My Most Advanced Build Yet -- Need Advice-Help !!

[fsufan0025]

I've built my own towers for 15+ years without any trouble to speak of. All have been built for less than $900 and only the last 1 was watercooled. (Corsair H60) But -- my last build was in Nov. of 2011 and things have changed since then. I've always been brand loyal when it comes to components, (Antec or Thermaltake cases, Crucial memory, Seagate HD's, etc.) but wanted to look at other options this time around. Already ordered the parts from NewEgg, and they will be in Thursday, and I need some advice\help please.
Please keep in mind that I don't game, and never overclock. I use my 60 in Sharp TV as a monitor and my Samsung HT for audio. Here's the parts I ordered. Sure -- I'm having 2nd thoughts on some of them and want to hear the opinion of those more knowledgeable than I am !! (almost everyone !!)
In-Win GRone case -- blk It's huge, has a spot for 10 120mm fans, looks great !
EVGA 750 watt full modular 80 gold PSU Great deal and a friend swears by them
ASRock Fatallity 990 Killer Not sure here. Should have gone with a MSI or a Gigabyte but wanted a 990 chipset. Buyers remorse ??
AMD 8320 CPU 8 core. Thought about a intel i5 and a 1150 socket m\b but have been AMD since I started.
16 gig of GSkill 12,800 ddr3 with 10-10-10-30 timing and CL of 10 Great reviews but not sure about the timing\CL.
Toshiba 1TB 7200 HD and a Sandisk 64 gb ssd. Should have gone with a WD black and a Samsung EVO ssd. May return those to NewEgg and buy the others at Best Buy. Anyone have experience with the 2 I bought ?? Is it worth it to get a 10k HD since I don't game ??
2 LG dvd drives (1 dvd-rom 1 dvd-rw dl)
Aerocool fan controller with a sd card reader and a usb 3.0 port built in. Great looks and keeps me from needing a media card reader.
8 Corsair 120 mm red fans. Stock 1's aren't that great so I'll replace them all off the bat.
And -- a XFX double d R9 280 3gb video card. Not a 280x, but a 280. On sale, good deal but wanted a Asus or the MSI but both were sold out at NewEgg at the time
I also bought a Raijintek 240mm AIO watercooling kit. Great reviews and looks great, but people say it leaks, even when new. So -- what's the best way to test it outside of my case, before installation ?? Anyone using this cooler and have advice or helpful info ??
I'll welcome any HELPFUL info or advice on this tower build. Everyone is more knowledgeable than I am, so please share any info or advice you have, and thanks in advance !!

 

[kn00tcn]

well... unfortunately you already bought

i have to say, this is all over the place
-TINY SSD which means cost per GB is high, wearing out will be higher, there wont be much room for anything other than OS & a few apps
-15+ years of AMD? are you sure that's a good idea?
-ram timing wouldnt make too much difference, as long as it's at least 1600mhz, just put the exact model number here as i think you didnt write it correctly (12,800?)
-i dont see how a 10k drive is worth it anywhere
-an upper mid/lower high gfx card NOT for games?
-TWO dvd drives!? you know the burner reads them fine, unless you are trying to for example very specifically use a specific (lite-on?) reader that is capable of generating disc quality graphs with a very specific burner that is known to have slightly better burn quality (i did this in 2008, got a pioneer 216D, about the best burner at the time, but it cannot read disc quality)
-stock fans are 'fine', might as well test them first

can you edit the post to list the prices & maybe have a bullet point for each item?

what is this going to be used for? anything wrong with the 2011 one? things havent really changed much

 

[GeForce Junky]

Strange build that, what do you use your PC for?

 

[fsufan0025]

I bought 2 dvd drives so i can copy disc i already have if needed. I only plan on having the os on the ssd but would be open to a larger one with more capacity. Didnt think that a 10k hd would be justified. Bought the XFX card since i would be using the tv as a monitor and wanted the best picture possible.

 

[GeForce Junky]

Why not something like this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/R6JBWZ

Only need one disc drive, to copy discs.
Bigger SSD and HDD
No need for a 750w PSU
No need for a GPU
No need for crazy amount of fans
No need for water cooler
Smaller case

 

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

Looks to be a pretty solid build you got there. Maybe a bigger ssd but other then that pretty good.

