Help a noob build a PC!

I'm back into computers after I quit in 2010 from financial issues. My last build was an i7 920 with 4gb ddr3 etc etc etc. Now that that PC got fried in a thunderstorm, it's time to build a new one!

I know how to build one, but i'm having trouble understanding a few things so if you guys can clarify a few things I will ask in this post. My budget is 2000$ US and I am 500$ under so any suggestions on what to upgrade would be great. I will only game and watch movies on this pc. Sound is a CRITICAL aspect of this build and have spent quite a bit extra on quite cooling systems.

So lets begin on what i'm planning on buying.

Corsair Obsidian Series 800D (I need that cable management and it looks so sexy!)

Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200RPM HDD for secondary storage (I don't need to much)

2x EVGA Nvidia Geforce GTX 550TI's in SLI

SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold 650w (looked like the best modular psu money can buy really, I mean 648w on a 54amp 12v? That's crazy!)

G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 2x4GB 1600MHz DDR3 (I only am buying this because I am also running a nice black colour scheme of matte black in my case)

ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Mobo

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz (I plan to OC to 4.5GHz)

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

x4 COUGAR CF-V12HPB Vortex 120mm hydro dynamic case fan

x3 COUGAR CF-V14HB Vortex 140mm hydro dynamic case fan

CORSAIR H100

OCZ Solid 3 SLD3-25SAT3-120G SSD - for Windows 7

Those cougar fans are SILENT and move a TON of air! (70.5 CFM)
but they are running me 110$. I plan on replacing all the corsair case fans that come with the 800D with these and the 2 fans on the H100. I will also place 1 extra on the top of the case and one on the bottom (if thats how that case works).

I'm open to suggestions and any help would be beast! Love ya, Will

Hey, welcome to OCF!

When trying to recommend a build to you, there's some information that's extremely helpful for us to know. If you could answer these few short questions, we'd be happy to help!

• What are you planning to do with this compuer? Please be as specfic as possible.

• What is your budget?
  
  1. Does this include a copy of Windows?
  2. Does this include peripheals (a keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, etc.)?
• Are you from the United States or a different country? Are you ordering from your own country or from across borders?
  
  1. Wherever you may be from, does the store that you are planning to order from have a website? It's okay if it isn't in English, we can manage.
  2. If you are from the United States, do you live nearby a Microcenter?

• Do you have any specific requests with the build?
  
  1. Do you plan on overclocking? If yes, do you have a specific goal in mind?
  2. Would you prefer the build to be particularly small?
  3. Would you prefer the build to be particularly quiet?
  4. In general, do you prefer this to be a computer that you can spend money on now and let it rest, or a box built for continuous upgrading?
  5. Do you ever plan on utilizing NVIDIA's SLI or AMD's CrossfireX technologies? These features, with a compatible motherboard, allow a user to link multiple identical graphic cards together for added performance. In real world terms, this lets you buy a second identical graphics card down the line as a relatively cheap and easy way to gain a fairly large boost in performance. However, this requires buying a SLI/CFX compatible motherboard and PSU now, which may result in slightly higher initial cost.

Once again, thank you in advance for taking the time to answer these, and I hope you enjoy your stay at OCF!

I would go with something different than the 550ti SLI, like a single 670 or maybe the 660ti when it comes out.

Knufire said:

Hey, welcome to OCF!

When trying to recommend a build to you, there's some information that's extremely helpful for us to know. If you could answer these few short questions, we'd be happy to help!

• What are you planning to do with this compuer? Please be as specfic as possible.

• What is your budget?
  
  1. Does this include a copy of Windows?
  2. Does this include peripheals (a keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, etc.)?
• Are you from the United States or a different country? Are you ordering from your own country or from across borders?
  
  1. Wherever you may be from, does the store that you are planning to order from have a website? It's okay if it isn't in English, we can manage.
  2. If you are from the United States, do you live nearby a Microcenter?

• Do you have any specific requests with the build?
  
