some concerns for cooling, so please give me some suggestions for fans and cooling.

[Steve]

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I72600K

For anyone calling overkill, my current laptop is a total piece of crap that was already behind when I bought it (single core, 2.2 gigahertz Celeron....o So I'd like to make sure I have a CPU that will do a great job for a long time.

For gaming, it's a waste of money, as you don't need the extra threads for gaming. The i7-2600k offers 4 cores/8 threads and 3.4ghz, the i5-2500k offers 4 cores/4 threads and 3.3ghz. The only difference you will see on gaming is an extra .1ghz boost, which won't do anything for you. Only go for the 2600k if you are going to do a lot of multitasking, and I mean, a lot.

At the end of the day, you can overclock the i5-2500k to 4ghz without increasing voltage with a good cpu fan. THAT brings more fps on cpu oriented games, still not that needed though.

[Fox-Shot]

For gaming, it's a waste of money, as you don't need the extra threads for gaming. The i7-2600k offers 4 cores/8 threads and 3.4ghz, the i5-2500k offers 4 cores/4 threads and 3.3ghz. The only difference you will see on gaming is an extra .1ghz boost, which won't do anything for you. Only go for the 2600k if you are going to do a lot of multitasking, and I mean, a lot.

At the end of the day, you can overclock the i5-2500k to 4ghz without increasing voltage with a good cpu fan. THAT brings more fps on cpu oriented games, still not that needed though.

I will likely also be doing some Blender modeling and other various stuff. Really one of the main reasons is that I wanted to go all out on one thing, and the CPU seemed like the best choice. Someone like me always finds a way to overdo things on their hardware xD

EDIT: Also, my friend has a slightly slower i7, and I kinda want to one-up him. :troll:

[CrypticQuery]

Now to jump on with my own PC building concerns

Case: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811144076

APEVIA X-Infinity ATXB6KLW-BK/420 Black Steel ATX

I got this case from my school, it's pretty rough looking but I'd enjoy saving the money if it does a good enough job at keeping the stuff cool, it's pretty roomy from what I've messed with. If it won't work, I'll likely go with what DZ linked to.

That case is definitely nice, but remember, with cheaper cases comes cheaper build quality, more standard screws instead of thumb-screws, and a lack of other addons that other, more expensive, cases have. Though I went with the Corsair Carbide 400R like I said originally, the HAF912 [the one DZ posted] was quite tempting; it was great for the price and was definitely more open on the inside. No compeltely tooless drive bays and thumbscrews on all exterior paneling like the 400R though.

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131790

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

I don't know a whole lot for motherboards, so I'd like the most help here, making sure that this definitely won't turn into my bottleneck later on.

This motherboard is one of the higher end ones from Asus; it looks quite nice from the specs. It supports your RAM speed without the need to overclock, has a good amount of PCIe slots [though I'm not sure if Crossfire or SLI would be an option, seeing as the two PCIe 3.0 run at 8x speed when both are in use, as opposed to 16x when a single card is used], a good amount of SATA 6x connectors, and a very nice BIOS. If anything, make sure the dimensions of the board fit the case. Maybe an upgrade to the Z77 chipset would also do you good?

CPU: http://www.newegg.co...#scrollFullInfo

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I72600K

For anyone calling overkill, my current laptop is a total piece of crap that was already behind when I bought it (single core, 2.2 gigahertz Celeron....o So I'd like to make sure I have a CPU that will do a great job for a long time.

Going to mirror with what Steve said here; unless you -constantly- edit HD video and your editing program supports hyperthreading, I doubt you'll need it. i5 2500k all the way!

RAM: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231314

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL

No idea here, let me know if there's better choices.

G.SKILL has always been a good brand, the DDR3 1600 speed is handled by your motherboard perfectly fine, and the 1.5 voltage will be no problem. Dual channel memory is also supported by the mobo, so your two sticks of 4GB will work in tandem to act as 8GB. Personally, I've always liked Corsair's heatspreader designs a bit more, but to each his own.

GPU: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130610

EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1563-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

560ti Seemed like the best choice for the buck, especially since superclocked is just 4 bucks more than what the non superclocked was.

Looks pretty good to me; EVGA's cards have always looked awesome, and judging by reviews and word-of-mouth, they perform well too.

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148697

Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Iunno.

Seems to be fine; the 7200RPM will handle well as a primary OS drive and it uses SATA 6.0. The only thing; since it is a bare drive, it comes with no cables. Usually, your motherboard will come with spare SATA cables though; just make sure of that. If you can, I'd definitely see if a retailer can provide you with some sort of extended warranty on the HDD, at least; these things can be prone to failure and have highly inflated costs because of previous flooding in Thailand, where 1/3 of the world's HDDs are manufactured.

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817207016

XFX PRO750W XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80Plus Silver 750 Watt Power Supply

Once again not much for ideas, might be a bit too much power.

To find out what voltage my system required, I used this tool by Asus; http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Asus+PSU+calculator [it's the first result] And modular is always nice.

