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my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 3:40 am
by Troveo
Hi everybody... This is going to be my 1st PC.

Some backgrounds about me:
I decided to buy a PC for myself around a month ago. I know my way around software but i was a notebook user and i couldn't tell which way is left from right regarding what PC components does and which ones suits my needs. Extensively googling for the past month, and now i'm going to buy the PC on next tuesday or wednesday but i still need a bit of a help regarding some parts.

The PC usage:
a) heavy internet browsing habit.
==> i load 10-12 tabs at the same time from a website hompage, while leaving 40-50tabs open at idle normally.
b) watching HD movies on my 23" screen
c) light photo / video editing
d) office work
e) very minimal gaming (i don't play FPS at all. i do play interesting titles like remember me or tomb raider). So, i game once every 8 months i'd say

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Kindly need help and advice, my budget is $1200

The parts i'm still in doubts and need help deciding are ::
1) PC Case :: I could afford Corsair 330R ($132), and Corsair Obsidian 550D ($203)
Technically my budget could only afford a Corsair 330R price range, if i buy an Obsidian 550D, then the $70 difference would cut my Speaker budget from $150 to $80.
However, i view a PC Case and a PSU as an investment, when i change my system in the future, i wouldn't change my PSU nor my Case.
I can't see and touch the goods in person here in South East Asia, that's why i desperately need opinions about it.
**No Nanoxia here, Define R4 will be here in 3 months time i've heard

2) PSU :: i could afford either Seasonic G650 ($147) or Seasonic X560 ($172).
a) With a stock core i5 and an R9 270X... can a 560 Watt powered the rig?
b) I've read reviews and i'm aware that Seasonic X series has its fan turned off until certain percentage and its use a Sanyo fan.. but considering the watt consumed by the rig, the rig would consumed more percentage of a X560 watt PSU than a G650 watt PSU. So my question would be, which one would be more quiet between the two? is it the G650 or the X560?
c) Also, regarding coil whine, does an X series PSU are more prone to get coil whine out of the box compared to a G series PSU?

ps::you could also recommend a Corsair RM 650W and a super flower golden King 550W though im leaning towards Seasonic.
the above are my only PSU choices, goods are limited here, so no Antec, no XFX, and no Rosewill.

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So far the parts that i've decided to buy are

Processors : i5-4570 ($243)
motherboard : MSI H87-G43 gaming ($158)
HDD : Seagate Barracuda 2tb ($102)
GPU : MSI R9 270x $295
RAM : Corsair vengeance pro 2x4 gb ($120)
CPU Cooler : Noctua NH-U12S ($80)

The PC should ideally be quiet, reliable to use in 4 to 5 years, and have enough performance to last that 5 years. minus the graphic card which i'll change once in a while.

to add a bit more context about myself, i used iphone 3gs and not upgrade until iphone 5s came out. i still use the same sony tv from 2002, i bought console right when it's out so that i can use it as long as it possible. Which i did. i used the same laptop from when vista came out until end of 2011.
So basically when i use electronic goods, i use it and grind it till it dies of old age, i dont change until i really have to. i'm really tired of having my notebook died in less than a year for the past 3 years, so yeah, i want the PC to last ^_^. at least for my usage.

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1) Motherboard Question : Does a Z87 board last longer than it's H87 counterpart in general?
Say my board pick MSI h87-G43 gaming ($158) has a Z87 counterpart (Z87-G45 Gaming $232). Does a Z87 board in general use better / more reliable components than its H87 counterpart?

2) Processor question : if i want to use the rig for 4-5 years... will getting a K processors and pay a premium now makes me able to squeeze a little more juice out of my PC down the road....? Say, i'll OC 10% in Year 3 to make it last longer for example. or will OC and heat killed processors faster? does technology has catch up to the point that safe minimal OC will squeeze me more performance but still as reliable as stock? I don't think i'll do high or extreme OC.
The price difference is a concern though, getting a Z87-G45 gaming and an i5-4670K will cost me in total $520 VS my current build i5-4570 + H87-G43 gaming ($400)
Does the $120 premium of getting Z board paid off in 3-4 years in terms of OC-ing in years 3 to 4 to squeeze it?

3) Does WD Red / Seagate SV35 will be quieter and more reliable than Barracuda / green if i write on it 12-15 hours a day...?
my internet speed is snail slow, like 125kb/second, so i upload and download for many hours.