 

[Caring1]

I bought 2 dvd drives so i can copy disc i already have if needed. I only plan on having the os on the ssd but would be open to a larger one with more capacity. Didnt think that a 10k hd would be justified. Bought the XFX card since i would be using the tv as a monitor and wanted the best picture possible.

A 5450 is quite capable of full H.D. and even Blu-Ray playback, more powerful graphics are only needed for their added compute power in the software applications to speed the processing side.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

In-Win GRone case -- blk It's huge, has a spot for 10 120mm fans, looks great !

Case selection has a lot to do with personal preference, if you like it, ok, but you don't need a 10 fan case for your purposes.

EVGA 750 watt full modular 80 gold PSU Great deal and a friend swears by them

EVGA is selling some of the best PSUs available, but you don't need anywhere near 750 watts. 500 would be plenty with room to spare.

ASRock Fatallity 990 Killer Not sure here. Should have gone with a MSI or a Gigabyte but wanted a 990 chipset. Buyers remorse ??

If I built a AMD FX based system, I would highly consider using that board.

AMD 8320 CPU 8 core. Thought about a intel i5 and a 1150 socket m\b but have been AMD since I started.

Nothing really wrong with the 8350. It is a very capable CPU.

16 gig of GSkill 12,800 ddr3 with 10-10-10-30 timing and CL of 10 Great reviews but not sure about the timing\CL.

GSkill makes good reliable RAM, but you didn't need it to be that fast. DDR3 1600 CL9 would have been just as good.

Toshiba 1TB 7200 HD and a Sandisk 64 gb ssd. Should have gone with a WD black and a Samsung EVO ssd. May return those to NewEgg and buy the others at Best Buy. Anyone have experience with the 2 I bought ?? Is it worth it to get a 10k HD since I don't game ??

For your purposes, I probably would have skipped on the SSD and just got a 2TB or bigger HD. More room for music and video files, what I am assuming is a main part of your systems purpose.

2 LG dvd drives (1 dvd-rom 1 dvd-rw dl)

Don't know if this was really necessary in today digital DL world.

Aerocool fan controller with a sd card reader and a usb 3.0 port built in. Great looks and keeps me from needing a media card reader.

serves a purpose then

8 Corsair 120 mm red fans. Stock 1's aren't that great so I'll replace them all off the bat.

Why? If you are not OC'ing, you don't need that much air flow. Two intake and one exhaust fan is all you need at most.

And -- a XFX double d R9 280 3gb video card. Not a 280x, but a 280. On sale, good deal but wanted a Asus or the MSI but both were sold out at NewEgg at the time

Waste of money. If you are not gaming, the onboard video chip is plenty for 1080p videos.

I also bought a Raijintek 240mm AIO watercooling kit. Great reviews and looks great, but people say it leaks, even when new. So -- what's the best way to test it outside of my case, before installation ?? Anyone using this cooler and have advice or helpful info ??

Return it, no need for aftermarket cooling for the 8320 if you are running stock speeds. If you really want an aftermarket cooler, get a Cooler Master 212 EVO.

 

[ne6togadno]

-ram timing wouldnt make too much difference, as long as it's at least 1600mhz, just put the exact model number here as i think you didnt write it correctly (12,800?)

pc12 800 = 1600mhz ram

@fsufan0025
amd fx benefit from higher ram clocks better then intel. you can see small performance increase if you get 1866 or 2100mhz ram but it is worthy only if price diff is not more then 10$
10-10-10-30 for 1600 is a bit on lower side. 1600 normaly is 9-9-9-27 or even 8-8-8-24 but marketed as extreme and priced accordingly.
10-10-10-30 is ok for 2100-2400mhz range.
7200rpm hdd is ok but i would go for bigger ssd - 128 or 256gb but definitely not from sandisk. look at crusial mx100, mx500, ocz vertex 460, ocz arc 100, amd radeon (ocz rebrand) and as last option samsung evo but if you can afford it go for pro over evo. 2tb hdd has better gb/$ ratio then 1tb. for about 30$ more you can get double the hdd size.
if you are not going ot oc you dont need aio for this cpu. it works fine and silent with cm 212evo
if you are not gaming r9 270x will be more then enough for 1080p msi, gigabyte, asus powercolor and xfx as very last choice. also look at 750ti from nvidia
psu is a bit overkill. 550-650w will be enough but if you plan to go high end later it is ok.

