Gaming Build Advice for a first time builder

[Dr Clockworks]

Hello, everyone! As the title of this thread reads, I am needing some help with my build.

Purchase Date: As of right now I am planning on purchasing every part of the build during the second week in January.

Budget: I'd like to keep it at $1000.00 but if it seems like this isn't enough then I can go a little higher. So I'd cap it off at $1,200.00

System Usage: It will almost be entirely for gaming. The only games I won't play on it will be FPS. I'd rather play FPS games on a console. The majority of games that I will be playing will be MMORPG games, such as Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2. A few RPG games, such as Skyrim and The Witcher 2. And a few other games with interesting multiplayer like LoL and DoTa 2. I know that The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2 haven't been released yet so I guess with MMORPG games the most difficult to run as of right now would be Rift? I've been out of PC gaming for quite a while now so I'm not really sure.

Parts Not Required: Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers. The OS will be Win7 home 64 bit.

Country: United States

Parts Preference: I have almost no preference as of right now. I've been back and forth between AMD and Intel for the past 3 months that I feel that I really don't have a clue.

Preferred website: I'd really like to get everything from Newegg. I live in a very rural community so there are no retail shops that I know of where I could buy any of my components. Other than a Best Buy but from what I looked at they didn't have much of a selection of anything.

Overclocking: Maybe for the CPU but I won't OC anything else.

SLI/Crossfire: Maybe in the near future. But for now I am only looking to use one card.

Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050

Comments: I really want a large case. Plenty of room for future upgrades, fans, and a nice window to view it all. So far the Cooler Master HAF X is what I'm set on at the moment. If anyone has any opinions on it or a better case please do say so. Multiple large fans and LED's are a must. I do love my flashy lights.

I pretty much need advice on every component. I understand what each part does and I understand what most of the details on each component mean but since this is my first build I really don't know anything in terms of build quality or performance from certain brands as compared to others.

I really appreciate any help that I can get on this subject! Please let me know if I left anything important out or you may just ask!

 

[Dr Clockworks]

I think I might have already asked this but with the Corsair HAF 932 Advanced case, are the fans 3-pin female or 4-pin female? The Gene-Z board has 5 4-pin male so I need to know if I should buy some adapters or not.

Haha, I'm sorry that this isn't finished yet. I'm just trying to tie up a few lose ends.

 

[ellmo]

D: That sucks about the Mobo. If I got something that looked even slightly damaged I'd send it right back.

Haha, I guess this is why a lot of people suggest that you order all of your parts at the same time. How does everything else look?

Yeah - it's just a couple fins though - and looks minor. I got the CPU this morning, so a couple days I should have it put together. Everything else looks great!
I don't know that the "same time" matters unless you are just talking about the CPU delivery blip I had. I'll attribute that to bad luck!

 

[Dr Clockworks]

Ohh, woops. My bad, I was thinking.. for some reason that you had ordered it for a later date.

 

[Dr Clockworks]

Well everyone, today is the day! I've decided to order my parts a few days early so I can build it over the weekend. Here is a list of everything that I'm going to get, along with a link to it on Newegg's website and the price. The Total Price will be listed at the bottom! I hope you all enjoy it!

Intel Quad-Core i5-2500k 3.3 GHz *PLUS* ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z motherboard $369.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.777645

I got these on a combo.

Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU Cooler $29.04
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

Corsair Vengeance 8 Gb (2x 4Gb sticks) $46.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144

SeaSonic M12II 620W Bronze 80+ $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095

EVGA Geforce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 488 Cores 1280 Gb 320-bit $289.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130738

Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Blue Edition $159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213

ASUS Black SATA 24x DVD Burner $19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

The Total price comes to $1,112.20

Does anyone see anything wrong or think I should make any changes? Anything at all, please. Post your opinions and everything!

 

[droozel]

Good choice!