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Additional unimportant addendum ::
Addendum: If one PC shop don't have the parts then 95% of the time all the other PC shops on the city won't have stock, because PC components Shops are concentrated in one area, and the PC Shops don't have inventory/stock for the goods, they're more a middleman store than a proper shop with inventories.
When and only when a buyer have "oral agreement agreeing to buy", the PC shop will go to the distributor and get the goods (which are located in the same building / area). More like a PC Middleman Shop than a PC shop really

Addendum 2 : If you're wondering about my extensive question regarding reliabilities, it's because aftersales on this island is subpar to say the least. So, i don't really care about warranty so much as your experiences and QC from the factory itself.

No point of being under warranty if when a part is broken i have to wait 3~6 months for RMA from the local distributors, and even when i get the exchanged goods, it''s not always in a like-new state. (happens more often than a customer would want). So yeah reliability is more important than long / short warranty.

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btw, i learned all these in 3 weeks from zero so im terribly sorry for the very long and detailed questions... this is my 1st pc and i want to get it right.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 8:35 am
by CA_Steve
Welcome to SPCR.

- Those are some outrageously high component prices. I wonder if using a large e-tailer that will ship to your country/island/whatever might be cheaper?

- Here's a rule of thumb for estimating worst case system power: CPU TDP + Gfx card TDP + 50W for everything else (mobo, fans, couple of drives). You can crank this up/down if you have no drvies/have lots of drives/plug in cards, etc. So, a Haswell i5 system with the R9 270X will see 84W + 180W + 50W = 314W stressed load. Closer to 250W max while gaming. Go for the Superflower GK 550.

- That said, spending $295 for gaming so seldom seems a waste. You might consider a lower priced card and still get decent fps for the games you want to play. Here's Techspot's Tomb Raider benchmark for an example. Heck, try using the integrated gpu first and see if the games are playable.

- H vs Z mobo: No reason to go Z unless you want to overclock. For any mobo choice, it's best to look up user reviews at newegg.com and amazon.com and see the crowdsourced ratings (ignoring the early buyers remorse "I hate this bios" comments). Some Z boards are good others are crap. Same with H.

- overclocking to extend lifetime: it's worked for me. I did it with my old e8400 that I just retired after 5 years. YMMV. In your specific case, you might be better off getting an H mobo and an i3 or even a Pentium. Save the money now, replace the CPU (or CPU and mobo) down the road.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:14 am
by Troveo
CA_Steve wrote:Welcome to SPCR.
- Those are some outrageously high component prices. I wonder if using a large e-tailer that will ship to your country/island/whatever might be cheaper?

- Here's a rule of thumb for estimating worst case system power: CPU TDP + Gfx card TDP + 50W for everything else (mobo, fans, couple of drives). You can crank this up/down if you have no drvies/have lots of drives/plug in cards, etc. So, a Haswell i5 system with the R9 270X will see 84W + 180W + 50W = 314W stressed load. Closer to 250W max while gaming. Go for the Superflower GK 550.
about PSU. one of the reason i posted in your thread is because most of what you just picked for your system build would be what i'd probably pick as well if many options are available here / price aren't that expensive.
Mugen 4 was my 1st choice. MSI is my motherboard of choice. I'm not getting K processor just because of budget limitation.
But... i'm wondering whether a Red / sv35 drive will provide more reliability than its barracuda / green counterpart..., and i also picked an nvidia graphic card (the 650ti boost) as my first choice.

So as you can see, my 3/4 weeks googling quest from zero to get a quiet PC to be put in my room ended up choosing specs that is pretty similar with yours, sans OC. Even the motherboard brand is the same.

That said... you yourself chose X560, may i ask why you chose X560 over say, GK 550 or Kingwin Lazer Platinum 550 (it's the same inside if im not mistaken)?
any reason you yourself chose X series over super flower? or is it just because Super flower doesn't have big presence in north america?

to be honest, i'm leaning towards the X560 myself (though im slightly put off with the price). However i'm very concern about getting a coil whined lemon PSU because, i'm not at all confident i could RMA it to the local distributor. No stock for G550, if there is, i'd buy that, in case you're wondering.
- Those are some outrageously high component prices. I wonder if using a large e-tailer that will ship to your country/island/whatever might be cheaper?
i know. haha. what can i say. i think it's MSRP plus some inflated percentage. i'd say around 20% more or less. so buying a new product is always good. :mrgreen:
no discount even if you buy later. newegg dont ship here. i do buy from amazon from time to time but it's often held by custom if its more than $50 and the tax for it is pretty expensive.

