Questions about a new build

momo_BMW

momo_BMW

momo_BMW

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Joined
2 Nov 2013
Posts
4
Hi all,

I'm new to the site. Working in IT for a few years I've pulled PCs and servers apart and put them back together, cobbled together new PCs and servers.

Up to now though I've always bought Dell Desktops for myself (Dell certified and we got staff discounts at the company I worked for etc..).

Anyway just a couple of weeks ago I noticed my graphics card was failing. Instead of researching potential replacements properly I bought a Asus GeForce GTX660 (yep, I now know that was a NOOB move! lol). When it arrived I realised just how big they are so it was never going to work. In the meantime i've found a card I can use in my Inspiron 545. However this has made me realise I need to build my own PC. A PROPER PC..

So, this brings me on to why i'm here. :)

So far I have a basic spec in mind.

CPU - Has to be i7. I'm thinking 4770k Quad Core. I understand these can be overclocked.

Cooling - will most likely be water cooled. So far thinking Corsair Hydro Series H100i cooler or the likes.

Mobo - not sure here. I'm a bit of a brand wh*re so want to stick to the main manufacturers. Not sure about Gigabyte although I know they're good. Corsair seem a little much. Asus seem to have the best balance from what I can tell? So far i'm thinking Asus Z87 but not sure which variant

Graphics - Asus Geforce GTX770. Maybe 2 to run in SLI (will probably start off with one and see how it goes).

PSU - Now here's where i'm pretty much clueless..

Reading online i've seen a lot of posts saying get a PSU to last maybe 2-3 builds. So basically over compensate for what you're building. Now you can get 1200W PSU's (Corsair AX1200i). Some people say don't because it will be loud and draw 1200W all the time. Some say no, it only draws what it needs and if you only need 600W, that's what it'll use and the fan only kicks in if it overheats so won't be that loud. Can someone let me know which story is more accurate please? lol.

Can anyone give me some pointers with the overall build and let me know if I'm going in the right direction?

Thanks in advance. :)

Mo
 
Welcome,

We can help you. :)

I have a few questions first:

What is the rig for?
What is your budget?
What resolution are you playing at?
Do you need a case and everything else too?
 
Good choice with the GPU, are you set on Nvidia because AMD makes great value for money?

Whats your Budget? (^^ beat me to it!)

I've just ordered myself a build, Running a Haswell i5 unlocked, 8gb 2100mhz ram, and a GTX 770x and I will be running this off a 600w Corsair PSU, 1200w is most definitely overkill for 2 GPUs. 800w is a good place to start if you plan on running in SLI, if thats right guys?
 
Doomedspeed said:
Welcome,

We can help you. :)

I have a few questions first:

What is the rig for?
What is your budget?
What resolution are you playing at?
Do you need a case and everything else too?
Click to expand...

The rig is firstly to teach me to build a PC myself! lol. I suppose a secondary "bonus" is that i'll have a kick-*ss PC at the end of it..

Budget wise - i'll be buying components steadily over the coming months then the idea is to put it together next summer (not too bothered if newer stuff is out by then etc..). Overall I think i'll be spending around £1200-1500 on components. I can strip a couple of bits from old desktops but the core bits will be new.

Resolution - no idea! The highest I can get with the new system? lol

Yes i'll need a case.. Been looking at coolermaster cases and again Corsair.

Kyleo92 said:
Good choice with the GPU, are you set on Nvidia because AMD makes great value for money?

Whats your Budget? (^^ beat me to it!)

I've just ordered myself a build, Running a Haswell i5 unlocked, 8gb 2100mhz ram, and a GTX 770x and I will be running this off a 600w Corsair PSU, 1200w is most definitely overkill for 2 GPUs. 800w is a good place to start if you plan on running in SLI, if thats right guys?
Click to expand...

Yeah i've always preferred NVIDIA cards. Had AMD years ago and never got on with it.. It's just put me off them since then.

As I say I know 1200W is overkill but I don't mind as it means I can use it again if I decide to do another build (so long as it lasts). I just don't want it to be running at 1200W all the time in the mean time? :)
 
It seems a fair chunck of money just to learn how to build one..

You should really suit the build to your uses. SLI is quite an enthusiast setup, normall used when using high resolution screens are eyefinity (triple screen) setups.

