First time building a desktop.

[sillymichelle]

Hello,

I am building a desktop for the first time. This machine is more like a toy for me at the moment since I have a laptop for daily tasks.

I will eventually be using this machine for video/photo editing, gaming, and programming.

I would like any advice with the following list (also a confirmation that everything should be compatible with one another would be wonderful):

AR = After Rebate

Case: Corsair Carbide Series 500R ($114, $94.99 AR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139009

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE LGA ($279.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131818

CPU: Intel Core i7–3770 ($309.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116502

Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO ($36.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

Video: MSI GTX 660 Ti PE ($309.99, $299.99 AR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127696

Ram: Corsair Vengeance 16 ($82.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233198

PSU: Corsair CMPSU750AX ($169.99, 154.99 AR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139016
HDD: Western Digital 1.5 TB WD ($150.53)
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Black-Cache-Desktop/dp/B004CSIFG2/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1347344115&sr=1-4&keywords=WD+Caviar+1.5TB

SSD: Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5” ($109.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

Thank you!

 

[mocchan]

What is your primary use for this computer? What resolution is your monitor? And what is your budget? If we know this, we could comment on your rig with greater ease and make better recommendations.

 

[sillymichelle]

What is your primary use for this computer? What resolution is your monitor? And what is your budget? If we know this, we could comment on your rig with greater ease and make better recommendations.

I will use this machine for video/photo editing, gaming, and programming.

My biggest budget for everything is 2K; though I'm trying to keep tower down to 1.5K. I'm in need of a new monitor with a much better resolution of what I have right now, but I will purchase this after the desktop is built.

 

[mocchan]

Alright, thank you for your response I'll be right back with a parts list for you.

 

[idroid]

here you go: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?p=33928643#post33928643 the $1423.52 rig in there is for sale and it costs $1376.54 now so you can add the monitor you want

 

[mocchan]

My 2 cents

iDroid's recommendation isn't too bad, either very similar to what I personally have.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($314.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Silver Arrow CPU Cooler ($69.70 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1.5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($128.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($96.49 @ B&H)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus ML228H 21.5" Monitor ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($90.86 @ Amazon)
Total: $1583.95
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-12 11:29 EDT-0400)

 

[idroid]

My 2 cents

iDroid's recommendation isn't too bad, either very similar to what I personally have.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($314.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Silver Arrow CPU Cooler ($69.70 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1.5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($128.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($96.49 @ B&H)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus ML228H 21.5" Monitor ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($90.86 @ Amazon)
Total: $1583.95
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-12 11:29 EDT-0400)

TBH i don't like that motherboard, its a bit small and it will bend over time if you place heavy CPU cooler (like the Thermalright siver arrow...ugly btw) and dual cards :/ and the Vertex 4 is a bit faster

 

[mocchan]

TBH i don't like that motherboard, its a bit small and it will bend over time if you place heavy CPU cooler (like the Thermalright siver arrow...ugly btw) and dual cards :/ and the Vertex 4 is a bit faster

Personal preference of the cooler :lol: I find it to be sexy if you choose the right color fans.

Again, personal preference for the SSD, there's so much competition for them right now it's not even funny anymore. If OP prefers the Vertex 4, then I'm not stopping them :lol: both are great options and OP can't go wrong with either one. But since the 830 looks so sexy...-stares at velcro strips- I'll definitely mount it somewhere I can see it :lol:

With the motherboard, you may be right, if that's the issue, then OP may want to swap it out for something else. With their budget, it's a very easy swap as there's PLENTY of headroom.

 

[idroid]

Personal preference of the cooler :lol: I find it to be sexy if you choose the right color fans.

Again, personal preference for the SSD, there's so much competition for them right now it's not even funny anymore. If OP prefers the Vertex 4, then I'm not stopping them :lol: both are great options and OP can't go wrong with either one. But since the 830 looks so sexy...-stares at velcro strips- I'll definitely mount it somewhere I can see it :lol:

With the motherboard, you may be right, if that's the issue, then OP may want to swap it out for something else. With their budget, it's a very easy swap as there's PLENTY of headroom.

