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Want opinions on system components

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Looking at putting together a custom PC for the first time & am after some opinions about the parts I plan on using...
Haven't had much experience with performance PCs & NO experience with choosing the parts for them.

Computer will be primarily used for general web-surfing, light home-office use, etc although I may soon be doing some photo/video editing.
I also plan on downloading/streaming HD movies, etc.
Will definitely not be used for gaming...

I plan on this lasting me a long time so I am aware some parts (cooling, RAM, etc) may be major overkill for what I need but please still feel free to let me know your thoughts...

CPU: Intel i7 3770k
CPU cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo OR Noctua NH-D14?
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77 M Pro (will this limit me at all?)
RAM: 16GB @1600MHz (Corsair or G-SKILL)
RAM cooler: Kingston Hyper-X fan (I'm sure this isn't needed but it's cheap & I'm assuming the cooler the better???)
Storage: 120-180GB Intel SSD & 2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD
Optical drive: Pioneer internal BluRay burner
Case: NZXT Phantom OR Phantom 410 (would I get away with the smaller case?)
PSU: No idea! 650w? More? (Want some headroom for possible future upgrades)
Network adaptor: TP-LINK TL-WDN4800
OS: Windows 8 64-bit
Starting software: Microsoft Office 2010 H&S, Kaspersky Internet Security (anything better?)

As I'm not planning on gaming I assume the intergrated Intel HD 4000 graphics will be OK as a start at least? & the motherboard mentions digital-optical out so sound will be covered? Surround system has Dolby TrueHD so I'm after reasonable sound quality...
Or am I going to need separate graphics & sound cards?

Some further info. This will be in a bedroom & I plan on using my existing 40" LCD TV as a monitor & existing surround sound as my speakers with a wireless keyboard with touchpad.

As you can probably tell I'm very new to this so any help would be great!

Thanks

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Also, with some pricey (to me) components & my total lack of experience is it at all safe for me to attempt to build this or should I pay someone to do it?
Quite good with intricate things but have never dealt with PC internals before...

I recommend getting Corsair vengeance ram. And don't bother with a ram cooler. They're pointless and the corsair ram has heat sinks on it anyway so it'll never get hot.

And to save money you certainly don't need an expensive case. Try going for a cheap CoolerMaster case, in my experience they're great, have plenty of room and because you won't have a powerful GPU it'll be perfect for cooling.

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For web surfing, home/office use, and MAYBE editing....your build is too much. Very unnecessary. Get a 3570k and save $100. It can do everything you need, and it can edit photos/videos fast; unless your a professional artist and need to do large files or batches. Are you?

A RAM cooler? I've never even heard of that. ha. Something new. Seems totally unnecessary. I've never met/talked to anyone with one.

Get 8GB RAM. You'll never need more unless you seriously edit photos/videos. Corsair or GSKill are both great. Get 1600 CAS 9.

Only need around 500-520W PSU. 650W is overkill.

Mobo. Don't get microATX unless you dont' connect much to it. A ATX board is easier to install cables.

All in all, your build shouldn't cost more than $800 cuz you don't really need to spend more for what you need it for.

OK, thought the RAM cooler may be viewed as stupid.
First time I'd seen one yesterday while I was looking at RAM & figured I'd ask...
Want this to last & we get 40+degree celsius days here in summer so I figured the cooler the better.

Using a parts site that isn't laid out as nice as pcpartpicker & totally missed the fact that board was matx. Was just looking at the features I want.
As mentioned I'm VERY new to choosing PC parts (why I'm here)

This may sound stupid but I chose that case largely for its looks.
It will be on display & suits the rest of my room & entertainment setup.
The 410 is only around $125AUD. Will this be fine?

envy, thanks for the advice on PSU. Realise the i7 is overkill so may look at the i5 but not too stressed about $100 over the total cost of the build...

the i7 is not useful to you if you are not doing at least 3hrs of work a day.

atx is useless to you unless you have many expansion cards or you are doing SLi which you never will since this is not for gaming

-high profile ram wont fit under the heatsink

windows 8 is not useful if you dont have a touch screen. have you tried out the consumer preview yet?

i would rather get a good mechanical keyboard over a cheap wireless

-better SSDs for the money

cheaper blu ray drives

better power supplies

phantom is a waste if you dont put 1250+ dollars worth of hardware

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ql2g

b_rett said:
OK, thought the RAM cooler may be viewed as stupid.
First time I'd seen one yesterday while I was looking at RAM & figured I'd ask...
Want this to last & we get 40+degree celsius days here in summer so I figured the cooler the better.

Using a parts site that isn't laid out as nice as pcpartpicker & totally missed the fact that board was matx. Was just looking at the features I want.
As mentioned I'm VERY new to choosing PC parts (why I'm here)

This may sound stupid but I chose that case largely for its looks.
It will be on display & suits the rest of my room & entertainment setup.
The 410 is only around $125AUD. Will this be fine?

envy, thanks for the advice on PSU. Realise the i7 is overkill so may look at the i5 but not too stressed about $100 over the total cost of the build...


i7s are great, but you could buy a 3570k and overclock it. i7 chips are great for serious editing otherwise 3570k is awesome and performance is almost the same. The point is, you would never utilize the i7. The performance from the i5 is plenty.

The Phantom 410 is a great case. No problems with it.

To keep your case cool you'll add fans. You should have a front(intake), side(intake), rear(exhaust), top(exhaust).
That should be plenty of cooling. I live in Taiwan so it does get hot (upper 30s) in summer time and my case is cool with 3 fans.

Your case should have two fans already, just buy two more of these and your good to go:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

All in all, you should be able to do this for $800AUD

I just want to pop in and say that the Intel 4000 integrated graphics are quite simply phenomenal for being integrated. They can play most of the latest games. Not on high, but still. Anyway, if all you're doing with this thing is web-surfing general use, then I think the entire build is overkill. I agree with this fella ^^^ The i5 will be just fine. As for choosing a case for looks, why do you think there are so many cases that look like robotic spaceships? Everyone who has the cash to do it chooses the case based on looks. As far as Win 8 vs Win 7, I think it's largely a matter of preference. Might as well just get the trial of 8 and then decide. (That means you don't have to buy an OS immediately).

Also, I think the CPU cooler is probably unnecessary as OCing will probably be unnecessary. Plus you can always stick one in later if you decide you want to jack up your CPU's speed.
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