Building a new one, need professional help!

[tyschr]

Getting ready to embark on my first build in about 10 years, you could say my tech skills a bit rusty. Found this format to ask for help, I'd definitely like to get some input from everyone on here, you guys know a whole lot more than me on this:

Approximate Purchase Date: Over the next 2-3 months

Budget Range: up to $1300 (shipped)


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, interwebs, a little video editing, nothing fancy

Are you buying a monitor: Plan to hook up to a 46” 1080p tv

Parts to Upgrade: Full build


Do you need to buy OS: Yes



Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Whoever has the best prices

Location: Panama City, Florida

Parts Preferences: Intel, Nvidia

Overclocking: Eventually

SLI or Crossfire: Eventually

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Plan to hook up to my TV in the living room and operate with wireless keyboard and mouse, quiet is preferable but not the priority. I’d like to build something that is expandable down the road (GPU, RAM) but that won’t need to be upgraded in a month to keep up with software.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Want to build a machine that can run high end FPS (Far Cry 3, Battlefield) and memory sucking strategy games (Total War, Civilizations)…and make em look good.

Parts: This is just what I’ve dug up using my meager understanding of current computer fanciness, I’m totally open to suggestion. I picked a smaller HD cause I honestly don’t need any bigger. Don’t download much of anything for music or movies.


CPU: Intel Core i7-3820 BX80619I73820 Processor - Quad Core, 10MB L3 Cache, 1MB L2 Cache, 3.60GHz (3.90GHz Max Turbo), Socket R (LGA2011), 130W, No Fan, Retail--$289

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1884773&Sku=I69-3820

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler - 140x140x25mm, i5, i7, 775, AM2--$84.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5592441&Sku=N126-1024

Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 TUF Motherboard - ATX, Socket R (LGA2011), Intel X79 Express, 1866MHz DDR3, SATA 6.0 Gb/s, RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, USB 3.0, PCI-Express 3.0, CrossFireX/SLI--$329.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1498753&Sku=A455-3156

Memory: Corsair CMZ8GX3M1A1600C10 Vengeance Desktop Memory Module - 8GB, PC3-12800, DDR3-1600MHz, 240-pin DIMM, 1.5V, CL10, Intel XMP Ready, Unbuffered—$44.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1610526&Sku=C13-5708

HD: WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB Desktop Hard Drive - 3.5", SATA, 7200RPM, 16MB Cache--$59.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7281716&Sku=TSD-500AAKX

Video Card: MSI N550GTX-Ti Cyclone OC GeForce GTX 550 Ti Video Card - 1GB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), Mini HDMI, Dual DVI, DirectX 11, Dual-Slot, SLI Ready, Overclocked--$119.96

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7335355&Sku=M452-0550

Case: Cooler Master RC-430-KWN1 Elite 430 Mid Tower ATX Case - ATX/Micro-ATX, USB, Audio, 120mm Blue LED Fan, Black--$49.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6430030&Sku=C283-3122

Power Supply: Ultra LSP750 750-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, SLI-Ready, 135mm Fan, Lifetime Warranty w/ Registration—74.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3276567&Sku=ULT-LSP750

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST 24X Internal DVD Burner - DVD±R 24X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD-RW 6X, DVD±R (DL) 12X, DVD-RAM 12X, CD-R 48X, CD-RW 32X, SATA, 2MB, Black, OEM--$16.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6078414&Sku=A455-5022

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium GFC-02050 Operating System Software - 64bit, DVD—89.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5213932&Sku=M17-7302

WIFI: Gonna need it, got no clue what to look for.

Keyboard and Mouse: Logitech 920-002836 MK320 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo - 2.4GHz, USB Receiver, Instant Access Hot Keys--$39.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6572352&Sku=L23-8134

Will purchase fans to fill available spots and keep this puppy breathing
Total (pre shipping): $1201.86

 

[g-unit1111]

Gaming will not benefit from X79, and the GTX 550TI is a *HORRIBLE* choice for gaming. Ultra power supplies are among the industry's absolute worst (pretty much everything Ultra makes is garbage), and I wouldn't trust a Cooler Master 430 with $1200 worth of components.

