My second build is complete, and with only the slightest of hiccups. Even though it had been four years since my last build, I found that this time through I didn't really need to depend on Rob's instructions as much. I still had them open, but I remembered more than I thought and just used them as a check to make sure I didn't forget anything important! I'll just put a few installation notes at the bottom of the post. I am also planning to write reviews of a few of the components from an amateur builder's perspective. For most, there are expert reviews that cover all the technical specs and details, but I thought it might be useful for reference to have the perspective of an infrequent builder and some real-world experiences.
Here is the build. You can look back at the thought process and how this evolved to the final solution at this thread.
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $56. Notes: I wanted to try something different than the Sonata III that I used for my first case. This one was highly regarded, included good cable management and USB 3.0 ports on the front. Plus the price was right to allow me to buy a top quality PSU and still stay within budget. I wrote a brief review of this case.
PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 - $60. Notes: More PSU than I needed, but it was on sale and only $10 more than the one I was looking at.
CPU: Core i7 2600K LGA 1155 Boxed Processor - $297.
CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler - $20. I wrote a brief review of this cooler.
Video Card: NONE.
Motherboard:: MSI Z68A-GD55 (G3) - $130. Notes: I narrowed down my choices by looking for boards with headers for USB 3.0. This one hit the right price point, had DVI connection for integrated graphics, and an automated overclocking tool that I wanted to try.
RAM: G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR2 - $50
Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $127
Optical Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - $23
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - $90
Total was $853, including shipping and tax.
This time, I only had a couple of hangups that took any appreciable time:
Installing the CPU cooler. The instructions that came with it were awful. They were pictures with almost no text. This sounds familiar, because it is the same feedback I gave on the stock cooler four years ago. I don't get it. For something so important, why do they have such poor instructions for this? Tiny pictures with no text. I know pictures speak every language, but pictures that small are not that useful. I watched a variety of user-posted videos and guides on various blogs, but why wouldn't the manufacturer have something? For that matter, even how to apply the thermal compound is poorly described. I found a thorough writeup on how to apply thermal compound, which I used, but good grief. The CPU is the most expensive component, and yet this protective equipment is so poorly described in terms of installation procedures. Disappointing. This single step always ends up being at least 50% of my total build time. Probably more. I'm always worried I'll screw it up and take forever trying to get it right. I hate it.
Connecting the rear exhaust fan. I've already detailed the whole episode here. In short, the rear exhaust fan came pre-installed in an orientation that prevented the fan connection from reaching the motherboard. Removing the fan and re-installing it rotated by 90 degrees solved the problem. But it was a minor annoyance that delayed me for a bit.
