1st Build - sort of

[btg0002]

BUILD HAS BEEN COMPLETED, GO TO LAST PAGE TO SEE PICTURES

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So my old as dirt frankenstein'ed PC just bit the dust. I will list the old specs right below this to show you how old this thing really was. The motherboard actually crapped out, so now it's time to do a build! The reason this is sort of my first build is because I took my now dead PC out of the HP case (it was a prebuilt unit I got for college back in 2007) and put it in a better case for air flow, the Azza Helios. The old system was as follows:

Mobo: Nettle 2 (Piece of junk, glad it died)

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ running @ stock 2.8 Ghz (had really started showing its age as of late)

RAM: 6GB crappy PC2-6400 800Mhz ram (was AWFUL)

SSD: Kingston HyperX 3K 120Gb (this will be reused in the new build as a boot drive)

HDD: Seagate 7200rpm 320 Gb (filled with steam games, and I will reuse this as its still a good drive and no sense in scrapping it)

PSU: Cooler Master 500w (it was an ok unit, only got it as the OEM "350w" died a few years back)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 (wasn't worth keeping, going to go with a different AIO this time)
Fans: AF140s and SP120s (will reuse the 140s and not reuse the 120s)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Quickfire XT w/ Cherry MX Green switches (just got this thing last month, and I love it!)

Monitor: Asus 23.6" HD IPS panel (got it at the same time as the keyboard, will e reusing this as I love the picture quality on it)

Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG PCI (will not be reused as the new Mobo will have TOSlink, which is why I bought this card)

I don't have any pictures of it, and it honestly wasn't worth taking any. Anyway, I will start buying components on Wednesday and should have everything within a month or 2 (I am saving for a house right now so this is all coming out of the money I set aside to entertain myself with). It will have a black with blue accents theme as blue is my favorite color.

 

New Parts list:

CASE: Fractal Design Define R4 Black with windows (I love this case and it's looks) ***PURCHASED 1/15/2014***

Mobo: Asus M5A99FX Pro R2.0 ***PURCHASED 1/15/2014***

CPU: AMD FX9370 (I will gladly pay the 40 bucks extra to get a binned 8350 that is factory overclocked as that's basically what these 9xxx FX chips are) ***BOUGHT 1/20/2014***

RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro Blue/Black 16Gb DDR3-1600Mhz ***1/2 PURCHASED 1/15/2014, REST TO BE BOUGHT ON 2/1/2014****

GPU: EVGA GTX780 Reference (will also be grabbing the EVGA backplate for this card and when I get a second, the EVGA Pro SLI bridge) ***2 BOUGHT AND IN SYSTEM***

PSU: Corsair AX860 modular (will make cable management easier) *****THIS IS NOW A RM750 MODULAR*****

CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 ***PURCHASED 1/15/2014***

FANS: 4 Noctua NF-AF14 for radiator, 5 Corsair AF140 for case fans

KEYBOARD: CM Storm Quikfire XT with Cherry MX Greens

MOUSE: Gigabyte Force M7
DISPLAYS: 2 ASUS VS247H-P 23.6" 1080p IPS

HEADSET: Steelseries 7H

CABLES: IceModz cable extensions in Aqua Blue/Black for Mobo, GPUs, MODDIY flat black extensions for HD Audio, USB headers, NZXT black fan extensions for fans

 

At some point after it is up and running, I will grab a 3TB HDD (WILL BE BUYING 2TB HDD on 2/1/2014) and put it in the system, as I will be taking the 5-bay drive cage out for increased air flow. Cable management will be priority number 1 for this, since I am getting the wondowed case, I want it to look good. I will be grabbing the Case, Motherboard, and CPU Cooler on Wednesday so that I can go ahead and route the cables for the items I currently have so that I can get in front of cable routing before it becomes a problem once I buy the PSU.

 

I ended up adding a 500gb 2.5" HDD and a 1TB HDD

Stay tuned and I will upload pictures as items come in and the progress of the build while it is underway.

