Help with first build

Anze · November 28, 2014

Hey folks!

I'm working on my first build and have a couple questions about stuff.

I'm living in EU and will be ordering some parts from Amazon US and some from local stores so I'd just like to make sure there's no compatibility issue there? No different plugs or anything? I'm 99% sure it's not a problem, but I'd like to confirm it with you guys before I spend a lot of money. Also, is it a bad idea to order a GTX 970 all the way from US? I've seen how badly packages get treated on air mail. It's MUCH cheaper there, but I'm worried about damage? Anyone with previous experience on this?

Another thing is my OS. I'm using a legal copy of Windows 7 Home right now, and I plan to wipe my current hard drives and use them as slow data storage on the new PC. Can I install the same windows on the new SDD in the new rig? I've looked into this and I'm getting confusing answers on google. Some say yes, some say no?

Last thing, here is my current shopping cart; Anything stupid on there, or does it look solid?

CM Storm Stryker full tower

Cooler Master V700 Fully modular PSU (Will this be enough for an SLI GTX 970 config in the future?)

ASRock Z97 Extreme 4 motherboard

i7 4790k with Corsair H100i closed loop water cooler

Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 16GB Kit (bit expensive, but I want those sexy blue LEDs B) )

Gigabyte GTX 970 Gaming G1 (possible SLI in the future)

Intel 730 Series 240GB SSD (found one with a great discount)

It won't be used only for gaming. I do all kinds of work related stuff and might even get a refund from my boss for the CPU.

Also, what LED strips do you recommend? I'm looking for a single BLUE strip to put on the bottom of my case. But there are a million of them around. What's reliable?

Oh one last thing. Does thermal grease come with the processor or water cooler? Or none at all and I need to get it separately?

Any general tips&tricks about first builds are welcome as well ^^

Thanks for your time and help!

Edit:

Hmm, the Amazon US shipping calculator is a little weird. For a 970$ order, "Estimated shipping & handling" is only 25$, "Estimated tax to be collected" is 0$, but then "Import Fees Deposit" is 255$?

Can anyone with experience on shipping to EU countries help out what this means? Shipping can't possibly be only 25$? And how does the import fees deposit stuff work? Should I expect to get most of that back or not?