 

[Emelth]

I would drop the case down and put more money towards the HDD and or a SSD

I hate the fact that your buying a micro ATX motherboard for a full tower

I dont like this build at all hands down

 

[Dr Clockworks]

It's not about the size of your equipment but how you use it! Haha, I do plan to put in a SSD and another HDD but for the moment I think that one will suit me fine.

 

[ellmo]

I would drop the case down and put more money towards the HDD and or a SSD

I hate the fact that your buying a micro ATX motherboard for a full tower

I dont like this build at all hands down

I already bought mine this way (gene Z to put in a Corsair 500). Can you say why a micro in a full-size is bad? These are the facts that influenced my choice:
- micro Gene Z was $169.99 vs. full-size $339.99 (total including shipping and taxes)
- the full ATX size mobo didn't appear to have any features that I would need/use.
- the full-size case will optimize cooling
- the full-size case will enable my shrek-like hands to fit in there!

Christmas was great - and we cleaned it all up yesterday, so I plan to actually build the box by the end of the weekend. (hope & pray!)

E

 

[Emelth]

I already bought mine this way (gene Z to put in a Corsair 500). Can you say why a micro in a full-size is bad? These are the facts that influenced my choice:
- micro Gene Z was $169.99 vs. full-size $339.99 (total including shipping and taxes)
- the full ATX size mobo didn't appear to have any features that I would need/use.
- the full-size case will optimize cooling
- the full-size case will enable my shrek-like hands to fit in there!

Christmas was great - and we cleaned it all up yesterday, so I plan to actually build the box by the end of the weekend. (hope & pray!)

E

If you take the Gen Z and face it off against the Extreme3 Gen3

They both have 2-Way SLI/CF (but the Extreme3 has 3.0 slots as well)
Gen Z has more 2 more USB 2.0 ports and 1 more eSata port

Besides that I see no difference in the hardware, what I see you paying for is the ROG crap which I find pointless. Just stop downloading crap while your playing or set the speed of it down to low.
If you are looking for more USB ports, add a card reader which has an extra eSata and USBs on it. You can also add external USB ports.

But since he is only getting a 620 PSU, which means he will never be able to OC another 565 (yes i call it the 565). For a 1.1k budget this build is not looking good at all.

 

[madchemist83]

U forgot to mention that gen 3 is crap and has 2 year warranty and gen z os not

 

[Dr Clockworks]

I don't really see the point in over clocking it. Plus, who's to say that I won't upgrade my PSU? There is always room for improvement.

 

[ellmo]

I agree - in the case of both the motherboard and the case, I figured if they didn't work out for some reason, I'd just upgrade. (and use the replaced equipment somewhere else)
I think I'll be happy with the GPU for at least a year (pending no significant gaming releases), but at some point I'll want to upgrade to something that's not out yet anyway.
In fact, that pretty much sums up the whole game. A recreational box that is the best possible fit of price and performance. i.e. don't need bleeding edge $1000 CPU when I could get a 2n00k for a reasonable price (per "power" - passmark?!) Heck, you're almost building a whole box for $1000! You have to cut some corners to get there, but I'll assume they are corners you are willing to cut! (Thus the thread...)

 

[Dr Clockworks]

I think this set up should last me for quite a while. Along with a bit of upgrading and maintenance here and there.

So I ordered everything yesterday on the 27th and chose 3-Day shipping for about $18.00. When I checked my tracking information it was going to arrive tomorrow on the 29th. That would have been 2-Day shipping which was $132.00.

And it gets here today! 1-Day shipping! So far my whole experience with Newegg has been fantastic.

 

[ellmo]

Do you live in Newegg? ;-)
(and be sure to comment on your build!) I wonder if there's an easy way to post pics around here...

 

[Dr Clockworks]

Haha, I live in Kentucky. I didn't know they had a warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee.

I got two boxes, one with just the case and the other had everything else. It looked like they just threw everything into the box. No organization what so ever. I was really afraid that my CPU had gotten squished between my PSU and graphics card. I checked the Mobo and the Gpu and they seem to be okay. No physical damage that I know of.

