Building a new system for the first time.

[Chevex]

I am a software developer, so naturally I know almost nothing about hardware . I've never built a PC before so I'm looking for input on this build that I have taken the time to put together. It is reasonably priced and all parts have pretty high ratings on newegg. I have a couple questions but any input is appreciated.

Here is the system I am planning to build:

ASUS P8Z68 Motherboard

Intel Core i7 - 2600K 3.4 GHz Processor

4 2GB 240-Pin DDR2

Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6gb/s HDD

EVGA GeForce GTX 560 1GB Graphics Card

I already have a case big enough and a 480w power supply. I have two questions:

1. Is all of this going to be compatible?

2. Is 480w enough power?

 

[niiko101]

first of all, DDR2 memory wont work, or fit in a DDR3 motherboard, you will need this Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBXL. secondly, 480watt power supply wont be strong enough to power the system, i suggest reading under details section of graphics card and finding out the reqiurments, it says.
System Requirements170W Maximum Graphics Card Power (W)
500W Minimum System Power Requirement (W)

i would get a 600watt power supply, but dont cheap out on one.

 

[Chevex]

first of all, DDR2 memory wont work, or fit in a DDR3 motherboard, you will need this Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBXL. secondly, 480watt power supply wont be strong enough to power the system, i suggest reading under details section of graphics card and finding out the reqiurments, it says.
System Requirements170W Maximum Graphics Card Power (W)
500W Minimum System Power Requirement (W)

i would get a 600watt power supply, but dont cheap out on one.

Thank you. I am glad you pointed out the RAM issue. I have changed my list to include DDR3 RAM. I will definitely upgrade my power supply as per your suggestion

 

[niiko101]

not a problem at all, if you can and its in your price range, try to find a 600watt power supply thats 80 plus gold if you can, they tent to be better in the long run and save you money on electricity. i know corsair makes a good 650watt 80 plus gold one called AX650. good luck with the build, sure to be one hell of a computer, if you need to know anymore or anything, you know where to find us.

 

[Chevex]

not a problem at all, if you can and its in your price range, try to find a 600watt power supply thats 80 plus gold if you can, they tent to be better in the long run and save you money on electricity. i know corsair makes a good 650watt 80 plus gold one called AX650. good luck with the build, sure to be one hell of a computer, if you need to know anymore or anything, you know where to find us.

Awesome

Here is my completed shopping list: http://www.codetunnel.com/content/HardwareList.pdf

Someone suggested I swap out the i7-2600K for an i5-2500K which is $100 cheaper and performs almost as well. Would you agree with this assessment?

 

[niiko101]

well, performance wise, no the i5 2500k at heart is really an i7 2600k with the hyper threading turned off, but because the i7 2600k has the hyperthreading, which means it has 4 extra virutal cores, means that i can handel a higher work load then the i5 2500k can. me personally, i went with the i5 2500k, it still performs, its on par with the best AMD processor you can get to date ( please no one kill me ). so the i5 2500k is a good choice, also to take note, K in the name means unlocked, so you can overclock it, if you are not going to overclock it there need for the K series and save your self some extra money ? its always good to have if you want to learn how to overclock, but if you think you will never use it, then i say dont worry about it, but thats your call.

 

[Chevex]

well, performance wise, no the i5 2500k at heart is really an i7 2600k with the hyper threading turned off, but because the i7 2600k has the hyperthreading, which means it has 4 extra virutal cores, means that i can handel a higher work load then the i5 2500k can. me personally, i went with the i5 2500k, it still performs, its on par with the best AMD processor you can get to date ( please no one kill me ). so the i5 2500k is a good choice, also to take note, K in the name means unlocked, so you can overclock it, if you are not going to overclock it there need for the K series and save your self some extra money ? its always good to have if you want to learn how to overclock, but if you think you will never use it, then i say dont worry about it, but thats your call.

I feel dumb but what exactly does it mean to overclock a cpu? I hear about it all the time but this is my first time really looking into this stuff. What are the pros and cons of overclocking?

 

[niiko101]

Overclocking is, lets take the i5 2500K for example, it has a clock speed of 3.3Ghz stock, what overclocking does, is you go into the BIOS of your motherboard, adjust settings and make 4.3Ghz. the PROS are higher work load at faster speeds. games will run faster ect ect, the CONS are to overclock anything, you have to put higher volts though it, now everyone know, you run TOO much power though something, it goes boom, also just like anything else, if you run higher then recommended then you will shorten the life of whatever you are overclocking. overclocking is very hard to describe simpally, but i will try my best, to overclock something means, to make it faster then what it already is, but to achieve making it go faster, you have to run more power though it and running more power can wear away overtime, or if you do it wrong, can ruin your whole system. lol please let me know if you understood that.

 

[Chevex]

That makes perfect sense.

Do you think the addition of Hyperthreading in the i7 is really worth the extra $100?

 

[niiko101]

its really up to the builder, depending on what your system is going to be used for, are you going to run problems that need a lot of cpu power to run then, like video encoding or photo editing programs, that need a lot of ram and a good cpu to run them, or is it just for games, internet searching and similar things like that ?