Final Build Setup

[chugot9218]

Hey guys,

I have put together a final build for my first home built computer! I just wanted to run it by the forums and see if there were any further reccomendations.

I did decide on spending a little more money and getting an 850W PSU, from what I have read, it looks like that would be sufficient for a future SLI setup with the GTX 670, although I am not 100% sure on the brand but it did get fairly good reviews. I also swapped out the CPU cooler, I decided I did not want to hastle with water cooling and this cooler got pretty good ratings all around (although it was seen as a little pricey). I went with memory that can run at 2133mhz because from what I read it will be fairly easy to overclock it using Intel's XMP (Board and RAM brand are verified on Intel's website, although they verified the 2133mhz RAM with 32gb overall, but I assume it would still work fine with only 8gb) I still had some questions on the case but it almost all I looked at had fairly mixed reviews, and this seemed to be one of the best choices in my price range.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8hQK
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8hQK/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8hQK/benchmarks/
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($244.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C12P SE14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V PRO ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($147.27 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 850W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On ihes112-04 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($158.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1686.15 (Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-05-15 12:01 EDT-0400)

 

[MrKopaka1016]

This sounds like a good set up. I recommend though that you get a full ATX tower. My reason is that I have a mid ATX tower and recently got a GTX 570. When I went to go put it in, it barely fit. I had to move around my Hard drives and wires all together. But overall I am really liking this setup you have, try for a new case though.

 

[chugot9218]

Okay, I was purposely picking from the Mid sized towers, I will look into a full size. Do you like coolermaster for a case? For some reason I do not like them but again this is my first build so I have no previous experience to base my dislike on haha.

 

[MrKopaka1016]

Its ok, im still learning my self about cases. I do believe cooler master is a good brand though. Then again it depends on what your going to be doing overall with your build. I assume its going to be gaming but still, its good to know.

 

[g-unit1111]

That looks like a pretty good setup - I'd say drop your PSU to the 750 (850 is overkill even for a 670 SLI setup), and increase your M4 to a 128GB and you're good to go.

 

[chugot9218]

Okay, I switched my power supply to this:

Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)

And also upgraded to a 128gb SSD:

Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.00 @ B&H)

I am still kind of lost on the case, I want to spend about $140 max on it and am seeing fairly mixed reviews especially as far as the fan quality goes and am still on the fence between a mid and a full, does anyone have any specific reccomendations? I also want to make sure that I won't have any troubles as far as connectivity to my motherboard (saw some reviews that there were more fan connectors then present on the MOBO's)

*Edit* Also, do you reccomend going to the 128gb SSD just for the increased capacity? I want to try and purchase everything through one online retailer (newegg, although I am going to purchase my processor and mobo from microcenter) and they are quite expensive when moving up to 128gb *Edit*

 

[g-unit1111]

Okay, I switched my power supply to this:

Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)

And also upgraded to a 128gb SSD:

Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.00 @ B&H)

I am still kind of lost on the case, I want to spend about $140 max on it and am seeing fairly mixed reviews especially as far as the fan quality goes and am still on the fence between a mid and a full, does anyone have any specific reccomendations? I also want to make sure that I won't have any troubles as far as connectivity to my motherboard (saw some reviews that there were more fan connectors then present on the MOBO's)

*Edit* Also, do you reccomend going to the 128gb SSD just for the increased capacity? I want to try and purchase everything through one online retailer (newegg, although I am going to purchase my processor and mobo from microcenter) and they are quite expensive when moving up to 128gb *Edit*

I recommend the 128GB SSD because having a 64GB is fine but you lose a lot of Windows functionality - especially BD-R burning with the limited capacity.

If you want case suggestions in the ~$140 range here's what I would recommend:

- Fractal Design Define R3: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352014
- NZXT Phantom: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067
- Corsair Carbide 500R: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010
- Azza Hurrican 2000: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517010

 

[chugot9218]

Okay, so you seem to think I will still be good to go with a mid tower installing the GTX 670? I see Newegg has the Corsair 600T (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case for only $139 this week and it seems to have gotten pretty good reviews. Also I do not currently have a blu-ray burner in my configuration, figured I probably would not need it. What else would I be losing out on by going only with the 64gb SSD?

