First Build*: Ghost

[MrAnthony]

First Build*: Ghost - Finally Started Building!

Hello all, and welcome to my first* build! Great name, I know!

The Reason:
All things permitted, I'm leaving for university next September and shall be needing a computer to take with me. I spent some time trying to decide whether I wanted to get a laptop or a desktop, and in the end decided on a desktop as it will suit me better.

I plan to study Audio Production, and thus need a computer which will allow for me to work away from campus if need be. There are tonnes of Macs on site, so the majority of work I'll do there however it'd be nice to have the flexibility to work away from campus if need be. I originally planned to go X79, but since I plan for nearly all of the work to be done on site I see no need to spend all that money and have all that power anyway. Perhaps in the future, but there's bound to be something else available by then. Right now I just need a machine that will get me through the rest of the year before I leave, and still perform great once I've moved out.

I'm no gaming fanatic, most of my gaming has always been done on console. But it'd be nice to be able to play games on my PC if I ever make such a step. I've been really interesting in getting into Battlefield 3, but i can't help but think it's a waste of money getting it for console since it might not look and play as good. I do play games on my PC, but they're mostly simulations, rFactor, etc. and a fair bit of Minecraft so I'd like to be able to play them at a good quality too. I do plan on getting a decent GPU to allow for this, but for now I'll hold back to focus on the rest of the machine and make do with the integrated GPU for now.

The Build:
I've opted for an i5 3570K cooled by a H100i, paired with the MSI Z77 MPower motherboard. I went with the H100i as the Bitfenix Ghost allows for a radiator in the roof, and the H100i is cheaper and easier than a full custom loop, which for a beginner like me is a little daunting. In case you're wondering why not the i7 3770K, the reasons are practically the same as why not X79. I can't afford it, and don't really think I need it. If I'd had a little more money to play with, it could have been an option, but since I've gone for expensive parts in other areas I've wiped that idea out all together. Why must I be so awkward?

Really, I should be spending maybe half of what I am doing for parts that will do - But the way I see it, it's better to spend the money on the parts that I want now, rather than 1.5x as much on what I want in the future. I think that makes sense?

I plan for this system to be pretty quiet, simply because computers are loud, and I don't want to listen to it whirring up all the time. Especially since at times I'm likely to need to leave it running overnight, and whilst I'm living with people I doubt they want to hear to it either so a relatively quiet system is key, but at the same time I'm aiming for performance so looks like I'm sure to be walking a fine line between the two.

I have selected the following components for my build:

CPU: Intel i5-3570k - Purchased!
Motherboard: MSI Big Bang Z77 MPower - Purchased!
GPU: MSI GTX660Ti Power Edition
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i - Purchased!
SSD: OCZ Agility 3 120GB - Purchased!
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA 6GB/s 64mb Cache
Memory: Avexir MPower Series 1600MHz 16GB - Purchased!
PSU: Be Quiet Pure Power L8 630W
Case: Bitfenix Ghost - Purchased!
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B5ST - Purchased!
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG 5.1

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Parts are slowly arriving through the post, I should take delivery of all the purchased items by the end of the week ending January 6th, so hopefully I can get it built and booted once they've all arrived.

I've only the GPU, Storage HDD and Sound Card left to order but none of those parts are required to boot the machine, so it's back to saving and prioritising what needs to be ordered first. I haven't quite settled on the PSU, but I will more than likely order the Be Quiet!

Parts Gallery:

Components:

Bitfenix Ghost:

Intel i5 3570k:

MSI Big Bang Z77 MPower:

Corsair H100i:

Avexir MPower Series 16GB:

OCZ Agility 3 120GB SSD - I've had this lying around for ages, and it'd be pointless to not use it especially considering how much it cost at the time:

Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B5ST SATA ReWriter:

Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W PSU:

Peripherals:
For the peripherals, I'm not really too fussed about having tonnes of features on them. I just want them to work, and work well. If they put up with everyday use then they're perfect for me.

I'm yet to get a monitor, but I've got my eye on the recent IPS monitors from AOC but they're a little pricey. Hopefully I should have an increase in funds soon, so we'll see what happens.

