Computer Build Complete

My first computer building project turned out to be a great success when I finished on March 22nd. Afterwards, I continued adding a few necessary components to keep this machine running for a very long time. It was without a doubt that your contribution to help me build this machine that turned out far better than I thought. So about how much did all of this cost me? Scroll down the list to find out!

---

Main Components


EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Type: Video Card
Order Date: 2-15-12
Price: $140 - $20 Mail in Rebate = $120


CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 500W
Type: Power Supply
Order Date: 2-15-12
Price: $60 - $20 Mail in Rebate = $40


COOLER MASTER Elite 430
Type: Desktop Case
Order Date: 3-19-12
Price: $50 - $10 Mail in Rebate = $40


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB DDR3 1600
Type: RAM
Order Date: 3-19-12
Price: $47


Intel Core i5-2500K
Type: CPU
Order Date: 3-19-12
Price: $220 - $10 Gift Card = $210


ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3
Type: Motherboard
Order Date: 3-19-12
Price: $122 + $8 Shipping = $130


Seagate barracuda 7200.12 720GB
Type: Hard Drive
Order Date: 3-19-12
Price: $60

Extra Components


COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
Type: CPU Cooler
Order Date: 3-19-12
Price: $30


Scythe SY1225SL12L 120mm
Type: CPU Case Fan
Order Date: 3-24-12
Price: $14


Arctic Silver 5
Type: Thermal Paste
Order Date: 3-24-12
Price: $10

Total Amount: $ 751.00
After Mail in Rebates: $701.00

---

So here it is! My first desktop computer!


Cord management wasn't an issue to me from this mid-size looking case so I was able to hide most of the cords at ease. Because the Cooler Master Elite 430 case comes at a good price range, the only flaw is that it only comes with one case fan equipped on the front for intake. This wasn't a major concern since buying one extra case fan would still be cheaper than buying an expensive computer case anyways.


When I first saw the Hyper 212 Plus, I was laughing at how huge this looked, but I knew that it's going to perform well to lower my cpu temperature without depending on water cooling. It does look like the fan is blowing in the wrong direction, but it's actually pushing air inside the heatsink. I would think this would be more effective this way.

I'm leaving my airflow method as simple as I can. The front case fan will pull air inside the machine, then next up my cpu cooler pushes more air towards the back, and finally the exhaust fan exiting out from the machine. It's a one way ticket to get an adequate air flow going. I've test by opening my case up after about 5 hours of intense use, and nothing felt extremely hot inside.

Since I have the 2500k processor and an overclocked motherboard, I researched intensely to see how far I can overclock. I was surprised to see many people uses the same motherboard and cpu combination as I have that have went as far as 5.0Ghz. I'm going to stay in the 4.7Ghz range that appears to be running smooth. I've used stress test to the result and the highest temperature mark reached up to 75°C. I consider that decent since 98°C is targeted to be a dangerous temp level and I doubt I'll have my machine running at a constant 100% CPU all day. At idle speed, it'll stay within the 25-30°C. It's really all thanks to the Hyper 212 Plus CPU cooler. So if you plan to overclock, I would not recommend using the stock fan that comes with your processor at all. If I did, I would certainly bet that my temperature would have exceeded the target limit.



I did get recommendations from you guys for a better desktop case, but somehow I went with my instincts to get this very low budget case from Cooler Master. As I was installing, I had no issues with cord management at all, but what I didn't know is that it only came with one fan. It wasn't a big issue so I ordered an extra case fan that was recommended to me and I believe I'm pretty secure on air flow.