Hardware Part compatibility/picking help (plus a question)

[RiderLeangle]

So my pc died and I've decided to build a new pc to replace it. While I don't make that much I would still rather pay for quality than cheap out.
Also I need a powerful machine for my needs (mainly for plenty of video conversion and some editing but I also want to run ps2 and gamecube emulation and likely pc games (which admittedly haven't really followed recently but not the point))

I haven't really picked parts before so just want to make sure everything is compatible (and picking one thing, along with letting me know if something is a bad pick), and helping pick a graphics card. Sorry that these are direct copies of newegg titles, anyways:

CPU:
Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770
(anything more powerful without having to overclock?)

Motherboard:
ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Solid State Drive:
Intel 335 Series Jay Crest SSDSC2CT240A4K5 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive

Hard Drives:
I plan to use the 1tb WD Caviar Green I have but I also want to get another hard drive, probably 2tb (might want a recommendation on one)

RAM:
CORSAIR Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML16GX3M2A1600C10
(might upgrade to 32gb with another later but not sure yet)

Graphics Card:
Help, not really sure how to pick a good one, all I seemed to figure out is nvidia is the better pick but need help picking one, need something good though

DVD drive:
Whatever one the e-machines ET1161-01 has, just going to salvage that

USB/SD/Memory card port stuff:
Yeah not sure what these are called, unless the one from said meh emachines is salvagable as well

Power Supply:
CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX1200 (CMPSU-1200AX) 1200W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Certified 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Case:
COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
(is that good for fitting everything? as well as ventilation)


Also need to double check something, I won't have any issues or have to format for just moving an additional internal hard drive (I.E internal on existing but doesn't have the OS or any programs installed on it) between a Vista PC and one with 7 installed? (well going to be after bought and built)

 

[trumpet-205]

First of, I'm sure you can save more by buying lower tier motherboard. Sabertooth is really an overated motherboard. How about Gigabyte Z77X-D3H? Very good entry level motherboard. Since you are not overclocking (even if you overclock BTW), there isn't much point in getting premium priced motherboard.

Second, you clearly do NOT need 1.2 kW PSU. That is purely overkill and wasteful spending. Hell I'm running 3770K + HD7850 + 3 HDDs and it only pulled less than 250 W under stress (using Rosewill Capstone 450 W PSU).

Third, assuming you game at 1080p, you have the option of HD7850 to HD7870, GTX 660, or GTX 660 Ti (GTX 760 has the same performance as 660 Ti).

Fourth, HDD wise, are you using it for storage only or mix use with gaming? If you plan to use it for gaming as well go for WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda instead. For storage only purpose I recommend going with external HDDs, such as Toshiba USB 3.0.

Fifth, if you are not going to overclock, consider Haswell. For Ivy Bridge I recommend you go for used parts.

 

[Thanatos Telos]

First of, I'm sure you can save more by buying lower tier motherboard. Sabertooth is really an overated motherboard. How about Gigabyte Z77X-D3H? Very good entry level motherboard. Since you are not overclocking (even if you overclock BTW), there isn't much point in getting premium priced motherboard.

Second, you clearly do NOT need 1.2 kW PSU. That is purely overkill and wasteful spending. Hell I'm running 3770K + HD7850 + 3 HDDs and it only pulled less than 250 W under stress (using Rosewill Capstone 450 W PSU).

Third, assuming you game at 1080p, you have the option of HD7850 to HD7870, GTX 660, or GTX 660 Ti (GTX 760 has the same performance as 660 Ti).

Fourth, HDD wise, are you using it for storage only or mix use with gaming? If you plan to use it for gaming as well go for WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda instead. For storage only purpose I recommend going with external HDDs, such as Toshiba USB 3.0.

Fifth, if you are not going to overclock, consider Haswell. For Ivy Bridge I recommend you go for used parts.

No, it doesn't. The 760 has more performance than the 660ti and is right between the 660ti and the 670.
(Only a few frames, but still)



Also, if you're not going to OC, grab an H77 board instead. (Or grab an H87 board and use the rest on a 4770)
The case is good, but it's sorta.. cheap for this kind of high end build. Grab a Corsair 300R or the NZXT Phantom 410.
For the SSD, it's outdated and not the best. Get the Samsung 840 Pro or get one of those new Sandisks.
Also, don't use that Green drive for storage. They are slower and have lower reliability. I second the Blue/Barracuda suggestion.
For the PSU,I recommend this one:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1750xxxb9

55$ for a big, modular psu from a reliable manufacturer is great. Also, you should be able to SLI down the road if you need an extra performance boost.

