New Builder, First Build, Compatibility Help

T

Twinturbo4486

New Member
Hello. So for weeks I have been contemplating building my first machine. I was going to buy a gaming computer built for me from a website but I really want to learn to build them myself. Not only to save money, but it really interests me and seems like something I would enjoy.

I have watched a lot of videos on builds and I think I am ready. The only thing I haven't learned much about it compatibility. What I need to look for in a mobo that matches the parts I bought, or what type of Ram I should buy for my system and how much power I need in a power supply. So I am hoping you guys can help me out with these things to get me ready to build!

So, I have decided I will buy my components from NewEgg. I am making a straight up gaming rig as that is what it's going to be used for. I have picked out my Processor, Video Card and Hard Drive. I will go ahead and list on this post those three items and hopefully it's enough so you guys could suggest a good Mobo and Ram, as well as maybe a good power supply.

I know these are things I should probably choose myself, which I will in the end, I just need some suggestions of what you think might be best... and most importantly compatible with what I am building. With the RAM, I would at least 8GB of Ram but am up for any suggestions.



Here's what I am getting:


Processor: Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000


Video Card: SAPPHIRE 21197-00-40G Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Chipset Manufacturer: AMD
Stream Processors: 2048 Stream Processing Units
DirectX: DirectX 11
OpenGL: OpenGL 4.2
Model #: 21197-00-40G
Item #: N82E16814102961


Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Cache: 64MB
Parts: 5 years limited
Labor: 5 years limited
Model #: WD1002FAEX
Item #: N82E16822136533
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy



Thank you guys in advance, I look forward to any help you can give!

P.S. A modular power supply would also be preferred since I am a new builder and I've heard it will make my life a whole lot easier as far as cable management.
 
Get the i5-2400. It is essentially an i7-2600 without Hyperthreading, which is not utilized in games yet. Use the $100 saved on the PSU.
 
You will want to look at what type of RAM your motherboard will take. It probably is going to be DDR3. Just look for a Desktop DDR3 Ram type. If your motherboard says it's Dual Channel Memory then you will want to get two sticks for better performance. Same for Triple Channel, but get 3.

If it doesn't say anything then it won't matter. Most are Dual Channel I think.

I would recommend 1600 RAM such as this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226191

Your motherboard should match the slot of your CPU. Notice it says LGA 1155. That's your motherboard CPU socket type.

I'd recommend Newegg for buying parts. You can use their power search settings to narrow down socket types and prices and that kind of thing when searching for Products.

As for the PSU stick with Corsair, Antec, PC Power and Cooling, Seasonic, Silverstone.

Don't use this as an absolute rule. But should give basic idea.

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
 
Your build looks pretty good, the guy who said the i5 2400 is an i7 2600 without the hyper-threading though is wrong. The i5 2500K is a 2600 without hyper-threading. I'd only buy the 2600 if you need 8 threads, if you don't, save yourself a huge chunk of money and go with the 2500K. Most people don't need more than 4 threads. On that note, make sure you buy a 2600K rather than just a 2600, the K is unlocked so you can overclock it, same goes for the 2500/K.

Compatibility wise for your build, an i7 2600/K will work in any Socket 1155 board and will work with DDR3 RAM. A great affordable board for Socket 1155 platform is the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO GEN3, that will work just fine with a 2600/K and will be able to support the upcoming Ivy-Bridge CPUs when they come out too. I'd recommend going for either 1333MHz or 1600MHz RAM. As 1600MHz is faster and not really much more expensive, I'd go for 8GB of 1600MHz. DDR3 Anything above 8GB is probably going to overkill for gaming. There are many good brands of RAM - G.Skill offer their RipJawsX DIMMs which are 1600MHz and Corsair offer their Vengeance DIMMs which are also 1600MHz, I'd just get whichever of the two is cheapest, usually the RipJawsX.

With power supplies you generally tend to get what you pay for - the more you pay the better your PSU will be. A general rule of thumb is to stick with the brand name PSUs. XFX, Corsair, OCZ, Silverstone and Antec are all good brands. Remember when buying a PSU that wattage is not the only key factor you should look into, you need to also look into the amperage on the +12V rails and the efficiency. 80+ Bronze efficiency is probably a minimum thee days. There are two types of modular PSU - fully modular and semi-modular. A semi-modular PSU allows you to remove all of the cables bar the 8-pin CPU power and the 24-pin power (usually), a fully-modular PSU allows you to remove every cable. The Corsair AX750 is a good modular PSU and probably the one I'd suggest for this build.

So:
Change CPU to this if you don't need 8 threads - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Buy the 2600K over the 2600 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070&Tpk=2600k
Buy this board - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790
Buy this RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345 (the blue will go well with your board)
Buy this PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139016&Tpk=corsair ax750

Everything else looks pretty good. Also remember to get a decent case as well which has plenty of airflow to keep your components cool, and get one that's big enough to house your 7970.
 
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