My first ever computer build

[Zero8]

Greetings all. I have been in the research stages of building my first computer for quite sometime. I am at the point where I think I need a little bit of help from someone who has experience with builds. I just want to be sure everything is compatible and that it will ultimately work.

If you see any parts you think I do/don't need, or if there is something I have left out, please let me know. I am just putting this up to see if I am on the right track, as my head feels like its going to explode as all the numbers are starting to blend together at this stage of the process.

I would like this to be a build that I can change out parts or have the ability to upgrade should I choose in the future. I was going to use the computer for gaming, work, surfing the web, watching movies, and perhaps editing video (but that is not a must). Was going to experiment with overclocking as well.

I was looking to budget between $900-$1100 for the parts I have listed below. I don't have it on my list yet, but I was going to also need to buy a monitor and would like to keep that in the previously mentioned range. I do have to also purchase an operating system.

The time frame to build it would be within the next 3-6 months , but if I got a great deal, I wouldn't be afraid to pull the trigger within the week. Just want to try to keep my costs as low as possible.

Well here goes


Case: Zalman Z11 Plus HFI Mid Tower ATX $64.99 54.99 after rebate.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/397293/Z11_Plus_HF1_Mid_Tower_ATX_Computer_Case


CPU: Intel Core i5 3570k 3.4ghz LGA 1155 $189.99

http://www.microcenter.com/product/388577/Core_i5_3570K_34GHz_LGA_1155_Processor


Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V Pro LGA 1155 Z77 ATX $159.99

http://www.microcenter.com/product/386887/P8Z77-V_PRO_LGA_1155_Z77_ATX_Intel_Motherboard


There is currently a sale going on at the Micro Center near me that if I buy the i5 & this motherboard I get an extra $50 off on the deal. Is this a good deal or should I wait?


RAM: Could use some advice there. Not really sure what kind I should get


Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB 7200 Rpm Sata 3.0 $102.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136786


GPU: Any suggestions would be appreciated.


Power Supply: Not Really sure about that either. Would like something modular. In the future I want to add a few interior lights, some extra fans, as well as a temperature/fan controller module and just want to have enough power to do that. If I did decide to add another card, should I set myself up for that now with the power supply, or should I just get a new one when I do that?


Well thats it. Thanks for taking the time to read my post and I look forward to hearing what you all have to say.

 

[obsama1]

The Microcenter deal is great. You save $90 on the CPU and mobo alone at MC.

RAM:
http://www.microcenter.com/product/382101/Ballistix_Sport_8GB_DDR3-1600_(PC3-12800)_CL9_Dual_Channel_Desktop_Memory_Kit_(Two_4GB_Memory_Modules)

A 7850 is a good GPU.

Here's a good semi-modular PSU:

http://www.amazon.com/PC-Power-Cooling-Silencer-compatible/dp/B0064XAIXQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1346885572&sr=8-2&keywords=pc+power+and+cooling

 

[guerrero]

Fans on the Z11 are pretty loud

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Id up the case to a Corsair 500R, not the 400R BTW - $35 extra
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139009

$20 more if ya like white
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010

low voltage RAM will reduce the heat generated by CPU's memory controller
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233199


Moderate Overclocking of CPU and two GPUs
XFX Core Edition 750
Corsair TX Series 750

Heavy Overclocking of CPU and two GPUs
Corsair HX Series 850 (better voltage control and lower ripple than AX)

Guru3D uses the following games in their test suite: Hard Reset, COD-MW2, Far Cry 2, ANNO 1404, Metro 2033, ANNO 2070, BFBC2, BF3, Crysis 2, AvP, Lost Planet 2. Total fps (summing fps in each game @ 1920 x 1200) are tabulated below along with their cost in dollars per frame single card:

