Build advice appreciated (I'm new to all this)

[JPower83]

Hi I'm new to this site and I also have never build a PC before. I have always gone the pre built route but I'm feeling brave so...

..I have pretty much decided that this kit fits my budget but have I missed anything other than a case (i'm undecided, again any advice appreciated) and is it all compatible?

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6.
Processor: Intel i7 4770K
Memory: Corsair 8GB 1600 Vengeance (or am I best to get 2x 4GB?) Do I need low profile?
Power Supply: Cooler Master G500 500w
Cooling: Corsair H80i
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
SSD: Samsung EVO 840 250GB
GPU: Sapphire Vapor-x AMD R9 280X

I already have a decent monitor, keyboard mouse but I feel like i'm forgetting something. Also I would be very grateful for everyone's opinion on the components I have listed above.

Thanks for your time

 

[marc79]

Grab a better quality Power Supply is what I would personally do. You are good on Wattage but not the best quality PSU.

 

[JPower83]

Thanks I will have a look into some better quality options, unless you can recommend one?

 

[kenrivers]

Hi I'm new to this site and I also have never build a PC before. I have always gone the pre built route but I'm feeling brave so...

..I have pretty much decided that this kit fits my budget but have I missed anything other than a case (i'm undecided, again any advice appreciated) and is it all compatible?

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6.
Processor: Intel i7 4770K
Memory: Corsair 8GB 1600 Vengeance (or am I best to get 2x 4GB?) Do I need low profile?
Power Supply: Cooler Master G500 500w
Cooling: Corsair H80i
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
SSD: Samsung EVO 840 250GB
GPU: Sapphire Vapor-x AMD R9 280X

I already have a decent monitor, keyboard mouse but I feel like i'm forgetting something. Also I would be very grateful for everyone's opinion on the components I have listed above.

Thanks for your time

Deleting your other thread. Please do not double post the same question.

 

[marc79]

Thanks I will have a look into some better quality options, unless you can recommend one?

Where can you buy from? Post a link to an online retailer, I don't think you are from US.

 

[JPower83]

Thanks. I had just PM'd Tradesman1 and asked him to do it. Apologies

 

[kenrivers]

Thanks. I had just PM'd Tradesman1 and asked him to do it. Apologies

No problem, didn't mean to come across so harshly.

 

[JPower83]

Thanks I will have a look into some better quality options, unless you can recommend one?

Where can you buy from? Post a link to an online retailer, I don't think you are from US.

Indeed I'm in sunny England

http://www.ebuyer.com/ or
http://www.scan.co.uk/

 

[geofelt]

I have some suggestions:

1. 500w is probably not sufficient for a R9-280X, and coolermaster is not considered as great quality:
http://community.newegg.com/eggxpert/computer_hardware/f/135081/t/45344.aspx
Look for a 620w psu from Seasonic.

2. For gaming, use a i5-4670K instead and spend the $100 saved elsewhere. Few games use more than 2-3 cores so the i7 hyperthreads are largely unused.

3. Yes, buy a 2 x 4gb kit so you can run in a faster dual channel mode. Low profile performs as well and os often cheaper. Fancy heat spreaders are mostly marketing.

4. For a new builder and most others, I do not recommend liquid cooling.
My canned rant on liquid cooling:
------------------------start of rant-------------------
You buy a liquid cooler to be able to extract an extra multiplier or two out of your OC.
How much do you really need?
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers when a good air cooler like a Noctua NH-D14 or phanteks can do the job just as well.
A liquid cooler will be expensive, noisy, less reliable, and will not cool any better
in a well ventilated case.
Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.
The orientation of the radiator will cause a problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu better, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card and motherboard.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better) , then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.
And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
google "H100 leak"
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------
Buy a simple noctua or Phanteks air cooler instead.

5. Love the SSD. Why not defer on the hard drive until you need bulk storage for video files or backups? It is trivial to add one later.

6. The R9-280X cards seem to be popular. But... my research shows that owners are less happy with them than with the similar performing GTX770 cards.
Your card has 24% unfavorable(0-1 eggs) reviews.
The similarly performing EVGA GTX770 is at 6%
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130921

 

[JPower83]

Thanks. I had just PM'd Tradesman1 and asked him to do it. Apologies

No problem, didn't mean to come across so harshly.

no worries it didn't seem harsh

 

[marc79]

Can you do this one its 650W though.

XFX P1 650W
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/650w-xfx-p1-650s-nlb9-85-eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx

 

[JPower83]

I have some suggestions:

1. 500w is probably not sufficient for a R9-280X, and coolermaster is not considered as great quality:
http://community.newegg.com/eggxpert/computer_hardware/f/135081/t/45344.aspx
Look for a 620w psu from Seasonic.

2. For gaming, use a i5-4670K instead and spend the $100 saved elsewhere. Few games use more than 2-3 cores so the i7 hyperthreads are largely unused.

3. Yes, buy a 2 x 4gb kit so you can run in a faster dual channel mode. Low profile performs as well and os often cheaper. Fancy heat spreaders are mostly marketing.

4. For a new builder and most others, I do not recommend liquid cooling.
My canned rant on liquid cooling:
------------------------start of rant-------------------
You buy a liquid cooler to be able to extract an extra multiplier or two out of your OC.
How much do you really need?
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers when a good air cooler like a Noctua NH-D14 or phanteks can do the job just as well.
A liquid cooler will be expensive, noisy, less reliable, and will not cool any better
in a well ventilated case.
Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.
The orientation of the radiator will cause a problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu better, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card and motherboard.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better) , then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.
And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
google "H100 leak"
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------
Buy a simple noctua or Phanteks air cooler instead.

