First Time Build - Home computer for work and gaming

B O Scribble

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Aug 30, 2012
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10,510
I am about ready to pull the trigger and order components for my first computer build. The main function of the computer will be for home use and occasionally will work-from-home using Revit and ACAD (not rendering in 3D, only wireframe at most). I would also like it to be able to do some gaming as well. I play BF3 a fair amount on xbox and am thinking of venturing into the PC version. So handling games of that caliber would be nice.

I was wondering if anyone could give me their thoughts on the components I've selected and let me know if there is anything I should change to improve price to performance ratio.

MB - ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA
CPU - Intel i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3 GHz
RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) (x2 = 16GB total)
VC - EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5
HD - Western Digital Cavier Green WD10EARX 1TB SATA
PS - Rosewill Green Series RG530-S12 530W Continuous
OpDri - ASUS DRW-24B1ST

I also selected the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1. I am not sure if I will overclock anything but if I do I would like to have the additional cooling. Any thoughts on this would be great.

Thanks,
Andrew
 
It all soundsw great except for the HDD. You really don't want a green HDD as your primary storage as it is always either spinning up or down, going to or waking from sleep. The performance is really that horrible when used as a primary drive.

Go with a WD Blue or Black HDD with a 64 MB cache. You'll thank me later.
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339

or

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533
 

noise

Distinguished
Apr 27, 2012
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+1 regarding the HDD

Also you might want to get at least GTX560 for the video card. The 550 isn't considered 'serious' and will be the main bottleneck considering the CPU and RAM choices.
 

B O Scribble

Honorable
Aug 30, 2012
13
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10,510
Thank you both for the replies. I looked at the differences between the 2 hard drives recommended and the only thing I can see is the 5 year warranty between the blue and black. Is that right or is there something that I'm missing? Forgive my lack of knowledge. Regardless, I went with the black for the 5 year warranty at a slightly higher price.

I also looked into the video cards and decided to bump up a bit to this card...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130685
...thoughts?

Is the aftermarket CPU cooler completely necessary? I'm an HVAC mechanical engineer, so my first inclination is cooler is better...overclocking or not...right?
 
The difference between the blue and black drives is their durability and warranty. The performance is the same.

The aftermarket cpu cooler is highly recommended. Not only is it quieter than the stock cooler, but as your instincts are telling you, cooler really is better for the longevity of your components.
 

DarkOutlaw

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Jun 24, 2012
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Blacks are about 20% faster than 'normal' 7200rpm drives. They also offer the 5yr warranty compared to the blue's 2 year. The EVGA 550 ti is on sale @ newegg for $99, and unless you wanna spend $150-$200 it's the better buy.