- That said, spending $295 for gaming so seldom seems a waste. You might consider a lower priced card and still get decent fps for the games you want to play. Here's Techspot's Tomb Raider benchmark for an example. Heck, try using the integrated gpu first and see if the games are playable.
im well aware of that. i think the market here emphasize more on mid-level above GPU instead of an entry-level GPU. here is my GPU logic.

an asus 7790 cost $207. would you pay $190~$210 for a 7790? haha. now that, is outrageous. it'll be a cold day in hell before i pay that much for a 7770 / 7790. 7770 cost $155~$170 btw.

i was abt to opt for 650Ti boost initially (this graphic card is the smartest decision to make price difference wise), the MSI twin frozr one cost $216, which is good considering the 650ti boost msrp is $179 if im not mistaken. (price cut dont matter here). it was no stock, so the next step up is asus 650ti boost which cost $243, so heck might as well get Nvidia 660 / R9 270 which cost exactly the same $270-ish.

from that logic and more googling... my personal opinion is that R9 270 launch is "reactional launch" than a proper video card launch. now considering the aftersales service here is subpar to say the least, i'd rather bet on an established R9 270X and shell out another $30 than to get a R9 270. if radeon themselves launching R9 270 as a reactional launch then i'd assume the manufacturer also spend less time on it than they do on a proper R9 270X.

so the decision comes down to 2 things.
1) buying goods as if there's no warranty attached on it.
2) Price difference between north america current market price and the vs is island actual price.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:42 am
by Abula
Troveo wrote:Hi everybody... This is going to be my 1st PC.
Welcome to SPCR.
Troveo wrote:The parts i'm still in doubts and need help deciding are ::
1) PC Case :: I could afford Corsair 330R ($132), and Corsair Obsidian 550D ($203)
Technically my budget could only afford a Corsair 330R price range, if i buy an Obsidian 550D, then the $70 difference would cut my Speaker budget from $150 to $80.
However, i view a PC Case and a PSU as an investment, when i change my system in the future, i wouldn't change my PSU nor my Case.
I can't see and touch the goods in person here in South East Asia, that's why i desperately need opinions about it.
I prefer Fractal Design, like Define R4, etc. But this is matter of preference, Corsair do manufacture really well design cases, the 330R is good choice, specially on a budget, and i personally like to invest as much as i can on speakers.
Troveo wrote:2) PSU :: i could afford either Seasonic G650 ($147) or Seasonic X560 ($172).
a) With a stock core i5 and an R9 270X... can a 560 Watt powered the rig?
b) I've read reviews and i'm aware that Seasonic X series has its fan turned off until certain percentage and its use a Sanyo fan.. but considering the watt consumed by the rig, the rig would consumed more percentage of a X560 watt PSU than a G650 watt PSU. So my question would be, which one would be more quiet between the two? is it the G650 or the X560?
c) Also, regarding coil whine, does an X series PSU are more prone to get coil whine out of the box compared to a G series PSU?

