First Build - AUD

[ss2]

Hi, I'll be playing FIFA 12, COD 4, COD: MW3, Battlefield 3, Crysis and Quake Live. I want to play these games with full settings, and minimal FPS loss. I'll also be watching blu-ray/hd movies and I will be streaming movies to the tv. I'll also have a lot of programs open at once... programs such as MYOB and other accounting programs (excel etc) I won't just have accounting programs open, I will overclock later on...

Would I need to set up a raid??? I don't know what it is...
What does this mean "Make sure you set your BIOS to AHCI mode before you install Windows on your new SSD"

I looked at the manual and I was checking how many fans the motherboard supports I found these:

PWR_FAN1, CPU_FAN, CPU_FAN_OPT, PWR_FAN2, CHA_FAN2, CHA_FAN1

Whats PWR_FAN1 and PWR_FAN2?
Whats CPU_FAN_OPT? – Optional?

The case comes with 3 fans
1x Rear
1x Top
1x Front

Where would I connect them... I read the manual and it doesn't say much
Would I connect the CPU fan to CPU_FAN?

Out of these two builds which do you think will last longer and will have better performance? I don't plan on upgrading for 3-4 years... Will there be much performance difference in the long run?

Any different suggestions welcome

Differences are marked as ***

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V Pro Motherboard B3 - $214.00
CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K - $221.00
CPU Cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ CPU Cooler - $32.00
Graphics Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 570 1280MB Overclocked V2 - $375.00 ***
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM (2x4GB) DDR3 - $75.90
Hard Drive: Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB HD103SJ - $59.00
SSD: Crucial M4 SSD 128GB - $239.00
Optical Driver: Lite-On IHAS324 24x DVDRW - $29.00
Power Supply: Corsair HX-750 Power Supply - $189.00 ***
Monitor: ASUS VE248H 24in Widescreen LED Monitor - $215.00
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Mechanical Keyboard - $149.00
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder-V2 Infrared Gaming Mouse - $57.00 (already purchased)
Mouse Pad: Razer Goliathus Fragged Standard MouseMat Refresh - Control Version - $15.00 (already purchased)
Speakers: Logitech Z523 2.1 Speaker System - $84.00
Case: CoolerMaster CM 690 II Advanced with Window - $125.00
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit with SP1 OEM $95.00

Total: $2173.90

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V Pro Motherboard B3 - $214.00
CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K - $221.00
CPU Cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ CPU Cooler - $32.00
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB - $269.00 ***
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM (2x4GB) DDR3 - $75.90
Hard Drive: Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB HD103SJ - $59.00
SSD: Crucial M4 SSD 128GB - $239.00
Optical Driver: Lite-On IHAS324 24x DVDRW - $29.00
Power Supply: Corsair HX-650 Power Supply - $138.00 ***
Monitor: ASUS VE248H 24in Widescreen LED Monitor - $215.00
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Mechanical Keyboard - $149.00
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder-V2 Infrared Gaming Mouse - $57.00 (already purchased)
Mouse Pad: Razer Goliathus Fragged Standard MouseMat Refresh - Control Version - $15.00 (already purchased)
Speakers: Logitech Z523 2.1 Speaker System - $84.00
Case: CoolerMaster CM 690 II Advanced with Window - $125.00
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit with SP1 OEM $95.00

Total: $2016.90

Printer: Epson Workforce 633 Wireless Inkjet Multifunction $155.00 (already purchased)

[southbay]

PWR_FAN1, CPU_FAN, CPU_FAN_OPT, PWR_FAN2, CHA_FAN2, CHA_FAN1

Whats PWR_FAN1 and PWR_FAN2?
Enables you to run fans at full speed.
Whats CPU_FAN_OPT? – Optional?
Oh no wait, it's for when you have 2 fans on your cpu cooler, e.g. push and pull so you can use 2 fans.
The case comes with 3 fans
1x Rear
1x Top
1x Front

Where would I connect them... I read the manual and it doesn't say much
You connect the 3 fans included with the Chasis fan connectors and one to a power fan
Would I connect the CPU fan to CPU_FAN?
Yes





Would I need to set up a raid??? I don't know what it is...
You wouldn't need to set up a raid, it's optional. A raid is basically so all the hard drives act as one big hard drive, there are advantages and disadvantages but as you're a new builder, I'd suggest research more on raid before considering it.
What does this mean "Make sure you set your BIOS to AHCI mode before you install Windows on your new SSD"
Basically all you need to do is enable this setting in the bios.
When enabled, the SATA controller enables its AHCI features when the computer boots up.

[ss2]

So when i install the o/s i don't connect the harddrive 1t, but i leave the ssd connected until i install everything needed like updates games and software, then i can connect the harddrive? or when i install something it will give me a option which drive i want to install it too?