Thread: Building a PC

Originally Posted by crapoo16

Hopefully the build goes A-OK, first time building, I've watched someone build before though, and i've done a lot of upgrades though, so I'm only new to the CPU and Front panel.

I never built a PC before myself, but I had hardly any issues after assembling it. I really just had some problems with molex power connections (including one with a loose pin). There was nothing that ever put any system component in jeopardy. Just be sure to read the manuals and literature that comes with the products, to be extra sure that you haven't forgotten or overlooked anything. Most connections only let you make them one way.

I'm not on a tight budget, but I think the i5 will suffice for at least another 5 years? hopefully? It's (only) another $100 compared to the i5-2500k, but I think I'll have to pass..

Again... if you get the lowest model i7, you're getting a DOWNGRADE compared to the i5-2500k, for most purposes.

The i5-2500k will match or exceed the LOWEST model i7 for tasks like gaming. The tasks at which the lowest model i7 excels are those that can make extensive use of hyperthreading, like media production, as Nick said previously in this thread, tasks which you aren't interested in as a home user.

Originally Posted by Nick2.1

The microcenter deal is a working effort to get people to come to the store and buy other products, they don't really need it considering they are pretty nice stores from what I've heard.

Right but here's what I don't get:

1) As you said, they don't need it.
2) This discount applies to online purchases too, not just in-store purchases, so one could easily buy their processor from Microcenter.com and everything else from, say, Newegg.
3) The processor is often the most expensive part of a build, or at least one of the most expensive parts. A processor discount as big as this one here significantly cuts into Microcenter's profits per newly built machine.

So... I dunno..

Hard Drive prices have gone up dramatically since the manufacturing facility was flooded and the prices probably won't go down for a while even though I doubt they are suffering anymore by now.

Oh really? I was unaware. Was it a particular company's?

Originally Posted by crapoo16

1. Yeah, thankfully everything is only 1 way, Just got to be thorough and careful, i just wanna boot the baby up already and get to playing games :P. I'm just afraid of not being fragile enough with the processor haha.

Oh god, I know what you mean... I had difficulty taking it out of the package. I thought I damaged it in the process, but it was fine.

But don't be too careful with it. You HAVE to make sure that the heatsink fan has good thermal contact with the top of the processor, and that means having to push the heatsink's pins into the motherboard and making them mechanically snap in place, then adjusting the do-hickies on the legs to secure a tight physical fit.

2. If I were to go for i7, i would have just dished out for the 2600k, and as KT mentioned

My bad. I wasn't paying attention.

3. For the processors at microcenter, they don't ship (or for the most part), so people still gotta drive out to one of their 23 locations nationwide, thankfully I live 5 miles from one.

Ooooh, whoops, that explains it

I live near one as well. Thank god.

4. I have read nothing about it, but my brother told me about it too. Some flood in Taiwan or Thaliand (No offense to those that live in said countries, I just can't remember which one he told me.. at least I'm not using them interchangeably like an ignorant asshole) that really jacked up the HD prices. I was confused as to why my buddy was paying $100 for a 1TB Internal HD when just weeks before I spent $65 on a 1.5TB HD lol.

Ooooooh... interesting.

I bet it has something to do with the manufacturing of read/write heads... those are probably the biggest pain of all the components to make for hard drives.


And it looks like it does have something to do with the read/write head after all, at least...

http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...consumers_most

Thanks everyone for the replies and advice so far. I've been suggested various build options and contemplating what to change. I just haven't had the time to sit down and really put a second build together.

Originally Posted by Harner

You're building a gaming rig and not going with an i7? I'd also recommend going to a 10000rpm drive and 12GB RAM.

If you save a couple dollars going with a cheaper but similar quality case, you may be able to squeeze the extra horsepower in.

I'm going to pass on the 10000rpm HD. I'd like to get an SSD drive sometime in the future. I've come across reasonable arguments for and against getting an i7. I think the i5 is good for me now because it achieves what I want and will last me. However, I'm really interested in the i7 and will dwell upon it further. I have an interest in video editting though not enough warranting an i7. While I've been mentioning that the government is paying for this I don't have a blank check(I wish).

Originally Posted by sailor jack

why did you get lots of money/can i have some?

Because I'm a baller.

truth

BECAUSE IM A BALLER

the real truth

I did a contract with the military for four years. I just finished that up, so now they're paying for my college tuition(paid to college) and rent(a certain amount paid to me). Also, I recently came back from a seven month deployment in Europe and the Middle East. Certain parts of the world grant tax exemptions so I'd get my full paycheck. Plus, being on deployment earns you certain bonuses for just being on deployment in certain parts of the world. With that in mind, I lived on a ship that provided everything I needed so I had no reason to spend my money. Finally, my dad is an air traffic controller and they force retire people in that career at 56. He retired in July and for Christmas gave me and my sister a fat cash present. My car is paid off, my parents pay my phone bill, and I got good cheap insurance. Also, I'm a baller.

Originally Posted by Nick2.1

That memory is triple channel. 1155 boards do NOT support 3 ram sticks at a time. You might want to go with a Z68 board in case something goes wrong with the GPU you can still run the integrated GPU. Horrible time to buy a HDD unfortunately.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231422

Yes thank you. A lot of people have pointed that out and I feel goofy and thanks for the suggestion. I partially blame pcpartspicker because it is only suppose to show compatible parts when building, and I blame myself for not knowing the difference.

