# 1st time build looking to build need some advice.



## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

hi

i am looking to build a new pc as my current one is pretty old and being a dell i cannot upgrade it effectively.

So far i have listed the following:

case: Corsair Memory Obsidian 650D Mid-Tower Black Case 
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz LGA1155 6MB
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II/OC 1024MB GDDR5
SSD: Corsair Force GT 2.5" 120GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD - Retail
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750HX Professional Series 750W Power Supply
Heatsink: Corsair CAFA70 Cooling Air Series A70 High-Performance Dual Fan CPU Cooler
RAM: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit - 1.25V Edition 

im not sure what motherboard to buy as im not sure what im looking for. i wanted to pref get a z68 one either by gigabyte or asus. someone suggested a Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3 S1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX
 but im not sure if this is a good motherboard or not. was ideally looking to spend about £120 - £150 on the motherboard.
I also wanted to make sure that all the parts are compatable.


i have answered the following questions for information:

* Budget: How much money are you willing to spend on the new build?* about £1000 

*Brands: Are there any brands of components you want or don't want?* pref well known brands such as asus - gigabyte - corsair. 

*Multitasking: Will you be multitasking with this computer and if so, how much?* not massively, mostly for gaming and occasionally working at home using lotus notes. 
*Gaming: Will you be gaming and if so, how much and how new are the games?* yes i will be gaming - hoping to play skyrim at as high settings as possible

*Calculations: Will you be doing any intense calculations or media encoding?* not majorly. maybe converting file formats for Ipod etc but nothing else

*Overclocking: Do you plan on overclocking and if so, how much? *not from the outset but might do in a few years time

*Storage: How much storage will you need and what will you be storing? *i chose the ssd for installing windows and programs etc but will plan to use a 1tb hdd for music etc

*Legacy Support: Will you need support for older hardware like parallel, serial, or PS/2 devices?* not that im aware of

*Operating System: Do you want Windows XP or Vista, or Linux compatibility?* planning to buy and install windows 7 home edition

*Case: Do you want help selecting a case and if so, how big do you want it?* i chose the corsair because it looked pretty solid and had easy to clean dust filters. unless anyone can advise otherwise?

*Accessories: Do you want a keyboard, mouse, or other items included?* no

*Recycled Components: Will you be reusing any components you already have?* old hdd - preps such as keyboard speakers monitor etc

*Monitor: If you want a monitor, what size do you want and should it be widescreen?* no

*Stores: Do you have any online stores that you prefer to purchase from?* i would prefer to buy from either novatech.com and dabs.com first before going anywhere else.
the corsair a70 and psu were not on novatech or dabs for some reason - they say they have been discontinued not sure why so having to buy them from amazon

*Location: What country do you live in?* UK - england

some advice on a motherboard and compatability would be great:smile:


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Asus or Gigabyte for the Mobo for good quality/support.
SSD's are not a good value and offer little more than a faster boot time.
The OEM CPU fan/heatsink is fine if no OC'ing is involved and there's not much point in OC'ing a 3.3GHz CPU.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

Tyree said:


> Asus or Gigabyte for the Mobo for good quality/support.
> SSD's are not a good value and offer little more than a faster boot time.
> The OEM CPU fan/heatsink is fine if no OC'ing is involved and there's not much point in OC'ing a 3.3GHz CPU.



agreed; drop the liquid cooler and put the money saved into the motherboard


I would go with the Asus Z68 Pro or Deluxe and avoid the maximus line-up as they tend to be more market hype than value IMHO
\
I must say though; I dont see the value to the Z68 chipset if you plan on uising a dedicated video card right from the start ???? the Z68 allows a user to use the cpu's onboard video but its not enough muscle really for gaming; therfore the dedicated video card is prefered which is why I personally prefer the intel P chipset and its more robust auto overclocking options for the cpu; although overclocking is a fad which has seen its benefit erode

my fav = asus P8P67 Pro or Deluxe


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

linderman said:


> agreed; drop the liquid cooler and put the money saved into the motherboard
> 
> 
> I would go with the Asus Z68 Pro or Deluxe and avoid the maximus line-up as they tend to be more market hype than value IMHO
> ...


thanks for the replies

the heatsink i linked was an air one not a liquid one, but should i cut it out anyway?
Will also cut out the SSD then, might invest in another standard hdd

As i stated in my original post, im not that knowledgable in motherboards apart from the fact that z68 is the latest chipset. im not sure what you mean by the maximus line up? are you able to suggest a motherboard from novatech or dabs that might be suitable and in my budget (£120-£150)?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

ASUS P8P67 Intel P67 (REV B3) Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard - Aria Technology

ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 Intel Z68 (REV B3) Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard - Aria Technology


I prefer the P over the Z chipset but that your call / the Intel Z has features you do not need therefore wasted $$$$ {onboard video for example}


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3 S1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX - Is this the same motherboard as the one you linked?

thanks for your feedback, seeing as my last graphic cards failed, would on board graphics be good to have to fall back on incase my new gpu fails?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

newguys said:


> Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3 S1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX - Is this the same motherboard as the one you linked?
> 
> thanks for your feedback, seeing as my last graphic cards failed, would on board graphics be good to have to fall back on incase my new gpu fails?




yes thats the board; and yes if you had another video card failure you could achieve video with this board and no video card; the onboard cpu video is not gaming worthy but it will do the trick otherwise


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

yea would be good to have a backup to diagnose a fault.

With regards to the heatsink your comments were based on a liquid one? but i had chosen an air one - the A70. if i dont plan on overclocking, should i cut this out too? will the stock heatsink suffice?


