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Music Noobs First GA-Z77X-UP5-TH - Help buying parts for quiet (cheaper?) beast

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mylifeatadiscount

mylifeatadiscount

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Hello all :)

I'm a musician with a UAD2 PCIe card who is in need of a MAC PRO with PCIe slots and thunderbolt. At this time, this does not exist and thats how I found this lovely place! :D I'm excited!

After reading a few guides and tons of posts, I'm looking to build my first machine...but I'd like to save some money if possible. I'd like to spend a grand or less, but maybe this is not realistic. If not, thats fine. The closer I stay to a grand the better. I don't mind doing some work, but I wouldn't mind easy, working solutions if anyone is kind enough to take the time to share and help me :).

I am not looking to overclock anything, but I would prefer a silent beast. The quieter the better. My old G4 (yep - sigh) is soooooo noisy. I hope this newer machine won't be as loud. Here is what I intend on buying:

Motherboard: GA-Z77X-UP5-TH | amazon
I need at least ONE working TB port for an audio interface (device). I will NOT be using TB monitors. Just data transfer. BUT - it might be nice to have more PCIe slots. My UAD2 card will take one... I think the wireless card takes another... Anyone know of anyway to have TB and more PCIe slots?

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 | amazon

Graphics Card: GeForce GT 640 | amazon
???? I just know I'm going to need to connect this to a screen of sorts. I have no special graphic needs. If I ever get into video editing, I assume I can upgrade whatever I need. I'm open to cheaper graphic card options. I won't be gaming (so I say now) or anything.

Drives: SanDisk Extreme SATA 6Gb/s 120GB SSD + Seagate Barracuda SATA 6Gb/s 1TB HDD
-- I know the SSD costs more, but I see this as a worthy upgrade

Power supply: How does one determine the power supply? Are some quieter than others? Prices seem to have a wide range as wattage increases.

Case: I am clueless about cases. It would be nice to have something sturdy. I guess... function over fashion. Anyone have any suggestions? I see cases recommended in the $130 - 150 range.

Cooling: I'd like to keep the machine at a decent temperature.

Optical Drive: Anything that burns dvd/cds, is easy to install and works with the above :) No need for blueray.

OTHER:
- Need firewire ports 400 & 800
- TP-Link PCI Express Wifi Adapter

Any advice and suggestions would be mighty helpful! Anyone know how long it might take a noob to build and get this thing up and running? I figure a day or two. I do have a bit of tech knowledge/experience... especially on the software side of things.

Thanks so much!
 
Determine PSU wattage:
http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html?name=Power-Supply-Wattage-Calculator

Fractal Define R4:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007583&IsNodeId=1&Description=R4&name=Computer%20Cases&Order=BESTMATCH

Cooling:
If you are not overclocking (Not the "K" model), then there is little need for an aftermarket CPU cooler. But if you insist try this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

Optical Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118067

FireWire Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124072

WiFi Card:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007GMPZ0A/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tonymacx86com-20


Also, check out this:
http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/search/label/CustoMac

glhf
 
Also if you aren't going to be gaming save yourself $100 and use the Intel HD4000 that is on your CPU.
 
mylifeatadiscount said:
Hello all :)

Case: I am clueless about cases. It would be nice to have something sturdy. I guess... function over fashion. Anyone have any suggestions? I see cases recommended in the $130 - 150 range.

Optical Drive: Anything that burns dvd/cds, is easy to install and works with the above :) No need for blueray.
Click to expand...

I recently built a GA-Z77X-UP5 based system in a Corsair Carbide 400R case - lots of room and the stock fans (at least on mine) are amazingly quiet. It is a big case for a mid-tower, but it looks nice (especially at night with the fan LEDs turned on). Lots of options for additional cooling, too. Got the case and PSU as a combo from Amazon for ~$150, but saw same setup on TigerDirect for about $120 shortly after I ordered mine.

As for CD/DVD, stay on the safe side and go with a Sony Optiarc AD-7260 or 7280 (only ~$20).

I'm not a gamer, but the onboard Intel HD 4000 graphics have worked just fine for me.

Good Luck!
-bth
 
hello.

I tried to estimate the wattage. I assume I'm going to need about 500 - 550 watts to be safe. The calculator quoted me about 330, but it also says this:

"The PSU Wattage we recommend only gives you a general idea on what to consider while selecting a power supply. PCI cards, External devices, USB and Firewire devices, Cooling fans and other components may need more power."

I know I have three pci cards (wifi, firewire, uad2), some fire devices that need power and usb. How do I determine the total wattage?

Once I've determined this, how does one find a good, quiet, compatible power supply?
 
bthall said:
I recently built a GA-Z77X-UP5 based system in a Corsair Carbide 400R case - lots of room and the stock fans (at least on mine) are amazingly quiet. It is a big case for a mid-tower, but it looks nice (especially at night with the fan LEDs turned on). Lots of options for additional cooling, too. Got the case and PSU as a combo from Amazon for ~$150, but saw same setup on TigerDirect for about $120 shortly after I ordered mine.

As for CD/DVD, stay on the safe side and go with a Sony Optiarc AD-7260 or 7280 (only ~$20).

I'm not a gamer, but the onboard Intel HD 4000 graphics have worked just fine for me.

Good Luck!
-bth
Click to expand...

Hi! Thanks for taking the time!

I found the case with a 430W power supply for $134 on Tigerdirect. I'm a bit stumped about my total W needs. The new egg calc says I might need about 330W or so, but it also says pci cards, external devices and usb may require additional power. I have three pci cards (wifi, firewire, uad2), some fire devices that need power and maybe usb. How do I know what I need? I'll see if I can dig up more info on this via a search.

I'll look into that sony drive as well.

Good to know about the HD 4000 :). Nice!

I really appreciate the help and responses.
 
I might need more PCI slots. Anyone know if there is a mobo with thunderbolt and more pci slots? Or perhaps a great mobo with more pci slots and a thunderbolt pci card?

..just curious... just in case.
 
I just built a system with the GA-Z77X-UP5 TH motherboard, an I7-3770K CPU and and on-board Intel HD 4000 graphics. I'm thoroughly satisfied with my build.

The GA-Z77Z-UP5 TH is really the best motherboard available with Thunderbolt ports. It's also really well-made and ridiculously easy to set up. During the planning stage, I had to ask myself, "Do I want a product or a project?" If you want a product, go with the GA-Z77X-UP5 TH. I you want a project, there's a lot of fun to be had with experimentation.

If you don't plan on gaming, using more than two monitors, or video editing, I second Einsteiniac about going with on-board graphics. Nvidia has been steadily chips in the 6xx family for six months -including one this week- so I'd wait at least a little while for prices to adjust to all the new entries.

If you're interested in a quiet machine, I highly recommend checking reviews of PSUs, CPU coolers, video cards and fans at http://www.silentpcreview.com/. If the Customac guide and http://silentpcreview.com both recommend a device, it's prolly high quality, highly compatible, cost effective and quiet.

Enjoy. :)
 
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