My Second Build

Back in 2007 I built my first computer. It died a year ago and was a good computer the entire time. It was modestly overclocked and served my purposes quite well. I will admit though that I did IMO bite off a bite more than I could chew for a first build and it gave me a bit of a sour taste in my mouth towards building a computer. Well this past year I've really missed not having a personal desktop and can't bring myself to buy a Dell. So I've decided to do a second build for my 30th birthday. As usual I've found really good resources on the forums here and have been amazed at how much things have changed in 7 years.

My personal uses are fairly light, I primarily use the computer for listening to music, watching movies, web browsing, and some gaming. The only games I currently play or am currently interested in playing are Titanfall, COD, Fallout 3, and Minecraft. I've pretty much decided on a Z87 Haswell build and am slowly piecing it together. I'll list the components I'm considering below and I welcome any input on the build, it has been 7 years since I've done this.

Processor: Intel 4770k
Motherboard: Not quite sure yet I am partial to ASUS though
RAM: 16gb DDR3 probably GSkill
Video Card: 770 GTX probably EVGA super clock
Hard Drive 1: 500gb Samsung SSD
Hard Drive 2: WD 2Tb Black (not sure on the diff between Black and Caviar Black?)
PSU: Not sure yet i believe 750W should be good probably corsair
Case: I'm leaning towards the Corsair 450D
OS: Win 7 or 8.1 (I know nothing on both)

This will probably be entirely air cooled as I've never quite trusted water cooling or I should say my ability to correctly install water cooling.

For gaming only, consider saving some money and getting a 4670K.
If you're stuck on Asus, get a Z87-A. If not, I would grab a Z87X-UD3H.
No need for 16GB really, I would get 2x4GB G.SKILL 1866 CL9 1.5V
Take the money from the drop in processor and get a 780.
Make sure to get the EVO or the PRO for the SSD.
Grab a Seasonic G-550 for the PSU. That'll still be overkill.
Case is personal preference.
Just grab 8.1, no reason to build a new system with a four year old OS.

Don't forget to grab a heatsink if you want to overclock. 212EVO would be the budget choice, NH-D14 for pushing limits.

Wow! Thanks for all the advice.

Let me ask though what is with the "TUF" armor looking stuff i see on some of the motherboards like the Sabertooth and the Maximus line. Does this really do anything or is it more cosmetic? To me it looks like it would act as a insulator.

Also I've seen these All-in-one water cooled blocks for processors. Like I said I don't really trust liquid in my computer but the fact i dont have to fill or seal them is kind of tempting. Any thoughts?

That "Armor" on the Sabertooth is is more of a cosmetic thing and does more harm than good as it acts as insulation instead of a heatsink. I perosnally hated those boards because of it.

Components heat up under it and there is no airflow over it. If you want to use any of those boards it's best top use them on a benching station or have really good airflow thru the case.

The all-in-one (AIO) watercooling kits aren't bad at all nowadays. The Corsair H100i is one of the best ones out for the price.

The TUF armor is nothing more than a gimmick to get Asus more money.

I would either go air cooled or custom water, I've seen too many AIOs fail to trust one.

...and stick with the WD Black, shoot for 32MB cache, no need for 64MB for your uses and save a couple more bucks to throw at the video card...

With that said, a good video card like that 780 ATMINSIDE mentioned would really like to make friends with a good monitor...look at some of the 27" beasts that are falling in price, that is, if you don't already have that accounted for.

ATMINSIDE said:

I would either go air cooled or custom water, I've seen too many AIOs fail to trust one.

Click to expand...

I'm still using an H80 on my vid card with zero issues

But yeah if you're not comfortable with an AIO, go custom water or a really good air cooler.

That is what I thought regarding the TUF armor. After looking further into the AIO it seems to be a personal preference thing and will go ahead and stick with the air cooled heatsink since its what I'm comfortable with.

Well I have finally picked out my components, however I've been asked not to buy them till next week. I have a feeling I may get one or two as gifts. I figured I'd throw up the final specs in the meantime.

Processor: Intel 4670k
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H
RAM: G.Skill 8Gb DDR3 Ripjaws X CL8
Video Card: EVGA GTX 780 Classified
Hard Drive 1: 500gb Samsung 840 EVO SSD
Hard Drive 2: WD 2Tb Black
PSU: Seasonic G750 (is on special for less than the 550 and I may eventually SLI)
Case: Corsair 450D
OS: Win 8.1

MadMatt2600 said:

Well I have finally picked out my components, however I've been asked not to buy them till next week. I have a feeling I may get one or two as gifts. I figured I'd throw up the final specs in the meantime.

