Compatibility Check + Tips/Opinions

[johnhalo]

I asked a question a few days ago on components, I've found out what I want to buy (to build my computer) but I want to be %100 sure its all compatible, plus I have an additional motherboard/overclocking question. Here is the parts list.


Motherboard -http://tinyurl.com/7yga5b8, POSSIBLY http://tinyurl.com/bq29b7k depending on money.

Case - http://tinyurl.com/9pbf445

PSU - http://tinyurl.com/3hltumj

HDD - http://tinyurl.com/crsn8ye

CPU - http://tinyurl.com/clchfdc

OS - http://tinyurl.com/cxupaf2

RAM - http://tinyurl.com/9rv7df3

CPU Cooler - http://tinyurl.com/6pnds8f

ODD - http://tinyurl.com/8h34mf4

Monitor - http://tinyurl.com/9967ntm

(Not getting this right away, may take a little to buy it) GPU - http://tinyurl.com/9ygsc8v


I will be primarily using this rig to run games such as Amnesia, Penumbra, Company of Heroes, Dawn of War, some MMOs like World of Warcraft, Flash games, mostly RTS & MMO games. I'm not planning on playing FPS games on a computer, I hate that idea. So no Crysis 2/3 or Battlefield 3 or [insert another graphically demanding game here]. I am perfectly content running at 30fps+, the computer I now have runs games on the very lowest options at around 8fps, so yeah. Also I plan to swap the GPU out in a few years so that is alright. One more question (overclocking related) Which of the two motherboards that I've listed would be better for overclocking w/the i5-3570K. Also how does overclocking work, I know you go into the BIOS to switch around stuff, but how do you know if you are about to fry your CPU or if its cool enough? Thanks guys Opinions/tips welcome

 

[johnhalo]

Oh and one more thing, this is the first computer I'll ever be building. I just need some input, compatibility check, and some information on how to overclock successfully, thanks guys

 

[CaedenV]

so.... you want to build a custom rig, but not for high end gaming... but you also want to OC, but not put in performance parts...
It sounds to me like you need to figure out your priorities first before you do anything; build a well rounded system with no glaring weak links first, then look into getting parts for OCing.

A few points of advice:
1) Microcenter is great for their sales, their CPU prices, and extended return policies on parts that you know won't last (like early SSDs). Otherwise they are a bit overpriced. Look into newegg.com or ncix (just ordered from their american store last week for the first time, and things went very well), they have excellent prices, fast shipping, and great return policies if anything does not work out for you.

2) OCing can be fun, and can really move things ahead when you would otherwise hit a wall, but it really is not for everyone, and from what you have described in your post you would never know the difference if you had your system OC'd or not. Your computer is always held back by it's slowest component in the chain; in your case that would be the GPU, and you will not notice much difference between 3GHz and 4.5GHz until you start running SSD and a high end GPU (7770 is good, but very much mid-range).
Think of it this way: If not OCing then you can save $35 on the cooler, ~$30-50 on the CPU, and ~$30-50 on the motherboard. That money could be put towards a decent GPU, an SSD, a higher quality but differently featured mobo that will meet your needs better, blu ray player, or any number of other accessories.
Or think of it this way: OCing will get you ~10-20% performance increase. If your rig can hit 100fps then that pushes you to 115fps, which is a sizeable increase but not noticeable unless you have a 120Hz monitor. However, if your rig is only hitting 30fps (barely playable) then it is only going to assist you to ~35fps... which is better but still quite bad. On the other hand, OCing on the production side nets you shorter rendering times, and knocking off 20% from a 10 hour render... well, now that is worth every ounce of OC you can eek out of a system, especially if it is something you do on a regular basis. I am not saying that OCing for a game rig is enitrely useless... but putting your money elsewhere will net you a better result

3) You do not need high end parts to have a good machine, but you should get quality ones. Highly consider moving up on your PSU and Ram in specific.
PSU: minimum 80+bronze, preferably made by Antec, Corsair, or even OCZ
RAM: 1.5V 1600, made by Corsair or gSkill
You should be able to get these better parts for the same price (or cheaper) through a different retailer

4) Win7 is great, it is awesome, and perhaps the best OS released by MS ever... but all that said; Win8 comes out at the end of October and there are free versions available to play with until then. There are a lot of people who give it a lot of grief, but trust me when I say that it will bring about some profound changes to the world of software development and end-user interaction over the next few years (especially with interfaces like leap motion and kinnect for PC right around the corner). If nothing else, try a copy of win8 first, and if you don't like it then go look at buying a copy of win7. You may not like win8 at first (I didn't, though I have come to love it over the last 6+mo I have played with it), but you may kick yourself pretty hard sinking $100 on win7 only to find that you need win8 in a year or so.


