First time build...

[Cloudfish]

I looking for some help and info with the gaming computer i will be ordering/building in the near future.
Simply put i have no idea what to go for in motherboards and cases for different reasons.
So far im planning on:

CPU: Intel i5 760, S1156, Lynnfield Quad Core, 2.8 GHz, 8MB Cache

Storage: 1TB Hitachi Deskstar Hard Drive + External 250GB

CPU cooling: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro v2.1

PSU: Corsair 650 W HX Modular PSU

RAM: Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666 (1333)

DVD : Cheap Samsung

GPU: Asus GTX 470

Motherboard: Asus P7P55 LX Intel P55 Express

Case: Coolermaster Elite 33x / 34x with additional fan

Also will probably be overclocking, how much of a role does motherboard play in that? My problem with the motherbaord... i just have no idea what so ever, makes a good motherboard, and problem with case choice is that im unsure if it will have the airflow needed to keep the GTX 470 cool enough and if the card will even fit into the case. Any alternate case and motherboard suggestions? Or for anything else for that matter. Not wanting to go too expensive if avoidable, unless a cheap motherboard will cut performance. Same with the case, want to try and keep it cheap unless it will risk damage.

 

[Kenmitch]

Your shopping list looks ok to me for the most part.

Things to look at for the motherboard
USB 3.0
SATA 6gb's
Power phases.....You may wanna look at this depending on your cpu overclocking goal
SLI support........Not needed unless you may at some point wanna use 2 nvidia cards

As far as the case goes the one's you listed are more for basic builds and won't have too good of airflow. I'd suggest you kick up your budget a little more for the case. Maybe look at something like the CM 690 II or possibly the CM HAF 922 for example. If you plan on overclocking then you wanna get as much airflow thru the case as possible.

 

[Synesthesia]

I looking for some help and info with the gaming computer i will be ordering/building in the near future.
Simply put i have no idea what to go for in motherboards and cases for different reasons.
So far im planning on:

CPU: Intel i5 760, S1156, Lynnfield Quad Core, 2.8 GHz, 8MB Cache

Storage: 1TB Hitachi Deskstar Hard Drive + External 250GB

CPU cooling: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro v2.1

PSU: Corsair 650 W HX Modular PSU

RAM: Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666 (1333)

DVD : Cheap Samsung

GPU: Asus GTX 470

Motherboard: Asus P7P55 LX Intel P55 Express

Case: Coolermaster Elite 33x / 34x with additional fan

Also will probably be overclocking, how much of a role does motherboard play in that? My problem with the motherbaord... i just have no idea what so ever, makes a good motherboard, and problem with case choice is that im unsure if it will have the airflow needed to keep the GTX 470 cool enough and if the card will even fit into the case. Any alternate case and motherboard suggestions? Or for anything else for that matter. Not wanting to go too expensive if avoidable, unless a cheap motherboard will cut performance. Same with the case, want to try and keep it cheap unless it will risk damage.

I don't know if you know this already, but do make sure that whatever mobo you end up choosing is compatible with your CPU (in this case a socket 1156, or LGA1156). I'm in a similar position to yours in that I didn't know a PSU from a mobo until 2 weeks ago, but I still got until April 2011 for my build so i'm taking the opportunity to learn more.

Also, have a look in at some Radeon cards. I'm no fanboy, but from all the benchmarks and reviews and comparisons i've seen, a Radeon 5850/5870 card will give you almost (maybe ~6 fps less) the same performance as a 470/480, but without a loud fan, lots of heat and higher power consumption. Either that, or hold off for a month or two when the Radeon 6000 series is out and the 5800's fall in price.

Also, shouldn't this be in General Hardware?

 

[Cloudfish]

Decided on a CM 690 II Advanced and going to stick a roof fan in and lower side fan, cheers Kenmitch.

And yeah Synesthesia, ive check that its correct socket already, thanks. Think i might take your advice and wait to see how much the Radeon cards fall, only reason im going with Nvidia is because always had ATI cards.
Sorry for wrong board then, thought it was better suited here with my main concern being case.

