Final thoughts on build?? First time build!

[Tpruner]

Hello all,
Ironically enough my name is Tom. I just wanted to say thanks in advance for the help from the community here.

Anyways, to the point. This is my first build. It's time I ditched my HP pentuim bought in 2006 with 256mb of pure unadulterated ram power. So pretty much anything at this point will be a vast improvement. Somewhat comparable to a giddy school child.

Budget: $650.
Don't care about shipping. I'll pay the extra $10. $650 for core components.
No monitor, keyboard, mouse, or speakers needed. (Using Astro A40's)

Purpose: Gaming and schoolwork. (Cyber security/IT degree.)
Obviously I won't be running creed or bf3 on ultra settings here. I know this. I'm a build noob, not an idiot. Please don't insult my intelligence. Ideally I'd like to run high graphics with a 50-60 framerate in games like: League of Legends, Star Wars The Old Republic, Guild wars 2, Diablo 3, World of Warcraft, and the like.

Purchase date: Oh, sometime in April would be great. No need to rush. I want more bang for my buck than a psycho midget going kamikaze in borderlands.

Operating system: using a burned copy. Not needed.

When it comes to websites? Don't really care. The egg, amazon, eBay. Whatever. It'd be nice to be able to bundle everything though.

Location: United States. Michigan to be exact. (Eat your heart out Kansas.)

I have no preference in amd, intel, invidia, etc. So fire away ladies and gentlemen.

Overclocking: Really don't know much about this. Is it really that beneficial, is it a necessity in my budget range? How would I do this?

Sli or crossfire? Uhm... You're talking colors with Helen Keller here. No idea what you're talking about.

Monitor resolution? Yikes. Good question. I have an LCD monitor. Don't really need 1080p. So I'm open to suggestions on what would give me good flow with the games listed above.

I have one request. Cases. I found three I'd really love to have. But I understand its not a necessity to have.

Tiveco Ghost Series:
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=280757396851&index=0&nav=SEARCH&nid=73382024230

Thermaltake Commander Series:
http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemNumber=N82E16811133196

Raidmax blade ATX:
http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemNumber=N82E16811156261


I also found a guy who lives less then 20 miles from my house who sells prebuilts. He agreed to cut me a deal on the computers due to not having to ship them. Was wondering if the were worth it.

This one will actually cost $580 it does not have the 60gb ssd as listed. It's a 500gb seatgate.
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=120886297541&index=0&nav=SEARCH&nid=13098251479

This one will cost $530 everything is as listed.
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=121017266532&index=10&nav=SEARCH&nid=92777166147

Thanks again for all your help!!

 

[Marcopolo123]

http://www.overclock.net/t/761202/single-rail-vs-multi-rail-explained

 

[marshallbradley]

Basically the amperage on the 12v rails is what matters. Most important components (such as the videocard) draw their power from the 12v rails, so that defines what you can run off of a given power supply. Basically when you have more than 1 rail, you need to make sure that you're not running a video card off of one single rail. For example you would have no trouble running a videocard that requires say 25A@12v off a 500W power supply that gives 40A on a single 12v rail no matter how you plug your videocard in. If you have 4 12v rails though, each supplying 10A, you need to ensure that the videocard draws power from at least 3 of the rails. Because of the way modern power supplies are laid out though, it's designed so that for a normal usage this shouldn't really be an issue, since the connectors are laid out in such a way that power draw from each rail should be fairly even. You can read more about it here: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/306437-28-single-rail-multiple-rails-eternal-question-answered

Here's a tiered list of power supply brands/models: http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx Personally I would stick to tier 2 or better. I have a lot of faith in SeaSonic/Corsair units and although Rosewill Capstone is a tier 2 unit, they have a whole range out there, and some of their units are (rightfully) deemed junk and fall into tier 5. Therefore personally I'm perhaps overly cautious and don't trust Rosewill for power supplies. The Kingwin supply you linked is again a tier 3 unit, and so would be a no-go for me (though their Platinum supplies are fantastic I've heard).

Personally I'd go for this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151093 , SeaSonic being the most reputable brand out there for power supplies.

M

 

[Marcopolo123]

Its gild
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5698/rosewill-capstone-450w-and-650w-80plus-gold/6

 

[marshallbradley]

I have no doubt that it is a decent unit (and normally I would argue the one issue I have with it is that it seems a little overpriced, esp. compared to something like the SeaSonic X-650 -- but since it has such a massive discount at the moment this doesn't really apply).

