My First Build

[ArenaNinja]

Hello everyone. I'm building my first gaming rig, and I need some advice and feedback.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Some CAD design, gaming (Skyrim!), video editing later on

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$1000-$1200

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
US

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
None, though I believe Intel is kicking AMD's ass and AMD is kicking NVIDIA's

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
None, I have no parts

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Not on this forum

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Most likely OC the processor

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
1920x1080

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
By beginning of December. I may hold out on buying some parts until Black Friday, though I have not seen a trend in prices just yet.

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.
OK.

Well, so far I've done decent amount of research on components and on prices. First, I begin with the items I've already bought:

CASE - $75 - CORSAIR 400R (from NCIX US)
CPU COOLER - $22 - CORSAIR A70 (from Amazon)
GPU - $200 - HIS RADEON 6970 (from Amazon)

And now onto a few other parts that I've seen and believe have good price performance.

MOBO - $120 - Biostar TZ68A+RCH
CPU - $200 - i5-2500k
RAM - $40 - Any 8-16gb 1600MHz that runs @ 1.5V
MONITOR + PERIPHERALS - $150
OPTICAL - $50 - BD+DVD+CD RW Combo drive
HDD - $50 - Doesn't really matter
SSD - $110-$150 - Waiting on reviews of OCZ Octane

And the part where I'm having the most issue
PSU - $80? - 750W

So the conservative price tag (with these prices) is $1100. I have an MX 118 mouse that I may use, though I'd much prefer to get a wireless gaming mouse and I'd also like a headset, but maybe I'll snag those on BF under a different budget.

There are two things that I've found particularly hard: selecting a good PSU and whether I'm skimping on the Mobo. As for the Mobo, it has great reviews on Newegg and I've seen some excellent reviews on it. Any clue on whether it will perform with the overclocking, and what's the highest that I could go with it? (I wouldn't want to go above 5GHz in any case). Also, what's the difference between TZ68A+ and TZ68A+RCH?

I don't believe I'll be OC'ing the GPU, as it's a pretty high end card and I hear it runs hot. Any advice on keeping it cool?

And then there's the issue of the PSU. It's my first time building a system and I have no clue how to estimate the power draw. What I do know is that I would like a PSU that will last me a good few years -- it seems that a lot of manufacturers make PSUs that will burn, have high incidence of DOA, etc. I'm willing to go at some premium for quality.

Again, your feedback and help is appreciated

 

[fralexandr]

i'm not sure about OCs on the biostar z68 but a newegg reviewer has ther 2500k at 4.73GHz
most people pick gigabyte or asus boards for overclocking

you could probably go with a 450-600w corsair psu, such as the corsair tx550 (corsair seems to have dropped a bunch of their lower wattage enthusiast line psus )
corsair and seasonic are probably the best psu brands atm
anandtech's test setups are usually pretty similar to expectable builds, so you can use their gpu power consumption results
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4061/amds-radeon-hd-6970-radeon-hd-6950/24
you can expect to use ~360w under furmark (~full) load

with the corsair 400r you should be getting decent enough cooling, but you could always mount a side fan on the case

the RCH mobo has a GUI bios (graphical), 2 extra usb 2.0 ports, and supports 8gb dimms
i don't see any other differences (the RCH specifically says it supports crossfire on the newegg product page, but the non RCH supports it anyway as per the biostar webpage; these aren't really crossfire boards anyway though)

 

[lehtv]

MOBO - $120 - Biostar TZ68A+RCH
CPU - $200 - i5-2500k
RAM - $40 - Any 8-16gb 1600MHz that runs @ 1.5V
MONITOR + PERIPHERALS - $150
OPTICAL - $50 - BD+DVD+CD RW Combo drive
HDD - $50 - Doesn't really matter
SSD - $110-$150 - Waiting on reviews of OCZ Octane

And the part where I'm having the most issue
PSU - $80? - 750W

mobo Rather go with Asrock Extreme3 Gen3 $125
CPU good
RAM good e.g. this
Monitor + peripherals are going to cost a bit more
Optical well, if you need Blu-ray then OK
HDD wait until the prices are back to normal (they recently skyrocketed due to floods in Thailand)
SSD Crucial M4 64GB at the moment
PSU 650W will be plenty for any single GPU + overclocking. XFX 650 $50AR is a great PSU.

