So I've decided to build my first PC. Why? because I know I can and it's something that I've always wanted to do. However, being a law student with little to no tech background, I seek the advice and direction of those more tech savvy than I. My main goal with this build is to be able to eventually add on a 2nd GPU and have the total cost come in at under $1000 (remember that I'm a broke law student).
Obviously at this price range, i'm looking for smart, efficient buys rather than the latest and greatest. Plz let me know if you see any bottlenecks or other issues with this build.
After the list below, I had 3 questions specifically related to this build. Thank you all for your time, advice and expertise!
Motherboard: P8H67-M EVO-REV3 (LGA 1155 socket): $125
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131710)
CPU: i5 2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHZ (LGA 1155): $189
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074)
PSU & RAM COMBO: CORSAIR Gaming Series GS800 800W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply bundled with:
1x CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ... $159.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.826155)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower $54.99 (Newegg) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153)
GPU: GIGABYTE GV-N560UD-1G GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5: $209 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125401)
RAM: See above
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $124.99
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840)
Disk Drive: SAMSUNG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Combo Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support - OEM $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151222
Heatsink: ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink $39.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118003)
My 3 questions:
Is an 800 watt power supply sufficient to cover the eventual 2nd GPU?
Is the aftermarket heatsink fan necessary?
What does "Bare drive" mean as it is used in the HDD description?
Obviously at this price range, i'm looking for smart, efficient buys rather than the latest and greatest. Plz let me know if you see any bottlenecks or other issues with this build.
After the list below, I had 3 questions specifically related to this build. Thank you all for your time, advice and expertise!
Motherboard: P8H67-M EVO-REV3 (LGA 1155 socket): $125
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131710)
CPU: i5 2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHZ (LGA 1155): $189
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074)
PSU & RAM COMBO: CORSAIR Gaming Series GS800 800W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply bundled with:
1x CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ... $159.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.826155)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower $54.99 (Newegg) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153)
GPU: GIGABYTE GV-N560UD-1G GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5: $209 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125401)
RAM: See above
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $124.99
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840)
Disk Drive: SAMSUNG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Combo Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support - OEM $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151222
Heatsink: ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink $39.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118003)
My 3 questions:
Is an 800 watt power supply sufficient to cover the eventual 2nd GPU?
Is the aftermarket heatsink fan necessary?
What does "Bare drive" mean as it is used in the HDD description?