First pc build

I'm going to build my own computer.. yay! I've never done it before and I need some help. I'm going to be going to school for film so I'll be editing, rendering and using visual effects etc. I'm also a hardcore gamer and want a pc to fit my needs for both. My budget is around $1200 or so dollars and I already have a build but, I don't really know anything about building a computer or computer parts so any help is welcome and appreciated. – cooler master haf x - full tower computer case blue // intel core i7-3770k // haswell motherboard // Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive // SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply // Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer // Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) I don't know about the cooling system and I think I want to add 8GB of 1600mhz low profile Corsair Vengeance along with another graphics card. I would like a cheaper case too if possible. I want it to still look pretty sweet though, I like the color blue:)

Hi h3arts and welcome to Whatthetech.

First, let me give you a for posting your budget and the purpose of this new machine. I wish everyone seeking purchasing advice would start out like that!

Now, a couple of comments. You need to check your motherboard’s webpage for the QVLs (qualified vendors lists) for compatible RAM and CPUs. You MUST buy a CPU from the list but there are too many RAM makers and models for motherboard makers to test them all. So you must buy RAM with the same specifications as listed RAM.

If you choose a "boxed" CPU packaged with a heatsink fan (HSF) assembly, they are packaged, sold and warrantied as "a unit" which means they must be used as a unit, or you void your 3-year warranty. If you choose a CPU that does not come with a supplied HSF, then of course you will need to provide your own cooling solution. But note CPUs that do not come with a HSF are warrantied for just 1 year while CPUs that come packaged with a cooler are warrantied for 3 full years. Since neither AMD or Intel want to replace your CPU due to poor cooling, both provide excellent coolers. If anyone tells you otherwise, they are misinformed, and out of date. Todays OEM coolers are more than capable of providing adequate cooling, even with mild to moderate overclocking. Remember, it is the case's responsibility to provide adequate front-to-back flow of cool air through the case. The CPU cooler need only toss the CPU's heat up in to that flow.

To be sure, this warranty information is clearly printed in the warranty pamphlets that come with our CPUs or can be read on-line here,

Intel CPU Warranty
AMD CPU Warranty

Even the TIM (thermal interface material) that comes pre-applied to todays OEM heatsinks is of high quality - compared to OEM coolers of yesteryear.

Because the case plays a leading and critical role in protecting your computer components for physical and thermal damage, I recommend sticking with a good case. Together with a quality power supply a good case forms a great foundation for your evolving computer over the coming years.

That said, it is unlikely you need a full tower case unless you will be installing more than 8 or 9 drives. A good mid-tower will work just fine, cost less, and be much easier to lug outside for proper cleaning. Personally, I EXPECT my cases to sit quietly and discretely off to the side and NOT draw attention to themselves. After all, I want to pay attention to what's happening on my monitors and not be distracted by noise or distracting lights coming from the case. Remember, fancy facades and flashy lighting does NOTHING for performance, consumes some power, generates some heat, and does NOTHING for performance (worth repeating).

The choice of PSU is arguably the most important decision, but one you should NOT make until AFTER you have chosen all your other components - especially your graphics solution as the graphics solution is often, and by far the most power hungry component in your CPU. So selecting a quality 80-Plus certified PSU is essential, but you need to wait before deciding which one you want. 620W, while a decent size, may not have enough oomph and still have some reserve left to keep from being stressed, or to support any future upgrades, like adding more RAM or a bigger graphics solution.

Now the bad news.

I'm going to be going to school for film so I'll be editing, rendering and using visual effects etc. I'm also a hardcore gamer and want a pc to fit my needs for both.

This is a problem. You are asking this machine serve two very different functions. This is like asking a heavy duty dump truck to serve as a sports car on the weekend. Or asking your fast sports car to haul a ton of junk to the landfill. Neither is suited to fit the other's job.

The computer you want will be like a nice pickup truck - capable of running around the track (but not be the fastest or sure-footed by any means) and able to run out to the landfill (but maybe in 2 or 3 trips). That is, a good gaming computer does not make a good graphics design CAD/CAE "workstation" and a good graphics workstation will not make a good gaming rig. Adequate, perhaps, but not ideal.

Note a good graphics card for gaming costs a few to several hundred dollars, while a good graphics card for graphics design and editing can cost a few to several thousand dollars - just for the card.

