First gaming pc build help please

[Znoel87]

Hey everyone,

I'm building my first gaming computer and am in need of some guidance. So far I have the coolermaster haf x case, coolermaster silent gold pro 1200w power supply, and the i7-3960x processor. I don't really have a budget on this thing just need help on what motherboard, graphics card, and memory to get. I think I'm going to go with the Raid 2tb 1+0 (4 x 1tb sata 3Gb/s 7,200) hard drive but am open for suggestion. I was doing some research on different motherboards that run good with the i7-3960x and have heard the Asus Rampage IV x79 extreme and the MSi x79A-GD65 Military class III motherboards pair good with the prcoesser but want some other input.


Thanks in advanced for any help or suggestions

Zac

 

[capt_taco]

My advice would be:

1. Send back the i7-3960x
2. Send back the 1200W power supply
3. Think about whether there's a definite REASON to spend $3,000+, which is where this machine appears to be headed.

There probably isn't one, especially if this is your first build. Most likely you'll end up with a $900 machine and $2,100 worth of overkill. Your friends will be just as impressed with an i5-2500k, single-GPU build in a cool-looking case, and it'll run any game just as well as your machine. Yeah, the $3,000 machine would have better benchmarks, but for practical use, that means nothing at all.

 

[unclejehmimah]

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131802

The Rampage IV Extreme has the red color scheme, that will go well with your case. A ton of PCI-e 3.0 so you can get GTX 680('s) and other expansion cards. You have SATA III 6.0 Gb/s ports so you can put a couple of fast SSD's in there running at raid 0 for your boot drive. You also have a plethora of power connectors on the board, so none of your components will run low on power.

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121626

This is pretty obvious, it's the fastest single GPU card on the planet and was released just a few days ago. I would buy two of these if I were you because they scale well in SLI. Note that this is the stock version and soon companies will be releasing cards with more memory, faster clock speeds, and better coolers. To get the most bang for your buck with these cards I would go ahead and wait for non-stock versions.

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231503

Scorching fast, quad channel, lots of it. Memory is pretty simple and there are other options. If you end up getting this you might want to tighten up the latency's to something a bit faster, although with memory clocked in at this speed the latency's might not make much of a difference.

I also have a comment on the drive system. I would go with maybe 2 of these in raid 0 for your boot drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167115. That's 360 gb to store your games and the OS on. I would then opt for a mechanical drive system, nothing fast because you don't want an earthquake sitting next to you, just something you can store media on. Movies, music, pictures. Any well rated drive should do the trick for you.

I was also wondering about the cooling you're going to have on that monster proc, 'cause it doesn't come with a cooler. It'd be great if you could tell what's going on there so we can figure something out.

 

[clarkjd]

Why do you want to use RAID? It just complicates the setup for a meager increase in performance, and doubles(or quadruples, in your case) the chances of data loss.

 

[unclejehmimah]

It's why i suggested RAID 0 on SSD's, less data loss and it increases capacity and speed.

 

[Znoel87]

Why do you want to use RAID? It just complicates the setup for a meager increase in performance, and doubles(or quadruples, in your case) the chances of data loss.

lol no reason, its my first build i really have no idea what im doing thats why i need any help i can get

 

[e56imfg]

My advice would be:

1. Send back the i7-3960x
2. Send back the 1200W power supply
3. Think about whether there's a definite REASON to spend $3,000+, which is where this machine appears to be headed.

There probably isn't one, especially if this is your first build. Most likely you'll end up with a $900 machine and $2,100 worth of overkill. Your friends will be just as impressed with an i5-2500k, single-GPU build in a cool-looking case, and it'll run any game just as well as your machine. Yeah, the $3,000 machine would have better benchmarks, but for practical use, that means nothing at all.

+1

A 3960x has minimal gain in performance over the 2500K in terms of gaming.
A 600 to 700w PSU would do you fine. 1200w is just for QUAD SLI/CrossFireX
If you're only gaming, $2000 would be the max I would spend on a gaming rig.

Did you buy the 3960x or are you planning on buying it?

 

[Znoel87]

My advice would be:

1. Send back the i7-3960x
2. Send back the 1200W power supply
3. Think about whether there's a definite REASON to spend $3,000+, which is where this machine appears to be headed.

There probably isn't one, especially if this is your first build. Most likely you'll end up with a $900 machine and $2,100 worth of overkill. Your friends will be just as impressed with an i5-2500k, single-GPU build in a cool-looking case, and it'll run any game just as well as your machine. Yeah, the $3,000 machine would have better benchmarks, but for practical use, that means nothing at all.

is there a certain reason you as to why you suggest that i return the i7-3960x and the power supply? all the review i have read about it say that its the best and fastest processor avaliable.

 

[Znoel87]

+1

A 3960x has minimal gain in performance over the 2500K in terms of gaming.
A 600 to 700w PSU would do you fine. 1200w is just for QUAD SLI/CrossFireX
If you're only gaming, $2000 would be the max I would spend on a gaming rig.

Did you buy the 3960x or are you planning on buying it?

ive already purchased it and opened the box lol so i guess im stuck with it

 

[e56imfg]

The Sandy Bridge-E line is really meant for the people who edit vids and do lots of photoshop. In gaming, the difference between a 2500K and a 3960x is almost non-existent.

 

[Znoel87]

The Sandy Bridge-E line is really meant for the people who edit vids and do lots of photoshop. In gaming, the difference between a 2500K and a 3960x is almost non-existent.

ah i see

 

[capt_taco]

is there a certain reason you as to why you suggest that i return the i7-3960x and the power supply? all the review i have read about it say that its the best and fastest processor avaliable.

