The building of my new gaming rig has begun! (w/ pics)

ryryryan

ryryryan

ryryryan

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The building of my new gaming rig has begun! (w/ pics - Now completed!)

So this is going to be my first ever PC build! I previously bought a pre-built gaming machine, and it's served me well over the years (with a GPU ugrade and a few other things added here and there). Here is my old specs for those that care:
AMD Phenom II X4 940 (3.0Ghz)
4GB DDR2 RAM
5870
750GB HDD
Some standard single PCI-E x16 slot mobo.

Enough of the old though. I am now redoing my whole PC except the graphics card (will wait for GTX 600 series) and PSU (updated my PSU a couple months ago to the fully modular 850W OCZ ZX series). So here are all the new parts I have invested in:

White 600T
i5 2500K
Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3
H80 Cooler (with 2 Scythe Gentle Typhoon fans to replace the stock ones for push/pull)
8GB Corsair Vengence Arcitc White RAM
256GB Crucial M4 SSD
Samsung Spinpoint 1TB HDD
Samsung Blu-Ray ROM
Windows 7 home premium 64bit OEM
NZXI White braided extension cables for processor power, GPU 6 pin and 24pin too.

And as noted before I will be using a OCZ ZX Series 850W PSU and a Radeon HD 5870. Also have a Asus Xonar DX sound card I will use :)

Here is a pic of the stuff I have so far (I apologise for all the forthcoming pics in the thread... phone camera :( ):
IMG_0275.jpg


The rest will be arriving on monday :) All ordered from OCuK, and everything so far has come right on time with the free shipping!

Will hopefully then be updating and posting new pics regularly once I get the build running!

I do however need to check out the tips to make the most of my SSD. It has already come with firmware 0009 (says on the back) so no need to update, but I would appreciate and tips or tutorial links as to what to do when setting up the SSD. I'd also appreciate tips on the best way for data management with the SSD and HDD. All programs and and windows will obviously be on there, but I also plan to have Steam on there as well (and any games I don't need I will back up to my HDD and uninstall them).

Thanks for any tips, and let's hope I don't screw up this first build :D
 
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Will do, as I have read horror stories about them recently. Will it be obvious? I won't be starting the build for a few days yet so shall I leave it till then? or I could put in the CPU and put it back in the anti-static material then?
 
Should stick out like a sore thumb, one half of the pins in the socket face one corner and the other half face the opposite corner is how it should be looking.

cpusocket.jpg
 
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I look forward to hearing some replies. That is very similar to what i am thinking about buying and i also am unsure about the proper way to install the SSD.
 
Checked out the pins, must have studied every single one very carefully! But all checks out well it seems :) All align how they should! :) I actually just put the black tab back on for now, will wait till I start building before I put it in. Shame about the weekend with no post :(

Gotta say though, this mobo is stunning. Can't wait to get this set up! Here's a couple pics I took:
IMG_0277.jpg

IMG_0281.jpg

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IMG_0283-1.jpg
 
yep the pins look fine, I had a closer look at mine(have a extreme7) and it seems one of the pins(in the bottom left hand corner of the socket by your pics) is bent in completely the opposite direction to the surrounding pins in so much as the tip of it is under the pin behind it).

I didn't carfully check mine before I put the cpu in tho going by the way its bent I don't see how the cpu could have done it(nothing on the cpu that could have gotten under the tip of the pin and bent it back in the opposite direction), and with the rma guy insiting the damage can only be done by dropping something in the socket(wouldn't that have flattened/bent forwarrd the pin not backwards?) or by touching the pins neither of which I did. I hadn't had a close look at the pin so couldn't 'argue the t*ss' with him but he'd still wouldn't have listened.

I was thinking about getting a thin sewing pin and bending it back but I'm worried the bent pin will snap off being bent back into position.

anyway I've taken enough time with my problem, just take your time and make sure everything is connected etc to avoid the pit fall of the turn pc on no power then spending hours of fault finding to realise you forgot the 8pin cpu connector or something similarly silly.
 
Will do, free delivery from a competitor (none at OCuk!) so god knows how long it takes for them to arrive! They're 200mbps and cost £55. Hope they're worth it.
 
Update! I have been very busy, completely redone my room (and most definitely stole the desk idea that bhavv & guitarman0 have) and have successfully built my PC :D Nothing went terribly wrong, and it is running beautifully. I now just have the tedious task of transferring everything over.

Also, my powerline passthrough adapters literally just arrived, look forward to setting them up :)
IMG_03121.jpg


So anyway, on to the more interesting pics!

Everything ready to go pre-build
IMG_0289.jpg


Processor and RAM fitted ok - check!
IMG_0292.jpg


Got it in the case easily enough, thankyou nipple :P
IMG_0293.jpg


H80 securely on, along with the front panel cables, usb hubs and stuff
IMG_0296.jpg


Plonked in the extension cables I have for CPU & mobo power
IMG_0297.jpg


The Old vs The New :D (Had to take my PSU out and put it in new case. Lovely!
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Getting there
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IT WORKS! Installing windows :)
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The lights look blue but they're definatly white
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GPU will go in once I no longer need it in old PC. Still sorting stuff out :) Will put up another pic when its in. Also will do a desk comparison of old and new when that's sorted and tidy too! :)

I also apologize again about the poor phone quality camera. Shame on me :(
 
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