Don't panic! Beyond that, the posters above have covered most things. I took scan sure on my first build a few weeks ago - never needed it but for 20 odd quid it sure was a lot of peace-of-mind! As for the Fractal R3, it is a really classy case, nice clean lines, easy to work inside and unbelievably quiet.. I would definitely recommend it! I'll be posting some pics soon so look out for my thread if you are interested in seeing it's innards exposed. Best of luck, and have fun!
just remember the 3 basic rules 1. Touch pc case to discharge before picking up anything 2. Everything only goes in one way 3. Nothing requires brute force to get in ( in a normal case at least ) generally speaking if you have to force something it doesnt belong there. your better off keeping the 2600k for rendering / Cad work as you will notice the difference compared to the 2500k and a 570 isnt better for rendering than a 560 ti. the catching in z68 boards are fun and you do get the full benifit providing the programs fit in that catch if your using it more than once like mmos for example, 128gb is enough for win 7 + 2 mmos ( wow is 30gb starwars beta is about 40gb as 2 reference mmos ) and the odd game or Cad program And scan sure is a useful peace of mind and should be took by everyone buying from scan who is building a full pc its just alot easier to get things returned using it.
Few exceptions to the "Nothing requires Force"; Sata power cables do require a bit of a shunt, but, for the love of all that is holy; Make sure it's the right way up first. Second: Heatsinks. If you do buy something like the Frio or Dark Rock PRo (Both of which are buggers to install, if I remember correctly); Loose screws are the worst thing ever. Tighten them carefully until you believe they're firm enough. (Usually a bit over finger tight)
With reference to the Dark Rock cooler, it's really not that bad to install if you do it out of the case. I put mine together in under ten minutes. My advice is to study the instruction diagrams carefully, paying attention to which of the mounting brackets you need to fit to the cooler itself and which screw holes to use in the base plate!! The baseplate is self retaining once you have one screw and rubber washer in place, just make sure to put it on the right way round. To actually fit the cooler I found by far the easiest way was once the four screws are holding the baseplate in place, lay the cooler on your motherboard's box (and manual, in my case, to get the right height) then hold the mobo perpendicular to, and resting on, the table top to align and tighten the screws. This method has the advantages of not having to hold the heaviest piece of the jigsaw or indeed take the weight of any parts, thus making small movements easy and safe; letting you see both sides of the motherboard at the same time, and only needing one pair of hands!! Don't let reviews or my fellow posters saying fitting it is a pain put you off, as it's a great cooler and really not that bad to fit at all - admittedly fitting it IN the case may not be so easy if you plan on changing CPUs frequently. To avoid unnecessary swearing make sure you check you have fitted and pasted your CPU, fitted the memory, and have got the cooler facing the right way for the fan to be blowing air towards the rear of the motherboard before you screw it down, and remember to tighten diagonal pairs of screws for even pressure on the CPU and to connect the fan cable to the CPU fan riser on the mobo. Easy!
Just a quick aside, If you want to stick with the water cooling kit route, then the H100 performs very well from all I've read. I doubt it would fit in the R3 with its 240mm rad and perhaps the Dark Rock would be ample for your needs but you could eke out every last bit of power from your 2500K (). With regard to building the rig yourself, don't give it too much worry. Just set aside time to do it without needing to rush yourself and try not to be too eager! I would recommend taking apart your current Dell(?) and putting it back together again. It will give you a clearer idea of where everything goes. Good luck!
Also remember that the thermal paste/grease goes between the CPU and CPU cooler, not between the CPU socket and CPU.... I once saw a pic by a 1st time builder who put the thermal paste on his CPU socket.
Final build list Chaps, After much, much further research, head scratching, trial and error, opinion reading and sleepless nights I think I have decided on my final parts list, take a look: Case: Fractal Design R3 Black Pearl Case CPU: i5 2500k Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P SE2 PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series Modular TX750M Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3 RAM: 8gb Corsair vengeance 1600mhz ddr3 1.5v GPU: 1GB Asus GTX 560Ti Direct CU II TOP HDD: Re-use existing dell HDD's SSD boot/games: Crucial M4 128gb Optical: DVD RW OS: Windows 7 oem Optional extra fans: 2 x Silverstone SST-AP121 Air Penetrator (for intake) Scythe Gentle Typhoon 1850RPM (for exhaust) All of this should run me at just under £1000, score! Reasons Ive chosen stuff: Case: I love the look of it and its acoustic performance, considered the NZXT Phantom and Coolermaster CM690II but I just cant get away with their looks. I know the R3 is considered a bit of a hot box hence the inclusion of extra case fans if required. CPU: i5 will be more than enough for gaming and Im trying to be realistic about how much rendering/work I will be doing at home i.e. as little as possible since its work and therefore wont be needing an i7 Cooler: I personally like the look and it seems an awesome performer from what I've read. PSU: Ive left enough headroom here I think for if I want to get another 560Ti and go SLI at some point. Motherboard: Want something with PCIe 3 compatibility for future proofness. GPU: Seems the best bang for buck card thats going to suit my needs, Skyrim, SWTOR, Secret World, Diablo 3 etc and like I said with the PSU it seems to scale in SLI particularly well SSD: Simply cant wait to jump on the speedy SSD bandwagon! Optional extra fans: For improving airflow through my rig and might even move one of the fractal fans to the side panel to cover the GPU if I'm feeling fancy. I know I've wittered on a bit but what do you guys think? Thoughts appreciated
Excellent selection It's nice to see someone really think through their build and do the research. I don't have the R3 case, but I might suggest that the fans are overkill - none of your components, even overclocked, would overheat in it. However it's a useful experiment for you to do anyway, and those fans will stand you in good stead should you ever change cases.
Quick Glance Stamp Of Approval (I should make a stamp-of-approval.jpg and post that here when I need it xD).