Logitech K310 Washable Keyboard - I really like this keyboard. It's nice and quiet, has good amount of functions and I personally think it looks great:

Overclockers UK XXL MousePad:

Build Gallery:
I will start this when I've got all of my purchased items


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Please accept my apologies for the low quality photos, but I cannot work my brothers DSLR for the life of me and who knows where my digital camera is, so I just gave up and used my phone because I know how that works, ha! I'll search for my digital camera and retake the photos for you, so it'll at least look nice even if the machine doesn't. I'm somewhat dreading cable management!

Any who, thanks for looking! Wish me luck, and if I do anything daft please feel free to point it out

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* On work experience a few years back I took parts out of one case and put them in another.

 

[seumasbeathan]

I really look forward to seeing this progress Also, the images look fine

 

[WillSK]

Looking forward to seeing this. The avexir Mpower edition ram entrigues me. Until reading this post I hadn't even heard of avexir

 

[MrAnthony]

I really look forward to seeing this progress Also, the images look fine

That's good then. Thank you for your reply

Looking forward to seeing this. The avexir Mpower edition ram entrigues me. Until reading this post I hadn't even heard of avexir

Thanks! It matches the motherboard and performs really well apparently so I had to give it a try. Plus, the kit I've bought was on sale for £65 opposed to £80 so I went for it. It was that or a couple of sticks of Vengeance, but they were more expensive. Should be arriving in the post tomorrow along with my case, so I'll get photos taken and uploaded

 

[SnW]

Nice parts mate,
enjoy building it !

Ray......

 

[frufsa]

you know thath the 1600mhz verson of that ram has yellow lights?

its the 2166 and 2400mhz versons that have blue light

 

[MrAnthony]

Wouldn't matter if they were pink to be honest, they're getting shut away in the case where I won't see them

Although I thought they were all blue, no matter what kit. I didn't buy them for the fancy light show though, but thanks for the heads up

 

[MrAnthony]

Got a couple more bits in the post this morning, I just love being woken up from a text from DPD with the estimated delivery time. ^_^

First off the case - Looks fantastic. It's much better in person than in the photos and videos online. Some people have said it feels a bit flimsy and cheap, but I've given it a once over had a play and see what's what and it feels a pretty sturdy piece of kit to me. Granted, this is my first build so I've nothing to compare it to except the cheap home PC I've been using for years now, and apart from a memory upgrade and a clean I've not needed to mess with the case.

I'm waiting on my H100i before I start filling the case up, so I'll get back to you on the quality and ease of use then. But for now, it's looking good to me!

Now for the memory - Matches the motherboard, and looks really nice. to be honest, I don't know why I'm caring about aesthetics so much for this build since you can't see into the case, but if in future I decide i want a window, at least it'll look nice then!

I don't know much about memory, but 2 8GB sticks for £66 seemed like too good of a deal to pass up. I'll let you know how it performs when it's built and booted.

Just waiting on my H100i, Asus DVD drive and a Be Quiet L8 530W that I picked up yesterday.

Dropped to the 530W version as I don't plan to SLI and reports suggest that 500W is more than enough for the spec above, so we're all good there.

Thought you lot might find this a little funny:

The build hasn't even started yet and I've already ran into a problem. My flipping mousepad is too big for my desk! But rather than get rid of the mousepad, I'm hoping to get a new desk as the one I have isn't level (It's like a bowl shape!) and my K310 rocks on it quite badly. So I'll get one with a little more depth I think. I didn't even think to measure it before I bought it, so I figured I'd at least test fit it when it arrived.

I've updated the original post with the pictures of the memory and the case. That's what I'll keep doing I think as it's easier to post all the pictures up there and let you know rather than posting them twice.

For the actual build, I think I'll post detailed versions, and more of an overview in the original post

Thanks for looking!

- Anthony.

 

[dragoonk]

Now that is a giant mousepad on a small desk... Anyway, your build looks damn fine, wish I had the dough to build me ssomething like that. The case looks wonderful. I think you might wanna stick to the 630W PSU for a little headroom. You never know when you decide for a good graphics card.
Goodluck!

