New Rig for $3000

Danny Bui said:
To expand a little on what Skillz said: Every single one of those cases are my "favorite". Otherwise I would not recommend them. While case look does account for like 90% of the reason why I recommend a case, I do factor everything else that Skillz said in the remaining 10%.

Also, are you planning on waiting until you move or what?
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i was wondering about that list, then i saw you based alot of it on looks, most of the cases on that list are understated but theres alot of cases im guessing youd consider flashy that are not only very well built but offer tons of options for both air and water cooling.
 
It's been a while... did you buy everything?

If not, what are you considering now?
 
tiraides said:
It's been a while... did you buy everything?

If not, what are you considering now?
Click to expand...

I ran into a delay called a new puppy that was pretty overwhelming, but just placed my order with Amazon for all these things. I decided I wanted the capability of more video editing, and may end up with as many as 8-9 Baracuda 3 TB drives, so wanted to get a larger case. With the monitor, I ended up spending the 3K that I naively set aside.

 
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When did you make this order? If it's within the past 30 days, there are several parts that you should return.
 
Amazon has great return policy. Return one of them and buy one that is compatible with mobo/cpu.
 
I just received most items today. I'm humbled, so please help, as I'm obviously making stupid mistakes. :eek: I do have Amazon Prime, so can return.

I appreciate your assistance very much.

Before I exchange that CPU for the Intel Core i7-3770K Quad-Core Processor 3.5 GHz 8 MB Cache LGA 1155 that Silk mentioned, hopefully I can get the guidance from Tiraides and others on other mistakes to exchange. :confused:
 
JamesLister said:
Before I exchange that CPU for the Intel Core i7-3770K Quad-Core Processor 3.5 GHz 8 MB Cache LGA 1155 that Silk mentioned, hopefully I can get the guidance from Tiraides and others on other mistakes to exchange. :confused:
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Since you have to return the CPU anyway, you might as well return the motherboard as well and get the latest Intel platform:
$340 - Intel Core i7-4770K CPU

As for the motherboard, I recommend these two:
$190 - MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING Intel Z87 Motherboard
$200 - Asus Z87 Pro Intel Z87 Motherboard

As for the case, that Antec 1200 case is really overpriced since its quality and the amount of space it has does not match the pricing for it. At best, that case is worth $120. Even Antec's cheaper 1100 case is a better choice than the Antec 1200. I highly recommend going through the list of cases I posted a few months ago and looking through those again. Believe me, when you actually see and touch the Antec 1200 V3 next to a case like the similarly priced Corsair 600T, there's a noticeable difference in quality.

As for the video card, this isn't as bad of a purchase as your case, CPU, and motherboard. With that said, the GTX 770 is a tad faster and only $10 more:
$400 - Gigabyte GTX 770 2GB PCI-E Video Card
 
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Danny Bui made the major changes I was going to suggest.

Did you buy a retail version of the Blu-ray combo drive (fancy packaging) or a(n) barebones/OEM version (simple cardboard box, if that)?
 
Thanks you guys for still being willing to help me. Man am I glad I posted what I ordered for you guys to see my mistakes early. I have not opened any packaging of individual items yet, not even opened the Antec case.

Danny Bui said:
Since you have to return the CPU anyway, you might as well return the motherboard as well and get the latest Intel platform:
$340 - Intel Core i7-4770K CPU
Click to expand...

OK--Done

Danny Bui said:
As for the motherboard, I recommend these two:
$190 - MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING Intel Z87 Motherboard
$200 - Asus Z87 Pro Intel Z87 Motherboard
Click to expand...

Danny, does one of those have a front panel for USB-2 (or USB-3) connectors? I need to plug in external HD, scanner, camera, Ipod, USB Key, etc. on temporary basis and did not see that included, and am not sure that most cases have enough front plugs.

Danny Bui said:
As for the case, that Antec 1200 case is really overpriced since its quality and the amount of space it has does not match the pricing for it. At best, that case is worth $120. Even Antec's cheaper 1100 case is a better choice than the Antec 1200. I highly recommend going through the list of cases I posted a few months ago and looking through those again. Believe me, when you actually see and touch the Antec 1200 V3 next to a case like the similarly priced Corsair 600T, there's a noticeable difference in quality.
Click to expand...

I liked many of the choices you had, but I am forseeing having 6 or 7 of the 3TB HD's, the SSD, and two optical drives. I didn't see one that was big enough to hold that many drives...and was why I stupidly jumped to the 1200. (Also why I bumped up to the 850W PS despite your (tiraides) earlier recommendation of 750W.) Is there a recommended case that would work for my number of drives?

Danny Bui said:
As for the video card, this isn't as bad of a purchase as your case, CPU, and motherboard. With that said, the GTX 770 is a tad faster and only $10 more:
$400 - Gigabyte GTX 770 2GB PCI-E Video Card
Click to expand...

