I (finally) built my first PC

Mar 12, 2017 11:09 PM

SomeGuyWithAPlan

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297

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I've been meaning to do this for a while, I came close a couple of times, but decided it was finally time. Not sure if I was going to take these components and turn them into a finely tuned machine or an expensive boat anchor.

Fortunately I had some good support from some friends who have done this before, coz the tension I felt on the rocker arm to clamp the CPU scared the hell out of me. I was assured it was normal, so I moved on.

Cooler went on surprisingly easily. I didn't force the orientation, this is how it wanted to sit, so I let it. Aesthetics weren't a goal (hence all the green). Only thing I was uncertain of was whether to use the existing case fan or the fan that came with it. Decided to swap them out.

So. Many. Cables. Got almost all of them connected, I have a hot swap cable that isn't powered, don't know what to plug it into. Yes, I cleaned up the fan cables at the top. At some point I'll clean up the cables, but not too bad for now. Plus, it's late, I want to see if it will turn on.

The moment of truth. Looks like I didn't screw anything up! Spent some time from here getting things installed, but it was also getting late, so off to bed shortly hereafter.

Here it is. in near final position, but already getting some SERIOUS gaming in. I'm thinking the dual monitors are, in this case, excessive. But screw it.

The green beast in low light, in all it's Kermit-y goodness...

All in all, I'm pretty pleased. I should be able to get some good gaming in on this, and some big productivity gains for work when telecommuting (machine programming - lots of CAD, fixture design, tool path simulations). I'm still installing stuff, but hope to put it through the paces soon.

tl;dr - yet another PC build post

Can we talk about that dank estimated CPU frequency?

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

@eehothow much did this all cost you?

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Price was a shade under 2k, paid less (rewards $$$, card discount). I'll also be able to depreciate it over 3 years (I'm incorporated)

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Is that case a sharkoon?

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

DIYPC Skyline G06. They were on closeout, they're running 07 and 08 now. This cane with 5 fans, 07 has 7

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Nice st.patricks day build

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Ha! Didn't even think of that... Main reason it's green is $$$, would have preferred red, but the case was on sale in green.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Wow! All that just to play solitaire and browse porn!

9 years ago | Likes 10 Dislikes 1

You forgot Facebook. Gotta have Facebook in HD. Srsly, I got a Facebook account 5 years ago, never loved back in.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Can anyone direct me to a website or an info resource into how to build a PC for a newbie?

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

That is a crazy CPU cooler!

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

What? no.... That's a small AIO water cooler. They come much, much larger.

9 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Nice. How much did it end up costing? Looks like 1.5-2 grand for just the PC.

9 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Total package was 2k, but the monitors were a steal - 23" hd, $80/each

9 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Helped a friend build his first gaming computer this weekend. He insisted on the same AIO cooler but in an ITX case. It barely fit.

9 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

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9 years ago (deleted Jul 9, 2022 12:43 AM) | Likes 0 Dislikes 0

Only very briefly.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Ryzen's R7 line is pointless unless you've got workload needs. They don't game better than i5's and cost more.

9 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 2

-1 for i7

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

What gpu did you go with?

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Gigabyte Geforce 1070. I built with expansion ability in mind.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Never really understood the point of a fancier CPU cooler when you aren't planning on overclocking the CPU.

9 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 2

Well for one... K models don't include ANY cooler, so you're gotta have to buy one anyway.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I know that but why spend $60 when $10-20 will do the job.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

What Radas said. Besides just because you don't want to overclock right now, doesn't mean you won't change your mind down the road.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Efficiency, noise, aesthetics.

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Didnt look at ryzen. Should of. Watch some reviews of jayz2cents. Yea ryzen can game. Check it.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 4

The Ryzen cpus that are out so far are better for content creation, rendering etc than for gaming. Ryzen 3 and 5 are going to be allround.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Yes Ryzen can game... but isn't cheaper than a 7600K, and the loss of core speeds aren't worth having more cores for, if you don't use them.

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

I'm doing a build soon too, I don't know if I should put it up. Yours looks amazing btw :)

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Put it up, you'll get good ideas from the comments.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Very nice op. Just finished my first build today too.

9 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

pics?

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

srry for weird angle. Its a gtx 1080 with i7 7700k asus mobo

9 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

Nice - point whore it :)

9 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

I see a lot of built PCs on Imgur but try not to be biased when answering. In the aspects of money and time is building or buying better?

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I'm not a pro by any means, but it seems you can get 50% more/better stuff when building. Plus the smugness factor is worth it. So worth it.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Buy options often cut corners and try to pawn off old/sub standard parts like cheapo power supplies. Picking your own parts gives more 1/2

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

freedom, but the final bill tends to be very similar. But your parts will fit together better and you can pick and choose more easily.

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Whatever you build yourself would cost around 30-40% more to buy pre-built. Sometimes more for a popular brand (Alienware etc).