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## loda117 (Aug 6, 2010)

A70 is a beast of a cooler and even though its a bit on expensive side, I say why save a lil money to have headaches later do it right the first time and get the stuff that will be good for years

BTW not a huge fan of stock heatsinks and cooler get too loud after a while


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

OEM CPU coolers should not get louder with time if it's kept clean.


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

loda117 said:


> A70 is a beast of a cooler and even though its a bit on expensive side, I say why save a lil money to have headaches later do it right the first time and get the stuff that will be good for years
> 
> BTW not a huge fan of stock heatsinks and cooler get too loud after a while


Okay, loda's comments are suggesting to get an A70 but tyree's comments suggest that the stock heatsink is fine. bit conflicting so im confsued as to if i should invest or not?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

OEM CPU's are more than sufficient if no OC'ing is involved and I have never heard of Intel CPU fan/getting louder as it aged if kept free of dust buildup. 
There's absolutely nothing wrong with using an aftermarket HSF if you want to spend the extra money.


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

ok. will leave the heatsink for now then.

as i've cut out the SSD thinking of getting a Samsung Spin Point F3 SATAII 1TB 32MB Cache Hard Drive <8.9ms 7200rpm - OEM  instead. is this hdd any good? seems to have pretty good reviews on novatech


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

newguys said:


> ok. will leave the heatsink for now then.
> 
> as i've cut out the SSD thinking of getting a Samsung Spin Point F3 SATAII 1TB 32MB Cache Hard Drive <8.9ms 7200rpm - OEM  instead. is this hdd any good? seems to have pretty good reviews on novatech





yes; the samsung spinpoints are decent drives as good as the WD's or seagates


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

ok thanks. so final build is as follows:

case: Corsair Memory Obsidian 650D Mid-Tower Black Case
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz LGA1155 6MB
Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3 S1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II/OC 1024MB GDDR5
HDD: Samsung Spin Point F3 SATAII 1TB 32MB Cache Hard Drive <8.9ms 7200rpm - OEM 
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750HX Professional Series 750W Power Supply
RAM: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit - 1.25V Edition 

Comes to about £865 which is pretty gud.

is everything else okay compatability wise? any other suggestions? anything im missing?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

newguys said:


> ok thanks. so final build is as follows:
> 
> case: Corsair Memory Obsidian 650D Mid-Tower Black Case
> CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz LGA1155 6MB
> ...




looks like a keeper to me :thumb:


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

thanks for the reply. 1 question about the motherboard, is it forward compatable with ivy bridge processors and PCI 3.0?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Most of the Ivy Bridge CPU's will be 1155. Don't be in a big rush to jump on any new technology. Give it 3 to 6 months and let the "I have to have it first folks" do the testing.


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

no wasnt planning to buy new stuff straight away but a few years down the line, would be good if the motherboard still held up.

Also does the motherboard have a front audio connector on the motherboard? i cannt tell by the connectivity information?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

newguys said:


> Also does the motherboard have a front audio connector on the motherboard?


Yes it does.


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

still havent had a chance to build this due to money etc but should be able to build later this month. But as z77 is out now is this motherboard ok?

Asus P8Z77-V S1155 Intel Z77 DDR3 ATX (P8Z77-V) - dabs.com

Also was thinking to get the following RAM instead:

Corsair Vengeance Blue 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit | CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B

are the above compatable?

And also now ivy bridge is out is it worth getting an ivy bridge processor? or is the 2500k still okay?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

That Mobo & RAM will be fine together.


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

ok bought all the parts now and assembling it. but there are some cables in the corsair 650 that i dont know how to patch up.



also from the wrong panel area there are 2 usb cables coming out of them:









im not sure where to plug this in



no idea where to plug this in










no idea how i patch these either. can anyone know?


















i have no idea where im supposed to plug these in. the motherboard does not have any ports (except the ones for the back of the pc). where do i plug these in?


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

Top picture: male SATA power connector. 
Second pic: IEEE 1394 connector. Your motherboard does not support.
Third and fourth: Fan power cables from the integrated fan controller


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

Thanks for the fast reply. great thats the first 2 sorted then. what about the fan power cables? how do i patch them? there is a molex connector which i have plugged to the psu but the connectors in the last 2 pictures i dont get how i connect them and where to


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

To the installed fans.

PS: All of this should be outlined in thedocumentation included with your equipment.


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

yea the case didnt have a manual just a a3 info poster which just showed the outside features and no info on cabling.

but how do i install the fans? there are 3 fans in the case and they already have other cables coming out of them which patch into the motherboard. the ones in the photo above i dont know how to connect up


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

Your choice. If you prefer to allow the motherboard to control your fans, leave them connected to the motherboard headers, otherwise connect them to the controller.


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

ah ok so i either plug into the motherboard or the fan controller. thought i had to do both, but ill just plug into the motherboard so it can control the fans.


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## newguys (Jan 9, 2005)

ok i've built the computer and its up and running. But one of the ram sticks that i bought (2x4gb) is faulty. i've tried the stick in another slot and it didnt work. and i also tried the other ram stick that the slot the the problem ram was in and that worked fine. so think the ram stick is doa.

Meanwhile can anyone advise if the ram from my old pc can be used on my new motherboard?










its ddr3 but not exactly the same


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

1066MHz- I don't believe it is supported. It will physically fit and may operate but will drag the rest of the system down.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

If you bought the new sticks as a matched pair you will have to send both in for RMA so you could use your old RAM until you get the new RAM replaced.


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