So I'm building my first own PC...

[nikomas1]

ASUS ENGTX580 DCII/2DIS/1536MD5 - 1536MB / PCI Express 2.0 /
ASUS P8P67 PRO B3 - ATX / Intel P67 / DDR3 / 3xPCI-E / SATA 3.0 / USB 3.0 / Firewire
Corsair PowerSupply (PSU) 850W Enthusiast Series
Corsair XMS3 Vengeance 8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz
Fractal Design Define R3 - White (No PSU)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3,3GHz / 6MB / Socket 1155 (Boxed)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Engelsk (64-bit) (OEM) (DVD)
Sony Optiarc Intern DVD±RW AD-7280S-0B
Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB (7200RPM / 64MB Cache / SATA6)

Any apparent big flaw here, otherwise, this is proboably what I'll get (And hopefully not break putting together)

thanks for any and all advice

 

[newwiseman]

I wouldn't boot off a solo 2TB drive, I'd get a smaller drive for the boot and keep the 2TB as a storage drive. Solid states are the tippy top but any SATA 3 6GB/s drive will work.

It's just been my experience that 2 drives are better for stability and performance.

*Edit you'll also probably want a better heat sink than the stock one that comes with the Intel chips; there are a lot of really good ones for the 1155 socket, my server has this one http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_parts.asp?PRID=18154 but there are many smaller options if space in your case is an issue.

 

[MrTub]

Jag skulle nog rekommendera att du frågar på sweclockers.com istället, du kommer allafall få mycket mer svar.


I see nothing wrong with that setup, and there is really no reason to have 2 hdd unless you are planning to use raid.

 

[nikomas1]

Man tackar... And thanks

 

[Signa]

Probably could skip on the 8GB (4GB is a little more reasonable) of ram unless there is a reason you need that much. Chances of you seeing any performance boost over 4GB is almost non-existent. Other than that, I have no immediate complaints. You chose ASUS for your mobo, and I'm a huge Asus fanboy.

 

[Pro-paganda]

Do you not have a budget?

Certain parts specifically your GPU, PSU and RAM choices seem extremely overkill assuming this setup is for gaming. Also as newwiseman said, get a smaller drive as a boot and use your 2TB for storing all your games/music/movies etc. That way if you ever get in a pickle and are forced to format you don't lose everything.

And yes I just created an account for your thread, couldn't help myself.

If you don't have a budget then it's fine. I'm just personally tight-fisted with my cash and always want value for money or bang for buck which I don't think you're getting.

 

[Signa]

OH, I should add since I missed it the first time, why do you need a 580? Consoles are holding gaming graphics back, so anything after a GTX 8800 is debatable. You can get a card with that power for about $50 these days. I'm running a GTX470, and I can run everything at max settings at 1080p resolution, and that card costs half of what you're looking at buying.

I know it's easy to splurge when you're building a PC, but it really looks like you're going overboard.

 

[SmegInThePants]

having your o/s on a different drive (a small drive is fine) or a virtual drive on teh main drive is also nice because then if there are o/s problems causing you to reformat/reinstall down the road, you can format the entire drive - no mess no fuss, but leave all the rest of your data untouched. makes things simpler in the long run. make sure to leave a fair amount of space on the drive (or virtual drive) you use for the o/s, as it uses that empty space, and whenever you install anything, install it to the main drive (not the o/s drive).

 

[nikomas1]

You might be right...

I've done my gaming on rather crappy computers so far to be honest and I might be going slightly overboard here, that's part of the reason why I'm asking around first.

I originally went for a GTX570... I just want to not have to upgrade anytime soon, that's part of it and if so, I figured it would be easier to go SLI and buy another GTX in two years or so... (But what do I know... basically nothing).

I was hoping the standard cooling would do as I basically know nothing potehr than how to put the basic parts together.

Could go down a notch on the graphics and get that SSD I took out of the plan... If so, thoughts on a cheaper HDD and what kind of SSD would you recommend?

 

[MrTub]

You might be right...

I've done my gaming on rather crappy computers so far to be honest and I might be going slightly overboard here, that's part of the reason why I'm asking around first.

I originally went for a GTX570... I just want to not have to upgrade anytime soon, that's part of it and if so, I figured it would be easier to go SLI and buy another GTX in two years or so... (But what do I know... basically nothing).

I was hoping the standard cooling would do as I basically know nothing potehr than how to put the basic parts together.

