Trying a PC build

OK...I think I just about got my ducks in a row, and want to attempt a PC build....This computer will be used for a little gaming (Battlefield-bad company and COD-4 are the newest games i have...(maybe get some new games too)), surfing the net, email, saving some pictures, and maybe a little photoshop. OK heres where you experts come in (haha). I need some help picking the best parts (or the parts I need rather). Here's what Im thinking so far....

Cooler master haf-x case

ASUS Socket 1156/Intel P55/SATA3&USB 3.0/A&GbE/ATX Motherboard s P7P55D-E LX

EVGA GeForce GTX 470 vid. card

G. Skill Ripjaws 8GB memory

Intel Core i5-760 Processor 2.8 GHz 8 MB Cache Socket LGA1156

Power supply of some sort and fans....any suggestions?

DVD/rom drive of some sort

1tb hard drive..just not sure what brand yet

Any suggestions/feedback welcome and appreciated
What am i missing??

Thanks

 

My first advise is to get away from the 1156 chipset and cpu. They are both dead technology. Go with a 1155 chipset and cpu.

 

So should i go with the 1155 or the 1366?

 

1155

 

This would be a good motherboard and CPU combination for your needs. Plus it balances being up to date with price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

 

I'd go with a GTX 560 or GTX 560 Ti if you're going to spend that kind of money and besides they run cooler than the 460's with more processors.

As to a power supply, 600W should be more than enough, I personally like Corsairs and Antecs.

 

As for the power supply, I just saw this on slickdeals.net.

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/54121/newegg-ocz-modxstream-pro-600w-modular-power-supply-liteon-24x-dvd-burner

600W OCZ power supply and a 24x DVD burner for $45 after rebate.

 

Thanks for the replys and links...This will be my 1st PC build...I won't say money is no object, but I do want some good stuff on the inside and it be fairly fast and upgradable if needed!! Anything else you guys think I should know, please share (I'm all ears).

(OS)--I will need Windows 7 64bit, rite?

 

If you're going to go with socket 1155 mobo, then check out the i7 2600K as it's a beast man! All depends on your budget. I do like your haf-x case, I've got a sniper and now wish I had gotten the haf.

As to 64-bit W7, I don't know how well it handles games as I don't game, you can use 32-bit if you wish.

 

For some reason I am thinking that the 32-bit only reads up to 4gigs of memory...and I wanna try and put 8gigs in this build..am I wrong on that??

I will look at the i7's also...I was trying to stay with the i5 because it was a little cheaper (and from the reviews I've seen is pretty good), but i will consider the i7 also.

 

Oh ya, 32-bit is only 3.5 GB max, I missed that.:-o The i5 is good too! I was just wondering how far I could go to break your budget?:-D Herhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115076&cm_re=i5-_-19-115-076-_-Producte's an i5 for the 1155 socket which you could upgrade to an i7 when your ready

 

Well...I really dont have a set budget...but as I said, would like some good parts inside...So, I'll look at both and see what fancys me the best lol.

 

OK...dumb question...i will connect to the internet with DSL, anything special i need for that??

Ordered my power unit and dvd drive last night

 

No, just the standard network connector that comes on all motherboards.

 

Thank you all for your responses...Beware--I may have more questions as I look at/order more parts haha...had to go back to work today, but hopefully can find time to get back on here!!

Thanks again!

 

No problems on questions, I'm also currently working on a build. Which I'm constantly changing. Already have 2 SSDs, thinking of a 3rd. Everything is still in the works. heh.

 

You all think I should have a SSD??

 

It would be really nice to have one, boot W7 in 12 secs. but they are still expensive. Get 120GB SSD for boot and a 1 or 2TB drive for storage. I like WesternDigital's for storage but most brands are decent. Repair tech's or those working in the industry know quickly when a batch is bad from whichever company, so I hope they can chime in.

 

Well, we got in 5 SSDs for our Judge's laptops (yes I'm county IT) anyway, we rebuilt one of their old XP laptops and threw in a corsair cheap ssd 80GB:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233161

Running windows 7, with office 2010 sp1, runs a heck of a lot better than it did. It acts like a modern laptop now that it is on SSD.

Though, make sure you disable defrag, and indexing, since this can cause issues with them. Oh, and turn off hibernate and sleeping. Possibly even power saving mode on the drive as well.

 

Thanks guys...

I will def. look into the SSD's....

Tho, I surely don't know how to cut all that stuff off...lol!!

 

Vid Card makers...??

Zotac, EVGA, MSI, HIS, ASUS...bah???

Trying to read all the reviews has got my eyes crossed...You guys got any input on the video card makers/distributors? Geforce GTX 560 v/s 560ti??

((ps...I'm on my way..slowly..got power supply, dvd drive, and memory..long ways to go, but i'll get there!!))

 

I'd personally go for the eVGA GTX560Ti but as you can see I'm an eVGA man, I still have a couple of eVGA 9800GT's running too. I can't remember if you game or not but if you do then the 560Ti is the way to go for performance.

 

Bah, too late! CoD performance.

 

kjb125, what have you decided on so far and how is it going? I'm considering the same thing.

 

Hey happy...So far I just got my power supply (600w)...dvd drive...and 8gigs of memory (ripjaws)...

I just ordered my case tonight (coolermaster haf-x)

I'm just ordering parts here and there so my pocket book wont get hurt to bad lol.

I am considering the Intel i7, and the sandy bridge mobo 1155, gtx 560ti, and a SSD

I still have a ways to go, but i'll get there!! good luck on your build!!