  1. Do you plan on overclocking? If yes, do you have a specific goal in mind?
  2. Would you prefer the build to be particularly small?
  3. Would you prefer the build to be particularly quiet?
  4. In general, do you prefer this to be a computer that you can spend money on now and let it rest, or a box built for continuous upgrading?
  5. Do you ever plan on utilizing NVIDIA's SLI or AMD's CrossfireX technologies? These features, with a compatible motherboard, allow a user to link multiple identical graphic cards together for added performance. In real world terms, this lets you buy a second identical graphics card down the line as a relatively cheap and easy way to gain a fairly large boost in performance. However, this requires buying a SLI/CFX compatible motherboard and PSU now, which may result in slightly higher initial cost.

Once again, thank you in advance for taking the time to answer these, and I hope you enjoy your stay at OCF!

Click to expand...

1. I plan on playing games like BF3 and Crysis 3 when it comes out along with pretty much any up to date game

2. My budget is $2000
-Includes Windows 7 64 bit HP
-Already have 1080p monitor, keyboard, etc

3. I'm from the US of A.
I order all my pc parts from newegg unless I decide to order a nicer watercooling loop setup if money allows.

4. Yup. Sure do lol.
-I plan on overclocking the 2500k to 4.5GHz
-As they say, bigger is better
-It must be dead silent. I'm planning on getting 110$ worth of silent fans
-I would like it to be upgradable in the future, which is why I choose the Z77 sabertooth board.
-Damn right, if the price is right (rhymes?). I plan on going with Nvidia so dual GTX 550 TIs or similar would be fantastic and suite my needs perfectly.

Water coolnig is definitely the way to go if you want silence. I recommend choosing all your parts except a case first, and then choosing your water loop, then finding a case that will fit it all.

550Tis are not great cards, low-end of the spectrum for gaming.

Do you live by a Microcenter?

cwinot said:

I would go with something different than the 550ti SLI, like a single 670 or maybe the 660ti when it comes out.

Click to expand...

Are you sure? I don't plan on upgrading GPUs from a long time. Hell, I kept an 8800 Ultra from release until just recently (was in fried pc). A single 670 is also really expensive but my budget allows. Would you recommend 1 670 or 2 550tis for the long term (4-5 years)

Knufire said:

Water coolnig is definitely the way to go if you want silence. I recommend choosing all your parts except a case first, and then choosing your water loop, then finding a case that will fit it all.

550Tis are not great cards, low-end of the spectrum for gaming.

Do you live by a Microcenter?

Click to expand...

I don't think I do live by a microcenter. What draws me to the GTX 550TI is it can run bF3 maxed at 50FPS so in sli I hope for about 80FPS

670 hands down. 550ti in SLI isn't worth it. The 660ti (supposed to be out soon) looks real nice too, should be in the $250 - $300 range.

That's considered pretty low standards here...most of us don't want to go below 60FPS maxed out, and a new rig should hold that level of performance for a good amount of time.

SLI is LESS than a 100% increase. Lower end cards scale worse than higher end cards, so you might get like 35FPS in SLI if you're lucky. That's a waste when I've seen $1000-1200 rigs that easily max out BF3. A single GTX670 will do that. The 550Ti is considered a low-end gaming card and getting two of them doesn't help the situation much.

Oh btw, those all-in-one kits don't count as real watercooling, I'm talking about a custom loop.

cwinot said:

670 hands down. 550ti in SLI isn't worth it. The 660ti (supposed to be out soon) looks real nice too, should be in the $250 - $300 range.

Click to expand...

Alrighty sounds good. I don't plan to buy for another month anyways because I gots no moneys right now lol but i'll consider the 670 or the 660TI if it comes out by then.

Disappointing that the GTX 550TI wasn't as good as I originally thought. No problemo. Hopefully if I scrape up enough green by the time I buy my parts I can grab 2 GTX 570s

I max BF3 with ease. Listen to Knufire he knows whats going on.

Buying two cards right away isn't smart. No matter how much money you throw at a machine, it's going to be outdated in six months. Even if you spend $5K, there's going to be something better. If you want to make your money last, you have to make small upgrades frequently.

Get the best single GPU card you can afford, then add another one in a year or so. GPUs get outdated faster than any other component if you're gaming.

Alright so after looking at the GTX 570s i've found 2 that are cheaper ones but can't decide which one. The clocks are only minor in difference (could just use msi afterburner) but is evga more reliable than galaxy? Plus could the psu I listed power this puppy jut fine?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130802

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162108

I wouldn't say they are more reliable, but EVGA wins in customer service.

