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Computer build help

AlfaMikeF0xtr0t

AlfaMikeF0xtr0t

Ready to race!
I'm thinking about building a new computer and am curious as to what others think. I am in no way an expert, but think I made good choices and shouldn't have any conflicts of hardware. Not sure if I will need any other little things like fans, I'm hoping the ones that come with the case will keep it cool enough.

I'm hoping this should be a fast little rig.

Intel BOXDQ77MK LGA 1155 Intel Q77 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K
ASUS GTX650TI-O-1GD5 GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Kingston HyperX 3K SH103S3/120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (Stand-Alone Drive)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
Rosewill RANGER-M Dual Fans MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case
 
donefor

donefor

Go Kart Newbie
These are good parts, stock cooling on the 2500K is fine - just be careful when you mount the Intel cooler, the pins are a little flimsy. You can use a cpu temp logger to check that all cores are running at about the same temp under full load to confirm that the sink/cpu contact is good.
 
AlfaMikeF0xtr0t

AlfaMikeF0xtr0t

Ready to race!
nouse4aname said:
Swap out that i5-2500 for a 3570k from Microcenter for cheaper.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/388577/Core_i5_3570K_34GHz_LGA_1155_Processor

The fans that come with processors these days are junk. Especially if you want to overclock you'll want to look into cpu coolers that will fit in that microatx case.
Click to expand...

What makes the 3570K better than the 2500K, other than .1 ghz?

And I am fairly close to a PC noob, overclocking is not something I'm going to mess with.
 
N

nouse4aname

Go Kart Champion
True at stock speed the 3570 isn't much faster. But it is 20% more power efficient. Microcenter is just the place to buy processors.
 
AlfaMikeF0xtr0t

AlfaMikeF0xtr0t

Ready to race!
Ah, so you were merely suggesting a similar CPU at a lower cost. But it says instore only, and I don't feel like driving hours across state lines just to save a few bucks.:laugh:

Although even on newegg, they are the same price, so making the switch would still be beneficial, right?
 
mkv_martinez

mkv_martinez

Go Kart Champion
i would get an aftermarket cooler, i hate stock heat sinks. i like the case (i have the rosewill r5 :thumbsup: ) but would also get new fans. i also have that PSU and love it.
 
Do Work Son

Do Work Son

Go Kart Champion
My 3570 is a beast and I have a 650ti which is also a beast. My personal advice on cases: don't skimp. Saving some cash on the case can lead to annoying experiences when putting this thing together yourself. I spent $100+ on my Corsair case and it made my latest build a snap, the cable management is excellent, there's lots of extra screws, lots of places for your hands to work, the fans are damn near silent, and there's plenty of options for upgrading.

Stock CPU coolers are hit or miss. No joke, my friend was just talking to me tonight about his temps running so hot his PC was shutting down. I built this thing for him 3 years ago and now the retainers on the Intel CPU cooler have worked themselves lose. He reinstalled it and managed to torque it down tighter but you shouldn't have to deal with that on a good cooler.

The motherboard is really the heart of your machine. Your OEM Win7 is going to tie itself to that motherboard so choose carefully. I like Gigabyte motherboards, Asus and Abit also make solid boards. The fancier ones ($150+) are really meant for enthusiasts who will be over clocking, they have tighter and more accurate voltage controls which are critical for stable overclocks.

WWW.tomshardware.com is a fantastic resource, they do a lot of CPU, mobo, and video card comparisons.
 
AlfaMikeF0xtr0t

AlfaMikeF0xtr0t

Ready to race!
MK6_Martinez said:
i would get an aftermarket cooler, i hate stock heat sinks. i like the case (i have the rosewill r5 :thumbsup: ) but would also get new fans. i also have that PSU and love it.
Click to expand...

I have never had good luck choosing fans, so suggest some. The ones I also choose are loud and never move much air.

Do Work said:
My 3570 is a beast and I have a 650ti which is also a beast. My personal advice on cases: don't skimp. Saving some cash on the case can lead to annoying experiences when putting this thing together yourself. I spent $100+ on my Corsair case and it made my latest build a snap, the cable management is excellent, there's lots of extra screws, lots of places for your hands to work, the fans are damn near silent, and there's plenty of options for upgrading.

Stock CPU coolers are hit or miss. No joke, my friend was just talking to me tonight about his temps running so hot his PC was shutting down. I built this thing for him 3 years ago and now the retainers on the Intel CPU cooler have worked themselves lose. He reinstalled it and managed to torque it down tighter but you shouldn't have to deal with that on a good cooler.

