First Time build. Looking for a second opinion

[patarrfwifwi]

I am building a new comp for FPS and MMO gaming and want to get as much out of the hardware as possible. The longer I can wait until I have to make upgrades, the better. I feel like I understand how all of the hardware works together well enough, however I'd prefer it if I didn't make any first time mistakes with compatibility, reliability, or even some areas where I could possibly tone down on unnecessary parts to save some cost. Ill post links to all of the parts below.

I feel like the power supply is probably a bit higher than actually needed, however it's a good price. If you think I can get a less powerful one and save some money I'd like to hear your thoughts on that as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 - Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133094 - Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182188 - PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071 - CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104261 - RAM (4 of these sticks)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227726 - SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 - CPU cooler
I already have a GTX 550 TI from Asus so I don't plan on getting a new video card for about another year.

 

[Outlander_04]

Thanks for the opportunity to click all those links for you

Read the thread about how to ask for advice . Its at the top of the forum

 

[Grand_Admiral_K]

That's not too bad of a build, but here are a few things to consider.

First, if you're not doing video editing or anything along those lines, the i7 is an unnecessary expense. An i5-2500 would give you identical frames per second on your games for $100 less. Also, I would heavily encourage you to get an i5-2500K so you have an unlocked multiplier. You may not be interested in OCing right now, but it's worth the 10 extra dollars so you have that available in the future. OCing is a great way of breathing life into an old build so allow yourself that possibility later.

Second, that RAM you have picked from Kingston is sold out. Try this one out instead...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Lastly, for the powersupply, I would consider this one...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

 

[danraies]

You could maybe run four 550ti's on a 1000W PSU. What are you planning on doing with your graphics a year from now? I think you're probably better off buying a 650W unit around $100 from a quality manufacturer because Rosewill isn't a very good name in PSU manufacturing (and it matters in PSU's). Here are both modular and non-modular options:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139031

Don't get four separate sticks of RAM. Buy one 16GB kit.

If your machine is primarily for gaming then get an i5-2500 (or even i5-2400) instead of the i7-2600. There's no difference in gaming and you can put that money toward graphics. If you can get a second 550ti right now (identical if you can find it) that will provide a really good stop-gap until you can upgrade your graphics in a year.

Do you already have a standard HDD? 120GB isn't enough total space for most people.

 

[cbrunnem]

ok good motherboard choice, bad psu choice, questioning cpu choice, bad ram choice, and neutral cooler choice.t

psu- too much wattage for what you need. no need for more then a 750 watt unit of a good brand, corsair antec seasonic, xfx

cpu- why the 2600? you dont need hyperthreading for gaming and its not even the k version. id recommend the 2500k.

that ram is expensive and if your going to get 16gb of ram get a set sold in pairs of 4. also that ram is not compatible with a sandy bridge cpu. 1.5v ram is what you need.

cooler- for a i7 that cooler is alright at stock clocks but once you get over 4.0 its not good enough.

 

[g-unit1111]

Don't get four separate sticks of RAM. Buy one 16GB kit.

I will disagree with this - 16GB is not needed for a gaming system and not all motherboards support 8GB DIMMs yet. You really need to check the QVL from your manufacturer to see that it's supported before buying. The wrong RAM can really mess up your system.

If your machine is primarily for gaming then get an i5-2500 (or even i5-2400) instead of the i7-2600. There's no difference in gaming and you can put that money toward graphics. If you can get a second 550ti right now (identical if you can find it) that will provide a really good stop-gap until you can upgrade your graphics in a year.

I have two 550TIs running in SLI - performance is about equivalent to what a single 570TI would bring.

ok good motherboard choice, bad psu choice, questioning cpu choice, bad ram choice, and neutral cooler choice.t

The Hyper 212 is an excellent choice but there's a newer version out called the "EVO" (better fan, better direction of heat pipes) for like $5 - $10 more.

Do you already have a standard HDD? 120GB isn't enough total space for most people.

This I definitely agree with - you have to keep in mind that a Windows install takes anywhere from 16GB - 20GB and each game you want to run can take anywhere from 8GB (Skyrim) to 25GB (BF3). And with SSDs you never want to load them beyond 80% capacity.

