1st New Build in 7 years or so - i5 / 970

[Southking]

Doing a new build for the first time in a long time. Impetus is gaming (Fallout 4) and that the old machine is blue screening more and more. Goal is a machine that will last me the next 4 or so years. Read up here at Tom's (thanks, Tom's!) and Newegg and believe I have parts that are all compatible:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZzcBkL

I have three questions I would appreciate input on:

1. The PSU is the only part I haven't read up on or picked yet, mostly because I don't have a good understanding of my system requirements. Suggestions here?

2. I am debating throwing on a second MSI 970 since the motherboard seems to support SLI and since I am not leaning towards the 980. Waste of money? Doing so would presumably impact question 1., above.

3. Anything really dumb here? I get that some things are subjective, and reasonable minds will differ, so I guess I am looking for anything that makes you sit back and say "where did he get THAT idea?"

Thanks in advance!

Steve

 

[BadActor]

Nice build, I can't fault anything on it. I would go for the Samsung EVO SSD instead of the Crucial, but that's just my preference, and it's a little cheaper. A single card solution is always preferred, so if you want high frame rates at 1440p or 4k, I would step up on the video card. If you play at 1080p, the 970 is still a great choice. See Tom's PSU Tiers Chart for recommended PSU's. A good 650 watt for one card at least 850 for two. This also allows for some pretty serious overclocking. Look for Seasonic's, EVGA and XFX. They are usually good values.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

 

[Southking]

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Much appreciated!

 

[Southking]

Follow up question, if someone will indulge me. I got the system above, and a Seasonic 650K PSU that was recommended by Tom's PSU chart. I have all of my HDDs powered by a single power cable that plugs into an 8 pin peripheral / SATA slot on the PSU and has 4 SATA power connectors. Here's my problem: I also have a Crucial 250GB SSD that actually mounts to the cabling side of the Fractal case and will take a straight (rather than a 90 degree) SATA connector. That straight connector isn't so much the problem; however, I am having serious issues finding any kind of single power cable that goes from the 8 pin on the PSU to SATA on the SSD. I am sure I am missing something basic, but all I see are Molex connectors or other kinds of adaptors on Newegg rather than a simple 8 pin to straight SATA cable anywhere.

What am I missing?

Thanks in advance. Everything else is set up and, as soon as someone helps me figure this out, I can put the cover on the case and be done with the build!

 

[BadActor]

The molex connector is all you need. If you need another modular SATA cable, you will have to get that from Seasonic.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200061

 

[Southking]

Thanks for such a quick reply. I guess I am not understanding where the molex plugs into the PSU? Does it just use one half of the 8 pin slot on the PSU? There are no 4 pin slots on the PSU.

 

[BadActor]

I guess I don't understand your problem. I thought you didn't have enough SATA power connectors on your power supply for all your drives. If that was the case, the adapter i linked would go from a Molex connector on your PSU to the SSD. Otherwise, a SATA cable that plugs into your PSU is only available from Seasonic. They are not a generic thing. Does the PSU not have female Molex connectors?

 

[Southking]

Ok, I'll check Seasonic. Unless I am missing something, there are no molex connectors on the PSU. Many thanks.

 

[BadActor]

This may be cheaper and more expedient than going to Seasonic.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/47562090?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227035057200&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=75437739874&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=175419161074&veh=sem

 

[BadActor]

I looked at the specs for your PSU, They say it has 10 SATA connectors, did you get shorted on the cables?