 

[ArenaNinja]

Another reviewer has the 2500k at 4.9k on newegg. Thanks for the link on Power draw, it really helps (also the info on RCH)! However, I forgot to mention that eventually I would like to have SSD+2 HDDs+BD Combo+Media card reader+USB Adapter. Would a 550 PSU really handle that? Also, don't they degrade and provide less power than their rating over time? (I've read some words to that extent here and there)

Also, what would be the advantage with the ASRock over the BIOSTAR mobo? It's just that the BIOSTAR has much better reviews than the ASRock board. It seems that the biggest advantage would be PCIE3.0 vs PCIE2.0? I'm not even sure what those are, but are there any components that use PCIE3 at the moment? And are they backwards compatible? I also like the extra year on the warranty by the BIOSTAR, but please let me know your honest assessment of those two.

 

[fralexandr]

it's true that PSUs degrade over time, but the corsair and seasonic tend to put out underrated PSUs, they typically can handle 10% higher than rated load
SSDs use <5w, HDDs typically use ~10w each under load, media card readers <5w (USB max = 5W), BD drives vary i would expect them to use <15w
so all of those added should add no more than 50w to full system load

for the most part, pcie 3.0 has a higher bandwidth cap than 2.0. That really doesn't matter too much yet, as
high-end consumer GPUs currently don't saturate pcie 2.0 8x yet supposedly, and are possibly even capable at pcie 2.0 4x (although you'll see ~10-20% less performance than at 8 or 16x
they are "backwards" compatible, but graphics cards touting pcie 2.0 will work on pcie 1.0 interfaces anyway
there are a few other differences, pcie 3.0 i think has support for various sensors whereas 2.0 does not (although "2.0" might really mean 2.1 which does)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express#PCI_Express_1.1

i also agree with lehtv in that you'll probably be spending more than $150 on peripherals and monitor, $150 barely even covers a 1080p monitor
the xfx psu is also pretty respectable although the link appears to be wrong
also <3 blu ray

 

[mfenn]

OP, lehtv and fralexandr have you on the right track. :thumbsup:

The reasoning for the ASRock over the Biostar isn't about "check-box" features like PCIe 3.0 or anything like that. It's that the ASRock has better cooling and power delivery for when you OC.

 

[ArenaNinja]

Ok. In that case is it ok with this board: http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Intel...m_rdp_product? The thing is that I have free Amazon shipping, and I have some $400 in Amazon credit so I might as well get some parts there.

I also did not take the XFX PSU. Though it seems like a fine unit, I've read about a lot of issues with XFX on rebates.

As for the $150, it really is just the monitor. I plan on going cheap-o keyboard ($5) and won't be purchasing speakers or anything fancy. At most I will get a G500 mouse, but I should come out *almost* even if I sell my MX 518. Plus, I might just settle for a 22" one (since it's going to be TN anyway and I'll end up disposing of it down the road).

 

[lehtv]

Asrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 is still $27 cheaper from newegg with shipping, and Gigabyte doesn't have UEFI bios and PCIe 3.0 (with Ivy Bridge). Too bad Amazon doesn't have that Asrock board :/. Could consider a cheaper Gigabyte: http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Intel...0012769&amp;sr=1-2

MX518 is overall a better mouse than G500 IMHO. It's lighter, the sensor is in the center and not the front, better shape, better scroll wheel. The only downsides are stock 125hz refresh rate (can be modded to 500hz) and angle snapping / prediction, but the comfort of using it is superior and that's much more important.

If you want to buy a PSU from Amazon, Antec HCG-620 at $78 would be a good choice. I know mfenn will say this so I'll just say it: Antec Earthwatts 650W is more reasonably priced. Personally I don't like this choice as the cables are not sleeved, it's ugly and it doesn't include a power cord. It is also Delta-manufactured while HCG-620 is a Seasonic.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Seasonic>Delta

 

[ArenaNinja]

Well I believe I'm taking the plunge this weekend. Seems like microcenter is having a $60 off Mobos sale if you purchase a 2500k, and the choice of motherboards is pretty awesome: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/16efa968#/16efa968/27

Still debating what to get. Honestly they have the TZ68A+RCH for $30 off at $99.99 and with $60 off I would get it for $40 O.O. This is hard to pass up, but any recommendations from that page? I don't see the more entry-level offerings from Asus, ASRock nor Gigabyte on that page, and I do want my Mobo to stay under $150 (and keep in mind that I would be paying 7.75&#37; tax) or rather my entire purchase to stay at/under $300 after tax. How about the GA-Z68X-UD3H?

 

[lehtv]

It actually says the TZ68A+RCH isn't eligible for the $60 off deal.

MSI Z68A-G45 G3 for $130-$60. Great set of features - SLi/Crossfire, PCIe 3.0, HDMI/VGA/DVI outputs, UEFI BIOS, internal USB3 headers, THX TruStudio audio (not sure if/how useful), 3yr warranty.

The only potential downside is that it's MSI, for some reason no one seems to recommend them. I haven't seen any proof of their inferiority though so I'm just going to assume they're good motherboards. The newegg user reviews for them aren't any different than for other brands, and what professional reviews I've read have been positive.

