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Yeah im selling him my current rig and a 23 inch LCD for like 380 and my new one cost me right at 800. Only problem is Thursday when it all gets in I've got to get it put together which I've never done and Idk if I trust myself to do. Trying to find a friend who might know how, really don't want to have to pay someone.

The first build is the scariest. Honestly though it's like assembling Legos. As long as you don't force pieces that don't want to cooperate you'll be fine. I would highly recommend buying an Anti-Static Wrist Strap from Newegg, Radio Shack, Best Buy for like $5.

As far as assembly goes, the processor comes with a little arrow on one corner so you know which way to orient it with the motherboard. They fall into place, never force them into the socket. Make sure you secure the latch.

Most processors come with OEM heatsink and fan with pre-applied thermal compound. If so, I would just use that if you have no plans on OC'ing the processor. I'm running mt OEM HSF that came with the 3570K and I'm running 4.0GHz with no heat issues whatsoever.

If you have to apply the thermal compound it's easy. You can either put a dime sized drop on the center of the CPU and leave it as is, allowing the HSF to spread it with pressure. Or you can take a plastic bag wrapped around your pointer finger to spread it evenly across the surface.

Memory modules only fit one way, make sure they latch.

GPU's only fit one way, secure with screw.

SATA HDD and Optical Drives are self explanatory. I'd personally put the Optical drive on a SATA2 over SATA3, incase you slap in a few SSD's in the future.

The case pins for power, reset, hdd light, mic, headset, and grounds are tricky because they're tiny and hard to read. Most motherboards come with an adapter than you can plug into first, then stick directly onto the motherboard. Worst case scenario, check the manual, it'll show you which pins are for which cable.

When in doubt, ask us, I'm sure we can help.
 
This one is from NeweggTV... it's a little better maybe? 3 part series tho...

Linus is the man. I enjoy his reviews and how-to's. That first video is the one I show friends who are starting their first rigs. Only thing I recommend is the Anti-Static Wrist Strap and laying the case down when installing the motherboard. Other than that he's spot on. Don't need the wrist strap if your case is grounded and you keep constant contact with the metal frame, but for $5 it's worth it IMO.
 
after watching it the only part that concerns me at all is getting all the wireing done right, think ill pick up one those bands today and give it a shot when i get everything in
 
IF!! you can't find one make sure your arm is touching the metal part of the case at all times while handling any components, that will ground you but the band is way better.
 
Here's my new project to arrive next week. *humble brag* Storage and monitor are already in my possession.

w7C3T.png
 
My rebuild I did yesterday while UVerse was getting installed:

Case: Aspire XQpack Blk w/windows (Reused)
PSU: Raidmax RX-530SS
CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965BE 3.4Ghz
Mobo: Biostar A880GZ
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB (2x4) @ 1333
GPU: EVGA GTX460 SE 1GB (Reused)
HDD: WD Caviar 250gb SATA (Reused)
Bay1: ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24x DVD-RW
Bay2: Open
LCD: HP S2031 20" (Craigslist find)
KB/M: Saitek Eclipse II + Logitech MX1000 (Reused)
Sound: Rosewill RHM-6308 / Logitech Z4 (Reused)

7590246026_7ebb06d6e5.jpg


Planned upgrades:
Case: Silverstone TJ08B-E / Lian-Li
PSU: >700w
Mobo: MSI 890GXM-G65
RAM: up to 16GB
GPU: 2x in crossfire (switch to radeon)
HDD: 2x Seagate Momentus XT (Raid)
SSD: Kingston HyperX 3K 90GB
A/V: new headset / webcam

custom sleeving / o.c. / H20 possibly?
 
Here's my new project to arrive next week. *humble brag* Storage and monitor are already in my possession.

Sweet. Almost identical to my rig. I went with:
Intel Core i5-3570K
ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Samsung 30nm "Green" DDR3-1600 4x4GB
2x Samsung 830 128GB SSD
2x Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB 7200RPM
EVGA GTX680 SuperClocked
LiteOn DVD Writer w/LightScribe
Corsair Obsidian 800D

For Displays, I'm currently running a 4 year old 32" Samsung LCD, a 23" Samsung 1080p monitor, and an Optoma HD33 projector. Replacing both the tv and monitor as soon as I move in early August.
Optoma HD33 1080p 3D Projector
2x Samsung 40" 1080p 3D Smart TV UN40ES6500

Also going to be adding a single liquid cooling loop for the CPU sometime in the near future. Looking at these components:
EK-Supremacy CPU Block
Swiftech MCP655 Pump
EK-D5 X-TOP Version 2 Pump top
Black Ice Xtreme 3 Radiator
Bitspower Water Tank Z-Multi 150 Reservoir
PrimoFlex Pro LRT Black Tubing 1/2id 3/4od
Bitspower Matte Black Dual Rotary 90deg fittings
Bitspower Matte Black compression fittings

Can't wait for the water cooling. I'll finally be able to crank it up past 4.0ghz.
 
