First Computer Build! Help Super Appreciated!

M

Mohrisbetter

New Member
First off, thanks for checking the thread out.

Goal: Above average gaming computer played on my HDTV and ability to do some HD gaming streaming. Keeping price low is great!

Processor: Intel i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66Ghz

Mobo: ASUS P7P55D-E LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Mobo

GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1371-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) FPB EE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5

Power: CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC

Case: RAIDMAX Tornado ATX-238WY Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower

RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

DiscDrive: ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 2MB Cache

HardDrive: WD Caviar Black 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s

Concerns/Questions: My Processor is part of a combo with the Mobo and the GPU is combo'd with the power supply, but are they the best picks?

  • Most importantly, does all this stuff work well together? I was concerned about power supply (20+4pin) and 24pin Mobo. I pretty much want plug-n-play if possible.
  • Do I need an 850W power supply? Or would going lower save money and not make much of a difference?
  • Is the motherboard a gaming-friendly motherboard? I really don't know much about Mobo's but am partial to ASUS through experience.
  • Do I need a cooling system? I'm completely ignorant on cooling systems - I made sure the case had 3 fans.
  • Is the RAM suitable? Or should I be looking for 'gaming' RAM?
  • Any other feedback on gaming on an HDTV on the other side of my living room? I'm going to need some good wireless peripherals.

All help is majorly appreciated. Thanks a bunch! :D
 
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All components look compatible. Don't worry about the 20+4 pin vs 24 pin - It'll plug right in.
The 850w PSU would work fine, but is way more power than needed. If I was building that system I'd be looking at one of these,

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W Power Supply, $70 w/Rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W Power Supply, $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151096

I'd also get a case with a bottom mount PSU, (personal preference), and possibly 120mm or larger fans - 80mm fans have to make some noise to move any air.

You'll want a cooler if you want the option to overclock. Much easier to install with the initial build than to add later. The Corsair is new but looks to be getting good reviews,

CORSAIR CAFA50 120mm CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181012
 
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if you plan on building it yourself you defently need to read up on liquid cooling systems b/c it is highly important to keep a substainable tempiture you dont want to put a bunch of money in a pc and then u have a component fry. if u r installing it urself do u know how to install a cpu and if u need to know any thing else just post btw nice post jevery
 
850W PSU is huge overkill, you could run 3 (hypothetically, you can't tri SLI GTX460's) GTX460's with a power hungry overclocked CPU, several hard drives/optical drives/fans, and it would be fine.

I would save some money by going for

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.553617

Change the memory to:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145251

Will save you $21 before MIR, and the speed difference is negligable, it isn't noticable at all.

I would also get a better, larger case. A TX850W has a hell of a lot of cables, an AX750W does, it is more cable than it is unit, and with the case you picked, you will have next to no cable management options. That means you will have a massive mess of cables, stopping any sort of decent airflow through the case.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119215

would be a much better option.

Hard drive swap for:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

much larger capacty, but cheaper, and same speed.

If you aren't overclocking, you won't need an aftermarket heatsink for your CPU, but it will keep temperatures a little lower. If you can fit it in budget, go for it, you don't have to spend a whole lot to get better, for example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233001

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134
 
Aastii said:
850W PSU is huge overkill, you could run 3 (hypothetically, you can't tri SLI GTX460's) GTX460's with a power hungry overclocked CPU, several hard drives/optical drives/fans, and it would be fine.

I would save some money by going for

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.553617

Change the memory to:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145251

Will save you $21 before MIR, and the speed difference is negligable, it isn't noticable at all.

I would also get a better, larger case. A TX850W has a hell of a lot of cables, an AX750W does, it is more cable than it is unit, and with the case you picked, you will have next to no cable management options. That means you will have a massive mess of cables, stopping any sort of decent airflow through the case.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119215

would be a much better option.

Hard drive swap for:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

much larger capacty, but cheaper, and same speed.

If you aren't overclocking, you won't need an aftermarket heatsink for your CPU, but it will keep temperatures a little lower. If you can fit it in budget, go for it, you don't have to spend a whole lot to get better, for example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233001

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134
Click to expand...

He could run 2 in SLI and use one for dedicated physx, total overkill but anyway.

Agreed with your suggestions.
 
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Thanks so much, everyone!

I've been going through all the items shown and really appreciated the feedback. I've definitely made some tweaks and saved myself some money in a few places. I've also decided to go with a heat sink and upgrade the case because heat is a major concern for me. Lots of pets in the house and computer will be close to living room floor. Going to do my best to keep case clean and hair-free (+the case you recommended is designed to clean easier).

