Building first PC.

mickblake5 · Sep 8, 2011

Hi,

I just want to get some general advice on building my first PC.

Here are the components that I have selected:
- Noctua NH-U12P Special Edition SE2
- Intel Core i7 960 Processor LGA1366 3.2GHz 8MB Cache CPU
- Western Digital 1TB SATA3 64M(WD1002FAEX)
- Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3000 Mouse w BlueTrack Retail
- SilverStone ST75F-P 750W Power Supply
- Gigabyte GTX580 1536Mb PCI Express
- Pioneer BDR-206BK 12X Blu-Ray Writer Drive SATA Black OEM
- Gigabyte G1.Sniper X58+ICH10R QPI 6.4GT/s DDR3 2200 PCI-Ex16 SATA3
USB
- Kingston Hyperx 12G(3x4G) 1600Mhz DDR3 CL9
- Lian Li PC-Z60 Mid Tower Chassis Black

Have I gone over the top, can I get cheaper components that will basically do the same thing (build price ~2000)?

Does anyone know if the motherboard will fit the Lian Li PC-Z60) Mid Tower? I have had a look on the manufacturers web site but I am not sure, it says the PC-Z60 fits ATX motherboards...

The Noctua fan has good reviews but everyone says how large it is and I am not sure if it will fit in the case either???

Any help would be appreciated!!!

Thanks
Michael

Whisper91 · Sep 8, 2011

Just by any chance where are you from?

Either way here are some great sites to look at if you haven't found them already:

US:
http://www.newegg.com/
http://www.ncixus.com/

Canada:
http://canadacomputers.com/
http://ncix.com/
http://www.newegg.ca/
http://www.directcanada.com/

I use Canada Computers a lot because they're local and I can easily compare prices with other sites.

Look at the reviews at Newegg they will really help you out.

DirectCanada has uber low prices, use it to compare or buy.

Relating to your Choices:

Since I am from Canada I will be feeding you Canadian links so just compare prices with where you are from.

CPU Coolers don't really matter much in my opinion. I mean they matter, but the differences between each other is not usually huge. What you have is just fine.

CPU
Bloomfield = meh
Sandy Bridge = now we're talking

Swipe out the i7-950
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211
And get an i5-2500K
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Save $50 and get a boost in GHz. Plus out with the old, in with the new.

I like your choice of Hard Drive. But maybe invest is something that's Faster and cooler (temperature wise). Like a Solid State Drive
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148348

Regarding a Mouse, if you're into gaming look at some Razer products:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...2 50002202&IsNodeId=1&name=RAZER&Order=RATING

I have an older version of this Mouse:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826570011&Tpk=sentinel

The bad thing about it is it's not heavy enough so any vibration from my speakers tends to make the cursor move, which gets annoying sometimes. So look at some mice that have some good weight to them.

Power Supply seems fine, only con that I have noticed in the reviews is the fact that there's no power switch at the back. Everything else works well. If looking at a good PSU with a power switch, look at a Corsair 750W
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

You cannot go wrong with what Video Card you have. Great choice! (Although I prefer EVGA over Gigabyte)

Nothing to change with the Blue-Ray

Since I switched out your CPU you also need to change your MOBO to fit the CPU slot. Therefore I came up with the motherboard you had either, and try to match it up best with a 1155 slot:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128525

For the RAM just based on what you want and the reviews I picked out this:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233146

Lastly, for a mid-tower, the Case you have now is a tad expensive.

With the specs you have and the one's I have given you, you need some great airflow, and in my opinion Antec and CoolerMaster both provide that. I also think you should switch to a Full Tower with the same point in mind.

Suggested Mid-Tower:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

Suggested Full Tower
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

If I added everything up:
Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler
Intel Core i5-2500K CPU
Crucial 128GB SATA III SSD
Microsoft 3000 Mouse
Corsair HX750 PSU
EVGA GeForce GTX 580 GPU
Pioneer Black Blue-Ray
GIGABYTE G1.SNIPER2 Motherboard
CORSAIR Vengeance 12GB RAM
CoolerMaster Haf 932 Case

All together (without tax) = $1,864.40

That's all I have for now. I hope my information helps.

Please do not look at my notes as a guideline as I only added what I think should be done. I am not an expert, and I am sure someone can give you more help as well.

Have a good one,
Adam C.

wolfeking · Sep 8, 2011

@Whisper91
Get a dual channel (4,8,16GB) Ram kit instead of a trichannel kit like you listed.