Disc Drive: People still use these?

Whatever I'll just buy some DVD drive, they don't cost that much.

How else would you get your operating system disc onto your computer?

I have some concerns for cooling, so please give me some suggestions for fans and cooling.

Something better than the stock heatsink fan maybe? This is really only a concern if you're planning to overclock or need quite a bit of ventilation. General case fans will do fine IMO.

--------------

By the way, Fox-Shot, here are some of the guides that I used to get me ready for building a PC;

Common Building Mistakes: http://www.gamersnex...ilding-mistakes

Advice from a recent builder: http://www.tomshardw...ce-noob-builder

Written step-by-step guide for assembly: http://www.tomshardw...-guide-building

And of course, Newegg's "How to Build a Computer" videos linked in the first post of this thread.

--------------

As for my build, I'm starting assembly sometime soon; wish me luck! :-P

[DZComposer]

Wow, MicroCenter. I haven't been in one of those in years. Closest one to me is like a 4 hour drive. I can get to a Fry's, though.

[Fana McCloud]

It's like an hour's drive to the nearest Fry's down in Burbank, nargh. All we have in this craptacularland that comes even remotely close to a PC store ever since the PC Club store closed down is Best Buy... Freakin seriously. Radio Shack is unfortunately rather limited to cables and memory cards and stuff. : / When I can I just opt for Newegg because they're in SoCal so anything they ship gets here like the next day.

As for the actual topic, if you have any questions about the actual building process though you can shoot me a line - I've put together many systems so I've got that part pretty much figured out and would be glad to help if you hit any snags. It's a long but rewarding process (it takes me a full day to assemble a system, including OS installation and some basic programs).

["User"]

I can vouch for the Cooler Master as well as I built mine using a HAF 932. I was limited on funds so I invested more in the case and got a high end Gigabyte motherboard but only got an i3 processer and 8 GB of 1600 DDR3 RAM. I transferred most of my components from the old computer to this one. When I get out of school and get an apprenticeship I'll start upgrading the processor and adding more to the motherboard.

I wish I had a micro-center near me as the closest one is in Detroit and I've only been there when I've traveled in the area for laser tag excursions. :/

[Fox-Shot]

Fine fine, I guess I'll go with the i5...

Either way, what is a good heatsink fan to get, and will I need some thermal paste?

The usage calculator said I'd need at least 550 Watts, so I'm good with that 750.

-"That case is definitely nice, but remember, with cheaper cases comes cheaper build quality, more standard screws instead of thumb-screws, and a lack of other addons that other, more expensive, cases have. Though I went with the Corsair Carbide 400R like I said originally, the HAF912 [the one DZ posted] was quite tempting; it was great for the price and was definitely more open on the inside. No compeltely tooless drive bays and thumbscrews on all exterior paneling like the 400R though."

I own plenty of thumbscrews on my own, so that's fine, the case itself already had thumbscrews when I got it.

-"How else would you get your operating system disc onto your computer? "

Touche.

Also, I'm going to need Wi-Fi for this one, is there room on the motherboard for it, and what would a good one be?

[CrypticQuery]

I wish I had a micro-center near me as the closest one is in Detroit and I've only been there when I've traveled in the area for laser tag excursions.

That stinks, and it also stinks that the majority of their prices are in-store only offers. Speaking of MicroCenter though, my experience was nothing but fantastic; an associate guided me through the entire process, helped me find replacements for parts that weren't in stock, and gave out tips when I told him this was to be my first build.

----

As of this point, I have all components inside of the case and am in the process of installing Windows. I couldn't have done it without you guys!

[Though I fear for my motherboard and case mounts; one of the screws simply would not thread into the standoff, and another standoff pulled out with a screw I was attempting to unscrew, possibly scratching the motherboard. Everything seems to be in order though, the BIOS works fine, and it posts no problem.]

Fine fine, I guess I'll go with the i5...

Either way, what is a good heatsink fan to get, and will I need some thermal paste?

The usage calculator said I'd need at least 550 Watts, so I'm good with that 750.

-"That case is definitely nice, but remember, with cheaper cases comes cheaper build quality, more standard screws instead of thumb-screws, and a lack of other addons that other, more expensive, cases have. Though I went with the Corsair Carbide 400R like I said originally, the HAF912 [the one DZ posted] was quite tempting; it was great for the price and was definitely more open on the inside. No compeltely tooless drive bays and thumbscrews on all exterior paneling like the 400R though."

I own plenty of thumbscrews on my own, so that's fine, the case itself already had thumbscrews when I got it.

-"How else would you get your operating system disc onto your computer? "

Touche.

Also, I'm going to need Wi-Fi for this one, is there room on the motherboard for it, and what would a good one be?

Concerning Wi-Fi, you could either go with an internal PCI card or with an external USB one. I'd recommend the USB one for ease of use;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166068

And I'm glad you've got some thumbscrews about. I must admit though, using a screwdriver is actually somewhat fun. :lol: