Thoughts on my first build? (i5 2500k, z77)

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blip

Newcomer
Hey guys, this is going to be my first full build. I've done component changes and many clean OS installs, but never done the full thing from the ground up.

intel i5 2500k - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 (weekend special price btw)
coolermaster hyper 212+ - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
asrock z77 pro-4 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157296
g.skill ddr3-1600, 8gb - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314
antec 300 black steel case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042
antec vp-450 power supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371045&Tpk=vp-450

I know the power supply is cheap and non-80 certified, it actually puts out over 500 watts cleanly, just has a different design that doesn't allow it to pass 80 certification - http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-VP450-Power-Supply-Review/1487/11

I plan on running the HD3000 integrated graphics until I get a good deal on a discrete card. Do you think the 2500k with HD3000 will run Diablo 3 @ 1280x1024 (my monitor) with good framerates?

And as far as the order I should put everything in, I'm thinking it will go something like this -

- Mount CPU onto motherboard.
- Apply thermal paste to CPU.
- Attach cooler to motherboard/cpu.
- Insert RAM into motherboard.
- Mount power supply into case.
- Mount motherboard into case.
- Mount all optical drives and hard drives.
- Secure all connections.
- Power up and begin process of installing OS, drivers, etc...

Does that seem like the right order? It makes the most sense to me after watching some YouTube videos. This should be a pretty straightforward process, right? "Hardest part is paying for it" is what I keep hearing...

Hoping this is a significant performance increase over my Pentium 4, which is running Diablo 3 at 15fps with everything turned off. I also have a core2duo 2.53ghz laptop, but the intel gma4500 is totally unsupported by Diablo 3.

I don't plan on playing Crysis style FPS games on this machine. Mostly rpg style games like Diablo 3. But I want to be able to eventually run them in 1080p with ultra high settings, when I get a nice gpu and 1080p monitor.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
THanks! Those are the kind tips i'm looking for :)

Should the power supply be the first thing into the case?
 
blip said:
THanks! Those are the kind tips i'm looking for :)

Should the power supply be the first thing into the case?
Click to expand...

Not IMHO. I usually put it in last as it helps with cable routing (you start routing with it just outside the case).

Also, first step after mounting motherboard is to connect and rout all the cables that go to the motherboard other than power. Take each one (SATA, front panel, USB, etc.) and route it to the nearest grommet that gets you behind the motherboard tray. At some point you should have a very clean look from the top side and a bunch of not yet connected (to drives, etc) cables on th back. Form here you can route, bundle and zip tie everything. So for me it's like this:
Insert CPU & RAM
Mount cooler
Insert motherboard in case
Connect all motherboard cables less psu and route behind
Mount all drives
Route, bundle and zip all non power connections on back side
Slid in psu routing cables as you go to back side, through grommets to front side and drives.
Final cable routing and cleanup.
 
I recommend spending a bit more on a case with more frills. Keeping in mind that a case can survive across what otherwise are complete re-builds, it is the component that maintains it's value the best of all and seems worth spending more on up front as long as the additional features are worth the additional cost.

Something like this Coolermater case, for example. I own the full-tower version of this and it is the easiest case to work with I've ever owned. The sideways-facing internal drive bays have proven to be an especially nice feature.
 
The parts are already ordered guys! The 300 is the 2nd highest rated case on Newegg with a 5 star average rating on almost 3,000 reviews... and I don't really like the way that Coolermaster looks, looks like a transformer or something.

Mostly looking for tips on the build itself, but I think I'm pretty well sorted.
 
blip said:
I plan on running the HD3000 integrated graphics until I get a good deal on a discrete card. Do you think the 2500k with HD3000 will run Diablo 3 @ 1280x1024 (my monitor) with good framerates?
Click to expand...

that's what we will find out after you reporting your impressions.
I was going to say, buy a radeon 7750 right away, it's incredibly efficient. but it's only great if you stay with the 1280x1024 monitor.

7850 is the other incredible card, but if you want it to get down in price you have to wait for the nvidia competition, basically.

in the mean time you can use anything, gamers sell their old radeon 4850 or something for peanuts. 1GB card maybe better for textures.
 
Mize said:
RAM before cooler.
Click to expand...

with huge cooler, or with fins on the stick maybe. (I like good old dimms without heatsink. this is yummy and tasty)

but I like to think of the memory sticks as fragile, sensible to static electricity. or if I have to muck around with a screwdriver for the heatsink, I like for the motherboard to be nude. but that's just a minute point.

I'll admit that for recent hardware I've only mounted stock heatsink. somewhat low power cpu, automatic fan control, it's better than in the bad old days. (I still remember my CPU with a 60mm fan spinning at 7000 rpm, oh the horror :LOL: )
 
I tried to play Diablo 3 on my Macbook Pro (Core i5 2410M w/ HD Graphics 3000, 1280x800) out of curiosity. It runs OK but I have to turn off shadow and tick the "low special effect" check box to get reasonable frame rate (~ 30fps). I didn't go to monster heavy scene to see how low the fps can be though.

About the "bare drive" on newegg, you can see their explanation on their website. Basically, a bare drive is just a bulk purchased HDD intended for OEM installs, so it comes with no manual or other accessories.
 
Can't you buy a used 9600/8800GT or something to last you? The HD graphics inside the 2500k really is complete pants!!

Even an older DX9 card would muller it!!
 
Bare drive means exactly that - no cables no bracket no screws. Generally not a problem, but check the warranty. Sometimes spending an extra $30 will take a warranty from 1 year to 3 or even 5 years.
 
really? that's gross.
is it that if you pay $30 for the carboard box, you get extended commercial warranty (i.e. serviced by the shop where you buy it), or extended hdd vendor warranty?

but what I know is a friend has dead 1TB WD Green hard drive with all her photographs (products she sells on website). so I tell her we have to ship it to US or Thailand or somewhere and go to WD's site to check warranty before RMA. it was only two years, and the drive was 2 years and 3 months old. pretty shocking, 3 years is a minimum.

the worst part is my own hitachi hard drive decided to fail at the very moment she came in for my help.

maybe that's because the drive was an external one so they give it crappy warranty. or are WD green drives only two years?, I have a hard time knowing where to check (well I will go to WD site maybe but it's boring).
I will never buy external drives, only internal and make them external if needed. we still have the nice USB box and can put a samsung in it anyway.
 
Last year most of the drive manufacturer's reduced their 5 year warranty drives to 3 years and their 3 year warranty drives to 1 year. I tend to always buy 5 year drives and have a home-assembled RAID 1 NAS backup device (with fans) so I really have to have 3 simultaneous drive failures for data loss.

When you buy a drive you should be able to view the warranty (Newegg for example).

The drive manufacturer's said they had to reduce warranties to compete with SSDs - meaning they're reducing warranties because they're reducing quality IMHO. Wester Digital "Black" drives and Velociraptors are 5 years bare drive or not AFAIK.
 
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