Advice on a possible build

[baiano]

Hello,

This is my second time buying new parts to build a PC (I've frankensteined quite a few machines from whatever was lying around) and last time I wasn't super happy with the end result as things weren't quite as expected. So, hopefully all of you more knoweldgable folk can let me know if there are any potential issues with what I am thinking about putting together.

approximate build date: next two weeks
Primary Usage: Code writing/compiling, testing of websites, streaming video to tv (hdmi),
budget: ~800
Country: US
preferred venders: Newegg, frys, amazon
Overclocking: no
Crossfire/etc: don't really care

*EDIT* - updated initial build plan

mobo: ASUS P8Z68-M Pro - http://goo.gl/8oAue
CPU: i5-2400 - http://goo.gl/vmdSR
RAM: G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 - http://goo.gl/ZcWc
HD: SAMSUNG F4EG HD155UI 1.5TB - http://goo.gl/W8Qj0
Optical: SONY DVD-ROM CD-ROM - http://goo.gl/gI0f
Case: Antec Solo - http://goo.gl/rt5O4
PSU: CORSAIR CX430 - http://goo.gl/nJu2L

2nd phase:
SSD for primary drive plus an additional 1.5TB for raid storage. Haven't looked into SSDs yet
Sony BluRay + DVD/CD combo burner - http://goo.gl/q42ej
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 fan for quieter machine - http://goo.gl/mByH
Video card of some sort

*/EDIT*

Here is what I am thinking of initially including:

Motherboard: asus P8Z68-V Pro http://goo.gl/IuY2m
- http://goo.gl/gA735 (180 at Fry's)
CPU: i5 2400 http://goo.gl/JHLfv
- http://goo.gl/vmdSR (190)
RAM: 2x4gb ddr3 1333 newegg users seem to love gskill, though I had never heard of it...
- http://goo.gl/ZcWc (50)
HD: 1TB seagate Barracuda 7200 rpm 32mb cache
- http://goo.gl/qMz3X (55)
Optical: Sony Blu ray BD-5300S-0B (combo dvd/cd read/write)
- http://goo.gl/m7VEV (100)

budget for case and power supply : ~150
I'm not super stuck on any one of those items if the community feels they are over/underkill for my usage or if there is something better.

The plan is to use the on board video at first as I am in no rush to start playing games with it then later get something good if needed. The initial use will be for school. Writing/compiling code, testing web content (my laptop is a mac) and similar non graphically intense tasks. It is likely that in the future I would get several more HDs and possibly a second optical drive so any case/power supply would need to be able to support that.

I could use help with a few good, quiet cases + power supply that would pair well with the system. My last machine was loud and the clear window on the case made it impossible to leave it running while I was asleep...

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

*EDIT* adjusted post to more closely follow the 'how to ask for advice' post

 

[geofelt]

Looks good.

1) Motherboard is good. But do you really need a full ATX with 7 expansion slots?
A M-ATX version would be cheaper, perhaps one like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131786
Or, even the asrock version:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157252

2) One of the best quiet cases around is the Antec SOLO.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129018
It is a favorite on spcr. I have built several pc's with it, and have been well satisfied.

3) The psu you need is determined mostly by the gaphics card. If your anticipated graphics card is as little as a GTX550ti, then a 400w unit will be fine.
There currently is a great deal on the Corsair builder series 430W unit for $25 after discount and rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

 

[baiano]

Looks good.

1) Motherboard is good. But do you really need a full ATX with 7 expansion slots?
A M-ATX version would be cheaper, perhaps one like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131786

Comparing the specs between those two boards I only see a few minor differences. Thanks for that suggestion. I do have a question, though. The V has:

Supports NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ Technology

whereas the M does not. What exactly does that mean in terms of video cards that the board can support? Or video in general.

Also, the V has built-in bluetooth on the board. Is there any advantage to that over an adapter?

It is a favorite on spcr.

spcr?

3) The psu you need is determined mostly by the gaphics card. If your anticipated graphics card is as little as a GTX550ti, then a 400w unit will be fine.
There currently is a great deal on the Corsair builder series 430W unit for $25 after discount and rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

I'm not sure how strong of a graphics card I would eventually be in the market for but I like $25 for a silent psu. Good deal.

 

[geofelt]

A M-ATX motherboard will have 4 expansion slots, compared to 7 for a full ATX motherboard.
Therefore using two graphics cards(sli or crossfire) is not a practical option because the close spacing of two hot double slot graphics cards heats up the top card.
If you needs can not be satisfied by a single card GTX590, then the solution is sli.
That is not a real limitation for most of us, certainly not for anybody but a competitive gamer.

If you need bluetooth, then the M-atx will use up an expansion slot, or usb port. Don't know if that will make up the cost difference.

If you want a small case, then there are some very attractive small M-ATX cases around.

SPCR = silentpcreview.com A very good place to research quiet computing
Here is a review of the SOLO:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article272-page7.html

 

[baiano]

A M-ATX motherboard will have 4 expansion slots, compared to 7 for a full ATX motherboard.
Therefore using two graphics cards(sli or crossfire) is not a practical option because the close spacing of two hot double slot graphics cards heats up the top card.
If you needs can not be satisfied by a single card GTX590, then the solution is sli.
That is not a real limitation for most of us, certainly not for anybody but a competitive gamer.

So, if I understand you correctly:

NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ Technology
AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ Technology

only matter if I install more than one graphics card.

Also, I see a lot of people on the forum using the samsung spinpoint drives. Is it worth getting one of those even though they are just sata II (whereas the one i listed claims sata 6.0Gb/s )?

 

[geofelt]

only matter if I install more than one graphics card.

Correct.

I like the Samsung drives. They seem quieter to me.

The transfer rates of the dvd are small compared to the capacity of the sata channels.
It does not matter if they are sata2/3 or even 0.5 if that exists.

Same is true of conventional hard drives. The 6gb they are talking about is the transfer rate from the drive buffer to the sata channel.
It hardly matters because the drive must wait for the much slower mechanical motion to refill the buffer.

6gb is starting to matter with SSD's. They have no mechanical motion and are coming close to being able to use all of sata3 bandwidth.

You might consider a 80gb-120gb SSD for your build. Put your OS and some apps on it, use a larger hard drive for storage. It will make everything feel so much quicker.

 

[baiano]

So my stuff showed up today, got to love the "standard 3-day overnight" shipping. Everything went together perfectly except for the case fan. Both it and the PSU have only male molex plugs. Since I have to get an adapter anyway I am curious about the options. On the board near the case fan there is a 3-pin plug for fans. Would that plug provide enough power? If not, are there adapters that pull power from the PSU while also plugging to the board so that they can run variable speed?

 

[geofelt]

So my stuff showed up today, got to love the "standard 3-day overnight" shipping. Everything went together perfectly except for the case fan. Both it and the PSU have only male molex plugs. Since I have to get an adapter anyway I am curious about the options. On the board near the case fan there is a 3-pin plug for fans. Would that plug provide enough power? If not, are there adapters that pull power from the PSU while also plugging to the board so that they can run variable speed?

Anything attached to the psu will run at full speed. You can buy a Zalman fanmate or similar to dial in what lower speed you want.

If the fan has a three wire connector, the motherboard can control the speed. The third yellow wire is the speed sensor wire. That is needed for motherboard or software to detect the speed and then regulate it.

A motherboard header will be strong enough to handle any single fan. It is possible to attach two fans, but then you need to know the amperage of the fan and the fan header maximum capability.

 

[baiano]

Best answer selected by baiano.