Building My First Gaming PC, Am I Ready?

[tearsofshards]

Hey, so I'm planning to build a pc for the first time, this will mostly be used for gaming but probably other stuff like web browsing too.

These are the components I'm thinking of buying, are they compatible. Will my PC run properly?

CPU: Intel i5 3570k
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB)
Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5"
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN3800 802.11a/b/g/n
Optical Drive: HP 447326-B21 DVD/CD Drive


I also have a few more questions.
What kind of case should I get? I'm confused as to what would be a proper size.
What would be an appropriate power supply?
Also, will I need more fans? I'm not planning to overclock at the moment, maybe one day in the future though.
Will I need to buy some cables or screws or will everything needed be included?
I'm on a budget so not looking for anything too expensive.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Transmaniacon]

What is your overall budget? Do you need an OS/monitor/peripherals?

Right now the GPU is going to be a bottleneck, if I were you I would look at a cheaper AMD solution, or maybe an i3 instead, and put the difference into a better GPU.

You would probably want to look for an ATX Mid-Tower case, check out NZXT, CoolerMaster, or Antec for some good options.

Something from a respectable brand in the 500-600 watt range is fine, if you ever have plans for crossfire or SLI then you would need to up your wattage. Stick to brands like Corsair, SeaSonic, XFX, or PC Power and Cooling.

If not overclocking, the stock intel fan would be alright, and the case should come with enough fans to give you decent cooling initially. This is something you can address at a later date though.

You should have everything you need between the case and motherboard accessories.

 

[tearsofshards]

What is your overall budget? Do you need an OS/monitor/peripherals?

Right now the GPU is going to be a bottleneck, if I were you I would look at a cheaper AMD solution, or maybe an i3 instead, and put the difference into a better GPU.

You would probably want to look for an ATX Mid-Tower case, check out NZXT, CoolerMaster, or Antec for some good options.

Something from a respectable brand in the 500-600 watt range is fine, if you ever have plans for crossfire or SLI then you would need to up your wattage. Stick to brands like Corsair, SeaSonic, XFX, or PC Power and Cooling.

If not overclocking, the stock intel fan would be alright, and the case should come with enough fans to give you decent cooling initially. This is something you can address at a later date though.

You should have everything you need between the case and motherboard accessories.

Unfortunately I already have the processor. A friend of mine had two and sold one to me at a bargain price. I could always sell that and replace it with the i3 I guess.

Overall, I would rather not spend over £600. I'm planning to use my tv as the monitor and I have a spare keyboard and mouse so won't need another.
I hear that it's not a good idea to have too high a wattage, will it hinder performance?
Yes, I would rather keep clocking as an option. It's most likely something I will turn to at a later date.

I completely forgot about the OS so that'll be near £100 for that. Then again, I could always go Linux as an alternative.

 

[Fulgurant]

What is your overall budget? Do you need an OS/monitor/peripherals?

Right now the GPU is going to be a bottleneck, if I were you I would look at a cheaper AMD solution, or maybe an i3 instead, and put the difference into a better GPU.

You would probably want to look for an ATX Mid-Tower case, check out NZXT, CoolerMaster, or Antec for some good options.

Something from a respectable brand in the 500-600 watt range is fine, if you ever have plans for crossfire or SLI then you would need to up your wattage. Stick to brands like Corsair, SeaSonic, XFX, or PC Power and Cooling.

If not overclocking, the stock intel fan would be alright, and the case should come with enough fans to give you decent cooling initially. This is something you can address at a later date though.

You should have everything you need between the case and motherboard accessories.

Good advice all around. The only accessory you might need to buy separately is an internal speaker; I gather that cases these days don't always include one, and unfortunately, the ability to hear boot-error codes is sometimes very important.

Also, and to add to what Transmania already said, if you're not going to overclock, then you don't need the 3570k; you can grab a comparably performing (at stock) Core i5 for probably $20-30 less.

Bottom line: If you're not planning to do anything processor-intensive other than gaming, then you have an unbalanced build; all of that CPU muscle will be wasted when paired with an HD 7770. I wouldn't pair an i5 with anything less than a 7850 in a gaming rig.

All of that said, you should be ready to build, more or less. The hardest part is convincing yourself to try; after that, it's just a matter of reading the motherboard manual and using a screwdriver. Oh, and grounding yourself. 😉

 

[Fulgurant]

Unfortunately I already have the processor. A friend of mine had two and sold one to me at a bargain price. I could always sell that and replace it with the i3 I guess.

Overall, I would rather not spend over £600. I'm planning to use my tv as the monitor and I have a spare keyboard and mouse so won't need another.
I hear that it's not a good idea to have too high a wattage, will it hinder performance?
Yes, I would rather keep clocking as an option. It's most likely something I will turn to at a later date.

I completely forgot about the OS so that'll be near £100 for that. Then again, I could always go Linux as an alternative.

Ok, that's cool. Does the £600 budget include the money you've already paid for the CPU? If so, how much did you spend for it?

 

[tearsofshards]

Good advice all around. The only accessory you might need to buy separately is an internal speaker; I gather that cases these days don't always include one, and unfortunately, the ability to hear boot-error codes is sometimes very important.

Also, and to add to what Transmania already said, if you're not going to overclock, then you don't need the 3570k; you can grab a comparably performing (at stock) Core i5 for probably $20-30 less.

Bottom line: If you're not planning to do anything processor-intensive other than gaming, then you have an unbalanced build; all of that CPU muscle will be wasted when paired with an HD 7770. I wouldn't pair an i5 with anything less than a 7850 in a gaming rig.

All of that said, you should be ready to build, more or less. The hardest part is convincing yourself to try; after that, it's just a matter of reading the motherboard manual and using a screwdriver. Oh, and grounding yourself. 😉

Is an internal speaker not a feature of the motherboard? I gathered the only thing it did not include was a wireless network adapter which I will need due to not being able to use an ethernet cable due to the location of the pc.
I suppose I could fork out a little more for the 7850. It was an option when I was looking for a suitable video card. The processor I bought was £140, unpackaged and completely new. That is included in the budget.

Haha, it's a worry considering this is my first build but I'm willing to try and hopefully, I won't screw it up.

 

[Transmaniacon]

That is a great deal for that CPU, if you really enjoy gaming, I think it would be worthwhile to step up to an HD7850, it will be a big performance increase and give you some more longevity. There are many guides and videos on how to build a computer, while it may seem daunting, if you can build with legos, you can build a computer.