First time builder

[Randomguy1]

Hi as the title say im looking to build my first computer from scratch. ive always just got hp prebuilts but i think its time to make one to my liking. =) ive done ram upgrades and video card swaps but never a full build. it all seems straight forward enough only thing that has me a little nervous is the cpu cooler ive read you can over tighten them. how can you tell then if its just right or not tight enough?

ive been lurking around the forum for the last few days reading posts and whatnot. im hoping what i picked goes together lol my budget is $1500 US ill need windows of course. ill be gaming i play skyrim, sins of a solar empire alot, far cry 2. ive been wanting newer games but my system now is not the best. ive just not wanted to put out the money for a new game when i know i can run it well

anyway here's what i picked sorry for the long list -.-

CPU- Intel Core i5-4570 Haswell 3.2GHz LGA 1150 84W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54570 - Newegg.com
GPU- EVGA GeForce GTX 770 DUAL SuperClocked 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card 04G-P4-3774-KR - Newegg.com
MoBo- ASUS H97M-PLUS LGA 1150 Intel H97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com
PSU- SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready - Newegg.com
Ram- G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR - Newegg.com
Case- Fractal Design Define Mini Black Micro ATX Silent PC Computer Case w/ USB 3.0 support and 2 x 120mm Fractal Design Silent Fans - Newegg.com
CPU Cooler- CORSAIR Hydro series H50 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler - Newegg.com
SSD- SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW 2.5" 250GB SATA 6Gb/s TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - Newegg.com
HDD- WD BLACK SERIES WD1003FZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Newegg.com
DVD Drive- ASUS Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk Black - Newegg.com
Fan controller- NZXT SEN-MIX2 Sentry Mix 2 Fan Controller - Newegg.com
FAN 120mm- Fractal Design Silent Series R2 FD-FAN-SSR2-120 120mm 120mm Fan - Newegg.com
FAN 140mm- Fractal Design Silent Series R2 FD-FAN-SSR2-140 140mm 140mm Fan - Newegg.com
USB card reader- Transcend TS-RDF5K USB 3.0 Support SDHC (UHS-I), SDXC (UHS-I), microSD, microSDHC (UHS-I), and microSDXC (UHS-I) Flash Card Reader - Newegg.com
thermal paste- ARCTIC MX2 Thermal Paste -4gram - Newegg.com
Windows 7- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems - Newegg.com

about 1450.00 with shipping

i know the case comes with a fan controller but its mounted to the rear would be a pain to reach it

 

[PP Mguire]

List of parts is all compatible, but my 0.02.

First thing's first, the RAM. You can save a few bucks by getting the Team. If you want black the HyperX Fury are only 5 bucks more.
Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TLD38G1600HC9DC01 - Newegg.com

For 10 bucks more the H60 is a superior cooler to the aged H50.
CORSAIR Hydro Series H60 (CW-9060007-WW) Water Cooler - Newegg.com

If you're buying right now, the M1211 750 is on sale. The 620 is plenty, but for the same price why not?
SeaSonic M12II 750 SS-750AM 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Semi-modular Power Supply - Newegg.com

If you don't mind spending a tad more, you can go M.2 SSD for less cable clutter in the case.
Amazon.com: Crucial M550 256GB SATA M.2 Type 2280 Internal Solid State Drive CT256M550SSD4: Computers & Accessories

I personally think the fan controller and extra 120mm fan is a tad pointless. The 140 and included 120mm fans can be easily plugged into the motherboard so you can control by software if you really want to do that. Although those fans are pretty quiet and don't move that much air. I think you'll find you want them to run at 100% anyways.

Last thing I'll mention is the GPU. Might as well spend a tad more cash and get an r9 290 for more performance.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125500&cm_re=r9_290-_-14-125-500-_-Product

If you need to save a few bucks to do so the H60/50 isn't really that necessary.

 

[Randomguy1]

List of parts is all compatible, but my 0.02.

