First time build

Hi
I am recently retired (teacher) and am prepping to build my first computer - gaming rig - though I bought my first in the 90's with 8 mg of RAM when 4 was the usual RAM at the time and the top rated video card had 4 mg.
I am posting to see if the following components are compatible and to see if I have overlooked something.

1) MSI Computer Corp. Motherboard ATX DDR3 1333 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z87-GD65 GAMING- MSI Computer Corp.
2) Corsair Obsidian Series 750D Performance Full Tower Case CC-9011035-WW- Corsair
3) Corsair Hydro Series Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H100i
4) Corsair RM Series 850 Watt ATX/EPS 80PLUS Gold-Certified Power Supply
5) Intel Core i7-4770K Quad-Core Desktop Processor (3.5 GHz, 8 MB cache
6) Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10)
7) Seagate Barracuda 2 TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal drive
8) Gigabyte GTX 760 GDDR5-2GB 2xDVI/HDMI/DP OC WINDFORCE 3X Graphic card
9) Asus Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-Ray Drive
10) Asus 24x DVD-RW Serial-ATA Internal OEM Optical Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black)
11) Intel Gigabit CT PCI-E Network Adapter EXPI9301CTBLK
Windows 8.1 System Builder OEM DVD 64-Bit
Any and all input is greatly appreciated regarding any of the components, reliability, ease of installing components, etc.
Thank you for taking the time. roundrocker

to OCF !


Gaming rig. Gotcha. What's your budget? This is very useful for us to know. Your list of components could use some tweaking, without question. But knowing how much you care to spend is important in recommending what direction to guide you. Certainly an SSD. Your optical drive choices are redundant. Graphics may need advisement depending on what games you're interested in playing.


And Luke1978 says there are issues with the H110i's software when combined with Windows 8.1.


We're here to help, so give up the budget in your reply and you'll have more posts from a lot of nice folks to get you playing pretty quickly.

Like Robert said, do you really need both a Bluray drive and a DVD drive? You could easily get a Bluray reader that burns just DVDs and CDs, no need in getting the separate drive.

Also, do you need two NICs? If you really want an Intel NIC, there are plenty of boards out there which have one integrated.

An SSD would help, and the GTX 760 may be a touch underpowered if you plan on playing certain games at higher resolutions, but that depends on budget.

1) MSI Computer Corp. Motherboard ATX DDR3 1333 LGA 1150
Motherboards Z87-GD65 GAMING- MSI Computer Corp.
^Good choice. Another option is ASUS Z87-A
2) Corsair Obsidian Series 750D Performance Full Tower Case CC-9011035-WW- Corsair
^Good choice
3) Corsair Hydro Series Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H100i
^I suggest a Noctua NHD14 heatsink instead. Higher reliability.
4) Corsair RM Series 850 Watt ATX/EPS 80PLUS Gold-Certified Power Supply
^Only 500W is necessary for this build. You can drop to a 500 or 600W Bronze certified PSU to save some cash
5) Intel Core i7-4770K Quad-Core Desktop Processor (3.5 GHz, 8 MB cache
^Good choice. Newer games will use more than 4 threads so hyperthreading will be beneficial
6) Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800)
Desktop Memory (CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10)
^Good choice. To date, only 8GB is necessary for gaming though
7) Seagate Barracuda 2 TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal drive
8) Gigabyte GTX 760 GDDR5-2GB 2xDVI/HDMI/DP OC WINDFORCE 3X Graphic card
^You may wish to go for a 3 or 4GB higher tier GPU for future proofing. Otherwise this is fine
9) Asus Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-Ray Drive
10) Asus 24x DVD-RW Serial-ATA Internal OEM Optical Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black)
^Why 2 optical drives? Just get a BD-ROM drive that's also a DVD-RW
11) Intel Gigabit CT PCI-E Network Adapter EXPI9301CTBLK
^Redundant. All modern motherboards include gigabit networking built in

Just a tip- if you do go with the NHD14, which I think you should, you will need low profile memory to fit under the cooler. No performance loss to you. Tall heatsinks on DDR3 are there for show.

Also, make sure you select a blu ray drive that includes blu ray playback software. Standard players like VLC, WMP, etc, do not play bluray movies.

