Building a New compuer

EOL

New member
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Nov 20, 2014
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Typical users seeking buying advice typically fail to provide 2 critical pieces of information. You only 1/2 way screwed up! :grin1: You provided you budget and that is great! But you failed to state the primary purpose for this system. Are you building a general purpose PC for school or work? Gaming rig? Graphics or CAD/CAE "workstation"?

I don't see a HD listed for mass storage. You may not need one.

I also don't see an OS listed. Note you cannot use an OEM license from a previous computer on a new computer. OEM Windows licenses come in either 32-bit or 64-bit so you must choose at time of purchase. With more than 4Gb of RAM, make sure you buy 64-bit. With OEM licenses, the builder (in this case, you!) are responsible for Windows tech support for 1 year.

Alternatively, you can buy the more expensive full retail license which comes with both 32-bit and 64-bit installation disks in the same box (though you can only use one or the other - not both). And with the retail license, Microsoft is responsible for tech support for 1 year.

Or, you can install one of the many free and capable versions of Linux.

Note too that i7 CPU comes packaged with an OEM supplied cooler, and is warrantied for 3 years as "a unit". As "a unit" they are expected to be used together and consequently, the use of aftermarket coolers voids the warranty. If not a concern, no problem, but it is something folks need to be aware of. Note both AMD and Intel sell many of their processors as OEMs that don't come with a supplied cooler. So the use of an aftermarket cooler is required. These CPUs cost a little less, but are warrantied for just 1 year too.

That said, contrary to old rumors and false information, the OEM supplied coolers are excellent coolers, fully capable of providing adequate cooling, even with mild to moderate overclocking. Remember, it is the case's responsibility to provide a sufficient supply of cool air flowing through the case to keep the innards cool. The CPU fan need only toss the CPU's heat up into that flow. Current OEMs coolers are pretty quiet too - especially compared to OEMs from yesteryear. But note noise suppression is a case function too.

Finally, there are many who feel the use of two graphics cards (or a dual GPU card) in SLI or Crossfire is more problematic than their worth - in terms of returned performance. Also, there is a phenomenon known as Micro-stuttering - The Dark Secret of SLI and Crossfire. Consequently many hard core gamers have decided to switch to one high-performance graphics card instead of two, and are happy they did. Single GPU systems don't suffer from this defect and consequently often offer much smoother animations compared to a SLI/Crossfire setup using two of the same cards.

So instead of spending $700 on two cards, you might consider spending less for one. Other advantages to this is significantly less power consumption, less heat generation, and less fan noise.

When you have a spare 16 minutes, see Is It Worth It to Run Two Graphics Cards in My Gaming PC?
 
I would like to make a quick note on the GTX970 in SLI if I may :)

Yes, 1 higher end GPU is normally better than two lesser GPU's in SLI. This is the case for almost every GPU. However, when it comes to the 970, two 970's is a much better option than a single 980 since the 980 is so much more expensive than the 970.

Looks good though otherwise, bar a few opinionated things.

The PSU is good, but a fairly old model now. The newer Corsair models such as the AX760 offer improved efficiency (80+ Platinum in this case) for not much (if any) more money: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (AX760) - PCPartPicker

I'm not a fan of the case myself. Hardware Canucks are a very good case reviewer, and you can find their review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVe9Pa1sqvg to help you make up your mind. It's not that it's bad, but I just don't like it myself. My current favourite case manufacturer is Phanteks: Phanteks Enthoo Luxe ATX Full Tower Case (PH-ES614L_BK) - PCPartPicker (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQOPK-OgvnM)

-Stephen
 
I did not pay attention to the case, but I don't think that is good choice either. For one it is HUGE!!!! You don't need a full tower case unless you are using an EATX board and an obscene number of hard drives. I note the specs say,
5.25" Drive Bays 3+1 (915R)
3.5" Drive Bays 6+3 (915R), 3 x modular drive bays
2.5" Drive Bays 10 (9 from 3.5" drive bays, 1 behind the M/B tray)
I don't know what the +1 and +3 mean, but that case supports at least 16 drives!!! And you are putting 2 in there.
 

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