Help! Building My First High-End Custom Desktop

[max13588]

Hey guys,

I'm building my first desktop, and was wanted to ask if all of these parts will work together, and will this be a successful gaming computer? Here's my list:

List has been edited based on advice you guys gave me:

Motherboard: Gigabyte Intel Core i7/ Core i5/ Core i3/ LGA 1156/ Intel H57/ 4DDR3-2200+/ATI CrossFireX/ HDMI/ USB3.0/ Raid Micro ATX Motherboard GA-H57M-USB3

CPU: Intel Core i5 Processor 2.66 GHz 8 MB LGA1156 CPU I5-750BOX

Case: Cooler Master RC-922M-KKN1-GP HAF 922M ATX Mid Tower Case

Power supply:Corsair 650-Watt TX Series

Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 5770 PCIE 1024MB GDDR5

RAM: Corsair CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 XMS3 4 GB PC3-12800 Core i5 Memory Kit

Hard Drive: Western Digital 500 GB Caviar Black SATA 7200 RPM 32 MB Cache Desktop Hard Drive

Wireless Card: D-Link DWA-556 Xtreme N PCI Express Desktop Adapter (I plan on connecting to my home's 'already set up' wireless network with this)

Thanks A Lot!

Also, if you spot a rip off or something on the list, please tell me, I'm a complete novice.

 

[Konceptz804]

that looks to be a killer gaming rig, good choice on the I5 as it tends to be on par or surpass the i7 in games. Hyper threading actually hurts some games in performance category. Put her together and install everything and prime it just for stability. We'll be glad to help along the way.

 

[pparks1]

I have 2 recommendations.

#1) Go with a faster and larger hard drive...like a Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB. The price difference won't be much at all from what you have above, but with much better performance.
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

#2). Go with a modular power supply...it will cut back on wire clutter in your case. The Corsair HX 750 will probably only cost about $30 more than the TX model
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

And based on your hardware above, even the Corsair HX 650 should be more than enough of a power supply for this box and it will be $40 or so less than the 750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

 

[max13588]

Thanks for the response. I changed the HDD to the caviar black 500GB with a 32 MB cache. Also I think I'm gonna go with the 650 Watt PSU. What's the difference in performance between the HX and the TX?

 

[Frostmourne]

1) Wrong motherboard - you don't need H57, unless you go for a new Intel chip. You need P55.

2) Wrong platform - I would build a Phenom 790FX system which has 2 x16 Crossfire slots.

3) GPU is getting old. 4890 minimum, or a 5870.

4) Hard drive is crap. Games can take 15GB, you need 1TB, Seagate's are great. 12th generation.

5) PSU is too high. Go for an HX 650.

6) Double the RAM. Standard kits are fine too.

 

[max13588]

Whys is the motherboard wrong? I am going for the i5 750, isn't that considered new? This has two crossfire slots too, so why is the Phenom 790FX better? I'm going with the 5770 in exchange of the 4870, and I downgraded to a 650 TX, but like i said, what's the performance different between the HX and TX? Also I upgraded to the Caviar Black 500GB HDD. I don't want 1TB, too much for me, I use up like 180 GB on my current computer.

 

[win7clutz]

Your list as it is now is fine, should be a nice box. Without starting a battle I would not switch platforms to AMD... Stick with Intel...

 

[Frostmourne]

Whys is the motherboard wrong? I am going for the i5 750, isn't that considered new? This has two crossfire slots too, so why is the Phenom 790FX better? I'm going with the 5770 in exchange of the 4870, and I downgraded to a 650 TX, but like i said, what's the performance different between the HX and TX? Also I upgraded to the Caviar Black 500GB HDD. I don't want 1TB, too much for me, I use up like 180 GB on my current computer.

The H57 chipset doesn't support hardware Crossfire. The FX does - x16/x16 hardware. For a 750 go for the P55, which does support hardware Crossfire, but at x8/x8. The 5770 isn't that good and is limited by a 128-bit memory bus - choose a 5850. As for the HDD, I have 14 new games installed and that took 170+ GB. That HDD is way too small. Even laptops have bigger drives.

