Leftwich's PC Build (Stage 1)

[Argath]

I highly recommend going to microcenter in Fairfax to look at prices before you buy anything. They have the best prices of anywhere including new egg by far

[Maynard]

ssd times are phenominal compared to sata drives. i have a 128 gb ssd and a 1 tb sata. i use the ssd for all my program files (windows, chrome, misc installed programs) and games that are installed. again, the speed is incredible compared to a sata.

W7 takes 12-15 seconds to load...thats from when i push the power button until all start up programs are up and running. A restart take 30 seconds. When playing games it is even more noticable.

The prices are dropping super fast. the 128 gb samsung i bought was about 250 and is now 130.

when buying, there are 2 that really stood out from the rest...the Crucial M4 and the Samsungs. This was me doing extensive research on reliability and speeds.

Also, use this guide when installing Windows with an SSD. extremely valueable

http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds/0_20

[Leftwich]

I highly recommend going to microcenter in Fairfax to look at prices before you buy anything. They have the best prices of anywhere including new egg by far

I know, i plan on getting out there some time this week.

On another note i got my monitor and case today. I expect to order everything within the next couple of weeks.

[Maynard]

what case and monitor did you get? what else do u have so far?

[Leftwich]

Alright thus far i have purchased:

Case:
APEVIA X-SUPRA G-Type X-SUPRAG-BL Black / Blue SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144218

Monitor:
ASUS VH232H Glossy Black 23" 5ms Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000:1 w/Speakers & HDMI

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236079

HDD:
Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148834

DVD Burner:
SAMSUNG DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA Model SH-224BB - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151256

CPU Cooler:
ZALMAN CNPS9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223

Keyboard:
Rosewill RK-100 Black 107 Normal Keys USB Standard Keyboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823201028

Mouse:
Microsoft L2 Wireless Mouse 2000 36D-00013 Tilt Wheel USB RF Wireless BlueTrack Mouse

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105550

Surge Protector:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812120403

Wire management is gonna be a nightmare but i don't really care cause its not like i'm showing this thing off to everyone. Going to get the processor i want from Microcenter cause they have a hell of a deal on the one i'm looking at along with a motherboard combo deal. Skimped on the keyboard and mouse cause they don't fucking matter. And i know the CPU cooler works for the CPU i'm looking at.

[Maynard]

some food for thought.

2 tb hard drive is nice and roomy. but what if it fails? you might think about a two 1 tb drives just for peice of mind. Looking at reviews and research im sure you can see the failure rate on hard drives makes any hd risky

nice case, but like you said, no cable management. the top mounted psu might be a problem too. it also doesnt list having any USB 3.0 ports. 3.0 is twice as fast and having a front mounted 3.0 port is gold. you mobo will probably have rear mounted, but that might be a bitch depending on where you locate the tower. looks like a great value for what you get and paid

that m/kb you bought. you can probably find a wireless combo for the same price. check this link

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007651+600010467+600009728&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=63&description=&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

check you heatsink fan specs. makes sure the side door on your case will close. something people forget is the space of the mobo, then the added length the cpu fan adds...plus your case has a side fan right in the area of the heatsink fan. just be sure to check the dimensions.

if you use newegg dont forget to sign up for the shoprunner free trial for 30 days. just about everything is free 2 day shipping. i have had mine since jan of 2012. it keeps getting extended. i just got another email extending it for all of 2013....i never paid a dime to use it

[Leftwich]

Maynard i see that you only went 8gigs on the memory. I was thinking 16. Thoughts?

[killgod]

a better question is what the hell do you need 16GB for? You're not going to see any noticeable performance improvements from 8 to 16GB really. Unless your goal is to not have a swap file, then you could achieve that with 16GB. I suppose if you have a plan for it, go get it, but if there's no rhyme or reason for going up to 16, I think it's wasteful.

I'd save the money on the excess RAM and get a SSD boot drive or a 2nd HDD to mirror the one you got instead.

[padman59]

Maynard i see that you only went 8gigs on the memory. I was thinking 16. Thoughts?

What do you plan on doing with your PC? 8GB is enough for gaming alone.

[Maynard]

basically it was a cost issue and i felt like 8 was more than enough for my needs. 16 still feels like overkill to me, but i like having the option to go up to 32 if i ever need to.

i can do anything i want with 8gb. gaming, video, mass browser tabs ect. i have never come close to pushing the limits.

i had this link in my bookmarks. its an article on ram and what to get.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/how-much-ram-do-i-need/17491

[Leftwich]

Well i am going down to 8 gigs but down the line i'm sure i'll make the great debate about 16. I just realized i need somewhere to store all this so i'm gonna get a desk as well.

[St. Francisco]

I've been considering doing this as well, but I hold off because of the time I spend offshore. Still, it would be nice to have a gaming rig at home that can play any game at premium settings whenever I want.

If I do build one, I know for sure I want this case. I know it's 300, but it's so pretty, and I love it.

[Leftwich]

http://www.microcenter.com/product/388575/Core_i7_3770K_35GHz_LGA_1155_Processor#

229?! On my way.

[padman59]

http://www.microcenter.com/product/3...155_Processor#

229?! On my way.

I really wish I had a MicroCenter near me.

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

May I ask what games you guys are playing on these rigs ?

Im bored of console games. I just never had an interest in PC gaming since Xbox1 days.

Few questions.
When played on a monitor or better yet a large HDTV set how big is the Graphics gap between PC and console. It used to be massive but TV res has caught up , Im curious how much more detail PC games are putting into a 1080p res.

If anyone has screenshots of highend games Id like to see.