Hi!
I am a 27 years old lawyer living in Brazil and getting married on 2013. Because my fiancée is going to the US to buy her wedding dress, this is my opportunity to build a new gaming PC!
I currently have a G73JW notebook, bought 2 years ago, which fulfilled its objectives and now needs to be replaced for high resolution max settings gaming.
So, my intention is to build my new gaming PC. And by build, I mean actually build it – get the parts, put them together, tighten the screws and so forth. Therefore, this build’s objective is twofold: buy an awesome gaming rig AND tickle my maker genes.
I have never really built anything from ground up, but I do know my way around hardware and have no fear of digging in. Here’s my situation:
- I live in Brazil, which means I have no access to the newest PC parts, and if I did, it would be too expensive. Therefore, since my fiancée is going to the US from November 20th to 28th, I will buy everything I need online and she will bring them to be assembled here;
- Because of the specific fact above, I need to choose parts that last long – both because of their quality and speed. If something breaks, I’m without a PC for at least 3 months, due to international RMA. If something gets too slow, god only knows when I will go to the US again to buy parts. Please consider this for your suggestions!
- With the exception of the case and monitor, which I will buy here due to the size, everything else will be bought on the US – not only PC parts, but tools and equipment such as cooling paste, etc.
- I already have a Razor mouse (Mamba) and keyboard and will keep using them.
Here’s what I intend to build so far, with comments for each part:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/m9wK
CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
It was a tough choice between the 3930k and the 3770, especially because I do not intend to do any overclocking. However, considering that I want to try and have this thing last for as long as possible, I ended up going for the higher end option. The fact that it does not come with a cooler means more assembling fun (as explained above). Please note that I personally want an Intel processor, so AMD suggestions are not an option.
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight II SD1283 Night Hawk Edition 89.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
I have no idea if this is any good; I chose it based on price/reviews. 100% open to other suggestions.
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Once again, chosen due to reviews and open for suggestions.
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($189.99 @ Newegg)
I felt like 32gb would be a good option at this time. Corsair seems like a good brand and this model has reasonable reviews.
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($128.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 480GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($299.99 @ Newegg)
One fast booting SSD drive and the mandatory hdd.
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 690 4GB Video Card ($999.99 @ Amazon)
Now, the reason why I chose the GTX 690 is based on a few facts: first, I do not want to buy ATI – this is due to my history with NVidia and ATI. Second, I get tingly when thinking about two GTX 690 working on SLI in the near future, something that would not be an option if I bought two GTX 680 SLI right now.
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 1050W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($205.98 @ Newegg)
I just want something safe, trustworthy and enough for two 690 SLI in the future.
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112-04 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Basic Blu-Ray driver.
Total: $2667.89
Questions I currently have, always considering my personal situation described above:
1. Is my choice for the 3930k instead of the 3770 a good one? Or is the added price not worth it?
2. Do I need to buy anything (other than monitor and case) to install everything above? Screwdrivers? Cooling paste? Screws?
3. If I buy an SSD and an hdd as seen above, is it enough to have a very fast booting machine? Is it insanely hard to configure and install, or so I just install windows on the SSD and I’m done?
4. Is there any better choice of CPU cooler?
5. Is there any better choice of motherboard?
6. Is there any better choice of RAM memory?
7. Is there any better choice of power supply?
8. Please, feel free to criticize and suggest.
I will post pictures of the final parts bought, the assembling and the working machine in the end!
Thank you for the help!
Mandatory new build info:
Purchase date: November 20th.
Budget Range: From USD 2,000 to 3,000
System Usage: Gaming – everything else is subsidiary but should run very fast for working and multitasking.
Are you buying a monitor: No.
Parts to upgrade: Everything.
Do you need to buy OS: No.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any online shop.
Location: Delivered to Orlando, will be brought to Brazil and assembled here.
Parts Preferences: Nvidia Graphics Card and Intel Processor.
Overclocking: No.
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080.
Why Are You Upgrading: To max every game on Ultra settings, for as long as possible.
