[amywalker730]

Hello everyone,

 

 

  I've been reading a lot of topics here for a few months, and have been trying to learn at a little more about computers from listening to the technical babble. This is the first time I've felt confident enough to ask a question, though I hope I don't come off as sounding like too much of a boozoo. Anyways I've wanted to build a PC for a while. My previous machine, while a great $1,800 machine, turned six years old recently. I've already upgraded my GPU to a GTX 680 4gb a year ago (replacing my GTX 280 2gb) and now I'm looking to finish the makeover and complete its modernization.

 

 I feel more than a bit overwhelmed with the talk of compatibility and efficiency on numerous webpages. So I was hoping some cookie smarter than myself could give me his/her opinion on what I should do. My budget is hovering around the $1,000 range. I’ve already bought a case and plan to cannibalize my PSU and GPU (Corsair 850w and GTX 680 4GB EVGA) from my old PC.

 

  I’ll be using this PC for just about everything [music/video editing to simple browser surfing,], but gaming+mods will be the most important by far.Any input at all would be greatly appiciated.

 

My initial selection, though it could be terrible for all I can say: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3NQy8d

Edited by amywalker730, 10 September 2014 - 09:05 AM.

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    amywalker730

 

Only a couple of pointers for you which means you have not done bad at all with selecting your own components 

 

You have selected 2 X 8GB sticks of Ram, 8GB modules can be fine when used as per the MBs QVL list (see canned text below) but they can often cause problems when not shown to have been tested and passed by the MB manufacturer, you will note from the ASUS MBs QVL here that 16GB configurations of G-Skill 2400MHz Ram have only been passed when using 4 X 4GB sticks, consider an alternative quality brand of 8GB modules or go with the 4 X 4GB sticks passed by G-Skill.

 

For the best and most stable performance you should where possible purchase a CPU and Ram that have been tested and approved by the motherboard manufacturer, this is referred to as the QVL ( qualified vendors list ) understand though that there are too many products released for them all to be tested so other hardware will be compatible but not proven to be.

 

 

The 4TB HDD, 4TB is an awful lot of data to lose should the HDD ever fail + it will be a nightmare to keep backing up, consider having an SSD for Windows 7 and your most often used software and 2 Xs  1TB HDDs for your data and backing up to, you can then add further 1TB HDDs further down the way as and when required.

[phillpower2]

    amywalker730

 

Only a couple of pointers for you which means you have not done bad at all with selecting your own components 

 

You have selected 2 X 8GB sticks of Ram, 8GB modules can be fine when used as per the MBs QVL list (see canned text below) but they can often cause problems when not shown to have been tested and passed by the MB manufacturer, you will note from the ASUS MBs QVL here that 16GB configurations of G-Skill 2400MHz Ram have only been passed when using 4 X 4GB sticks, consider an alternative quality brand of 8GB modules or go with the 4 X 4GB sticks passed by G-Skill.

 

For the best and most stable performance you should where possible purchase a CPU and Ram that have been tested and approved by the motherboard manufacturer, this is referred to as the QVL ( qualified vendors list ) understand though that there are too many products released for them all to be tested so other hardware will be compatible but not proven to be.

 

 

The 4TB HDD, 4TB is an awful lot of data to lose should the HDD ever fail + it will be a nightmare to keep backing up, consider having an SSD for Windows 7 and your most often used software and 2 Xs  1TB HDDs for your data and backing up to, you can then add further 1TB HDDs further down the way as and when required.

[amywalker730]

Wow, thanks a lot Phillpower! Just reading what you said was very educational and gave me a good three hours of homework. I had no idea about QVL or the potential issues that could arise. It makes me wonder about how uninformed my other selections may be. I will do what you recommend and get a similar RAM stick that is listed on the QVL and break up my planned storage into smaller sized chunks. Thanks for your help, advice, and friendly welcome!

[phillpower2]

You are most welcome amywalker730 

 

Your other selections are fine 

 

Let us know what your final list of parts looks like and any further questions also let us know.

[amywalker730]

I think I have narrowed my choice of RAM down, and I'm trying to decide between two sets:

 

http://www.gskill.co...7000cl9q-16gbzh

 

and

 

http://www.gskill.co...14900cl8d-8gbxm

 

Only the first is listed in the MOBO's QVL, but the G.Skill QVL for each product claims they are both compatible. Would that be enough to assume they would both be in working order, and if yes, would one have more merits over the other? The timing on the RipjawsX is rated at 8-9-9-24-2N, but runs at  a slower1866MHz.. The RipjawsZ on the other-hand has a slower timing of 9-11-10-28-2N but runs at 2133MHz..

 

Would it also be possible to buy two RipjawsX(8GB) and combine them for 16GB, or would that affect the performance/not be possible?

[phillpower2]

It is the MBs QVL that you should be guided by and not that of any memory manufacturer, the higher the MHz of the Ram the lower the Cas Latency and voltage tend to be so my suggestion would be to go for a spec of Ram that is 1.5V, has the lowest Cas Latency and the best MHz rating, before actually commenting on your two Ram options can I ask what music and video editing software you will be using as you may not even benefit from having 16GB of Ram, if this turns out to be the case then only having 2 X 4GB tested/passed sticks now is the way to go, you then have the option in the future to add an additional 2 X 4GB same brand and spec of Ram should any future software that you need to use requires 16GB of Ram,btw, such a large amount of memory is normally only used by professionals who may actually use up to 64GB of Ram.

[amywalker730]

Thank you for all your help PhillPower, I hope that one day I could be half as knowledgeable as you are.

[phillpower2]

Hello amywalker730,

 

You are most welcome btw and thank you for your kind words