My First PC Build

[CStingerGhost1]

Hey guys, just found this awesome forum! Before I talk about the build, I need to add some background here:
And before I do that, I need to clear the air real quick. I'm 16. Why am I saying this? Because it has a large influence on exactly what I build (price and lifestyle factor in here).

Now that that's over, I can tell the story. Several years ago, I got an HP laptop before going into high school. It went belly-up about four months ago. That same week, I bought a new HP ENVY dv6t-7200 with a GeForce GT 650M (pretty good). Well, the GPU was defective. HP sent me a new notebook. Four days after I got it, it had the same issue. :mad: At that point, I knew HP had an epidemic problem. Called them up and they set some special group of people to investigate and figure whether it would be best to replace my laptop again or refund it.
This is where we are now. If they choose to replace it, I'm going to demand a refund anyways. I still have until next Tuesday to do so. I'm done with HP (next laptop will be an ASUS). In fact, I'm done with laptops for now. I've chosen to go with custom-building a nice desktop. This will be a high-performance computer (for gaming, video editing, photo editing, and CAD/3D-design). I have some pretty good experience with computers (repairs, upgrading, etc.) but have never built one. I know what to do when putting it together, but I want some opinions on what exactly to get. I have composed a list of components, which will be stated below. My budget is near $1,200 (yes, I know it's pretty big for someone my age, and you might think I'm spoiled, but my parents are NOT paying for this).

Operating System: Windows 8 64-bit (I've used it before, and contrary to many people's opinions, I like it) - $100 from Newegg
CPU: Third-Gen Intel Core i5-3570K - Bundled with my RAM and motherboard for $375 from Tiger Direct
MB: ASUS Intel Z77 Motherboard - Bundled with my CPU and motherboard for $375 from Tiger Direct
RAM: Corsair CMX4GX3M1A1333C9 XMS3 4GB DDR3 RAM (I will likely upgrade to 8 gigs and 1600 Mhz sometime after getting the PC)
GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX 660 Ti - $280 from Tiger Direct
System Drive: Corsair Neutron Series CSSD-N120GB3-BK 120GB SSD (for Windows, Adobe Premiere, Photoshop, some games, and other programs) - $120 from Tiger Direct
Hard Drive: 2 TB Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 (I'm open to better suggestions on this, however I want a minimum 1 TB and 7200 RPM) - $110 from Amazon.com
PSU: Ultra LSP750 750-Watt Power Supply - $65 from Tiger Direct
Case: Thermaltake V3 Black Edition - $30 from Tiger Direct

I want to know if this stuff is all compatible. Feel free to suggest other components. I also plan on getting two more case fans, as that case comes only with one, but has space for four.
Another thing about the fans: Anyone have any suggestions on the best placement?

[xeromist]

Typical fan placement is one in the front for intake and one in the back and/or the top for exhaust.

Since the basic components are bundled they should all be compatible. You might consider adding a second RAM kit to the same order if you can afford it as that will be your best chance of getting a compatible set. Ideally you should just buy an 8GB set but I realize that the bundle makes that difficult. What you might want to consider is whether the bundle is really saving you any money if you are just going to replace the memory in short order anyway.

On the PSU, Ultra is fine I guess but personally I'd prefer a Corsair, Silverstone, Thermaltake, or Antec.

[CStingerGhost1]

xeromist wrote:
Typical fan placement is one in the front for intake and one in the back and/or the top for exhaust.

Okay, so I would only need to buy one extra fan, and put that in the front? And maybe another in the top? The case comes with one installed in the back, exhausting out the rear. Also, the PSU has a fan. Does in pull air in or suck air out? It will be placed in the back of the case, on the bottom. According to what you said, it should optimally pull air out, right?

xeromist wrote:
You might consider adding a second RAM kit to the same order if you can afford it as that will be your best chance of getting a compatible set. Ideally you should just buy an 8GB set but I realize that the bundle makes that difficult. What you might want to consider is whether the bundle is really saving you any money if you are just going to replace the memory in short order anyway.

I'll look into buying the bundled components separately.

xeromist wrote:
On the PSU, Ultra is fine I guess but personally I'd prefer a Corsair, Silverstone, Thermaltake, or Antec.

I'll check into some others. Any particular reason why you would go with those other manufacturers over Ultra?

[Krindor]

CStingerGhost1 wrote:

I'll check into some others. Any particular reason why you would go with those other manufacturers over Ultra?

Quality and trustworthiness.
Read some reviews on Ultra, not this series but another, it performed like crap and wasn't worth it, sure this series might be different but I wouldn't take the chance. What motherboard is it that is included in the bundle? Asus z77 doesn't tell me anything.
For ram take a look at G.skill's Ripjawsx 16gb ram. It's hard to find ram at this size this cheap and they are quality ram equal to Corsair. If you're video editing and 3D modeling this will be used.
Keep OS on a separate drive, and games and programs you use a lot on it's own. I would recommend you to get a 2 slower, cheaper 120 gb SSDs instead.

