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Looking for help with my first build.

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I'm completely new to building computers and all of the technical aspects and terms that go along with it, I've managed to get most of my rig picked out but I still need help with finding anything else that I still need to put in my rig so that it works.

A list of what I have picked out for my rig is at the bottom.


Approximate Purchase Date: As I get the money.

Budget Range: Already going to cost ~$2,000, trying to keep it under $2,500.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, video & picture recording & editing, music, etc.

Are you buying a monitor: Looking for one currently.

Parts to Upgrade: Everything since it's a new build.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes, looking at Windows 7 ultimate atm.

Preferred Website for Parts: newegg.com

Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Parts Preferences: Mid-high end.

Overclocking: Not anytime in the near future.

SLI or Crossfire: SLI once I purchase a 2nd GPU

Your Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024 most likely.

Additional Comments: Recording and editing software mostly, along with numerous games.

Why Are You Upgrading: I need a proper computer and I want to chose my own system so that I have what I need.


Sofar my rig includes:

Intel DX79SI mobo
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681...

Intel core i7-3930K CPU
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681...

Intel BXRTS2011LC Liquid-cooled Thermal Solution For LGA2011 Socket
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1683...

Ripjaws Z series 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1682...

1x EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB (adding a 2nd at a later date)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681...

CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750 (CMPSU-750AX) 750W ATX12V 80 PLUS GOLD
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681...

Crucial M4 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC SSD (adding a 2nd at a later date)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1682...

Western Digital Caviar WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD (adding 1-2 more at a later date)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1682...

COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper mid tower case
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681...

Windows 7 professional OS

Monitor will be chosen once I start to build my rig. (will be adding a 2nd monitor later down the road)

More about : build

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The i7-3930K is massive overkill for that type of build - if it were a true CS5 build I'd say go for it, but anything else and it really isn't. I wouldn't use that Intel board as they're very bland on features for the prices they offer, and that closed liquid loop is not a good idea. And why get a 580 when you could get a 670?

Also don't spend the money on Windows 7 Ultimate when Pro will handle everything you need. You only need Ultimate if you're running the language packs or XP emulation mode.

Try this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($324.99 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($95.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($107.49 @ Newegg Canada)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F4 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($129.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Hard Drive: Plextor PX-M3S Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($154.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($139.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112-04 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($69.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1883.39
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-07-19 18:34 EDT-0400)

Add a good monitor and you'll be a little over $2K.

yay! a canadian

somethings to get at ncix

1: get a corsair carbide 500R for 109.99 and it comes with a free corsair fan. you can then purchase a noctua nh-d14 for 39.99. also has free shipping for case
2: the evga ftw 670 is 419.99 and 409.99 after MIR. cheapest i can find in canada
3:get some mushkin blackline frostbyte 2x8gb modules at ncix.com for 99.99
4:the xfx xxx 750w power supply is 114.99 and 104.99 dollars. get it. comes with 2 free games as well
5:get the gigabyte z77x-ud5h at ncix.com for 187.99 and 177.99 after MIR
6:there is a LG dvd drive for 16.99. compatable with M-disc too.
7: windows 7 pro is 134.99 at ncix
8:a nice monitor is the pa238qr from asus. its 219.99 with free shipping

you will have to get these items elsewhere
http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/cyYS

almost all the items i listed for ncix come from the sale banner. you will have to register for a ncix account to buy stuff

I guess I will take your advice on the 670. added to my list in op.

Just so that I know, why do you say that the closed liquid loop cooling system isn't a good idea? Same with the mobo? I know that the CPU is overkill atm, but a few years down the road when im still using this system, I'm hoping that it'll still be working just fine and I wont have to replace it.

When you say "true CS5 build" I have no clue what you mean by that. I just looked for a high end CPU and went from there, looking for components that are compatible.
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closed loop water cooling looks cool and lets you use tall ram sticks but doesnt do the best job given the amount of money you have to spend. only closed loop water cooler is the h100 but then the noctua nh-d14 does nearly the same job but for 39.99 if you buy from ncix + the case

CS5 builds tend to focus on more CPU power rather than GPU, meaning workstation builds

there is absolutely no point of getting a i7 3930k given that you mostly game and that games dont really use more than 4 threads. the i7 3930k has 12. if you do 80+% games, get a i5 3570k. if you do 50/50 games and work, get the i7 3770k. the i5 3570k and the i7 3770k are identical in games (actually, the i7 might even have a lower score due to most games focus on 2-4 strong threads rather than 8 weaker ones) of course, you can always switch the hyper-threading off in the BIOs

sol kiwi said:
I guess I will take your advice on the 670. added to my list in op.

Just so that I know, why do you say that the closed liquid loop cooling system isn't a good idea? Same with the mobo? I know that the CPU is overkill atm, but a few years down the road when im still using this system, I'm hoping that it'll still be working just fine and I wont have to replace it.

When you say "true CS5 build" I have no clue what you mean by that. I just looked for a high end CPU and went from there, looking for components that are compatible.


I never tend to recommend closed liquid loops like that Intel block. There's far more adherent risks to water cooling than there ever are to air cooling. If it's your first build I'd go with air cooling because a strong air fan like the Noctua D14 will give you the exact same results that a closed block like that will.

As far as what a true CS 5 build is - Adobe Creative Suite 5 (CS, programs like Acrobat, Flash, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, etc) tends to eat CPU resources like crazy and on a build that uses that type of program will require a much heftier CPU than a gaming rig will. That's what the 3930K is ideally used for.

