My first attempt at building my own rig (update)

[BOWNZ]

Hi everyone, just joined the community.

A short story before i begin:
about 2 and a half weeks ago my desktop rig's motherboard and CPU fried due to a power surge (even though i have a lightning/power surge shield).

Unfortunately... this is the first time im building my own rig since that rig lasted me for 6 years. and ussually id just order a prebuilt, so im not so familiar with hardware, so i need a little help from the community.
so far are the specs:

Case: Zalman Z9 plus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235027

PSU: [strike]need help on calculating how much watts i need for my rig (dont know if i should get a SeaSonic or aCorsair since SeaSonics are a bit cheaper per watt. does it mean sacraficing quality? or are they just cheaper?)[/strike]
Corsair TX850 V2 850W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022&Tpk=Corsair%20CMPSU-850TXV2
the overview and video review all say that this is like the budget version of the 850w corsairs (HX and AX), will it have any performance or power supply issues with a dual gpu system?

Mobo: [strike]only need one PCI x16 so im thinking of buying a GIGABYTE Z68A-D3-B3[/strike] recent change in GPU preference, buying an Asus P8Z68-V (2 PCIe x16 slots)
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V/#specifications

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
not worth the investment in my opinion to get an i7. (equivalent of 125$ difference in my country)

Cooling unit:
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2X4GB 1800MHz (forgot the exact model) (already bought overseas from a friend)

GPU: 2xEVGA GTX 560 SuperClocked
http://eu.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=01G-P3-1463-KR
found out that 2 GTX560 cards are better at performance than one GTX580 and they are cheaper for me to buy.
[strike]came across another GPU, costs about the same, not OC'ed but double the RAM (more future proof in my opinion)
GV-N580UD-3GI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125399&Tpk=GV-N580UD-3GI
i think its worth getting this one instead of the OC'ed one since i can OC it myself.[/strike]

HDD: Interested in a Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB (bought a 500GB one since i realized i dont need 1TB, apperantly everything in israel is like 20%-40% more expensive, and didnt have much of a choice so i bought it before it was out of stock)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Now i heard of adding SSD memory to a computer for faster response times and booting etc.

i dont know if its a must on a computer or not. but is it worth the investment?

BTW this set up is for gaming purposes.

Also wanted to write down an issue i had with my last rig. i have a razer lachessis which for some reason didnt let my computer to boot when the usb ports ran at the highest speed (the boot screen just kept running waiting for nothing) so i had to turn all the usb ports to 1.0 for it to work.
checked with razer and they said that my specifiec rig had a problem with it, maybe conflicting software/hardware. maybe its something in my BIOS that was not correctly set.

How will i know that my hardware doesnt conflit with other parts when its finally built?

And will my GPU work with the PSU and Mobo?

Thanks in Advance!

Alon.

 

[americanbrian]

Seasonic are one of the great PSU makers. Fine with them, Yes GPU and MOBO along with a hefty (800w+) branded PSU will be fine.

You will know that nothing conflicts when everything works like it is meant to. Short of that it is difficult to be absolutely certain. These sorts of conflict are relatively rare though so don't sweat about it.

I would recommend buying the i5 and spending the difference on a better cooling solution (I notice you haven't specced a heatsink/fan or WC unit.) And then overclock it lightly.

 

[cutebeans]

Get this.

Seagate Barracuda 500gb $60 < SALE. $40 off. That Spinpoint f3 is out of stock and will be back to $140 when it restocks.
http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST500DM002/dp/B005CT56R6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322572457&sr=8-1

Don't get a Seasonic, it's not worth the price. Get a Corsair or Antec.

 

[clarkjd]

SeaSonic makes a lot of the Corsair PSUs. for the same wattage, get whichever is cheaper.

 

[cutebeans]

Yeah, don't know why Seasonic is so expensive compared to Corsair especially for that reason.