The cards are probably the same underneath the coolers, lol. But EVGA probably has the best customer service out of any video card manufacturer.

Something like this should work. Plus a nice watercooling loop, which might run you $300-400, and a high quality case to fit it all, and you're still under budget.

With a $2000 budget why are you going with the 2500K and 550ti instead of a 2600K and a GT 670? You could put together a rig with those, blu-ray, nice case etc and closed loop water cooling for 1500 easy.

So after researching and researching, I have come up with the build I think will be the perfect blend of nice looking, fast, and quiet, not to mention cool running.

Tell me what you think on these parts. I did spend a lot more on getting things that match the color accent (black, grey, and white) including expensive corsair fans and ram.
This all runs me just under 2 grand.

Corsair Obsidian Series 800D (I love this case. It's cable management and design in spot on.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139001

$274.99

BYTECC Bracket 3.5in to 2.5in (the 800D only has 3.5inch slots and doesn't come with an adapter)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817994085

$4.99

EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB (took everyone's advice on getting a GTX 670 instead of 2 GTX 550TI's, plus it matches my color theme nicely)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130782

$399.99

SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold 650w PSU (good rails, modular, quiet, 80+ gold)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

$139.99

CORSAIR Dominator Platinum 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1866MHz (getting for overclocking and the nice white LED lights it has to accent the case colors)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233284

$84.99

ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 Motherboard (looks amazing and that extra chipset/mobo cooling is great, sets the color tone, Z77)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821

$239.99

Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz CPU (took advice and am getting this over the 2500k since my budget allows)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501

$339.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit (duh)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

$99.99

Now here comes cooling. I upped the price a lot on this because I want to hit 4.7GHz and keep silent/cool.

Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition 120mm Twin Pack High Airflow Case Fan (for the 120mm case fans)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181021

$29.99

Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition 120mm Twin Pack High Static Pressure Case Fan (these will be put on the H100's radiator, hence the static pressure)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181025

$29.99

x 3 - Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 140mm Case Fan (for case fans)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181028

$56.97

CORSAIR H100 (keep cool 'n quite)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017

$114.99

ASUS Black 12X BD-ROM (for movies and everything else on a disk)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247

$52.99

OCZ Agility 4 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (for fast speeds)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227807

$99.99


Total price is $1,969.84

Between the case/RAM/motherboard/PSU, those are some overly expensive parts that don't really add any performance. 800D is really meant for custom water loops, it's case airflow leaves something to be desired, especially for the price its at.

i7's also perform very similar to i5's in games.

Frankly, $2000 is a bit of a waste for a pure gaming build. Note that what I posted is almost half the cost (without the cooler though, but that's like $100), and performs very similarly.

The ONLY thing I can think of after that list is a larger mechanical HDD (1TB etc) for storage unless you have an NAS then I would get another one of those 128GB SSD's for addded gaming storage (depends on how many games you'll install though).

DieselDawg9 said:

1. I plan on playing games like BF3 and Crysis 3 when it comes out along with pretty much any up to date game

2. My budget is $2000
-Includes Windows 7 64 bit HP
-Already have 1080p monitor, keyboard, etc

3. I'm from the US of A.
I order all my pc parts from newegg unless I decide to order a nicer watercooling loop setup if money allows.

4. Yup. Sure do lol.
-I plan on overclocking the 2500k to 4.5GHz
-As they say, bigger is better
-It must be dead silent. I'm planning on getting 110$ worth of silent fans
-I would like it to be upgradable in the future, which is why I choose the Z77 sabertooth board.
-Damn right, if the price is right (rhymes?). I plan on going with Nvidia so dual GTX 550 TIs or similar would be fantastic and suite my needs perfectly.

Click to expand...

IMO, I wouldn't waste my money on a limted/yesterday tech/soon to be outdated rig, especially if I got 2k to spend, which was my situation and why I jumped up a notch into the LGA 2011 X79 platform, where upgrading to six cores and 64GBs of RAM becomes a cheap investment 2 years from now. VGA cards do get outdated quickly, so upgrading mine won't break the bank either once they come down in price. It is such a waste to spend $600 for a slightly better VGA card. Much easier to change that than a motherboard.
Talk about silent, you don't get any more silent than the five 120mm fans that came with my case.

Yes, bigger is better