a) If you can wait for the cutom coolers, the MSI Gaming R9 270X should be a good choice for little more money. and yes a 560W should be more than enough for it, you probably wont even reach 400W on load.
b) X series would be quieter, its semi passive, so browsing the internat that you do the most, it should be passive, and when you game it will start but still very low rpms, my X660 is extremly quiet, i have to check if its spinning even under load.
c) The more comments i seen on coil are on the platinum, the X560 is gold, in the past we did see some comments on all X series, but not so much. That said any PSU can have coil whine or be defective or could be a combination of hardware, but i would go with the X560 if you can.
Troveo wrote:ps::you could also recommend a Corsair RM 650W and a super flower golden King 550W though im leaning towards Seasonic.
the above are my only PSU choices, goods are limited here, so no Antec, no XFX, and no Rosewill.
Cosair RM series is a new PSU, its been getting good user reviews, so this would a good bet also, i would go with 450/550 and save more money. Superflower golden 550W is also a good choice but should be more expensive, then again might not be in your area, SPCR review gave it the editors choice and to me would be my no1 choice looking for 550W platinum atm (there is also a gold version from what i remember). Now thinking you are on budget, if the corsair RM550 is cheaper than all, i would go that route, because it will leave you more money toward other components.
Troveo wrote:Processors : i5-4570 ($243)
motherboard : MSI H87-G43 gaming ($158)
HDD : Seagate Barracuda 2tb ($102)
GPU : MSI R9 270x $295
RAM : Corsair vengeance pro 2x4 gb ($120)
CPU Cooler : Noctua NH-U12S ($80)
All solid choices but i would try to swap the barracuda for a WD 2tb, and i would try as much as possible to get an SSD, this would dramatically reduce the noise of the hdd usage, really worth it imo, even if it means saving in other slots. Corsair memory is fine but get one with standard height, heatsinks today are more marketing than a need, so lower height will help you not be restricted on the CPU cooler, check if you can get low profile or standard height. CPU cooler, Noctua is a fine choice, but expensive, this is another place you could save some toward the ssd, check if you can get Scythe Mugen 4, superb cooler for the money.
Troveo wrote:1) Motherboard Question : Does a Z87 board last longer than it's H87 counterpart in general?
Say my board pick MSI h87-G43 gaming ($158) has a Z87 counterpart (Z87-G45 Gaming $232). Does a Z87 board in general use better / more reliable components than its H87 counterpart?
Last in terms of durability... i doubt it, although usually it comes with bigger heatsinks and better caps, but since you are not overclocking, there shouldn't be extra heat generating, on an standard scenario they should both last more than they will be useful. I would go with the H if you are not planning on overclocking, if you are then go with the Z.
Troveo wrote:2) Processor question : if i want to use the rig for 4-5 years... will getting a K processors and pay a premium now makes me able to squeeze a little more juice out of my PC down the road....? Say, i'll OC 10% in Year 3 to make it last longer for example. or will OC and heat killed processors faster? does technology has catch up to the point that safe minimal OC will squeeze me more performance but still as reliable as stock? I don't think i'll do high or extreme OC.
The price difference is a concern though, getting a Z87-G45 gaming and an i5-4670K will cost me in total $520 VS my current build i5-4570 + H87-G43 gaming ($400)
Does the $120 premium of getting Z board paid off in 3-4 years in terms of OC-ing in years 3 to 4 to squeeze it?
First let me say i would invest those extra $120 on an SSD, that said, yes overclocking will net you more performace at the expense of higher temperature, more consumption and to some point the degradation of hardware (this is very subjective as will depend on a lot of things). Now future proofing in PC is very hard, but with intel not having much preassure from AMD, they are milking us with very small upgrades on CPUs, the gains from 3 years to today are around 10%, the next two generations Broadwell will be like 5%, and skylake if nothing changes wont have but quads, so another 5%... the next gen (dont remember the name) will only be a architecture reduction so another 5%, so in essence expect 15% faster cpus in 3 years for the low-mid end platform. Probably somewhere we might see six cores, but dont seem that clear into when intel is planning on introducing them to their consumer line.

But we are going into a lot of changes in the next 2 years, DDR4 is the first that should come in Haswell E, and then adopted on Skylake, PCIe 4.0 might make it to Haswell E or might not and come in Skylake, not that its needed.... current gpus cant saturate even a PCIe 8x 3.0, but we are also moving into Sata Express, that from what i have read wont make it to Haswell E but skylake seems to be where intel might introduce it, but who knows for sure, this are just rumors. So overall a PC in 3 years should have faster SSDs on sata Express, faster GPUs on PCIe 4.0, and faster and lower voltage memory on DDR4. Probably will be worth for you to check in 3 years into how everything is settling down, but your build should be very decent still if intel doesnt change their minimal gains CPUs, so its a good bet to buy now.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:31 am
by Troveo
i personally like to invest as much as i can on speakers.
thank you for that opinion. then i'd get a $150 speaker with a 330R instead. Define R4 won't be here for another 3 months at least. so i only hv that 2 option. there's also bitfenix ghost but i dont like the looks.
First let me say i would invest those extra $120 on an SSD
i totally forgot to mention that i hv an intel ssd for my laptop. and are getting an ssd for this one. (which isn't included in the $1200 budget). i only hv 2 options though plextor m5pro or the samsung 840. not the evo not the pro. and im wondering if i'd better get the m5pro than samsung or not.
there's also adata / team / intel / kingston / silicon power / transcend / gskill. but its all MSRP so, might as well get Plextor or samsung.
All solid choices but i would try to swap the barracuda for a WD 2tb
about HDD, does a SV35 / Red 2tb drive offers better reliability than its green / barracuda counterparts? it's only $10 difference per Tb on price
i write to the disk maybe 12-15 hours 5 days a week. so 15/5. though i only write 100-150kB/s on it. my internet is slow as snail (0.2~0.3mbps) so making a cloud backup and streaming / downloading aren't instant and i hv to leave it on at daytime, to enjoy at night. haha sad really.

