Building my first desktop

[J. Carter]

Hey folks,

I'm in the process of picking up parts for a new PC build, its my first home build and I have a few questions.  First of all here is the list of components I have picked out: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/beardo1976/saved/8RkJxr

I have already purchased the mobo and the case so those are locked in, all the rest I'll be buying over the next few months to spread out the cost.  I'm not going to be doing any overclocking as I am looking for stability first and foremost.  I was looking at the mobo manual and it states that it supports up to 64gb of memory at DDR4 2133 Mhz.  The memory I had picked out is 3200Mhz, will this cause an issue?  Should I seek out 2133Mhz memory?

As far as connecting to the internet there are two on-board connectors, there's an Intel GbE LAN connection and a Rivet Networks Killer E2400 connection.  Are these sufficient or do I need to get a networking card?  If they are good enough I would assume I would use the Rivet LAN connection?

The mobo has a Creative Sound Core 3D chip and a TI Burr Brown amplifier integrated into the board and it supports 5.1 audio.  Do I need/want a separate audio board?  What would I be gaining?

Thanks guys, I'm sure I'll have a ton more questions as thus progresses.  I'm looking forward to using my new rig to play some ARMA with your guy and gals!

 

[Gostrydr]

Damn fine build.

You can probably go with just 16gb of ram if your not gonna do any super intense video editing or something else that uses a ton of ram.
3200 is designed to be overclocked. If you are not overclocking, 2133 would be fine and you most likely won't notice any real world difference anyway.

Also, the DVD rw.. when was the last time you installed something via DVD or even burnt a DVD? You can get Windows 10 on a thumb drive now.
I'd can that and save some money.

1000W psu is WAY overkill. you could easily get away with a 750 or 800 watt.

Either LAN port will work. I think the killer nic has some software that will try to reduce latency and prioritize traffic.

That audio will also work just fine.

Your gonna love your new PC.

 

[J. Carter]

CPL Carter,

Thanks for the feedback, I adjusted the power supply and changed the RAM.  I actually stayed at 32GB DDR4 2133 because why not?  This PC is kind of a dream machine present to myself.  I will not only be using it for gaming but I'm also a heavy Photoshop user and do some occasional video editing and more RAM is always good.  I really appreciate the feedback, it was most helpful.  Great last name by the way 

Jason Carter

 

[SGT (Ret) Padgett]

Me personally, I would get some faster ram. I currently have 8GB at 3200, also recommend a full tower but it's only because it is more roomy for upgrades I have the corsair 750D it's great.

 

[Capt Avery]

Very nice build you have here a lot of the items you chose is what I would choose, I will give you some input however.

I don't know what the state of your monitor(s) is, I see you have the 3440x1440, 100hz monitor, but I recommend getting a double or triple (cheaper are available) monitor mount. This is something I just got into the last year because people like SFC Brewer mentioned how awesome they were, and I am very glad I purchased one.

You also have a 1TB Samsung 850, good choice in brand. When I built my computer, I got a WD Black with it because I intended on doing a lot of ArmA recordings. I got the 3TB option but I believe the 2TB is the best bang for the buck. Plus having an additional hard drive is good just in-case, the black series is rated for gaming/recording.

Like the other guys, I think 32gb of ram is overkill. However ram is dirt cheap and its something you're interested in so I wont input on that.

Your motherboard only has 6x USB inputs on the rear, maybe look at getting a PCI-E USB card for additional? I mess with a stupid amount of peripherals ranging from headsets, to items for plugging in an electric guitar, the more USB slots the better.


Edit: Make sure you pick up some displayport cords for your monitor.

 

[J. Carter]

Lt Avery,

Thanks for the advice, I've got a few questions.  It sounds like you have a double or triple monitor stand, can I ask what size and type of monitors you are running?  Are they connected via HDMI or display-port?  I'm also guessing there must be some software that splits the image over the three monitors?  I'm interested in how that works as I like the idea.

I love the idea of the PCI-E card for additional USB expansion ports, thanks for that, I'll check out the options.  One can never have enough USB slots  8)

 

[O. Thomas]

RAM will run at the highest speed the Mobo automatically handles no matter what the RAM is advertised for, that's where O/C comes in, but tbqh there's 0 reason to be pushing the DDR4 speeds you see now without running Hypervisors/LotsaHardcoreVMs. So, just get what the Mobo is rated for and use that, if the sticks can handle O/C to a higher speed then O/C it, only after determining a need for it. 32Gb is not overkill, 16Gb is quickly becoming a must-have standard for consumer rigs as everything is basically x64-bit now, though the 16Gb is mostly to keep your multitasking available (dozen+ tabs in a chromium browser, music player(s), Rainmeter, crypto software, Arma3, TS3, all at the same time can actually start pushing the 16Gb limit). Though, maybe kick it to 4x16Gb or 4x8Gb chips so you're using all the lanes for the memory instead of just half of each lane (matching colors for the memory slots are separate lanes).