See Workstation vs Gaming Graphics Cards.

Since your education takes (or should take) top priority, I highly recommend you build a machine suited to meet your education and career needs. And if you want to play - get a PlayStation or build a a dedicated gaming rig - when budget allows.

Well I certainly liked the first part, very helpful and explained in a way I could understand. However, the second part scares me a little bit. I agree that school is far more important and I should focus on that but, I don't have the money to pay thousands on just the graphics card. Maybe if I went in to more detail about what I'd be doing that would change things a little. I'm planning on using Final Cut Pro X because, I've used it before at school and I believe that it's the next big editing program. I'm not talking about making 2 hour videos maybe, around 5 mins tops. That being said obviously, I would have more than 5 mins worth of clips in order to make something at least that long. The goal is to be able to use the program with basically no issues. Cutting things together adding sound and multiple layers etc. Not exactly insane type stuff. However, it did occasionally lag in the 2007 or 2008 (I think) apple rigs my community college had. That's also because, the program was still new and had some bugs etc. As for after effects I'm thinking some pretty basic stuff like I don't know.. Adding a gun flash or maybe some silly looking explosion. I don't think anything too serious. As for rending I was just thinking rendering in HD and to make the picture high quality. I'm not talking about using something like Maya and and rendering huge 3D models. Ultimate goal is to run a successful youtube channel with short films. For now though since due to stupid circumstances I have to wait 9 months until I can go… I was thinking of trying to make a gaming channel. (did it when I was 10 and got lik 10k views on a video) not the greatest but, I think I could make it much much better now. I just need something to occupy my time basically. To sum up, I'm not going to be running anything to heavy and I don't really think I need to spend thousands of dollars on a single part. I think that if I were to build a rig built mostly for gaming and just idk.. general high performance? That, that would do the trick? I'm not quite sure.. Anyway I don't know if this makes any difference or if it just proves that I would need to spend that much just to run those programs.. Thanks for your long reply:) I do appreciate all of it.

However, the second part scares me a little bit.

Reality can be, huh? For sure, those cards were extreme examples, and are scary prices. There are many "workstation" graphics cards more in line with a student's typical budget, as seen here. I admit - watching (or imaging) the surprise on people's faces when they see those prices is amusing every time I show them, but the point I was making is, there are gaming machines, and there are workstations and they are not in the same category of computers - with graphics (as opposed to CPU horsepower or data storage, for example) the major difference.

If you were just doing this for fun or a hobby, then I would say build a 8 or 16Gb gaming rig and with the budget for your graphics, see Tom's Hardware Best Graphics Card for the Money, April 2013. But you said you were going to school for film so that sounds pretty serious - and therefore important to know the difference between a professional graphics card and those made for play.

TO BE SURE, most decent gaming cards are likely to suffice for school projects, at least for the first couple years. But if you decide to pursue film edited (which might also involve a LOT of CGI at very high resolutions) you will need a serious machine. You might call the school and see what they recommend as minimums, and preferred.

It is important to understand game makers know that most of their customers cannot afford high-end gaming cards, let alone 2 or 3 of them. Nor can most gamers afford high-end CPUs either. So game makers code games to still provide great "game-play" on lessor machines. They do that by reducing side and background detail, visual objects or "layers", audio tracks, background resolutions and more - something you can do in a game, but not in films meant to look and sound realistic on big screen HD TVs and theater screens.

Anyway I don't know if this makes any difference

It would if this computer needed to carry you through a degree in film editing - but that does not seem the case. One thing nice about building your own, you can change things out if your needs change. And since changing a PC optimized for gaming to a pretty decent graphics workstation is as simple as swapping graphics cards, you are not set one way or the other.

In any case, my advice on waiting to select your PSU stands, regardless the type card you select. And ANY TIME you upgrade any hardware, re-evaluate you power needs and buy a new, larger PSU if needed.

Thanks for your long reply:) I do appreciate all of it.

Thanks - I appreciate you saying that - I'm often told, "too long-winded". I just want folks able to make "informed" decisions. It's not my money but I don't you wasting it. And $1200 is good budget too, especially if you don't need to a keyboard, mouse, monitor or speakers.

Just notice in your first post - you don't need low profile RAM in a PC (mid or full) case with an ATX motherboard. Some microATX boards might if using extra long graphics cards. Nothing wrong with low-profile - unless it is not on your motherboard's QVL. Normal size RAM, however, supports larger heat spreaders and that suggests to me better cooling.

