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Review please, first time build

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I have done a lot(some) of research into all of the compatibility factors between PC parts. This will be the first time I put together a working PC.
I have developed my unique home build for my sort of customization. I will be expecting an annual upgrade up to $100
(Christmas) in order to keep my PC at the level of newer PCs. here's my build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jrEZ

As you can see, I have gone with the lower end GPU. I understand that there are better cards out there, but I will deal with that later. I am currently running on a dell dimension 8300 with nvidia geforce 5300 512 MB.
I need to know if I should go with liquid cooling for my CPU, as I understand that the Intel ivy bridge runs much hotter when under pressure.
How careful will I need to be when installing the CPU if it is the most fragile part?
I also need to know if I am missing out on some newer Intel ivy bridge features by getting that motherboard. (tigerdirect says it only supports 2nd gen, but its chip-set supports 3rd gen)
Will there be a noticeable improvement by getting faster RAM?
is the HDD speed & capacity any better in comparison to faster, lower capacity SSD?
will the mid-tower case hold those large CPU fans? is it a good choice over other cases?
I understand that my current power requirements don't add up to 550 watts, but thay may in the future.
is DVD/CD drive a bad choice?

Thank you for your consideration in answering my numerous questions.

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You've done your homework, this looks like a good build. :) 

I wouldn't bother with water cooling, the Hyper212 EVO air cooler you picked out is a great performer and will even allow you to do some significant overclocking if you're into that. If you just keep it at stock temps, it will stay both quiet and frosty cool.

The CPU installation is easy-peasy, the 1155 is a ZIF (zero insertion force) socket. You just pop open the tray, drop the cpu in, and use the lever to close the lid. This requires a little force by design, but nothing to fret about there unless you are trying to plug the CPU in backwards. :p  The HSF is much trickier in my opinion, you have to make sure you get that thermal compound spread nice and thin / even across the surface, but it's nothing to be afraid of. There are tons of tutorial videos out on the web you can watch to get an idea beforehand and build up some confidence with the process.

The motherboard you picked is a fine choice using the latest gen Z77 chipset, nothing to worry about there

You will not see a noticeable difference buying faster RAM unless you are overclocking like mad. The 1600MHz modules you picked out are great.

The HDD will definitely be much slower than an SSD, the trade off is speed vs. capacity. If you need the space, you have to go with a mechanical HDD like the one you picked out, and for speed an SSD is the only way to go. These days most people do one of each and put their OS / Critical programs on the low-capacity SSD, then all their movies and music and non-essential programs on the slower HDD.

The case is the only thing I notice that you might want to consider some other options for. I'll get you a list of some other possibilities in a followup post.

550w for the PSU is a good choice; more than you need right now, but it gives you some room to grow.

The DVD burner looks fine to me
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ckholt83 said:
Okay, here are some good entry level cases to look at:

Antec Gaming Series One $45

Antec 300 $40

Zalman Z11 $50

Zalman Z9 Plus $50

Rosewill Challenger $40

Rosewill Future $55

Cooler Master HAF 912 $50


I think I'll go with the cooler master, even though it uses usb 2.0 instead of 3.0. I can just get a hub or pcie adapter if I need more ports. also the tool-less design would come in handy for a noob like me, but I have enough experience screwing/unscrewing hard drives. I love how the case looks (and the convertible 2.5"/5.25" bays) Thanks for the help. definitely a good answer.

Change: found Antec Three Hundred Two at $50 or NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) at $50

ckholt83 said:

The HDD will definitely be much slower than an SSD, the trade off is speed vs. capacity. If you need the space, you have to go with a mechanical HDD like the one you picked out, and for speed an SSD is the only way to go. These days most people do one of each and put their OS / Critical programs on the low-capacity SSD, then all their movies and music and non-essential programs on the slower HDD.


i guess I won't need so much space until after a year, so I'll switch it now and opt for a hard drive later, then transfer and convert to the SRT I've heard is built into the cpu. I need to keep my cost down so that I can still get some funding and won't have to bend backwards to pay for my first build.
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