Lastly, lay out your goals and priorities;
If you are fine with mid-level gaming, then don't blow money on OCing. There are other goals that can be reached for like having a silent game PC (like mine, as I also use it for AV editing and hate extranious noise), or look into building a more mobile PC for LAN parties and such. But if you really do want an OC monster rig, don't be shy with it; get a high end mobo, and be prepared to throw a ton of money at your GPU and HDDs to really push your system to it's potential. As it is now you have a nice engine (the CPU), with flat tires (onboard/midrange GPU), and bad gas (single slow HDD). Pick parts that better complement each-other and you will be much happier with the end result rather than buying one nice part, and then being annoyed that you cannot push it past ~30-50% at stock (which is about what you could expect from this setup).

 

[azeem40]

It would have been easier to make a wishlist on pcpartpicker than linking all the parts.

 

[johnhalo]

so.... you want to build a custom rig, but not for high end gaming... but you also want to OC, but not put in performance parts...
It sounds to me like you need to figure out your priorities first before you do anything; build a well rounded system with no glaring weak links first, then look into getting parts for OCing.

A few points of advice:
1) Microcenter is great for their sales, their CPU prices, and extended return policies on parts that you know won't last (like early SSDs). Otherwise they are a bit overpriced. Look into newegg.com or ncix (just ordered from their american store last week for the first time, and things went very well), they have excellent prices, fast shipping, and great return policies if anything does not work out for you.

2) OCing can be fun, and can really move things ahead when you would otherwise hit a wall, but it really is not for everyone, and from what you have described in your post you would never know the difference if you had your system OC'd or not. Your computer is always held back by it's slowest component in the chain; in your case that would be the GPU, and you will not notice much difference between 3GHz and 4.5GHz until you start running SSD and a high end GPU (7770 is good, but very much mid-range).
Think of it this way: If not OCing then you can save $35 on the cooler, ~$30-50 on the CPU, and ~$30-50 on the motherboard. That money could be put towards a decent GPU, an SSD, a higher quality but differently featured mobo that will meet your needs better, blu ray player, or any number of other accessories.
Or think of it this way: OCing will get you ~10-20% performance increase. If your rig can hit 100fps then that pushes you to 115fps, which is a sizeable increase but not noticeable unless you have a 120Hz monitor. However, if your rig is only hitting 30fps (barely playable) then it is only going to assist you to ~35fps... which is better but still quite bad. On the other hand, OCing on the production side nets you shorter rendering times, and knocking off 20% from a 10 hour render... well, now that is worth every ounce of OC you can eek out of a system, especially if it is something you do on a regular basis. I am not saying that OCing for a game rig is enitrely useless... but putting your money elsewhere will net you a better result

3) You do not need high end parts to have a good machine, but you should get quality ones. Highly consider moving up on your PSU and Ram in specific.
PSU: minimum 80+bronze, preferably made by Antec, Corsair, or even OCZ
RAM: 1.5V 1600, made by Corsair or gSkill
You should be able to get these better parts for the same price (or cheaper) through a different retailer

4) Win7 is great, it is awesome, and perhaps the best OS released by MS ever... but all that said; Win8 comes out at the end of October and there are free versions available to play with until then. There are a lot of people who give it a lot of grief, but trust me when I say that it will bring about some profound changes to the world of software development and end-user interaction over the next few years (especially with interfaces like leap motion and kinnect for PC right around the corner). If nothing else, try a copy of win8 first, and if you don't like it then go look at buying a copy of win7. You may not like win8 at first (I didn't, though I have come to love it over the last 6+mo I have played with it), but you may kick yourself pretty hard sinking $100 on win7 only to find that you need win8 in a year or so.


Lastly, lay out your goals and priorities;
If you are fine with mid-level gaming, then don't blow money on OCing. There are other goals that can be reached for like having a silent game PC (like mine, as I also use it for AV editing and hate extranious noise), or look into building a more mobile PC for LAN parties and such. But if you really do want an OC monster rig, don't be shy with it; get a high end mobo, and be prepared to throw a ton of money at your GPU and HDDs to really push your system to it's potential. As it is now you have a nice engine (the CPU), with flat tires (onboard/midrange GPU), and bad gas (single slow HDD). Pick parts that better complement each-other and you will be much happier with the end result rather than buying one nice part, and then being annoyed that you cannot push it past ~30-50% at stock (which is about what you could expect from this setup).

Alright lets see here. I want a high mid-range gaming computer. Someone told me MicroCenter has the best prices on everything besides GPUs and so far thats what I've seen considering an i5-3570K is like $40 or so cheaper than others. I want a gaming rig that I can have for the future, My budget is around $800 (with monitor) I'm trying to get the best performance for my money I can possibly get. I'm ok with getting good, mid-priced components as long as I can upgrade/switch out components in the future. Like with the GPU for instance. I'm planning on just using the integrated graphics (I know, *** me and all I stand for) just because that is much better than what I already have, so it will still seem like a big win for me, and then I can put in a better GPU when I have the cash. Overclocking seems like a model idea for squeezing your components every once of power you can get. And I changed my RAM to an 8GB Corsair Vengeance http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0377025. My choices in components always seem to change and I've been researching my decisions for the past few months and I really want a solid, great mid-range gaming computer within my $800, then I can addon another GPU or RAM per se, and go from there.