 

[kodi]

I am going to agree with pparks1 100% go with the 750 watt if you can afford it as it will leave room for all the bells and whistles that you have to have 12 months from now, but the 650 corsair will do the job for now and leave a small room for additional hardware later.

 

[sergiogarcia9]

4) Hard drive is crap. Games can take 15GB, you need 1TB, Seagate's are great. 12th generation.

I think you should read these review's then (posted one below as well)
Customer Reviews Of Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

FAIL

Pros: There is no PRO if it doesn't work!

Cons: Died in a day trying to partition using Partition Magic.

Other Thoughts: Seagate, don't release HD if it sucks. I don't trust Seagate anymore. Time to try those new Samsung HD!!

For the OP, go with the 500GB WD, you should be fine using that in the start, and if you in time need more space, you can buy another harddrive

 

[RST101]

I just love these threads.

Nice rig your building. I would agree with what pparks and sergio says.

 

[neo101]

Thanks for the response. I changed the HDD to the caviar black 500GB with a 32 MB cache. Also I think I'm gonna go with the 650 Watt PSU. What's the difference in performance between the HX and the TX?

I already own two 1TB Blacks - superb choice, but
Go for a 750GB or 1TB Caviar Black!

##They have +extra+ special innards that the 640, 500GB and below don't have - such as a special parking mechanism which keeps the heads off the platters!
They are super quiet and don't make the awful 'scratching' noise that Seagates make!
Look it up if you are interested.

Well worth paying a few dollars more for the Xtra longevity/reliability you should get out of them.

Caviar Black= 5 yr Guarantee. Caviar Blue= 3 yr!

 

[Frostmourne]

4) Hard drive is crap. Games can take 15GB, you need 1TB, Seagate's are great. 12th generation.

I think you should read these review's then (posted one below as well)
Customer Reviews Of Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

FAIL

Pros: There is no PRO if it doesn't work!

Cons: Died in a day trying to partition using Partition Magic.

Other Thoughts: Seagate, don't release HD if it sucks. I don't trust Seagate anymore. Time to try those new Samsung HD!!

For the OP, go with the 500GB WD, you should be fine using that in the start, and if you in time need more space, you can buy another harddrive

12th generation. 11th had obvious issues. 12th.

 

[MadMaxData]

I must be an oddball. I prefer SeaGate over Western Digital, and I also prefer AMD over Intel. Never had any problems with either. And I TORTURE my hardware....LOL

 

[johnwillyums]

Hi

I'd definitely go for a bigger hard drive. I'm using two Samsung 1TB F3s and I think they're great.

I would definitely do some research on the motherboard.
I'm on X58 so I don't know much about the P55 boards but you don't know what you'll want to upgrade in a years time.
For example I'm running a single 260GTX in my rig but the board will handle both Nvidia SLI and ATI crossfire.
So when the time comes to upgrade my graphics I'll have a lot of choices.
This is especially true with the new Fermi chips from Nvidia coming along and no doubt ATI have something equally great coming along.

I think your motherboard and your monitor are the two most important parts of a pc.

You want to have a future proof mobo and a monitor that still looks good in two years time.

Good luck and keep us posted, John

 

[pparks1]

I must be an oddball. I prefer SeaGate over Western Digital, and I also prefer AMD over Intel. Never had any problems with either. And I TORTURE my hardware....LOL

I have flip flopped over the years between Seagate and Western Digital. The reason that I recommend the WD Black series is because it's been reliable, it's fast, and it has a 5 year warranty. And the 7200.11 series of Seagates had numerous firmware issues which really caused people grief.

As far as CPU's go, I typically recommend the one which performs the best for a reasonable amount of money. Since dropping the prices a few years ago, the Intel Core 2 series and the new i7,i5 series are priced competitively and outperform the AMD...so I recommend them.