I am a 27 years old lawyer living in Brazil and getting married on 2013. Because my fiancée is going to the US to buy her wedding dress, this is my opportunity to build a new gaming PC!
I currently have a G73JW notebook, bought 2 years ago, which fulfilled its objectives and now needs to be replaced for high resolution max settings gaming.
So, my intention is to build my new gaming PC. And by build, I mean actually build it – get the parts, put them together, tighten the screws and so forth. Therefore, this build’s objective is twofold: buy an awesome gaming rig AND tickle my maker genes.
I have never really built anything from ground up, but I do know my way around hardware and have no fear of digging in. Here’s my situation:
- I live in Brazil, which means I have no access to the newest PC parts, and if I did, it would be too expensive. Therefore, since my fiancée is going to the US from November 20th to 28th, I will buy everything I need online and she will bring them to be assembled here;
- Because of the specific fact above, I need to choose parts that last long – both because of their quality and speed. If something breaks, I’m without a PC for at least 3 months, due to international RMA. If something gets too slow, god only knows when I will go to the US again to buy parts. Please consider this for your suggestions!
- With the exception of the case and monitor, which I will buy here due to the size, everything else will be bought on the US – not only PC parts, but tools and equipment such as cooling paste, etc.
- I already have a Razor mouse (Mamba) and keyboard and will keep using them.
Here’s what I intend to build so far, with comments for each part:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/m9wK
CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
It was a tough choice between the 3930k and the 3770, especially because I do not intend to do any overclocking. However, considering that I want to try and have this thing last for as long as possible, I ended up going for the higher end option. The fact that it does not come with a cooler means more assembling fun (as explained above). Please note that I personally want an Intel processor, so AMD suggestions are not an option.
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight II SD1283 Night Hawk Edition 89.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
I have no idea if this is any good; I chose it based on price/reviews. 100% open to other suggestions.
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Once again, chosen due to reviews and open for suggestions.
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($189.99 @ Newegg)
I felt like 32gb would be a good option at this time. Corsair seems like a good brand and this model has reasonable reviews.
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($128.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 480GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($299.99 @ Newegg)
One fast booting SSD drive and the mandatory hdd.
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 690 4GB Video Card ($999.99 @ Amazon)
Now, the reason why I chose the GTX 690 is based on a few facts: first, I do not want to buy ATI – this is due to my history with NVidia and ATI. Second, I get tingly when thinking about two GTX 690 working on SLI in the near future, something that would not be an option if I bought two GTX 680 SLI right now.
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 1050W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($205.98 @ Newegg)
I just want something safe, trustworthy and enough for two 690 SLI in the future.
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112-04 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Basic Blu-Ray driver.
Total: $2667.89
Questions I currently have, always considering my personal situation described above:
1. Is my choice for the 3930k instead of the 3770 a good one? Or is the added price not worth it?
2. Do I need to buy anything (other than monitor and case) to install everything above? Screwdrivers? Cooling paste? Screws?
3. If I buy an SSD and an hdd as seen above, is it enough to have a very fast booting machine? Is it insanely hard to configure and install, or so I just install windows on the SSD and I’m done?
4. Is there any better choice of CPU cooler?
5. Is there any better choice of motherboard?
6. Is there any better choice of RAM memory?
7. Is there any better choice of power supply?
8. Please, feel free to criticize and suggest.
I will post pictures of the final parts bought, the assembling and the working machine in the end!
Thank you for the help!
Mandatory new build info:
Purchase date: November 20th.
Budget Range: From USD 2,000 to 3,000
System Usage: Gaming – everything else is subsidiary but should run very fast for working and multitasking.
Are you buying a monitor: No.
Parts to upgrade: Everything.
Do you need to buy OS: No.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any online shop.
Location: Delivered to Orlando, will be brought to Brazil and assembled here.
Parts Preferences: Nvidia Graphics Card and Intel Processor.
Overclocking: No.
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080.
Why Are You Upgrading: To max every game on Ultra settings, for as long as possible.