First custom PC

[M&M's]

So first of all: Hey guys this my 1st post

Now, I have been dreaming for custom PC for sometime and I have finally taken action.

So this is what i have been looking at but since I have no experience in this sort of stuff I'd need some advice:

Case: Thermaltake V3 Black Edition

MOBO: ASUS M4A87TD/USB3

processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955 (C3) Black Edition, 4x 3.20GHz, boxed

graphics card: Club 3D GeForce GTX 560 Green Edition

RAM: Kingston ValueRAM DIMM 4GB PC3-10667U CL9 (DDR3-1333)

Hard drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB, SATA II

PSU: XFX Core Edition PRO 550W

Optical drive: LG GH22NS70 DVD-RW

Sound card: ASUS Xonar DS 7.1 PCI

and so I would get WLAN: ASUS PCE-N13 802.11n PCI-E

So this would be used for gaming mainly. Is there something I forgot or something I should change?

Thanks in advantage!
Extra: And should i use 64 or 32 bit Win7?

[RicheemxX]

Win 7 64bit for sure. You need a 64bit OS to take full advantage of all your memory and these days there really is no reason to stick with a 32bit OS.

The motherboard you picked is ok, but I'd make sure you get something that has support for the newest AM3+ chips. That way you'll have a potential upgrade path down the road if needed.

Sound cards or ok, if they are on the higher end and you are an audiophile. That card however isn't worth the cash. You'd be better off spending your money on getting a better gpu, cpu or more memory.

[M&M's]

Thanks mate! I will see what I'll do whit that money.

[M&M's]

The motherboard you picked is ok, but I'd make sure you get something that has support for the newest AM3+ chips. That way you'll have a potential upgrade path down the road if needed.

How about this one?

ASRock 970 Extreme4, 970

[ShyguyXPC]

Don't buy just Asus because everyone else is, I notice there's quite a few Asus Pieces in there, Asus is over rated and your paying premium dollar for not much more over competitor products, plus Asus Customer service is crap.

The Sound card is ok, since they do have some of the best on the market (can't compare to the HT Omega Claro series, but compare to Creatives Crap, their the best)

The motherboard is fine, but if your thinking of Running SLI (2 Geforce cards or more together) down the road, that board doesn't support SLI, only CrossfireX (Radeon cards).

For A Single card you will be fine.

But this is just upgrade options down the road.


The motherboard also has a crappy configuration for Crossfire, its primary PCIe slot is x16 bandwidth, which is fine, but the 2nd x16 slot is only x4 Bandwidth, which would be fine for Radeon 6770 range ($100-120) cards, but not for the Geforce GTX 560 range cards. What you'd want whether its crossfire or SLI is an x16 x8 or x8 x8, or even x16 x16 if possible.

You'd also want a bit more of a Power Supply if you were considering Dual Cards down the road. It'd be fine for the $100-150 range cards, two of them, but the $200 range cards your looking at you'd want a bit more power to have on hand.


If it were me, at this point, I would consider getting a board with Socket AM3+ support, though AMD's new "Bulldozer" CPU's are a failure, at least the FX series, can't beat Intels Newest Core i5/i7 Quads still, and they've been out for almost a year now.

But that isn't to say that future versions of the Bulldozers won't be better than current models.



The Sound card might not be needed, as the Onboard audio might be fine, as it is for most people.

Unless you have some really good speakers to hook up the sound card to, or plan on getting some, or you pipe the audio through a Home Theater Setup, I wouldn't bother with the sound card. Add to that its the basic $50 model card anyways, so its not going to be much better than the onboard audio anyways.


Do you plan on doing any Overclocking of the CPU down the road?


If so, I'd invest in some faster RAM, DDR3 1600MHz at least (make sure it runs at 1.5v at 1600MHz), and a good Aftermarket CPU Heatsink other than the stock cooler.



If your set on Asus for the motherboard, I'd look for this board:

Newegg.com - ASUS M5A87 AM3+ AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

For starters its Socket AM3+, many of the same options, price range, though its only a single x16 PCIE slot, so no SLI or Crossfire.


THIS Asrock is what I would be looking at: Newegg.com - ASRock 970 EXTREME4 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

AM3+, newest AMD chipset, SLI or Crossfire.

Asrock is also Asus' North American Subsidiary, also sold over sea's, and usually you can get much more for the same price as Asus boards, or Same basic specs as a given Asus, but at a much lower cost.