OK--Done

tiraides said:
Danny Bui made the major changes I was going to suggest.

Did you buy a retail version of the Blu-ray combo drive (fancy packaging) or a(n) barebones/OEM version (simple cardboard box, if that)?
Click to expand...

It was the $56 one at that link, and with no mention at Amazon of extras, I suspect it is a bare bones, but I have not received it yet. If there is a better one that includes Power DVD or another useful programs, that would be great to know about.

Thanks again!!!!
 
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JamesLister said:
Danny, does one of those have a front panel for USB-2 (or USB-3) connectors? I need to plug in external HD, scanner, camera, Ipod, USB Key, etc. on temporary basis and did not see that included, and am not sure that most cases have enough front plugs.
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Any modern motherboard will have front panel connectors for USB 3.0 or 20 connectors. With that said, after reading your statement below, I'm also throwing in a recommendation for the AsRock Z87 Extreme 6 since it can support up to 10 SATA devices (the other two only support up to 8 SATA devices):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D3IKKL0/?tag=extension-kb-20

JamesLister said:
I liked many of the choices you had, but I am forseeing having 6 or 7 of the 3TB HD's, the SSD, and two optical drives. I didn't see one that was big enough to hold that many drives...and was why I stupidly jumped to the 1200. (Also why I bumped up to the 850W PS despite your (tiraides) earlier recommendation of 750W.) Is there a recommended case that would work for my number of drives?
Click to expand...
Case wise, this case just went on sale for $100 and would fit your needs pretty well:
$100 - Fractal DesignFractal Design Define XL R2 Case

Now that you bring up the PSU, you really don't need that 850W PSU. You have mentioned zero plans of having 20+ hard drives or triple video cards in the PC. So the 750W version would still be a good buy and is $40 cheaper right now:
$110 - Corsair HX750 750W Modular PSU
 
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Danny Bui said:
Any modern motherboard will have front panel connectors for USB 3.0 or 20 connectors. With that said, after reading your statement below, I'm also throwing in a recommendation for the AsRock Z87 Extreme 6 since it can support up to 10 SATA devices (the other two only support up to 8 SATA devices):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D3IKKL0/?tag=extension-kb-20
Click to expand...

Danny, this looks great, but my only question is whether ASRock has a reliable track record? I have not seen many reviews to know how things might go if there are problems/firmware upgrades, etc. Other concern is it is only in stock at a reseller called Arapahoe Store, and I'm not sure how things will go if there are problems with it. Advice?

Danny Bui said:
Case wise, this case just went on sale for $100 and would fit your needs pretty well:
$100 - Fractal DesignFractal Design Define XL R2 Case
Click to expand...

This one looks great, and now shows as being in stock at Amazon.
 
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JamesLister said:
Danny, this looks great, but my only question is whether ASRock has a reliable track record? I have not seen many reviews to know how things might go if there are problems/firmware upgrades, etc.
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AsRock has a decent track record nowadays.
JamesLister said:
Other concern is it is only in stock at a reseller called Arapahoe Store, and I'm not sure how things will go if there are problems with it. Advice?
Click to expand...
You will have to deal with Arpahoe Store directly if you have problems. They seem to be ok but if you want it from Amazon.com, you may have to wait a few weeks. Alternatively, try getting the mobo from Newegg.
 
Thanks to you guys, I think I'm back on the horse. Got all the wrong parts packed up being returned to Amazon, and new items ordered.

Hopefully others reading this thread will learn from my bone-headed mistakes, and listen to the experienced members.
 
I will be getting all the new parts this week.

I have assembled 4 PC's over the last 20 years, but none in the last 8-10 years. Amazing how much I have forgotten.

Since technology has changed so much, is there a step by step checklist building guide, firmware updates, and component testing (i.e. BIOS, RAM), so I don't make a noobie mistake?
 
HIt up the General Hardware FAQ for a list of PC building guides.
 
First, the build went great. No problems, everything is working great. Even legacy programs I wanted to keep using like Quicken 2001, MS Office XP (2002), Paint Shop Pro (2001), Cool Edit 2000, all installed and worked great without me even knowing if I had to do something to install/activate Win 7 Pro's "XP Mode" which just never came up. I was even able to copy all 7 of my old XP machine's IDE hard drives (2 TB worth of data) onto one of the new 3TB Baracudas using this Sabrent USB3 adapter (have to plug it into one of the back mobo USB ports (vs. the front ones). Did have to get a parallel port adapter card to use my HP Laserjet 4L which I have had since 1990, and still works perfect.

I had a question about whether I should bother overclocking this i4770 3.5Hz CPU in the AsRock Z87 Extreme 6 mobo? Win 7 Pro is on this Samsung 840 256GB, using the Coolermaster Hyper212 Plus, and Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3 1600MHz

Thanks also for the great advice to get the Dell U3011 monitor!
 
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