First build

[Ketsurui]

Hello everyone i am new to Tom's Hardware but i have ran across the forums before and found them to be very helpful. OK so i started to build my first gaming PC. I was wondering if i could get some input on what RAM and what Power Supply to get or any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
BTW i do plan on doing some overclocking.

SPECS:
CASE: Cooler Master HAF 932
MOBO: ASUS P6X58D Premium
CPU: Intel i7 920
HEAT SINK: Cooler Master V8
THERMAL PASTE: ANTEC Formula 5
GPU: ASUS Radeon HD 5870 (2nd in the near future)
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 7200RPM 500GB

So that's where i am at so far like i said any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

What is your budget for the RAM and PSU? I highly recommend this CAS 7 DDR3 1600 RAM that runs at 1.5v if it comes back in stock soon.

G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7T-6GBPI - Retail $179.99

If those aren't in stock when you're ready to buy your RAM, then here are a couple CAS 8 kits:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=1052429371%201052529367&Description=g.skill%206gb&name=8

I would pick one of these 80+ Bronze or Silver certified PSU's.

SILVERSTONE ST75F-P 750W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply $129.99

SILVERSTONE ELEMENT ST75EF 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $129.99 - $40 MIR

Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $119.99

SILVERSTONE ST85F-P 850W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $149.99

A quality 750W PSU will easily power the system even when you add another 5870, but the 850W PSU gives you a little extra headroom.

 

[Ketsurui]

Well i am pretty much open to anything right now money isn't really the problem. I am just looking for the bast setup as far as a gaming pc that i can overclock comfortably at say 3.6 or even 3.8 ghz. Thanks for the input though. I was told by a few people at a local PC store that i needed at least a 1000 watt. So if i can manage with a 850 that is nice to know.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Yea, I don't know what stores you've been visiting, but you don't need anywhere near a 1000W PSU. Even a quality 850W PSU is more than enough. The most important thing is to get a quality PSU. Any of the above PSU's would be great.

 

[Ketsurui]

Alright i will definitely check into them and thank you for your input BTW if you have any other opinions about the rest of my setup please feel free to let me know like i said this is my first build an im going for a kick *ss gaming rig.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

So you haven't already purchased the rest of the components? The way I read it, you already had all the components except the RAM and PSU. If you haven't already purchased those components, then I do have some additional suggestions.

I would go with the HAF 922 instead of the 932. The 922 is only slightly smaller and costs $50 less ($70 if you consider the MIR).

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $109.98 - $20 MIR

There's a combo deal for the i7 920 and the motherboard you picked that saves you $20.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.341446

The V8 cooler is overpriced and doesn't really cool all that well. I would get this one instead.

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail $29.99

The WD 500GB drives are pretty slow by today's standards since they use 250GB platters. The new Samsung F3 and Seagate 7200.12 drives use 500GB platters. The higher data density makes them considerably faster drives.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive $54.99

I'm not familiar with "Antec Formula 5" thermal paste. Do you mean Arctic Silver 5? If so, I would get MX-2 instead. MX-2 cools just as well, isn't conductive, and doesn't have a cure time.

ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail $7.98

 

[Ketsurui]

Thank you. Ill definitely check into the cooler and paste. As for the case i like the larger one just because i love the working space plus one day i thought i might look into a liquid cooling system. the reason i chose the HDD that i did was because it had a 32mb cache i thought the larger the cache the better. As far as the list of parts i do have them all i just have yet to open them. So i can return or swap out for something better. I was just waiting till i got everything before i started building.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The cache size has very little effect on the drive speed. The higher data density of the Samsung and Seagate drives makes them a lot faster than the WD ones.

Edit: Are you aware of the dimension differences between the 922 and the 932?

HAF 922: Dimensions(L x W x H) 22.20" x 10.00" x 19.70"

HAF 932: Dimensions(L x W x H) 22.70" x 9.00" x 21.50"

That's not worth $70 IMO. You gain .5" in length, lose 1" in width, and gain a little less than 2" in height.

 

[Ketsurui]

Thank you ill have to check into that as well then thank you for all your input.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

No problem. Good luck with the build.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

PSU / Case - Since you said twin GFX is in your future and my guess is you are likely to overclock, a full tower case and hi quality PSU is in order. Following the start you've given, I'd say move to an HAF 932 w/ a Corsair 850HX ($340 for both). If you are willing to consider alternatives, the Antec 1200 / CP-850 easily matches the quality and performance of the other combo but gives you filters fr the air inlets on the case and a quieter PSU, all while saving you almost $100 ($244 for both).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.335367

MoBo / CPU - Good combo

HSF / TIM - Don't find this cooler very impressive. Suggest picking from the top 3 04 models here:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm#INTELHEATSINK
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=371&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=15

And for the TIM, same deal with the top 3 or 4 here:

http://www.hwreviewlabs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64%3Amega-44-thermal-paste-round-up&catid=32%3Around-ups&Itemid=47&limitstart=3
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/thermal-interface-roundup_10.html#sect1
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=138&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=3

Right now I am putting the Prolimatech Magahalems (Rev B w/ 2 fan clips) and the IC Diamond 7 Karat TIM on my builds as they both offer a combination of top notch performance and extremely easy installation.

GFX - Look at the latest GFX Card roundup on THG's home pages....the recommendations across the various price ranges are sound, except IMO the 5770.

HD's - Check out the performance charts and pick whatever 500 GB per platter drive performs best under your usage patterns. The WD Black 2 TB is a good choice but at smaller capacities, you are limited to the Seagate 7200.12 or the Spinpoint F3. The 7200.12 excels in gaming, multimedia and pictures whereas the F3 wins at music and movie maker. See the comparisons here (copy past link in manually, link won't work in forum):

(http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-3.5-desktop-hard-drive-charts/compare,1006.html?prod[2371]=on&prod[2770]=on)

NOTE: Throughout the year I will advise prospective builders that if they are gonna sit and wait till "the next big thing", they will never pull the trigger and buy anything. February is the month where I set that advice aside:

1. Intel typically drops CPU prices at end of February.
2. Intel introduces new CPU's typically in Feb / march (March 16 we see 1st hexacore)
3. All the cool stuff shown at CES in January hits store shelves in mid March
4. Antec / Thermaltake and others have new PSU's and case lines coming out in March
5. New Vertex2 SSD's supposed to drop in March
6. Fermi scheduled for mid march release.
7. New MoBos w/ new feature sets arrive with new Intel CPU's
8. Even if none of the new stuff tickles ya fancy, it almost invariably pushes older products prices down.

 

[Ketsurui]

Best answer selected by Ketsurui.