Bought/ordered the hardware today

[tropicmaster]

Hope I made the right decisions based on advice given here. Although I am going to put the thing together I do have a local shop that is going to do the initial boot, OS install, and optimize it for $35. Here is what I bought:

IntelCore I5 -3540 3.1 ghz quad core
Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 LGA
Patriot Viper 3 16gb memory 2X4 gb pc3 12800
Corsair Neutron GTX CSSD 240 gb HD
Toshiba 500gb 7200 rpm 32 mb cache SATA 6.o Gb/s HD
LG 24X dvdrw
Radeon R 7770 Vcard
Thermaltake MS II case
3 Arctic F12 case fans 120mm
Thermatake TR2 RX750 PSU

Guys at the store I bought most of it from are of the opinion it will be a thunderbolt, hope they are right! Some of it is off the web and wont be here till next week.

[ALMOSTunseen]

The 7770 may be only thing letting you down, Thats just my opinion, otherwise, the build looks great.

[punisher186]

Why not install the OS yourself and put the $35 into a 3570k? Running virtual machines or something for that 16GB RAM?

[erixx]

Thread title is so...... Mmm, so..... whatever..... Maybe optimize it?

[tropicmaster]

Actually I got cold feet and stopped the order. Still not convinced I want to tackle the initial boot and OS install but here is my revised build list. I do agree on the 7700 but I am somewhat limited on initial build cost and that can most easily be upgraded later. And to ne honest I am not going to be surprised if the 7700 2gb card will do everything I ever need it to do. I may talk myself into taking it from beginning to end and will continue reading back posts on here on the subject.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.98 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper Xtreme Series, Division 2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($86.93 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7770 2GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I Epic Edition (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts 650W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Samsung SN-208BB DVD/CD Writer ($28.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.07 @ Amazon)
Total: $1041.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

[brandonwh64]

Go with a 7850 if you can. the 7770 is as others said going to let you down

[MxPhenom 216]

Sorry, not trying to be a downer, but if you can't install the OS to your own computer that you built, then why are you building the computer. There is nothing to it but booting from OS disk or USB drive with the ISO on it, following the onscreen prompt/instructions, installing the drivers, and then your good from there. Id be afraid as to what that computer shop would do when they say "Optimize"

If you don't want to do the inital boot and install the OS, don't build the computer. The initial boot is the one of the best parts of building a computer, because when it works, and it should its VERY rewarding. And when you go to press the power button, its adrenaline filling.

[punisher186]

Better. But you should go for the 3570k if you plan on overclocking. Even if you don't see yourself overclocking now, it's still worth the extra $15 because you may change your mind in the future. If you change your heat sink to the 212 Plus, you get that $15 for the unlocked i5 and pretty much the same temperatures (I think there is like a 5°C temperature difference between the two.) You can get cheaper RAM, 8GB Ripjaws DDR3 1600 goes for $39.99 shipped. There's nothing wrong with the build you already have picked out, it's just that you can get equal parts for less cash. Don't be scared about installing 7, it's nearly impossible to screw up since your hand is pretty much held throughout the entire process with fancy GUI and whatnot.

[brandonwh64]

Originally Posted by punisher186

Better. But you should go for the 3570k if you plan on overclocking..........

He cannot even install his own OS, much less start OCing.

[MxPhenom 216]

OP, why did you downgrade to the Vertex 4 SSD. Keep with the Corsair Neutron 240.

[tropicmaster]

Guys I can install the OS! ,Ive done that plenty of times over the years. It is the initial boot and bios config that I am not confident in. Especially if something doesnt go quite right.

MXPhenom it was a compromise, trying to stay right at 1K on the parts and when I slid up to the 3570 I had to drop a little elsewhere. I gave some thought to staying with the 3450, and then upping the GPU to the 7850, but felt the 2 gb 7770 was very close to same performance. Keep in mind that I don't need the kind of heat you guys are carrying. When I benchmark this build it shows as very close to the top in all categories other than 3D rendering, and is at the upper end of even that. The benchmark with 3570/7770 was quite a bit better than 3450/7850.
The benchmark didn't seem to change noticeably with the downgrade to the SSD so thats why I chose it.

[brandonwh64]

Originally Posted by tropicmaster

Guys I can install the OS! ,Ive done that plenty of times over the years. It is the initial boot and bios config that I am not confident in. Especially if something doesnt go quite right.

There is really no bios config you have to do unless you are running multiple hard drives then you would need to set the OS drive to be first boot. Other than that. You shouldn't need to enter the bios peroid.

[ALMOSTunseen]

Originally Posted by tropicmaster

Guys I can install the OS! ,Ive done that plenty of times over the years. It is the initial boot and bios config that I am not confident in. Especially if something doesnt go quite right.

MXPhenom it was a compromise, trying to stay right at 1K on the parts and when I slid up to the 3570 I had to drop a little elsewhere. I gave some thought to staying with the 3450, and then upping the GPU to the 7850, but felt the 2 gb 7770 was very close to same performance. Keep in mind that I don't need the kind of heat you guys are carrying. When I benchmark this build it shows as very close to the top in all categories other than 3D rendering, and is at the upper end of even that. The benchmark with 3570/7770 was quite a bit better than 3450/7850.
The benchmark didn't seem to change noticeably with the downgrade to the SSD so thats why I chose it.

