First time build

[stuperstrong]

So I'm going to embark on building my first desktop here soon and I wanted to throw my build idea out there and see if anyone has any ideas on improvement, advice, or see any obvious problems with it. I've trying to do a bit of research and find out what I'm going to need. Just to let you know, also, I am looking for this to be a gaming pc that will easily last a couple years and I don't intend to both with any sort of overclocking.

Thanks in advance

Corsair Obsidian Series Black 650D
Gigabyte Intel Z77 LGA1155 (Z77X-UD5H)
Intel Core i7-3770
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB)
EVGA GeForce GTX 660
Corsair Force Series GT 120 GB
Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB
Corsair Professional Series AX 750
LG Electronics 24X SATA Super Multi DVD+/-RW
Windows 8 Professional System Builder DVD 64-Bit

Edit: Put power supply on there twice, also http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qvXT is this build I've posted.

 

[peterson99]

What's your budget?

 

[stuperstrong]

Trying to stay in the 1200-1400 range, unless I can do just as good while going under that.

 

[peterson99]

This is a slightly cheaper mobo (A good brand though). However, it has one less PCI-Express slot (2 instead of 3). So a max of 2 cards in SLI

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837

The processor could be downgraded to an i5 (do fine for gaming). But this really depends on you, and what you use your computer for. (I personally like the i7, gives me plenty of head room when working on more CPU heavy projects)

Also 16Gb are a bit overkill at this point, you really won't see the difference between that and say 8Gbs. (Though again depends on what you're using your computer for)
Also that ram is cas 10, which IMO seems high.
I would recommend this insted,only $10 cheaper but it's cas 8 instead
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233147

-Hard drives are really a preference thing (I've had bad luck with WD)

The PSU you chose is a great option (Modular is a great feature for you're first build)

Also the GPU will be the weakest link in your system, so you may want to consider SLI in the future (Not sure if you're ok with games not at ultra settings or not?)

Other than that, looks good to me

 

[stuperstrong]

First of all, thanks for the advice.

I like Gigabyte motherboards as a brand, but I doubt I'll be using 3 cards, so a 2 max might be a better choice for me.

I did look at getting the i5, but wasn't sure about it really, I know it'd work fine but I just "feel" like I need the i7 haha.

I might go with 8g of ram instead, my current one has 8 in it and I don't have any problems honestly. I used to do a bit of video editing, but as of late (year or so) I haven't done any at all, I just game.

I've never used a WD before, but I see plenty of them around so I figured "why not?" Though changing it to something else isn't to big of a deal.

As for the GPU, the GTX 660 seemed like it would probably do what I wanted with a single card, though I would much rather be able to play stuff on ultra just for the fact of saying that I do. I considered the ti version, but wasn't sure if it was worth investing another 80 or so dollars into it. What cards would you recommend for a 2 card build?

This would actually be my first time using Nvidia in about 8 years I believe? I had a bad experience with one quite awhile back and have always used AMD since, and even considered drowning money in the HD7970, but don't think I will.

Oh, and on another note. I may drop out the SSD, I've heard both good and bad things about them from various places. I don't currently have one and I'm not 100% on whether it's really a worth while investment at this point.

 

[stuperstrong]

Another question I just thought of.

I was/am planning on using the stock case fans, and have no intent of water cooling my cpu. If anyone has any opinion on the stock case fans and what I should maybe replace them with I'd be open to suggestion.

Also, I've heard liquid cooling doesn't do me to terribly much good if I have no intent of overclocking.

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Black-Computer-CC-9011016-WW/dp/B007S02GMA/ref=sr_1_10?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1354526246&sr=1-10 $122.98 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Vengeance Series Black C70 Mid Tower Computer Case (CC-9011016-WW)

or...