I'm just telling the OP of my own personal preference and my reasoning so he can decide between the two. I think JonnyGuru is the best power supply review site, and although the Capstone got a decent 9.1, the S12ii/M12ii got a 9.7. You do get Gold efficiency though with the Capstone, which should make some slight savings on your electricity bill (it doesn't actually imply greater build quality or anything. In fact according to both the JonnyGuru and Anandtech review, the M12ii has better build quality overall, due to the Capstone missing MOVs and having some slightly dodgy soldering).

M

 

[Marcopolo123]

Oh okey

 

[Tpruner]

So. After careful consideration, I have decided to throw my budget out the window and just go all out. Well. I'm trying to keep it around $900. I definitely do not want to go higher than where I am now.
So, what do you think?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/OLZE

 

[marshallbradley]

It's fairly good, I think you're spending needlessly large amounts on the RAM and would be better off with an 8gb kit like this: http://www.amazon.com/Patriot-Memory-Extreme-Performance-PV38G160C9K/dp/B008LTJJM2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1365241956&sr=8-2&keywords=8gb+patriot

Otherwise it's fine.

M

 

[Tpruner]

It's fairly good, I think you're spending needlessly large amounts on the RAM and would be better off with an 8gb kit like this: http://www.amazon.com/Patriot-Memory-Extreme-Performance-PV38G160C9K/dp/B008LTJJM2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1365241956&sr=8-2&keywords=8gb+patriot

Otherwise it's fine.

M

I actually picked up one set of 8gb when it was a wheel shocker on newegg for $45. And there's a combo with my graphics card where the total with the 7870 ghz would total out to $291 with another 8gb of the same ram so I'm roughly $90 in for 16gbs. Pretty good deal if you ask me. The only thing I'm EXTREMELY hung up on is this psu. That seasonic modular m12ii bronze has awesome reviews. But I'm really partial to the blue led because that's the theme ill be running throughout the case.

Do me a favor? Pull up the case online. (Zalman Z11 Plus)
I'm replacing the two stock 80mm, and the 120mm with blue led fans. Along with installing two additional blue led 120s one on top and one next to the psu. Will the psu even be noticeable at the point? The white led option would probably look good as well... I don't know. Modular sure would be nice though. Sigh. I'm stuck here.

 

[marshallbradley]

Still you're spending $45 on an extra 8 gb of RAM which will never be touched by any current game. You can always upgrade if the time comes that you do need 16 gb for gaming (by just buying another 2 sticks).

Go for the Seasonic. It's miles better value for the money. You can just buy a couple of LED light strips which will look much better, and add much more than that PSU. If you're smart you'll install the PSU with the fan facing downwards so it can draw fresh air from beneath the case, rather than the hot air inside. If you install it with the fan upwards, you're just shooting yourself in the foot by decreasing your PSUs lifespan (higher operating temperature is never good), meaning you wouldn't be able to see those blue LEDs anyway.

Also can you not get a Sapphire 7870 XT for the same price as that? It's quite a bit faster than the Ghz edition, since it's really a 7950.

M

 

[Tpruner]

Still you're spending $45 on an extra 8 gb of RAM which will never be touched by any current game. You can always upgrade if the time comes that you do need 16 gb for gaming (by just buying another 2 sticks).

Go for the Seasonic. It's miles better value for the money. You can just buy a couple of LED light strips which will look much better, and add much more than that PSU. If you're smart you'll install the PSU with the fan facing downwards so it can draw fresh air from beneath the case, rather than the hot air inside. If you install it with the fan upwards, you're just shooting yourself in the foot by decreasing your PSUs lifespan (higher operating temperature is never good), meaning you wouldn't be able to see those blue LEDs anyway.

Also can you not get a Sapphire 7870 XT for the same price as that? It's quite a bit faster than the Ghz edition, since it's really a 7950.

M

Well I took your advice. Dropped the ram, found a 7870 xt for $250. Used the extra 40 for a new mouse. And I picked up the seasoning over the corsair as well. Everything should be here hopefully in the next two weeks. Thanks a lt for your help! Appreciate it.

 

[marshallbradley]

Awesome, keep us updated! I always enjoy seeing first time builds coming into fruition .

M