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Need some advice on my first build

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S

Super-Buu-5

New Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Location
Tartarus
It's gonna be my brother's computer, but it's the first computer I've built.

CPU: intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K
CPU cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO with Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound and Arctic Silver ACN-60ML (2-PC-SET) Thermal material Remover & Surface Purifier
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9
Video card: XFX Double D HD-695X-CDFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
Power supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
Drives:
OS: Plextor M3 Series PX-128M3 2.5" 128GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Case: LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 Black 0.8 mm SECC, Plastic + Mesh ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Monitor: ASUS VS Series VS247H-P Black 23.6" 2ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 50000000:1 (ASCR)

old part choices
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I72600K
CPU cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO with Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound and Arctic Silver ACN-60ML (2-PC-SET) Thermal material Remover & Surface Purifier
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B
Video card:
XFX Double D HD-695X-CDFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
or
SAPPHIRE 11188-22-20G Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (OC Edition)
Power supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
Drives:
OS: Plextor M3 Series PX-256M3 2.5" 256GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Storage: SAMSUNG EcoGreen F4 HD204UI 2TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Case:LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 Black 0.8 mm SECC, Plastic + Mesh ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Monitor:ASUS VS Series VS247H-P Black 23.6" 2ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 50000000:1 (ASCR)

Does anything seem overkill, incompatible or available elsewhere for a lower price? I chose the 2GB 6950 in case he wants to upgrade to 3 monitors with crossfire in the future, but I'm not sure if I should get the XFX or Sapphire version. I was thinking XFX cause it's older, and will there be enough space for it to fit in the case? A lot of people have had trouble with the mobo because of incompatibilities with ram and stuff. I read in the reviews that the ram needs SPD. I can't find that on the ram I chose, but this guy seems to have it working with the same ram and mobo I chose just in the packs that come in 2 instead of 4, so will that ram work? and if it does will the FSB DRAM Ratio be 1:1? I don't know too much about that though. I also read in one of the reviews that the PSU needs a 20 + 2x4 power connector, but the specs say 24 pin. Was that guy just mistaken? Will there be enough space for my ram when I put the Hyper 212 EVO?
I might end up getting that hard drive for backups on my computer and he'd use another drive for his backups and storage. He's 15 btw and I'd be the one to set his system up for ssd's and whatever else. We'll mess around with overclocking too. I read the guide in this section about testing for errors so I should be good to go when I get all the parts.
It all comes to around $2100 including the HDD which is within his price range.

Took all of your advice and went with an i5 2500k and a Z77 motherboard. I had no idea that was out I'm glad you guys mentioned it. I went with the 2x4GB ram too, and I decided to go with the XFX 6950 and a 2TB sata 3 WD green. I'm getting one too for backup, and I went with a 128GB SSD instead of 256GB.

The only 2 things I need confirming now is the compatibility with the ram and weather or not I'm going to have clearance with the hyper 212 EVO if he gets another set of this ram.

Thanks! I'm getting pretty excited can't wait to build it
 
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You don't need 16GB of RAM - I would recommend doing 2x4GB instead. It's still plenty and it'll overclock a little better. You could also save some money by getting a 2500K instead. Depending on the workload that's probably plenty of processing power.

Otherwise it looks pretty good to me.
 
4-8gb ram as mentioned
i7 is ALOT of proc, i5 would prolly do it for you
Z77 mobo
I would use only sata6 SSD and HDD and mobo, your current HDD is sata3

Not that there is anything WRONG with it but thats ALOT of SSD for OS and software, might save some money there, but it looks like a nice system!
 
He's gonna be using it for gaming and some browsing, and the HDD is just gonna be for storage so it won't need to be all that fast. I may go with 8GB of ram and an i5 like you guys are saying. Will that affect performance if he gets 3 screens and a second graphics card? Z77's pretty new. Are there any big kinks in it that need fixing? Cause I'd rather not deal with those. I don't think there are any big kinks in the board I chose since it's from last year but would it be worth it to go with Z77? What board would you recommend?
The reason I went with 256GB was cause my friend said it'll fill up pretty fast once you start installing stuff, but I guess it doesn't with your experience?
 
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if your gonna have SATA6 on your mobo, why are you using a sata3 component.... does he really need 2 TB? just look at his current software line up and figure how much room he needs for software....

Peronsally i would go with a 1TB WD Caviar BLack (sata6) and a SSD that fits his software needs.... i cannot comment on that size cause i aint got his old rig...
 
He's actually on a laptop right now. I don't think he uses that much space so it'd probably be best to go with 120GB. I watched a video on the Z77 chip-set and they look really good. I was thinking this or this board

EDIT: I chose different parts based on what you all suggested what do you all think?
 
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I dont like G.Skill memory, plenty of people have had fine experiences, i did not and anytime i have a failure with a proprietary brand (g.skill is newegg only) i am skeptical, for my money pay the 3-5 dollar upgrade to corsair... like say these which are only a 5 dollar premium on newegg but may be cheaper than gskill on ebay/amazon/tiger/microcenter
 
You could save alittle money and go with
Asrock Pro4 z77
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157296
I personally like ASrock boards better then Asus, Since I got this ASRock board I like it so much better then the Asus board.

Also change the SSD to a Crucial M4, they are much better drives IMO.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148529

and if your gona do gaming, your gona have them probably installed on your HDD, I'd get a WD Cav Black
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

I have so much on my 1tb drive, 2tb would just be over kill, and the speed of the cav black would be much better then the green.
 
You could save alittle money and go with
Asrock Pro4 z77
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813157296
I personally like ASrock boards better then Asus, Since I got this ASRock board I like it so much better then the Asus board.
Click to expand...
Agreed.

Also change the SSD to a Crucial M4, they are much better drives IMO.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820148529
Click to expand...
The Plextor he listed in his build is faster, has a longer warranty, and uses the same controller as the M4. It's a better SSD.
 
The Ivy Bridge CPU's go on sale in the next day or two. From the reviews they use a bit less power, run a bit cooler, and are "a bit" faster than SB. From Intel's listed prices they are supposed to be slightly cheaper.
 
I would go for the 1TB but the prices right now aren't all that far apart, and he'd install the games on his SSD and keep all his other stuff on the HDD. The prices for blacks are a little high now so I'll stick with green. I'll stick with the asus board too since I know a little more about them. I'll have to look up more about ivy bridge too. Does it support pci-e 3?
Well I have pretty much all the parts picked out now thanks a lot guys you really helped me. I just discovered that the shipping prices are pretty high so I'll be looking in places like tiger direct and directcanada.com. Do you guys know of any other places that are in canada for buying parts?
 
I would wait the IB series seems to be having heat issues but that was in the engineering samples so once I.M.O.G or some one else on this forum clears it i really cant recommend IB unless your not going to over clock (you still can over clock it but i think after like 1.3 or 1.4 volts the temps shoot up to about a 100 degrees Celsius)
 
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