Are my parts compatible?

[Phrontistus]

As far as I know, the motherboard, processor and DRAM are compatible with one another, but I am not entirely sure about the trickier details like the case and power supply. For example, I am not sure if my power supply will be powerful enough or if my case is large enough. My main concern is buying all of these parts only to find that they do not comply with one another. So, if you could help me confirm that the computer will run successfully with these parts, I would be very grateful.

I have linked the names of the parts to websites which contain their specifications.

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V
Processor: Intel i5-3570K
Processor cooler: Hyper 212 EVO
DRAM: Corsair CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B
Graphics card: Nvidiaa GeForce GTX 670
SSD: Intel 330 Series
HDD:Western Digital Black WD1002FAEX
Power supply unit: Corsair TX750W V2
Optical drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B
Case: Fractal Design 'Define R4 Grey'

Monitor: Dell Ultrasharp 23-inches
Operating system: Windows 7 Home-premium

Thank you very much for any help you might give me.

 

[mocchan]

Your parts are 100% compatible, however, I would swap out your PSU for a Corsair TX650 or something of the like

You won't need more than ~550w-~600w for your rig, so your current PSU is a waste of money.

Also, if your intended purpose of this machine is for gaming and light video editing, I would suggest lowering the amount of RAM you have to 8GB. 16GB is still quite pricey, and I find it's a waste having more than 8GB for games.

 

[Phrontistus]

Thanks for the quick and helpful reply!

Out of interest, how did you determine that the parts were compatible so quickly?

Also, I heard that it is wise to overshoot a bit with the PSU in order to allow for future upgrades of the system. That was my reasoning behind choosing a powerful PSU. Is that accurate? Are there downsides to having too strong a PSU?

 

[mocchan]

You're very welcome

I determined the components to be compatible due to experience (not to sound too snobby). Z77 is LGA1155, and knowing that, I know that the board you chose is compatible with 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen Intel Core series CPU's.

Also, I know for a fact that the Fractal Design R series of cases are in ATX form factor, so I can pretty much say for certain it'll work with your motherboard.

Your PSU is also in ATX form factor (most PSU's nowadays are ) so I know it will work with your components.

There are a few Pro's and Con's to choosing an Overkill PSU -

Pro's -
1) Much broader range for upgrade path

Con's -
1) Efficiency of a PSU drops SIGNIFICANTLY when it is under ~20%.

2) Cost. It may be better to get a 650w PSU nowadays due to how efficient GPU's are. You can run almost ANY GPU available today on a 650w PSU. (Granted single carded GPU's only, HD7990 [when it's released] and GTX690 are pushing it)

Actually those are the only ones I can personally think of at the moment, but efficiency has a lot to do with my reasoning against an overkill PSU. But personally, cost has another major part in my reasoning as well. I would rather get a PSU size I need, rather than overkill, and save some $$ to get better components elsewhere.

***EDIT***

Also on a side note, may I ask why you you chose the Define R4? If you're wanting to optimise your computer for silence, you may want to look at the Corsair Obsidian 550D. It's similarly priced and I find it more elegant :lol:

 

[Phrontistus]

Thanks for explaining everything and listing those pros and cons. I'll definitely consider moving down to the 650W.

I chose the Define R4 based on a recommendation by newbcomputerbuild.com, but I think your recommendation looks better. Is this the correct one?: http://www.amazon.co.uk/CORSAIR-Bo%C3%AEtier-Obsidian-Series-CC-9011015-WW/dp/B006L6ZSWC/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1345582752&sr=1-1-catcorr

 

[mocchan]

Yes that's the one! Here are some pictures

There's dust filters like this all around the case, definitely handy as you can see in this pic... :lol:

There are some pictures to give you an idea of the cable management

 

[Phrontistus]

Wow, thanks a lot! That will be very handy when I come to building it up.

Two final questions: is Windows 7 professional worth the extra money for a gaming PC? And is there much advantage to a modular PSU besides ease of building?

 

[mocchan]

You're very welcome!

Also, I don't find Win7 Professional to be necessary if you're just going to game. You get some benefits like more RAM support, but I don't think you'll need more than 8GB unless you plan to do hardcore rendering. Personally I would just stick with Home Premium

With a FULLY Modular PSU, you can connect all your components, and cable tie everything in your case so it's nice and tidy then just unhook all cables from your PSU and take that out to dust it off. That's an option not available Semi-Modular and Non-Modular PSU's.

Besides that, I find there are no benefits besides looks to a Modular PSU. (Airflow wouldn't really be an issue if you can hide your non-modular cables somewhere).

Though, with this case, I would recommend a Modular PSU (Semi-Modular at least, like the one I have). With a Non-Modular, you may run into some issues with how you have to do cable management with this case.

There's only a few millimeters behind the motherboard tray (Besides the indented parts where my cables are) to route cables, which can make your side panel flex...very ugly IMO. Any extra cables are a pain to hide as well as you can see with my management :lol: it's not the best, but it took over three tries to get it to where it is now.

Actually what I said may make you want to steer away from this case, but trust me when I say it's one of the easiest cases I've built with.

I notice I may have not been clear with some parts, but I want to clarify -

1) It's very easy and simple to hide the cables you need with a semi-modular PSU

2) The difficult part is how to plan your cables, you want to evenly distribute them along the indented part behind the tray to make your life easier

 

[Phrontistus]

Thanks again. Although I was comeplled by your advice, I couldn't find a modular Corsair PSU for a good price in a reasonable amount of time; the best option on Amazon was still the Corsair TX750W, since it was only about £5 more expensive than the 650W. Since it was only a fairly small point, and I'm eager to get started building (and quite impatient), I decided on ordering that.

I've ordered everything else, as well, including your advised Corsair case, and when it all comes I'll try to build it and post either a success report or a failure report here!

 

[mocchan]

Alright good luck and have fun!

And for that price, go for the 750w by all means :lol: !