Hi
I have read the replies. Thank you. Thank you.
This may be my first and only build. I'm 65 and my gaming reflexes are decent, but we all know what happens as a person continues to breathe.
Also budget - I did not think about a bottom line, just buying quality components, but in the $2000 - $2500 range.
1) two optical drives - may be redundant with newer computer. I have 2 optical drives on my "old" computer. Seems to help burn CDs faster compared to other "older" computer..
2) SSD - not sure about storage and how it "talks" with regular hard drive. SSD are smaller regarding capacity. I want enough storage for Steam games, my personal boxed games, music, family pix, etc.
I'm on my way to work, but will add to this reply by tomorrow night.
Sincerely, roundrocker

Having a smaller SSD and a seperate HDD is actually fairly straight forward. It's just like putting in a CD or flash drive, only more permanent. During the install process for most programs, it asks where you want to install it. The OS and frequently used programs, such as web browsers and media players, go on the faster SSD. Programs that take up a lot of storage and less used programs, such as games, go on the HDD.

Steam has actually made it easier recently. I seem to remember up until a few months to a year ago, it would automatically try to install games on the C: drive and you had to remember to change it, which is annoying if you're using a small SSD as a boot drive and want to install a lot of games to a second HDD. But these days, all you have to remember to do is install Steam to the HDD. Then it automatically installs games to whichever drive it's installed on.

I just want to say you rock for being a gamer when you're 65. I'm going to be 31 next month and I only hope I can do youthful things like that when I "grow up"

roundrocker said:

Hi
I have read the replies. Thank you. Thank you.
This may be my first and only build. I'm 65 and my gaming reflexes are decent, but we all know what happens as a person continues to breathe.
Also budget - I did not think about a bottom line, just buying quality components, but in the $2000 - $2500 range.

Click to expand...

I'm going to put a build together and show you what I would do with $2500 US dollars.

roundrocker said:

1) two optical drives - may be redundant with newer computer. I have 2 optical drives on my "old" computer. Seems to help burn CDs faster compared to other "older" computer..

Click to expand...

It really is redundant. But since Optical drives are so cheap, you can get 4 of them if you really want to .... But I would just get one.

roundrocker said:

2) SSD - not sure about storage and how it "talks" with regular hard drive. SSD are smaller regarding capacity. I want enough storage for Steam games, my personal boxed games, music, family pix, etc.

Click to expand...

When data is travelling to or from a hard drive to an SSD, the data transfer rate is limited by the read or write speed of that hard drive. An average hard drive reads at a little over 100MB/sec while a good SSD can read well over 500MB/s-with zero seek time since there are no moving parts.

SSDs do have smaller capacities, although 1TB SATA3 SSDs do exist and they can be had for what are fairly reasonable prices, if you consider what an SSD cost you 4 years ago. As freakdiablo said, what you want to do is to put Windows 8, your most frequently used programs, your most played games, etc, on your SSD. Less frequently played games go on your Hard Drive, as do your downloaded video and audio files, and other files such as, for example, a large Sony Vegas project or a large Photoshop project. Anything big and clunky basically goes on the larger Hard Drive. Anything you want fast and snappy (ie- Windows itself) goes on the SSD. You can get away with a lot with a mere 128GB SSD.

I'm on my way to work, but will add to this reply by tomorrow night.
Sincerely, roundrocker[/QUOTE]

Here is my suggestion for a build worth $2500
(All prices from Newegg.com as of today)

Corsair Carbide Series 200R $60
ASUS Z87-A LGA 1150 Intel Z87 $140
Intel Core i7-4770K $340
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) $150
Your choice of large air cooler ~ $75
MSI Radeon R9 290 GAMING 4GB $440
CORSAIR CX series CX600 $70
WD BLACK SERIES WD3003FZEX 3TB $195
Intel 730 Series SSDSC2BP240G4R5 2.5" 240GB $260
Windows 8.1 $120

$1850

that's all you need. No need to spend any more. That system will play everything now and for the next several years.

You can cheap out on the SSD and hard drive. Maybe you only need 1TB of hard drive space? Or maybe you'd prefer a cheaper Samsung 840 EVO SSD in half the capacity of the Intel SSD I included. Why did I include an Intel SSD? Because I've had one for about 4 years and it hasn't so much as coughed at me.

