HELP! Newb with $1800 homebuild, Pls read

[DARCSUN2012]

Ok heres the deal, I have not built a rig in over 10 years, I know wtf... after a few months of reviewing I have just purchased the following from Newegg, which should be here tomorrow:

-ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

-Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770K

-Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid Cooling System 90834875

-EVGA 02G-P4-2670-KR GeForce GTX 670 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

-Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200

-Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

-Kingston HyperX Blu Red Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model KHX16C10B1RK2/16

-Thermaltake Black Widow W0319RU 850W ATX 12V v2.3, EPS 12V v2.91 CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

-Rosewill THOR V2 Gaming ATX Full Tower Computer Case, support up to E-ATX / XL-ATX

-Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

-Asus -Ve228h- 21.5" Widescreen Flat-Panel LED-LCD HD Monitor - Black -

-Canon - PIXMA MG6220 Inkjet Multifunction Printer - Color - Photo/Disc Print - Desktop

I apologize in advance for any extranoob concerns, I just waited a week for this damn thing to get here and I want to make sure this goes as smooth as possible.

Main Concerns / Questions:

1. I have never overclocked before, Any requirements prior to boot?

2. CPU liquid cooler, the contact point looks circular, do I put thermal paste on the whole cpu or just contact, or am i crazy and its the same size? ill find out tomorrow if it matters.

3. I have never used 64 bit or windows 7, I am assuming its as easy as any other windows installation. pop the cd in after drives are formatted?

4. SRT Vs (SSD for OS + Programs & HDD for Pics/music/media)
I was going to test out the SRT Raid setting to use the SSD as the cache drive, However I have read a lot saying this will just kill the SSD faster and not be worth the minimal differance? want to get this out of the way first thing.

5. I am not a huge gamer anymore but would like to play damn near anything on ultra settings if ya know what I mean > Hence I am focusing on Overclocking my system as high as I can safely if need be. I spent $1600 on this build I want it to have maximum performance! I wanted to run 3 of the asus 22" in eyefinity but I couldnt squeeze it in the budget, we have a 47" 1080p 120hz I can use as well.

6. I ordered the biggest case I could find, in doing so I didnt realize the beast weighs 30 lbs until it was shipping... at any rate I dont think this will be an issue other than I may have to modify my desk,.. balalala! and it seems to be about 80% mesh material for High air flow but I have a dusty house,... any tips on dust control? the Antec case I was going to buy had washable filters built in...?

7. Order of operations, treat me like a Newb,.. I dont want to muck anything up... here is what I got in mind.

MB>Case,
PS>Case,
DVDRW>Case,
CPU Fan/Cooler>Case (looks like it can go many places with flexible hosing, this will be new for me)
Fans>Case (for manual intake/exhause controls)
HDD>Case
SSD>Case
RAM>MB
GTX670>MB
Power> DVDRW,HDD,SSD,Fans/case? GTX670,MB (any particular order & why?)

8 Do i need to wait for vid card and format my drives & boot with only the MB?

Do your best with me guys, I am newb status all over again so feel free to treat me like one. I dont mind links to threads but try to point out any references. TY!

 

[proton007]

1. Not really, overclock is done by the bios. Just ensure you have a good cooler.
2. Just put a pea sized drop of thermal paste on the CPU, and let the cooling plate spread it out.
3. Yes
4. SRT is more for those who don't want to disturb their existing config. Since you're building a new one, and installing the OS, go for SSD(OS) + HDD(Data).
5. Ultra setting for multi monitor gaming will need 2 cards. You've already ordered your system, otherwise I'd suggest go for sandy bridge cpu and an extra GPU. Maybe upgrade in future if no budget now.
6. You can try using 3M dust filters, just cut the size you want. Do note that it'll cause a slight reduction in airflow. But you're using water cooling, it should be ok.
7. Lay out everything on an insulated surface before you put it in the chasis. Put the cpu, cooler and ram on the mobo. Connect the PSU and turn the system on. Check if it posts. This will rule out any DOA parts. After that add the GPU --> Boot the sysytem and check. Repeat the same with HDDs/SSDs, DVD drives. Finally you should have everything working. If not, RMA.
If everything ok, then put the components in the case. If your cooler needs a backplate u might want to mount the cooler first onto the motherboard.
8. Yeah, you can do that to ensure everything's fine. Your CPU has integrated graphics anyways.

