First build - advice?

jameshurrell

jameshurrell

jameshurrell

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1 Jan 2013
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Newbie alert, please be gentle... :D

I'd like a bit of advice if possible please about the following components I've specced for a new build (my first). It will be my personal PC used daily (10 hrs a day) running office and coding software (frequent code compilation). I don't need or want to overclock, nor do I need massive graphics capability. I'm looking for stability and durability I guess.

Intel Core i5-3550 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail
Asus P8H77-V Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9)
OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (VTX4-25SAT3-128G) (system disk)
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) (data disk)
LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply

Noob questions:

1) I've chosen an H77 board because I don't need to overclock - the board has built in graphics (DVI/VGA/DisplayPort/HDMI) - can two of these be used simultaneously to run a dual monitor setup or would a dedicated GPU be more appropriate?

2) I understand that the CPU will come with a fan/heatsink - is this sufficient given I'm not overclocking?

Thanks for any advice....
 
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YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (VTX4-25SAT3-128G) £99.98
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - FREE Alpenföhn Civetta Cooler!! £79.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) £51.98
1 x NZXT Tempest 410 Midi Tower - Black £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £603.01 (includes shipping : £11.75).



The i5K has the better IGP over the non K CPU. This mobo isn't ideal for overclocking but you could bump the speed mildly and it includes a heatsink which is better than the intel stock jobbie. Mobo has HDMI,DVI,VGA and yes you can dual screen from the mobo outputs :)

HDD is out of stock for now but does have twice the storage and cache for not much more. The samsung 830 SSD is my fav bang for buck SSD but there is no ETA on that and the standard 840 is smaller in capacity and writes much slower than the 830. The RAM is just as good and cheaper.

Hope this helps, should work out around the same price maybe a couple of quid over :)
 
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The mobo I picked is voltage locked so it's never going to reach silly overclocks but he isnt worried about that. He can use the bundled Civetta cooler which will be quieter than the intel stock heatsink when overclocked.

Happy to help :)
 
After a night of cogitating I've ordered honosuseri's recommendations, minus the 3.5" Toshiba (out of stock). I can add that later. Many thanks for help.

Will post a build thread once I get going.
 
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