First build pc, is it any good? *Changes made*

[iroats 0]

Hey everyone, sorry if this isn't the right section of the forum, I didn't know if there was one for stuff like this. And I have tried the other computer forum sites but I never seem to get anyone to respond :( .

This is my first build and I was wondering if this is a good build and if it will run Arma 2 well.

If there is anything obvious that I screwed up on then please let me know. Thanks.

From peoples responses I've decided to switch a few things out. I will put a :exclamation: to every item I have changed and the new items are also listed there.

But I am sadly not able to upgrade to the top of the line stuff since I am on a budget being only 15 years old :P .

Case - Cooler Master HAF 912 :exclamation:

Lian Li Lancool PC-K62 Black : http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=41147&vpn=PC-K62&manufacture=LIAN-LI

Graphics Card - EVGA GeForce GTX 480 :exclamation:

MSI GeForce GTX 570 : http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=72480&vpn=N570GTX%20Twin%20Frozr%20II&manufacture=MSI%2FMicroStar&promoid=1015

RAM - Corsair Vengeance 8gb (2x 4GB) :

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=59431&vpn=CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1443

Mother Board - ASUS P8Z77-V LX Intel 7 Series :

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=69892&vpn=P8Z77-V%20LX&manufacture=ASUS&promoid=1205

Processor - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge :

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=57962&promoid=1015

Heatsink Fan - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus :exclamation:

Antec Kuhler H2O 920 : http://ncix.com/products/?sku=60587&vpn=KUHLER%20H20920&manufacture=Antec&promoid=1015

Operating System : Window Seven Home Premium 64bit

Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Blue Hard Drive 1TB :exclamation:

Western Digital Caviar Black Hard Drive 1TB : http://ncix.com/products/?sku=50895&promoid=1015

I will be getting an SSD, it's just I don't have the money to get it and I'd rather get a good one then get a not so good one now then have to upgrade.

PSU - Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 :exclamation:

Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M : http://ncix.com/products/?sku=62826&promoid=1015

Thanks so much for any help!

[Tleilaxu 2]

didn't click any link beside the CPU one (post them names next time,this method used here is more time consuming than anything else)

Game should run fine with that machine

[iroats 0]

didn't click any link beside the CPU one (post them names next time' date='this method used here is more time consuming than anything else)

Game should run fine with that machine

[/quote']

Fixed it, sorry about that.

[Neokolzia 3]

480 is a fairly old card depending what and where you got it, 8gb is enough for anything 16gb is overkill but at the price of ram nothing wrong with either. 50$ is 50$.

I would have went for the Black 1TB not the blue, black is significantly faster.

Your missing a SSD which I highly recommend a 32-64gb for OS, and 1-2 games, such an amazing addition to any pc.

The HAF 912, is a decent case, I'm not into MID towers having built a couple after being used to full towers, just so cramped no room for literally anything, Full tower all the way in my opinion, a good quality case can be used for build upon build. ( I had a HAF 932 for 3.5 years, having heavily modified and customized it.)

Don't really need an aftermarket cooler if your not going to overclock the CPU, but I wouldn't trust the hyper 212 for a very heavy heat loading, Also you didn't link your thermal paste which can make up to 5-8C difference alone in its quality, Artic MX-4 is one of the best in my opinion, but there are complilational reviews out there of all the pastes.

Make sure to have the RAM running at the proper Mhz and voltage as it's rated for 1600mhz at 1.5V if you do any overclocking the RAM clock changes with the Bus Clock.

you can easily bring that CPU to 4.0-4.5 Safely and cooly, though alot of people hit 5ghz with the 2500k, I wouldn't recommend it for typical users, stick to a safer and lower 4.0-4.5ghz, as its signicantly cooler, and less hard on the chip, depends on your quality, some can take 5ghz some can't take 4.5ghz, varies completely chip to chip.

Not really a fan of tigerdirect, newegg I find to be a better deal, and since it seems your canadian like me, you can do alot of your shopping via, newegg.ca, NCIX.com( Vancouver Company amazing, price matches everything), and or use these 2 sites,

Pricebat.ca

or

Shopbot.ca

Look up the part on there, and it will show you all the online retailers and their prices for that part, allowing you to completely abuse price match =).

_______________

Only major recommendation is to look into a new CPU cooler/thermal paste if your using what comes with that one.

The HAF 912 is specifically designed to accommadate large radiators and other coolers that take up lots of space, including 2x 120mm rads.

So if I had to recommend anything for extreme cooling solutions to allow for system longevity and overall system quietness, and future proof overclocking ability.