Hi
I'm back. Beautiful day - great temp. I was outside most of the day.
I have noted and changed or am thinking about changing:
1) the 100i cooler to the Noctua NHD14. Thanks for the tip on Windows 8.1 and the
100i
2) adding SSD by Crucial M500 240GB - more because of price than brand name or other factors. Your information on how the SSD and HDD work cleared up what I should do. I thought every program had to go on the C drive.
3) will reduce the power supply to a 600 or 750 watt
4) leaning toward Gigabyte GTX 760 4GB graphics card - future proofing noted
5) cases - I know there are other towers - both size and price , but to me a full tower would have room to work in (since I haven't done this before - room is good), room for sizable components such as the video card as well as better air flow

All the replies raised additional questions such as
1) Seagate vs WD - I can go either way
2) Nvidia vs Radeon - I've been pleased with my Nvidia cards over the years and have had a defective Radeon card that stopped my gaming for several months

I'm still reading and rereading your replies. Then going to Amazon & NewEgg checking on prices and availability as well as checking on BluRay playback software.
Oh - in reference to RAM - mention was made of low profile. Does this mean how "tall" the RAM is after installing it on the motherboard? That is can touch/get in the way of the heatsink?
I'm beginning to feel like Sheldon on Big Bang Theory who couldn't decide between a PS4and XBox One. You Guys have been GREAT! I'll be back. roundrocker

I like the WD drives because they have good performance and warranty, also for me they last a long time.

I like the EVGA GeForce GTX 770 DUAL SuperClocked 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card 04G-P4-3774-KR

G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GAR

I have noted and changed or am thinking about changing:
1) the 100i cooler to the Noctua NHD14. Thanks for the tip on Windows 8.1 and the 100i
^The NHD14 comes with higher quality fans and is much more reliable, not to mention the Win8.1/H100i issues.

2) adding SSD by Crucial M500 240GB - more because of price than brand name or other factors. Your information on how the SSD and HDD work cleared up what I should do. I thought every program had to go on the C drive.
^I would go with a Samsung or Intel drive if I were buying an SSD currently. The 840 Evo is affordable and has high performance. That's just what I would buy. I'm not saying anything else would be a bad buy. I'm just saying that if I were buying an SSD, I would go Intel or Samsung.

3) will reduce the power supply to a 600 or 750 watt

^500-600W for single GPU is all you need, honestly. With a 760 you aren't pulling much power. Even a 780 would run fine on 600W.

4) leaning toward Gigabyte GTX 760 4GB graphics card - future proofing noted

^That card is slightly better than a GTX580, which is a dinosaur (I have one). If you really want impressive performance I'd look at the R9 280X or 290 personally.

5) cases - I know there are other towers - both size and price , but to me a full tower would have room to work in (since I haven't done this before - room is good), room for sizable components such as the video card as well as better air flow

^You will be able to build just fine in any mid-ATX tower of your choosing. There is no need to go with a giant case unless you like the look of giant cases, or are planning on several massive rads for water cooling. A well designed mid tower with proper cable management layout will be very easy and comfortable for you to build in, I promise you. In fact, larger towers can be a pain because things start to happen like your 8 pin CPU power not reaching from the PSU to the top left of the motherboard along the cable management route on the back of the motherboard, so you have to run it along the front, which looks like trash and obstructs air flow.

All the replies raised additional questions such as
1) Seagate vs WD - I can go either way
2) Nvidia vs Radeon - I've been pleased with my Nvidia cards over the years and have had a defective Radeon card that stopped my gaming for several months

^Nvidia Drivers and the abilities they give you in Windows to tweak the card are much better than ATI/AMD in my opinion. Otherwise, they both bake similar bread. For HDDs all I will say is I've had 2 seagates keel over and die on me but I've never lost a WD.

I'm still reading and rereading your replies. Then going to Amazon & NewEgg checking on prices and availability as well as checking on BluRay playback software.
Oh - in reference to RAM - mention was made of low profile. Does this mean how "tall" the RAM is after installing it on the motherboard? That is can touch/get in the way of the heatsink?

^Yes. Low profile means ram that is short rather than tall. You'll want to get low profile RAM to run with a big air cooler like the NHD14.

This is what low profile RAM looks like:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220827

This would be "tall" RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...r-_-N82E16820233234&scpid=8&scid=scsho5465267

I'm beginning to feel like Sheldon on Big Bang Theory who couldn't decide between a PS4and XBox One. You Guys have been GREAT! I'll be back. roundrocker

^PS4. DDR5. And I'm sure you're much cooler, and much less indecisive than Sheldon. He's only kissed a girl twice in his life. And she's no catch.

Some viewing I would highly suggest for you is one of Carey Holzman's dozen+ "How to build a computer" videos.


