First time builiding a PC

[kateka]

Hello Everyone,

I am planning to build a PC. As this is my first experience doing this I would like to have comments on the components I am using, in particular compatibility issues or any other challenge/issue I may have as well whether I a missing any components.

This PC will be used mainly to run financial analysis software (significant reading/writing on the database and some graphics - I use 3 monitors).


Here goes the list of components:

Motherboard:
ASUS P8Z77-V LX Intel 7 Series Motherboard - ATX, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Intel Z77 Express, 2400MHz DDR3 (O.C.), SATA III (6Gb/s), RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0, CrossFireX Ready

RAM:
Corsair Vengeance CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9 16GB Desktop Memory Module - 1600MHz, 4x4096MB, PC12800, DDR3, Non-ECC, Unbuffered

Case:
Cooler Master Elite 371 RC-371-KKN1 ATX Mid-Tower Case - ATX, Micro ATX, 3x Ext 5.25", 1x Ext 3.5", 5x Int 3.5", 2x USB 2.0 Front
Ports, 1x 120mm Fan, Black

GPU:
EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 01G-P3-1556-KR Video Card - 1GB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0(x16), 2x Dual-Link DVI-I, 1x Mini-HDMI, DirectX 11, Dual-Slot, SLI Ready, Plus Photoshop Elements 10 Promo

CPU:
Intel Core i7-3770K BX80667i73770K Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 3.50GHz (3.90GHz Max Turbo), Socket H2 (LGA1155), 77W, Fan, Unlocked,

OS:
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional FQC-04649 Operating System Software - 64bit, DVD

SSD:
OCZ VTX3-25SAT3-120G Vertex 3 Solid State Drive - 120GB, 2.5", SATA III

Optical Drive:
Sony Optiarc BD-5300S-03 Internal 12x Blu-ray Burner Drive - 12x, SATA, Black, OEM

HD:
Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB Serial ATA Hard Drive - 2TB, 7200RPM, 64MB, SATA 6Gb/s

Power Supply:
Ultra LSP650 650-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, SLI-Ready, 135mm Fan, Lifetime Warranty w/ Registration


Your comments/suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[malbluff]

To be honest, there are a number of "inconsistancies". The first point is, do you really need i7. The only software that benefits from i7, is high end photgraphy and design. It is virtually pointless for anything else. i5 is just as good, and cheaper. Next, do you intend to overclock the processor. I note you've included a graphics card, but, honestly, that one is c**p. A you wanting to be able to game, on the PC, or does any of your software have a requirement, for a specific graphics card. If you can clarify these points, and let us know your budget, it should be possible to put together a more "balanced" build. Also, your location helps to source available components.

 

[JMer806]

That Ultra PSU is not the best quality, I'd get a Corsair or Seasonic.

Also, I'm pretty sure that that GPU is not capable of displaying to three screens. You will probably need to SLI or get a higher-end card. Some of the ATI cards can do Eyefinity (three-screen output) by themselves, but I'm not very knowledgeable about those cards so I'll let someone else comment on it.

If I were you I'd probably drop the 2 TB HDD down to 1 TB and spend the extra money on a 240 or 256 SSD since they are getting so cheap these days.

 

[aznshinobi]

Honestly you could save so much money for the same performance. Any Nvidia card doesn't support 3 monitors with a single card unless it is in SLI. That is where AMD has the advantage since it can use Eyefinity.

Check out my $650 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore#module146695821
Samsung 830 128GB +$99: http://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7PC128B-WW/dp/B0077CR60Q%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquid1240995-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0077CR60Q
Switch the GPU to this 6670, it'll be enough for the tasks you want to run (-$95)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102988
Total: $636

You save much more money and you'll be able to still do what you wanted to do. You get a better SSD, for your tasks a CPU that will be more than enough, a GPU that allows multi-monitor and a solid PSU.

 

[idroid]

i am going to assume that the kind of work you will doing benefits from having an i7 CPU (Hyper Threading) and some light gaming, this PC will do the job perfectly fine.

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($314.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 612 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($49.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($98.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($101.93 @ Mac Connection)
Power Supply: Rosewill 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1150.80

Read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=prive&post=1475185&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=0&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

 

[malbluff]

That Ultra PSU is not the best quality, I'd get a Corsair or Seasonic.

Also, I'm pretty sure that that GPU is not capable of displaying to three screens. You will probably need to SLI or get a higher-end card. Some of the ATI cards can do Eyefinity (three-screen output) by themselves, but I'm not very knowledgeable about those cards so I'll let someone else comment on it.

If I were you I'd probably drop the 2 TB HDD down to 1 TB and spend the extra money on a 240 or 256 SSD since they are getting so cheap these days.

I presume by 3 screens, he's talking about multi-tasking, rather than Eyefinity or anything. That's why I asked about gaming. He's not going to do much with proposed GPU. Perhaps he doesn't want to, at all.

 

[aznshinobi]

Mal, Eyefinity is the technology for the multimonitor. It has nothing to do with gaming or not. Nvidia just cannot support more than 2 monitors per card. That's why an AMD card is needed. The iGPU in the Sandy/Ivybridge chips can only support 2 monitors I believe.

 

[idroid]

Mal, Eyefinity is the technology for the multimonitor. It has nothing to do with gaming or not. Nvidia just cannot support more than 2 monitors per card. That's why an AMD card is needed. The iGPU in the Sandy/Ivybridge chips can only support 2 monitors I believe.

no no no.... Eyefinity creates one big Desktop, he wants 3 normal sized desktops for multi-tasking, a GTX6xx card supports that btw..

 

[aznshinobi]

? So does all multi monitor support... It creates one giant desktop. You can just drag each program to each monitor to multi task... I'm not sure that with his needs that a GTX 6xx card is justified when the cheapest Kepler card would be the GTX 640 which sits at $95.