"there are gaming machines, and there are workstations and they are not in the same category of computers - with graphics (as opposed to CPU horsepower or data storage, for example) the major difference."
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Now this makes me think.. So, gaming computers are graphics heavy were as editing would need cpu horsepower or data storage? 2 questions – 1: Can't I do both? high cpu and graphics? Wouldn't that solve the problem? 2: I could buy high in both and swap them out? One when I'm gaming then switch for editing???
–

"If you were just doing this for fun or a hobby, then I would say build a 8 or 16Gb gaming rig and with the budget for your graphics, see Tom's Hardware Best Graphics Card for the Money, April 2013. But you said you were going to school for film so that sounds pretty serious - and therefore important to know the difference between a professional graphics card and those made for play."

"TO BE SURE, most decent gaming cards are likely to suffice for school projects, at least for the first couple years. But if you decide to pursue film edited (which might also involve a LOT of CGI at very high resolutions) you will need a serious machine. You might call the school and see what they recommend as minimums, and preferred."
–

I'm not planning on like Freddiew high end CGI but, rather, simple stuff. Take smosh for example, they do some simple effects but, it's not really insane stuff with lots of layers or whatever. Plus I'm not going to even be able to start for 9 months so if my solution 1 is an option, I would have 9 months to get a better cpu and or data storage?

*edit* this is my current build.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/YGic

So, gaming computers are graphics heavy were as editing would need cpu horsepower or data storage?

Yes and No.

While true, a workstation may task the CPU more than most games, both gaming and workstation tasks are very graphics oriented. It is just that games use different types of graphics "objects" and features than workstations so gaming cards are optimized for this have support these features while workstation cards are be optimized for that and support those features. Both will support normal basic "Windows" and Office productivity tasks. It is the advanced features of serious gaming verses serious CAD/CAE/Graphics design and editing that determines the differences.

What I meant by CPU horsepower and data storage is that computers are built for the tasks they are meant to perform most. Some computers will be crunching spreadsheets all day, thus need CPU horsepower. Some computers are used as file servers where many people access various files all day, thus those systems need lots of data storage space.

2 questions – 1: Can't I do both? high cpu and graphics? Wouldn't that solve the problem? 2: I could buy high in both and swap them out? One when I'm gaming then switch for editing???

The problem is NOT the power, it is the features. While I suppose if you bought a good gaming card and a good workstation card, you could swap them in and out as needed but I think that is a bad idea for a number of reasons. First, constant handling of the cards and accessing the internal portions of the computer risks damage to cards and other parts due to mishandling and ESD. Expansion slots and the cards themselves are designed to allow removal and installation of cards, but not on a regular bases. Before long, the tension in the card slots will weaken, jeopardizing a good "mechanical connection" with the card. A good mechanical connection is ALWAY essential to ensure a good electrical connection.

The contacts on the cards will wear out premature from the constant scraping of the contacts when inserting and pulling the cards.

And finally, while Windows can (in theory) support multiple but different cards, in practice, there are often problems with all the different drivers and settings each card uses.

I think I may have put too much emphasis on the issue for your specific needs. I did not mean to scare you into thinking you MUST buy a workstation now. Again, a decent gaming card will most likely support your current video editing requirements. But when, if, you start looking at advanced professional level editing as a career choice, you will need to look at professional workstation equipment.

Plus I'm not going to even be able to start for 9 months so if my solution 1 is an option, I would have 9 months to get a better cpu and or data storage?

You will not need a better CPU - that i7 is already outstanding. And data storage is not likely a problem either with a 1Tb drive, but you can always add more drives for more data storage.

The other problem I see with your parts list is the aftermarket cooler. You have selected the retail version of the Intel i7 and a excellent cooler comes boxed with that CPU. As I noted above, using anything other than the supplied cooler voids your CPU warranty. If you don't care about voiding the 3 year warranty of the CPU, then no problem.

Finally, 9 months is a long way off and there is a good possibility none of those items on your list will be available then. So stay flexible. Don't buy anything until you are ready to buy everything.

Coincidently, I just got notice this morning of a new Tom's Hardware article, Workstation Graphics 2013, you might want to check out. It shows benchmarks of various cards performing fairly typical "workstation" tasks.