My First Build

[Haturee]

Hello all.
I have just recently started building my first Desktop PC.
Right now I only have 2 Components, the case and the motherboard.
The case is an NZXT Phantom Full size tower
The motherboard is The crosshair v Formula Z ROG Board.

I plan on getting the AMD FX 8350 Black edition vishera 8 core processor.
and Either G.skill ripjaw or Corsair Vengeance RAM


I have a couple questions when it comes to the Processor and ram.
Will this processor work properly with the motherboard?
And which of the ram is better? Can I put 32 gb? Or am I limited to 16?

Sorry if these are dumb questions, just new to this whole aspect and trying to learn about it
and over clocking, even though I feel like I'll barely ever use over clocking, Id still like to know.

Any help is appreciated, thanks

-Haturee

 

[trents]

Yes, the CPU and motherboard will be compatible. The RAM is probably a tossup. G.Skill is the most widely used brand of RAM by the experienced members of this community. It seems to have very few compatibility issues but I'm sure either the Corsari or the G.Skill will do fine. You would want to get the RAM in the 1866 mhz frequency as the CPU is capable of handling it. I don't know if the motherboard will handle 32gb of RAM but you can find the answer to that on the product web page I would guess. Why do you even consider 32 gb of RAM? What kind of applications would you be running that would need that much RAM? Even 16 gb is way more than most people need unless they are doing a lot of Photoshop or CAD or using other apps that are memory intensive. Lot's of RAM otherwise will not improve your performance and will likely limit your overclocking potential if you plan to OC. The reason is the more RAM you use the more strain is put in the IMC (Integrated Memory Controller).

 

[Haturee]

I don't need it, just didnt want to ever have to run into an issue with it, so i figured, the more, the better.
So would you just recommend 8 gigs?

 

[Haturee]

My main purpose would be gaming.
Maybe some artsy things because my girlfriend is into those things kind of.
But mainly gaming and messing around.
I jsut want to have a top notch/ semi top notch pc to brag about

 

[trents]

8 gigs is fine. You can always add another 8 gb later if you need to. I would take the money you save and get a good sized SSD. Samsung EVO 840 seems to be the SSD of choice with the enthusiast community. Install your OS and your programs on it and then include a 2 gb spinner hard drive for storage of videos, pics, music and other data. An SSD will dramatically improve boot and load times and makes the most impact on casual "daily driving" computing of any upgrade.

I would also suggest investing in top of the line air cooling or a good all in one water loop. Those AMD FX CPUs run hot and if you want to overclock at some point it would be absolutely necessary.

Look at the Noctua NH D14 or NH D15 if you really want to stay with air. If you are comfortable with an AIO water loop then I think your case will accommodate a 120x3 radiator like this: NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK and this would give you significantly better cooling than the best air cooler.

 

[Haturee]

alright, I'll stick to the Ripjaw 8 gb (2x4gb)
I added the samsung evo 1tb ssd to my parts list. Looks like a solid investment.

I want to run water cooling, but I have no idea how to, its something I planned on
looking more into when the time came, but yes, I have the NZXT Phantom PHAN-001RD Which is the same thing just red.
It does say it has room for 2x 120 radiator.
Should I stick with the NZXT Kraken for the radiator? OR would you recommend something else?
I also need a recomendation on a video card, there are so many, it feels impossible to make a choice.

 

[trents]

An all in one water cooling kit is no more difficult to install than a bolt-through air cooler and all the good air coolers have a bolt through mount design. It's already assembled you just need to bolt it in the case.

Are you talking about the Kraken X60-X61? Those have 2x140mm fan radiators. Are you sure the case will accommodate that? If so, that would give you a modest cooling improvement over the best air coolers.

 

[Haturee]

The x31 I seen is the one that would Work for my case. For the processor
I also seen that they have and the kraken g10 would work for a video card water cooler. If need be.
I will look into all in one water coolers, do you have any sugestions?

 

[caddi daddi]

you need to make sure the rad you pick will mount in your case, I think your case fits a 2x120 rad so that is the size to get.
the 8 core cpus are great, I have had a few of the amd 8 core cpus but for the game, the 6350 would be a better choice as most games can use only four or less cores and those two extra cores add a huge heatload that has to be gotten rid of.
the option, if you really want the 8 core ( and that's all I want) is to disable the excess cores in the bios.

your board choice it truly top of the line and will serve you well.

 

[trents]

The Kraken X31 would not cool as well as either of the Noctua air coolers I referenced. Just because it's water doesn't make it as good or better than air. To beat the best air cooling available you need to move up to H20 radiators that are more than one fan in length. Are you sure your case can't support a bigger radiator than the X31? Look at this: https://pcpartpicker.com/parts/cpu-cooler/?compatible_with=nzxt-case-phan001wt

Notice the Corsair H100i will work with your case and it is a 120x2 long radiator. It would certainly cool better than the X31. So, really, any 120x2 AIO radiator should fit the case. The Corsair H100i is a very nice unit and very popular. It would give you somewhat lower CPU temps than the two Noctua air coolers I listed but not a great deal less.

 

[Haturee]

The x31 was the radiator built for this tower, so it'll fit perfectly
That is the processor I want, So I will work on learning more about bios and how that works.

 

[Haturee]

I will take a look at that link.
Like You said, I'm sure those others will work.

 

[trents]

The x31 was the radiator built for this tower, so it'll fit perfectly
That is the processor I want, So I will work on learning more about bios and how that works.

The others listed in that part's picker link are there because they are compatible. There's nothing magic about the fact that both case and cooler are manufactured by the same company. For instance, you are buying memory not made by the motherboard manufacturer but it will fit nonetheless.

 

[Haturee]

In the specs for my case it says Radiator 2x 120mm. Does that mean itll support 240mm?

 

[trents]

In the specs for my case it says Radiator 2x 120mm. Does that mean itll support 240mm?

Yes it does. The other "size" consideration is the thickness of the radiator. If it is too thick there might not be enough space at the top of the case for the radiator to clear components at the top edge of the motherboard. But the radiators you are looking at all are about 30mm thick so that should not be an issue.

 

[Haturee]

Okay, So here is what I am looking at so far.

Case: NZXT Phantom Full Size
MotherBoard: Crosshair V Formula Z
CPU: AMD FX-8350 Black Edition
RAM: 8GB (2x4) G.Skill Ripjaw x 1600
Cooler: Corsair H100i
Storeage: Samsung Evo 500gb SSD


Now I just need help on a GPU....

 

[trents]

Probably the most bang for the buck right now on GPUs is the Radeon 280x series.

Oh, yes, you'll want to upgrade that RAM to G.Skill 1866 instead of 1600.

 

[Haturee]

Updated to 1866, If you dont mind me asking, whats the difference between the two?
And looking into the GPU now

 

[trents]

Ram running at a frequency of 1866 mhz has a greater data bandwidth than RAM running at a frequency of 1600. It's like water pipes. The bigger the diameter of the water pipe the more water it can handle without a bottleneck. In this analogy, higher RAM frequency (i.e., greater bandwidth) corresponds to a larger diameter water pipe.

Make sense?

 

[Haturee]

Yea that makes sense. So the 2400 ripjaw would be even better then the 1866?
Also I'm noticing the same things with video cards
Things like core clock 1020mhz etc...
It makes it very hard to choose.