All feedback is appreciated - now I'm reading up on the actual assembly and putting money aside.

One last concern for me if anyone has some input was that this will initially be hooked up to a 42" plasma 720p HDTV. I know that I'm not fully taking advantage until I go 1080p as games are supporting that now, but I am concerned a bit with resolution. Will I have problems with images being blown up too large or not filling the screen? Can I do anything to prevent those problems?

THANKS TO ALL AGAIN!

EDIT: Also, would love feedback on this power supply. It's listed on sale for only $18.99. How is this possible? Would this work for me or is there good reason is so cheap?
 
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It is a piece of junk, which is why it is cheap. A quality 550w unit will run you $80+

Powersupply and motherboard are 2 things you don't want to cheap out on.
 
You wanna talk about a cheap psu; lets talk about factory stock psus. I have seen 2 of them blow up, and dont get to exsited its a petty explosion. So any kind of psu is better than one from stock
 
Mohrisbetter said:
Thanks so much, everyone!

I've been going through all the items shown and really appreciated the feedback. I've definitely made some tweaks and saved myself some money in a few places. I've also decided to go with a heat sink and upgrade the case because heat is a major concern for me. Lots of pets in the house and computer will be close to living room floor. Going to do my best to keep case clean and hair-free (+the case you recommended is designed to clean easier).

All feedback is appreciated - now I'm reading up on the actual assembly and putting money aside.

One last concern for me if anyone has some input was that this will initially be hooked up to a 42" plasma 720p HDTV. I know that I'm not fully taking advantage until I go 1080p as games are supporting that now, but I am concerned a bit with resolution. Will I have problems with images being blown up too large or not filling the screen? Can I do anything to prevent those problems?

THANKS TO ALL AGAIN!

EDIT: Also, would love feedback on this power supply. It's listed on sale for only $18.99. How is this possible? Would this work for me or is there good reason is so cheap?
Click to expand...

With cleaning, because it will on the floor and be in an environment with pets, it will need to be cleaned out at least every 2 or 3 months. Can of compressed air to get rid of all of the dust and what not, however it would be advisable to tatke the heatsinks off completely every 6 months or so. This is a given anyway to reapply thermal material, but for a situation such as yours, it allows you to clean the heatsinks much better.

Once the heatsinks are off, use either a vacuum cleaner, or better yet a hairdryer to blow out the dust (the hairdryer blows more air in a more concentrated area so clears it better). Then, to get rid of the rest that you can't, run it under some water or hose it down so the water goes through the fins. Leave it to dry for an hour or two, so there is no water left, and you are good to reseat it.

Your TV problem, it will look fine, it will be the same as having normal TV channels on there, it will be the same number of pixels, and it will be the same aspect ratio, so there won't be any distortion.

For the power supply, no, don't get it, as Linkin says it is cheap because it is of very, very low quality.

Antec, Corsair, XFX, SeaSonic, Silverstone, Be Quiet!, Enermax, at a push go for OCZ or ThermalTake Toughpower (ONLY their toughpower units), but I would stay away from all others.

pandabear said:
You wanna talk about a cheap psu; lets talk about factory stock psus. I have seen 2 of them blow up, and dont get to exsited its a petty explosion. So any kind of psu is better than one from stock
Click to expand...

If you mean the ones that come in your prebuilt Dell's, HP's, Acer etc desktops, they are the same sort of quality as your very low end units that you can buy from computer stores. I would steer clear of both

@Linkin, I would sooner get a CX400, it is higher quality than the CX430. CX400 was a rebadged Seasonic unit, rather than a rebadged CWT unit, which is what a CX430 is. A CX430 is essentially the same unit as a 400W OCZ ModXStread.

For the build the OP is looking at doing I would NOT recommend a 430W PSU, I wouldn't recommend anything less than a 500W. Not because the system will be using that much, becuase it won't, but for further upgradeability, and also so the power supply isn't sat at constant 90%+ usage, to keep heat down, and life span up. It will also be more efficient with a unit that is throwing out more power, because at around 70-80% load is when they are at their most efficient
 
Newegg is all out of CX400's, so I just stuck the 430 in there. But yeah, 500w minimum will allow for some headroom
 
Yeah also note that the CX400 is better than the CX430 because they are made by different manufacturers (Seasonic and CWT, respectively)
 
linkin said:
Newegg is all out of CX400's, so I just stuck the 430 in there. But yeah, 500w minimum will allow for some headroom
Click to expand...

They aren't stocked because Corsair aren't making them any more, the CX430 is the replacement for the 400. It was another reason not to get them (besides the 430W isn't really enough), rather than just posting for the sake of posting a random fun fact :P
 
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