MSI PE 660 Ti costs $300 and gets 851 fps in the test coming in at $0.35 per frame
7870 costs $280 and gets 701 fps in the test coming in at $0.40 per frame
Asus 670 DCII costs $420 and gets 999 fps in the test coming in at $0.42 per frame
GTX 670 costs $400 and gets 917 fps in the test coming in at $0.44 per frame
7950 costs $330 and gets 746 fps in the test coming in at $0.44 per frame
7850 costs $260 and gets 596 fps in the test coming in at $0.44 per frame
Asus 7970 DCII costs $415 and gets 924 fps in the test coming in at $0.45 per frame
7970 costs $420 and gets 872 fps in the test coming in at $0.48 per frame
7970 Ghz Ed costs $470 and gets 952 fps in the test coming in at $0.49 per frame

Pick another site with different games and you'll get different rankings but I find guru3D gives a perty good consensus. The Asus DCII and MSI PE are the ones I use in most builds.

 

[Zero8]

The Microcenter deal is great. You save $90 on the CPU and mobo alone at MC.

RAM:
http://www.microcenter.com/product/382101/Ballistix_Sport_8GB_DDR3-1600_(PC3-12800)_CL9_Dual_Channel_Desktop_Memory_Kit_(Two_4GB_Memory_Modules)

A 7850 is a good GPU.

Here's a good semi-modular PSU:

http://www.amazon.com/PC-Power-Cooling-Silencer-compatible/dp/B0064XAIXQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1346885572&sr=8-2&keywords=pc+power+and+cooling

Thanks for the suggestions Obsama. I saw that PSU had a very good rating on johnny guru. Thanks for the suggestion. Forgive me as this I am a really noob at this , for the RAM wouldn't I want to use 2 stix of 8GB and eventually make it 4? Is it better to go lower and use 4 GB?

Also with regards to the GPU, is this the one you were talking about?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150609


If it is me likey. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Zero8]

Id up the case to a Corsair 500R, not the 400R BTW - $35 extra
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139009

$20 more if ya like white
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010

low voltage RAM will reduce the heat generated by CPU's memory controller
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233199


Moderate Overclocking of CPU and two GPUs
XFX Core Edition 750
Corsair TX Series 750

Heavy Overclocking of CPU and two GPUs
Corsair HX Series 850 (better voltage control and lower ripple than AX)

Guru3D uses the following games in their test suite: Hard Reset, COD-MW2, Far Cry 2, ANNO 1404, Metro 2033, ANNO 2070, BFBC2, BF3, Crysis 2, AvP, Lost Planet 2. Total fps (summing fps in each game @ 1920 x 1200) are tabulated below along with their cost in dollars per frame single card:

MSI PE 660 Ti costs $300 and gets 851 fps in the test coming in at $0.35 per frame
7870 costs $280 and gets 701 fps in the test coming in at $0.40 per frame
Asus 670 DCII costs $420 and gets 999 fps in the test coming in at $0.42 per frame
GTX 670 costs $400 and gets 917 fps in the test coming in at $0.44 per frame
7950 costs $330 and gets 746 fps in the test coming in at $0.44 per frame
7850 costs $260 and gets 596 fps in the test coming in at $0.44 per frame
Asus 7970 DCII costs $415 and gets 924 fps in the test coming in at $0.45 per frame
7970 costs $420 and gets 872 fps in the test coming in at $0.48 per frame
7970 Ghz Ed costs $470 and gets 952 fps in the test coming in at $0.49 per frame

Pick another site with different games and you'll get different rankings but I find guru3D gives a perty good consensus. The Asus DCII and MSI PE are the ones I use in most builds.

So its better to go lower then with RAM? How does that affect the performance of the machine other than not being as hot? If I added all the optional fans to the cage and picked up a good CPU cooler would that be ok?

Thanks for the feedback I am going to take a look at the cards that you use. Not sure if I am going to use the case though. I live in an apartment where I have a tremendous amount of dust due to animals, and a great deal of pollen certain times of the year. I did look at the obsidian case but just nervous about it with the lack of dust filters