Please help with my system! HELP

ericwuxp

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Sep 26, 2012
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Hello,

First of all I am new here, and I love all kinds of helpful info here =)

I had a desktop for almost 6 years, and it is now giving me all kinds of problems... it was a pretty good one though as I spent around 1.5k. My dad helped me with that. So now I am trying to build another one. I have some basic knowledge of custom PCs, and I just need more advice as I have done quite a bit researches.

I will follow the form provided:


Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: ASAP

Budget Range: 750 Before Rebates;

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Online Streaming, HD movie, some games (Counter Strikes Source, NBA 2k maybe), Matlab

Are you buying a monitor: No



Parts to Upgrade: Everything

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon, micro center

Location: City, State/Region, Country - West Lafayette, IN (able to go to Chicago this weekend)

Parts Preferences: no

Overclocking: Yes (never done it before, how important is it?)

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200

Additional Comments: Start up fast, firefox fast(able to open up like 30 pages at the same time)

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My current computer sucks



CPU:
Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4GHz LGA 1155 Processor


MOBO:
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherb


Power Supply:
OCZ Technology ZS Series 750 Watt ATX Power Supply


Graphic Card:
GIGABYTE GV-R667D3-1GI Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card


Memory:
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model


HDD:
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive


Case:
COUGAR Orange Challenger Black Steel ATX Computer Case with 12cm

Cooling:
Noctua 6 Dual Heatpipe with 140mm/120mm Dual SSO Bearing Fans CPU Cooler NH-D14

So I bought my CPU and MOBO at Micro center because I can get $50 off
I am pretty firm with my CPU; I don't need i7 for another 100 right?

For motherboard, I would like to try overclocking, so I picked extreme 4 instead of ASUS P8Z77 Pro LK.
Is this a good choice?

For Power supply, I figured that I need sth more than 750w so I found this deal (54.99 after rebate), not sure if it's reliable

Later I bought my other stuffs at Newegg, I need advice on graphic card! I want to keep my budget low so I only pick 6670. AS you can see, I don't play hardcore games. However, is it going to work for Counter Strikes Source, or even NBA 2K? If not, which one and how much more should I pay.

I believe 8 GB DDR3 1600MHZ is good for me, and CORSAIR Vengeance looks very decent

For the hard drive, I want one between 1TB to 2TB. I saw a couple deals with Seagate, but a lot of ppl are saying that it fails in 1~2 years, which worries me. So I pick WD.


I love the COUGAR Orange Challenger, it's cheap but well built. Nothing to worry about right?

Lastly I am gonna order the Noctua D14 from amazon because it has perfect review! It will fit my case, correct?


The Micro Center part adds up to 355 b4 tax and 389 after tax
Newegg one adds up to 265 b4 shipping and 274 after s/h
Amazon one cost 85

total is 748, which is perfect, plus I got some rebates



So thats everything I can think of after hours of researches. please I want every opinions and advises. Are there anything I missed? Do I need soundcard?


Thanks!!! :p :p :p :p :p

 
The deal from MC is very good, I got my I5-2500K from there too.

For the PSU (750W) is over kill, you only need the one with <500W even 500w will be more than enough.

But for the price and good PSU you hard to pass, here is from newegg. Chose one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007657%204808%204801&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=58|17-139-027^17-139-027-TS%2C17-341-050^17-341-050-TS

Here review for OCZ http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/ocz_zt_series_550w_power_supply_review,1.html

I can't find the review for CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2.

For the HD6670 is good enough, but take the HD6670 with GDDR5 will also better. But that is your choice.
 

excella1221

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Aug 23, 2012
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You won't need that much wattage considering you won't be using more than 1 GPU. A 500-550w PSU would be just right for you.
The Noctua is a good cooler, yes; though a bit pricey for your budget. Might I suggest the Hyper 212 EVO. A much cheaper yet still a decent cooler.
Also, since you'll be utilizing a cooler, please look for the low profile version of the RAM to avoid conflict with the heatsink.
I've also tended to stay away from Seagate since the mass failure of their 1tb HDDs awhile back. Western Digital is also my choice.
The casing is always on the individual's preference, I always say. So shoot for the Cougar!
 

ericwuxp

Honorable
Sep 26, 2012
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10,510
Okay so I need to change my PSU.
However I forgot to mention that I have like four 3.5 inchold hard drives from my old computer and some of them are like 10 years old.. Should I move the files to new hardrive and say goodbye to them, or I may install it to my new computer. If I do, Will 550W be enough?
I am also afraid of issues like not reading 2.5 hdd because of not enough power.

 

ericwuxp

Honorable
Sep 26, 2012
5
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10,510

I am confused about "low profile version of the RAM." What does that mean? like 1600 to 1333?
 

etrnlxdarkness

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Feb 5, 2012
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Good build for sure. Like the others said you only need a 550 watt or so PSU. Anything bigger and it will just waste lots of power causing your electric bill to be higher than is nesasary.

You can also save some money on your motherboard by getting the Extreme3 instead. It has most of the same features as the extreme 4 for just a bit less. It will also OC just as well as the extreme4.

 

excella1221

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Aug 23, 2012
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You can still re-use them if you want. Though that seems a bit messy for me. :p just make sure your casing supports at LEAST 5 internal 3.5" bays. And yes, 550w would still be fine. HDDs aren't thst hungry.

No, stick to 1600MHz. Low profile means RAM cards that lose the big heatsinks primarily due to conflict with CPU coolers. You'll know it's low profile when it says Corsair Vengeance, and then "low profile" or "LP" somewhere after.
 

etrnlxdarkness

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Feb 5, 2012
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oh and as far as your drive are concerned, personally i would consolidate and upgrade. Newer drives are more efficient and use less power and are much faster. You could take those 4 drives and combine them into one WD terabyte drive and save alot of power. But that is your choice. Just make sure you back up all that data in case of drive failure.

And to clarify, a 550w PSU will be more than enough power for all your components and then some. You could add several drives and DVD burners and still have more than enough. The only way you would need more than 550 is if you planned to add in two GTX 660 TI cards or something like that.
 

ericwuxp

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Sep 26, 2012
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I am now deciding between this two PSU, but couldn't make a decision :heink:
The OCZ one only has 3 stars review and ppl say it fails sometimes; while corsair one has better review and slightly more expensive. Also OCZ is a modular PSU and Corsair is not. Is that important?

I can actually afford a little more, just wanna find the best deal of all. Any suggestions? :eek:
 

etrnlxdarkness

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Feb 5, 2012
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I have the 650 version of the OCZ and have had no problems at all. It is nice and powerful and runs smooth and quiet.

The corsair is another awesome choice. I have 3 Corsair PSUs currently running 24/7 in different systems. They all are quiet and efficient.

It's really up to you. Any component you will ever buy by any manufacturer has that small chance that it will fail. Some less than others. But they all will fail at least once.

I would get the Corsair. At the same price point and rebate it's a better buy in my opinion. I trust them more. And for your build you don't really need modular. Just tie up the used cables into a bundle and stick em in a corner.