 

[Ross_Kirkbright]

looking forward to seeing where this one goes

 

[Bullmecha]

Can't wait to see it come together, looks like a fun build.

 

[MrAnthony]

Now that is a giant mousepad on a small desk... Anyway, your build looks damn fine, wish I had the dough to build me ssomething like that. The case looks wonderful. I think you might wanna stick to the 630W PSU for a little headroom. You never know when you decide for a good graphics card.
Goodluck!

Hehe, never even thought to measure my desk before I bought the bloody thing, but ahh well! Hopefully I'll have a bigger desk at university

But I'm not too worried at the PSU, I've been assured enough that 500W is plenty for what the parts I've chosen. An overclocked CPU and GTX670 only draws about 350W, so I think I'll be fine. May bump it up in future, but I'm happy with my choice for now. Should be quiet too, which is exactly what I'm aiming for

In all fairness, I don't really have the budget for this kind of build. Really, I ought be spending way less and some parts so I could get all the parts to complete the machine. But (because I'm awkward), I'd rather get the expensive parts now so I've got them rather than upgrade to the expensive parts later on. Just cutting out a pointless middle step in my mind.

I'm glad you like the case, I really like it. So clean and smart looking!

looking forward to seeing where this one goes

Cheers pal, you and me both!

Can't wait to see it come together, looks like a fun build.

Thanks!

It's not so fun seeing my bank account get emptied, but it's going to be fun putting it all together, I'm rather excited! Been wanting to build for years, and this time I finally decided to go ahead with it

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Hoping to take delivery of my PSU, H100i and optical drive next week, with a bit of luck all by Friday, but we'll see!

- Anthony.

 

[MrAnthony]

More stuff, hoorah!

The poor post lady though, it's absolutely lashing it down and she still knocked at my door with a smile on her face!

Nothing special, just my DVD drive but I know for a fact I can't do without one. I'll still be burning and ripping CD's for years to come because yes, I still buy CD's

Building will hopefully commence by the weekend, just two parts left to arrive now, my PSU which is in the post still and my H100i which is on preorder

- Anthony.

 

[dragoonk]

God dang it, things move slow. When I bought stuff online , even though the delivery service was very very fast ( order today, delivered the next day ) one day felt like 3. How can you handle the excitement?

 

[MrAnthony]

I've had to be scraped of the ceiling every night! I can't handle nothing.

I bought the CPU way back in October, I've been waiting since then to get the bloody thing built. I'd start now, but don't want to until I can do an out of the case build first

 

[dragoonk]

I've had to be scraped of the ceiling every night! I can't handle nothing.

LOL!

Indeed, you need to make sure all is good and working properly... and I don't understand... jezz... gah! since october? That's too much... I could barely take a day. If I were waiting for parts like yours for 2 months, I'd probably get heart desease by now.

 

[MrAnthony]

It's driving me crazy because I just want the bloody thing finished!

I wouldn't have bought anything yet though. I originally planned to wait until after Christmas, but I saw the 3570K Retail for £150 and couldn't resist. I'm just putting everything in a box for now where it's safe and can't be messed with until I'm ready. Out of sight, out of mind and all that

 

[dragoonk]

I know exactly how you feel. I felt the same when I built the little computer I am using right now. But one day I wish I have the resources to build a full enthuziast rig from top to bottom... assuming I can handle the excitement

 

[MrAnthony]

I'm looking forward to building it, will be the first time on my own and from scratch, not just swapping bits around. I've read plenty of guides, watched videos and stuff, so how hard can it be?

I'm hoping everything will be here by the weekend so I can get it built and booted, but the expected delivery date of my PSU isn't until next week

 

[dragoonk]

Not hard at all, I learned about computers by reading, watching videos and trial and error ofcourse... I am positive you will do great, cause once one is passionate about something, he is also good at it. I am glad I reached that conclusion on my own, and once you complete a build nothing compares to the satisfaction you feel.
Talking about swapping bits... the only things I didn't change in my computer is my silly case and my hard drive ( still using my 160 Gig since I swapped platforms - ATA/SATA, AGP/PCI-E etc. )