 

[g-unit1111]

Okay, so you seem to think I will still be good to go with a mid tower installing the GTX 670? I see Newegg has the Corsair 600T (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case for only $139 this week and it seems to have gotten pretty good reviews. Also I do not currently have a blu-ray burner in my configuration, figured I probably would not need it. What else would I be losing out on by going only with the 64gb SSD?

The 600T has *PLENTY* of room for a 670 - you could install 3 x 670 and a D14 and still have plenty of room.

You'd mainly lose some Windows functionality but not a whole lot, with 128GB you don't have to worry about space constraints that a 64GB would have. Keep in mind that formatting takes 10% of your drive's space (64GB actually is 57.5GB after formatting) and a full Windows install takes about 16GB, so that leaves you with about less than 20GB after that. If you want to that's fine but that's what I would do.

 

[chugot9218]

Alright, I think I will go with that case then! Am I going to want to invest in any additional fans or are the stock ones going to be enough, I see the MOBO I have selected advertises 4x chassis fan connectors, so I assume I would be able to install one additional one if I desired? And it also looks like I would have no problems with that CPU cooler I selected, correct?

 

[g-unit1111]

Alright, I think I will go with that case then! Am I going to want to invest in any additional fans or are the stock ones going to be enough, I see the MOBO I have selected advertises 4x chassis fan connectors, so I assume I would be able to install one additional one if I desired? And it also looks like I would have no problems with that CPU cooler I selected, correct?

Usually the chassis fan connectors are 1 x CPU fan and 3 x case fans - any other fans you may need you can always buy a $3 adapter like this from Radio Shack or Fry's and run them through your PSU - I've had to do that on my build and it works fine: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812186087

 

[chugot9218]

Okay, I did check out the specs on Asus' website and it lists 1 x CPU Fan Connector as well as 4 x Chassis Fan Connectors and a 1 x optional fan connector, I see you have the same case I was looking into, were you satisfied with the stock fans supplied? I would not necessarily add another fan but I'd like to know I at least have the option (which according to the mobo specs I would I think?). Lastly, will I need any additional connectors or supplies (besides anti-static stuff) for connecting any of my components? From what I can tell I would not, I am trying to do as much research on my own as I can but it is not always obvious to me, and I very much appreciate the help you have given me.

 

[chugot9218]

Best answer selected by Chugot9218.

 

[g-unit1111]

Okay, I did check out the specs on Asus' website and it lists 1 x CPU Fan Connector as well as 4 x Chassis Fan Connectors and a 1 x optional fan connector, I see you have the same case I was looking into, were you satisfied with the stock fans supplied? I would not necessarily add another fan but I'd like to know I at least have the option (which according to the mobo specs I would I think?). Lastly, will I need any additional connectors or supplies (besides anti-static stuff) for connecting any of my components? From what I can tell I would not, I am trying to do as much research on my own as I can but it is not always obvious to me, and I very much appreciate the help you have given me.

Yeah they're fine - I'm not too picky about fans as I usually have music playing and that drowns out the sound. You won't need any connectors or supplies - all that stuf is included - and anti static wrist straps are useless - don't waste your money on them.

 

[chugot9218]

Oh one more quick question, I see that the Noctua CPU cooler listing on newegg does not include 1155 sockets, is this correct? Is there another CPU cooler you recommend? I tried going for a more expensive one because I figured that would be an important component, but I also noticed in the newegg builds I watched they used coolermaster cpu coolers.

*Edit* I checked the manufacturer site and it shows compatability with 1155 sockets and also showed my selected board on its compatability list, should I stick with this cooler or go with a lower priced one? *Edit*

 

[g-unit1111]

Oh one more quick question, I see that the Noctua CPU cooler listing on newegg does not include 1155 sockets, is this correct? Is there another CPU cooler you recommend? I tried going for a more expensive one because I figured that would be an important component, but I also noticed in the newegg builds I watched they used coolermaster cpu coolers.

*Edit* I checked the manufacturer site and it shows compatability with 1155 sockets and also showed my selected board on its compatability list, should I stick with this cooler or go with a lower priced one? *Edit*

Anything that supports LGA 1156 (P55) will support LGA 1155 (Z68/Z77) - they're pretty much the same socket, I've used fans on all 3 different types of motherboards with no problems.