edit:

Waste of money. If you are not gaming, the onboard video chip is plenty for 1080p videos.

fx dont have igpu
someone havnt finshed morning coffie yet

Return it, no need for aftermarket cooling for the 8350 if you are running stock speeds. If you really want an aftermarket cooler, get a Cooler Master 212 EVO.

delta fans on stock cooler are quite noisy (5k rpm ). 212 evo will give much more pleasent ride

 

[Devon68]

Well here goes my rambling
In-Win GRone case -- it really does looks great
EVGA 750 watt full modular 80 gold PSU. This is a great psu, an xfx would have been fine too.
ASRock Fatallity 990 Killer Not sure why go for the 990 chipset or this board if not planning to overclock.
AMD 8320 CPU 8 core. Well a bit older cpu but for your usage it will do just fine.
16 gig of GSkill 12,800 ddr3. The timings could have been better and 8 GB would be enough even for a gaming PC.
Toshiba 1TB 7200 HD and a Sandisk 64 gb ssd. Should have gone with a WD black and a Samsung EVO ssd. WD blue would be enough and at least a 128gb ssd or even a 90gb ssd, but 64 will be just barely enough.
?? Is it worth it to get a 10k HD since I don't game ?? Nope, even if you game.
2 LG dvd drives (1 dvd-rom 1 dvd-rw dl). This is fine.
And -- a XFX double d R9 280 3gb video card. Maybe should have gone with the 280 x version but as you said if games aren't your thing it will be plenty
I also bought a Raijintek 240mm AIO watercooling kit. That was totally overkill, a cheap ass hyper 212 evo could have done the job great.
For the fact that you said "Please keep in mind that I don't game, and never overclock." you build a pc that can do both pretty well

delta fans on stock cooler are quite noisy (5k rpm ). 212 evo will give much more pleasent ride

Is that only on the FX 8xxx series? because the one that came with my fx-6100 never went above 3500 rpm. (it was mostly between 2200-2600rpm)

 

[BarbaricSoul]

pc12 800 = 1600mhz ram


fx dont have igpu
someone havnt finshed morning coffie yet

You are correct, I had some kinda half asleep math going on in my head, for some reason I was thinking that was some 2100 or so RAM.

I don't know why I was thinking the FX had an iGPU. It's not an APU. But still, that 280 is over kill, provided I'm correct in thinking this PC is basically a high-end HTPC.

 

[ne6togadno]

Is that only on the FX 8xxx series? because the one that came with my fx-6100 never went above 3500 rpm. (it was mostly between 2200-2600rpm)

i guess it is with 8xxx.
stock cooler lasted in my pc just for one evening. when closest shop had opened i bought 212evo. back then my case was random 15$ mid tower so it was pretty clear what screams like banshee and i didnt bother to check actual rpms. but i tried 8320's stock cooler with athlon 240 i have in other pc and it was fine till surrounding temps hit 25-27C and banshee noise started again. in bios rpms were about 4200-4500. i changed it back with athlon cooler even thou it gives 5-7C higher temps.
when i checked 8320's fan specs and it turn out it is 70mm delta rated for 5k rpm and hell i am sure damn thing can do em all .

I don't know why I was thinking the FX had an iGPU. It's not an APU. But still, that 280 is over kill, provided I'm correct in thinking this PC is basically a high-end HTPC.

+1 on this.
if htpc and storage is the only purpose for this pc then mid range apu or i3 will do it just fine

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

AMD 8320 CPU 8 core. Thought about a intel i5 and a 1150 socket m\b but have been AMD since I started.

That will be your downfall. AMD isnt high end. Its budget. Despite it being 8 core, intel will run circles around that CPU.