Whisper91 · Sep 8, 2011

^
I was trying to go closely by what mickblake5 wanted really/had, but yeah I would go dual in that case anyways.

wolfeking · Sep 8, 2011

well, the Dual channel motherboard would only run at single channel mode with the trichannel kit, so performance would suffer. a 8GB (2x4 or 4x2) kit would be plenty, as it is more than any game or program would normally utilize anyway.

jonnyp11 · Sep 8, 2011

actually he was planning on a lga1366 which runs dual or tri-channel kits, so with that he was fine, but sandy and a dual channel will be better

what is your budget and nationality so we can help you better, also a planned use for the computer like gaming or 3d modeling or both or whatever you plan to do.

mickblake5 · Sep 8, 2011

Thanks for your replies guys.

Nationality - AUS
Budget - ~2500au
Use - Gaming

So general view is that the sandy cpu and a dual channel ram will give me better bang for my buck (better value for money)?

In regards to the case, I like the simplistic look which is why I chose the Lian Li PC-Z60
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/produc...574&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=62&g=spec

Do you guys know of a full tower case (for better air flow) with a nice simple look, includes USB 3.0? The Lian Li has washable air filters, tool-less design, a few 120mm fans etc. Looking at the specs is should fit either motherboard and the graphics card will fit also.

comPooter · Sep 9, 2011

Good luck building!

jonnyp11 · Sep 9, 2011

pc_fanatic · Sep 9, 2011

Overkill? YES!

mickblake5 said:
Hi,

I just want to get some general advice on building my first PC.

Here are the components that I have selected:
- Noctua NH-U12P Special Edition SE2
- Intel Core i7 960 Processor LGA1366 3.2GHz 8MB Cache CPU
- Western Digital 1TB SATA3 64M(WD1002FAEX)
- Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3000 Mouse w BlueTrack Retail
- SilverStone ST75F-P 750W Power Supply
- Gigabyte GTX580 1536Mb PCI Express
- Pioneer BDR-206BK 12X Blu-Ray Writer Drive SATA Black OEM
- Gigabyte G1.Sniper X58+ICH10R QPI 6.4GT/s DDR3 2200 PCI-Ex16 SATA3
USB
- Kingston Hyperx 12G(3x4G) 1600Mhz DDR3 CL9
- Lian Li PC-Z60 Mid Tower Chassis Black

Have I gone over the top, can I get cheaper components that will basically do the same thing (build price ~2000)?

Yes you've gone over the top. Rigs with much lesser components will be able to do anything the rig you planning can can do. I have a radeon hd 6870 and it maxes any game out at 1080p, max settings, full AA and AF. By the time games will require the gtx 580, it will cost much less than it does now, so its quite illogical to waste money on it. No one needs 12 gigs of ram. I put 8 in mine, even that is overkill but i got a helluva deal on newegg. You dont need that big a power supply, mines the same same but again might aswell when it was on discount on newegg. Never heard of silverstone, the best brands for psus are antec and corsair, antec being the best. Do some more research on silverstone b4 buying. That is the most expensive mobo i have ever seen. I would NEVER pay that much, its beyond pointless. I've heard people call the mobo the "brain" of the computer, this is ridiculous and proves they know nothing. All it does it connect the hardware together. The cpu is the brain, aswell as the gpu in some cases. Just buy the cheapest mobo that has the features you need. Such as: correct socket, chipset, #ram slots, max ram supported, max ram speed, fsb speed, #pcie slots, overclockability, thats about it. Make sure you buy from good brand, like asus, gigabyte, msi, or intel. The cpu is overkill as my i5-2500 maxes out anything with plenty of power leftover. You might as well buy it your budget permits though since intel never lowers their prices. Old outdated cpus cost just as much as their new ones! This is because they make most of their money from prebuilt computers (like hp or dell), not custom made ones. Everything else looks fine. Just downgrade mobo, gpu, and ram (assuming there were no discounts). Over course you want it to be overkill so that its future proof, but thats too far.
I promise you wont be able to tell the difference between that rig and my hd 6870 + i5-2500 setup. More expensive mobos do NOT yield more performance unless there was a ram/fsb bottleneck. My rig runs a grand (though i get it for less) INCLUDING the 23" monitor, ergo keyboard and ergo gaming mouse. Dont pay more for something that is beyond your needs. Thats my advice, take it or leave it.

