Building my First PC

[BaconSanwich]

Thanks, you continue to give great advice

I'll probably go with the 8GB RAM and a 240GB Corsair Force SSD.

I know roughly how to assemble everything once I get the parts, but I'm absolutely hopeless when it comes to BIOS and installing an OS, and I don't even know what a driver is. Is there a thread around with a tutorial or something? I've been searching and haven't found one.

 

[PP Mguire]

Sounds good. To the RAM, as long as it's 8GB 1600 with a voltage of 1.65v or less you're good. Brand loyalty on RAM really isn't a huge deal anymore as it usually just all simply "works" these days.

Long as it's a Force GS or Force 3 you're good to go. Good stuff still, and comparable to the Force GT in terms of performance too.

You honestly shouldn't need to touch the bios. I just (two nights ago) built an i3 3220 / ASRock B75 based rig and it booted straight into my flash drive to install the OS. I'm willing to bet on first boot up it will boot to any bootable media to install Windows be it flash drive or DVD.
The only drivers you should need are on the ASRock website. Find your specific motherboard manual and download INF/Ethernet drivers. You shouldn't need anything else. Then head to the Nvidia website and download the latest WHQL drivers for your video card. Do not use drivers or software on the discs that come with the hardware.

As to setup, the only thing you should need to do on first startup after Windows install is go to this guide to properly setup your OS for the SSD use.
http://www.techist.com/forums/f128/ssd-tweak-guide-236563/

Ignore the utility part. Also while you're in the services menu disable:
Microsoft Shadow Copy Provider
Volume Shadow Copy services

Once you do that, install said drivers ^^ and you should be ready to pwn some noobs with your new machine.

 

[BaconSanwich]

Thanks yet again, you've been so incredibly helpful from the day I started here

 

[PP Mguire]

No prob.

 

[BaconSanwich]

One last thing before I order the parts...

I was looking at monitors, and had this one in mind:

ASUS VS248H 24in Widescreen LED Monitor [VS248H] - $189.00 : PC Case Gear

But I noticed this one underneath for the exact same price:

ASUS VX238H 23in Widescreen LED Monitor [VX238H] - $189.00 : PC Case Gear

The second one seems better than the other in every regard except for size. Is there something I'm missing or am I vastly underestimating the value of a slightly bigger screen?

 

[PP Mguire]

They are literally the same in terms of real world performance. One happens to be an inch bigger.

 

[BaconSanwich]

So due to an extreme case of waiting for exams to finish and procrastination, I still haven't ordered anything

Seeing as this thread is about 4 months old, I figured the parts I planned to order have probably been outdated since then.

To summarize:

- i5 4570
- GTX 770 2GB
- 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3
- 240GB Corsair Force GS SSD
- Seasonic 620W PSU
- ASRock B85

If anything is outdated, could you suggest an alternative? Preferably one that isn't too much more expensive

 

[PP Mguire]

Neutron GTX or Samsung 840pro over the Force GS. Otherwise, that stuff is fine.