My first computer build! How does it look? Advice?? :)

[Switch296]

Hey guys doing my very first computer build soon, it is for high end gaming on a 1920x1200 monitor and maybe a little bit of recording game play/photoshop(but not very much at all, I'd just be messing around). I have my laptop for media.

How does it look so far to you guys? Any recommendations?

Also I was wondering, how easy is it for me to actually plug something in the wrong way or put something together wrong when I am assembling the computer and cause permanent damage? I'm a bit worried.. I will be very careful though. I know all about static electricity and to not use any force when inserting parts and such.

Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Extreme B3
CPU: Intel i5 2500k
Case: HAF X
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit OEM
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM (2x4GB) DDR3
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
PSU: Corsair AX1200w
Graphics Card: MSI Geforce GTX 580 Lightning
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
Optical Drive: Pioneer DVR-219L DVDRW OEM

A few things -

- I won't be getting an SSD at this point in time, I may get one down the road, but at the moment I don't want to have to spend more time saving money to afford one.

-I know the PSU is really overkill but I am planning to OC the 2500k and the 580 lightning along with obtaining another 580 lightning around october and OC'ing that too, I know I could go with a smaller PSU even for that but I like to have some headroom and have the thing run a little bit quieter hence the big PSU


So any advice you guys can give me? Look solid enough? Any need to know things when I put together my first computer that I might have not read somewhere?

Really appreciate the help,

 

[mnewsham]

looks like a big waste of money to me, honestly the GTX 580 is a horrible buy if you are getting another in October, 28nm GPU's should be coming out by then possibly DOUBLING performance, get a SINGLE GTX 570 now, a cheaper motherboard and PSU, then get a single HIGH end 6xx series GPU in October, I mean, why deal with SLI and more heat/money when you dont have to? A single GTX 570 can run almost any game at full settings in 1920x1200 anyway.

 

[fffblackmage]

You're doing your first build and you're sure you want to buy mostly high-end (expensive) parts?

I would say some of the parts you picked out are great (high-end stuff should be great, right?), but horrible when it comes down to price for the performance.

You can easily, easily, easily squeeze an SSD into your build if you picked out reasonably priced parts (that doesn't mean sacrificing much performance at all).

btw, do you have a set budget?

Anyways, some comments on specific parts:

Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Extreme B3 [/url]

I haven't checked, but the "Maximus" and "Extreme" parts sound pretty expensive. I'm guessing here, but I'm certain the ASUS P67 pro, or the equivalent board with the Z68 chipset, is cheaper and still gets you SLI.

Case: HAF X

Case is a personal choice, even if it is a bit pricey.

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14

Not a terrible choice for a high-end cooler, but it is expensive. My standard recommendation for a CPU cooler is the Cooler Master 212+, or its equivalent clones. It's not quite at the level of the Noctua, but it's just way cheaper.

PSU: Corsair AX1200w

You're already aware this is severe overkill.

Graphics Card: MSI Geforce GTX 580 Lightning

For gaming at 1080p, two GTX 580s in SLI seems quite like severe overkill. Sure you can't get yourself a nice ~30" 2560*1600 monitor instead?

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB

The Samsung F3 1TB is cheaper.

-I know the PSU is really overkill but I am planning to OC the 2500k and the 580 lightning along with obtaining another 580 lightning around october and OC'ing that too, I know I could go with a smaller PSU even for that but I like to have some headroom and have the thing run a little bit quieter hence the big PSU

Unless those GTX 580 Lightnings are uber quiet (doubt that), they'll drown every other noise your computer makes. Once you're at idling at the desktop, most good quality PSUs are very quiet anyways.

 

[lupi]

not sure why you'd only go 2500k when you go overboard just about everywhere else. also wouldn't buy a top of the line non-z68 board now.

 

[Switch296]

looks like a big waste of money to me, honestly the GTX 580 is a horrible buy if you are getting another in October, 28nm GPU's should be coming out by then possibly DOUBLING performance, get a SINGLE GTX 570 now, a cheaper motherboard and PSU, then get a single HIGH end 6xx series GPU in October, I mean, why deal with SLI and more heat/money when you dont have to? A single GTX 570 can run almost any game at full settings in 1920x1200 anyway.

Lol, computing is always like that man. It's always "wait a few more months and get the next best thing, you are making a mistake buying this now"

I don't want a top of the line computer in October, I want one now. If the new 28nm GPUs are really so amazing in October then I will just overclock the lightning (warranty includes overclocking) until it breaks and do RMA, then sell the new lightning so I can buy one of the new 28nm cards. Yeah I know I'm a scumbag, lol.

You're doing your first build and you're sure you want to buy mostly high-end (expensive) parts?

I would say some of the parts you picked out are great (high-end stuff should be great, right?), but horrible when it comes down to price for the performance.

You can easily, easily, easily squeeze an SSD into your build if you picked out reasonably priced parts (that doesn't mean sacrificing much performance at all).

btw, do you have a set budget?

Anyways, some comments on specific parts:

I haven't checked, but the "Maximus" and "Extreme" parts sound pretty expensive. I'm guessing here, but I'm certain the ASUS P67 pro, or the equivalent board with the Z68 chipset, is cheaper and still gets you SLI.

