My first PC build

[next-apex]

Like i said in my introduction, i like to research and do things myself, but i think it may be wise to get some feedback from people who have done it before....

OK well i am in the process of getting all the hardware together at the moment.. so far i have,

The case - Thermaltake. The black Element T

PSU - 720W "Gigabyte" Superb Power Supply, 120mm Fan, PCI-E

Mother board - Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5 MB, Intel X58+ICH10R, QPI 6.4GT/s, DDR3 210

Ram - Corsair 6GB (3x XMS3 2GB) PC-12800 (1600MHz)

and..... i found these cheap, (kinda regretting getting them now)...

2x Kingston 30GB SSD's to be run in raid for my boot drive

thats it so far...


any advice / feedback?

Thanks

[Nuclear Krusader]

Don't run SSDs in RAID. Besides they're too small for an OS drive/partition.

[David M]

Substitute the PSU for a Seasonic, Antec or Corsair. Substitute the board for an Asus. Here is why....
What Power Supply should I get? How many Watts? Who made it? Guide Inside.

Motherboard Brand Rating

SSD's also have a limited read/write life. A single 30 GB SSD is barely enough to load Win7 64 onto and after Win7 updates itself in the future you will be out of room and you really don't want the OS split between two 30 GB drives in RAID 0. RAID 0 doubles the chance of a drive failure taking down your RAID array.

It looks like you have a 1336 RAM kit. For an Intel build, you either want a socket 1156 or 1155. For these sockets you buy sticks of RAM in matched pairs.

[next-apex]

so any thoughts on what i can use these SSD's for?? maybe i just sell them on ebay as they are still brand new in packaging....?

as for the mother board, i am still going to use it... but i have taken your advice on board David. (Asus better)

and i am undecided about the gigabyte PSU, has anyone more thoughts about it??

thanks

[David M]

Sell the SSD's and in the future if you want one buy a larger, more reliable and hopefully a less expensive one. SSD technology is bound to improve and come down in price. I don't think they are quite there yet to make it worthwhile. This forum is mostly about reliability and bang for the buck.

[next-apex]

Question..
Can i run 3 Corsair XMS3 2GB DDR3 sticks on my Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5 (intel)?

[Nuclear Krusader]

The X58 is triple channel. So, AFAIK you have to use three sticks.

[next-apex]

(Nuclear Krusader - The X58 is triple channel. So, AFAIK you have to use three sticks.)

Thats what i thought too..

David M......?

[glc]

No, you don't HAVE to run 3 sticks - you can run just one or two. If you run 2 or 3, they MUST be an exact match. Best performance results from running 3 or 6 in triple channel mode.

[next-apex]

Thanks!

Now for the HDD/s ...

Boot drive - SSD or HDD? Would 2 in Raid 0 be worth while? any advice?? what brands are the best?

Storage - SSD or HDD? Would Raid 0 or Raid 1 be worth while? any advice?? what brands are the best?

Thanks for any opinions and advice.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Stay away from SSDs for either purpose. Raid isn't worth it either. The speed gains are not enough to justify the high cost nor the lesser reliability of SSDs vs. tried and true magnetic drives.

Western Digital is the brand to go at this time. Get yourself a couple of Caviar Blacks and you're set. A 640 gigger for the OS and a 1 TB for your data should be sufficient.

[glc]

If you want a SSD for a boot drive, get an Intel X25, at LEAST 64gb, 128gb would be preferable - and keep an image of it on your storage drive. NEVER use RAID with SSD's.

[next-apex]

excellent thanks for the info guys!!

Now.... Im getting worried about what David M said about my ram choice earlier in this thread, (not about the number of sticks) but my RAM & MHz and the socket type of my mother board!!!

Question:
I have a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5 MB, Intel X58+ICH10R chipset..

Will my 3 Corsair XMS3 2GB (1600MHz) ram sticks be compatible????

I have read that my mobo supports- - -
"Support for DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules."


Has anyone information please?
Cheers

[glc]

Yes, they are compatible.

[next-apex]

Great! thanks

I just ordered my boot drive.... WD VelociRaptor, 150GB, 10000RPM, 16MB, SATAII

Has anyone opinions or thoughts on these HDD's?

[Nuclear Krusader]

Too small, expensive, noisy and hot?

[next-apex]

Fair enough.. but im going to give it a go anyway.. 150GB is ok as it will only contain Win7 and a couple major programs, i agree it is expensive, oh well i will have to cut down my beer consumption for a couple weeks.. Noise is not really an issue as my fishtank is louder than any computer i could build..