Just some last words. First, clever choice of ditching HP they are crap. Second, 1,200 ain't really that big for your age, this might sound mean but with a part time job you could earn this in a month.

[CStingerGhost1]

Krindor wrote:
Quality and trustworthiness.
Read some reviews on Ultra, not this series but another, it performed like crap and wasn't worth it, sure this series might be different but I wouldn't take the chance.

Fate would have it that, before you said this, I actually did some more research and made up my mind that I'm going with a bit more expensive but better Corsair CX Series CX750 CP-9020015-NA 750W Power Supply.

Krindor wrote:
What motherboard is it that is included in the bundle? Asus z77 doesn't tell me anything.

Sorry, I thought a motherboard model was a motherboard model like other computer components (ima noob :rolleyes:). Here's the full name: ASUS P8Z77-V LK Intel Z77 Motherboard
It's ATX, 4x DIMM, DDR3, Socket 1155, PCIe 3.0, Intel Z77 Chipset, SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0, HDMI, LAN, DVI, DisplayPort

Krindor wrote:
Keep OS on a separate drive, and games and programs you use a lot on it's own. I would recommend you to get a 2 slower, cheaper 120 gb SSDs instead.

Why on a separate drive? I figured I'd just get one SSD, and put the stuff I want to boot up quickly on that. Then a really big HDD for the other stuff.

Krindor wrote:
1,200 ain't really that big for your age, this might sound mean but with a part time job you could earn this in a month.

Haha, not mean at all. I had no idea how people would judge my age, because it seems like most young people with nice custom PCs get ridiculed for being spoiled.

Xeromist, you replied while I was typing this. Thanks for the info, I'll do some more research when I get time.

As for HP, I have an update: So my case manager has been sick for the past four business days, which means I'm stuck waiting for her. I called today and they again told me I must wait for her (sounding like the typical bureaucratic HP bull people talk about all the time). I basically said, "Look, just because my case manager isn't working doesn't mean that you get to stop my plans and make me wait for days. You're a big company, so act like it. I'm sure a business like this can switch me to a different case manager no problem."
"Nope, sorry," she said.
"So, what happens when a case manager gets fired or quits in the middle of a case?"
"Um...I'll talk to my supervisor and see if I can't get you switched over." 😄 I can't believe how ignorant these people are.
So then she got back to me, told me she would take it over, and she would need a couple of days to see if she can get a return approved. She promised she'd call back by the end of the week. So now we wait...again...for HP to call me back. This is why I'm done with having other people build my PCs.

[xeromist]

CStingerGhost1 wrote:
the PSU has a fan. Does in pull air in or suck air out? It will be placed in the back of the case, on the bottom. According to what you said, it should optimally pull air out, right?

The PSU fan will likely be fairly low speed so I wouldn't really expect it to do much in the way of cooling your case. It is mainly designed to cool itself. That said, I believe the majority are intake through the fan and exhaust through the rear of the PSU but there are exceptions. If you want to know which way the air is flowing you can place a piece of paper over the fan to see if it sucks or blows.

I'll check into some others. Any particular reason why you would go with those other manufacturers over Ultra?

Build quality. Every brand has its lemons but Corsair & the others have consistently higher quality. And the few times that I've needed to RMA a Corsair product their support was excellent.
Regardless of what you choose I would try to see if you can find a thorough review on that specific model. If the reviewer actually opens the PSU to look at component quality and does a ripple test then that is a sign of a thorough review.

[Area_66]

The Thermaltake V3 as 1 fan at the back , it has 4 more places where you can add fans, 1 at front, 1 at the side and 2 on top. This $ 40 case as a lot of cooling potential. I will add for sure 1 fan at front, it will also cool your drives, I will also add on on the side to push fresh air on the GPU, you don't really need fan on top as the hot air go up. Nothing wrong to add too fans on top too.

[CStingerGhost1]

Area 66 wrote:
The Thermaltake V3 as 1 fan at the back , it has 4 more places where you can add fans, 1 at front, 1 at the side and 2 on top. This $ 40 case as a lot of cooling potential. I will add for sure 1 fan at front, it will also cool your drives, I will also add on on the side to push fresh air on the GPU, you don't really need fan on top as the hot air go up. Nothing wrong to add too fans on top too.

Thanks for the reply, but I already knew all of this. 🙂
Well, besides that last little part about fan placement. That was helpful. I can get a pack of two Cooler Master blue LED-lit fans (to match the color of the one which comes in the case) for $11 on Tiger Direct. I'll put one on the lower-front over my drives to suck air in.
The other one is the one which I'm not sure of. Should I put it on the side vent to pull air in or on the top to blow air out?

[Area_66]

CStingerGhost1 wrote:
Thanks for the reply, but I already knew all of this. 🙂

if you know all of this why you still asking if you need a fan on top ? I already talk about it

[CStingerGhost1]

Area 66 wrote:
if you know all of this why you still asking if you need a fan on top ? I already talk about it

I meant about the cooling options that the case comes with. I was asking about which fan placement would best.