Case is a personal choice, even if it is a bit pricey.


Not a terrible choice for a high-end cooler, but it is expensive. My standard recommendation for a CPU cooler is the Cooler Master 212+, or its equivalent clones. It's not quite at the level of the Noctua, but it's just way cheaper.

You're already aware this is severe overkill.

For gaming at 1080p, two GTX 580s in SLI seems quite like severe overkill. Sure you can't get yourself a nice ~30" 2560*1600 monitor instead?

The Samsung F3 1TB is cheaper.


Unless those GTX 580 Lightnings are uber quiet (doubt that), they'll drown every other noise your computer makes. Once you're at idling at the desktop, most good quality PSUs are very quiet anyways.

I won't be gaming at 1080p, it will be 1920x1200, I prefer to go with the Western Digital Caviar black drive over the Samsung just because I prefer their products and they come highly recommended.

I realize the diminishing returns with spending lots of money on computer parts but I really am okay with it and yeah, I think I will just wait a month or two after getting this build listed here then add a SSD so I don't have to skimp on something I want now.

Also the GTX 580 Lightnings actually are extremely, extremely quiet compared to reference 580s, even when overclocked. I've seen numerous videos showing how noisy they are and it's really nothing to worry about.

 

[Switch296]

not sure why you'd only go 2500k when you go overboard just about everywhere else. also wouldn't buy a top of the line non-z68 board now.

2500k's are the best processors out there for gaming at the moment. The 2600k offers absolutely no advantage whatsoever because the only differences are that it has a default 100mhz increase and hyperthreading, some even say it performs worse in certain games compared to the 2500k because of hyperthreading.

Also, Z68 boards offer no advantage whatsoever for gaming over normal P67 am I correct?

 

[Switch296]

2500k's are the best processors out there for gaming at the moment. The 2600k offers absolutely no advantage whatsoever because the only differences are that it has a default 100mhz increase and hyperthreading, some even say it performs worse in certain games compared to the 2500k because of hyperthreading.

Also, Z68 boards offer no advantage whatsoever for gaming over normal P67 am I correct?

Yeah I just checked, the only things Z68 has over P67 is

1. Integrated graphics support
2. Use of Quicksync for video transcoding
3. SSD Caching

1. I don't need that
2. I don't need that
3. SSDs are fast anyway, I really don't mind that my SSD won't be completely 115% optimized.

 

[mnewsham]

Okay, the GTX 580 came out November 9th of 2010, about 7 months ago... you are planning on buying one GTX 580 NOW and then another in 4 months almost 1 YEAR after it's release... Instead of buying a SINGLE GTX 570 now for $290, sell it for ~$150-200 in october and buying a SINGLE GTX 670/680 then for $400-500 instead of buying a GTX 580 for $430 now and who knows how much then (could be more because of supply and demand). Not only that but with what i am saying you can get a more efficient 750w PSU and save money there AND a cheaper motherboard because you wont need as many PCI-E 2.0 slots, honestly a GTX 580 and a GTX 570 are only 10% apart in performance, if you can tell the difference then by all means waste 400-600 bucks now for shitty-er gaming later.

 

[Switch296]

Okay, the GTX 580 came out November 9th of 2010, about 7 months ago... you are planning on buying one GTX 580 NOW and then another in 4 months almost 1 YEAR after it's release... Instead of buying a SINGLE GTX 570 now for $290, sell it for ~$150-200 in october and buying a SINGLE GTX 670/680 then for $400-500 instead of buying a GTX 580 for $430 now and who knows how much then (could be more because of supply and demand). Not only that but with what i am saying you can get a more efficient 750w PSU and save money there AND a cheaper motherboard because you wont need as many PCI-E 2.0 slots, honestly a GTX 580 and a GTX 570 are only 10% apart in performance, if you can tell the difference then by all means waste 400-600 bucks now for shitty-er gaming later.

As I said, if I get my first 580 lightning now and then wait until October, if the 28nm GPU's are really so incredibly amazing then I can just overclock the 580 lightning until it dies, get a brand new one and sell that for $300-500 and put that towards one of the newer GPUs instead of getting an additional 580 for SLI.

And while a reference 570 and 580 may be 10% apart in performance (I'm not actually sure they are, I haven't read this anywhere) a MSI 580 Lightning can potentially be overclocked to the famed 1ghz mark.. There is no version of the 570 that can come close to that and even if there is, doubt it's covered by warranty like the 580 lightning.

I don't mean to be throwing your advice straight back at you, I do really appreciate your point of view but I'm just not really prepared to wait until October to have the best of the best and even if the 28nm cards do come out then and have a significant advantage over what is currently out, I can always swap to one of them instead of an additional 580 for SLI.

Thanks heaps for your help

 

[mfenn]

As I said, if I get my first 580 lightning now and then wait until October, if the 28nm GPU's are really so incredibly amazing then I can just overclock the 580 lightning until it dies, get a brand new one and sell that for $300-500 and put that towards one of the newer GPUs instead of getting an additional 580 for SLI.

That is disgusting and fraudulent. You have obviously got everything figured out already and are immune to reason. If you come to your senses before you order, please heed mnewsham and fffblackmage's advice, it is solid.