Feedback on my build

[TerekC]

This is my first time building a computer myself and I was looking for feedback from you all on what I've got chosen so far. The primary uses for this computer are gaming and programming and I do not want to go over $1500 (excluding keyboard and mouse). Here is my current components list:

CPU:
Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Graphics card:
EVGA 012-P3-1472-AR GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

DVD burner:
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Power supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
or COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
A friend suggested the latter but it is $70 more and I'm not sure I see the benefit, is it worth it?

Hard drive: HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000 HDS721010KLA330 (0A34915) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive
I already have this hard drive though I wanted to look into SSD's, any advice?

Memory: not sure what to look for aside from triple channel, I'm probably going with 6GB but would love suggestions.

Heat sink: Was pretty confused with this, do I want fan/heat sink for my case or CPU? What is the difference between a fan and heat sink?

Keyboard & mouse: Logitech MX 5500 Revolution Black Bluetooth Cordless Desktop Standard keyboard & Mouse Kit
or Microsoft CSD-00001 Black USB 2.4 GHz Wireless Ergonomic Comfort Desktop 5000
I really like the top one but it's a bit pricey so I might get the bottom (or possibly something else, any suggestions?)

I already have a monitor and have not yet looked into speakers.

If I forgot anything or if you have any question feel free to post.

Thanks =)

 

[Proximon]

If you need the GTX 470 for CUDA or such OK, otherwise the 6870 is really the better deal. Same performance, less heat and less power draw.

750TX was great 2 years ago. There are better options now.
Antec TP-750 is more efficient, partly modular, performs better.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371025

HAF 932 would be fine.

SSD:
Corsair 120GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233125
There are several at this price and size, but the Corsair will have better support if needed.

The price and timings and voltage make these two kits both great choices:

G.skill CL8 1600 1.6V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231304

Kingston CL7 1600 1.65V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104190

You can spend less and get adequate memory... you don't give a budget so that's what I picked.

CPU coolers are made up of both a fan and a heatsink. Like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&cm_re=Hyper_212-_-35-103-065-_-Product

If you are not going to overclock your CPU the stock cooler that comes with it is adequate.

 

[TerekC]

Thanks for the assistance, here are the revisions I made to my system:

Changed graphics card to this:
SAPPHIRE 100314SR Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Changed power supply to this:
Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Decided on the cheaper case & no SSD

I'm still not sure what to look for in RAM, I want something that will work well, if this means paying a little more than that's fine. You had recommended one of these, are they still a good idea?:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8T-6GBRM ($130)
or Kingston HyperX 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C7D3K3/6GX ($130)

You also posted this as a heat sink, I want to be able to do some overclocking but that is not the purpose of this computer:
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

The mouse & keyboards I had picked out were both more than I am probably going to pay for so I changed to this, is it still a god idea?:
Logitech Cordless Desktop EX 100 Black 102 Normal Keys USB RF Wireless Standard Keyboard and Mouse

Decided to go ahead and get a monitor:
ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers

And these speakers:
Logitech S-220 17 Watts 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System - OEM

With these changes it puts my total at $1420 USD, I was hoping to keep it under $1500 but if something needs to make it a little more than that, that is fine.

How does this updated build look?

 

[mosox]

Looks good with those changes.

Can you get that for speakers?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836116048
Also do you need a full tower case?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112239

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=hsf_922-_-11-119-197-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119224&cm_re=hsf_922-_-11-119-224-_-Product

 

[TerekC]

Looking at the reviews for those speakers they don't seem very reliable, but I wouldn't mind getting a somewhat better set.

A friend of mine strongly suggests the full tower case, however I can't remember his reasons so I'll go back and ask him. If I don't end up needing it then I'll switch to a half tower, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[TerekC]

Was just checking over compatibility and realized that this motherboard does not support the 1600 RAM that was suggested, does anyone have suggestions of other RAM I should use?

 

[Proximon]

The board supports speeds up to 2200Mhz 1600 is included in that.

 

[TerekC]

Not be rude but are you sure? I would hate to buy RAM and not have it work. The specs for it, both on Newegg and the gigabyte site do not say it supports DDR3 1600 memory modules.