Could go down a notch on the graphics and get that SSD I took out of the plan... If so, thoughts on a cheaper HDD and what kind of SSD would you recommend?

an SSD is pretty much worthless for gaming since it will only affect your load times of a map, and honestly 1000-2000kr is not worth 10-15sec load time instead of 15-20sec load times (I got an ssd, so Im just stating my opinion on this)

As for hdd I would keep your 2tb and buy a usb stick to save your important stuff.

The standard cooling is fine unless you are planing to overclock your cpu.
And I would advice that you buy 8gb ram.

I would keep your gpu and later on buy a second one when it drops in price. But a 570 will be fine otherwise

 

[Signa]

The standard cooling is fine unless you are planing to overclock your cpu.
And I would advice that you buy 8gb ram.

Why? 90% of the programs he's going to be running are still 32-bit, so it can't even use the larger amounts of ram even if it wanted to. The only reason to do more than 4GB is if you are using programs like Photoshop or some other video editing program. Now if he wants to use programs like that a lot, then sure, he definitely should go 8GB, but all I've heard from him is that he wants to make a gaming rig (or so I assume because of the selected parts). If that's the case, he should drop down to a AMD processor so that he can save money there too.

 

[newwiseman]

SSDs
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/ssd-charts-2011/benchmarks,129.html

I still wouldn't spend the extra money on SSDs right now. Two drives aren't a necessity but the way I use my computer I can hammer my storage drive with Reads and Writes, for example from torrents while still being able to game. I built my system with multitasking as a top priority.

Heat sinks are easy to install, just remember to install the frame before you secure the MB to the case or you'll have to remove it. The fans that come with the CPUs are really bottom barrel. Crosair has some really good instructions but it's easy enough to figure out, the MB has 4 holes around the CPU socket to fit the heat sinks frame (the frame spreads the weight and secures the sink) after that it's just screws and/or wing nuts. Keeping system heat down can extend the life of every part of a computer. I always keep airflow in mind while building.

Graphics Cards
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/benchmarks,123.html

I always go over board with my video cards but I do a lot of 3D design work, the average gamer doesn't need too much these days.

8GB is probably more than you'll ever use but it doesn't hurt. Anything that will keep 'virtual memory' from being used is a win. If you really like to multitask it will be a requirement.

When I build I usually pick my parts with a budget and a goal in mind. Building around a budget is easier than around a goal, because you can go over board, but with only a goal you and scrimp in the wrong places and go overboard in others.

Check the specs and charts against the prices of everything you consider.

 

[MrTub]

The standard cooling is fine unless you are planing to overclock your cpu.
And I would advice that you buy 8gb ram.

Why? 90% of the programs he's going to be running are still 32-bit, so it can't even use the larger amounts of ram even if it wanted to. The only reason to do more than 4GB is if you are using programs like Photoshop or some other video editing program. Now if he wants to use programs like that a lot, then sure, he definitely should go 8GB, but all I've heard from him is that he wants to make a gaming rig (or so I assume because of the selected parts). If that's the case, he should drop down to a AMD processor so that he can save money there too.

Perhaps he doesn't want to turn off all background programs while playing a game?

I often reach 6-7gb used ram when I play games, since I like to have a lot of tabs and backgrounds program running

And why would he change to an AMD?

It's inferior products and you really do not save enough money for it be worth it.

 

[TrevHead]

Just popped in to say that imo its best to buy popular parts which are more likly to be supported by game / app devs (same goes for the screen size of a monitor)

It will cut down on the number of bugs you encounter which can be a pain and a timesink to fix.

This is especially true if you buy games near release

 

[nikomas1]

The standard cooling is fine unless you are planing to overclock your cpu.
And I would advice that you buy 8gb ram.

Why? 90% of the programs he's going to be running are still 32-bit, so it can't even use the larger amounts of ram even if it wanted to. The only reason to do more than 4GB is if you are using programs like Photoshop or some other video editing program. Now if he wants to use programs like that a lot, then sure, he definitely should go 8GB, but all I've heard from him is that he wants to make a gaming rig (or so I assume because of the selected parts). If that's the case, he should drop down to a AMD processor so that he can save money there too.

Perhaps he doesn't want to turn off all background programs while playing a game?

I often reach 6-7gb used ram when I play games, since I like to have a lot of tabs and backgrounds program running

And why would he change to an AMD?

It's inferior products and you really do not save enough money for it be worth it.

This is pretty much correct, I like to run things in the background and I do work with Photoshop from time to time, maybe I should have mentioned that this is going to be my everything PC, both work and gaming.

For a cpu cooler, is the stock one really that, that very bad?

