Struggling w/ health issues. trying to build 1st pc. (need help).

[zero100]

Hi everyone. First, many thanks to anyone for any help. I really appreciate it!

My situation in short:

I have MS and some other related health problems. When I got really sick about 4 years ago now I had to sell a lot of my stuff to help pay medical bills etc. Sadly, this included my nice computers Since then I have been stuck using a 7 year old laptop that was not particularly nice to begin with, not to mention the 20 gig harddive -_-

Im confined to a wheelchair and dont get to leave the house except for hospital/doctors visits. Playing video games is pretty much the only thing I can do to help pass the time. Needless to say my gaming options have been pretty limited due to my computer situation. Ive been saving money and I am going to try to get a new computer now, finally! very excited.

Before I was so sick I was fairly well versed in computer tech (but certainly not an expert). I havent bothered to follow technology much the past 4 years because I havent had a reason or the energy to do so. Ive been doing research for the past 2 months as best as I can and it seems like building your own computer is still the most bang for your buck option. I did not think I would be able to at first (and Im still not so sure). But after extensively searching for alternatives to dell, gateway etc. that would build more custom type pc's, it seems that they are all pretty expensive. So I want to try to build my own because of the money, but also because it would be nice to accomplish something!

My ability to do research is pretty limited because of my condition. But here is what I have so far:
I tried to make my wishlist public but it isnt working, so here are the parts.

case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139014

motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821

cpu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501

psu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460

Harddrive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697

disc drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

OS:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116992

graphics card:
will have to wait until christmas to purchase. was thinking EVGA gtx 660 maybe.

my location: Mass, USA.

Budget: about $1000, which is why I was planning on getting everything all together and adding in the graphics card around Christmas.

A few questions/points that I havent been able to clear up for myself yet:

1. motherboard. I want to get a nicer one as I will no doubt be using this computer for at least a few years. I may want to upgrade the graphics card in that time, or something else and dont want to have bottlenecking caused by the motherboard (if thats even applicable). And I just want everything to last etc.

2. PSU. I dont really know anything about these. Modular seems like a great idea. Ive read on here that Seasonic is a great brand. And from what I can tell 650w should be enough. Please correct me if Im wrong.

3. OS. Windows 7 oem vs. retail. Retail is ridiculously more expensive. Seems like OEM is an ok option. Correct?

4. Harddrive. 750gb to 1TB is fine. If there is a better quality for price option that I missed, please do tell.

5. Cpu. stock cooler or aftermarket cooler? If I dont overclock will the stock cooler be ok?

And finally, any tips or important info I should be aware of when it comes to assembling your own desktop.

As far as I am aware I think that is everything. Ive done my best to make sure everything is compatible, but I may have made a mistake. If so, please tell me! I'm also very sorry that this ended up being so long and a bit disorganized. Im having a bit of trouble seeing the screen at this point.

And once again, huge thank you for any help

 

[TheBigTroll]

this should do you better. the 7870 performs a tiny bit better than the 660 and comes with 2 free games.

included SSD for fast boots and fast loading

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/p87S

if you would like a good keyboard, id get this. good balance between blue (extremely clicky non-linear mechanical keyboard switches) and black/red switches (completely linear with no actuation point)

very good deal considering the OEM sells this model for 120 dollars. these keyboards are built to last rage sessions
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823129003&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

[zero100]

this should do you better. the 7870 performs a tiny bit better than the 660 and comes with 2 free games.

included SSD for fast boots and fast loading

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/p87S

if you would like a good keyboard, id get this. good balance between blue (extremely clicky non-linear mechanical keyboard switches) and black/red switches (completely linear with no actuation point)

very good deal considering the OEM sells this model for 120 dollars. these keyboards are built to last rage sessions
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823129003&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=[/quotems

Thanks for the help I will also need a keyboard and mouse, but that is secondary at this point. Ill keep that one in mind. Although I dont know anything about those different keyboard switches you mentioned.

I wasnt really sure of the differences between nvidia and amd cards, so I just picked nvidia. Ill check out the 7870 too.

In terms of the motherboard, the one I choose and the one you suggested are obviously a big price difference. Am I losing a lot going from one to the other? Or is it not as big of a deal as I thought?

Thanks again

 

[TheBigTroll]

the sabertooth is about as much as a scam as you can get. the so called heat shield traps heat and the feature set is about the same as the asus z77-v pro.

technically i would go a little higher for a ud5h board from gigabyte or a z77-v pro from asus but its not worth the money for a few extra ports that most people wont use. i personally have the asus z77-v Lk (regular price is lower than d3h) and i cant use most of the rear out puts other than the few usb ports

plus, at this price point, spend more money on the graphics card instead of the motherboard as it affects gaming the most

 

[zero100]

the sabertooth is about as much as a scam as you can get. the so called heat shield traps heat and the feature set is about the same as the asus z77-v pro.

technically i would go a little higher for a ud5h board from gigabyte or a z77-v pro from asus but its not worth the money for a few extra ports that most people wont use. i personally have the asus z77-v Lk (regular price is lower than d3h) and i cant use most of the rear out puts other than the few usb ports

plus, at this price point, spend more money on the graphics card instead of the motherboard as it affects gaming the most

Yea I was wondering about the 'thermal armor' also. I saw it in a review of some higher end motherboards on here though so I thought it might be decent. I'll check out the boards you mentioned too.

Definitely a good point about the graphics card. I just want to ensure I'll be able to upgrade a few components down the road without the motherboard bottlenecking anything too much.

I have a question about power supplies if anyone could maybe answer: the case I am looking at has a filtered air intake area on the bottom of the case for the power supplies fan to draw from. Most power supplies seem to have one large intake fan on one side. How do I tell if it is the top or the bottom? Can any power supply be oriented either way? Or is it a 'this side must face up' sort of thing.

Thanks again!

 

[TheBigTroll]

the power supplies can be mounted with the fan facing either way. i keep it mounted so that the fan draws air from the bottom of the case as it doesnt affect my overall case airflow

 

[zero100]

the power supplies can be mounted with the fan facing either way. i keep it mounted so that the fan draws air from the bottom of the case as it doesnt affect my overall case airflow

Thanks again Troll That is what I was thinking as well, better to have it draw its own air.