Heat.. that is an issue... being a 2.5" drive in a 3.5" aluminium 'heat sink' outer housing, i thought it would be cooler than normal drives..

can anyone else confirm this issue?

[glc]

The Caviar Black is faster than a Velociraptor, especially when you have SATA 6.0.

[next-apex]

ok ok the light was seen.... i cancelled the order for the WD raptor and with the credit i was able to get a Caviar Black SATAIII 32mb, PLUS an Optical drive and Wireless Card!!

thanks for the help saving me money and getting better parts!

[next-apex]

hey its almost time for the risky bit of my assembly.


the PSU is in-place at the bottom of the case with the fan facing up,

the fans, optical drive and 2 HDDS are wired to PSU neatly,

the Mother Board and RAM mods are still in boxes,

and the CPU is on its way.

i have never put a mother board into a computer let alone attach a CPU!

so now i....
1-put static wristband on,
2-fit mobo to case,
3-attach CPU
4-attach CPU cooler,
5-connect power cables,
6-connect data cables,

Is this correct? any tips?

Thanks

next-apex

[glc]

Do this first:

PROBLEMS with a NEW BUILD? Try This!!

THEN you can mount the motherboard in the case, with the CPU, heatsink, and ram already installed on the board. Do not connect the PSU to anything till all components are installed in the case. Only connect ONE hard drive until the operating system is installed, THEN connect the second one.

[next-apex]

sounds good, thanks.

my progress status has evolved once again.... >rolls eyes. . .

my order on the LGA1366 i7 960 was put on back-order so i canceled it..

i decided to get the other three components i need for now and worry about the cpu once i start working again after an (unexpected) extra long easter holidays.

other than the CPU the only other bits i needed were a static wristband, CPU-Cooler and graphics card.

i chose these....
--> Corsair Cooling Air Series A70 Dual-Fan 1366 CPU Cooler

--> Gigabyte GT430 PCI-E 2.0 1GB DDR3 128-bit, 730/3600MHz

because im broke at the moment and just want to get this build going..... i have chosen a tiny lil videocard, but because i know it will be i7, i got a healthy CPU cooler.

-also i got more fans.. im working out the best air-flow through a Tt-element-T.

(PS - when i am good with funds again i will be pulling everything apart, painting the case internals black and starting fresh with a modular Corsair1000w PSU..)

cheers for reading my crap!!! please comment, feedback...

[chuck462]

Originally Posted by next-apex (PS - when i am good with funds again i will be pulling everything apart, painting the case internals black and starting fresh with a modular Corsair1000w PSU..) cheers for reading my crap!!! please comment, feedback...

1000W seems a bit, or rather, a LOT of overkill. Are you planning on SLI in the future? Even so, those 430s should require anything more than 750W total. If you are sticking with just one GPU, a reputable 650W can handle the more demanding upper GPU cards.

[next-apex]

hey chuck, yes the corsair 1000W is over kill!! but there is a real chance of SLI in the future. . . . plus.. i just want to be future proof in general.

in 3 to 4 years time i may thank myself for spending the extra 120 bucks now??
who knows..

(after having a couple poor PSU's. . . i am going high end this time!)

next apex

[glc]

If you want a high end PSU, get one of the Corsair AX series - and you don't need 1000w!

[next-apex]

ok ok so a Corsair AX-750 will keep me out of trouble for the next 4-6 years??

i save 58 dollars compared to the HX-1000.

may i ask the difference between AX and HX? thanks for your input!

next-apex

[glc]

The AX series are the "professional" units with a 7 year warranty. The AX750 has a single +12v rail at 62 amps. The HX1000 has dual +12v rails with each at 40 amps. The AX850 has a single 70 amp rail.

[next-apex]

my case has some elevated points to fix the motherboard.... if i put all the same spacers in it is uneven. please explain.. thankyou

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by next-apex my case has some elevated points to fix the motherboard.... if i put all the same spacers in it is uneven. please explain.. thankyou

The raised points take the place of the standoffs (risers). No spacers needed. Put your I/O shield / backplate in and carefully place the motherboard in. You will have to angle the motherboard in towards the I/O shield first then it will fall into place perfectly, screw down (not to tight, just snug). Double check alignment with I/O shield before screwing down, make sure no I/O tabs are jammed in any of the ports.

YouTube - Installing a Motherboard

[next-apex]

i was of the understanding that the spacers were to make the motherboard 'stand-off' the case so it has no contact and will not short out???????