Building a new rig, need help
 

So yeah, I'm building a new rig but this is going to be my first time building one. The thing is I don't know if there are any obvious errors in this parts list that I put together. If anyone wants to take a look at this and point out anything that I can improve that would be helpful.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($116.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($108.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.39 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.49 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($472.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi XL (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($144.78 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.97 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($154.97 @ Amazon)
Total: $1833.52
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-02 02:15 EDT-0400)

Re: Building a new rig, need help
 

You should save yourself a couple bucks and find windows 7 a different way wink wink. And also probably cut down the amount of ram down to 8 gigs since I don't think you would really use 16gigs

Re: Building a new rig, need help
 

Yeah, either that or I might just get windows 8 at this point. It looks neat and I might like it. I can't remember where I read or heard it but someone or something said that 16 gigs was the way to go since I'm already going to be so invested and that the comp uses what ram is available since more ram is available more is used or something like that. I've skimmed a lot of different articles at this point.

Re: Building a new rig, need help
 

You would only need more than 8 gigs of ram if you were seriously mutli-tasking and even then you wouldn't really need that much. If you ran like a bunch of tabs over 3 screens even 12 Gigs of ram would suffice. As for windows 8 I would suggest not. While the amount of resources it uses are a lot less the amount of hurdles you have to go through in order to achieve a simple task would just make you rip your hair out.

Re: Building a new rig, need help
 

The only issue I see is using an Ivy Bridge processor with a Z68 motherboard. You'd have to flash the motherboard using a different processor before you could use your processor. It's easier to pick a different motherboard with the Z77 chipset.

If you're just gaming 8 gigs of ram is more than enough, or you can splurge for the 16.

Re: Building a new rig, need help
 

If I were you I would wait until June until you start a new build. The reason being is that Intel plans to roll out a new series of CPUs (Haswell) and they require a different socket from the motherboard you chose. Additionally, If you don't plan on SLI/CrossFireX, you could tone down the power supply wattage quite a bit and save some money as well (say, to 450 watts, perhaps even more).

Re: Building a new rig, need help
 

No 450 watts is cutting it a bit too close. I would recommend 650W more than anything.

Also i7's are set to last you probably about two years. By that time Intel will probably be rolling out another new product of some sort so it wouldn't really matter when he upgrades.

Re: Building a new rig, need help
 

Maybe, but Intel processors have become really efficient in terms of energy usage and as a result, one can afford a few hundred watts. There are wattage calculators online, so use those in case my estimate was incorrect.

Correct, but I don't see the harm in waiting for the Haswell line of CPUs to roll out unless this new build is needed right away. It's a matter of squeezing out that much more performance, even if it may not be much.

Re: Building a new rig, need help
 

Do NOT skimp on power supply. It will save you more in the long run if you plan on SLI in the future. The one you picked is great (Decent reviews). The 680 likes at least a 550Watt system (it pulls 195W itself).

Stay with 16GB on RAM, The next upgrade (3-6 years) should be to 32 GB :3

Mobo is legit, you need version f12 or newer for that CPU. Link below for download.
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...?pid=3853#bios

That case is nice. http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/pr...inobi-xl#specs Check out the cooling section. You may be able to add a couple 120mm case fans. I am not really a fan of liquid cooling. "each his own"

Lission to Fission. Wait it out if you can, not only is haswell dropping power consumption but bringing 10% performance boost. (I could be wrong on numbers) Also, price drops incoming!