Need help with first build

[Chaosrider]

Hey everyone,

This is my first time building a computer, and I was going to follow either the Dolphin or Narwhal build of the month.
On that note, I know I can mix between Puppy and Dolphin, and between Narwhal and Unicorn, but would I be able to mix between Dolphin and Narwal? My budget sits between those two.

• I was thinking around the $700-900 range, which puts me between those two builds of the month.
• I don't really know a desired resolution, and I was going to get a new monitor based off that guide as well, but I'm not sure what is best.
• At one point my computer could run Ultra in WoW, and I'd like to get back to that threshold.
• I live in the USA
• I was going to transfer all my data over of course, but I was planning to buy everything.
• Okay, I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to hardware and software, but am I able to reuse my Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium?
• Yes I need a new monitor, but I was going to reuse my headset, keyboard, and mouse.

Please help a novice out, really looking forward to the experience of building my first computer.
Sorry I can't be more descriptive.

[Toffie]

Do you want to keep your case, hard drive?
Can you list the full system?

[Chaosrider]

I currently have a stock HP Pavilion Elite HPE-140f, it's coming on 5 years old and I wanted to upgrade everything. So I'm going to need a new case.

As for the hard drive I have a Seagate Barracuda 7200.12, and I guess I could reuse it, but would a newer hard drive have a faster read/write rate? I believe this one is rated at 300 Mbytes/sec.

As for the current system, I'll give as much info as I can:

• Operating System:Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
• CPU: Intel Core i5 650 @ 3.20GHz Clarkdale 32nm Technology
• RAM: 8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-24)
• Motherboard: MSI IONA
• Graphics/Display:1536MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 230 ---- SyncMaster (1680x1050@60Hz)
• Hard Drives: 932GB Seagate ST31000528AS (RAID)
• Optical Drives: hp DVD-RAM GH40L
• PSU: No idea, but its 350W

[Toffie]

First some useful guides.

Overclocking the CPU (you "ultra" criteria needs to be met with a slight overclock that will boost performance in raids and overcrowded areas). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CHs5_TdpXE

Building from scratch guide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4Js2A1qdB8

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($96.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($35.08 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VS229H-P 21.5" Monitor ($134.02 @ Amazon)
Total: $883.03
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-08 00:20 EDT-0400)

24 inch screen : http://pcpartpicker.com/part/aoc-monitor-e2460sd
Not sure what you prefer, smaller screen with better color or bigger screen with worse image quality and viewing angle.

[Chaosrider]

Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)

How does that compare to a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($193.98 @ Newegg)? Would this be worth the extra 43 dollars?

[Toffie]

How does that compare to a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($193.98 @ Newegg)? Would this be worth the extra 43 dollars?

Minimal increase, not worth it.
What games are you looking to play? WoW will easily play maxed with a slight cpu overclock. Next generation games will need more juice.

[Zixten]

You can use your old memory if you want and maybe buy a better GPU. If you want to save more money an ssd isnt so important, the only thing a ssd do is that you get faster loadtimes. if you are not doing any OC you dont need another cooler. Other than that Toffies build is good. Only some suggestions but i would love to have a ssd when i get them money to buy one. So basicly ssd and cooler is not something you need to buy to get a good computer. Right now i am not overclocking my cpu and the stockcooler manage that just fine.