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All memory cost $110~$120. Viper vs Ripjaws vs Vengeance difference are less than 4 dollar with one another. i won't get a double cheeseburger with the difference so i chose the one i like the most haha. they sell low profile ram, i know they have a vengeance low profile, they don't sell standard profile ram that much tho afaik. the only ddr3 1600 available i saw was ripjaws viper and vengeance. they do sell apogee / adata / team / avexir but i didnt look at that when i went to the PC shop last week. cost pretty much the same tho, its not like i can get a $70 deal.

i dont mind shelling $78 for a noctua NH-U12S considering a CM 212 is overpriced at $52.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:46 am
by Abula
Troveo wrote:about HDD, does a SV35 / Red 2tb drive offers better reliability than its green / barracuda counterparts? it's only $10 difference per Tb on price
You can count on one thing on mechanical hdds, is that they will fail sooner or later, brands and design might make a difference, but in my experience i have had consumer drives last more than 8 years and enterprise drives that fail with in hours, a lot has to do how they were handle during shipping and packing, but still there is no garantee on brands or models. WD do make very quiet hdds, specially the Green and Red are very queit, and mostly used and recommended by SPCR users, so thats my suggestion, not that barracuda is bad, just the WD will be quieter overall, HDD and fans are the biggest source of noise for PC, so chosing good quiet components is key to end up with a quieter computer.3
Troveo wrote:i only hv 2 options though plextor m5pro or the samsung 840. not the evo not the pro. and im wondering if i'd better get the m5pro than samsung or not.
I have done builds with the 840, and no issues to report in more than a year, there were some tests on the web that it will probably outlast your PC, so its a viable option. Plextor to what i have read was a very similar SSD to the Crucial M4, which was one of the best SSDs in the past gen, they used the same controller and nad, just plexotor custom made their own firmware, for some it was even better than crucials, weather thats true or not idk, never i have done a built with a plextor ssd, but i they also been out a fair amount, so their firmware should be also very mature, and i never seen bad comments about them. Hard to say which should you go, both are good options.
Troveo wrote:i dont mind shelling $78 for a noctua NH-U12S considering a CM 212 is overpriced at $52.
Just wondering how much is the Noctua NH-U14S?

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:06 am
by quest_for_silence
Troveo wrote:i totally forgot to mention that i hv an intel ssd for my laptop. and are getting an ssd for this one. (which isnt included in the $1200 budget). i only hv 2 options though plextor m5pro or the samsung 840. not evo not pro. and im wondering if i'd better get the m5pro than samsung or not.


They are both two years old drives: maybe the Plextor could draw less battery, and it could be hopefully more reliable; give a look at relevant Anandtech's reviews:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6153/plex ... 6gb-review (there's also an update for the new firmware)

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6337/sams ... 0gb-review

With reference to performance, you shouldn't notice any appreciable difference in real life.

Troveo wrote:about HDD, does a SV35 / Red 2tb drive offers better reliability than its green / barracuda counterparts?


Yes they are, but if the HDD will be your primary drive, then the 2Tb Red could not be the best option: to be fair, it's noticeably quieter than the faster spinning SV, but its 1Tb and 4Tb brother prove to be not as good as a boot drive (the 3Tb seems better: check the relevant SPCR reviews).

Troveo wrote:my 1st choice was mugen 4 as well. Scythe has no presence here sadly. i dont mind shelling $78 for a noctua NH-U12S considering a CM 212 is overpriced at $52. Define R4 won't be here for another 3 months at least. so i only hv that 2 option. there's also bitfenix ghost but i dont like its looks.


If you can afford any of them, a NH-C14 or a NH-U14S should be better options than the quoted U12S. Among the Cooler Master, IME a 412S may worth a look, so you may check the relevant price.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:59 am
by CA_Steve
That said... you yourself chose X560, may i ask why you chose X560 over say, GK 550 or Kingwin Lazer Platinum 550 (it's the same inside if im not mistaken)?
any reason you yourself chose X series over super flower? or is it just because Super flower doesn't have big presence in north america?
It wasn't a complex decision - I didn't pay for the X560 and it was a nice upgrade from the S12 Bronze it replaced. I like the Superflower/Kingwin/Rosewell PSU for it's efficiency at low loads, fan profile and lack of electronic noise.

