advice on my computer build

[tthor]

I have finished picking out all the parts for my first computer build, and I just wanted to run them by people to make sure that it will all work, if the 550watt power supply will be enough (I already own it), and generally if there is any advice for it.

The computer will be mostly for gaming and web browsing.

My parts:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160
Computer Case:
COOLER MASTER HAF 932

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131665
Motherboard:
ASUS Sabertooth X58

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115224
Processor:
Intel Core i7-2600
Intel Core i7-960

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104265
Memory:
Kingston HyperX KHX1866C9D3K3/12GX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016&Tpk=bp550%20plus
Power supply:
Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power
(purchased)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130752
Graphics card:
EVGA 01G-P3-1370-KR GeForce GTX 460
(purchased)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840
Hard disk drive:
Seagate ST1000DM003

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441
Solid state drive:
Crucial CT064M4SSD2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
Operating system:
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM



I plan to put the operating system and maybe some other programs on the SSD, and use the HDD for my main storage.

I haven't yet decided on a cooling system, so it would be nice if you guys could recommend me a decent one (preferably in the $40-$50 range)

Also, I may consider getting a (somewhat cheap) sound card, so feel free to recommend something there, too.

Edit: I want to build this machine for longevity and upgrade-ability, so that this computer will be powerful for quite some time.
Also, at this point, I have little/no interest in overclocking

 

[tthor]

You have chosen the wrong motherboard.

You have a 1336 Socket with a 1155 motherboard.

oops- I guess I assumed that since it was for i7, that that meant it would fit any i7.. Well, this is why I'm asking people, because I knew I would forget something stupid ^^;
There, I found a different processor that fits (Intel Core i7-960). Thank you

If you're going down the Intel route, the Core i5-2500K is better value for that system than the Core i7. The graphics card isn't especially powerful, and there's no point buying a super-expensive processor when it will end up being wasted.

Well I already have the graphics card, so there is no changing with that for now. I wanted this machine to have some pretty good longevity and upgrade-ability, I figured that I might as well fork over the extra $70 to get the i7 instead of the i5, since with the i5 i thought it wouldn't be long till I would have to pay another $200 to upgrade the processor. Is it not worth it?

 

[tthor]

Well I already have the graphics card, so there is no changing with that for now. I wanted this machine to have some pretty good longevity and upgrade-ability, I figured that I might as well fork over the extra $70 to get the i7 instead of the i5, since with the i5 i thought it wouldn't be long till I would have to pay another $200 to upgrade the processor. Is it not worth it?

You are paying $70 for a 100Mhz boost and hyperthreading which won't get used for gaming.

It WILL be a long time to upgrade if you get the i5, it is a very powerful chip and can be easily overclocked to 4.5Ghz on air just by upping the multiplier.

ok, if its not going to be that great of an improvement, and the i5 holds up strongly, I'll start looking for a new i5 processor and motherboard. Thank you : )

Edit: I just looked up what hyperthreading actually does, and it seems like something that might be useful. I do a LOT of multitasking on the computer (i will regularly have 2-3 firefox windows open with a total of 50+ tabs, with one of the firefox windows streaming a video, and then 1-2 other programs running, and occasionally at the same time I am playing a game.) being a heavy multitasker, would hyperthreading be worth it to me, or would the i5 handle heavy multitasking just fine?

 

[tthor]

You have chosen the wrong motherboard.

You have a 1336 Socket with a 1155 motherboard.

oops- I guess I assumed that since it was for i7, that that meant it would fit any i7.. Well, this is why I'm asking people, because I knew I would forget something stupid ^^;
There, I found a different processor that fits (Intel Core i7-960). Thank you

Noooooooooooooo, don't go for the older generation.

Just buy a 1155 motherboard and be done with it.

Sandy Bridge chips are better in most ways except they aren't triple channel RAM, just get the i5-2500K with a 1155 board.

Ok, thank you. I'm gonna restart my processor and motherboard search (if you have any recommendations in what I should look for in that, feel free to share)

 

[MrTub]

I would really have to recommend i5 2500(K) and personally I would skip ssd. If you are building on a budget then I personally think its just a waste of money that could be better spent on GPU/CPU which would actually make a difference in game.

And again (this is my personal opinion) I would skip sound card unless you have very expensive speakers/headset since you will only notice a small difference between on board and dedicated sound card with cheap speakers/headset.

Motherboard:

I like ASUS/Gigabyte/EVGA.

I own Sabertooth p67 and it works great.



May I ask what will you be using your computer for?

 

[tthor]

I would really have to recommend i5 2500(K) and personally I would skip ssd. If you are building on a budget then I personally think its just a waste of money that could be better spent on GPU/CPU which would actually make a difference in game.

And again (this is my personal opinion) I would skip sound card unless you have very expensive speakers/headset since you will only notice a small difference between on board and dedicated sound card with cheap speakers/headset.

Motherboard:

I like ASUS/Gigabyte/EVGA.

I own Sabertooth p67 and it works great.



May I ask what will you be using your computer for?

tho this is not solely for gaming, it will also be for web browsing, watching videos, general computer tasks, and especially a lot of multitasking. I kinda want to spend the extra money so I can get fairly high-end performance/etc

ya, I think I will hold off on a sound card for a while; I have a nice headset in mind that I would like to get eventually, (tho I'm not sure how high-end a $40 headset would amount to)
I've heard good things about EVGA, (and they made my graphics card, which i love)
I've seen that gigabyte tends to have some mixed reviews, I often see people having issues with their boards (although theyy still generally average 4/5)

 

[Friendly Lich]

As for as the power supply goes you are fine even if you get a graphics card that's a couple steps up from your current one.

Tiger Direct sells some good priced evga nvidia cards