I'm going to be puting fans wherever I can so it's not like I'll be relying on just the liquid cooler for keeping my system cool. But if you say that the Intel liquid cooler sucks, and that the H100 is better, then I'll gladly spend a bit more for a cooler system.

As for the CPU, I'll downgrade a bit provided that it's compatible with the rest of the system that I've already selected. A list of what I'm wanting to keep with my rig I'll list below.

Stuff that I want to keep:
-Intel DX79SI mobo
-Ripjaws Z series 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1600
-EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB
-CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750 (CMPSU-750AX) 750W ATX12V 80 PLUS GOLD
-Crucial M4 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC SSD
-Western Digital Caviar WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD
-COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper mid tower case

Stuff that I'm willing to change out: (provided 1. Compatible with the above components, 2. Blue/black colour scheme.)
-Intel core i7-3930K CPU
-Intel BXRTS2011LC Liquid-cooled Thermal Solution For LGA2011 Socket (considering changing to Corsair H100)


Is there anything else that I need to add to my rig so that it runs? (ie. sound card, disk drives for CD's/burning DVD/puting music onto CD's/etc., and anything else that will make my computer run.) Like I've said in the thread title, this is my first build and my knowledge about building a computer is limited.

Quote:
I'm going to be puting fans wherever I can so it's not like I'll be relying on just the liquid cooler for keeping my system cool. But if you say that the Intel liquid cooler sucks, and that the H100 is better, then I'll gladly spend a bit more for a cooler system.


No - the H100 is not better than that liquid loop. Corsair is notorious for including cheap fans with it, and the people that get those coolers wind up replacing the fans anyways and that can get pricey. The D14 is the better alternative.

Quote:
As for the CPU, I'll downgrade a bit provided that it's compatible with the rest of the system that I've already selected. A list of what I'm wanting to keep with my rig I'll list below.

Stuff that I want to keep:
-Intel DX79SI mobo
-Ripjaws Z series 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1600
-EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB
-CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750 (CMPSU-750AX) 750W ATX12V 80 PLUS GOLD
-Crucial M4 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC SSD
-Western Digital Caviar WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD
-COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper mid tower case


Again I'll reiterate that Intel boards are not worth it because they do not offer features that match the competition for the price. The Gigabyte UD5H is a far better bang for your buck. You don't need X79 unless you're running heavy duty Photoshop or After Effects applications.

If you insist on going X79 you should read this roundup of motherboards: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/x79-extreme4-dx79to...

If it's Thunderbolt you're going for - keep in mind that it will be a while before those types of devices drop in price and they're readily available.

The Storm Sniper is fine, but 256GB SSDs don't justify the cost per GB. It's the best bang for your buck if you go with a 128GB for boot / main programs, then a 2TB green drive for your secondary.

g-unit1111 said:


As far as what a true CS 5 build is - Adobe Creative Suite 5 (CS, programs like Acrobat, Flash, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, etc) tends to eat CPU resources like crazy and on a build that uses that type of program will require a much heftier CPU than a gaming rig will. That's what the 3930K is ideally used for.


Part of the reason that I'm building my own computer is because I need a computer that can handle those programs, and intense gaming. I'd be hard pressed to find a factory built computer that can handle my needs of both gaming and CS5. (If thats what I should be calling it.)

So if both of you reccomend that I swtch to a good air cooled system, then I guess that's what I shall switch to. On something as big as keeping my system from overheating and dieing on me, I'll listen to people who know what their talking about. With that said, do either of you know a good fan system that i can use to replace the Intel closed liquid loop? preferably one that keeps to a blue/black colour scheme?

Quote:
256GB SSDs don't justify the cost per GB. It's the best bang for your buck if you go with a 128GB for boot / main programs, then a 2TB green drive for your secondary.


That was my plan, to have the boot system, and the games I frequently play on the SSD, and store everything else on my HDD. I noticed that the Storm Sniper only had 1 3.5"->2.5" bay adapter, so i searcher and found a $5 adapter that can fit 2x 2.5" SSD's into a single 3.5" bay. If you say 2x 128GB SSD > 1x 256GB SSD, then the adapters I found should do the trick and I can Just use those to get 256GB of SSD in a single 3.5" bay.

actually g-unit1111, the 256gb models tend to cost less per gigabyte than the 128gb models

just putting it out there, the noctua cooler comes with its very own brown/cream colored fans and replacing them will reduce performance.

some nice fans would be corsair sp120 quiet editions (for radiators)

Ye, I just went to compare prices for the crucial m4 128GB vs 256GB SSD, and the 256GB is practicly exactly 2x the cost of the 128GB. So then going with 1 256GB is the same as going with 2 128GB. And since I plan on adding another 256GB of SSD once my rig is all up and running and I know it works fine, then I can just use the adapters and have the entire 516GB of SSD in a single bay.

Quote:
some nice fans would be corsair sp120 quiet editions (for radiators)


When you say "for radiators", do you mean that they are to go with a radiator? When I looked them up on newegg.ca it just showed them as fans, either single or in a twin pack.

they are optimized for radiators and nothing else.

getting dual pack would make sense but the noctua nh-d14 already has great fans (although they dont look great). if you really want to swap fans for the d14, get the sp120 dual pack

With the dual sp120's, would I mount them on the top of my case? I'm assuming I would b/c I havn't seen any fans that look like that that mount over the CPU, only ones that mount onto the case itself.

What would be better, the dual sp120 on the top of the case, the 200mm that comes premounted on the top of the case, or an actual CPU fan similiar to the noctua nh-d14? I'll link a couple of CPU mounted fans/heatsinks that I was looking at on newegg.


CPU mounted:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1683... (might be too big to use with my RAM)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1683...
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