Hello from Worcestershire and a newbie build

S

stefan-west1

New Member
Hi all I'm completely new to all this so please bare with me.

I'm trying to build a pretty decent computer that can run games at decent quality without lagging.

Up until now I have always had laptops but am deciding to build a computer to save on cost. I know how to put computers together but I am completely new on everything I need to buy to build a brand new one from scratch. I have done some research and have come up with the following list of components and such:


Processor: i7 3930k

Motherboard: Asus P9X79

Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX680 2GB

Ram: 16-32GB DDR3

Cooling: Corsair Hydro H100

Power Supply: 1000w minimum?

Hard disc: 2TB SATA

Cd Drive: LiteOn iHOS104 - BD-ROM drive - Serial ATA - 40x (CD) / 12x (DVD±R) / 8x (DVD±R DL) / 4x (BD-R) - Internal - Black

Sound Card: 7.1 Surround capable

USB: 4x USB 3.0

Connectivity: Ethernet PCI, also possibly wireless if enough space available

OS: Windows 8 (Not sure which version)


Could anyone possibly tell me if this is ok. Am I missing anything? Will the motherboard support everything? And just as importantly is there space for everything?

Any help will be much appreciated. And like I said please bear with me. Also if anyone knows of things that work just aswell but cost less please tell me. The cheaper I can make this the better as money is short at the moment. Which is why this is going to take a while to build aha

Thanks :)
 
if you want to save money - i5 3570k and 8gb or ram should suit you fine for gaming. 1000w is way too much. something like the Corsair TX750 will sort you out (will support you if you want to go SLI then). otherwise even a 650 would do. look up each component and see how many watts they draw just to be sure though. if you haven't looked at cases yet this one is nice
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Fractal_Design/Define_R4/
or
http://www.ebuyer.com/312926-antec-1100-eleven-hundred-case-0-761345-15950-0

this is regarded as a brilliant side for comparing GPU/CPU's :
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/701?vs=552

if you scroll to the bottom you see the i5 actually equal to the i7 on game FPS.

the 7970 is very similar in performance for a cheaper price.
 
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Ahh ok. I see what you mean the i5 one is pretty much just as good and works for what I need. I just always assumed you had to have i7 and the best stuff to do that. And yeah sorry about the HDMI part. I wasn't thinking at that point. It was one of those mad moments when you think you've forgotten something obvious haha.

Thanks :)
 
I'll recommend a few things.

Firstly, CPU. 3930K? You don't need it. Go for an i5 3570K or an i7 3770K with a Z77 board. Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H springs to mind there. No need for the 3930K at all. If this is purely for gaming, there's really no need for any i7 of any sort, so I'd go for the 3570K.

Wouldn't bother with a sound card unless you've great speakers to match, just use the sound on the motherboard.

RAM, 8GB would be enough, but if you're spending this much money then yeah go for 16GB maybe. 32GB is a bit extreme.

Which 2TB HDD are you going for? Make and model? You want 7200 RPM and ideally 32MB or 64MB of cache.

You won't need an Ethernet PCI card as the Ethernet should already be on the motherboard.

For a single 680 you don't need a 1000W PSU. I reckon a good quality 650W PSU such as the Corsair TX 650 would be enough. For SLI, consider 750-850W. Only buy from trusted brands though, see my sig.

You will need a case to house all this in. I recommend the NZXT Phantom myself, that'd be good for a build like this.

Maybe the money you save on the RAM and the CPU can be put towards an SSD drive to make your PC faster? Go for a 128GB or 256GB Crucial M4 perhaps, they're awesome drives. But there are lots of other good drives out there.
 
That's great thanks so much. I assumed the motherboard had no sound to it so that helps :). And if I get a ssd drive do I still need the normal HDD? Sorry I don't know much about SSD. Tbh I'm realising I didn't know anywhere near as much as I thought haha.

One other thing. Would the motherboard definitely have enough pci slots to fit everything?

Thanks :)
 
You do know the case comes in about 5 different colours, right? And I think the general consensus is that dabs/overclockers is better to buy from.
 
Yea I do, I was just joking.

Really just buy whichever case you prefer. Anandtech shows some performance charts but all ones mentioned are pretty good. That link was just the first one I found, shop around.
 
stefan-west1 said:
That's great thanks so much. I assumed the motherboard had no sound to it so that helps :). And if I get a ssd drive do I still need the normal HDD? Sorry I don't know much about SSD. Tbh I'm realising I didn't know anywhere near as much as I thought haha.

One other thing. Would the motherboard definitely have enough pci slots to fit everything?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...
You only need one card, and that is the graphics card which uses a PCI Express slot. You don't need an Ethernet card or a sound card or whatever, they're all on the board.

You can choose if you want an SSD + HDD setup or not. I do. I have a 128GB SSD and a 2TB HDD. Windows and programs are installed onto the SSD to make them load faster and stuff, documents and data are stored on the 2TB disk. However, your PC will run fine with just the SSD if you prefer.

newcomputer20 said:
Ok so for the MB check what socket you need. i5 needs 1155 but that i7 is different i think.
Click to expand...
The i5 3570K and the i7 3770K both use Socket LGA 1155 (sometimes referred to as just '1155'). The i7 3930K uses Socket 2011.

i5 3570Ks and i7 3770Ks will work in the same boards. Z77 is the best chipset to get for them right now.

wolfeking said:
And I think the general consensus is that dabs/overclockers is better to buy from.
Click to expand...
Yup. I always buy from novatech.co.uk though but I have bought from Dabs before and they were good. Sure Overclockers are good too.

I always seem to get next day delivery and great customer support with Novatech though. :)
 
Ok well thank you everyone this has really helped loads. I know im going to get stick for this now but I've found this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-3-0-2...nts_InterfaceCards&hash=item1c20f0200a&_uhb=1

I know it has no branding as such but its the fact its only £10. This would help save costs a bit but thought I'd get some reaction to it first. It may only be £10 but if it's going to break in the first 5 mins then that's £10 too much.

At the moment case wise I'm just using one of an old computer someone was getting rid of. Its not a decent looking one or anything but its a case nether the less. But I do like the look of that one so I might treat myself if I have enough money at the end haha

Thanks for the help on the slots aswell, and after looking into it I think the Z77 has 7 anyway just at different speeds so at least I know in the future if I want to expand I can.

I also think aswell I'm only going to get the one video card at the moment because of cost but in the future may buy a second one and SLI cable thing and connect the two. I think the Z77 supports SLI by the look of it.

But one quick thing with that processor and just one GTX 680 video card. Would that be enough power to play something such as Skyrim for example at full quality or would it just be too much

Thanks
 
And as the first reply said, a no on windows 8? if so will get windows 7 professional 64bit so that it supports the RAM properly if I ever need to expand
 
You don't need the USB 3.0 card really. There will be USB 3.0 cards on the motherboard.

Also make sure that case you're getting for yourself is big enough for the board. Needs to be ATX, it's mATX it'll be too small and the board won't fit. Honestly, I'd just the Phantom or a new case now. If you want to save money on the case, get a Carbide 300R from Corsair. I think they're like £50 on Overclockers.

i5 and a 680 will be absolutely fine for Skyrim. Should play it maxxed out, and hey, there's no such thing as 'too much power'. ;)
 
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