 

[Originality]

If you're going with Haswell, its worth picking up 2400Mhz RAM (7-15% boost in multitasking, gaming and imaging performance). If you're keeping to Ivy Bridge then stick with 1600Mhz RAM (anything higher is less than 2% gain).

Also, WD Green, whilst slow, has no less reliability than SeaGate HDDs. In all the computers I have built, only one Green has ever failed. On the other hand, 90% of all SeaGate drives I've ever used have failed by now (note: this is only my experience over the last decade... I blame their acquisition of Maxtor).

 

[trumpet-205]

Funny thing is, I have bad experience with WD drives, specifically they are all WD Blue.

One WD Blue ended up writing corrupted data all the time. SMART data shows drive is healthy though.
One WD Blue ended up being smoking hot (55 C).
Another WD Blue ended up being very loud during seeking.

I have yet to see a Seagate or Toshiba fail on me.

 

[Thanatos Telos]

Funny thing is, I have bad experience with WD drives, specifically they are all WD Blue.

One WD Blue ended up writing corrupted data all the time. SMART data shows drive is healthy though.
One WD Blue ended up being smoking hot (55 C).
Another WD Blue ended up being very loud during seeking.

I have yet to see a Seagate or Toshiba fail on me.

Same. My 1 year old WD Blue failed when my 4 year old Seagate (Same PC) didn't.
Specifically, this weird ooze started to leak out of it (And no other HDD) and it made a grinding sound. Then it stopped working.

 

[Originality]

Speaking of, I've had 2 WD Blues fail on me, but I don't use them much either. Samsung have proven the most reliable for me but they're not in the game anymore.

I still stand by my earlier comment. Greens almost never fail on me (I've had a couple for the better part of 8 years, still healthy) and whenever I get a call saying "Windows crashed and won't start up again" I take a look inside and usually find either a SeaGate or Maxtor drive that's gone bust.

 

[Thanatos Telos]

Speaking of, I've had 2 WD Blues fail on me, but I don't use them much either. Samsung have proven the most reliable for me but they're not in the game anymore.

I still stand by my earlier comment. Greens almost never fail on me (I've had a couple for the better part of 8 years, still healthy) and whenever I get a call saying "Windows crashed and won't start up again" I take a look inside and usually find either a SeaGate or Maxtor drive that's gone bust.

Maybe America gets the good Seagate drives and everywhere else gets good WD. (Or something like that.) Also, any idea of what that yellowish ooze could be?

 

[trumpet-205]

Maybe America gets the good Seagate drives and everywhere else gets good WD. (Or something like that.) Also, any idea of what that yellowish ooze could be?

Could be the seal that is used to seal the drive and damping vibration.

 

[Thanatos Telos]

Could be the seal that is used to seal the drive and damping vibration.

Sounds like it. Anyway, I sent it for an RMA, so no harm done.

 

[Originality]

That or the lubricant for the drive. Either way...

 

[RiderLeangle]

Thanks for the help so far. Going for that samsung 840 pro, not sure which specific sandisks were mentioned new (I assume the extreme II?) but from what I've looked up in this short time it seems to be the better pick.
While on the subject of data, the hard drive thing is somewhat mostly storage but with some active, it's mainly going filled with videos, installed programs/games go to the c drive (which is going to be the SSD in my new build) but I keep my emulators and ROMs/ISOs there (granted most powerful one I've had on my current/former pc is Dreamcast), and what I meant about the WD green is that's the additional HD I have already in said current/former pc.

And thanks for the tip on the Gigabyte Z77X-D3H over the Sabertooth, but if I do go for the 4770 over the 3770 (which I think I will do actually) would that one be compatible? If not what's a good, reliable equivalent for 4770
(For the record I didn't really say I wasn't going to overclock, I just meant I don't want to leave it OC'd and want great performance without needing to)

As for graphics cards I'm still kind of a derp on those and don't know how to pick them, so if I want to go nvidia and not amd, and plan on having a ton of 1080 video (with soft-subtitles) and 1080 gaming, what would be the best to get?

