Advice Needed for a First Time Homebuilder

[ChazCheeto]

Hey guys, I apologize in advance. I'm sure you get barraged with 1,000 "Is this a good build" questions per day. I'm looking to put together my first PC on my own, after having one built on CyberPower previously. I want something that will last a good few years and that can be improved in the future by swapping out individual parts, rather than going from the ground up.

Anyway, I found the parts I think I'm interested in, and my biggest concern is price. Friends have told me to wait until Black Friday deals to buy everything, and I was chiefly wondering if prices vary greatly over time or if I should just go ahead and do this now. I'm not that worried about it unless I can save around $80+ for waiting a few months.

Here is what I'm looking at specifically:


$852 after rebates

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3818194&Sku=E145-0662%20BORDER (Video Card)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147060 (Tower)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136247 (Disc Drive)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1065066 (CPU, Motherboard, and RAM)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1067706 (Power Supply and Hard Drive)

As far as I know, I'm not missing any key components. Mostly wondering if the price is right for what I'd be putting into the machine.

Thanks in advance!

 

[malbluff]

A few minor points. You've selected a locked processor, and no aftermarket cooler, so I pressume you don't want to overclock CPU. There's no point wasting money on a full Z77 motherboard, that gives you good overclocking. A H77 board would be better value. That graphics card is OK, but there are better performing 660Ti's, for slightly more, that may be worth considering. Tom's Hardware had article on which 660Ti, recently. Unless you are intending to add a 2nd graphics card you don't need 750w, 550w would be more than enough (Seasonic, XFX, Antec are good)

 

[ChazCheeto]

A few minor points. You've selected a locked processor, and no aftermarket cooler, so I pressume you don't want to overclock CPU. There's no point wasting money on a full Z77 motherboard, that gives you good overclocking. A H77 board would be better value. That graphics card is OK, but there are better performing 660Ti's, for slightly more, that may be worth considering. Tom's Hardware had article on which 660Ti, recently. Unless you are intending to add a 2nd graphics card you don't need 750w, 550w would be more than enough (Seasonic, XFX, Antec are good)

Hey thanks; I just saw this site in another thread:

www.pcpartpicker.com

I was looking at H77 boards like you suggested, and I'm having trouble finding if they're SLI compatible when I go to the specs on specific boards. I have no intention of dropping an additional $300 at this time on a second 660Ti, but I'd like to have the option in a few years, when the GPU price drops and I'm in need of a performance boost to keep up with the times. With that in mind, would you think I should stay with the 750w so that I can add a second card in the future?

As for the graphics card, I'll look into better performing 660Ti's, and like you said, I'm not interested in overclocking at this time.

Last question, do you think I need an aftermarket cooler if I won't be OC'ing? I know the tower itself has 4 fans in it, so I'm hoping that will be enough to keep everything low temp.

Edit: I think, from what I've found in brief searches, the H77's aren't compatible with SLI. Correct me if I'm wrong on that. Would you suggest keeping with the Z77 and 750w I had found just to have the possibility of adding a second card down the line?

Edit2: Also, thoughts on this Galaxy 2gb 660Ti?:
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=74980&vpn=66NPH7DV6VXZ&manufacture=Galaxy%20Technology

Edit3: Hopefully last edit. Better power supply + HDD combo?:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1067709

 

[malbluff]

Hey thanks; I just saw this site in another thread:

www.pcpartpicker.com

I was looking at H77 boards like you suggested, and I'm having trouble finding if they're SLI compatible when I go to the specs on specific boards. I have no intention of dropping an additional $300 at this time on a second 660Ti, but I'd like to have the option in a few years, when the GPU price drops and I'm in need of a performance boost to keep up with the times. With that in mind, would you think I should stay with the 750w so that I can add a second card in the future?

As for the graphics card, I'll look into better performing 660Ti's, and like you said, I'm not interested in overclocking at this time.

Last question, do you think I need an aftermarket cooler if I won't be OC'ing? I know the tower itself has 4 fans in it, so I'm hoping that will be enough to keep everything low temp.

Edit: I think, from what I've found in brief searches, the H77's aren't compatible with SLI. Correct me if I'm wrong on that. Would you suggest keeping with the Z77 and 750w I had found just to have the possibility of adding a second card down the line?

Edit2: Also, thoughts on this Galaxy 2gb 660Ti?:
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=74980&vpn=66NPH7DV6VXZ&manufacture=Galaxy%20Technology

Edit3: Hopefully last edit. Better power supply + HDD combo?:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1067709

To answer some of your points:
H77 is the chipset, on the board. H77 chipset motherboards are identical to Z77 mobos, just without the overclocking capability. Some H77 mobos allow for SLi and all the other "goodies" in the same way Z77's do. If you look on manufacturers sites (like Asus, or ASRock), you will find lots of H77 motheboards, all with slightly different options (and different prices). PC Partpicker is a good place to price components, once you know basically what you want.
You don't need aftermarket cooler, if not overclocking. The one supplied with CPU is fine (I you see any cheap DON'T get OEM CPU, they don't have any cooler)
Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Galaxy all have decent versions of the 660Ti, but there are many versions (Asus have SIX versions, on their own). If you don't want to get involved with "adjusting" graphics card, can be worth getting a factory overclocked one. Better performance, usually better quality, although a bit pricier.

 

[ChazCheeto]

Best answer selected by ChazCheeto.

 

[malbluff]

Just noticed that PSU+DVD combo. That would be fine. Something like Seasonic SS, or the HX version of that Corsair, have the advantage of being Modular (so you can remove spare cables, rather than having to tuck them away, in case), but whether that's worth paying a lot more for... That "combo" is decent deal.