Building a PC, need some help please! :)

[harleychen]

Hey guys, so I am pretty new to this forum and I am looking for some advice for a gaming PC that I have been building:

Intel Core i5 3570K Unlocked Quad Core Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Ivy Bridge 6MB

Noctua NH-D14 LGA1155/1156/1366/AM3 I7/I5/PHENOM Heatpipe Cooler W/ NF-P14 140MM & NF-P12 120MM Fan

ASUS P8Z77-V Pro LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 SLI 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI SATA3 DisplayPort USB3.0 Motherboard

Kingston HyperX KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 XMP Dual Channel Memory Kit

ASUS GTX 670 DirectCU II Top 1137MHZ 2GB 6.0GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card

Coolermaster HAF X EATX Tower Case Black

Antec High Current Pro 750W 24PIN ATX12V Active PFC 80 Plus Gold SLI Modular Power Supply 135mm Fan

Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 64MB Cache 7200RPM 3.5IN SATA Internal Hard Drive OEM

OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5IN SATA3 Indilinx 560MB/S Read 430MB/S Write Solid State Disk Flash Drive SSD

LG CH12LS28 12X Blu-Ray Reader & Lightscribe DVD Writer Combo Drive

ASUS Xonar Essence ST 7.1 Channel PCI Sound Card 24BIT Headphone AMP 124DB SNR

This is basically it! hehe, I am quite new to computer building and stuff so please give me lots advice!


Thank you guys

 

[manofchalk]

Thats a pretty good rig, only small things I would change.

The Noctua NH-D14 is the best air-cooler on the market, but if your not chasing big overclocks is largely pointless. The much cheaper Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO is a great cooler for $30. You can easily do some moderate overclocks on it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

That RAM is rated at 1.65V (I assume its the one linked), which will void the warranty of your Intel CPU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104246
Here's another kit that's identical except it runs on 1.5V, and is low profile in case you still go with the Noctua cooler (blue as well to fit the mobo).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546

A sound card is pointless on modern motherboards unless you have an extensive surround system or are music editing. The onboard sound on the motherboard will be sufficient.


As for tips, lots of research. Watch video's and read reviews, often they will tell you if their's an issue with a component or provide instructions for how to do something. Heres a couple of good build guides that I learned from.

NCIX Build Guide. The whole NCIX channel is quite useful, it will pretty much tell you pretty much everything a builder needs to know. Lots of tutorials on there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIJx6Y3tofg&feature=plcp

NCIX Cable Management. You should be doing this, especially since you'v got a case I know is amazing for it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERhxmzQR6xA&feature=plcp

Newegg Build Guide. Part of a series, the next video details installing Windows and Drivers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_92066&feature=iv&src_vid=lPIXAtNGGCw&v=d_56kyib-Ls

 

[DavidY]

You should check into those OCZ SSD's and their failure rates. I avoided OCZ for my SSD purchase.

Dave

 

[harleychen]

Hey, thank you for your input!

I wanted to get the Kingston RAM from NCIX because they are having a pretty big sale I think, but I don't think RAM is a huge concern as the performance don't really change too much right? But thank you for the suggestion, I will look into that piece of RAM.

And as for the sound card, I do want an external sound card and I think essence ST will fit me the best because I am a pretty big audiophile and have spent quite some money on headphones and my own sound system, so I think I will want to keep this sound card.

Thank you for your advice tho!

 

[harleychen]

You should check into those OCZ SSD's and their failure rates. I avoided OCZ for my SSD purchase.

Dave

Thanks for you advice! I have done some research and apparently recently the new update on the OCZ SSD have made the failure rates significantly lower. Plus, they got I think is a 5 year warranty so I am not too worried about that card. Any further thoughts?


Thank you!

 

[manofchalk]

Performance wont change between 1.65v and 1.5v, but losing the warranty on the CPU and probably motherboard is pretty big. Also lower voltage RAM consumes less energy.

The OCZ Vertex 4 is a good SSD. As you can see I have it personally and I have had no problems with it. Haven't heard any horror stories either. The Vertex 3 had some problems, but so far the Vertex 4 is good.

 

[harleychen]

Performance wont change between 1.65v and 1.5v, but losing the warranty on the CPU and probably motherboard is pretty big. Also lower voltage RAM consumes less energy.

The OCZ Vertex 4 is a good SSD. As you can see I have it personally and I have had no problems with it. Haven't heard any horror stories either. The Vertex 3 had some problems, but so far the Vertex 4 is good.

So basically I will need to be looking for RAMs that run on 1.5v?


Thank you!

 

[manofchalk]

yep, 1.5v RAM is what you need. You can find sticks at 1.35v, but often they are more expensive and sacrifice performance for the lower energy consumption. The kit I linked you to should be fine.

 

[harleychen]

Best answer selected by harleychen.