The motherboard is really the heart of your machine. Your OEM Win7 is going to tie itself to that motherboard so choose carefully. I like Gigabyte motherboards, Asus and Abit also make solid boards. The fancier ones ($150+) are really meant for enthusiasts who will be over clocking, they have tighter and more accurate voltage controls which are critical for stable overclocks.
Click to expand...

How about some recommendations then? Like I said, I am fairly close to a total noob. Most of my choices were based on the highest rated products in that category. I know how to assemble a PC, but making choices on the hardware itself can still be confusing to me. WAY too many choices.

You said don't skimp on cases, wasn't aware that I was, it's not a $30 walmart case. I just didn't see the need to spend a ton of money on a box to hold the parts.

I've bought an aftermarket CPU cooler before and didn't notice a huge difference. The fan/cooler itself is huge, but not the difference it made. Any good ones you can suggest?

You mentioned MOBO's and OEM OS. so The OEM version will "bind" with that 1 mobo, but the retail version could be used on several? Any better mobo's to choose. I chose that one because it had the right socket for the CPU and had enough opening for other components.

Like I said, noob. I can choose parts that will fit together and work, but I'm not sure if they are the best combination of parts. Not saying I need the best of the best expensive ass parts, but if there are better options is the same price range, suggest away.

Oh, and I will most likely be going with the 3570K if it makes any differences to your suggestions.
 
AlfaMikeF0xtr0t

AlfaMikeF0xtr0t

Ready to race!
Funny. I went with what I refer to as a computer radiator like that 212 in my current build. Didn't seem to make as big of a difference as I expected with a cooler that's like 3 times the size of stock.
 
Do Work Son

Do Work Son

Go Kart Champion
I'm on a cell phone right now but I'll check later for parts. The OEM Win7 CD key ties itself to a mobo when you authenticate it online, you can't install it on another PC later. If you rebuild the PC with a retail Windows license you can use it again but there's a limit to the number of times it can be authenticated. They just want to make sure the same license isn't connecting to the internet on a different PC at the same time.

Most good cases are around $100, my Corsair 500r is terrific but it's actually more expensive now than it was after Christmas. Hmph.
http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemNumber=N82E16811139010
The Antec 300 is a really nice smaller case too.
http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemNumber=N82E16811129042


Take a look through this article, they do a really nice job comparing things.
http://m.tomshardware.com/reviews/toms-hardware-bestconfigs-build-a-pc,3453.html
 
AlfaMikeF0xtr0t

AlfaMikeF0xtr0t

Ready to race!
I kinda like that Consair, but it says it's for a ATX, and the mobo I chose at the moment is a micro-ATX.

EDIT:

Nevermind, just saw it can fit a micro ATX too. I think I may go with that one.

And as far as the ORM/retail OS. As you can tell, I just build a whole computer at a time every few years. So I'm not worried about trying to install Win7 to another computer down the road. By then I'm sure Win 17 will be out. My current build I'm still using XP. At the time it was either XP or Vista, and I hated Vista.

So, updated build will include the 3570 in place of the 2500. And the Consair in place of the Rosewill case.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned video card. I expected suggestions for $500 cards. But I'm not into PC gaming so I don't need anything awesome. I am just now considering very little PC gaming with Minecraft PC. So I don't need anything super fancy. Just better than the onboard will do.

Will the stock Consair case fans work well, or should I be looking at replacement 120/200mm fans? I'm still not 100% sold on the huge computer radiators like the hyper 212.

Also, I keep seeing other peoples builds with like 16+ gb of memory, which is the only reason I choose to get 8gb in this build. But I was always told that too much memory can actually slow down a computer, does that still hold true? In my current rig, I actually went from 4gb down to 3gb.
 
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socal87

socal87

Drag Race Newbie
Solid build bro, I assume you're trying to stick to a budget?

I would go for an i7 over an i5, and bump the PSU up to 800 watts. Add a 500GB SATA HDD for storage and you're golden.

I'm considering a similar build with an i7-3770 and a GTX 680. I'm haven't decided whether I want to pay the premium for an SSD for OS install, or just stick with high capacity with two or more 1TB drives (my laptop currently has two 500GB 7200RPM drives, suits me well)

As for the processor, I'm a little confused about things as the i7-2600 and -3770 are nearly identical, the difference mainly being TDP, die size, and integrated graphics. The -3770 is Ivy Bridge whereas the former is Sandy Bridge, yet the 3770 is $45 cheaper on Newegg.
 
socal87

socal87

Drag Race Newbie
BTW, I have a Windows 7 distro (x86/64) that's self activating; I don't know if I have the torrent file, but it's out there. Just sayin.
 
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