Yeah... this kinda getting boring for me too, i hope AMD comes up with a super fast CPU to match/beat haswell and companies like Qualcom get into the competition as well by making some kick-ass x86 CPUs and video cards.... i would like that Nvidia made CPUs

 

[mocchan]

Yeah... this kinda getting boring for me too, i hope AMD comes up with a super fast CPU to match/beat haswell and companies like Qualcom get into the competition as well by making some kick-ass x86 CPUs and video cards.... i would like that Nvidia made CPUs

:lol: agreed. Hopefully AMD can make some kind of reasonable come-back with their PD and Steamroller CPU's, Intel CPU's are fast, but they're no fun to OC

Also, that would be very interesting if that were to happen.

 

[idroid]

:lol: agreed. Hopefully AMD can make some kind of reasonable come-back with their PD and Steamroller CPU's, Intel CPU's are fast, but they're no fun to OC

Also, that would be very interesting if that were to happen.

and what better way to celebrate the occasion by releasing the next gen of consoles so we can enjoy better games for the PC!! well... i will keep dreaming :/

 

[mocchan]

and what better way to celebrate the occasion by releasing the next gen of consoles so we can enjoy better games for the PC!! well... i will keep dreaming :/

:lol:

 

[sillymichelle]

Thank you for the reply! I think I'm going to go with idroid's set up (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gJ5o). At least, something extremely similar.



Now...hopefully I can figure out how to put it together xP

 

[idroid]

Thank you for the reply! I think I'm going to go with idroid's set up (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gJ5o). At least, something extremely similar.



Now...hopefully I can figure out how to put it together xP

Read this: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?p=33928643#post33928643

at the botton you will find some kick-ass guides

 

[mocchan]

:lol: not to fear! There's plenty of guides on the web, one great one is the one done by Newegg.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls <-step-by-step instructions

If you get stuck, there's a great community right here on THG!

 

[sillymichelle]

...so I don't know if I made a huge mistake or not. T_T


I was ordering the parts for this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gJ5o

And...I accidently ordered a different graphics card so I ordered:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvn670oc2gd

Instead of:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvn670wf22gd

Will the build still work? Or should I return it for another one?

 

[mocchan]

LOL! Actually that mistake will make you even happier.

It's better than the one you were supposed to order, so it's actually a very nice trade off.

Both cards are identical so you have nothing to worry about compatibility wise.

 

[sillymichelleyoung]

LOL! Actually that mistake will make you even happier.

It's better than the one you were supposed to order, so it's actually a very nice trade off.

Both cards are identical so you have nothing to worry about compatibility wise.

*phew* That's a relief :lol:

I'm just waiting for one more shipment and then I can start :lol:

 

[mocchan]

I'm glad you're having fun in the process :lol: (or so it seems)

 

[sillymichelle]

I'm glad you're having fun in the process :lol: (or so it seems)

Hello It's me again, so my parts finally came in, but then school started so I got a bit busy.

Anyways, When I turn on the tower, all of the fans work (except for one, but that's 'cause I need to buy a 3 to 4 pin converter, which isn't a big deal), but nothing will show up on the monitor (the bios). Now.....I don't know what to do.

I do plan on buying a new monitor...but the one I used should work.....but I don't know

P.S.

I am having fun in the process.....it also helps that I got the Borderlands2 coupon thing for free :lol: ...now if I can just get my computer to work......

 

[mocchan]

You shouldn't need to buy an adapter for fans at all! You can stick the 3-pin connector into the 4-pin connector on your motherboard One pin will stick out, but it's not like you'll be putting/touching the area near the fan header all the time so I don't think it's a big deal.

Also, which connector did you plug in your video cable into? Did you plug it into the motherboard connectors (near all the USB and audio ports)? Or did you plug it directly into the graphics card (has vents and multiple display outputs)?

If this hasn't been of any help, I highly recommend checking this link out - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-post-boot-video-problems

That should solve your problems. If it doesn't, come back to this thread and we'll see what's going on with your rig!