[Grape Guild]

So my old as dirt frankenstein'ed PC just bit the dust. I will list the old specs right below this to show you how old this thing really was. The motherboard actually crapped out, so now it's time to do a build! The reason this is sort of my first build is because I took my now dead PC out of the HP case (it was a prebuilt unit I got for college back in 2007) and put it in a better case for air flow, the Azza Helios. The old system was as follows:

Mobo: Nettle 2 (Piece of junk, glad it died)

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ running @ stock 2.8 Ghz (had really started showing its age as of late)

RAM: 6GB crappy PC2-6400 800Mhz ram (was AWFUL)

SSD: Kingston HyperX 3K 120Gb (this will be reused in the new build as a boot drive)

HDD: Seagate 7200rpm 320 Gb (filled with steam games, and I will reuse this as its still a good drive and no sense in scrapping it)

PSU: Cooler Master 500w (it was an ok unit, only got it as the OEM "350w" died a few years back)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 (wasn't worth keeping, going to go with a different AIO this time)

Fans: AF140s and SP120s (will reuse the 140s and not reuse the 120s)

Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Quickfire XT w/ Cherry MX Green switches (just got this thing last month, and I love it!)

Monitor: Asus 23.6" HD IPS panel (got it at the same time as the keyboard, will e reusing this as I love the picture quality on it)

Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG PCI (will not be reused as the new Mobo will have TOSlink, which is why I bought this card)

I don't have any pictures of it, and it honestly wasn't worth taking any. Anyway, I will start buying components on Wednesday and should have everything within a month or 2 (I am saving for a house right now so this is all coming out of the money I set aside to entertain myself with). It will have a black with blue accents theme as blue is my favorite color.

 

New Parts list:

CASE: Fractal Design Define R4 Black with windows (I love this case and it's looks)

Mobo: Asus M5A99FX Pro R2.0 

CPU: AMD FX9370 (I will gladly pay the 40 bucks extra to get a binned 8350 that is factory overclocked as that's basically what these 9xxx FX chips are)

RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro Blue/Black 16Gb DDR3-1600Mhz

GPU: EVGA GTX760 SC 4GB (will also be grabbing the EVGA backplate for this card and when I get a second, the EVGA Pro SLI bridge)

PSU: Corsair AX860 modular (will make cable management easier)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H90

 

At some point after it is up and running, I will grab a 3TB HDD and put it in the system, as I will be taking the 5-bay drive cage out for increased air flow. Cable management will be priority number 1 for this, since I am getting the wondowed case, I want it to look good. I will be grabbing the Case, Motherboard, and CPU Cooler on Wednesday so that I can go ahead and route the cables for the items I currently have so that I can get in front of cable routing before it becomes a problem once I buy the PSU.

Stay tuned and I will upload pictures as items come in and the progress of the build while it is underway.

Do you need 860W?  

[Mecami]

Don't get the 9370, you can get a 4670k for 20$ less and have much better performance in games and also far less scary temps.

As much as I love AMD i would highly recommend to not go with the 9xxx series.

[Crisi]

I saw the FX 9370 at  Microcenter for only $199. Definitely a good deal if you overclock

[paulsterio]

 

Don't get the 9370, you can get a 4670k for 20$ less and have much better performance in games and also far less scary temps.

As much as I love AMD i would highly recommend to not go with the 9xxx series.

 

 

I have to agree with the sentiment to go Intel here. 

 

i5 3570K vs. 8350 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICVeN6WEGgg&list=PL8mG-RkN2uTzThDLOVYT6e0WpVz_0-dRc

 

You'll get even better performance out of a 4670K (up to 10%), so that would be the option I'd suggest at the moment. 

 

If you are an AMD fan and you absolutely must go AMD, you should consider waiting for the next generation of FX processors. 

[needmorewood]

why such the powerful psu?

and whyt he 4GB version of a 760 which cant use the 4gb?

u can easily fit more performance if u go for different parts

for example if u get an 8320 u could get a 770

16gb ram is really expensive right now so just get 8gb for now thats even an overkill for gaming

you are paying alot for your pc but the gaming performance is quite bad for the price
may want to rethink alot of this

[Vendetta]

I saw the FX 9370 at  Microcenter for only $199. Definitely a good deal if you overclock

Wow, nice overclock on that e8600. What cooler are you using and temps?

[Crisi]

Wow, nice overclock on that e8600. What cooler are you using and temps?