MSI, Gigabyte, Biostar are a few of the other brands that make some GOOD AMD boards as well, and usually your not paying as much as you would for a comparable Asus.

XFX used to make some AMD (And Intel) Boards, but for some reason they no longer do.




If your looking for some good 1600MHz RAM (usually will run at 1066 or 1333 in the system, you usually have to set it for 1600 in the Bios, but its rated for at least that fast)

Is Corsairs New Vengeance series RAM, runs at DDR3 standard Spec 1.5V even at 1600MHz speed so if you do Overclock and run the RAM at 1600MHz, you won't need to start worrying about messing with RAM voltage until you go past that speed. (There are some other brands that do as well, but corsair is one of the best brands out there, and many kits run at 1.65V in this range, which is supposedly the absolute max recommended voltage supported by many boards)

I've got a 6GB Kit of this stuff:

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model CMZ4GX3M2A1600C9

The heatsinks on them aren't THAT high, but they can interfere with a CPU heatsink if its too close to the RAM.

Luckily they sell ones with out the tall sinks as well: Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML4GX3M2A1600C9

Same stuff.


Also they have some blue colored ones as well, that might look good in an Asus or Gigabyte Board with the Blue trim.

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ4GX3M2A1600C9B

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML4GX3M2A1600C9B


Not sure if your in the US or not ( I saw the Club 3D graphics card & I Know those are mainly sold over seas, UK, EU, Australia, Asia, etc), but just using these links as an example.





As to the OS I would use 64 Bit Windows 7, With the 4GB of RAM, and a 1GB Video card, it will let you use all your System RAM. 32-bit will only address UP to 4GB, Which includes the RAM, Video card RAM, Cache memory from Hard drives, CPU, etc. So if you ran 32-bit you'd end up with less than 3GB you can use. Which isn't a con for gaming since most games can't use more than 2 or 3GB anyways, but leaves less for the whole system to use while gaming or multitasking. Though Win7 has some nice Memory management features, I'd still get 64bit Windows, for anything over 3GB System Memory and a 1GB Video card.

[ShyguyXPC]

How about this one?

ASRock 970 Extreme4, 970

Wow, I started a reply before anyone posted, doing some research, Rich beats me, but I also found the same exact board.... Though I explained why in my post above, you'll want to read that... But in a nut shell, YES, that board would be perfectly fine.

[M&M's]

If I'm not going to over-clock should I still invest more in RAM?

Extra: No I'm not from NA, I'm from Finland

[ShyguyXPC]

If your not going to OC, then yeah, the Value RAM you had before is perfectly fine.

Also no need for an Aftermarket CPU Cooler either.

I'd still consider the Asrock motherboard, even though it should have plenty of OC options, the extra features and capabilities for upgrades is worth it.

Also, do you plan to ever run more than one GTX 560? If so, I'd consider spending a bit more on a 600-650W version of that XFX PSU then. Just so you know it can run an extra Graphics card for SLI if thats an option your looking at down the road instead of adding both a better PSU and a 2nd card.

[M&M's]

Yes I might upgrade gcard later on. Thanks for the advice!

[ShyguyXPC]

I can't remember off hand, but I think the 650W XFX model has Four 6 Pin connectors, which is what you'll need if you run Two GTX 560's.

Yep, it does: Newegg.com - XFX Core Edition PRO650W (P1-650S-NLB9) 650W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

actually Dual 6 Pin and Dual 6+2 pin, but all you do is let the extra 2 pins on the 6+2 pins hang off the connector, the 6+2 pin design is intended for some of the REALLY high end cards that need an 8 Pin connection.

[RicheemxX]

Rich beats me

I was leaving all the hard work to you

I'm a tad behind on the new boards and some of the latest greatest gpu's but it looked like a pretty decent setup otherwise.

[ShyguyXPC]

yeah, for single GPU and no overclocking its a pretty decent build, the Sound card was a bit extra, and being only a $50 card, its not much better than the onboard IMO, but the board for $100 range, I'd get one of the socket AM3+ compatible ones, and not cut yourself short with the newer AMD CPU's, even if the 1st gen of them are a failure (well, in general, but if your like me or others and have software than can use all 6 or 8 cores efficiently, they aren't that bad then).

[M&M's]

If I'll be buying 560ti or 570 later on what how much W should my PSU have? Is 650 w enough?


And should i buy some fans for the case or is it not needet ?

[ShyguyXPC]

I don't think your getting what I was saying.

The 550W you have listed will be fine for either of those cards.