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=61380&vpn=CWCH100&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1360

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=61379&vpn=CWCH80&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1015

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=60587&vpn=KUHLER%20H20920&manufacture=Antec&promoid=1015

Thermal compound:

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=55958&vpn=MX-4T-4G&manufacture=Arctic%20Cooling

As for Tigerdirect vs newegg vs NCIX.

90% of shipping costs are due to the case, and other extremely large and heavy pieces... name the case..

Since tiger-direct doesn't offer the same level of price match I advise that you likely will get the best deal ordering strictly the case as pickup and everything else likely through NCIX using and abusing their price match ability.

---

Also went graphics card hunting these are also somethings to consider.

My opinion, get everything within budget then get the best single gpu you can afford, you will not regret it.

Oh and exellent choice on PSU, Corsair or nothing, Corsairs are beast PSU's.

Low quality ones are tempting but can destroy systems and end up costing more in power over a year.

But anyway,

580 GTX;

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=67644&vpn=58NLH5DI5TXX&manufacture=Galaxy%20Technology&promoid=1382

570GTX;

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=72480&vpn=N570GTX%20Twin%20Frozr%20II&manufacture=MSI%2FMicroStar&promoid=1015

7950; (About = 580 near same price, more drivers to come)

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=67619&vpn=AX7950%203GBD5-2DH&manufacture=PowerColor&promoid=1015

Honestly, Would go either for 7950 or 580 hands down.

7950 is still likely to see some performance increase as drivers mature.

But heres the question, do you want this to run Arma 3 well or just Arma 2?

If your considering ARMA 3 or any other top end PC games,

Make the adjustment, bump the PSU to a 750-850, just to give the headroom for a Crossfire or SLI upgrade down the road if needed, otherwise your set.

[GandalfTheFriendly 0]

You can run the game with no problems. You've got a very good computer.

[iroats 0]

Thanks a lot! I'll use those sites for sure! And like you said, as for the case, I'll probably just buy one in-store so I don't need to worry about shipping.

[Neokolzia 3]

PC Stores can generally have connections to warehouses and can cheaply get them shipped to their location.

So don't cheap out on the case just because they don't have one at their store, they almost always have suppliers that they can get any case you want from, and for an extremely cheap shipment price.

Though my experience with general stores (not online ones) is its nearly the same price even minus shippment due to how much they spike up prices.

[canbaron 0]

Swap out the i5 2500k and the GTX480 for something that is not outdated.

[Neokolzia 3]

2500k isn't outdated, ivy bridge is out now yes but its also very expensive and will give literally no real world gaming performance increase over sandbridge of that caliber sir.

I agree with the 480 swap out.

Simply too outdated for that price.

[Benlandia 73]

Excellent build, DO NOT GO CHEAP ON THE CASE!

The case will last you through several builds, so get something extra large for future upgrades!

The only recommendation I have is to grab a higher end video card. I'm running a GTX 580 Lightning and it gobbles up everything I can throw at it. Eventually they will be cheaper and I can just SLI them instead of buying a new top o' the line card. You can't future-proof your computer, but you can plan accordingly.

[Scyrehawk 1]

just a note, sandy bridges are now discontinued... may want to step up to the ivy bridge CPU's. Yes you can get similar performance out of the 2500k as you can say the 3570k ivy bridge, but your also limiting performance gains from future upgrades on your GPU.

As to the 480, to be frankly honest the performance on them is seriously underwhelming, You would be better off looking at a 580 or higher or even better yet a 680 (which would also match with an ivy bridge CPU and PCIE 3.0... Oh and the supposed lack of performance gain on pcie 3.0 is misleading, the current cards are dialed back at a driver level while makers are finding the proper sweet spot on performance at a code level)

As to going aftermarket cooling, considering going with a corsair closed loop water cooler. I'm betting that your looking at the cooler with intentions to overclock, so the closed loop will give you the best results, especially with something like an H80-H100 model.

Power supply, 650 may do, but realistically it doesn't give you room for upgrades or changes in needs. 750 gives a better buffer but again the final choice is really going to come down to what your final rig is. Just don't skimp on the PSU, a budget PSU will kill a rig faster than any single item.

Oh yeah, Ram... Look into G.Skill, its arguably among the best on the market and at a similar price.

On the whole you've got a solid hold on what your going for, the rig you quoted would work fine, but I'm thinking your also looking for something that will last you a couple of years. :)

[Techercizer 82]

You don't need a SSD, but upgrading to a 500 series card will get you a lot more punch if you're willing to spring for that.