You should be fine with installing everything, i'm sure if there are any problems, you can just take it to the store, or just ask here.

[Norton]

You can always add an SSD later... I would do the following if it were my money being spent:

- Ditch the SSD
- Buy A WD Blue drive rather than Black
- use the savings to upgrade to a k series cpu and a 7850

The money spent on the cpu and gpu will easily make up for the performance lost from waiting on an SSD.

[MxPhenom 216]

Originally Posted by Norton

You can always add an SSD later... I would do the following if it were my money being spent:

- Ditch the SSD
- Buy A WD Blue drive rather than Black
- use the savings to upgrade to a k series cpu and a 7850

The money spent on the cpu and gpu will easily make up for the performance lost from waiting on an SSD.

this.

The only thing you need to do in the BIOS is set the SATA mode to AHCI. Some boards do it by default now though.

[tacosRcool]

I think 750 W PSU is a bit overkill for this system. Could of saved some money and put it towards the graphics card

[MxPhenom 216]

Originally Posted by tacosRcool

I think 750 W PSU is a bit overkill for this system. Could of saved some money and put it towards the graphics card

Not really, If you have read. He hasn't ordered the system yet. He cancelled it. And if hes going to get a better GPU or whatever then 750w is fine. Better to over shoot it with a PSU then to be underpowered. PSUs run better when they are at about 50% load anyways

[tropicmaster]

Ok slowly but surely your help is getting me there. This latest revise tops out most of the benchmarks even without OC. Took most of your suggestions and came up with this-

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper Xtreme 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($44.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($237.86 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I Epic Edition (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.50 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SN-208BB DVD/CD Writer ($28.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.15 @ Amazon)
Total: $934.42
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

[Norton]

Looks real nice

Go up to 600-750 watts on your psu and it will be even better

- Seasonic 620w or Antec HCG 620 (basically the same psu)
- Corsair TX650
etc..

Seasonic and Corsair make decent units in the $70-90 range. I would go with one of those.

[tropicmaster]

well crap got two of you throwing me conflicting advice here. I'm going to go back with the psu just in case I decide to oc later or Xfire. Was pretty happy with $935, but this wont be a big jump.

Went to the Seasonic 620w S12II and it only took it to $954 out the gate so hopefully I'm done. Estimated power usage is 368 watts so I should be around 50% level most of the time. Going to think it over a day or so and let others chime in here if they wish before I start ordering this weekend. Or do I need to go higher on the PSU ?

[Norton]

Originally Posted by tropicmaster

well crap got two of you throwing me conflicting advice here. I'm going to go back with the psu just in case I decide to oc later or Xfire. Was pretty happy with $935, but this wont be a big jump.

Went to the Seasonic 620w S12II and it only took it to $954 out the gate so hopefully I'm done. Estimated power usage is 368 watts so I should be around 50% level most of the time. Going to think it over a day or so and let others chime in here if they wish before I start ordering this weekend. Or do I need to go higher on the PSU ?

If you're going to order this weekend then consider this Seasonic 650w
- It's got a promo code available (15% off until 10/8- should be less than the 620w)
- has 4x PCIE connectors (needed for crossfire)
- semi modular
Link:
SeaSonic M12II 650 SS-650AM 650W ATX12V / EPS12V S...

[tropicmaster]

The only thing I am unsure of at this point is the case fans- I cannot tell from the description if they are in the case or not. I have a local store that carries Arctic and many other fans so I'm not too worried about it. I think the Arctic F12 120mm's run about 9 bucks and 3 of them should do nicely.

I wish the benchmark feature on PCPartpicker included the old C2D processors so I could see how big a jump I am building over my old system.


ETA-Found all my old system components on Passmark and I'm speechless at the numerical upgrade I am making here! GPU G3D rating of 78 going up to a touch over 4000!

CPU going from total score of 1108 to 7725!

[Norton]

Originally Posted by tropicmaster

The only thing I am unsure of at this point is the case fans- I cannot tell from the description if they are in the case or not. I have a local store that carries Arctic and many other fans so I'm not too worried about it. I think the Arctic F12 120mm's run about 9 bucks and 3 of them should do nicely.

I wish the benchmark feature on PCPartpicker included the old C2D processors so I could see how big a jump I am building over my old system.

I pick up a 4 pack of these once in a while for my builds:
COOLER MASTER R4-S2S-124K-GP 120mm Case Fan 4 in 1...

They are hard to beat for $13.99 per set of 4.... pretty quiet too!

and performance wise- I wouldn't worry. You spec'd out a really quick system

[tacosRcool]

Originally Posted by MxPhenom 216

Not really, If you have read. He hasn't ordered the system yet. He cancelled it. And if hes going to get a better GPU or whatever then 750w is fine. Better to over shoot it with a PSU then to be underpowered. PSUs run better when they are at about 50% load anyways

Actually I did read it and he did buy it. I figured that he did cancel it. Most GPUs nowdays don't consume much power and I still think 750 W is overkill.

I would go for at least 650 W. Seasonic is a great brand too