Something we haven't considered...what's the ambient temp in your room? Is it a warm, high humidity environment? You might not want aggressively low fan speed profiles.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 10:15 am
by Troveo
Yes they are, but if the HDD will be your primary drive, then the 2Tb Red could not be the best option: to be fair, it's noticeably quieter than the faster spinning SV, but its 1Tb and 4Tb brother prove to be not as good as a boot drive (the 3Tb seems better: check the relevant SPCR reviews).
the boot drive will be the SSD
WD do make very quiet hdds, specially the Green and Red are very queit, and mostly used and recommended by SPCR users, so thats my suggestion
okay since this is my 1st pc.. i never own an internal hdd before. Noises that hdd makes, is it constant noise whenever the PC is on, or is it noisy when it's for example, uploading/gaming/editing? when i watch movie or doing office work, will internal HDD make any noise at all?

The thing is that... i have 4 my book 3.5" 2tb external hdd (since i didn't understand what NAS means and how to build one). and an external 2.5" from transcend. About noise, i never really notice any noise from my externals. Even though when i'm home, i hooked the external mybook to my laptop, and the only time the external emits sound is when it's waking up from idle. i think mybook external inside is green.

what i'm trying to ask is that does an internal HDD makes noise constantly or only when being at work? and does watching movie considers working?

i checked the price, green and barracuda at 2tb is virtually the same price. Red is more expensive by $30 dollar.

If you can afford any of them, a NH-C14 or a NH-U14S should be better options than the quoted U12S. Among the Cooler Master, IME a 412S may worth a look, so you may check the relevant price.
Just wondering how much is the Noctua NH-U14S?
it's $77 vs $89. is it quieter or cooler? i dont care about cooler since i don't OC. but if it's significantly quieter i'll reconsider :)

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 10:25 am
by Abula
Troveo wrote:it's $77 vs $89. is it quieter or cooler? i dont care about cooler since i don't OC. but if it's significantly quieter i'll reconsider :)
Check SPCR Noctua NH-U14S Slim 140mm Tower Cooler, got the editor choice, its one of the best single fan coolers atm, doesn't get as recommend because its expensive, where a Mugen 4 offers better value for the money, but in your case that you don't have access to the mugen4, and you already considering U12S which is expensive as well, i think its worth the extra $12, the fan its pretty good, and drops really low (will depend on your motherboard) but on a good PWM control motherboard will drop it below 300rpms making it inaudible on idle and you can ramp it depending on the conditions of the motherboard (MSI is pretty good for this, their bios has multiple % where you can set the fan very well).
Troveo wrote:i checked the price, green and barracuda at 2tb is virtually the same price. Red is more expensive by $30 dollar.
I would go with the green and save the $30, but you do need an SSD as you main drive.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 11:23 am
by quest_for_silence
Troveo wrote:the boot drive will be the SSD


Sorry, unfortunately your reference to the notebook wasn't enough clear to me.
If it's only a data drive, a Green drive would suffice and it will be the quietest you'll find around.

Troveo wrote:it's $77 vs $89. is it quieter or cooler? i dont care about cooler since i don't OC. but if it's significantly quieter i'll reconsider :)

78 vs 89. But above all, quieter at which temperature? Quietness isn't a state, but a process.

At any rate, if you don't mind shelling for the U12S, why don't you do the same for an U14S or a C14? Otherwise, why don't you stick the with the Hyper 212?

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 11:43 am
by Troveo
At any rate, if you don't mind shelling for the U12S, why don't you do the same for an U14S or a C14? Otherwise, why don't you stick the with the Hyper 212?
because 212 differences is $30 to $50 (north america e-tailer market price against local price). while noctua 12s is $71 to $77. Similar with my GPU logic. but more important than that, i've maxed out my budget with G650 / 2tb barracuda / U12S.
i can't get all three G650 => X560,, Barracuda => Red,, U12S=>U14S. Another reason is that, someday when i change my rig, maybe i'll go mATX / bitfenix prodigy-esque mITX dimension, not the super small mITX. so i'm going to take the U12S to that small form factor rig as well. will a U14S fit?