The only reason you would need above GigE NICs is if your entire network within your home before hitting the WAN/ISP Modem (The Internet) is at a minimum full GigE AND you have apps/servers/services/storage that would require regular high bandwidth transfers. To get there you'd be running an actual server and using networking gear that could handle the load as it is. Also that Rivet NIC seems to be the integrated Wireless-LAN card.

For sound, if you're not a serious audiophile, the chipsets that come with the majority of mobos now are more than enough to handle your audio needs. A card can offload some of the processing for audio, give you 7.1, with specialized :stuffs: for eargasmic audio, but pretty unnecessary.

If you have the extra cash and your monitors are ALL the same, hell yeah get some stands they're dope, you might prefer a stand that you can angle the left and right monitors inwards, to give yourself more of a cockpit feel. Multimonitors for 4k @ 60 FPS, miiight be doable with the 1080s now, but 1080p@60 is definitely doable with mini-D and HDMI ports. 4k setups need enough mini-D ports on the card, plus the ability to push that setup (which even 1-2 years ago wasn't possible for multimonitor no matter the setup, but that's partly where the massive, curved, single monitor trend comes from). For software, you really don't need anything outside of what Windows comes with, I run DisplayFusion, but that's more for managing my backgrounds with Rainmeter.

Other than all that stuffs, build looks good. I'd personally like a SAN/NAS to hold all my media files, or at least a big arse mechanical drive to hold all the stuff you dont regularly access/need to run fast (And if you care about it, back it up!).

 

[SPC (Ret) Ciancio]

Holy crap 3 grand. Im jealous

 

[Capt Avery]

Lt Avery,

Thanks for the advice, I've got a few questions.  It sounds like you have a double or triple monitor stand, can I ask what size and type of monitors you are running?  Are they connected via HDMI or display-port?  I'm also guessing there must be some software that splits the image over the three monitors?  I'm interested in how that works as I like the idea.

I love the idea of the PCI-E card for additional USB expansion ports, thanks for that, I'll check out the options.  One can never have enough USB slots  8)

My main monitor is a 21.5inch while my secondary is a 24inch I believe. They are both connected by displayport to HDMI cords since they are both 1920x1080 at 60hz. Since you have the higher resolution and higher hz monitor than me, you will need display port cords to get the most out of that monitor you purchased, HDMI will only limit you. Since I only run two monitors I do not run software but Nvidia and even the native Windows program for display does a good job at handling multiple monitors. If you have two monitors you more than likely not need software, if you run three monitors and want to stretch ArmA to all of them, I do not know honestly.

 

[J. Carter]

Guys,

Thanks for all the tips, this has been super helpful.  It's great to get additional input from people who know what the hell they are doing 

CPL Thomas, your post was most welcome, thanks for the info on RAM, NIC's and audio, you helped me to settle on what I want to do regarding all three! 

I'm sure I'll have more questions as I start putting everything together, but you guys have me off to a great start.  Thanks again!

 

[SPC (Ret) Roche]

You basically rebuilt my PC. Niiiice.

 

[J. Carter]

You basically rebuilt my PC. Niiiice.

I guess I should ask....are you happy with it?!

Maybe I'll ship all the parts to you so you can put it together for me.  Since you've done it before 

 

[SGT (Ret) Padgett]

I want to see pictures when you're done!!

 

[J. Carter]

Computer is all done, the build went really well.  It got a little tricky getting the main LED and fans working and I had a "stupid idiot" moment getting my mouse working (I forgot to flip the switch on the mouse to on) but other than those two issues everything went flawlessly.  It works great and crushes ARMA3, the graphics are a world apart from where they were prior and its sooooooo smoooooooth.  I'm still waiting on one part, the USB expansion card but its expected any day.

I'd like to say thanks to everyone that helped out!  I super happy with how it came out!

Here are photos for anyone that is interested!

 

[SSG Shundo]

Looks good man, I'd just say turn the CPU so the fan is on the right side, sucking in cool air coming from the front of the case, and blowing it out the rear exhaust fan. Otherwise the fan is just blowing hot air down into the case instead of blowing it out the rear of the case

 

[SGT (Ret) Padgett]

looks great man your wire management is really nice for your first time building, good job!

 

[J. Carter]

Thanks for the feedback guys!  I think I'm going to keep the fan pointing up, there is a large vent right above it as well as space for an additional fan that I am waiting on.  Cable management was easy on this case, its laid out really well, it made my job very easy

I just put my application in, I'm looking forward to playing with you guys!