Kicking some Juice into my Old Build....

[The sicilian]

So, since no one commented on my last post, I went out and purchased a new MB, RAM, and CPU on my own assumptions of what would fit best into my older components.
My older system consists of the following:
Asus Striker Extreme MB / Intel 6600 CPU / GTX 260 OC2 GPU / CM silent pro Gold Series 800W / WD Raptor 150GB HD / Fatality sound card / Raidmax Smilodon Mid Tower
2X1 GB Corsair Dominator RAM with triple cooling fan.

I picked up:
Asus 1155 P8Z68-V Pro MB
2500K CPU
Corsair Vengence 1600 2X4GB RAM
Paid less than $400 for everything

I have never physically put all this stuff together , so are there any videos or how to's out there that I should watch or read before I put all this stuff together?
Any and All help would be appreciated.
Some questions or concerns I have just to give an idea the help Im looking for is: Do I REALLY need an aftermarket CPU cooler right now If I wait to OC the CPU?
How do I actually, and most importantly, properly connect the CPU to the MB and the stock fan/cooler to the CPU etc.--- Is it fairly straight forward? The thermal paste is alredy spread on something so that "worry" should be relieved, right?
Will the rest of the hookups such as the power, peripherals, fans etc hook up fairly similar to my old asus Striker Extreme board?
My total system will now consist of:
Z68-v-Pro MB
2500K CPU
Corsair Vengence 1600 2X4GB RAM sticks - hopefully the Ram triple fan will snap over them just fine
2- GTX 260 OC2 GPU running in SLI
800W CM Silent Pro-Gold Series
Fatality sound card
Samsung Write Master DVD/CD Rom
WD Raptor 10,000 rpm 150GB HD
All tucked into a RaidMax Smilodon Tower running windows7(which I havnt purchased yet) I keep getting told to get the trial version and activate it through some legitimate methods for less than retail. We'll see....

 

[striker410]

Hi! Sorry you didn't get a response on your last post
Here's a video that should answer all your questions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls
No, you don't need an aftermarket cooler right away. If you OC to anything near/above 4GHz, you need an aftermarket cooler, like the Hyper 212+ ($30 from amazon).
Happy building!

 

[srynznfyra]

Just use your common sense and you'll be fine. Computers aren't made of gold leaf; they're harder to break than most people think.

Edit; about connecting the CPU to the MB and cooler issues:

1) just drop the CPU in *without force* facing the correct way, place the metal thingy down and push the lever right down - will require a medium amount of force.

2) the stock Intel cooler is crap but does the job. If you want to OC get a better cooler, but as long as your temps aren't too high, the stock one will do OK for now.

 

[The sicilian]

thanks to both of you for your response/support this time around, I will follow that link striker and post how it goes. My MB is scheduled on Thurs to arrive at the store, I will be picking up all three pieces at once, its just how they do it there, even though they had the RAM and the CPU, I paid in full to ensure the killer prices I got,....Good thing I did, the next day the $40 off the MB went away.
I still need windows 7, I'm very short on $$ now, any ideas anyone?
the Sicilian

 

[striker410]

If you have a .edu email address/know someone who does, Microsoft offers Win7 Pro for $30. Otherwise, there are ways of obtaining it.

 

[The sicilian]

wow, That video is incredibly helpful, thanks! It raises some questions though, Should I implement an SSD into my system? WD allows for a discount for loyal customers, so I need to figure out which SSD will be compatible with the older 150Gb Raptor I have. Will the Raptor be enough for my new components and windows7? I have so many questions now, this new sandy bridge technology is confusing with all the new options I have now. ~~head spinning~~@@~~@~

 

[striker410]

What an SSD does is increase the load times on the OS/any programs you put on it, as I'm sure you figured out. However, I don't really mind the difference between waiting 30 seconds for bootup or 10 seconds. Not worth the $100 to me, I would rather spend that on a good GPU or some other part.

Yes you can use the Raptor, but it may not be the fastest thing around anymore. A Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB drive is $60 at amazon, and it's the fastest 7200 mechanical drive out there.

 

[The sicilian]

Best answer selected by The Sicilian.

 

[The sicilian]

should I go with a solid state? Or am I not understanding this stuff now? So a 7200 is faster than my old 10,000 RPM Raptor? Wow!

 

[The sicilian]

I looked for it at the micro center i am getting my other stuff at, and I did see the Hyper N520 Universal CPU Cooler, is that a good one for $40?

 

[striker410]

The HDD is faster due to platter density. The Spinpoint uses 3 334GB platters, while the Raptor most likely uses 3 50GB platters. I honestly don't know that much about it, I just know it's faster if you are curious, ask in the Storage section, that's where the experts hang out.

For a cooler, I think the Hyper 212+ ($30 from amazon) is your best bet. It's a top rated cooler, one of the best actually. And at $30, it's a steal.