jonnyp11 · Sep 9, 2011

Well, the 6870 is great and all but won't max for too much longer and depends on the game you're playing, also the 580 will max everything for at least 2years min, and antec isn't the "best", and silverstone is a great brand, along with pc power & cooling, xfx, and seasonic, all those are good and the corsairs too of course. and di you even see my post with a way better selection than the original, we had already been over most of his issues and others had put suggestions too.

pc_fanatic · Sep 9, 2011

jonnyp11 said:
Well, the 6870 is great and all but won't max for too much longer and depends on the game you're playing, also the 580 will max everything for at least 2years min, and antec isn't the "best", and silverstone is a great brand, along with pc power & cooling, xfx, and seasonic, all those are good and the corsairs too of course. and di you even see my post with a way better selection than the original, we had already been over most of his issues and others had put suggestions too.

The cards will last longer than that. Even if you feel the 6870 is low there are still better options than the expensive 580. Also the hd 6870 can be significantly overclocked. People have gone from 900 core & 1050 memory to 1100 and 1200, last 2 years min i'd say. I didn't bother to read the other posts, just wanted to put in my 2 cents.

riley454 · Sep 9, 2011

Not sure where you are sourcing parts from in Australia, but I have been pricing components for my upcoming project from mwave. They ship only to Australian customers and after several hours comparing prices they seem to be one of the most overall competitive suppliers. Many parts seem to be priced close to those suppliers that the US and Canadian members here refer to. I've bought a couple of minor components in the past from them and they are super efficient and reliable and I'm fairly sure I'll order most(if not all) my new system parts from them.

If you have found other Australian suppliers with good prices let us know as I am still shopping for prices and almost ready to buy. I just started a new thread in "General Chat" on Australian suppliers if you have found some good value retailers.

mickblake5 · Sep 9, 2011

Hi,

Cheers.. I had had a look at all of the parts suggested and have decided to modify my computer a bit. I will post the details soon.

I was going to source my parts from Umart
www.umart.com.au
Thanks I had not heard about Mwave, I will have a look at their stuff.

Cheers
Michael

jonnyp11 · Sep 9, 2011

check out pccasegear if you haven't, most people here use it and i think the mwave is one they use too but idk about it.

mickblake5 · Sep 10, 2011

QTY. Product
1 Corsair TX-850 ATX Power Supply 140mm fan
1 Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM
2 Western Digital 1TB SATA3 64M(WD1002FAEX)
1 Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3000 Mouse w BlueTrack Retail
1 Gigabyte GTX580 1536Mb PCI Express
1 Pioneer BDR-206BK 12X Blu-Ray Writer Drive SATA Black OEM
1 Intel Core i5 2500K Processor LGA1155 3.3GHz CPU
1 Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H60 High-performance CPU Cooler
1 Corsair Obsidian 650D Black Mid Tower Case with Window
1 G SKill 8G(2x4G)DDR3 2133Mhz PC3-17000(F3-17000CL11D-8GBXL)
1 Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4 4xDDR3 HDMI GLAN 2xPCI-E USB3.0 SATA3 RAID1394

Thanks for the help! Glad i didn't go out and buy the first thing i saw.

Here is what I modified the PC to. Price including 27inch LED samsung monitor $2300au. Any thoughts?

I guess now I have to figure out how to put it all together....

jonnyp11 · Sep 10, 2011

would say get the samsung f3 1tb or that 1 and then a ssd, 60-120gb for 1-200 to boot off and but main programs as it will load many times faster.

pc_fanatic · Sep 10, 2011

jonnyp11 said:
would say get the samsung f3 1tb or that 1 and then a ssd, 60-120gb for 1-200 to boot off and but main programs as it will load many times faster.

ive got the samsung spinpoint f3 in my new rig, its wicked fast, reliable, and quiet.

jonnyp11 · Sep 10, 2011

well that caviar black is slightly faster, but not a whole lot, and an ssd is still gunna be way faster, or at least 2 of those or the f3 in a raid 0 setup which i don't remeber if it tends to be 2 or 1.5x the speed of a single drive, depends on the task though for part of that.

pc_fanatic · Sep 10, 2011

jonnyp11 said:
well that caviar black is slightly faster, but not a whole lot, and an ssd is still gunna be way faster, or at least 2 of those or the f3 in a raid 0 setup which i don't remeber if it tends to be 2 or 1.5x the speed of a single drive, depends on the task though for part of that.

Yeah but it runs at 10,000 rpm so there are possible noise issue as many have reported. Obviously digital drives (ssd) are the quickest but you have to pay a major premium.

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