Building A Desktop PC... (1 Viewer)

[Craig D]

I just ordered a 250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD

Nice drives I use 2 of them for my system disk

I guess you are going to start this way then use it as a scratch disk great choice

 

[Anthony Martino]

Since I'm not ready to replace my system, this thread still gave me the itch to tinker, so went and cleaned the inside and re-routed the wiring to make it a bit cleaner for airflow.

 

[tommythecat]

Was going to do my test build and get everything mounted in the case today, but forgot I am still waiting for my Arctic Silver 5 to show up. My SSD isn't here yet either but I don't need it for what I was planning on getting done. So I just installed the CPU and the rear mounting bracket for the cooler for now. Will do a build thread when everything gets done but here is a shot of the components so far...

 

[tommythecat]

Nice drives I use 2 of them for my system disk

I guess you are going to start this way then use it as a scratch disk great choice

I was originally going to use the Samsung SM951 128GB M.2 SSD as my boot/OS drive and nothing else. Then use the EVO for software and the HD for storage. Since I have decided to hold out for the 950 PRO 256GB as my M.2 drive I will use it for OS and heavier software applications. I doubt I will ever get into anything intense enough that would make a scratch disk useful, but it is nice to have that as an option.

 

[tommythecat]

Figured I would just put my build post here instead of another thread...

Got the build done for the most part. My 850 EVO has been delayed according to amazon so that still needs to be done, as well as an M.2 drive and Windows. I will give the full name of each component at least once in case anyone would like to seek out more info. Total spent so far is ~$645. Once I buy a copy of WIndows and a 950 PRO M.2 drive I will be at around $900 after MIR's.

Here is a shot of the Core i5 6500 (sorry for the glare) installed in the Gigabyte Z170XP-SLI with the mounting posts for the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO in place.

Here is the heatsink and fan for the CPU installed. This was a bit nerve wracking as that thing goes on very tight. The PC board for the CPU is thinner than previous generations and some people have had there's crack when installing coolers. Hopefully it's on tight enough...doesn't feel like its going anywhere. The memory you see there is Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHZ 2x4GB.

After I put the essentials together outside the case to test boot it (everything was fine) I mounted the motherboard into the Corsair Carbide Spec-02 case.

Everything mounted inside including the Seagate 2TB HD donated by Tommy (you da man!!). I "managed" the cables for the EVGA SuperNova 550 GS as best as I could...stiff bastards...

Finally we have everything turned on and the BIOS screen. No hiccups as of yet (knocks on wood)...

And a better shot of the CPU and the craptastic stock fan/heatsink...

 

[Anthony Martino]

fwiw I've never had a problem with intel stock fan/heatsinks in my builds, although aesthetically they are underwhelming and if I was overclocking I'd opt for something different.

 

[tommythecat]

The main reason I went with a different cooler was for sound more than anything. Since stock fans tend to be louder I went with something known for being pretty quiet.

 

[tommythecat]

Finally got my 850 EVO SSD...one step closer to being done.

 

[tommythecat]

Posting from the new rig...

I picked up a copy of Windows 10 on Saturday and got it installed with no issues. Did a custom install to turn off all the spying crap right from the get go. Started moving stuff from the old computer over to the new one. It took almost 2 hours just to transfer my music alone (~200GB). Didn't do much else than that...updated some drivers and flashed the latest stable BIOS version to my motherboard. I also installed the software for my Zune to get my music set up.

The 850 EVO is ridiculously fast compared to my old computer. Unofficial boot time of 14.94 seconds from the time the bios screen flashes up to Windows loaded. It's nice not wanting to punch myself in the nuts rather than turn my computer on.

When I am finished cleaning it off I will post a before and after of my desk.