 

[Signa]

The standard cooling is fine unless you are planing to overclock your cpu.
And I would advice that you buy 8gb ram.

Why? 90% of the programs he's going to be running are still 32-bit, so it can't even use the larger amounts of ram even if it wanted to. The only reason to do more than 4GB is if you are using programs like Photoshop or some other video editing program. Now if he wants to use programs like that a lot, then sure, he definitely should go 8GB, but all I've heard from him is that he wants to make a gaming rig (or so I assume because of the selected parts). If that's the case, he should drop down to a AMD processor so that he can save money there too.

Perhaps he doesn't want to turn off all background programs while playing a game?

I often reach 6-7gb used ram when I play games, since I like to have a lot of tabs and backgrounds program running

And why would he change to an AMD?

It's inferior products and you really do not save enough money for it be worth it.

Because AMDs achieve the same performance in games as Intel processors at about half the cost. Personally, I'm an Intel fanboy, but I do a lot of heavy processing work. The kind of work that AMD falls flat on its face when it tries to compete with Intel. That doesn't mean AMD is a shit option for gamers.

And what the hell kind of programs are you running that you're using 6 gigs of ram? I have 6 gigs, and I've never broken using more than 4 (Ok, there was that one time in Paint.net where I used all 6, but that's because I was being stupid). Hell, I'm at 1.7 right now, and that's with Firefox taking 110MB alone.

 

[Waaghpowa]

I have to agree with Signa on this one. Intel make good chips, but AMD is just as capable in gaming performance as Intel. The only problem that may arise is when a game is optimized for Intel over AMD. Getting an Intel chip could reduce the likelihood of problems arising, but you have to weigh the extra cost. Example: Dragon Age Origins had a huge problem with AMD chips and memory leaks that took them ages to fix and made the game near unplayable.

 

[Signa]

The standard cooling is fine unless you are planing to overclock your cpu.
And I would advice that you buy 8gb ram.

Why? 90% of the programs he's going to be running are still 32-bit, so it can't even use the larger amounts of ram even if it wanted to. The only reason to do more than 4GB is if you are using programs like Photoshop or some other video editing program. Now if he wants to use programs like that a lot, then sure, he definitely should go 8GB, but all I've heard from him is that he wants to make a gaming rig (or so I assume because of the selected parts). If that's the case, he should drop down to a AMD processor so that he can save money there too.

Perhaps he doesn't want to turn off all background programs while playing a game?

I often reach 6-7gb used ram when I play games, since I like to have a lot of tabs and backgrounds program running

And why would he change to an AMD?

It's inferior products and you really do not save enough money for it be worth it.

This is pretty much correct, I like to run things in the background and I do work with Photoshop from time to time, maybe I should have mentioned that this is going to be my everything PC, both work and gaming.

For a cpu cooler, is the stock one really that, that very bad?

Good to know you're using photoshop. Get the 8GB.

I've never heard of a problem with a stock cooler for anyone who is not overclocking. If you plan on overclocking, then get a better cooler. Other than that, you should be just fine.

Here is a guide that you can compare your parts to. I read over it a week or so ago, and it seemed my knowledge was still up-to-date.

Spoiler: huge picture

 

[Rednog]

The i5 is running at what $200+ish? The new lower end 8 cores from AMD are pretty much running at the same price. If you can wait for those to come into stock, or wait until the 12 cores roll out, I would go with those. Might as well stay a bit ahead of the curve processor wise instead of going with a quad core and regretting it later. I made a similar choice when the first quad cores came out, I was like yea whatever no game is going to need anything above dual core for a while so I'm going to go with a high end dual instead of a quad. And now rage rolls out and it is pretty much unplayable on a dual core, and I'm pretty much kicking myself for it.

 

[Pro-paganda]

This is actually the first time i've heard people backing AMD in about a year or so and baffles me to be quite honest. He should definitely go with the 2500k as it's easily the best bang for buck CPU on the market right now.

Source: http://cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

RAM is dirt cheap now so you might as well get 8GB. Even RAM clock speeds don't matter anymore, the difference between 1333Mhz and 2200Mhz in terms of performance isn't worth the price difference anymore in my opinion.

If you're still actually reading this thread nikomas1 can you post your screen resolution and whether you intend to upgrade it? That would make it a lot easier to suggest you an appropriate GPU. Then using a PSU calculator you can find a more suitable PSU also. (Just guessing but I reckon even a 450W would be more than enough as long as you're not overclocking or going mental with the cooling.)


Seriously guys AMD? Really?
inb4 someone babbles on about threading