Advice for new first build?

[cheersandcheerios]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Primarily gaming, with the odd picture editing

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
Around 1000

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Canada all the way, baby!

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
No real preference

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
No carry over from previous one

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Yes

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Possibly will experiment with mild to moderate overclocking (stable, 24/7 overclocks)

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
In the next couple weeks

9. What resolution do you use?
1920X1200

So far:


CPU: Intel Core i5 750 (~200)
Mobo: Asus p7p55D deluxe (~160)
GPU: Geforce GTX 460 (~200), possibly a second one in the future
Case: Cooler Master 690 II (~70)
Hard Drive: 1TB Western Digital either caviar blue or black
PSU: either HX 650W (~100) or Seasonic m12d 750W (~130, because the 120 off is so tempting ...)
RAM: Either 4gb of DDR3-1333 or DDR3-1600. Can I get away with cheaper 1333 if I'm only moderately overclocking?
CPU cooler: Cooler Master 212 (~20)
CD-reader: combo cd/dvd writer (prob 20-25)

Thanks for reading!

[xlilmissmjx]

+1 on your researching, looks like it paid off! Either ram set will be fine, but go for the 1600 if the price difference isn't that much over the 1333 set.

I would go for either the HX650 or 750 from corsair as it gives more amps headroom over the seasonic psu.

Good luck with your build

PS. There is a worklog section here if you want to show off your build and/or help out others who are planning on doing a similar build.

[_dangtx_]

looking good. was thinking amd as well due to budget, but theres only a couple mobos that do sli without a driver hack. if you are going to get sli. if :)

maybe just get the regular 750 to save a buck vs modular? :)

[Rison]

solid build. if it comes down to price, i'd rather get a 640 gig WD black, than a 1TB blue - mainly due to performance.

650-750W would be enough for SLI'ing two 460s, you're good on that.. the only thing left i'd recommend is a dual fan setup for the CM212 - like two Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E or F's (I use F's.. I don't find them that loud) Or Noctua P12's if you want something more expensive.

Go with the DDR3-1600, it's probably the same price (price-matched) as the DDR3-1333.. and well.. 1600 > 1333.

[igor_f]

Good build. As previously mentioned better go with WD black, if this is will be single hard drive solution.
As for me HDD space always the issue, for new system at this point I would go with 2 HDD - 1 system SSD (40Gb more then enough) for performance and 2Tb WD Green for storage, of course if you can afford to spare extra ~150$.

[cheersandcheerios]

Thanks for all the replies! It looks like DDR3-1600 is the way to go (only about $10 difference). As for the PSU, probably going to stick with modular, because I tend to have trouble with cables and neatness (the back of my current computer looks like a rat's nest ). As for the hard drives, in terms of SSD, are the Intel ones any good?

[rapmaster]

Intel X25-M are great SSD, very bang for the buck, but here is an alternative if you want a bigger ssd for cheap.NCIX.com - Buy Kingston SSDNow V Series Gen II 128GB 2.5IN SATA2 Solid State Disk Flash Drive - SNV425-S2/128GB In Canada.

[igor_f]

I personally would stick to the Intel X25-M - excellent choice.
For sure 128Gb SSD for that price is grate if budget can be stratch that far, but for purely system use 40Gb should be enaugh for any avarage system and 80$ in difference can give you extra 1Tb of the regular HDD.

I'm feeling within next 1 year - 128Gb could drop to the 120$ range and will be even faster than current ones.

Originally Posted by rapmaster

Intel X25-M are great SSD, very bang for the buck, but here is an alternative if you want a bigger ssd for cheap.NCIX.com - Buy Kingston SSDNow V Series Gen II 128GB 2.5IN SATA2 Solid State Disk Flash Drive - SNV425-S2/128GB In Canada.

[LacrosseTown]

Originally Posted by Rison

solid build. if it comes down to price, i'd rather get a 640 gig WD black, than a 1TB blue - mainly due to performance.

650-750W would be enough for SLI'ing two 460s, you're good on that.. the only thing left i'd recommend is a dual fan setup for the CM212 - like two Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E or F's (I use F's.. I don't find them that loud) Or Noctua P12's if you want something more expensive.

Go with the DDR3-1600, it's probably the same price (price-matched) as the DDR3-1333.. and well.. 1600 > 1333.

+1 on that one! look into these 2000rpm fans, there cheap but kept my 1090t at a cool 35c at a oc of 4 (the fans come in many dif colors to :P if that mean anything)
NCIX.com - Buy Coolermaster R4-L2R-20AC 120MM Blue LED Case Fan 2000RPM 69CFM 19DBA 3/4 Pin - R4-L2R-20AC In Canada.