Sweet. Almost identical to my rig. I went with:
Intel Core i5-3570K
ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Samsung 30nm "Green" DDR3-1600 4x4GB
2x Samsung 830 128GB SSD
2x Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB 7200RPM
EVGA GTX680 SuperClocked
LiteOn DVD Writer w/LightScribe
Corsair Obsidian 800D

For Displays, I'm currently running a 4 year old 32" Samsung LCD, a 23" Samsung 1080p monitor, and an Optoma HD33 projector. Replacing both the tv and monitor as soon as I move in early August.
Optoma HD33 1080p 3D Projector
2x Samsung 40" 1080p 3D Smart TV UN40ES6500

Also going to be adding a single liquid cooling loop for the CPU sometime in the near future. Looking at these components:
EK-Supremacy CPU Block
Swiftech MCP655 Pump
EK-D5 X-TOP Version 2 Pump top
Black Ice Xtreme 3 Radiator
Bitspower Water Tank Z-Multi 150 Reservoir
PrimoFlex Pro LRT Black Tubing 1/2id 3/4od
Bitspower Matte Black Dual Rotary 90deg fittings
Bitspower Matte Black compression fittings

Can't wait for the water cooling. I'll finally be able to crank it up past 4.0ghz.

Yeah, this is quite a build. I only run it on my 55" Sony XBR909, therefore I only run the res at 1920x1080. I'm not sure if I'll ever run into a spot where I'll need more than the base stats. I'm a couch gamer, afterall.
 
thanks both of yall for making my soon to be rig look like crap lol.
IF!! you can't find one make sure your arm is touching the metal part of the case at all times while handling any components, that will ground you but the band is way better.
i picked on up at best buy and come thursday night im going to give setting it up a shot, and with any luck itll be up and running for BWE
 
Good luck, hope you it goes well. If you run into any problems just pop in the forum and I'm sure we can help. By the way make sure you have really good cable management on the first time cause it's a pain to re-route all of the cables.
 
quick question, i just got one 500gb hard drive and i found a linux video on booting for the first time and setting up raid drives but being as i will not be due to only haveing one drive what do i need to do? this will be my first time doing any of that
 
quick question, i just got one 500gb hard drive and i found a linux video on booting for the first time and setting up raid drives but being as i will not be due to only haveing one drive what do i need to do? this will be my first time doing any of that

Are you just adding an extra hard drive to your system or replacing you primary harddrive?

I just did this (both). Just put the harddrive inside and make all the connections (1 sata data cable and 1 power cable). Next if it's just an extra hard drive - start up the computer and search for partition, there will be software that comes with windows. Just find the new HHD in the list and right click to set up the partitions you want. Then just go to file tab at the top and save changes - the new partitions will show up in your My Computers. If you are replacing your primary HHD then just put in the windows CD and format/install windows on it - done.

Let me know if you need any help.
 
I just built myself a rig for GW2 and a little future-proofing. The main guts are:

Case: Corsair Vengeance C70
Mobo: Asus Rampage IV Formula
CPU: Core i7-3930K 3.2 LGA2011
Gfx: EVGA GTX670 FTW
Mem: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB)
Storage: 80gb SSD for OS, 180gb SSD for games, 1TB caviar black cargo bay
Cooling: Corsair H100 closed loop
So far I'm loving it, it runs everything I throw at it like a dream. The case looks like an ammo can. :D Will post a pic later.
 
Are you just adding an extra hard drive to your system or replacing you primary harddrive?

I just did this (both)Just find the new HHD in the list and right click to set up the partitions you want. Then just go to file tab at the top and save changes - the new partitions will show up in your My Computers. If you are replacing your primary HHD then just put in the windows CD and format/install windows on it - done.

Let me know if you need any help.
Its a totally 100% new build so im guessing that's what I need to do? Guess what im after is what all do I need to do the first time i boot the newly built rig, should I just put in the windows disk and turn it on or do I need to mess with BIOS?
 
You might want to check BIOS first to make sure it's detecting your drives properly, has your RAM timings/freq set properly, has the optical drive as a boot option, and stuff like that. Not 100% necessary, but I'd recommend it.
 
Its a totally 100% new build so im guessing that's what I need to do? Guess what im after is what all do I need to do the first time i boot the newly built rig, should I just put in the windows disk and turn it on or do I need to mess with BIOS?

I would first go into the BIOS as check if all the hard drive you put in is being registered and they are all in the correct modes (for example AHCI for any SSD you have installed). Next pop in the windows CD and restart the system, just follow through on that and install it onto the partition you want (you'll be given the option to divide up the HDDs into the partitions you want). After that take some time to update all the drivers starting with the motherboard, then graphics cards and other hardware installed. From there you'll be running alot of windows updates and restarting to have them take effect (it will keep doing it over time as you shutdown and start up the system, this is normal). From there you're free to install whatever you like (I would start with essential plugins before putting in other software and games).
 
@ Dontpanic - Depending on how many hard drives you have, and where you plugged them into, your bios boot settings may not select the hard drive you want as a boot disk. Check your boot options, specifically your booting priority to see if the hard disk shows up on the list. If it doesn't not, you'll have to further adjust your boot options, as some bios settings will default your primary hard disk to some specific SATA port.
 
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