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Windowed-Computer-CC-9011017-WW/dp/B008B6ONXA/ref=sr_1_14?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1354526422&sr=1-14 $89.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series Black 300R Windowed Computer Case (CC-9011017-WW)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207023 $109.99
XFX P1-750X-XXB9 750W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157330 $109.99 FREE SHIPPING
ASRock Z77 Extreme3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i5-3570K-Quad-Core-Processor/dp/B007SZ0E1K/ref=pd_cp_pc_1 $214.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Intel Core i5-3570K Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155 - BX80637I53570K

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=pd_sim_pc_2 $31.19 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231544 $37.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAO

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-2-5-Inch-Solid-SDSSDX-240G-G25/dp/B006EKJ8UI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1354434227&sr=1-1&keywords=sandisk+256gb+ssd $163.16 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
SanDisk Extreme SSD 240 GB SATA 6.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SDSSDX-240G-G25

http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-WINDFORCE-PCI-Express-Graphics-GV-N670WF2-2GD/dp/B008LZKLF0/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1354434067&sr=1-2&keywords=gigabyte+gtx+670 $379.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping | Price after rebate: $359.99
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 670 WINDFORCE 2X OC Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express 3.0 2x DVI/HDMI/DP SLI Ready Graphics Card GV-N670WF2-2GD

http://www.amazon.com/Lite--Super-AllWrite-Layer-Drive/dp/B002YIG9AQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1354526359&sr=1-1 $17.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Lite-On Super AllWrite 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive - Bulk - IHAS124-04 Version C (Black)

 

[peterson99]

As for the motherboard, I couldn't see a cheaper Gigabyte board with only 2 3.0 PCI Express slots, (so the one you chose is fine)

I'm sure the WD will be fine, all HDD's have a failure rate (So it's really just bad luck if yours craps out)

I would also highly recommend a SDD (I have one in my computer, and it makes a world of difference in how smoothly the OS runs). Since SDD are still quite expensive though, I would recomend buying a smaller SDD just for your OS (and what ever programs you have), then store your games, movies, etc on a HDD.

180 Gb Intel SSD, about $150 (should be enough space for your OS, plus what ever programs your running) - again this depends on you though, keep in mind you should have an HDD for other things. If the price is high you could downgrade to a 120Gb (will still be enough)

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167122

For graphics I would recommend moving up to the 670 if you can afford it. I don't know for sure, but I believe the 660 should be able to play everything on high settings (right now). I just meant to point out that the 660 is the weakest link in your computer and will become obsolete the soonest. I recommend going with only one card right now, then in a few years picking up another card for SLI (at a much cheaper price)

as for a CPU cooler you won't need an amazing one since you're not overclocking (water cooling would be way overkill). I've never used the stock fan, but I'm sure it would work fine. The one Why_Me ^ posted looks good as well. (These CPU's are pretty efficient these days though)
Also keep in mind that changing the CPU fan also means applying thermal paste to the new cooler
(I highly recommend Arctic Silver 5 for this. It's considered the best out there by most people, and I find it much easier to work with compared to other thermal pastes.

-I would imagine the case fans should be enough. I would recommend trying to find some in depth reviews on the case you chose to confirm this though. Also if you plan on getting a larger CPU cooler you will want to find reviews to make sure that the size of the cooler will not cause problems in your case. Also that the cooler doesn't interfere with the ram you've chosen (you will notice that the Corsair Ram you've chosen has quite large fins

sorry for the delayed answer (Studying for finals )

 

[stuperstrong]

I understand finals, they have a good habit of keeping people busy.

I'll probably just go with a cheaper motherboard, I doubt I'll ever get 3 cards honestly, and if I did I wouldn't use that much power, so I can put that money elsewhere.

I was looking at the evo 212 actually, seems to have good enough reviews and it's fairly cheap, so I might invest in it.

As far as the 670 goes, if it'll have a potentially greater longevity, then it would be worth spending a little extra cash to get it, probably won't be buying anything for at least another couple week, so I'll have time to look a bit more into everything.

For the case, I'm fairly set on getting the 650D, I like the look, I like the insides, and I've read pretty good things about it's airflow. Pretty stuck on getting that one unless there is a horrifying reason that I should just avoid it lol. If anything, I can change the fans in it for more power.

I'll probably get a SSD, even if it's a small one, at least for my OS.

I couldn't really find any reviews for that xfx power supply, it's cheaper, but not sure if they are reliable?

The WD thing is kinda like my Nvidia experience, had one bad apple and then hated the brand for years lol.

Otherwise, everything has been helpful. Going to keep an eye on sales, do more research if I can and modify my list and see what kind of prices I can do.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qTt3