 

[Devon68]

That will be your downfall. AMD isnt high end. Its budget. Despite it being 8 core, intel will run circles around that CPU.

For games maybe but for general use I don't think he will notice any difference

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

For games maybe but for general use I don't think he will notice any difference

who builds a machine like that for general use?

 

[Devon68]

who builds a machine like that for general use?

I know. I was kind of surprised we when he wrote "Please keep in mind that I don't game, and never overclock" and yet bought these components

 

[xvi]

who builds a machine like that for general use?

I was thinking the same. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice setup, but an i3/i5 rig with integrated graphics sounds like it would serve the general purpose better. My Pentium rig is actually really nice for everyday general use. Slap a half decent video card in it and it's quite nice for gaming too.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

TBH Im not real sure the point of this thread since he bought everything anyway. It was a waste of money to get all this just to not game. 16GB is impractical and so is the 280.

Sorry if you dont like to hear it OP, but if youve been building rigs for the last 15 years, you should have known better.

 

[kn00tcn]

I bought 2 dvd drives so i can copy disc i already have if needed. I only plan on having the os on the ssd but would be open to a larger one with more capacity. Didnt think that a 10k hd would be justified. Bought the XFX card since i would be using the tv as a monitor and wanted the best picture possible.

but every card has the best picture possible, the quality comes from the tv/monitor panel itself

if you EVER needed to copy a disc, you can just make an ISO image out of it then burn it, i actually wouldnt trust the idea of 2 drives where the reading one may take its time to read while the burner waits (even with buffer underrun protection), plus the reader will cause vibrations

 

[Ruyki]

if you EVER needed to copy a disc, you can just make an ISO image out of it then burn it, i actually wouldnt trust the idea of 2 drives where the reading one may take its time to read while the burner waits (even with buffer underrun protection), plus the reader will cause vibrations

I've used two drives to copy a disk and it works fine. It can be set up so that the write to the new disk starts only after reading the original disk is finished. This is way more convenient than using just one drive since you can just set up the process and leave your pc and the disk will be copied when you come back.

 

[xLegendary]

In-Win GRone case -- blk It's huge, has a spot for 10 120mm fans, looks great ! -> Looks good indeed
EVGA 750 watt full modular 80 gold PSU Great deal and a friend swears by them -> Not so sure about EVGA, would rather go for HX from Corsair.
ASRock Fatallity 990 Killer Not sure here. Should have gone with a MSI or a Gigabyte but wanted a 990 chipset. Buyers remorse ?? -> Excellent choice
AMD 8320 CPU 8 core. Thought about a intel i5 and a 1150 socket m\b but have been AMD since I started. -> Someone has to help AMD right? no jks aside, its pretty good CPU.
16 gig of GSkill 12,800 ddr3 with 10-10-10-30 timing and CL of 10 Great reviews but not sure about the timing\CL. -> Approved
Toshiba 1TB 7200 HD and a Sandisk 64 gb ssd. Should have gone with a WD black and a Samsung EVO ssd. - > Would definitly get a bigger SSD, you have plenty like ARC 100 under 100USD much bigger and faster. I would match those with 1TB WD HDD
2 LG dvd drives (1 dvd-rom 1 dvd-rw dl)
Aerocool fan controller with a sd card reader and a usb 3.0 port built in. Great looks and keeps me from needing a media card reader.
8 Corsair 120 mm red fans. Stock 1's aren't that great so I'll replace them all off the bat.
And -- a XFX double d R9 280 3gb video card. Not a 280x, but a 280. On sale, good deal but wanted a Asus or the MSI but both were sold out at NewEgg at the time -> Not really a huge fan of XFX, maybe Sapphire? they have better cooling

 

[joeylee032]

Why AMD? Because cheaper? If you really do go with AMD, I guess the Fatality 990 is one of the better ones.

 

[fsufan0025]

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Looks nice, but if I could downvote, I would. Just for the sole fact that all that is utterly useless for what youre going to use it for.

 

[xvi]

I've done some things just because I can. If it makes op happy, so be it. Looks like it all came together well.