What I'm talking about, is ADDING a 2nd video card for SLI or Crossfire. Which doubles the power consumption for a single video card.


(you can't run dissimilar GPU's for SLI together, they have to be the same GPU, 560-560, 560 ti-560 ti, etc, AMD's Crossfire they have to be of the same family, so you could run a 6950, 6970 or 6990 together in Crossfire if you wanted to, but not a 6850 and a 6770 for example)


A Single GTX 560 uses 150W of power from the +12V Rail on the PSU.

Adding a 2nd to run with the 1st (in theory doubling your performance, in practice usually 20-50% better at best), you would be consuming 300W of power from the +12V Rail. The rest of the system also uses power from the +12V as well, and taps into the older 3.3 & 5V Rails as needed. But running 300W of video cards doesn't leave much room for power for the rest of the system on that 550W.

A single GTX 560 Ti, uses 170W and a GTX 570 uses 219W.

Reason I was suggesting the 650W PSU is it has enough juice to run 2 GTX 560's or 560 Ti's in SLI easily with some power to spare. Not sure about 570's, though would be pushing close to the limit.

But if you only ever plan on running a single video card and no more, then the 550W listed is plenty.


As to upgrading from a 560 to a 560 Ti, or 570, the extra price spent on one isn't worth it. You'd be better off spending the money on either a 2nd 560 for SLI, or go full tilt and grab a $400 GTX 580 to make it worth while. (Though 2 560's in SLI should be more powerful than a Single GTX 580, but uses more power)

Though down the road, if you need more power, I'm sure by then the next gen of Geforce cards should be out.



As to fans... Depends on how many the case comes with, but yeah, couldn't hurt to get a couple extra. you probably wouldn't need too many, or too powerful fans, just some good quiet ones with decent airflow.

[M&M's]

I didn't know 2 cards would be that efficient! Thank you for the advice.

Now about fans do i need to buy some wires or something else?
This is what i had in mind

COO-XPF120

[ShyguyXPC]

the efficiency of 2 cards varies from game to game, and the cards and drivers used, there's no real set level, but over all they should be getting something between 20-50% better performance, there are some games that actually do get a 100% boost with 2 cards.

there is 3 and 4 Card/GPU SLI and Crossfire, but beyond 2 cards, you start to get real diminishing returns with the space, power, heat, and CPU performance needed. Also it really only effects resolutions like 1920x1080, 1920x1200 or higher than that. anything lower and its really not worth it. Unless you got money to burn.


as to the fan, looks fine, as long as its not costing too much.

for the Wires, unless you plan on running more than a couple hard drives, and DVD drives, most of the cables should be included in the motherboard box.

Same for the video card.


though you CAN buy custom cables, for better looks, or airflow performance (round cables, etc). Sheathed, or covered cables for looks, etc...

but for just basic use and performance, all the cables you need should be with the motherboard.


Not sure what fans are available over in Finland, but those Xilence fans are ok, Coolermaster and thermaltake stock fans are fine as well.

Scythe makes some NICE 120mm fans as well.


You'll need at least one front and one top 120mm fan, the case only comes with one LED 120mm Rear fan.

there's also space for a bottom mounted 120mm as well, so maybe 3, but at least 2 for the for front and top placements.

[M&M's]

I am most un-likely to be getting more than 2 cards.
(As for the money..... Lets just say I saved long time to even dream of my own PC. )

Yeah those fans are cheapest I found and I'm buying 3 of them.

This what I'm looking at now:
Same Case,GPU,RAM,HDD,Optical Drive and Network adapter.

Mobo is now: ASRock 970 Extreme4
CPU: Phenom II X4 965 - 3.4 Ghz AM3 Black Edition CPU
and PSU:XFX Core Edition PRO 650W

(And the 3 fans.)

OS is windows 7 64bit
Total price:746,79€
(989,13 USD)
So is there still anything you think I should change?

[ShyguyXPC]

looks good. Only other things I can think of is an LCD display, and good Keyboard/Mouse for gaming.

and/or speakers/headset for sound.

[M&M's]

Yup I all ready have LCD display and mouse. Only thing missing is key board.

Thank all of You for advice!!!

[ShyguyXPC]

no problem.

Only other minor thing I can think of us a USB based Flash memory card reader. Whether its internal or an external connected one is up to you, but a decent one that handles all the major flash formats is really all you need. SD, Mini SD, Micro SD, SD/Micro SD High Capacity, Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo, Compact Flash, SMC, Fuji xD, etc.