Again thanks a lot.

 

[Petey!]

Decided on a CM 690 II Advanced and going to stick a roof fan in and lower side fan, cheers Kenmitch.

And yeah Synesthesia, ive check that its correct socket already, thanks. Think i might take your advice and wait to see how much the Radeon cards fall, only reason im going with Nvidia is because always had ATI cards.
Sorry for wrong board then, thought it was better suited here with my main concern being case.

Again thanks a lot.

Good call on the case, hell of a bang for buck purchase.

I really like the 690s after having built in one.

 

[Kenmitch]

Decided on a CM 690 II Advanced and going to stick a roof fan in and lower side fan, cheers Kenmitch.

It is a nice case with good airflow and pleasing on the eyes. You should be happy with it

 

[bucd]

I would personally go with the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ cooler instead, although nothing wrong with the freezer pro, i feel the 212+ is the best bang for the buck cooler right now.

As for hard drives, change that to Samsung's F3 1TB drive, very fast drive for the price. If you can pull it, get a 32gb ssd (ocz, intel) for boot drive.

Other then that, enjoy!

-D

 

[Rifter]

I would personally go with the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ cooler instead, although nothing wrong with the freezer pro, i feel the 212+ is the best bang for the buck cooler right now.

As for hard drives, change that to Samsung's F3 1TB drive, very fast drive for the price. If you can pull it, get a 32gb ssd (ocz, intel) for boot drive.

Other then that, enjoy!

-D

I completely agree with this. The CM 212+ is the best mid range/price cooler by far. The freezer 7 is good and quiet, i have one on my server. However i would not consider it for anything over a mild overclock.

 

[Cloudfish]

I would personally go with the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ cooler instead, although nothing wrong with the freezer pro, i feel the 212+ is the best bang for the buck cooler right now.

As for hard drives, change that to Samsung's F3 1TB drive, very fast drive for the price. If you can pull it, get a 32gb ssd (ocz, intel) for boot drive.

Other then that, enjoy!

-D

Thanks a lot, had a look and ill take your advice But ill pass on the SSD, personaly dont think they are worth the cash.

Decided on sticking with ATI for the GPU, still keeping case and such incase decide to do a swap. Will be going for a 5870, unless the prices for 5970 drop quite a chunk. Thanks for all the help.

Edit: Also altered my ram from the Corsair dominator 1333 to Corsair dominator 1600 speed since spoted its actually 10p cheaper haha

 

[Petey!]

Dude dont get a 5870, totally not worth the money. Get a 5850, 470 or SLI 460s.

The 5870 is expensive for what your getting and with the new cards coming out in ~3 months or so, its just not a smart purchase right now any way you work it.

 

[Petey!]

Forgot to mention too,

Samsung Spinpoint F3, best 1TB hardrive out right now. CM Hyper 212+ another awesome recommendation.

SSD, while nice, are still expensive $100 for a 32-60gb, althought the boot up speed is REALLY nice, and hard to go back to a normal drive after using one.

 

[QueBert]

All I have to add is I remember my 1st build, if you're anything like me you'll become addicted to it. I don't have the $$$ to always buy the latest crap, but when I have spare dollars I'm always looking for something up upgrade

 

[Boyo]

For the best help, I would post your question in General Hardware and read the sticky http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121 on your build.

Asus makes good mobos. Google for further reviews, but look for USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0 if you can afford it. That goes along with trying to fit an SSD into your budget. I like the WD Caviar Black 1TB. Dump that HSF if you want to OC. You can get some Gskill 6GB RAM for less. Also, depending on your monitor, try a GTX 460. You can always SLI it later for better performance than a GTX 480. Good PSU BTW.

Ask for more help in GH though if you need it.

 

[Synesthesia]

I'd also recommend the 1TB WD Caviar Black. It's odd, but all the slower and lower cached TB harddrives are more expensive over here then that one

 

[Cloudfish]

Cheers for the help