He doesn't cover applying thermal compound in that video, which you will be doing with the NHD14, so here's a video on how to do that (and how not to do it). Use the "pea method" as in this video:

Hi
Happy Easter to you all,
I don't see my post from yesterday. don't want to be redundant, but since I don't see it, here goes. There are some changes.
Most importantly I thoroughly appreciate your posts. I am learning so much and enjoying the "hunt."
So here is where I am at this moment. I have many items in my "cart" but have not click on the "proceed to purchase."
1) Corsair Carbide 500R Mid Tower Computer Case $139.99

2) Corsair CX Series 750 Watt ATX 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Power Supply CX
750M $84.24

3) MSI Computer Corp. Motherboard ATX DDR3 1333 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z87-GD65 GAMING $187.95
4) Intel Core i7-4770K Quad-Core Desktop Processor (3.5 GHz, 8 MB Cache, Intel HD graphics, $309.99

5) Crucial Ballistix Sport Very Low Profile 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3-1600 1.35V UDIMM 240-Pin Memory $139.75

6) Crucial 480GB 2.5-Inch SATA Internal Solid State Drive $219.99

7) Seagate Barracuda 2 TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive $84.81

8) EVGA GeForce GTX 760 Superclocked with ACX Cooler 4 GB GDDR5 256-Bit Dual-Link DVI-I/DVI-D HDMI DP SLI Ready Graphics Card $314.99

9) Noctua 6 Dual Heatpipe with 140mm/120mm Dual SSO Bearing Fans CPU Cooler
NH-D14 $74.50

10) Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound 3.5 Grams $7.56

11) Samsung SH-224DB-BEBE 24X SATA Internal CD DVD±R/RW Dual Layer Disc Burner Drive Writer + Software + SATA Cable + IDE to SATA Power Adapter $33.29

12) Windows 8.1 System Builder OEM DVD 64-Bit by Microsoft Software $94.99

Total 1697.05
What do you think? Anything that says WHOA BABY!!! DON'T DO THAT!!
Till later roundrocker

1) Corsair Carbide 500R Mid Tower Computer Case $139.99
^This is the case I'm using right now. Here's my review of it for OCF http://www.overclockers.com/corsair-carbide-500r
You'll find it easy to build in. The bulged out side panels, especially on the "ugly" side of the case, make putting wires behind the MB tray a snap. Very easy case and decently made case. IMO, overpriced. This feels like a $90 case to me, but I would definitely still suggest it as a good case.
2) Corsair CX Series 750 Watt ATX 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Power Supply CX 750M $84.24
^If you're sticking with 1 GPU, I usually suggest to get a 500 or 600W (ie-CX600) power supply. If you want SLI/XFIRE down the line, I suggest you get an 850. That's JM2C. The CX750M is still a good buy though. It's cheap enough and the price difference between it and a CX600 is only $15-20.
3) MSI Computer Corp. Motherboard ATX DDR3 1333 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z87-GD65 GAMING $187.95
4) Intel Core i7-4770K Quad-Core Desktop Processor (3.5 GHz, 8 MB Cache, Intel HD graphics, $309.99
^Is this a bundle? If you live near a Microcenter, you will find better bundles than this. If this is a Newegg bundle, it's not a bad deal. GD65 is a good board. I usually suggest the ASUS Z87-A because it's got everything you need and overclocks well, but if you're getting a combo price like this there's no reason not to get the GD65.
5) Crucial Ballistix Sport Very Low Profile 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3-1600 1.35V UDIMM 240-Pin Memory $139.75
^Yup. And it's the modern low voltage stuff.
6) Crucial 480GB 2.5-Inch SATA Internal Solid State Drive $219.99
^Quite a steal. I still like my Samsung and Intel.
7) Seagate Barracuda 2 TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive $84.81
^I'm on the other team. I suggest a Western Digital Caviar Black drive.
8) EVGA GeForce GTX 760 Superclocked with ACX Cooler 4 GB GDDR5 256-Bit Dual-Link DVI-I/DVI-D HDMI DP SLI Ready Graphics Card $314.99
^Or for the same price, why not have moar power?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131533
^280X $319
9) Noctua 6 Dual Heatpipe with 140mm/120mm Dual SSO Bearing Fans CPU Cooler
NH-D14 $74.50
^Excellent quality part
10) Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound 3.5 Grams $7.56
^No, no and no again. Do NOT use this. It is conductive and if you get it on electrical components, accidentally get it in the socket, etc, you will cause a short and brick your part. It also performs badly compared to other modern TIMs. The Noctua Thermal grease that is included with the NHD14 is superior in every measurable way. Just use that.
11) Samsung SH-224DB-BEBE 24X SATA Internal CD DVD±R/RW Dual Layer Disc Burner Drive Writer + Software + SATA Cable + IDE to SATA Power Adapter $33.29
^Optical drives cost less than a bag of cheetos so any brand and model will do
12) Windows 8.1 System Builder OEM DVD 64-Bit by Microsoft Software $94.99

