First ever build

[andr1us]

Hi, I am going to do my first build and want to be sure all parts I chose are compatible and hassle free. Part most likely I am going to get are these:

Intel i5 3570k
Samsung SSD 830 256GB
Corsair White Graphite 600t
8GB-Kit G.Skill Ares PC3-12800U CL8-8-8-24
ASUS P8Z77-V
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 OC or Sapphire HD7950 Vapor-x or any GTX660ti card
already have Corsair TX v2 650w PSU

Now as you can see I can not decide which graphics card to choose. My current monitor is 1680x1050, but I plan to upgrade it later on (most likely to 1900x1080 or 1900x1200, don't think i'll go for higher res screen). I want gpu to be future proof on these resolutions. I might do some modest overclocking on gpu and cpu. Read that Ares RAM have a problem with runing on higher voltages than 1.50v on some boards, won't be that a case here? Going to use an older HDD for storage till I will get another one. Is there a big difference between regular and pro version of mainboard?

 

[wanderer11]

Case looks a little expensive, but it will work good. I think the pro has built in wifi. I could be mistaken though. The 670 is the most powerful of the bunch, so if you are willing to buy it then go for it. Are you going to get a heat sink for the cpu? Look at a 212 evo for a cheap one. Everything else looks good though. Get a 1TB drive to stick in there later when you need it.

 

[majestic1805]

The biggest compatibilities are motherboard, cpu and memory. Drive interfaces are standardized and easily swappable. Power supplies you mostly just need to make sure you buy a well enough rated and certified unit to provide enough power. Graphics cards and slots between PCIe 2.0/2.1 and 3.0 are all compatible. However, the mix of motherboard and CPU can be picky with what memory it wants. Double check to the manufacturer documentation to make sure the CPU is the right socket and both the CPU and motherboard can take the RAM you want to use. After that, compatibility is almost assured as the component market has become very standardized for the vast majority of desktop builds.

 

[andr1us]

Won't be a gtx 670 overkill at 1900x1200(1080)? Also the regular version is not on qualified list, though pro is

 

[excella1221]

Pretty sure almost every RAM out there(if not all) would be compatible with modern boards. What you need to watch out for is if it's dual or triple channel RAM.

Also, get the 7950 instead. Great custom cooler, great overclocker, can OC past the 670's performance.

 

[majestic1805]

Pretty sure almost every RAM out there(if not all) would be compatible with modern boards. What you need to watch out for is if it's dual or triple channel RAM.

Also, get the 7950 instead. Great custom cooler, great overclocker, can OC past the 670's performance.

False though dual/tripple channel is important to look out for.

Most boards do support 1600 and 1333 speeds but things vary wildly from board to board when you get much further above and below there. The plain fact of the matter is that if a RAM speed isn't listed as supported and you buy it anyway then you should have zero expectation for it to actually work.

 

[excella1221]

RAM -> motherboard compatibility is different with frequency compatibility. You can always set the voltage and timings manually if you need to over/under clock stuff or simply configure the profile to XMP. I get the point of buying high frequency RAM that you can't utilize on the motherboard to be a waste btw.

Though I should've stated I was referring to DDR3 RAMs.

 

[andr1us]

Doesn't vapor-x have its voltage locked? Read about while researching which one to get. Link to qualified motherboards for the ram I want to get http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=482

 

[excella1221]

No, it doesn't.
I read about that before though, and apparently all they had to do was flash the BIOS.

That RAM would work. It's the most suggested RAM kit in this forum.

 

[andr1us]

Thanks for answers, quick question about SSD's. I was thinking getting one of WD 2tb green drives for storage, question is would 5400rpm affect games a lot if I would install 1 or 2 in wd drive? Also how much empty space is recommended to leave on SSD without any impact on performance?

 

[majestic1805]

5400 RPM will make loading generally slower and make the system overall feel sluggish. I hear once you have a 10k RPM drive you never go back to lesser speeds but then there are SSDs now so that is the new king.

Based on what I've seen I think about a 20% buffer is needed with older drives but that's not needed with newer models apparently.

 

[andr1us]

I know I have to get aftermarket cpu cooler if i want to oc it. But what about gpu? As I asked how much is safe to fill up ssd to have no perfomance drops?

 

[majestic1805]

Well, are you comfortable taking apart your components since this is your first build? That's what's required for custom GPU cooling. That said, it depends how much you want to OC it. My card came with a double dissipation cooler so I can OC as is a bit okay. If I really want to get as much as I can out of it I'll probably need to get something else. Make sense?

My 20% sentence was in reference to SSDs.

 

[andr1us]

Thanks for replies, can't decide between gigabyte gtx670 oc and sapphire hd7950 vapor-x. Difference is ~55 euro, I wonder if performance gain worth it. Not going to use multiple monitors and hardly will go over 1080p resolution.

 

[majestic1805]

7950 > 670