I'll start setting it up all tomorrow and let you guys know how everything goes.

 

[rmiiirusty]

elmo how did your build work out, and dr clockworks be sure to tell us how yours went as well.

I have just witnessed another person who had a problem with his Asrock board.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/330999-31-building-gaming-machine-1650-budget-help#t2471633

A person with the title of HolyRage.
Why do these idiots keep insisting on getting the asrock just because of the supposed3.0 pci slots.
Do they not think ahead to realize that there are no new gpu's to test the tech with , not to mention the fact that new products tend to have bugs more often than not.
There seems to be no end to the insanity when even the veteran forum members suggest a untried and bad reviewed board and suggest to you that you build a new system and then have to buy add on cards to make it work for you. I thought that the veterans would know better. LoL

 

[raptorxrx]

elmo how did your build work out, and dr clockworks be sure to tell us how yours went as well.

I have just witnessed another person who had a problem with his Asrock board.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/330999-31-building-gaming-machine-1650-budget-help#t2471633

A person with the title of HolyRage.
Why do these idiots keep insisting on getting the asrock just because of the supposed3.0 pci slots.
Do they not think ahead to realize that there are no new gpu's to test the tech with , not to mention the fact that new products tend to have bugs more often than not.
There seems to be no end to the insanity when even the veteran forum members suggest a untried and bad reviewed board and suggest to you that you build a new system and then have to buy add on cards to make it work for you. I thought that the veterans would know better. LoL

No motherboard doesn't have troubles. The reviews on Newegg are very similar. While Newegg reviews aren't very useful, they are useful for telling the reliability of a product.

As for the PCIE 3.0; think X79 and 7970. PCIE 3.0 is real. The 7970 is PCIE 3.0
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5264/sandy-bridge-e-x79-pcie-30-it-works
As for bugs-it's just PCIE.


As for the build now recommendation; the i5-2500k is now a whole year old. That is still a great processor and I have absolutely no problem recommending it, but it isn't the prime time to select it. The next generation AMD cards come out next month. Look at the performance charts. It will be great. You might be right, there could be a bug. I doubt it. There isn't usually GPU problems...

And there is no need to go around slandering. An untried board! The Extreme has more reviews than the Gene Z! It isn't the best overclocker, but it isn't complete crap either. You do realize overclocking also has to do with the CPU itself and the person too. I don't get why you feel the need to slander.

 

[rmiiirusty]

No motherboard doesn't have troubles. The reviews on Newegg are very similar. While Newegg reviews aren't very useful, they are useful for telling the reliability of a product.

As for the PCIE 3.0; think X79 and 7970. PCIE 3.0 is real. The 7970 is PCIE 3.0
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5264/sandy-bridge-e-x79-pcie-30-it-works
As for bugs-it's just PCIE.


As for the build now recommendation; the i5-2500k is now a whole year old. That is still a great processor and I have absolutely no problem recommending it, but it isn't the prime time to select it. The next generation AMD cards come out next month. Look at the performance charts. It will be great. You might be right, there could be a bug. I doubt it. There isn't usually GPU problems...

And there is no need to go around slandering. An untried board! The Extreme has more reviews than the Gene Z! It isn't the best overclocker, but it isn't complete crap either. You do realize overclocking also has to do with the CPU itself and the person too. I don't get why you feel the need to slander.

Ouch, I feel Slandered.

 

[ellmo]

After work tonight, I installed the CPU, RAM and CPU fan - and put the motherboard in the case. Everything fit so far and I see no problems with space - although there is a lot of space!
I hope the i/o slots in the back of the case are aligned ok - they look like they might be a little off.
My biggest worry is that I think I put too much goop between the CPU and the cooler pipes. So, I took it apart and tried to remove some. I hope I didn't ruin the motherboard or CPU. (I think some excess may have oozed - although didn't reach the CPU pins or anything.)
Is that goop dielectric?

