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First Build, 1.5 years in the making!

Last response: in Systems
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Type Item Price
CPU Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor $219.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler $19.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard $122.62 @ Newegg
Memory G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $77.99 @ Newegg
Storage Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $69.99 @ NCIX US
Storage OCZ Vertex Plus R2 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk $139.99 @ Newegg
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card $229.99 @ Amazon
Case Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case $49.49 @ SuperBiiz
Power Supply OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply $49.99 @ Newegg
Monitor ViewSonic VA2448m-LED 24.0" Monitor $159.99 @ Amazon
Other ASUS PCE-N15 wireless adapter $25.00
Total

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. $1165.03

CPU: 189 @ microcenter, I wondered about getting the 3550 since I have never overclocked before, but I think I'll go with this.

CPU Cooler: popular choice, seems to be a great part.

MOBO: I don't know about the extreme4 since the thread that showed it used cheap components, would love some other suggestions

Memory: 16 GB IS OVERKILL BRO, yeah but I want to do some video editing with this machine and I've seen that it helps, also I always have a bunch of stuff open. I thought about buying 2x4GB and seeing if I need more, but then I read that 2 sticks is better for dual channel so I decided to go 2x8GB from the get go. Any input?

Storage: I know there are faster and better SSDs, but I work with humongous samples in Kontakt that take forever to load so having a lot of space at this price will be nice, I would love suggestions here as well. I have a 1TB external hard drive and might not even get the Barracuda, we'll see.

Video Card: BRO get the 7850 it's so much better bro! Is it? I have gravitated towards the 660 for CUDA with Adobe stuff (although I know they support openGL now for most stuff as well) and seemingly better performance in some games, although reviews differ. I don't really know anything about overclocking GPUs (I mean I don't really know anything about overclocking CPUs either, but there seems to be more information on that topic) so that selling point of the 7850 is eh, but I would love to read your opinion. Is it pretty easy / not that dangerous (I know it depends on the particular card you get) to overclock a GPU? Please no LMGTFY, I will google this extensively l8r.

Case: Would love some suggestions in this price range

Power Supply: I really have no clue about this and would love some advice here.

Monitor: Is this a good choice? I want something with speakers since I use those when watching youtube and such. I've also thought about scouring criagslist for a used monitor. I don't think I'll be a monitor right away.

I will be using this mostly for Audio production, video editing, gaming, other adobe applications and miscellaneous less intensive tasks. T Thank you for your time.

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Stick with the CPU if you're curious about OC. It's not as hard as you think.

CPU cooler is fine for mild overclocking. Very cheap too.

Cheap components...? I don't think so. The mobo's price is cheap compared to its ASUS and Gigabyte counterparts, but it is in no way composed of cheap components. It even has more features than those two. The BIOS is also very newb-friendly so you can use it quite efficiently when you start considering OC, given it's a z77 board, don't waste it.

If you think you need 16gb, go ahead. We can never really tell how exactly you manage your open tabs, programs, etc in your computer so I'll leave that to you.

I don't personally like Seagate since they had a history of their 1TB HDDs having a mass failure, I always recommend Western Digital. A cheap alternative is Hitachi. Don't be fooled by Newegg reviews.
That SSD is pretty bad imo, get the Vertex 4 if you want OCZ, get the Samsung 830 if you want Samsung.

Just get the 7850. The 660 isn't really that great for its price, nor any Kepler cards at the moment until Nvidia stops being stubborn and starts giving price cuts. If you can stretch your budget a little, get a 7870 GHz for around ~$240, it has great performance.

HAF 912 has good cooling, and a lot of space. If you want LED and a 3rd fan, get the Rosewill Challenger.
There's also the Antec Three Hundred Two.

As for the PSU, will you be going CF/SLI or not? If you are considering CF/SLI, get at a 700w now so you won't have to upgrade anymore when you get the 2nd card. If you are very sure you won't CF/SLI, then just get a 550w.
The OCZ ModXStream isn't very great btw, it uses multiple rails and has low amperage on both of them.

This here's a good budget monitor,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Though I would reaaally recommend 120Hz monitors for its fluidity and smoothness in games.

excella1221 said:
Stick with the CPU if you're curious about OC. It's not as hard as you think.

CPU cooler is fine for mild overclocking. Very cheap too.

Cheap components...? I don't think so. The mobo's price is cheap compared to its ASUS and Gigabyte counterparts, but it is in no way composed of cheap components. It even has more features than those two. The BIOS is also very newb-friendly so you can use it quite efficiently when you start considering OC, given it's a z77 board, don't waste it.

If you think you need 16gb, go ahead. We can never really tell how exactly you manage your open tabs, programs, etc in your computer so I'll leave that to you.

I don't personally like Seagate since they had a history of their 1TB HDDs having a mass failure, I always recommend Western Digital. A cheap alternative is Hitachi. Don't be fooled by Newegg reviews.
That SSD is pretty bad imo, get the Vertex 4 if you want OCZ, get the Samsung 830 if you want Samsung.

Just get the 7850. The 660 isn't really that great for its price, nor any Kepler cards at the moment until Nvidia stops being stubborn and starts giving price cuts. If you can stretch your budget a little, get a 7870 GHz for around ~$240, it has great performance.

HAF 912 has good cooling, and a lot of space. If you want LED and a 3rd fan, get the Rosewill Challenger.
There's also the Antec Three Hundred Two.

As for the PSU, will you be going CF/SLI or not? If you are considering CF/SLI, get at a 700w now so you won't have to upgrade anymore when you get the 2nd card. If you are very sure you won't CF/SLI, then just get a 550w.
The OCZ ModXStream isn't very great btw, it uses multiple rails and has low amperage on both of them.

This here's a good budget monitor,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Though I would reaaally recommend 120Hz monitors for its fluidity and smoothness in games.


Thank you very much for all of the advice, I really appreciate it!
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