First time building a computer.

Tahoebrian5

Fractal Fanatic
After waffling for months I finally went ahead and ordered all the parts for a new computer. Of course I've never built one myself but how hard can it be, right? Well after reading through all the options and bios settings on the motherboard I'm starting to wonder if I'm in a bit over my head. Anyway if there are any experienced builders here let me know if you have any advice.

Here are the big pieces
i7 8700k cpu
Asus strix rog 370-E gaming mobo
Samsung 960 evo nvme ssd 500gb
Asus GTX 1080 graphics card
16GB ram

Also got an all in one water cooler so I can overclock the cpu. I plan on just going to 4.7ghz so not going to try to squeeze every last ghz out of it but from what I've read 4.7 should be a set it and forget it level of OC.
 
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Hi Taho etc
That machine will be fine for a daw and axe fx - Make sure you have SSDs other than the 960 - 500 gig will seem like a lot initially! :)
If you are a gamer, going past 4.7g may be considered worth it, otherwise, just stick to intels recommendation and start playing.
Thanks
Pauly
 
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Check the ASUS website for specific memory DIMMs that were tested with that mobo. Can save time and frustration especially if you plan on deviating from defaults.
 
Done it countless times. In 99% of the cases you don't need to mess with the BIOS settings. It's mostly some mechanical work and a bit of experience. The only thing you need to be careful with is when mounting the heat sink onto the CPU. Follow the instructions. Try to avoid touching the CPU pins.
 
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After waffling for months I finally went ahead and ordered all the parts for a new computer. Of course I've never built one myself but how hard can it be, right? Well after reading through all the options and bios settings on the motherboard I'm starting to wonder if I'm in a bit over my head. Anyway if there are any experienced builders here let me know if you have any advice.

Here are the big pieces
i7 8700k cpu
Asus strix rog 370-E gaming mobo
Samsung 960 evo nvme ssd 500gb
Asus GTX 1080 graphics card
16GB ram

Also got an all in one water cooler so I can overclock the cpu. I plan on just going to 4.7ghz so not going to try to squeeze every last ghz out of it but from what I've read 4.7 should be a set it and forget it level of OC.

I would consider using an NVMe drive attached via M.2 instead of SATA attached SSD for a new build. A lot faster than SSD but pricey.

Edit: please ignore. Just read you already do that
 
You will need find drivers to boot to the nvme drive... I would have waited for the I9 CPUs to come out. Why not just get an Alienware PC?
 
You will need find drivers to boot to the nvme drive... I would have waited for the I9 CPUs to come out. Why not just get an Alienware PC?
That seems odd. I just built a machine around an NVME drive and didn't need any drivers for the board to boot from it. Board wasn't that new either -- maybe a year old?
 
@Tahoebrian5 take your time. Make sure you're well grounded and not picking up static from say a carpet. Mounting a heavy cooler can be extra work so read the instructions carefully. Make sure your power supply can put out enough current to power that 1080 card and the overclocked CPU.
 
I bought an 850 watt PS. It should be fine from what I have researched. I will only be running a single graphics card.

The same build at Alienware was $2400, I got all the parts for $1800. Even if I paid a tech to build it for $200 I am still way ahead plus I got to hand pick all the components. In this day and with internet knowledge on hand it just makes sense.
 
AMD had a good run with the Athlon chips, but Intel has been pretty much dominating the market ever since. Their acquisition of ATI has helped keep them rolling. It's Intel and Nvidia for me. Those GeForce 1080 cards are crazy powerful.
 
I usually build a new pc about every 3 years for the last 25 years :) - overclocking isn't that big of a deal unless you're gaming, even then the best graphics card you can get is most important. Two is even better :), once you experience gaming in 4K it's hard to go back. I've always been a fan of video games but I rarely have time to start one anymore. The largest 4K monitor you can find should be next!
 
Yeah with the stock performance of the i series chips I've not really messed with overclocking since they came out. Water cooling used to be a real pain, but there's so many more good options out there these days for building.

I miss gaming. It's a fun release. So many of today's games require a such huge time investment of like 100 hours or more. Since my kiddo was born, that's just not an option. Last game I played through was Far Cry 4. Seen a bunch of videos from Far Cry 5 and it looks freaking amazing. I would need to build a new system for today's games for sure. My i5-3570 and GTX660 were struggling to keep up with FC4. The badgers cracked me up. Scrappy little buggers.
 
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