 

[jasonw223]

I've got that exact board with an i7 930, and run CAS8 1600mhz GSkill memory (little different heatsinks, same stuff). Don't worry, you're good to go!

 

[TerekC]

Alright, so here is my current build:

CPU:
Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950 ($300)

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($210)

Graphics card:
EVGA 012-P3-1472-AR GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ($270)

DVD burner:
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM ($20)

Power supply:
Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply ($120)

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case ($130)

Hard drive: HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000 HDS721010KLA330 (0A34915) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive (N/A)

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8T-6GBRM ($130)

Heat sink: 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 (~$30)

Keyboard & mouse: Logitech MX 5500 Revolution Black Bluetooth Cordless Desktop Standard keyboard & Mouse Kit ($140)

Monitor: ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers ($190)

Speakers: Logitech S-220 17 Watts 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System - OEM ($30)

Total: $1570

I am considering overclocking this PC some, therefore I am assuming it is beneficial to go ahead and get the heat sink, am I right in this or should I scrap it? I am trying to decide whether or not I should get a full tower case, what are the pro's and con's?

I am a college student and thus will be using this computer at my house during Summer and on campus during the school year. The thing is, my house has a lot of dust (I live on a farm) and I am wondering if I should get some kind of air filter for my case, is that plausible or reasonable?

 

[jasonw223]

Looks good! Get the Hyper 212+, they aren't that much money, and are well worth it. I'd scrap your speakers though, those aren't much better than your monitor's. Grab some nicer ones (Logitech Z-something) or just go for a headset I'd say...

Also, I definitely like the mid-tower versus the full tower, take a look at the HAF 922. It's still plenty big. The Coolermaster Storm Sniper has some built in air filters also, I had that case before my current one (NZXT Alpha). Don't worry too much about dust, just grab something you like! I live on a farm too, just open her up and blast it out once every couple months or something, you'll be fine.

Oh and last but not least, your keyboard and mouse look nice, but are expensive and I hate them. Might just be me, but take a look at a G15 / G110 / G510 keyboard and the G9x / Razer mice instead...

 

[TerekC]

Updated again:

CPU:
Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950 ($300)

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($210)

Graphics card:
EVGA 012-P3-1472-AR GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ($270)

DVD burner:
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM ($20)

Power supply:
Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply ($120)

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Cas ($90)

Hard drive: HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000 HDS721010KLA330 (0A34915) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive (N/A)

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8T-6GBRM ($130)

Heat sink: 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 (~$30)

Keyboard & mouse: Logitech MK550 Black USB RF Wireless Ergonomic Wave Combo ($65)

Monitor: ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers ($190)

Speakers: Logitech Z-2300 200 watts RMS 2.1 Speaker System ($140)

You had a good point with the speakers so I decided to either get these better ones or ditch them.

I think I'll take your advice for the mid tower. I don't see a need for myself to get a full, also from what I've read, filters don't help all that much anyway and I can just vacuum the inside out every now and again.

As far as the keyboard and mouse go, I agree that the one I had listed was to expensive but something that I am not willing to get rid of is the wireless (which everything you suggested was wired), and although a gaming keyboard might be nice at times, I wouldn't use those functions enough to get a keyboard devoted to them (although the G15 looks awesome). So I chose a cheaper ergonomic one that looked pretty nice.


Feedback welcome =)

 

[jasonw223]

Those Z-2300s are awesome, you'll love them (but your neighbours might not).

Also, be careful if you're vacuuming your PC... apparently it'll make static and zap things at times... compressed air works best if you're worried.

Anyway, looks like a sweet build! Good luck!

 

[Proximon]

newegg is offering 10% off any graphics card:
http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/latest/index-landing.aspx?cm_sp=NovHomepage_email-_-BlkNovGuide-_-http%3a%2f%2fpromotions.newegg.com%2fhomepage%2fblackNov10%2fbnr_homeLinkList_email.png

If the link doesn't work go to the front page and click on the email specials.

Antec power supplies are 20% off TODAY ONLY with promo code BFANTPSU.

 

[TerekC]

Best answer selected by TerekC.