My first ever build

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biasaf

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Dec 21, 2012
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Hello,
I'm planning to buy a new machine pretty soon, and so I decided to build my own for the first time.

Unfortunately, I have yet to gain experience and learn. So I'd like to share the build here and hopefully get advises on how to make the parts fit together, or just improve it.

Please try to stay on the same budget!

CPU: Intel Core i7 3770K (Tray)‎
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77M-D3H
Memory: Corsair 1x8GB DDR3 1600Mhz Vengeance CL10-10-10-27
GPU: Gigabyte GTX660 OC
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Green 500GB / IntelliPower / 64MB Cache / Sata III WD5000AZRX‎
‏Burner/Drive: Asus DRW-24B5ST DVD±RW x24 Black Sata‎
PSU: SeaSonic 520W Modular - M12II-520
Case: Thermaltake Chaser A41 Mid Tower Black Case No PSU

As for the case, I'm still not sure about it. It already comes with 3 fans and I was wondering whether having a total of 6 fans (3 case fans + 1 CPU fan + 2 GPU fans) would too much...
I'll be using this PC mainly for normal day usage (Internet, movies, basic programs), some editing here and there (photoshop and friends), and maybe some games (mainly online/mmorpg games, as I'd prefer to play "hard-core" games on xbox instead)...

What's your opinion? :)
 
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smeezekitty

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Sep 11, 2012
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If it is for gaming/browsing only, then the I7 will give you very little performance gain over a high end I5 which is quite a bit cheaper. The I7 will give you some gain in movie/photo editing but it would not be a huge difference since it appears it will be casual only.

You will also get a slightly better performance if you use dual channel RAM (such as 2x4GB)

The 660 GPU is a bit weak for the CPU but should be fine.

Do you plan to do any OCing of the CPU?
 
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edogawa

edogawa

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Jan 4, 2012
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Review the following lin:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KAJs


I've made some beneficial changes such as dropping down to an i5, and switching your ram to 2x4 instead of 1x8.

If your gaming you want something with a bit more power, I upgraded the GPU since we saved you money going with the i5.

Changed the HDD because it was a storage drive, not meant for an OS.

Went with a higher quality PSU too in case you want to SLI/Crossfire later and overclock.

Don't bother going over 1600mhz on ram is will provide near-zero benefit.
 
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2wenty

2wenty

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Dec 20, 2012
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I would recommend downgrading the CPU to the i5 3570k and then using the extra money for a better GPU (670 or 7950/7970). Is there a reason for purchasing a mATX motherboard as opposed to an ATX one? Get an ASRock Z77 Extreme4 or ASUS P8Z77-V mobo instead, they'll fit in your chosen case fine. Also, get 8GB (2x4GB) of RAM with a cad latency of 9, not 10. It's pretty much the same price, and helps slightly in rendering.
 
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inzone

inzone

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Mar 12, 2011
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There could be some adjustments in the build and it would be the cpu , ram and the power supply . However these adjustments would most likely save you a few bucks.
1. The cpu can be a 3570k if your only going to occasionally do photo editing , if you were to be doing a lot of photo editing I would say ok stay with the 3770k but you may not need that much cpu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

2. The ram you can get much better ram by going with 2 sticks of 4gb at 9-9-9-24 @1600 mhz or 1866 mhz.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233180

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233184

3. The power supply is ok but a little more would be better, the Seasonic brand is an excellent choice and an extra 100w would give you some more power if needed.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151106

The $100 saved with going from the 3770k to the 3570k would cover any additional cost with the other choices and have over $50 extra left.

Also you can not have too many fans , cooling is a good thing with a computer and actually the cooler the better. If your worried about fan noise then you can add a fan controller and have the fans running at a quiet speed.
 
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loops

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Jan 6, 2012
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With what you plan on using this for, aim for an 800 buck rig.
 
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biasaf

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Dec 21, 2012
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Thanks. That's a really great build but it's a little bit expansive for me but I'm still considering it as an option.

One thing though, why did you choose a black HDD?
I heard they're making quite a lot of noise... and what do you mean by "not meant for an OS"? Does this apply to all green HDDs, or just this specifically?
I'd go for blue now to be honest, as I read blue is the balance of power consumption and noise, so that seems like a good option to me to be honest.



Why not? all I know is that the difference is just in the ability to OC or user SLI/CF - which is not in my planning for now... So is there anything else to consider?
I've also had good experience with Gigabyte so I prefer them.

I did, however, upgrade the GPU to 7950...
I don't think the 500 "benchmark points" difference between the 950 and the 970 is really worth the almost ~$190 price difference.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html



Thanks!
I changed the CPU to 3570 as I've read the only difference between this and the K version is Overclocking... which I'm not sure if I'm going to do. In any case the price difference is not a big deal. Also, my current machine does the editing perfectly anyways... so the extra boost I need is mainly for gaming. I guess i5 really is better for me in this case.

As for that RAM - I saved a few bucks thanks to that! :)

I upgraded the PSU to the one you linked me to.
 
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edogawa

edogawa

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I actually think the micro board is a pretty good idea if you want a small PC and are not going to extreme on anything.

A 3570k in the HAF XB would be excellent with a micro board.

Case:

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Computer-Motherboard-RC-902XB-KKN1-AMZ/dp/B00BCXF4IM/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

Black drives are the highest performance drive. Green drives are meant for storage, they are low power, low heat, low rpm. Blue is in between.

To be completely honest though, get the -k version for a few dollars more, you can go to 3.8ghz without any significant raise in temperature or voltages(worth it). 3.8ghz isn't a significant overclock for these chips. They also basically under-clock to 1.6ghz when idling anyway too with intel speed step.

Since your gaming, get the best GPU within your budget as it will be the most important part for a gamer.

 
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biasaf

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Dec 21, 2012
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Hmm well the store I'm buying the PC from doesn't currently have the black 500gb version in stock... and I'm really impatient and can't wait for it to arrive, so I'm just going to go with the blue for now and if there will come a time I'll need it - I'll just replace/add a black one.

As for the case, I kinda think the thermaltake a41/a31/etc series looks pretty great to be honest (the LEDs did it for me hehe). I guess micro wouldn't hurt UNLESS there are significant things I should consider.

As I already said, I went with the Sapphire vapor-x 7950 (Gigabyte-out of stock). Also because the price difference between this and the 7970 was too high...
 
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biasaf

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Dec 21, 2012
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Okay - thank you!
My current PC was doing everything I needed just fine (except for games), and then my video card stopped working, and I thought it was about time to upgrade... and ended up getting a whole new computer instead, which should actually be x2~x4 better than my current one, which is far more than I need I guess.

Then again, if something won't work I could just replace the part later.

Thank you all!
 
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Gennaios

Gennaios

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Feb 10, 2013
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1-go for 2x4gb of ram not 1 stick because all the proccesses seems to run smoother when running in more sticks easy to think

2-between the gtx 660 and the 7950 i would go for the 7950 because its more powerful than the 660!
it would help if you tell me in what resolution you run games
 
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