My First Build!

[mruiz]

I got a lot of useful advice on here and other forums so I wanted to put up the -almost- final result. I say almost because I'm still waiting on the video card and heatsink to come in so for now I'm using the motherboard's onboard video and the stock CPU cooler.

Case: Corsair Obsidian 650D
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V
CPU: Intel i5 3570k
RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengence (4x4)
Power Supply: Corsair TX850M (850 Watt)
SSD: Crucial M4 128GB
Additional Hard Drive: WD Black Cav 1TB SATA 6.0
Optical Drive: LG 22x SATA DVD Burner
OS: Windows 7 Home 64bit

Things I'm still waiting on...

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14

This is my first build and besides a minor hiccup with the driver updates everything's up and running, here's some pics. Will update when the rest of the components come in.

BTW I have to say that the case (Corsair Obsidian 650D is awesome. 1 big 200mm intake fan in the front, another exaust on top and a smaller exaust in the upper back of the case. Built in fan control settings but even on full blast it's very tolerable and I have the feeling the little noise there is is mainly coming from the stock CPU cooler. Another huge plus, cable management is a breeze with this case!

Now my next headache is regarding the monitor. The purpose of the build is for gaming but I've just been using my TV to get everything setup. I'm waiting until the video card comes in to figure out which monitor I'll be getting. With all the discussion of 60hertz vs 120hertz and 1080p vs 1200 and then some people saying over a 24 inch is not worth it while others swear by 27+ inches, I'm not sure which way to go.

I tied down a couple of cables here but mainly went for the sweep under the carpet approach.

What mess?

 

[Dangman]

Good luck with the monitor research.

Thanks for the pics!

 

[mruiz]

Any thoughts on the monitor?

 

[Dangman]

120Hz seems to be the big thing these days.

 

[Dantrax]

Congrats mruiz, Doesn't it feel great to do it yourself. I felt like Dr. Frankenstein when I powered mine up for the 1st time. I was running around the house yelling "it's alive, it's alive" . Anyway I'd get the bigger 27" monitor, but I'm not sure what to get either, I was even thinking of trying a 30". Good luck man. That Noctua is a good cooler & I like my 680 it's fast & most important quiet.

 

[mruiz]

Noctua nh14 heatsink installed! I did have an issue with my fourth stick of ram, there wasn't enough room for the heatsink so I had to remove the RAM heatsink. It took me about 15 minutes or so of putting it under the hair dryer to loosen the glue and slowly opening it with a screw driver.

After that the rest of the setup was pretty easy. Idle temps were at about 24c just after installing, and it is much quieter than the stock heatsink! The Geforce GTX680 comes in tomorrow and then it'll be complete!

Naked ram.

Perfect fit!

Done!

 

[K1tty]

Lol, the backside of your case/wires looks JUST like mine. +1 for sweeping it under the carpet!
Nice build, that is a great case.

 

[Sn0_Man]

Regarding monitors, I'll give you some suggestions but first I'm curious as to a few things

1) What kind of games do you play? MMO's, FPS, RTS, etc?

2) What monitor are you coming off of?

3) Do you have an Electronics shop nearby where you could go have a glance at a variety of monitors?

With a GTX680 you should have no trouble driving just about any display you want.

Oh, and Nice build!

 

[mruiz]

1) What kind of games do you play? MMO's, FPS, RTS, etc?

All of the above.

2) What monitor are you coming off of?

I haven't had a desktop in years, only laptops. I'm just getting back into gaming and like the system I want a good solid, higher-end display but nothing too crazy like 3D/multi-display.

3) Do you have an Electronics shop nearby where you could go have a glance at a variety of monitors?

Microcenter. That's where I got almost all of my components.

 

[BigJayDogg3]

People saying monitors over 24 inches aren't worth it are normally referring to monitors that are 27 inches, but are still 1920 x 1080.

My .02? Get a 2560 x 1440 monitor (27 inch), a 2560 x 1600 (30 inch) or buy a 22-24 inch 120 hz monitor. I'd personally get the 27 inch because I would make more use of the extra screen space in productivity applications as opposed to smoother motion in games.

In any case, I wouldn't drop below 1920 x 1080, and whatever monitor I got would have VESA mounts. If you decide to go multi display, or if you find the monitor's stand lacking, you will still have the option to buy a third-party stand and get the adjustment you want.