PSU wise, to run SLI/xfire a decent 750-850W PSU is more than enough...

If anything CPU's and GPU's are getting more power efficent.. Story time..

I helped a guy out a few months ago, he bought a corsair 1200W PSU 2 years ago as he wanted i to last him 8-10years, he then decided his PC was too big and wanted to buy a BitFenix prodigy (M) instead, he had to buy a new PSU becuase it wouldn't fit in the case he wanted..

THe moral of the story is, buy for now (factor in for daul cards if you have that in mind) not for the future, as you may spending an extra £50-£100 for nothing.

And PSU's don't use their fully weattage all the time, no units do that (that'd just be silly)
 
Doomedspeed said:
It seems a fair chunck of money just to learn how to build one..

You should really suit the build to your uses. SLI is quite an enthusiast setup, normall used when using high resolution screens are eyefinity (triple screen) setups.

PSU wise, to run SLI/xfire a decent 750-850W PSU is more than enough...

If anything CPU's and GPU's are getting more power efficent.. Story time..

I helped a guy out a few months ago, he bought a corsair 1200W PSU 2 years ago as he wanted i to last him 8-10years, he then decided his PC was too big and wanted to buy a BitFenix prodigy (M) instead, he had to buy a new PSU becuase it wouldn't fit in the case he wanted..

THe moral of the story is, buy for now (factor in for daul cards if you have that in mind) not for the future, as you may spending an extra £50-£100 for nothing.

And PSU's don't use their fully weattage all the time, no units do that (that'd just be silly)
Click to expand...

Makes a lot of sense!

I know what you're saying about the money, I just don't want to limit myself if I don't have to. If overall I spend £600 then BONUS!! For example with the graphics I know and trust ASUS so i'd rather pay the extra money than get say a Zotac equivalent and have it fail in a few months etc..

Quality is always key for me. :)

So how far would I have to go to utilise a 1200W PSU fully? Are we talking dual-CPU's, dual graphics, multiple HDD's etc? Again, I don't want to limit myself for the future so if I want to install a 2nd graphics card, I want to ensure my build can handle it ok. I may not need it now, but who knows if i'll need it in the near future?

For PSU sounds like 850W should be plenty! Good good! :)

Thanks for the info! Much appreciated and please keep it coming! :D
 
momo_BMW said:
So how far would I have to go to utilise a 1200W PSU fully? Are we talking dual-CPU's, dual graphics, multiple HDD's etc? Again, I don't want to limit myself for the future so if I want to install a 2nd graphics card, I want to ensure my build can handle it ok. I may not need it now, but who knows if i'll need it in the near future?

For PSU sounds like 850W should be plenty! Good good! :)
Click to expand...

800 W is plenty for two high-end GPUs at stock (e.g. SLI GTX 780s). To make use of 1200 W you'd need to run 3 of them + a substantial overclock.

The CPU and everything else use a pretty small proportion in a gaming PC - typically well under 200 W.
 
Doomedspeed said:
It seems a fair chunk of money just to learn how to build one..

You should really suit the build to your uses. SLI is quite an enthusiast setup, normally used when using high resolution screens are eyefinity (triple screen) setups.

PSU wise, to run SLI/xfire a decent 750-850W PSU is more than enough...

If anything CPUs and GPUs are getting more power efficient.. Story time..

I helped a guy out a few months ago, he bought a corsair 1200W PSU 2 years ago as he wanted i to last him 8-10years, he then decided his PC was too big and wanted to buy a BitFenix prodigy (M) instead, he had to buy a new PSU becuase it wouldn't fit in the case he wanted..

The moral of the story is, buy for now (factor in for daul cards if you have that in mind) not for the future, as you may spending an extra £50-£100 for nothing.

And PSUs don't use their full wattage all the time, no units do that (that'd just be silly)
Click to expand...

Sound advice right there.
 
Sounds good! Makes sense now. I won't be going that far I think. Overclocked CPU and at the most 2x GPU's so 850W seems enough methinks..

How about the rest of the components i've mentioned? Do they seem ok? Any recommendations on Mobo?

Also whats with the Mafia/Godfather avatar pics? :P
 
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