I have a Zalman 110mm 9700. I usually see temps around 38-40C at idle, and while under load it's 65-70C

[Vendetta]

I have a Zalman 110mm 9700. I usually see temps around 38-40C at idle, and while under load it's 65-70C

That is crazy lol, pretty much the same temps as my 3570k @4.3Ghz. I could probably get my vcore a little lower but I haven't taken the time to. What are your voltages at?

 

Edit* I forgot to add that I am running a hyper 212 evo.

[Crisi]

That is crazy lol, pretty much the same temps as my 3570k @4.3Ghz. I could probably get my vcore a little lower but I haven't taken the time to. What are your voltages at?

I think the cpu is around 1.35v, but I'm not sure because my brother did the overclocking.

[Vendetta]

I think the cpu is around 1.35v, but I'm not sure because my brother did the overclocking.

You have an awesome chip then. Keep that thing forever lol.

[WoodenMarker]

The psu is overkill. even if you planned to sli, a good 650w would be enough.

If you're sticking with a single 760, a decent 500w is plenty.

 

Why the 9370? What's the system being used for?

I'd suggest grabbing a ssd.

[btg0002]

I already have an SSD from the old PC that will transplanted.

The reason for the 860 is in case I want to upgrade the GPU later to give myself headroom so along with a GPU I won't have to worry about a new PSU to go along with it.

And for the CPU, I'm not big on Intel and want the AMD, I know it's not the best bang for my buck, but neither are most of the PC parts I did or could choose.

[btg0002]

oh and the overclocking aspect, I will be using the Asus motherboard's quick OC feature as I don't want to mess with voltages and frequencies and multipliers on my own. I know there are better and more bang for the buck options than what I have picked out, this is just the route I want to go on this. I do appreciate the feedback and welcome it!

[Le Reaper]

So my old as dirt frankenstein'ed PC just bit the dust. I will list the old specs right below this to show you how old this thing really was. The motherboard actually crapped out, so now it's time to do a build! The reason this is sort of my first build is because I took my now dead PC out of the HP case (it was a prebuilt unit I got for college back in 2007) and put it in a better case for air flow, the Azza Helios. The old system was as follows:

Mobo: Nettle 2 (Piece of junk, glad it died)

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ running @ stock 2.8 Ghz (had really started showing its age as of late)

RAM: 6GB crappy PC2-6400 800Mhz ram (was AWFUL)

SSD: Kingston HyperX 3K 120Gb (this will be reused in the new build as a boot drive)

HDD: Seagate 7200rpm 320 Gb (filled with steam games, and I will reuse this as its still a good drive and no sense in scrapping it)

PSU: Cooler Master 500w (it was an ok unit, only got it as the OEM "350w" died a few years back)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 (wasn't worth keeping, going to go with a different AIO this time)

Fans: AF140s and SP120s (will reuse the 140s and not reuse the 120s)

Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Quickfire XT w/ Cherry MX Green switches (just got this thing last month, and I love it!)

Monitor: Asus 23.6" HD IPS panel (got it at the same time as the keyboard, will e reusing this as I love the picture quality on it)

Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG PCI (will not be reused as the new Mobo will have TOSlink, which is why I bought this card)

I don't have any pictures of it, and it honestly wasn't worth taking any. Anyway, I will start buying components on Wednesday and should have everything within a month or 2 (I am saving for a house right now so this is all coming out of the money I set aside to entertain myself with). It will have a black with blue accents theme as blue is my favorite color.

 

New Parts list:

CASE: Fractal Design Define R4 Black with windows (I love this case and it's looks)

Mobo: Asus M5A99FX Pro R2.0 

CPU: AMD FX9370 (I will gladly pay the 40 bucks extra to get a binned 8350 that is factory overclocked as that's basically what these 9xxx FX chips are)

RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro Blue/Black 16Gb DDR3-1600Mhz

GPU: EVGA GTX760 SC 4GB (will also be grabbing the EVGA backplate for this card and when I get a second, the EVGA Pro SLI bridge)

PSU: Corsair AX860 modular (will make cable management easier)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H90

 

At some point after it is up and running, I will grab a 3TB HDD and put it in the system, as I will be taking the 5-bay drive cage out for increased air flow. Cable management will be priority number 1 for this, since I am getting the wondowed case, I want it to look good. I will be grabbing the Case, Motherboard, and CPU Cooler on Wednesday so that I can go ahead and route the cables for the items I currently have so that I can get in front of cable routing before it becomes a problem once I buy the PSU.