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

So close to the vega launch though. I hope you got a deal on the CPU too, I don't know if Ryzen has been out long enough for adjustments.

9 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Same price as a 4790.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

But the ryzen 1700 benchmarks are higher than 4790. compared to the 7700 it's slightly less but at half the cost and before patches.

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

This. I'm liking both companies but at the very least let intel respond with new tech or slashed prices. As of now ryzen is a hell of a deal

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Did you have a friend flash the Motherboard bios beforehand? Because if not...you got lucky. So freaking lucky.

9 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 2

What do you mean?

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

Because 7th gen Kaby Lake CPUs won't run on Z170 (6th gen) motherboards without a BIOS update... which requires you to be able to boot it.

9 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

TIL. Thanks.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Kaby Lake CPU in a Skylake mobo. Not all brands are backwards compatible. Out of the box.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Why?

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

Kaby Lake CPU in a Skylake mobo. Not all brands are backwards compatible. Out of the box.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Because 7th gen Kaby Lake CPUs won't run on Z170 (6th gen) motherboards without a BIOS update... which requires you to be able to boot it.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Do the newer production models not get the updated bios out of the factory?

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

That's kind of my point - OP got real lucky, because there are still large stock of pre-7th gen boards without the update.

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Maybe moving it a little more to the right would make it look less cramped and would provide more mouse room

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

There are a couple components behind that that need to be moved, next weekend project

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

If you're interested here's a picture of my setup. Only have a dark picture currently. Still my first build

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Nice - always interested. I always liked seeing build posts, but new perpsective means I really like them.

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Nice dude, looks great, my parts are getting here Wednesday, let's game brah

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Excellent - what you getting?

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I7 7700k, 1060 6gb, 270 killer sli/ac motherboard, 16gb ram, cryorig h7 cooler, 500 gb crucial mx300 m.2 ssd, 3tb hd, and nice fractal case.

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Sweet, you actually fit the right mobo :)

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

yup, also go a nice fractal design case, a bit pricey but i decided to go for it because its fucking sweet.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

You may wanna consider getting a bigger PSU in case of future upgrades.

9 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

Unless you're fishing for SLI there's no upgrade requiring more power.

9 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Actually.... you don't think 650w well handle another 1070? Coz that's the 2 year plan.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

With that PSU having 1070 in SLI should be more than fine. The 1000 series managed to cut back on power draw quite a lot.

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Yeah, that was my understanding. I read somewhere that people tend to get way more in a psu than they need.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

that tension ALWAYS gets me. this last water cooling update: Damn stock fan froze into it then I just said fuck it and yanked

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

an audible crack sound, the paste, quickly looked at the processor, all pins ok. had my heart going. never can tell when force is needed

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

anyways kudos on your first build. I think ppl need props on doing their first build. eliminate the myth that only a "trained few" can do it

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

It helps immensely to have a support network, though. But yeah, not too hard. Thank god for full towers, though.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Kaby Lake CPU in a Skylake Mobo. Daring.

9 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 2

As long as it boots post BIOS update there's not an awful lot of differences.

9 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

The BIOS compatibility was what I was referring to. Newer z170 productions will accept kaby lake out of the box. No update needed.

9 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Those that do need an update. Well. You'll have to hunt down a skylake cpu to get into the settings lol, good luck.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I know - But it obviously booted so your point is a bit moot at this point.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Nothing wrong with it, they're the same socket for a reason

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Fuck knows why OP didn't just buy the right mobo though

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 1

>.> Cost? z170 is a year older and thus a year cheaper...

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

Try again, there's Z270 boards in the $100 area

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

There's z170 mobos in the $80 area. Go newegg it. There is /better/ z170 boards for 80* than the cheapest z270 at 100. Price + features.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 1

A MSI motherboard? That's awfully brave of you. Sorry about your future problems. (As a support tech, I've got good reasons to say that :p)

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

Ha! Apparently, since I chose the completely wrong mobo, I'll need to replace it soon enough anyway. :D

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Not wrong mobo perse - Just not the newest chipset available (and built explicitely) for the 7th gen Kaby CPUs. This will run just fine. :)

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Z170 should work fine, so dont worry about it as long as it works :)

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

As PC Repair...MSI is just as bad/good as any other large brand these days.

9 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

So you're saying that our statistics lie? Because I can clearly see a higher failrate compared to other manufacturers when I look at stats.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

(Also, I guessing we do pretty much the same thing, but use different titles :P)

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

And yeah - Similar jobs probably. We build, service, troubleshoot and sell PC parts here. :)

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

We do premium support for a big nordic reseller. This involves troubleshooting, repairs, building and general service :)

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I'm saying your statistics are too small to paint a clear picture. Our worst offenders right now are low-end Gigabyte boards.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

My stats comprises a few thousand sales, so they're they should give a decent picture of it all. Cant see low/high-end, just manufacturers.

9 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0