New Entry Gaming Build

[ajjung99]

This is the first time I've ever posted on this forum so please excuse me if I don't explain my situation very well. I am building my first ever budget entry/mid level gaming pc and have already ordered the parts for it. I also plan to use this pc to run Pro Tools which hopefully shouldn't be a problem. I only have a question on the order I'm suppose to install the expansion cards

1) When installing the graphics card, should I wait until after I download the OS, update the drivers, and update the BIOS or should I go ahead and install the graphics card right at the beginning or does it even matter?

2) Does it matter when I install the wireless adapter?

Here is the link to my build. Let me know what you guys think of it and if there's anything I should change in the future when I have more money. Also let me know if it will perform well enough. The highest graphic game I plan to play is Assassin's Creed IV at 1080p not on ultra settings of course.

http://pcpartpicker.com/b/PFP

 

[nikoli707]

pretty nice build for the most part, but for pure gaming purposes i would change a few things.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.98)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.02 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($69.99)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($134.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($18.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech MK120 Wired Slim Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($16.99)
Speakers: Logitech Z313 25W 2.1ch Speakers ($36.99)
Total: $1183.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-29 20:02 EDT-0400)

or you could drop down to a gtx760 and add a 120gb ssd, the ssd will vastly speed up your overall system performance like boot times, game load screens, app/program speed. the gtx770 is definitely 15%ish faster than the gtx760 but the 760 is still more than 1080p capable and about 15%ish faster than a gtx660. a system of this caliber deserves an ssd.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.98)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.02 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($69.99)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($73.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($134.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($18.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech MK120 Wired Slim Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($16.99)
Speakers: Logitech Z313 25W 2.1ch Speakers ($36.99)
Total: $1197.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-29 20:07 EDT-0400)

as far as installing everything, just install it all in the beginning... you will have to download the latest video card drivers anyways after you let windows run its full update suite and also its better to fully clean a fresh install of windows first before you install any drivers. the 4670k+gtx760/770 will play ac4 black flag on a mix of ultra/high settings no problem.

 

[ajjung99]

Thanks for the sugfestions. I recently made a nooby mistake and put the hard drive down on carpet for a minute or two. Will it be damaged by esd and become unusable?