Stay tuned and I will upload pictures as items come in and the progress of the build while it is underway.

You're making a big upgrade and good luck with your build.

Although, not as big of an upgrade I made while switching to my current rig. (see my profile)

[btg0002]

does anyone happen to know if the expansion slot covers are plastic? Since they are white, and I don't have any white in the build, I am planning on painting them black, but I don't know what type of paint to get yet as I won't buy the case until tomorrow.

 

EDIT: nevermind, I found a set on ebay that will work and that aren't slotted (slotted PCI slot covers drive me nuts as they let dust in)

[btg0002]

why such the powerful psu?

and whyt he 4GB version of a 760 which cant use the 4gb?

u can easily fit more performance if u go for different parts

for example if u get an 8320 u could get a 770

16gb ram is really expensive right now so just get 8gb for now thats even an overkill for gaming

you are paying alot for your pc but the gaming performance is quite bad for the price

may want to rethink alot of this

So the 760 can't address the full 4gb? If so, you just saved me 60 bucks!

[btg0002]

not much of an update, but I did decide to go with a RM750 modular PSU instead of the 860.....thanks for the guys who talked about the amount of overkill and I honestly got a little wary with a 220w CPU, but 750 will still give me the upgrade flexibility I want as well as giving me the fully modular design

[btg0002]

I know this is kind of random, but I do have an old onkyo a/v receiver and L/R/C speakers I may put with this instead of my logitech z4 speakers. If I do that,, it will be tomorrow night and I will be able to post some pictures of the final peripheral layout, but it depends on whether the receiver will fit on my desk where I want it to. it will at least give me something to do until the case and mobo come in

[purplepenguin202]

You should go with the 4gb version of the 760 if you plan to sli.  The point of the 4gb versions are to remove the bottleneck of the 2gb version in the sli formats.  Looks like a great build, I'm very happy with my new 760 (2gb)!!!!

[btg0002]

You should go with the 4gb version of the 760 if you plan to sli.  The point of the 4gb versions are to remove the bottleneck of the 2gb version in the sli formats.  Looks like a great build, I'm very happy with my new 760 (2gb)!!!!

that makes a lot of sense. I honestly may go ahead and get the 2gb EVGA card and abandon the SLI and just wait to do anything else GPU-wise until I can afford a 780ti, or at that time its equivalent

[needmorewood]

So the 760 can't address the full 4gb? If so, you just saved me 60 bucks!

yea it cant

770 is a much better option but it still cant use the 4gb/ its a current issue with this gens NVIDIA cards. which is why i went for an r9 280x but they are grossly inflated in price atm

[needmorewood]

that makes a lot of sense. I honestly may go ahead and get the 2gb EVGA card and abandon the SLI and just wait to do anything else GPU-wise until I can afford a 780ti, or at that time its equivalent

thats not a bad idea actually

just dont ignore AMD also they are pretty competitive too

[btg0002]

thats not a bad idea actually

just dont ignore AMD also they are pretty competitive too

I'm open to both, as I ran a 7770 GHz edition in my old rig, but like you said the AMD cards are overpriced at present as people are buying them up for mining. Should price come down and be competitive with the Nvidia solutions I would lean more to an AMD card, but as I have had AMD in the past and have never owned a Nvidia card I figured it would be a good time to try one out and see what all the fuss is about 

[needmorewood]

I'm open to both, as I ran a 7770 GHz edition in my old rig, but like you said the AMD cards are overpriced at present as people are buying them up for mining. Should price come down and be competitive with the Nvidia solutions I would lean more to an AMD card, but as I have had AMD in the past and have never owned a Nvidia card I figured it would be a good time to try one out and see what all the fuss is about 

ive constantly switched between both

this gen goes to amd ino unless ur getting a 780ti or plan to use shield

but yea i got my 280x when they were $300 USD i feel pretty good about it