 

[DARCSUN2012]

the multi monitor has been put off until I at least pay this purchase off, I built this with an upgrade in mind perhaps a year down the road. another gtx650 + another 16gigs ram should handle 3 screen eyefinity correct? a year later that should be about a $500-600 upgrade including 2 more monitors. at least that was what I had in mind with how I built this, and also I might ask why do you suggest sandy + another gpu? Price? IMHO I think buying current generation mobo/cpu late in the season (in case of bad reviews) is the way to go as long as there is room for improvement.

Ohh and for the SRT comment. You say go for SSD(OS) + HDD(Data) obviously I am to install programs & games onto the SSD as well correct? if that is the case, I feel like I should have bought the 240g SSD + 500G HDD instead of 120G SSD + 1TB HDD. wah!

 

[proton007]

I don't think you need more ram for 3 screen setup. The GPUs have their own RAM. Even the 16GB you have now will probably never be used fully.
I suggest sandy bridge because the price/performance gain is not too high if your primary use is gaming. There's a $110 difference with not much of a performance increase to show for it. And you can use this money for a better GPU. However, as you say, if you want the latest, then yeah, no excuse.

For SSD, i think you should be ok with 120 GB, as long as you don't have a lot of games. Windows itself should be ok in 20 Gb (Min). Maybe you can get a WD Caviar Black HDD later to install games if you fill your SSD, its not an SSD replacement, but pretty fast for an HDD.

 

[DARCSUN2012]

I did get the 1tb WD Caviar black HDD 7200, I assumed I wanted all OS + programs/games on the SSD tho...

 

[g-unit1111]

1. I have never overclocked

5. I am not a huge gamer anymore but would like to play damn near anything on ultra settings if ya know what I mean > Hence I am focusing on Overclocking my system as high as I can safely if need be. I spent $1600 on this build I want it to have maximum performance! I wanted to run 3 of the asus 22" in eyefinity but I couldnt squeeze it in the budget, we have a 47" 1080p 120hz I can use as well.

before, Any requirements prior to boot?

Just make sure you get an unlocked CPU and a good aftermarket fan and you're set.

2. CPU liquid cooler, the contact point looks circular, do I put thermal paste on the whole cpu or just contact, or am i crazy and its the same size? ill find out tomorrow if it matters.

Closed liquid coolers aren't worth it, period. They come with their own paste so that's not required. But really - get a D14 if it's your first time. Closed blocks like the Antec Kuhler and Corsair H100 are plastic toys compared to real liquid blocks.

3. I have never used 64 bit or windows 7, I am assuming its as easy as any other windows installation. pop the cd in after drives are formatted?

The big difference is that 64-bit Windows will unlock more than 4GB RAM - it's the same as any other version of Windows 7.

4. SRT Vs (SSD for OS + Programs & HDD for Pics/music/media)
I was going to test out the SRT Raid setting to use the SSD as the cache drive, However I have read a lot saying this will just kill the SSD faster and not be worth the minimal differance? want to get this out of the way first thing.

Yeah it will. You're better off running the drives independent from each other.

5. I am not a huge gamer anymore but would like to play damn near anything on ultra settings if ya know what I mean > Hence I am focusing on Overclocking my system as high as I can safely if need be. I spent $1600 on this build I want it to have maximum performance! I wanted to run 3 of the asus 22" in eyefinity but I couldnt squeeze it in the budget, we have a 47" 1080p 120hz I can use as well.

Any Keppler card like the GTX 670 will handle multiple displays as well as any Eyefinity card.

6. I ordered the biggest case I could find, in doing so I didnt realize the beast weighs 30 lbs until it was shipping... at any rate I dont think this will be an issue other than I may have to modify my desk,.. balalala! and it seems to be about 80% mesh material for High air flow but I have a dusty house,... any tips on dust control? the Antec case I was going to buy had washable filters built in...?

That is not a smart way to go about doing things. There is never a need to purchase the biggest case you can - there's plenty of cases out there that offer far better room and have much smaller footprints. You do most of your building outside the case before you set your motherboard and all the other components.

8 Do i need to wait for vid card and format my drives & boot with only the MB?

Not sure what you mean by this.

 

[proton007]

I understand, but you still have about 90-100 GB space on your SSD. Do you games + other software take up that much?

 

[g-unit1111]

I did get the 1tb WD Caviar black HDD 7200, I assumed I wanted all OS + programs/games on the SSD tho...

No - you use your SSD for boot and a few main programs only. Store your games, music, movies, data, everything else on the secondary HD.

 

[azeem40]

^ If that was the case, then 64GB is enough for just programs. None take too much space.