I'd completely drop that whole build and get something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1116.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-06 20:12 EST-0500)

 

[tyschr]

That's why I asked...I pretty much just shot from the hip on my build, matched up numbers that needed matching and that was about it. I've noticed a lot of preference for the i5, other than cost is there a reason most choose it over the i7?

 

[g-unit1111]

That's why I asked...I pretty much just shot from the hip on my build, matched up numbers that needed matching and that was about it. I've noticed a lot of preference for the i5, other than cost is there a reason most choose it over the i7?

Games won't benefit from the extra threads on the i7 - it's meant more for multimedia authoring and editing.

That's never a good way to go about doing a build - you need to carefully research every part before buying - and especially the graphics card.

 

[tyschr]

Yeah I'm definitely still in the planning phase, still getting a feel for what's out there. Last time I built one faster/bigger= better, things weren't quite as complex as they are now.
I saw you recommended a solid state drive as well as a standard hd, I know those things are crazy fast but is there a specific reason I'd need to have one as a secondary?

 

[g-unit1111]

Yeah I'm definitely still in the planning phase, still getting a feel for what's out there. Last time I built one faster/bigger= better, things weren't quite as complex as they are now.
I saw you recommended a solid state drive as well as a standard hd, I know those things are crazy fast but is there a specific reason I'd need to have one as a secondary?

I recommend going SSD as a primary as it cuts down on lag time and helps Windows load faster, but due to the limited capacity (128GB doesn't get you very far these days) that's why I usually recommend a 1 - 2TB secondary HD to compliment the SSD and it provides a good cost per GB solution.

 

[tyschr]

Ah. Yeah that makes sense. I found this case as an alternate if I had more to spend in the budget, the only thing I like over the one you recommended is that it comes with a crap ton of fans and the cable management is a sweet feature. Other than what the website tells me, I don't know much on these things, what do you think?

Azza CSAZ-1000 Solano 1000 Full Tower Gaming Case - ATX, Micro-ATX, E-ATX, 10x Ext 5.25", 1x Ext 3.5", 8x Int 3.5", 1x 120mm Fan, 2x 140mm Fans, 2 x 230mm Fans, 3x USB, e-SATA

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=41023&CatId=1510

 

[tyschr]

I double checked my daily use laptop to see what kind of storage I'm eating up, that thing barely has 100Gb on it...I'm considering bumping up the size of the SSD to 256Gb and not even putting a HD on this thing, is there any reason I'd need an HD as a back up other than expanded storage?

 

[g-unit1111]

Ah. Yeah that makes sense. I found this case as an alternate if I had more to spend in the budget, the only thing I like over the one you recommended is that it comes with a crap ton of fans and the cable management is a sweet feature. Other than what the website tells me, I don't know much on these things, what do you think?

Azza CSAZ-1000 Solano 1000 Full Tower Gaming Case - ATX, Micro-ATX, E-ATX, 10x Ext 5.25", 1x Ext 3.5", 8x Int 3.5", 1x 120mm Fan, 2x 140mm Fans, 2 x 230mm Fans, 3x USB, e-SATA

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=41023&CatId=1510

That's decent - this is a far better choice: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3844170&CatId=1509

I'm personally not a fan of Tiger Direct anymore - they've gone way downhill since the CompUSA merger and they try to hawk their junk house brand Ultra whenever they can.

I double checked my daily use laptop to see what kind of storage I'm eating up, that thing barely has 100Gb on it...I'm considering bumping up the size of the SSD to 256Gb and not even putting a HD on this thing, is there any reason I'd need an HD as a back up other than expanded storage?

The reason I say that you should get mechanical storage is that most games anymore will take up a ton of room on any given storage device. And you never want to load your SSD beyond 80% capacity or risk slower read - write times. Mechanical HDs can take a lot more punishment than SSDs can. Plus the size of games anymore - can range from 6GB to 40GB and beyond - you will definitely want a mechanical HD.

 

[tyschr]

Thanks for all the help man, I've learned a lot from you, definitely glad I asked.