======================
SSD budget is excluded from other things. The HDD is for storage mainly. As this is my 1st pc and i had zero knowledge a month ago, i never knew that HDD choice is somewhat important. that said i have subsequent question regarding hard drive...

no 1) i always thought that all things being equal, a 7200 RPM will have better transfer rate than a 5400 RPM, is that understanding wrong?
==> by transfer rate i mean copy / paste-ing large files between drives. For an internal SATA drive does RPM matters to the speed of copy / paste-ing large files?

2) If i'm watching a video file, will the HDD get noisy if i choose barracuda / blue over red?
==> When does HDD emits noise? does it emits noise all the time or only when its being accessed? what's the definition of being accessed?


3) i just finished reading WD red drive review here. link WD Red review, and the reviewer said "WD Red don’t employ rotational vibration sensors, which is another reason they're being positioned as solutions in smaller storage systems, and not big racks loaded down with spinning disks that weather more severe vibrations.". After reading that i googled the meaning of rotational vibration sensors. and then i arrived here link RV sensor.

It said "Additionally, enterprise-class drives must also maintain high performance levels in multi-drive configurations where physical vibrations transmitted through a cabinet occur. This phenomenon is known as Rotational Vibration (RV)..... RV itself is a twisting/torqing type action experienced by a hard drive inside a cabinet...... The main sources of RV energy are: 1) the drive’s self-actuation 2) additional drives inside the cabinet accessing data, and 3) external forces acting on the cabinet."


basically.. my question is um... i'm going to buy a total of 2tb drive x 3 in the next couple of months. So i will "stack 3 drives" on my case. WD Red doesn't have a Rotational vibration sensor according to the review. Does WD green / WD blue / Seagate barracuda have a rotational vibration sensor? or is that RV sensor an enterprise-drive only feature? Should i be concern about Rotational vibration when i "stack 3 drives" on my rig...?

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 11:57 pm
by quest_for_silence
Troveo wrote:because 212 differences is $30 to $50 (north america e-tailer market price against local price). while noctua 12s is $71 to $77. Similar with my GPU logic. but more important than that, i've maxed out my budget with G650 / 2tb barracuda / U12S.


I see, you wanna minimize any export mark up: I don't agree with you but, hey, the money is yours.

Troveo wrote:Another reason is that, someday when i change my rig, maybe i'll go mATX / bitfenix prodigy-esque mITX dimension, not the super small mITX. so i'm going to take the U12S to that small form factor rig as well. will a U14S fit?


Sorry, this latter is not a reasoning, it looks like more a logic error: leaving aside that the Prodigy/Phenom is bigger than lots of mATX enclosures, actually it could handle anything (even the U14S) BUT depending of the specific motherboard, as a specific socket placement can severely arm the actual CPU heatsink clearance.

Troveo wrote:no 1) i always thought that all things being equal, a 7200 RPM will have better transfer rate than a 5400 RPM, is that understanding wrong?
==> by transfer rate i mean copy / paste-ing large files between drives. For an internal SATA drive does RPM matters to the speed of copy / paste-ing large files?


Why don't you give a read to SPCR reviews? For sure it matters, but how much does it matter for your experience, how can you say anything meaningful without any first hand experience? Up to now I just see lot of high expectations which may easily lead to logic errors.

Troveo wrote:2) If i'm watching a video file, will the HDD get noisy if i choose barracuda / blue over red?


For sure, faster spinning drives are easily more noticeable than slower ones.
But at the same time probably you would be listening at the relevant audio: perception is not just a matter of numbers, you may probably won't notice the more noise, or you might do it, who can say *now*?

Troveo wrote:When does HDD emits noise? does it emits noise all the time or only when its being accessed? what's the definition of being accessed?


The HDD emits vibrational and airborne noise, all the time.
The airborne noise at idle in a slower spinning disk is usually a lot less noticeable than in faster ones: it's the sound of the air movement inside the HDD (like a car passing by you without any engine noise).
When an HDD is requested to read some particular information stored on it, then it is in seek state or it is accessed, and you will hear (over the above mentioned air movement also) the mechanical noise emitted by the HDD heads moving in that air, just above the surface of the internal platter(s).
Basically the HDD emits these noises and transmit relevant mechanical vibrations to its mounting system (which will emit further noise over the already emitted one); basically it's a trade off: the more the platters/heads/spindle speed, the more the transfer speed and noise.