E

 

[rmiiirusty]

After work tonight, I installed the CPU, RAM and CPU fan - and put the motherboard in the case. Everything fit so far and I see no problems with space - although there is a lot of space!
I hope the i/o slots in the back of the case are aligned ok - they look like they might be a little off.
My biggest worry is that I think I put too much goop between the CPU and the cooler pipes. So, I took it apart and tried to remove some. I hope I didn't ruin the motherboard or CPU. (I think some excess may have oozed - although didn't reach the CPU pins or anything.)
Is that goop dielectric?

E

You should be fine. what else are you waiting on before turning on? Did you do a breadboard test before installing everything to insure posting. It would suck if for some reason the board had a problem and you had to uninstall it. Not that big of a deal tho.

 

[Dr Clockworks]

Everything went by fantastically and is running great. I only have to install an OS and I'm good to go.

The case is wonderful provided me plenty of room to install everything. The Motherboard was great to work with. The only problem I had with it was after I did my external build with just my Mobo, RAM, CPU, GPU, and PSU I had some trouble removing the 24-pin connector. I eventually got it with no damage to the board. I was scared when I was installing the RAM because it didn't seem to want to go into each slot. I had it all lined up correctly it was just a tight fit.

The LED colors are magnificent and everything just looks amazing. I've still got some cable management to work in but I'll get to it in the future.

When I received my order I was given two boxes. One with the case and one with everything else. It seemed to me that whom ever packaged all the components just.. sorta threw everything in the box. They put the heavier stuff on the bottom but other than that it looked pretty bad. The mobo box had a bit of damaged and the GPU box had quite a bit. But no actual part was damaged. And everything is so much bigger in person!

As soon as I have Win7 installed and I get some software I'll post my benchmarks and temperatures.

 

[rmiiirusty]

Everything went by fantastically and is running great. I only have to install an OS and I'm good to go.

The case is wonderful provided me plenty of room to install everything. The Motherboard was great to work with. The only problem I had with it was after I did my external build with just my Mobo, RAM, CPU, GPU, and PSU I had some trouble removing the 24-pin connector. I eventually got it with no damage to the board. I was scared when I was installing the RAM because it didn't seem to want to go into each slot. I had it all lined up correctly it was just a tight fit.

The LED colors are magnificent and everything just looks amazing. I've still got some cable management to work in but I'll get to it in the future.

When I received my order I was given two boxes. One with the case and one with everything else. It seemed to me that whom ever packaged all the components just.. sorta threw everything in the box. They put the heavier stuff on the bottom but other than that it looked pretty bad. The mobo box had a bit of damaged and the GPU box had quite a bit. But no actual part was damaged. And everything is so much bigger in person!

As soon as I have Win7 installed and I get some software I'll post my benchmarks and temperatures.

That is so good to hear and I know you will love the build How is your fan situation? do you have the right connections to use the 4 pin connectors on the mobo?

 

[Dr Clockworks]

No, I just connected all of my fans in with their 3-pin connector. I plan on adding a fan controller in a few weeks.

 

[ellmo]

I'm just plodding along - this morning was getting my mom's foot unstuck from her wheelchair - nevermind shopping household stuff for my own family!
So, I just have to plug in drives and the GPU and I should be good to go.
The POST test does sound intriguing. Is that a way to turn it on and listen for some beeps to be sure everthing is ok so far?
I wish I was as fast as Clockworks!
I'm also anal enough that I almost want to add some teeny weeny washers to get that i/o stuff aligned.
Finally, I do need to get a license... Work should be able to provide that since I will be doing work on this box as well as play Does anyone here know about Action Pack?

 

[rmiiirusty]

No, I just connected all of my fans in with their 3-pin connector. I plan on adding a fan controller in a few weeks.

Good That is always a plus. I am sure that by now you have installed windows and updated all of your drivers.
I just know you are going to enjoy the stability of this mobo.