first computer build

O

opt789

First computer build ever.
I was always the guy who said it was just so much easier to just buy from a company that builds it for you, so they do all the testing, setup, and give you a three year warranty on the whole thing.

Since I have never done it, I will actually lose a lot of money when you figure in my time, but I am doing it to force myself to learn more. I am not worried about saving or not saving money at this point.

The prices listed include any shipping and rebates, but not sales tax which I paid on most stuff. I gave links to Newegg for reference but did not buy from them. This machine is obviously overkill for trading, but I will use it for gaming too.

Case: Silverstone TJ10, $250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163089
This was reused from an old computer, so actual cost was zero, but I probably would have spent around $250 on a new one. It also had a cd/dvd drive in it so I didn't buy one, but I would like to add a blu ray burner at some point. Also I am using windows 7 from the salvaged computer.

Chip: Intel i7-3770k, $229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V Pro, $189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819

Hard Drive: Crucial M4 256gb SSD, $159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148443

Memory: Crucial 16gb (2x8) 1600, $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148545&Tpk=BLS2KIT8G3D1609DS1S00

Power: Corsair AX850, $174.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015&Tpk=ax850

CPU cooler: Antec Kuhler h2o 620, $57.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209049

Video card: EVGA gtx670 FTW LE, $339.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130802

Total: $1468, then add in the cost for an optical drive and windows for a total equivalent cost of $1600 or so. That represent an approximate $1000 savings over one of the custom build shops.

I haven't received the hard drive and video card, so I put it all together will an old hard drive I had, and just the motherboard video. So far everything works fine. It was way easier than I had anticipated.

The hard part now is that I know jack about bios, over clocking, fan speed curves, the plethora of downloads for the motherboard, usb 2 vs. 3, Intel vs. Asmedia with 3 and 6 gb connectors, smart digi+, usb boost, turbo mode, voltages, frequencies, etc., etc.

Anyone with suggestions on where to start learning about that stuff, please post.
 
Download MemTest86 (or MemTest86+), make a bootable CD or DVD, and take time to test you RAM.

(use MemTest86 v3.50 or Memtest86+ V4.20, the most recent versions still have issues in some configurations)

Then use Prime95 stresstest to ensure your PC is stable under load.


Also worth using a decicated HW forum instead of trading forum to discuss this kind of matter.
 
Quote from dom993:

Download MemTest86 (or MemTest86+), make a bootable CD or DVD, and take time to test you RAM.

(use MemTest86 v3.50 or Memtest86+ V4.20, the most recent versions still have issues in some configurations)

Then use Prime95 stresstest to ensure your PC is stable under load.


Also worth using a decicated HW forum instead of trading forum to discuss this kind of matter.
More...

no need for that

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Diagnosing-memory-problems-on-your-computer

imo i 7 is overkill even for gaming. i did build i5 from parts that i bought on black friday-all current games are working fine,without any lag.asus bios is very user friendly. just pick one of 3 prebuild settings and you good to go. no need for messing with it. after you done with your build-set boot up order and put your SSD first.
all drivers that are needed should be on MB's cd. installing them-piece of cake.
 
Quote from opt789:

First computer build ever.
I was always the guy who said it was just so much easier to just buy from a company that builds it for you, so they do all the testing, setup, and give you a three year warranty on the whole thing.

Since I have never done it, I will actually lose a lot of money when you figure in my time, but I am doing it to force myself to learn more. I am not worried about saving or not saving money at this point.

The prices listed include any shipping and rebates, but not sales tax which I paid on most stuff. I gave links to Newegg for reference but did not buy from them. This machine is obviously overkill for trading, but I will use it for gaming too.

Case: Silverstone TJ10, $250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163089
This was reused from an old computer, so actual cost was zero, but I probably would have spent around $250 on a new one. It also had a cd/dvd drive in it so I didn't buy one, but I would like to add a blu ray burner at some point. Also I am using windows 7 from the salvaged computer.