Processor: Intel 4670k
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H
RAM: G.Skill 8Gb DDR3 Ripjaws X CL8
Video Card: EVGA GTX 780 Classified
Hard Drive 1: 500gb Samsung 840 EVO SSD
Hard Drive 2: WD 2Tb Black
PSU: Seasonic G750 (is on special for less than the 550 and I may eventually SLI)
Case: Corsair 450D
OS: Win 8.1

Click to expand...

I like it!

That'll be quite a solid build for you

Oooooo YES!

Nice rig in progress!

The one concern I had though is the description on the memory says for Intel Sandy bridge. I'm assuming it will work fine with a Haswell processor.

RAM is RAM. It won't make a difference.

Processor: Intel 4670k
^I've been recommending 4770K's for a couple of months now. New games coming out ported from PS4 and XBone are going to have more than 4 threads. Having a cpu that can handle 8 threads will give you a significant boost on the cpu end in gaming.
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H
^I really like the ASUS Z87-A better. You said in your first post that you were partial to ASUS too. Something to consider.
RAM: G.Skill 8Gb DDR3 Ripjaws X CL8
^Should be sufficient for another couple of years
Video Card: EVGA GTX 780 Classified
^Could go with a cheaper 780
Hard Drive 1: 500gb Samsung 840 EVO SSD
^Excellent
Hard Drive 2: WD 2Tb Black
^Excellent
PSU: Seasonic G750 (is on special for less than the 550 and I may eventually SLI)
^Excellent
Case: Corsair 450D
^Very nice case IMO
OS: Win 8.1

May I suggest the Noctua NHD14 (make sure you have low profile RAM) air cooler? I've had one since 2010 and it has been through many builds with me (I used to be one of those guys who rebuilt with new parts every few months) and is still in rock solid shape, all the mounting parts are rock solid, no wear and tear, and it performs spectacularly. It also comes with super high quality fans.

Sorry It's been a while since I've been able to make a post. To start with my birthday went very well and I got to see my family which was the important thing. One thing to mention is the processor is now a 4770K thanks to my parents and the PSU is a Corsair HX750 thanks to my brother. From what I've read the Corsairs are just repackaged Seasonics anyways so good to go there. I managed to get everything else ordered before I had to leave again on a business trip. I am now back and everything is now in. I plan on building the computer this weekend. (Time permitting) More details and of course pictures to follow shortly. Thanks again to everyone for their input and support.

So the hardware portion of the build is done. Everything is in and now I'm at the point of installing all the software, drivers, and troubleshooting issues that come up. Images of the build progress follow.

and more pictures.

Looks great
Hope all is going well with the installs!

I know from looking above the wire management guys are going to be screaming. I plan on rewiring everything once I've tested all the parts and have all the software and drivers installed. Both panels are still off the case. Also I plan on installing the rear exhaust fan that came with the case up on the roof of the case. There wasn't room for it with the current fan configuration on the silver bullet.

problems and issues I encountered:
Problem 1 was in all my thought and preparation I forgot to order a wireless network card for the computer. A quick trip to the local parts store and an Asus PCE-N15 later I was back in business. Problem 2 was the monitor did not ship with an HDMI cable (seriously Dell you can't give me a $10 cable with my $300 monitor). Another trip to the parts store and an HDMI cable later I was able to start up the computer, test that there were no DOA components, and that I had wired everything properly. All good!

The next issue I encountered came up while installing Windows 8.1, I received the error message during install “The Computer Restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error”. When I googled the error the first results suggested something along the lines of power interruption or failure. I checked all connections and made sure nothing was possibly grounding a component. All checked out and I got the error message two more times at the same point in the install. I then found this link http://heresjaken.com/the-computer-...xpected-error-during-installation-of-windows/ and all works fine.

Now I've updated the all the drivers and done the windows updates. Upon restart no more wireless connection. (It was working I swear). So I uninstall the updated drivers and reinstall the ones on the original disk, still no connection. Next I go into windows diagnose problem and it says the wireless card is unplugged. I check the card and it has about an eighth of an inch in play when I push on it. So that is waiting for me this afternoon.

The last problem last night arose when I went to hook up my DAC and realized the was no optical digital output. I specifically remember checking to make sure of that before I ordered it. I check the manual and no mention of optical out. I check the online description of the product I ordered and yes there is an optical out and 2 rear eSATA ports that I'm missing. It turns out the online retailer I ordered it from sent me the wrong motherboard and I failed to notice it till I installed it. I ordered a Z87X-UD3H, I received a Z87-HD3. Realizing this I went to bed.

Plans for today contact the retailer and try to work out a solution during lunch and then try to resolve the wireless problem when I get home.

A minor update. I was able to "borrow" an Ethernet cable from the server room, so that should solve my connectivity issue till I can sort out the wireless card. I also put in a call to the retailer I purchased my motherboard from and put in a ticket and should hear back in a day or two. Even with all these minor issues i would prefer a bunch of these to one major problem. More to come.