The $1,000 and the $240, that's all. It's the best, but not by that much and not for long. So why pay that much when you could get essentially the same thing for a quarter of the price.

If you opened the box, they'll still take it back. Maybe with a "restocking fee" of $10-10%, depending on where you bought it. Doing it is still a better option. Losing $100 would still be a better option than spending an extra $800 and having nothing to show for it.

 

[Znoel87]

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131802

The Rampage IV Extreme has the red color scheme, that will go well with your case. A ton of PCI-e 3.0 so you can get GTX 680('s) and other expansion cards. You have SATA III 6.0 Gb/s ports so you can put a couple of fast SSD's in there running at raid 0 for your boot drive. You also have a plethora of power connectors on the board, so none of your components will run low on power.

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121626

This is pretty obvious, it's the fastest single GPU card on the planet and was released just a few days ago. I would buy two of these if I were you because they scale well in SLI. Note that this is the stock version and soon companies will be releasing cards with more memory, faster clock speeds, and better coolers. To get the most bang for your buck with these cards I would go ahead and wait for non-stock versions.

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231503

Scorching fast, quad channel, lots of it. Memory is pretty simple and there are other options. If you end up getting this you might want to tighten up the latency's to something a bit faster, although with memory clocked in at this speed the latency's might not make much of a difference.

I also have a comment on the drive system. I would go with maybe 2 of these in raid 0 for your boot drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167115. That's 360 gb to store your games and the OS on. I would then opt for a mechanical drive system, nothing fast because you don't want an earthquake sitting next to you, just something you can store media on. Movies, music, pictures. Any well rated drive should do the trick for you.

I was also wondering about the cooling you're going to have on that monster proc, 'cause it doesn't come with a cooler. It'd be great if you could tell what's going on there so we can figure something out.

I planned on getting a liquid cooling system for the processor but haven't looked at any particular ones yet

 

[Znoel87]

I'm new to building computers and feel that i have rushed into buying stuff too fast. starting from square one, is this all that is needed in order to build a computer,

tower
processor
mother board
sd ram
hard drive
disc drive
graphics card
power supply


am i missing any items other than software? like do i need to purchase cables and stuff or will all that come with the certain products that i buy?

 

[capt_taco]

That should be all the components you need for a standard gaming machine, other than the operating system.

You also will likely benefit from a third-party CPU cooler instead of the stock one that comes in the box, but it is by no means mandatory. I would get a better one if you plan on overclocking, though. But I would also stay away from watercooling unless you plan on doing SERIOUS overclocking - otherwise, it's more trouble than it's worth unless you enjoy case modding, etc.

Power cables are included with the power supply; and most motherboards tend to come with at least a pair of SATA cables so you can hook up the hard drive and optical drive for data transfer.

If you have basically no budget, one top-tier part you might consider that WOULD improve performance significantly is a SSD instead of (or in addition to) a regular hard drive.

 

[Znoel87]

That should be all the components you need for a standard gaming machine, other than the operating system.

You also will likely benefit from a third-party CPU cooler instead of the stock one that comes in the box, but it is by no means mandatory. I would get a better one if you plan on overclocking, though. But I would also stay away from watercooling unless you plan on doing SERIOUS overclocking - otherwise, it's more trouble than it's worth unless you enjoy case modding, etc.

Power cables are included with the power supply; and most motherboards tend to come with at least a pair of SATA cables so you can hook up the hard drive and optical drive for data transfer.

If you have basically no budget, one top-tier part you might consider that WOULD improve performance significantly is a SSD instead of (or in addition to) a regular hard drive.

Awesome so what ssd would you recomend I get, is it better to get that and a hard drive aswell or just the ssd?

 

[photonboy]

Graphics card:
Get a single GTX680 (you may have to WAIT a while since they're in high demand.)

Motherboard:
Either Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge (both 1155). Make sure it has a PCIe v3 bus and USB3 FRONT CONNECTION slots. eSATA recommended too.

RAM:
Get 8GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM (either 4x2GB or 2x4GB)

CASE:
I like my Antec 100. Antec has some inexpensive cases like this one with two fans, cable hiding etc for a LOW price. No need to spend too much.
*However, if you get a motherboard with USB3 front connection, make sure the CASE has front USB slots rated to handle USB3.

CPU cooler:
Try NCIX to compare. I have a Noctua DH-14 or something. Get one with a 120mm fan. (FYI, your motherboard BIOS may need to be changed to "VOLTAGE" for fan control to work.)

FANS:
May need an extra 120mm (low noise i.e. 16dB) for the bottom-front. Get one more for the top-rear if your case doesn't have one. (You should have case air being sucked IN from the bottom-front and blowing OUT the top-rear. Always BLOCK unused holes like fan holes with no fans with something like cardboard and packing tape.

PSU position:
Depending on case. If possible, make sure the PSU has the outtake and intake OUTSIDE of the case so it's not sucking in hot case air.

SOUND:
The M-Audio AV40/AV30 speakers are great. If you want a subwoofer, read reviews (i.e. Edifier S330D). No matter what speakers you get, make sure the OFF SWITCH is in reach (not on the subwoofer) as you should turn them off what not in use especially if they use a lot of power. The Auzentech Forte X-Fi is a great audio card. AV40 speakers are overkill with onboard sound.

 

[Znoel87]

Best answer selected by znoel87.