Help For The Newbie/Novice

PepsiRacer4

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Dec 11, 2012
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10,510
Hey guys! New guy here, and really my first time venturing into the realm of building a PC on my own. I was wondering if you guys could give me an input on the parts I've gathered up that I feel like are good enough. The stuff I plan to do on this new rig, is play some games like NR2003, NBA 2k13, Battlefield 3, and Garry's Mod 2. Probably more games once I do get more in depth into as I'll know my limits of the computer very well. I also plan on messing around in Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, etc... all of the graphic design programs and 3ds Max as I'm going into college for that stuff. I figure embarking on this journey too will help improve my knowledge of the innerworkings of a computer as I want to college for computer tech and programming as well. Anyways, here's the parts I've got put down as an idea for now:

Case: Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Hard Drive: Western Digital WD Black WD5003AZEX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Video/Graphics Card: MSI N560GTX-Ti 448 Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 448 Cores (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16

Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

RAM: G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C10D-16GAO

Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G41 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Processor: Intel Core i5-3470 Ivy Bridge 3.2GHz (3.6GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637i53470

Heatsink: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/FM2/AM3+

Thanks if you guys can check over this stuff, it'd be greatly appreciated, if I'm missing anything let me know. Except for the disk drive lol, I figured I'd just pick out a regular one and not worry about the Blu-Ray :)

-Tyler
 

PepsiRacer4

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Dec 11, 2012
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10,510
Thanks for the input guys, I'm probably gonna stay with the 3470k still and then get a cooling fan from a family member or two for Christmas so I can have that taken care of. Glad I found out some good stuff for my first rig lol.
 

eshepard

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Aug 17, 2010
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I did a build about 2 months ago, I went with a g41 z77a as well and a 3570K.

I have recommended the board to others and will recommend it to you as well. I bought it because it was cheap and offers some overclocking ability. I did a build for my friend last week again with a G41 and a 3570K, he is happy as a clam.

Like moose suggested, get a 3570k, that way, down the line you can overclock for a quick performance boost.

Also, I cannot recommend an SSD more strongly. It makes such an incredible difference in your day to day use, it dramatically enhances the computer experience. SSD's are cheaper than ever right now. Once you use one, you will never go back to a mechanical drive again.

Depending on how serious you are about Graphic Design or Video Editing you may want to consider a 3770k. The hyperthreading won't do anything for games, but will dramatically improve the performance of Adobe applications, and rendering.

In the theme of forward thinking, think about the possibility of going SLI in the future with regards to your power supply.

That's how I try to build, spend a little more now, so that in a 2 years I can get a second video card, new cooler, go SLI and overclock, and get a solid performance boost for only a few more bucks, and extend the life of my system.

I don't know what your budget is, but that's my 2 cents.
 

PepsiRacer4

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Dec 11, 2012
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10,510


Certainly some good points you made. My first question is, can I still use an SSD and an HDD, or would it be recommended to just go and just do an SSD solely? For the processor, I think I'll ponder more about it, I mean I looked at prices and it's only a $15 increase which isn't too much in the scheme of things I guess, I'm just trying to be a penny pincher in a sense you know? Haha. Considering the fact it's my first build I think I may just stay with my original build and maybe next spring/summer when I have some more money I can upgrade my processor again to something more stronger when I have more money. Thanks very much for your input :)
 

eshepard

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Aug 17, 2010
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Yes, you use both the HDD and the SSD. You want to install your OS and most used/choice programs on the SSD.

You use a HDD for storage, music, torrents, pictures, files, backup, whatever.

The SSD is so much faster, and they are getting cheaper, but they are still very expensive in large sizes.

Most people only buy 120 gig - 256 gig SSD, and have a second drive for other things.

Another option is to just go with a hard drive, you can always add an SSD later, it is an easy upgrade.

If a 3570K is only $15 bucks more definitely buy that now. It is worth it for the performance gain, whether you overclock now or later. You can always use the stock cooler for now, it is fine if you don't overclock, get a better cooler when you want to OC.