It's not a bad build at all. First drop the 2600K to the 2500K - it's the same CPU performance-wise for $100 cheaper. With that invest the difference into a better storage solution. I'll definitely second the RAM suggested above, but your PSU and SSD are not good choices, these would be better:

These would be better suggestions:

- PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703027
- Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
- Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498
- SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

 

[patarrfwifwi]

You could maybe run four 550ti's on a 1000W PSU. What are you planning on doing with your graphics a year from now? I think you're probably better off buying a 650W unit around $100 from a quality manufacturer because Rosewill isn't a very good name in PSU manufacturing (and it matters in PSU's). Here are both modular and non-modular options:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139031

Don't get four separate sticks of RAM. Buy one 16GB kit.

If your machine is primarily for gaming then get an i5-2500 (or even i5-2400) instead of the i7-2600. There's no difference in gaming and you can put that money toward graphics. If you can get a second 550ti right now (identical if you can find it) that will provide a really good stop-gap until you can upgrade your graphics in a year.

Do you already have a standard HDD? 120GB isn't enough total space for most people.

I'm probably going to get another 550 TI. The current drive I have is 300gb, with 270gb useable. I would just have the SSD for installing the OS and the games and keep the 300gb dinosaur for what little storage it has. ATM I have about 80gb free with about 12 games installed and some extra stuff I could dump so I don't think storage will be a huge issue.

What's the advantage of buying a 16gb kit as opposed to buying the 4 sticks?

 

[g-unit1111]

I'm probably going to get another 550 TI. The current drive I have is 300gb, with 270gb useable. I would just have the SSD for installing the OS and the games and keep the 300gb dinosaur for what little storage it has. ATM I have about 80gb free with about 12 games installed and some extra stuff I could dump so I don't think storage will be a huge issue.

What's the advantage of buying a 16gb kit as opposed to buying the 4 sticks?

The suggestion of buying a 16GB kit is incorrect - you don't need it for a gaming system and it in some cases can actually hinder performance. But you really need to check the QVL to see if the RAM you're buying has been tested and verified with the motherboard. Intel is really strict about RMAs and will actually void your warranty if they find out you've been using the wrong RAM (this is due to the memory controller being on the chip).

If you can reuse your existing HD definitely do so. I have dual 550TIs running but I really want to get a single, solid GPU for my next one.

 

[Outlander_04]

definitely dont need 16 gig of RAM . You wont see any noticeable increase in game performance with any more than 4 gig [ in a 2 x2 gig dual channel kit ] .

You will get a small improvement in non game apps with a 2 x4 gig kit . But no more improvement with 16

 

[danraies]

I will disagree with this - 16GB is not needed for a gaming system and not all motherboards support 8GB DIMMs yet. You really need to check the QVL from your manufacturer to see that it's supported before buying. The wrong RAM can really mess up your system.

All I meant was that if you're going to get 16GB of RAM then get one 4x4GB kit instead of buying four 4GB sticks individually. It really doesn't make that much of a difference, but a 4x4GB kit is going to be about the same price (cheaper if anything) and when you buy four sticks in the same kit they're going to be from the same batch and could work marginally better than four sticks from different batches.

I agree that you don't need more than 8GB, though.

I have two 550TIs running in SLI - performance is about equivalent to what a single 570TI would bring.

Do you mean 570 or is this your way of saying it would perform between a 570 and a 580?

 

[patarrfwifwi]

Would this be better RAM for that Mobo? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220558

 

[danraies]

Would this be better RAM for that Mobo? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220558

You're better off with 1.5V RAM. You want 1600mhz, CL9, and 1.5V.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570

 

[patarrfwifwi]

All of the PSU options I see look like quality buys, however the pricing on those is VERY close to the overpowered one I already have selected. for 1000W $130 is a pretty good deal and all of the 750W PSU's I see are only ten dollars cheaper at most

 

[patarrfwifwi]

what's the difference between a modular and a non-modular PSU?

 

[danraies]

It's not just about overall wattage in PSU's. You need to consider efficiency, the number of +12V rails, the wattage on those rails, noise, heat, and longevity. There's a reason Rosewill PSU's are cheaper than Corsair units.