For the case my requirements are well ventilated/cooled, sturdy, and looks nice (for the case that's understandable, doesn't have to be super fancy but not shitty looking, basic black is preferred, a white case or some other light color just wouldn't look right in here)

Also what are these things with the ports called and what's a good one? due to the little curve I'm not sure the one in my graphicsless computer would fit plus it's probably outdated being from like 2008ish (or something around then)

 

[Originality]

You need a Z87 motherboard for the Intel 4770. I'll post a good one when I get home. Make sure to get 2400Mhz RAM because its only about $15ish more and gives a gaming performance boost.

For nVidia, look at the 660 Ti, 670, 760 or 770. Pick one according to budget.

The front panel ports don't have a standard name. I'll post a newegg link when I get home.

 

[trumpet-205]

For Z87, my recommendation goes to Gigabyte Z87-D3HP for long term reliability, ASRock Z87 Extreme3 / Extreme4 for functionality, and Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H if you are going to do some serious overclocking. Not that Haswell overclocks well to begin with.

That pictures shows a memory card reader, USB ports, and audio port. My recommendation for memory card reader is to go external, something like Transcend USB 3.0 memory card reader. Front panel memory card reader has never been that good.

 

[RiderLeangle]

Well long term reliability is a high need for me so I'll go with the recommendation of the Gigabyte Z87-D3HP

Pricewise this one seems to be good and it seems to have some good feedback, is it a good pick though?

And for the front ports I mainly need the front USB, the SD card port and the audio ports.

And still open to suggestions for the HD (secondary one, the SSD will be #1 (in terms of OS and programs really) and my current WD Caviar Green will be #3), seems to be conflicting accounts of reliability here

Also is a cheaper case necessarily bad? wondering if I should stick with the current pick or go for one of the ones mentioned

 

[Originality]

Winner of the CPC Magazine Z87 labs test: Gigabyte GA-Z87-UD3H. In terms of features and reliability and value (against price) it wins. For serious overclocking, whilst the Z87X-UD3H is capable, go with the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC (note, this is not for you). Also, best gaming performance came from the Asus Maximus VI Hero.
Front panel USB: cheap one or all in one. I prefer the cheap one, although that said I've got two. One holds one of my SSDs (with 2 USB3 ports on the front) and the other is just USB2 with memory cards (I use it for my 3DS).

I'll also add that CPC Magazine recommend 2TB Seagate Barracudas. If you're only holding back because I've had bad experience with them, then feel free to buy them based on a published tech reviewer.

For the case, price is no indicator of quality (half of the Lian Li cases suck badly, but look so good!). Reviews are your best friend.

 

[RiderLeangle]

That UD3H seems to be getting some bad feedback on newegg, so which is the better pick of the other two? the previously mentioned D3HP or the Maximus?

As for the front panel, the all in one thing was more what I was thinking mainly due to the SD slot so thanks.

As for the HD I'll look into that one later tonight

 

[Originality]

Some of those reviews have nothing to do with the motherboard... but anyway, it's best for you to read up on them and make your own decision. They're all good choices, although some are more cut back than others. I could tell you what I would go for, but I'm biased because I've got the Z68 version.

 

[trumpet-205]

That UD3H seems to be getting some bad feedback on newegg, so which is the better pick of the other two? the previously mentioned D3HP or the Maximus?

As for the front panel, the all in one thing was more what I was thinking mainly due to the SD slot so thanks.

As for the HD I'll look into that one later tonight

UD3H is superior to D3HP. I'd go for UD3H if you are overclocking, if not you can save money by going with D3HP.

Maximus is good, but very pricey. Generally, in terms of motherboard manufacturer,

* Gigabyte
Starting with Intel 7 series motherboard Gigabyte has really up the quality of the motherboard at every price point. Before they were low quality and outdated. Gigabyte is my number one choice in Intel 7/8 series motherboard.

* ASUS
Almost all ASUS motherboards are well made. But ASUS motherboards are significantly expensive to competitors at every price point.

* ASRock
ASRock offers the best performance per dollar spent motherboard. Their quality is one step behind ASUS & Gigabyte. I'm not a fan on ASRock's BIOS, which has always been lacking.

* MSI
Nothing really stands out about MSI motherboard except their gaming series motherboard. Like ASRock, BIOS on MSI is lacking on functionality.

* Biostar
Biostar offers value-based motherboard. They are a good choice for people on serious budget, but that's it.

 

[RiderLeangle]

Which is the better pick for long term reliability? I mean I still might occasionally overclock but I'd likely underclock it back to normal. But mainly something that can handle the stress of being on most of the time (probably not the best habit really, but I use my PC when I'm awake and listen to music when going to sleep/sleeping, and usually let it rest when I'm not home)