Chip: Intel i7-3770k, $229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V Pro, $189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819

Hard Drive: Crucial M4 256gb SSD, $159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148443

Memory: Crucial 16gb (2x8) 1600, $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148545&Tpk=BLS2KIT8G3D1609DS1S00

Power: Corsair AX850, $174.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015&Tpk=ax850

CPU cooler: Antec Kuhler h2o 620, $57.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209049

Video card: EVGA gtx670 FTW LE, $339.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130802

Total: $1468, then add in the cost for an optical drive and windows for a total equivalent cost of $1600 or so. That represent an approximate $1000 savings over one of the custom build shops.

I haven't received the hard drive and video card, so I put it all together will an old hard drive I had, and just the motherboard video. So far everything works fine. It was way easier than I had anticipated.

The hard part now is that I know jack about bios, over clocking, fan speed curves, the plethora of downloads for the motherboard, usb 2 vs. 3, Intel vs. Asmedia with 3 and 6 gb connectors, smart digi+, usb boost, turbo mode, voltages, frequencies, etc., etc.

Anyone with suggestions on where to start learning about that stuff, please post.
More...


What did you build the machine to accomplish?
Its a fair amount of computing power - but 1400 bucks is alot of money - unless you are gaming

Did you build it as a gaming machine?
I've built trading machines for 300-400 bucks - plenty of capacity
 
Quote from mgabriel01:

What did you build the machine to accomplish?
Its a fair amount of computing power - but 1400 bucks is alot of money - unless you are gaming

Did you build it as a gaming machine?
I've built trading machines for 300-400 bucks - plenty of capacity
More...

I just did my first build, a "cloud in a box" using an i5, MSI mobo, 16GB of memory and a 4TB RAID 5 array. Had the case, power supply and drives already, the rest cost me about $450. Running Linux. Spent some time researching it and I agree with what others have said regarding i5 vs i7, bang for the buck the i5 does everything I need and even with games everything I read said unless the i5 is bottlenecking your video card (unlikely) it has plenty of power for games.
 
Quote from dom993:

Pretty poor advice ... whether it is for backtesting or live-trading, one should better be able to trust his/her system 100%, and that starts with low-level component testing.

But you'll figure it out the hard way...
More...

https://www.google.com/search?q=win...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

it's pretty much same s**..just do enough passes, if you are paranoid about it. leave it for a day..from my experience- if memory is messed up-first pass of whatever will catch it. you wrong on hard way-i'm on XP and have to use memtest regardless
 
Thanks for the all the replies and info. I was surprised at how easy it was to do all this so far, and it was sort of fun too. I would recommend building your own to anyone who is thinking about it.

dom993, I am running memtest right now, and so far no errors. I have heard that lots of people use prime95 for testing their overclock. I think I will get into that later when I know more.

Bob111, if you look at the price I paid for this chip, it was really not much for how good it is. Also if you try to run new games with high setting on a 30 inch monitor at max resolution, or you set up a 3 monitor surround gaming system then even my new system will struggle a little. Everything I read said not to use the motherboard's disk and just download it from their website, I was just surprised at how much stuff there is and wondered if I would actually use it. I guess I just have to spend some time trying them all.

mgabriel01, you are right this is way more than is needed for trading, but it will also be for gaming and running long and complex option trading backtests. This is actually the cheapest I have ever spent on a computer, but I also bought them prebuilt and tended to go for higher specs. The whole price is less than my wife overspent last month while she was claiming to save me money. How exactly do you save money when you buy stuff on sale that you didn't really need in the first place?

Anyway, I am now looking forward to learning enough so I can build all my computers from now on.
 
As to the i7 vs. i5, I also read that for most average purposes most people won't see much of a difference, but in certain situations it will matter. It all depends on what you are using it for. Since I will be gaming and doing some real number crunching, the cost difference was irrelevant. The retail cost of the i5-3570k at newegg is $215, and I paid $230 for a chip that is (according to passmark) 34% more powerful. For the budget minded, the i5 is more than enough for any normal setup. Also there is no comparison when gaming on a single smaller monitor, and gaming on two 30" at max resolution, or tri-monitor setup at 5760x1200.
 
Quote from opt789:

The whole price is less than my wife overspent last month while she was claiming to save me money. How exactly do you save money when you buy stuff on sale that you didn't really need in the first place?
More...

Understanding the vagaries of the female mind makes trading look like a simple endeavor in comparison. I really did LOL when I read this.
 
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