Custom Building a PC for the First Time

After having the same desktop PC for 8.5 years I would say it is finally time for a new one. I think I can see some tears coming out of my current computer from the work I am trying to do with the old Pentium 4 HT. Adobe programs take way too long to load and Premiere crashed several times when trying to do simple editing three shorts videos together that was only a total of a minute and half long.

Once I finally decided to get a new PC I had no idea where to start. Unless you stay on top of all the latest tech developments it is hard to know what anything is because everything is named with a mix of numbers and letters. Initially I was just going to buy a refurbished desktop since that is what my current one is and has served me well. I was about to pull the trigger on one but it sold out, I was not happy with myself for waiting as it seemed like a good deal at the time. Looking back I am happy it did sell out. After that I started looking at bare-bone kits. Then I started to investigate different parts and what they were priced at since none of the bare-bones were matching exactly what I wanted. I found a great site that showed prices for parts from different retailers and made sure they were compatible it also helped me keep track of what I was looking at buying and a running total. That site is PC Part Picker.

Once I started to pick out my own parts and doing research I probably came up with almost a dozen different configurations. I kept researching different ways to stay within budget while getting the most powerful PC I could. I went back and forth between different parts and setups countless times before I finally decided to start pulling the trigger on parts listed below.

My parts list:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570k 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
($189.99 +tax) $201.39 @ MicroCenter
• Great CPU from what I have read, can be even better with overclocking, should be good for quite some time

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX  LGA1155
($89.99 +tax -rebate) $85.39 @ Amazon
• Went with an entry-level Z77

Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
($46.95 -GC -Amazon Pts) $24.17 @ Amazon
• Read good reviews and a reasonable price before discounts

HDD: SanDisk SDSSDX-120G-G25 120GB Extreme SSD
($109.99 -rebate) $79.99 @ TigerDirect
• Good reviews, great price after the rebate, will help make the system even faster, I have a 2TB usb 3.0 external so I’m not hurting for HDD space

Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case
($44.99 +shipping) $50.98 @ Newegg
• Good looking case at a good price that has plenty of room

Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V
($59.99 -rebate) $49.99 @ Newegg
• Modular so will only use wires I need, good reviews for the price, 80 Plus bronze energy efficiency

Optical Drive: LITE-ON DVD Burner iHAS124-04
$16.99 @ Newegg
• Cheap, thought about getting a Blu-ray but decided I will get one later

Other: HP Mutli-card reader
FREE
• Taking it from my current desktop, saves me $10

Total: $508.87

I am pretty sure I am going to go with Windows 8 and just install a mod that gives me a normal start menu. The new start menu would be great for a tablet or touch screen, it doesn’t look great for a desktop. Not sure why they didn’t have an option to do one or the other.

Intel Core i5 3570k

Cougar Solution case

Power supply and DVD drive installed

Back side of case that will hide wires and allow for more efficient air flow in the case

Bag that came with power supply to store extra cables. Will be useful for storing other parts too.