5. Love the SSD. Why not defer on the hard drive until you need bulk storage for video files or backups? It is trivial to add one later.

6. The R9-280X cards seem to be popular. But... my research shows that owners are less happy with them than with the similar performing GTX770 cards.
Your card has 24% unfavorable(0-1 eggs) reviews.
The similarly performing EVGA GTX770 is at 6%
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130921

Brilliant advice just the sort of response I hoped for.

All points noted and most likely heeded! As regards the liquid cooling, this did worry me so I will drop that from the spec and look at the Noctua NH-D14 instead.

Which 2x 4GB cards would you recommend going for (Corsair Vengeance/ Skill Trident/Kingston HyperX or other)?

I did look at the GTX770 and did have it down as my card, I changed to the R9-280X as it seemed to have slightly better reviews in the mags over here in the UK. The other reason was I wanted a "blue look" to my set-up but maybe I should be more concerned about performance?

 

[JPower83]

Can you do this one its 650W though.

XFX P1 650W
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/650w-xfx-p1-650s-nlb9-85-eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx

Looks good to me, thanks.

 

[geofelt]

On the ram, all brands are good.
Intel has an excellent ram controller. It can feed the cpu well from any speed ram.
You will do well with the cheapest DDR3 1600 kit you can find.
All the mentioned brands are reliable and usually carry a lifetime warranty.

Most users seem to prefer the Nvida drivers, but there are fans on both sides.
One thing to consider is that most graphics card reviews are done on an open testbed. Installed in a case, the coolers with axial fans tend to heat up the air inside the case. I prefer the blower type coolers like the evga stock coolers. They get the hot vga air directly out the back of the case.
Here is one example: http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=02G-P4-3771-KR

As to looks, "pretty is as pretty does"
I prefer quieter cases without side windows.
But... looks count; buy a case that pleases you. They all work well enough.
What did you have in mind?

 

[JPower83]

On the ram, all brands are good.
Intel has an excellent ram controller. It can feed the cpu well from any speed ram.
You will do well with the cheapest DDR3 1600 kit you can find.
All the mentioned brands are reliable and usually carry a lifetime warranty.

Most users seem to prefer the Nvida drivers, but there are fans on both sides.
One thing to consider is that most graphics card reviews are done on an open testbed. Installed in a case, the coolers with axial fans tend to heat up the air inside the case. I prefer the blower type coolers like the evga stock coolers. They get the hot vga air directly out the back of the case.
Here is one example: http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=02G-P4-3771-KR

As to looks, "pretty is as pretty does"
I prefer quieter cases without side windows.
But... looks count; buy a case that pleases you. They all work well enough.
What did you have in mind?

Thanks again.

After reading your advice I looked at the GTX770 again and identified this one which seems to have the blower type fan you mention?http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=GC-XNGTX772&af=50&gclid=CJTl69aixb4CFc6WtAod9S0A7Q

As for cases I have looked at corsair obsidian 450d, NZXT phantom 530, and the Fractal define R4 but to be honest I have no idea what would best suit my rig.

 

[ivDeTox]

Hi I'm new to this site and I also have never build a PC before. I have always gone the pre built route but I'm feeling brave so...

..I have pretty much decided that this kit fits my budget but have I missed anything other than a case (i'm undecided, again any advice appreciated) and is it all compatible?

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6.
Processor: Intel i7 4770K
Memory: Corsair 8GB 1600 Vengeance (or am I best to get 2x 4GB?) Do I need low profile?
Power Supply: Cooler Master G500 500w
Cooling: Corsair H80i
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
SSD: Samsung EVO 840 250GB
GPU: Sapphire Vapor-x AMD R9 280X

I already have a decent monitor, keyboard mouse but I feel like i'm forgetting something. Also I would be very grateful for everyone's opinion on the components I have listed above.

Thanks for your time

If you're wondering which PSUs are quality and which ones aren't look at this link:

http://community.newegg.com/eggxpert/computer_hardware/f/135081/t/45344.aspx

Tier 3 is the lowest I would go. Aim for something like a Corsair hx series or Antec hcg.

 

[geofelt]

I like that particular GTX770.
As to cases, that is largely a personal preference. Any one of the three will work.
Pick the one that visually appeals to you.
Any case that can mount your motherboard and has at least two 120mm intake or exhaust fans will do the job.
For inexpensive cases look at Antec GX500 or the NZXT gamma.

 

[A7madfmj]

Hi
For a case I'd recommend a haf 912 it's a spacious mid tower case good for new builders . It's also a great budget case that costs 59$ .

Getting 2 x 4gb is better and faster as it will allow you to use dual channel on your mobo.

I suggest getting Kingston's hyperx beast 8 gb (2x4gb) 2400mhz cl11 which only costs 79$.
For a psu I suggest getting 750w . But for brands, get a Seasonic psu if you are looking at durability or get a rosewill psu if you are looking at price . But look for the reviews some rosewill psu's have bad reviews while others have amazing ones.

 

[JPower83]

Cheers for all the responses taking everyone's advice into consideration, I have decided on the spec below unless anyone can see an error I have made?

Antec gx 500 case
AS Rock extreme 6 z97
INTEL i5 4760k
Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 2gb
Seasonic M12 750w
Samsung Evo 840 250GB SSD
8GB Kingston Hyperx beast (2x4gb)
Phantek PH tc14pe cooler

Are Their any materials/special parts I will need (like foam etc)?

 

[geofelt]

Perfect!

Buy a #2 magnetic tip Phillips head screwdriver. It helps in assembly.

Download now the motherboard and case manuals. Read them cover to cover.

 

[JPower83]

Whoops didn't mean to add that as the solution I meant your earlier post with the brilliant liquid cooler rant!

Anyway cheers for the advice has been a massive help so far.