Concerns about My PC Build

opscopez

Reputable
Jul 22, 2014
13
0
4,510
Paranoid as it may seem, I have a load of concerns about a PC build that I'm doing. This is my first time, and I've googled so many things that my head is ready to explode!

I've shown my build twice already via the forums to see if my build is okay or not, but I've come back and it's been fixed a couple of times. I just wanna make sure I'm doing stuff right and not messing up in any way, so could you please double-check it for compatability?

My Budget Build

If you're curious as to why I don't have a mouse nor keyboard, I have those at home, so don't worry. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My compnent concerns are as follows:
- Recently looked at SATA cables. I have two drives and wanted to know if my MOBO will work with them. Will I have to buy more cables for the drives?
- Will my build overheat? Do I need more fans? I think there's currently two in the case, but there are slots for more.
- Looking at some builds, I've noticed that there are LED power connectors in the MOBO. I saw a video where a guy plugged in a drive into one, but he had three drives! It said "- HD +" in it. What if I have more than one drive? What do I do?

Then I have actual build issues:
- How can I be sure that my CPU is in properly? This absolutely horrifies me to do. I don't wanna put the CPU in and as I clip it down have to hear the deafening crunch of a prong being snapped.
- Does it matter which way the memory goes in? I don't wanna mess it up either.
- My MOBO has M.2. I have an SSD with my build. Will it automatically connect like that or is there some further processing that I have to along with?
- And as a general question, what happens if I accidentally screw up putting in a component? Does that mean the whole build goes to scrap and I need to buy new parts?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who helps. I don't wanna sound like a paranoid little brat, but I don't wanna be bustin' up components or having compatablity issues at all with this build.

So thank you, once again, in advance.
OP SCOPEZ
 
Solution
what is the purpose of this build? gaming or other? budget?

--

a few comments on the build first...

[PCPartPicker part list](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/jT3rqs) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/jT3rqs/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k) | $253.79 @ DirectCanada
fine
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97xsli) | $124.95 @ Vuugo
fine. in my own builds i'd prefer asus but what you have works
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1333...
what is the purpose of this build? gaming or other? budget?

--

a few comments on the build first...

[PCPartPicker part list](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/jT3rqs) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/jT3rqs/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k) | $253.79 @ DirectCanada
fine
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97xsli) | $124.95 @ Vuugo
fine. in my own builds i'd prefer asus but what you have works
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f310666cl9q16gbrl) | $166.33 @ Newegg Canada
why 16gb? having 2x4gb (8gb total) works fine for gaming and you only need more for things like video editing and 3d modeling (and even then it would have to be rather complex tasks). also you would be better off to get at least 1600mhz ram instead of 1333. considering that even 1866 2x4gb stick kits are about $72usd (a bit more in canada likely) those are also possible. however i'd definitely go with 1600 at minimum and think about if you really needed 16gb ram.
**Storage** | [Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-internal-hard-drive-sv300s37a120g) | $64.99 @ Canada Computers
this works. personally i'd recommend samsung or intel over anything else for reliability but this is your choice
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003) | $54.97 @ DirectCanada
fine
**Video Card** | [Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx770dc2oc2gd5) | $329.99 @ NCIX
fine
**Case** | [NZXT H230 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-case-cah230ib1) | $89.99 @ Memory Express
your choice
**Power Supply** | [Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx750m) | $79.98 @ Newegg Canada
i would advise against the corsair CX lineup. instead i would suggest either their higher end products (HX or AX) or preferably going with a quality seasonic or xfx unit. also you do not need 750w unless you wanted to upgade to sli in the future
**Optical Drive** | [Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas) | $19.95 @ Vuugo
fine
**Monitor** | [Asus VS248H-P 24.0" Monitor](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vs248hp) | $191.95 @ Vuugo
your choice here... did not look at the specs of this
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $1376.89
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-30 13:59 EDT-0400 |

in general... i see some places money can be saved and some where money should be spent.

you might also want to think about a cpu cooler such as a cheap hyper 212 evo or similar. not required but since you have a K series cpu i take it that you want to overclock and for overclocking you need something better than the stock cooler!


--

to answer your other questions...

- Recently looked at SATA cables. I have two drives and wanted to know if my MOBO will work with them. Will I have to buy more cables for the drives?
typically motherboards come with a bunch of sata cables so you should likely be fine.
- Will my build overheat? Do I need more fans? I think there's currently two in the case, but there are slots for more.
it may be a good idea to have a few more than two yes. at minimum i would say two intakes and one exhaust shouldbe sufficient but more is always a good idea
- Looking at some builds, I've noticed that there are LED power connectors in the MOBO. I saw a video where a guy plugged in a drive into one, but he had three drives! It said "- HD +" in it. What if I have more than one drive? What do I do?
i'm not sure what you are asking here. what video at what min:sec time? or find a photo of what you are talking about please
- How can I be sure that my CPU is in properly? This absolutely horrifies me to do. I don't wanna put the CPU in and as I clip it down have to hear the deafening crunch of a prong being snapped.
the cpu will only fit in one way. they are keyed (missing some pins which act as cutouts) so only go in one way. its fairly easy to tell if you put it in the right way but do make sure that it is
- Does it matter which way the memory goes in? I don't wanna mess it up either.
it will only go in one way. the one connector is longer then the other
- My MOBO has M.2. I have an SSD with my build. Will it automatically connect like that or is there some further processing that I have to along with?
sorry i cannot answer this one as i havent used those connectors or the new sata-express connectors found on z97 boards
- And as a general question, what happens if I accidentally screw up putting in a component? Does that mean the whole build goes to scrap and I need to buy new parts?
first of all you shouldnt screw up, its not that hard to do as pieces go together only one way. just make sure everything is seated in the slots correctly. if you ground yourself to the case before touching parts, are careful when installing components and make sure to read and watch plenty of guides on what to do i think you should be fine. in a worst case scenario... you could potentially ruin some parts but you would have to do something very bad and very wrong in order for that to happen which is not likely.


edit... after reading some of your past threads....

seeing as how you want to record games while you play... it may be worth thinking about an i7 instead of an i5. its not a requirement of course but you might want to give it thought. first its going to be perhaps 30% faster for rendering/video editing and second it could give better performance while recording.

fraps is the most popular recording method for pc gaming however will reduce your fps by 25-50% depending on the game and hardware. if you did not want a reduction then a pc video capture card might be something worth looking into. i'm not sure how much you care about the recording aspect.

also while 16gb ram isnt bad for 3d modelling, its not needed unless you are serious and do big projects.
 
Solution


Thanks for the quick reply!

Yes, you're right, 16GB is not necessary, but I like to have that extra juice for when I need it. This is also something I want to be able to upgrade, so I will get n i7 in the future, fret not. I use Dxtory, (out of preference) just because I've used it on past systems and I bought it, lol, so I figured I'd keep it.

I used to do a LOT of huge projects for 3D modelling and whatnot, and I still like to do them. I've seen a couple of benchmarks regarding i5 vs i7 for different tasks. The i7 has more threads, so I would be able to do more stuff, but as I said, I don't really have to use it right THIS moment, you know? I'd like to have upgradability at some point too. :)

I dropped the RAM form 1333 to 1600. It wasn't too expensive, just $30 more, so not a big deal. I wanted to get an Asus MOBO, but the ones I have in Canada don't quite have SLI support, which I'd really like. I dropped the corsair and went for this cooler.

I don't know if I'll need more watts in the future, but if so, I doubt swapping PSU's will be too much of a problem.