But when it comes to monitors, it is largely opinion. Pick one and I doubt you'll really be upset with it.

 

[mruiz]

My .02? Get a 2560 x 1440 monitor (27 inch), a 2560 x 1600 (30 inch) or buy a 22-24 inch 120 hz monitor. I'd personally get the 27 inch because I would make more use of the extra screen space in productivity applications as opposed to smoother motion in games.

So you're saying the 27 inch wouldn't be as good for gaming at that resolution?

 

[Sn0_Man]

I have:

1680x1050 60Hz 22 Inch LG screen (TN)
1920x1080 120Hz 24 Inch BenQ (TN)
2560x1440 60Hz (currently at 82Hz, going to hit 120 Soon) 27 Inch Korean (S-IPS) Overclockable monitor

I wont lie, CS:GO (and presumably other hard-core FPS games) play better on the 24 inch 120Hz (I'm hoping to change this when I up the 1440p). However Skyrim and Diablo 3 look... well its hard to describe. You just don't know what you are missing until you try them on both an IPS panel and on 27 inch 1440p. Or both, preferably.

Be aware, games like SC2 that lock in your zoom/field of view are a bit awkward on the larger screen since, well, stuff looks too big haha.

However, I strongly recommend you go to your microcentre and try out IPS panels, 120Hz panels, and 27 inch screens that are both 1080p and 1440p to feel all the differences. And if you like large, 1440p IPS monitors, check out the korean ones. And if you like 120Hz too, check out the korean ones sold at 120Hz.net

 

[mruiz]

I realized I installed the CPU cooler the wrong way so I switched it around to correct the airflow and ran Prime95, CPU stayed at a good 30c. Video card comes in today!

 

[Balthazar2k4]

I have:

1680x1050 60Hz 22 Inch LG screen (TN)
1920x1080 120Hz 24 Inch BenQ (TN)
2560x1440 60Hz (currently at 82Hz, going to hit 120 Soon) 27 Inch Korean (S-IPS) Overclockable monitor

I wont lie, CS:GO (and presumably other hard-core FPS games) play better on the 24 inch 120Hz (I'm hoping to change this when I up the 1440p). However Skyrim and Diablo 3 look... well its hard to describe. You just don't know what you are missing until you try them on both an IPS panel and on 27 inch 1440p. Or both, preferably.

Be aware, games like SC2 that lock in your zoom/field of view are a bit awkward on the larger screen since, well, stuff looks too big haha.

However, I strongly recommend you go to your microcentre and try out IPS panels, 120Hz panels, and 27 inch screens that are both 1080p and 1440p to feel all the differences. And if you like large, 1440p IPS monitors, check out the korean ones. And if you like 120Hz too, check out the korean ones sold at 120Hz.net

Just bought the Catleap Q270 SE and waiting with baited anticipation for it. I paid extra for one that is supposed to be free of pixel problems so I will be curious to see how true that is. How do you upgrade it from 85hz to 120hz? Does that require a board change?

Sorry, not trying to hijack this thread, just looking for some direction.

 

[mruiz]

Jumping back to monitors... I went to the store yesterday to look at them but unfortunately they only had 1080p 60hertz monitors. I did compare the 27 inch to the 24 inch though and I'm really liking that big 27 inch screen but I keep hearing 24 is the way to go for gaming. How would a 27 inch @ 2560x1440 work for gaming? Keep in mind I want to be able to play pretty much everything from FPS to MMO's and RTS.

 

[tangsta]

Congrats! looks cool

 

[Deleted member 88227]

With a 680 GTX powering it, it wont really hurt your performance that much. You might have to turn AA down and/or off on some of the most demanding of games but with such a high resolution, you probably wouldn't need AA anyway.

 

[mruiz]

I decided to go with a BenQ XL2420T 24 inch 120 hertz display. A little on the high end price wise but at the end of the day I was considering spending around 3k to have a PC builder put my system together for me. Glad I didn't! Even with the monitor my system is under that budget and just as good if not better than what I would have gotten otherwise.

I just turned off the energy saver in my BIOS and ran Prime95. I'm staying at a good 44c or so under full load and clocking 4.2 ghz on my i5 3570k (3.4ghz).