 

[Corporate Thug]

mobo Rather go with Asrock Extreme3 Gen3 $125
CPU good
RAM good e.g. this
Monitor + peripherals are going to cost a bit more
Optical well, if you need Blu-ray then OK
HDD wait until the prices are back to normal (they recently skyrocketed due to floods in Thailand)
SSD Crucial M4 64GB at the moment
PSU 650W will be plenty for any single GPU + overclocking. XFX 650 $50AR is a great PSU.

I agree with everything here. I think the ASROCK is a little more tested than the biostar at this point. I've had no issues with mine thus far.

Also, if you are gaming, why skimp on the monitor? For $150, I would recommend the 21.5 LP IPS @ Frys. I wouldn't recommend TN esp since you are going to be doing video editing.

 

[mfenn]

Well I believe I'm taking the plunge this weekend. Seems like microcenter is having a $60 off Mobos sale if you purchase a 2500k, and the choice of motherboards is pretty awesome: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/16efa968#/16efa968/27

Still debating what to get. Honestly they have the TZ68A+RCH for $30 off at $99.99 and with $60 off I would get it for $40 O.O. This is hard to pass up, but any recommendations from that page? I don't see the more entry-level offerings from Asus, ASRock nor Gigabyte on that page, and I do want my Mobo to stay under $150 (and keep in mind that I would be paying 7.75% tax) or rather my entire purchase to stay at/under $300 after tax. How about the GA-Z68X-UD3H?

Of those choices, I am most tempted by the GA-Z68MA-D2H for $40 AR. Yeah, it's Micro ATX, but I'd be willing to live with fewer PCI slots given the price.
http://detonator.dynamitedata.com/c...ngle_product_results.phtml?product_id=0364087

 

[ArenaNinja]

MX518 is overall a better mouse than G500 IMHO. It's lighter, the sensor is in the center and not the front, better shape, better scroll wheel. The only downsides are stock 125hz refresh rate (can be modded to 500hz) and angle snapping / prediction, but the comfort of using it is superior and that's much more important.

I had a G5 for a good four years and it had weights, similar to the g500. I bought a MX518 because it had great reviews at the time, but the mouse's smooth top is annoying and it feels plasticky and cheap compared to the G5. I guess I just grew into the heavier set of mice.

Of those choices, I am most tempted by the GA-Z68MA-D2H for $40 AR. Yeah, it's Micro ATX, but I'd be willing to live with fewer PCI slots given the price.

I wouldn't mind mATX but it wouldn't support the USB 3.0 for the Corsair 400R, same with the Z68AP and the Z68X and the P8Z68-V LX.

Also, I've begun to notice that some Motherboards have things like:

Front Audio Header
Front Panel Header
2 x System Fan Headers
2 x Power Fan Headers
2 x CPU Fan Headers

under "Internal I/O." Do I need to worry about this? I mean, i do want the fans and analog sound on the front of the case to work, that's for sure

 

[fffblackmage]

Also, I've begun to notice that some Motherboards have things like:
[...]
under "Internal I/O." Do I need to worry about this? I mean, i do want the fans and analog sound on the front of the case to work, that's for sure

I don't believe I've seen a mobo without the front panel audio pin headers, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Fan headers... the mobo will always have a few, though I personally don't use them - all my case fans use molex power connectors.

 

[mfenn]

I wouldn't mind mATX but it wouldn't support the USB 3.0 for the Corsair 400R, same with the Z68AP and the Z68X and the P8Z68-V LX.

If that is a requirement, I think your least expensive option is the MC GA-Z68XP-UD3.

Also, I've begun to notice that some Motherboards have things like:
under "Internal I/O." Do I need to worry about this? I mean, i do want the fans and analog sound on the front of the case to work, that's for sure

That's a listing of the internal headers that your mobo has. The front panel header is for things like the power switch and LEDs, which is completely standard. Same for the front panel audio. The number of internal fan headers is useful, but wouldn't be a dealbreaker either way for me.

 

[ArenaNinja]

Newegg had the Z68XP-UD3 on special today, so I got it for $130 shipped (after CA tax). Yay!

There was also a 24" Asus monitor and at $185 I would've pulled the trigger, but CA tax kept it at over $200 after all discounts, so no go.

 

[Rvenger]

*Removed*

 

[ArenaNinja]

Can this seasonic at 620W handle my system? Seems to be only $70+tax, to boot: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=521...s&amp;promoid=1287

 

[lehtv]

Yes, it'd handle your system easily but you can get a Seasonic-built non-modular XFX 650W for $60AR + $6 shipping. Modularity isn't that much needed in a unit of this capacity