First time builder, first system

[Wanderer0811]

Hello all, I recently decided to build my first PC. I've been without one for about four years or so, never really had a high end PC. Had a(at the time) high-end gaming laptop, but that died on me a couple years ago. It'll mainly be used for gaming and perhaps some video editing a little later on down the road. I've done research on the components I've chosen so far, but definitely can't call myself even adequately knowledgeable about it all. I've already used this website and forum as basis for some of my decisions. I'd be more then happy to get advice on all parts of what I have so far



Case: Cooler Master HAF 932
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160
Definitely wanted a full tower, something with a lot of room and easy access. I liked what I saw here


Processor: Intel I-7 2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4 GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
This was pretty much the processor I was drawn to immediately. Loved everything I heard about it


Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730
I don't really know much about motherboards, but I tried to compare as much as I could, and liked this one the best for the price


Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233142
From what I understand, 8GB is almost more then enough right now. Plus, I figure if it becomes beneficial to, I can always just buy another 8GB's and add it on later


Video Card: Twin Frozr II OC Geforce GTX 570
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127564
Liked what I saw here, and, again, figured if I wanted to go the SLI route down the road can buy another one later


Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1000W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171056
Too much? I really don't know a lot about power supplies, but I wanted to get one that was more then enough for this system, just in case down the road I wanted to add some more things to it


Hard Drive: WD Caviar 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284
Considered a SSD, but really can't get over the price, even as a device only to boot Windows on. Figured I've lived this long with the computers going this speed, 30 seconds faster isn't really worth the price. I'll probably add a second hard drive down the line


BD-ROM: Lite-On Blu-Ray Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106346
Definitely wanted to enter the new age and grab a Blu-Ray drive

DVD-ROM: ASUS DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
But of course have to live in this age as well and have a DVD-Rom


I'll need to add a monitor, keyboard, and mouse later on, but I think that's all of the most important elements of the system. As I said, I would love advice on where I've gone overboard, where I've missed it, or where I should invest more. Thanks in advance!

 

[abekl]

This will be a plenty powerful system. You can probably save 100 dollars by going with an i5, as it will be just as good for gaming.

I would suggest that you consider the Pioneer Blu-Ray burner though over the Lite-On. Pioneer costs a few dollars more, but has a stellar reputation. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129066

 

[g-unit1111]

Good choices of components for the most part - the mobo and CPU are kind of overkill, I'd go with the previous i5-2500K suggestion, and I'd use the Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P instead of the Asus Pro. And don't use MSI cards, just from my personal experience I haven't had anything but bad luck with their motherboards, and their customer service isn't good. Go with EVGA instead if you want NVIDIA - check out the EVGA GeForce GTX 560.

Also I'd like to note that the Cooler Master HAF 932 is an excellent choice. If you want a couple of other suggestions check these out:

NZXT Phantom
Corsair Graphite 600T
Rosewill THOR
Azza Hurrican 2000

 

[Wanderer0811]

So the i7 really won't make that much of a difference over the i5? What makes the difference between the two? Just trying to learn more. Since I want to use it for more then just gaming down the road, just want to know about that and why the motherboard is overkill. Like I said, I don't know and I'm just trying to learn.

I'll take your word for the Pioneer and switch that out in my list. And thanks for the advice on the MSI card, definitely look a little more on that. I wasn't sure if the 570 would be that much of a difference over the 560, so went with that

 

[g-unit1111]

They're both Intel quad-cores based off of Sandy Bridge. The thing about the SB architecture is that it is really fast. All of the CPUs based off this architecture will far outperform many higher-end CPUs, and the 2500K is pretty much the same speed and number of cores as the i7-2600K is, except the main difference is that it's $100 cheaper and is better for overclocking. With a decent fan like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 you can OC the 2500K to way beyond 4GHz, but you have to make certain that you're getting a CPU with K at the end of the model number, otherwise if you don't you could end up frying your motherboard.

 

[Wanderer0811]

Gotcha, so no real big advantage with going with the i7. Was gonna get this too for CPU cooling

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010

Also forgot to mention this originally, but what are your thoughts on a sound card? I know that 7.1 is all the rage now, but I can't really see it making that much of a difference on a PC. I mean, maybe it'll come in handy if I do some audio editing or something, but even then I can't really see it being worth that.

 

[Petrofsky]

Gotcha, so no real big advantage with going with the i7. Was gonna get this too for CPU cooling

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010

Also forgot to mention this originally, but what are your thoughts on a sound card? I know that 7.1 is all the rage now, but I can't really see it making that much of a difference on a PC. I mean, maybe it'll come in handy if I do some audio editing or something, but even then I can't really see it being worth that.

A good air cooler is better than that one, and cheaper (and safer). You would only want that one if your case didn't have room for a nice, big hunk of copper, but you have wisely chosen a full tower.

If you have a dedicated computer sound system with plugs for each speaker, you should try the on-board and see whether you can't just use that. It should be plenty adequate for anything short of studio editing. It's 8-channel already, by the way. If, however, you want to send game surround to a receiver through the digital jack, you'll need a sound card with DDL or DTS-Connect.

 

[Wanderer0811]

Oh, wow, totally blanked out on the 8 channel audio on the motherboard, thanks for pointing that out. Have any recommendations for a fan/heatsink for an i5 processor?

 

[Petrofsky]

Oh, wow, totally blanked out on the 8 channel audio on the motherboard, thanks for pointing that out. Have any recommendations for a fan/heatsink for an i5 processor?

I rely on FrostyTech for heatsink info. The site is a little tricky to navigate at first, but if you have a certain cooler in mind, you can search it up and get to the comparison charts that way. If you don't overclock, any heatsink will do fine---just pick the one you like or the cheapest one you like. If you want that feeling of being all high and tight, locked and loaded, pick from their Top 5 (which is really a Top 10). There is a new cooler by Xigmatek, the SD128264 Aegir, that cools like Satan's worst nightmare, but you might want a quieter one.

 

[ARchamps]

Nice build and quite similar to mine. If money is a factor, you could probably change a few things. Like everyone said, the i5 2500k is $100 cheaper and still performs like a beast. The 560 Ti is really good for the $$ as well. For heatsinks, the CM Extreme 212+ is a great choice. It has solid reviews and its not expensive.

I know the feeling of building your first super powered beast. It's awesome! I built mine about a week ago. See below for my specs!

Good luck!

My build
i5 2500k + CM Extreme 212+
ASUS P8P67
EVGA 560 Ti SC
Seasonic M12ii 620W PSU
WD Caviar Blue 1GB
G.SKill Sniper Series 8GB
CM HAF 912 Case