First gaming build

[Teutone]

Hi,

I have only had laptops for the last 10 years and before that I always had friends put systems together for me. So this will be my first build, I am trying to go for something pretty simple that will right now play everything on max details. I like it powerful, but not over the top. I am planning on running Windows 7 on it and I got a 27" monitor in 1920x1080. I did a fair bit of research, but it would be nice if someone could answer me a few questions:

1. Are all of these components compatible?

2. Will they fit physically together, i.e. won't the cooler be to big and obstruct the video card, or have a conflict with the (pretty tall) ram? How about the case?

3. Are there any components that could be exchanged for a better choice for this particular build?

4. Will this setup (and especially the power supply) be powerful enough to support a second radeon 6950 in the future if I ever choose to crossfire them?

5. I am a little concerned about excessive noise and tried to stick with relatively quiet components. Anything catching your eye that will be noisy?


i5-2550 K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157265&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

SAPPHIRE FleX 100312FLEX Radeon HD 6950 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102929

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233143

COOLER MASTER HAF 912
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
I read that a lot of people on this board like the Antec 300, any recommendation of one over the other? Id like to go with a pretty simple so that doesn't look too fancy. I liked about the cooler master that I can put in 200 mm fans, so it stays cool and quiet.

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=18rnpnpotl02k

ASUS 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

One of these in the front and two additional 120 on the side and on the top:
COOLER MASTER Megaflow 200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103072

As for the hard drive I would like to go with a small SSD drive for windows 7 and one or two games and a ~500 gb hard drive for everything else. Is this SSD ok? Don't know about the hard drive yet.
Intel 320 Series 80 gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167047

Any recommendation for an inexpensive sound card? I heard that the on board sound of the ASRock is not that great.

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

[dalmvern]

Is there any particular reason you chose that GPU? I believe those cards are meant for an Eyefinity setup, so there are some better choices available to you.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127575

That card is faster and will be cooler while still being quiet. I dont hear mine at all.

 

[cutebeans]

Just get this combo i5-2500k. It saves you $45 and is a really solid combo. $640
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.755265

Add GPU, CPU cooler, SSD. you're done.

 

[dalmvern]

Just get this combo i5-2500k. It saves you $45 and is a really solid combo. $640
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.755265

Add GPU, CPU cooler, SSD. you're done.

If he is planning on adding a second 6950 in the future like he asked about in the questions, the PSU in that bundle will not power it. Aside from that, this bundle does look nice.

 

[zooted]

^its got 76amps on the 12v rails it will power it. Just not a whole lot of overhead.

 

[dalmvern]

^its got 76amps on the 12v rails it will power it. Just not a whole lot of overhead.

No, if it provided 76 amps to the 12v rails it would be rated as a 1000W power supply. It provides a maximum of 38 amps to the two rails.

 

[vitornob]

This Antec PSU gives 38A max at each 12v rail, but can't deliver 38A from both 12v rails at same time.

In combined 12v rails it delivers 44A maximum.

 

[dalmvern]

This Antec PSU gives 38A max at each 12v rail, but can't deliver 38A from both 12v rails at same time.

In combined 12v rails it delivers 44A maximum.

Just curious, where did you find that?

 

[Teutone]

Thanks for your replies. That is great advice dalmvern. I had no reason to choose the particular 6950 2gb I did. To be honest, there were so many different versions that I did not know which one to pick. I'm happy to follow your advice and get the MSI version that you posted if it is quieter and cooler. There is a $60 price difference for basically the same card I noticed...

Cutebeans, thanks for making me aware of those combo deals. I was looking into several of them and each one had at least one component that I did not like so much, in this case like others have mentioned the PSU.

Any input on whether these components will work and fit well together?

 

[dalmvern]

Yes, everything will work well together, but I did notice that you chose a P67 motherboard. It might be beneficial if you went with a Z68 motherboard since you have a SSD and you could take advantage of the SSD cahceing feature the Z68 chipset has.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157264

Same board, Z68 chipset, $25 more.

 

[zooted]

Yeah I was wrong about the 12v rail. Kit guru rated the combined 12v rails at 48amp max http://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/zardon/antec-earthwatts-ea-650w-review-green-2011/4/ my bad