Total 1697.05
What do you think? Anything that says WHOA BABY!!! DON'T DO THAT!!

Change the GPU to the 280X and ditch the AS5!

My $.02 is get the newest nh-d15 from noctua, I'd get a r9 290 as well but I'm kind of an amd fanboy
My wife despises the fact that I still play video games, and I'm only 33, I hope I'm still rocking at 65 nice rig man

SubPar said:

My $.02 is get the newest nh-d15 from noctua

Click to expand...

I don't believe that is available at retail yet.

I would save some money on the motherboard and spend more on your video card. ASUS Z87 A and a GTX 770 4GB is what I would purchase.

Wow! almost Instant Messaging
I didn't expect any response till later tonight or tomorrow.
AS5 has been jettisoned.
I also removed the EVGA 760 and replaced it with the R9 280 - $310. Hope my room temperature doesn't soar. Or my new mantra will be - Winter is coming.
The MSI motherboard and i7 are not bundled.
I read a review of several gaming motherboards and the review liked the MSI and Amazon has it for $187 when MFSP is $115 more.
The MSI has onboard audio - supposedly very good.
I'm checking out the Asus Z87 A at $140. Is the onboard audio more than decent?
I will look at other gaming boards.
Will check out Gigabyte board (sold out at NewEgg) as well as GTX 570 tomorrow.
The Seagate has a better 2TB price.
Read about the NH-D15 - coming soon.
Till tomorrow. roundrocker

ASUS Z87 A Realtek ALC892 audio is fine, the real difference is your speaker system.

I didn't expect any response till later tonight or tomorrow.
^We're bored... er, I mean, we're here to help!
AS5 has been jettisoned.
^good
I also removed the EVGA 760 and replaced it with the R9 280 - $310. Hope my room temperature doesn't soar. Or my new mantra will be - Winter is coming.
^That's the 280X, not the 280, but yes. Good call.
The MSI motherboard and i7 are not bundled.
I read a review of several gaming motherboards and the review liked the MSI and Amazon has it for $187 when MFSP is $115 more.
The MSI has onboard audio - supposedly very good.
I'm checking out the Asus Z87 A at $140. Is the onboard audio more than decent?
^Unless you have something along the lines of Klipsch Promedia 2.1's or better, you won't notice a difference. Honestly, most onboard audio is pretty good these days.
I will look at other gaming boards.
^"Gaming boards" are just a way to suck more money out of you. Get a Z87-A. Seriously.
Will check out Gigabyte board (sold out at NewEgg) as well as GTX 570 tomorrow.
^Why are you talking about a card from 2010? How does it relate to this thread? I'm confused...
The Seagate has a better 2TB price.
Crystal meth is affordable too. Doesn't mean you should buy it.

Your basically down to nitpicking preferences at this point. Most of us here have built many many systems and each have personal preferences.

I have the white Carbide 500R also and its an excellent case but I didn't pay over $100 for it. For about any mid-tower case I wouldn't really pay more than that. If you live anywhere near a Microcenter really recommend trying to get some stuff there, especially cpu and case. There are a cpl in TX.

As for video, my .2c definitely avoid spending that much on a 760. Card is $100 over priced. A cheap 770 even at stock speeds is better. You can get a MSI for $320 with a blower which I prefer highly over ACX style coolers. EVGA boards are nice for the service and warranty, so it maybe worth the extra to you since this may be your last high end build. Little more bang for your buck with AMD, but not sure your looking to squeeze and push every frame you can get. Playing comfortably is nice to and heat\noise can detract.

Seagate is fine. Any brand drive can go bad or be doa. Flash memory is so cheap now I would keep backups of most important keep sakes there or online anyway. Your SSD is large enough you can probably use it most of the time. I pretty much only keep movies\music on my storage drive now.

Haven't listed your monitor. What you view your pc through is as important as the machine pushing it.