 

[BOWNZ]

thanks for the help and replies!

i did forget to post the cooling unit (kept thinking what i forgot to post)

my eyes are over the CoolerMaster Hyper 212.

but any other likewise heatsink will work


now for another question if you people dont mind.
for me the Mobo is the least expensive major rig part, now im not sure if its just that way with mother boards or the z68 mobo is just in a lower league.

my goal in this purchase is to build a system that works without any congestions, meaning: i dont want parts that create bottlenecks when the rig is put to the test.
i want all the parts at roughly the same level.

i hope im not bombarding with too many questions, its just i like to be sure the parts fit.

tiny question: ive been reading about an anti/static wrist band that is recommended during installation of the rig. is it a must? (not sure i have this things in my country, never heard of them or seen them)

P.S i forgot to mention im adding a 140mm fan and maybe more if its needed to aid in the global cooling of the system. maybe should i got with just a 120mm for less noise?

 

[americanbrian]

OK, anti-static wristband.... I have never worn one and not had any problems. BUT! always discharge yourself on the metal part of the PC case (with an earthed power cable in the PSU in the case) This will ground you and take away any charge you happen to be carrying.

Also, don't work on a carpet shuffling your feet about. If you are going to work in a carpeted room, be bare foot. Don't wear wool or fleecy materials. Cotton only (jeans and t-shirt works for me)

P.S. It is impossible to not have a "bottleneck" at SOME limit (depends on what you are testing). I get what you mean, but bottleneck is used inappropriately all the time. Basically what you want is a well balanced system.

On that note, it seems like you are getting premium parts all round and hence I would recommend putting an SSD in as a system disk, using your HD for more permanent storage. You can get a cheap 90-128GB ssd that will more than cover any OS install and loads of apps. It's totally worth it, they can be found cheap and the difference is amazingly noticeable.

 

[BOWNZ]

thanks for the info!

yes what im trying to build is a balanced system.

so how about the Mobo? is it fine for my rig? or do i need to upscale it alittle bit?

not sure i want an SSD, its insanely expensive in israel. 40GB costs 115$ (NIS to $ exchange rate) i rather use that money for something else

ill just wait for the prices to get down. and buy one in the future. used to hard disk drives for years, not gonna hurt for another one or two years.
is 40GB SSD enough for the OS (Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit) and a couple of programs (such as web browsers, CCleaner etc).

oh and i was wondering, my brother is obsessed with flat keyboards like the mac and laptop keyboards. i keep telling him its not for gaming because they are way more delicate then say.. my abused default microsoft keyboard
any specifiec keyboard with that style of keys available? possibly with a normal keyboard key layout if possible,

thanks in advance,

Alon.

 

[BOWNZ]

sorry for the bump.

but its been over 30 hours since the last post (which was mine)

and i need to buy the parts pretty soon.

id appreciate a response that answers all the aspects of my system and not bit by bit person by person.

 

[cutebeans]

MMobo is good. You don't need to upscale it.

Don't get an SSd, it's not that important.

I'm not sure about keyboards.

 

[BOWNZ]

updated my set up alittle bit.

MMobo is good. You don't need to upscale it.

Don't get an SSd, it's not that important.

I'm not sure about keyboards.

exactly the opposite of what i just said in the last post, pay attention people, i dont want this topic hanging around and attracting users from other peoples topics, they need help too.

please let me know if the whole system is good, i just dont want to end up with a computer that does run well/not enough power supply/heats up too much etc.

just answer all the aspects of my system in one post if its not too much to ask. kind of annoying scrolling through all the answers.

see my point: every person has its own opinion about brand/balance/price/quality etc. id like as much full reviews as i can get.

Thanks in advance,
Alon.

 

[clarkjd]

As a whole, the system should work.

This is not to say that there aren't ANY better choices. People are simply trying to point that out. That's the kind of help you will get when you ask this kind of question. You want a "go/no go" answer to your selections as a whole. People are just pointing out that there may be better choices. It's called constructive criticism.

 

[cutebeans]

It's pretty good.