Originally Posted by ShitFace

Sorry Harner, you're usually on the ball with these things, but have you taken some retarded pills or something?
You don't need an i7 for gaming at all, its pointless. Unless you're doing graphics rendering or CAD or something, you don't need an i7.

The only benefits over an i5 that an i7 has is that it has multi-threading and some extra cache. Games don't even use multi-threading properly at the moment, and you can overclock the i5 to much higher speeds than i7, even if you overclocked the i7.

You may say well, what about those that don't want to overclocking?
I say, its easy as fuck now. Motherboard tech make it very easy now, gui bios etc. Some places even overclock it for you.

tl;dr : don't get i7 if its just for gaming, get an i5 2500k and overclock the shit out of it

@MPR: I will take a proper look sometime at the weekend (lol adjusting to new job), unless I get some free time before then. But I am more than willing to make a decent build with awesome prices for you if you want. (lol if i can get better prices than you...replied before reading whole thread...*hangs head in shame*)

@Looshius: You get the one I picked? How you like it?

Well I am thanking you for posting this pcpartspicker site in a thread somewhere else on this site because this process would have taken me a lot longer without it.

Originally Posted by Harner

Retarded pills? Yes. However, if you're building a computer called a gaming rig, why settle for a mid-level CPU? MPR is looking at a high end box to put all this shit in, and only going middle of the road on a CPU.

Fuck overclocking.

I have somewhat of a gaming rig as well, and only really skimped on the video card (which I now regret). I like to host VM's, have 100 apps open, and run Skyrim on high settings at the same time. My i7 doesn't give a shit, and it's only the 920. Both are excellent processors, and if you're just gaming, the i5 will be fine. The $100 difference probably cannot be justified with gaming.

TL;DR- I don't really give a fuck.

I'm actually thinking about changing the box because I could shift some cash to other areas of the PC such as getting an i7. While I'd take pride in my computer the least important aspect to me right now is the box. I've been given suggestions of other boxes that would do just as fine and incredibly more affordable. This is my first computer build and really I just want something better than I can get at the store or online without paying the exorbitant prices of Alienware/Cyberpower/etc. I think, at a minimum, a year or two from now I'll build a better rig with $2000 budget.

Originally Posted by sycld

Yer, what the all-knowing Nick said. You're assuming that all i5's are superior to all i7's, but just a little bit of research would bear out that the i5-2500k is better for gaming than the i7-920.

Also, MPR, you're not being a sucker because you're taking advantage of Microcenter's "my god did they steal these processors or how the hell are they making a profit" pricing. Good for you.

Other than that, I'm no expert. But I like my gaming rig.

Are you sure that you can live with a 500 GB hard drive? I don't think I could.

I have never heard of Microcenter until using pcpartspicker, but browsing around and comparing some of the prices I occasionally find cheaper parts.

Originally Posted by sycld

I never built a PC before myself, but I had hardly any issues after assembling it. I really just had some problems with molex power connections (including one with a loose pin). There was nothing that ever put any system component in jeopardy. Just be sure to read the manuals and literature that comes with the products, to be extra sure that you haven't forgotten or overlooked anything. Most connections only let you make them one way.

I'm already paranoid that I'm going to fry the parts because of some rogue static charge that built up in me. Also, speaking of shocks, while researching building computers there was something I read that when building a computer there was some part or component of a PC that if touched while charged or not wearing proper protection could kill you. For the life of me I can't remember but that kind of jolted me up out my seat.

Originally Posted by Mad Pino Rage

I read that when building a computer there was some part or component of a PC that if touched while charged or not wearing proper protection could kill you. For the life of me I can't remember but that kind of jolted me up out my seat.

Err... the power supply? It has to be that. I don't think anything else could possibly supply enough current to seriously harm you in a PC.

And that's only if the power supply has been plugged in. Even after the supply and the PC are shut off, the power supply can output a lethal current because of the stored charge in the supply's enormous capacitors.

However, I think that if you don't open the power supply, and you don't do something like fool around with it while it's plugged in, you really have nothing at all to worry about. But this is why you never, ever open the power supply yourself.

(And even fooling around with it while it's off but still plugged in is probably mostly safe. However, it still can be quite dangerous... don't spill your sooda on it...)

Originally Posted by Mad Pino Rage

I'm already paranoid that I'm going to fry the parts because of some rogue static charge that built up in me. Also, speaking of shocks, while researching building computers there was something I read that when building a computer there was some part or component of a PC that if touched while charged or not wearing proper protection could kill you. For the life of me I can't remember but that kind of jolted me up out my seat.

The PSU could give you a good shocking, my old computer had a horrible PSU that shocked me a few times. It was only a mid shock, tasers can shock you more then a faulty PSU. When putting the computer together, don't have the PSU plugged in or have the switch on, if you need open you computer and do something in it, i suggest you flip the switch off. There really isn't anything to be afraid of really, I guarantee any decent rated PSU you buy will be of better quality then what you see in pre-built computers.

EDIT: Corsair is having a 15% off PSU sale untill the 8th, I'd suggest this. I have a 3 year old Corsair and it runs perfectly.
EDIT 2: And free shipping, you should always check for that in products.