In a modular PSU all the cables (except sometimes that 24-pin and 4/8-pin cables) are removable so you only have to use the cables that you need. With a non-modular PSU you're going to have a huge knot of extra cables just sitting on the bottom of your case.

 

[patarrfwifwi]

I'll just go with non-modular since it seems to be cheaper and I am not really concerned with how the inside of the case looks when I'm done getting everything plugged in. Is that case big enough to fit all of those other wires though?

 

[patarrfwifwi]

this is the best i5-2500k I could find on newegg. Does it look alright? I don't quite get the difference between sandy bridge and non sandy bridge, but I couldn't find an i5-2500k that wasn't Sandy Bridge.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

 

[patarrfwifwi]

This is the finalized list. Actually dropped about $150 off the price from unnecessary parts thanks to you guys, and saved some problems with RAM.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570 - RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 - CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020 - PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133094 - Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 - Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227726 - SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 - CPU Cooler
Already have a 300gb HDD and a GTX 550 TI. Storage won't be an issue. Any final suggestions?

 

[g-unit1111]

All I meant was that if you're going to get 16GB of RAM then get one 4x4GB kit instead of buying four 4GB sticks individually. It really doesn't make that much of a difference, but a 4x4GB kit is going to be about the same price (cheaper if anything) and when you buy four sticks in the same kit they're going to be from the same batch and could work marginally better than four sticks from different batches.

I agree that you don't need more than 8GB, though.



Do you mean 570 or is this your way of saying it would perform between a 570 and a 580?

It does make sense that if you're going to be buying RAM that you need to get all four matching sets.

But yeah as far as the dual 550TIs I can play most games on high details like Skyrim and so on with about 30 - 35FPS, which is about equivalent to a GTX 570.

I'll just go with non-modular since it seems to be cheaper and I am not really concerned with how the inside of the case looks when I'm done getting everything plugged in. Is that case big enough to fit all of those other wires though?

You want to route your cables so as to not obstruct your airflow so that does matter. You want to get a case that will allow you to route your cables behind the motherboard tray.

Already have a 300gb HDD and a GTX 550 TI. Storage won't be an issue. Any final suggestions?

Way, way better choices, but you really should look at getting a different case. The HAF 912 is one of the best cases in the market in it's price range. It will not have any effect on your budget.

Patriot is a decent RAM maker - but you should really get this as your RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233196

In a modular PSU all the cables (except sometimes that 24-pin and 4/8-pin cables) are removable so you only have to use the cables that you need. With a non-modular PSU you're going to have a huge knot of extra cables just sitting on the bottom of your case.

It's my personal preference that I prefer non-modular PSUs. It's all in how you route your cables that will make all the difference in air flow, not how many you have.

 

[cbrunnem]

do you ever plan on overclocking? if so how high?

 

[patarrfwifwi]

I plan on overclocking the CPU, not sure how high I plan on going because I don't know much about that particular one. I currently overclock my graphics card using the Asus tool that came with it that allows me to adjust the voltage and everything. I read that the motherboard I chose has some nice overclocking features so I'll start out with those and see if I need to go higher. I don't plan on going crazy with it, but just enough to get my framerates up and still be safe with the temperature.

As per the case, I'll definitely look into the HAF 912 and see if its better but I really have no idea how much space is in the one I currently have in that list. Reviews on newegg seem to suggest that it's a pretty solid case.

 

[cbrunnem]

if you do any overclocking over 4.0 id recommend a better cooler then the hyper 212 evo

 

[patarrfwifwi]

its at 3.4 out of the box, so I doubt I'll go higher than 4. Thanks for the tip though. I'll keep it in mind when its time to make further upgrades

 

[patarrfwifwi]

Best answer selected by patarrfwifwi.

 

[cbrunnem]

its at 3.4 out of the box, so I doubt I'll go higher than 4. Thanks for the tip though. I'll keep it in mind when its time to make further upgrades

the thing is that these cpu's can clock up to 4.7-4.8 normally and some can go over 5. that is if you have a good cooler.