I don't see where the OP states he wants 3 normal sized desktops? I also don't quite understand what you mean by that... I mean Eyefinity and Nvidia Surround pretty much make 3 monitors make use of what would normally just be 1 monitor. :/

 

[obsama1]

Financial Analysis software isn't going to use hyper-threading. i5 is the best.

 

[Tavo_Nova]

actually I think he can be happy with a sapphire 7850/7870 should do fine for what he do unless he does some insane stuff.

or a 660ti if you have the budget. unless your using 2560x1600 or something monitor.

get a seasonic psu or corsair, 80plus bronze/silver/gold/platinum even if you don't need em but just like the bling bling ^_^

or just go with those 80 certified and stuff psu or something.

seeing as you got some budget based on your selected parts, things should go well.

 

[kateka]

Thanks all for your very valuable comments:

Here are some clarifications:

- The three screens don't need to work as one. Their are three separate windows where I have financial graphs (update with real time data) and data tables that are feed data to calculate various indicators (all using real time data).

- What I need is all this calculations on the tables and the graphs to be updated really fast.

- My sofware doesn't require any specific GDU, I only need to have 3 monitors for multitasking was assuming that the video card (cost $105) could support 3 monitors since it has two DVI + 1 HDMI. If not the case then I understand I should go with the AMD

- I had also included the SSD hoping that calculations would be done faster if I install my software there since the system has to read data stored on the HD, is this assumption correct?

Regarding the budget, the components I have listed would cost me something like $1200. Any savings without affecting the performance of what I have to do would be welcome.

 

[aznshinobi]

If you want similar performance, at least enough for what you listed. Actually this will probably be enough to last you a while for what you want to do.

Check out my $650 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore#module146695821
Samsung 830 128GB +$99: http://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7PC128B-WW/dp/B0077CR60Q%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquid1240995-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0077CR60Q
Switch the GPU to this 6670, it'll be enough for the tasks you want to run (-$95)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102988
Total: $636

It'll save you money, give you the 3 monitor support, a great SSD and you'll get the i5 3450 which is an excellent CPU for the value, enough to compete with the i7 3770, maybe not in multi-threads but honestly it wont stutter. The difference between the i7 3770 and i5 3450 has a really small effect in real life.

If you feel like 8GB isn't enough, you can always go with 16GB but IMO 8GB is plenty. Your choice though.

 

[malbluff]

It would actually be good to have system specs for software, that's being used. Otherwise it's all, at least, partly guesswork. Whilst I doubt it, it may be that i7 is of benefit. It may be that a larger SSD is required, if large amounts of data are being moved, between databases. "Recommended system requirements" would be fairly handy.

 

[kateka]

It would actually be good to have system specs for software, that's being used. Otherwise it's all, at least, partly guesswork. Whilst I doubt it, it may be that i7 is of benefit. It may be that a larger SSD is required, if large amounts of data are being moved, between databases. "Recommended system requirements" would be fairly handy.

Hi Mal,

Requirements for the system are low (presently I run it on a P4 HypeThreading on XP with 4GB or ram, but the performance is not great).

The software being used is SierraChart ( http://www.sierrachart.com/index.php?l=doc/Features.php#Performance ). I use a lot the spreadsheet functions. The amount of data itself is not large, but the updates must be very fast.

 

[malbluff]

Hi Mal,

Requirements for the system are low (presently I run it on a P4 HypeThreading on XP with 4GB or ram, but the performance is not great).

The software being used is SierraChart ( http://www.sierrachart.com/index.php?l=doc/Features.php#Performance ). I use a lot the spreadsheet functions. The amount of data itself is not large, but the updates must be very fast.

There's nothing, in there, that would benefit from upgrade i5 to i7. If you wanted a gain over i5, you'd have to go to hex-core, and very much doubt it would justify the cost. If OP doesn't want gaming, at all, he may, actually, be better of with Quadro, or FirePro graphics card, but I don't know enough about them, to suggest which one. May be a case of asking software provider, for advice on which graphics option is best. I'm certainly not qualified, to make that judgement. I would have thought, if talking about DUAL purpose, CONSUMER (as opposed to workstation) graphics card, a "good 'ol" GTX570 would take some beating, but confess I'm not sure about this 3rd monitor issue.

 

[kateka]

If you want similar performance, at least enough for what you listed. Actually this will probably be enough to last you a while for what you want to do.

Check out my $650 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore#module146695821
Samsung 830 128GB +$99: http://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7PC128B-WW/dp/B0077CR60Q%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquid1240995-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0077CR60Q
Switch the GPU to this 6670, it'll be enough for the tasks you want to run (-$95)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102988
Total: $636

It'll save you money, give you the 3 monitor support, a great SSD and you'll get the i5 3450 which is an excellent CPU for the value, enough to compete with the i7 3770, maybe not in multi-threads but honestly it wont stutter. The difference between the i7 3770 and i5 3450 has a really small effect in real life.

If you feel like 8GB isn't enough, you can always go with 16GB but IMO 8GB is plenty. Your choice though.

********************

Thank you for all your input, I have revised the components and will using an i5 instead of i7. Regarding cooling, do I need any additional cooling for this build?

 

[malbluff]

With a "K" processor, for overclocking, you need aftermarket cooler. With non-K processors, the one supplied with it is adequate.

 

[obsama1]

I'd get a CPU cooler, even if you're not overclocking. A hyper 212 EVO for $30 is really good.

 

[aznshinobi]

Sweet, could we see what the new build looks like now?

As you don't need to overclock, the stock cooler is enough. I don't think that spending any more for a cooler is needed when the stock heatsink fan is adequate and isn't quite THAT loud.

 

[kateka]

Best answer selected by kateka.