 

OK...I decided to go with the i7 2600k (sandy bridge)...is the Gigabyte mo/bo the way to go?? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128494

Also..I have so far...Coolermaster haf-x case, dvd drive, 600w PSu, 8gig memory (G. Skill), 1TB hard drive, EVGA gtx 560ti vid card, i7 cpu

And on the SSD, can I get away with anything less than a 120gig for the OS (win 7 64bit)??

Thanks again...Im getting there!!!

 

Sure, but 60GB would be my minimum. I'd rather get a 10K RPM Raptor though for price/GB/ performance. Nice to see you taking your time here as too many folks just jump in the pool and then find that there's not enough water.

Gigabytes are good, I've never had one though, good choice on the video card, best bang for your buck! I hope your PSU is a quality one to protect that monster machine and if you don't foresee yourself going SLI then you're fine.

 

I wish I could help. I ended up buying a PC rather than building it (mine has a 256 ss drive). Your machine sounds lovely. I would think you could get by with a smaller ss drive provided you can put the programs on your conventional harddrive. I was afraid I'd make time-consuming mistakes doing that, so I opted to put all programs on the ss drive, and all data on the conventional harddrive. I actually found it a little more time consuming than I had expected even to figure out just how to do just that, and to have the OS look to the D drive for the user files. (Once I figured it out, it was easy enough; I know there are methods that involve editing the registry so that works invisibly but I didn't go that route.) As it is I managed to corrupt Win7 somehow despite being ultra-careful and had to do a repair installation which went very smoothly. I actually paid for support from Microsoft for a couple of set-up problems -- a splurge given that Dell would have done it for free, but I find the Microsoft support to be really top-notch for tough problems and not quick to tell me to re-format, and at the time I had more money than time. Plus Microsoft will keep the case open for a while so they really gave me a lot of support for a series of problems.

 

Just to add to my above post, the 560Ti is the best on the nVidia side of things. Do you game at all?

 

"I hope your PSU is a quality one to protect that monster machine and if you don't foresee yourself going SLI then you're fine."

The psu I got is a OCZ Mod x stream-pro (600watts)...it says its sli ready, but, right now I dont see me going with 2 vid cards.

 

Do you game at all?

Yes, I do play a few games...but I'm no where close to being an "extreme gamer"..lol

 

OK, good PSU and you're all set. Enjoy!

 

I have that MB, it's great. Lots of ports and a great layout.

 

Yeah...thats what I usually do...buy PC's from Dell...this is my 1st build...trial and error, sort'a learning as I go...and asking these geeks lots of questions..lol..they're probably tried of me by now :-D

I just wanted the option of upgrading...something I dont have now!!

 

I have that MB, it's great. Lots of ports and a great layout.

Cool...Good to know...are you using the i7 also??

 

Nah, I for one love to help folks out of the pre-built crap! Just read the online mobo manual while waiting for the parts since this is your first time. Ask before you blow up some cash though!:-D

 

"Just read the online mobo manual while waiting for the parts"

Great Idea...Thanks!!

 

I am looking forward to hearing how your experience goes.

 

Well guys/gals/geeks...finally got all my hardware odered...should be here by early next week, i hope...although we have a hurricane (Irene) headed this way, so that may slow shipping a bit...

I decided to go with a 80gig SSD....

Just get your minds set on installation questions for next week...lol

Will try to keep you all updated on parts as they arrive ((if Irene lets me have Internet)).

Thanks again for all the help and comments!!

 

OK...finally got all my parts...put them in the case...powered up...now, the fans come on for a brief moment (maybe 2 sec.) and then it shuts down...any ideas what i did wrong??

 

Go over all the power supply connections to the mobo and gfx card, make sure heatsink fan is connected to the proper pins. I have to go but I'll be back in 3 hrs. I know this sucks man, only happened to me once after some 40 builds. Later.

 

Wheww...that did it...actually found a plug i overlooked..anyway it powered up...guess I try and load windows now..keep your eyes/ears open for me...haha

Thx augie

 

Counted my chickens before they hatched

Computer powered up fine (it seems)...Hooked up keyboard, mouse, monitor...but getting nothing on the monitor...Vid card has power as I can see the fan running...Any ideas?? (Monitor works fine on my other computer)

 

Turn power off and reseat the video card and make sure at least the top screw is finger tight. Memory can also be tough to install, make sure you feel the 'click on both sides of the stick. Do you have any beeps or should I ask if there's a speaker on your mobo?

 

Thank Augie...Solved my own problem...over looked another cable...anyway, just finished loading Win7...so far so good...gonna finish the rest of my software and other junk tommorrow or sometime this weekend (i hope)..

Thanks for everyones help (esp. Augie)....this has been a fun experience..

Thanks again and I'm sure I be back wit more questions..lol...:-D

 

Hehehe, at least you don't have to RMA anything yet. One last thing you should do to ensure good hardware is to torture test it at least overnight. Run OCCT in full mode and see how well your machine holds up. The program keeps writing to charts on your hard drive until it either properly finishes or something fails, you want failure now, not when the warranty runs out, nothing has failed on me yet. Enjoy your new machine!!:wine

 

Cool...I'll try and run that 1st chance i get!! hope i pass..lol

thanks for all your help!!

 

OK...one small bump in the road...

I got the OS installed (windows 7 64bit)...installed my printer..then when to install my dsl modem/router software (Netgear) and it said that I have no ethernet adapter...

My mo/bo is--->GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

I've done a quick search on the net with my laptop and cant really find an adapter...

Anyone know of a solution? work around?

 

Go to gigabyte and find their ethernet driver for your board. It has to be there or jumbled in with the chipset driver. BTW. you must have your install disc, use that.