First thing's first, the RAM. You can save a few bucks by getting the Team. If you want black the HyperX Fury are only 5 bucks more.
Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TLD38G1600HC9DC01 - Newegg.com

For 10 bucks more the H60 is a superior cooler to the aged H50.
CORSAIR Hydro Series H60 (CW-9060007-WW) Water Cooler - Newegg.com

If you're buying right now, the M1211 750 is on sale. The 620 is plenty, but for the same price why not?
SeaSonic M12II 750 SS-750AM 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Semi-modular Power Supply - Newegg.com

If you don't mind spending a tad more, you can go M.2 SSD for less cable clutter in the case.
Amazon.com: Crucial M550 256GB SATA M.2 Type 2280 Internal Solid State Drive CT256M550SSD4: Computers & Accessories

I personally think the fan controller and extra 120mm fan is a tad pointless. The 140 and included 120mm fans can be easily plugged into the motherboard so you can control by software if you really want to do that. Although those fans are pretty quiet and don't move that much air. I think you'll find you want them to run at 100% anyways.

Last thing I'll mention is the GPU. Might as well spend a tad more cash and get an r9 290 for more performance.
GIGABYTE GV-R929OC-4GD Radeon R9 290 4GB 512-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready Video Card - Newegg.com

If you need to save a few bucks to do so the H60/50 isn't really that necessary.

lol yeah i wanted black ram even tho there's no side window its still gotta look good =P about the fan controller i was going to plug all 4 into it my room gets hot at mid day. the sun just beats down on my room for me it will be getting to 110 outside soon. i wanted to ramp up my fans as needed as im sure these higher end cards make heat. would it be better to just replace the 2 stock fans and pick 4 better ones?
yeah i know the water cooler is not needed as im not going to overclock. but it makes everything in side cleaner imo and its black lol. not a huge silver tower cooler ive seen it pics that blocks most everything. dont amd cards run hotter? not that the 770 im sure is a cool running card its just my room can get hot lol. that ssd looks interesting? silly question but where do you plug it in lol

 

[PP Mguire]

That's why I was saying the controller is rather pointless, because you'll want to run them all 100% anyways. The 770 cooler dumps all generated heat into your small case so you'll want all of that being exhausted efficiently. It would probably go over your budget, but if you want to push more air I would get 2 Corsair AF 120mm fans for front and back, then a 140mm for the top and plug those into the fan controller. If you go with either the H50 or H60 I would keep the pump and fan together and maxed at all times.

As to that, the stock cooler would be fine with some aftermarket paste. It's not a tower cooler and rather small. It would still cool efficiently enough even with higher ambient temps provided you had good airflow in the case.

Reference 290 and 290x cards were designed to run at 95c. The aftermarket cooled cards like the one I linked run much cooler and therefore also boost higher. It would run as warm as the 770 except higher than 780 performance. Although take note, that either way the same amount of heat is generally being created.

M.2 SSDs plug directly into the M.2 port on your motherboard. No cables.

As a reference, I'm dealing with the same issue with high ambient temps. H50 on a 6 core processor and an overclocked 680 with the reference blower. Not really having heat issues with my gear but my living room is mighty hot. You would have the same thing going on regardless of cooling setup.

 

[Randomguy1]

well after some thinking and talking with a friend who had a good point why spend so much on a pc and not have a good monitor my old 16:10 20inch just wont do with a 500 card lol so i was looking at BenQ GL2460HM Black 24" 2ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor TN Panel 250 cd/m2 DC 12,000,000:1 (1000:1) Built-in Speakers - Newegg.com then using my 20inch as a 2nd screen

would these fans be better Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more! the corsair ones were out of stock and the ssd stick is out of stock aswell i need it all to be on newegg

 

[PP Mguire]

What's the resolution of your old monitor?

These aren't out of stock.
Corsair Air Series AF120 Performance Edition CO-9050003-WW Case Fan - Newegg.com

Stick with the Samsung EVO if you can't get the M.2 off Amazon.

 

[Randomguy1]

this is my monitor now SAMSUNG 2053BW High-gloss Black 20" 5ms (2ms GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 8000:1(1000:1) - Newegg.com

 

[PP Mguire]

Eh, 1680x1050 isn't that bad. If you want 1080p that bad the BenQ is a nice monitor.

 

[Randomguy1]

true but if i buy a 500 dollar card i dont see why not get a new screen otherwise im sure a lower version gpu would work just aswell right?

 

[PP Mguire]

Well you're only spending 400 on a GPU, and a slightly lower resolution means more FPS. Something you can make up for easily with AA with a beefy GPU.