Do a short test: use HD Tune Pro (it has a 15 days trial) and perform a Random Access test on your mechanical drives: when you see lots of small dots populating the HD Tune screen, you'll be listening at the seeking noise of those drives.

Troveo wrote:Should i be concern about Rotational vibration when i "stack 3 drives" on my rig...?


IMO/IME absolutely no, it's mostly a matter of performance loss which you won't ever notice in a single user rig.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 3:30 pm
by Troveo
okay... i just went to buy PSU today and they dont have Superflower golden king 550W so back to the drawing board. They have a Superflower golden silent 500W platinum and a Superflower Leadex Platinum 650W, coming next week. so i'll hold off until next week on buying the PSU. now i just read the review on the SF Golden Silent 500W / Kingwin Stryker and it said that "the unit doesn't have MOV on it. it's a shame. "

What's an MOV do? yes, i googled but i still don't understand, if anybody can explain in layman's term it'd be appreciated. :D

Also.. regarding CA-Steve reply, it's high humidity here, 60~70% humidity all year round i'd say... im putting the PC on my room however, so it's air-conditioned. room temperature 25 Celcius probably.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 4:01 pm
by CA_Steve
Metal Oxide Varistor. Used for surge protection/lightning strikes :) If you have a surge protector then you don't need this in your PSU....and I'd hope you have a surge protector...let alone a UPS. I don't know how stable your power grid is...laptops have a bit of immunity to it as they go through the AC/DC conversion. Your desktop won't.

Air conditioning reduces humidity. Ok. I was afraid you were opting to go fanless in a harsh environment - sounds like it isn't.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 2:32 pm
by Troveo
CA_Steve wrote:Metal Oxide Varistor. Used for surge protection/lightning strikes :) If you have a surge protector then you don't need this in your PSU....and I'd hope you have a surge protector...let alone a UPS. I don't know how stable your power grid is...laptops have a bit of immunity to it as they go through the AC/DC conversion. Your desktop won't.

Air conditioning reduces humidity. Ok. I was afraid you were opting to go fanless in a harsh environment - sounds like it isn't.

hi steve, tq for your reply. alright i'm using surge supressor so no problem there.

btw... there's some local el jefe de el cheapo case for around 22$ or so. im thiking abt getting that as a buffer, since i just heard from local distributor that importing Fractal products that they're going to get Define R4 on early / mid march.
im thinking about getting a Define R4 white,, i'd like to ask about the led light though, is Define R4 power led light that blindingly bright...? is there any way to turn the power led off...? im thinking about getting the white version, and tbh, i don't like the color red at all for the case, so do you / anybody knows whether there's any way to make the led light not turn on while using?

cheers

======
pps: if i buy smthn like this http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... 98c639ef3f from the US, how easy / hard is it to change the LED? is it plug and play or do i have to use soldering iron, and other tools.

i dont hv any of those so if i can't do it with screwdriver only, i'll give up but if it could, then i'll order :)

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 7:41 pm
by CA_Steve
My case is on the floor and the center of the case is about 2ft to my right. At this oblique angle it's bright but not blindingly bright. If you stare directly at it from the center, then the center vertical bit is pretty bright. I have not disassembled that part of the case...and really, I don't want to :) But, it seems like there ought to be a way to diffuse the light a bit more to make it less bright rather than replace it...maybe a bit of mylar film or something. Don't think I'd bother with replacement LEDs.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:18 pm
by Troveo
CA_Steve wrote:My case is on the floor and the center of the case is about 2ft to my right. At this oblique angle it's bright but not blindingly bright. If you stare directly at it from the center, then the center vertical bit is pretty bright. I have not disassembled that part of the case...and really, I don't want to :) But, it seems like there ought to be a way to diffuse the light a bit more to make it less bright rather than replace it...maybe a bit of mylar film or something. Don't think I'd bother with replacement LEDs.
i love white. i dont like red led though. esp. not on my room hehe. can i leave the power led connector unplugged? is it safe to do so?

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:19 pm
by xan_user

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:48 pm
by Abula
In case you are into changing this might help, Fractal Design Define R4 - How to change the power LED

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 6:01 pm
by Troveo
alright so... it's been a month, partially i was waiting for define R4 to come to the country, but also because i couldn't find time to go to the pc district place last month. i've finally had the time to buy almost everything except SSD.

i went with

WD Red 2 tb
msi h87-g43 gaming
SF Golden Silent
Corsair 2x4 gb ram
noctua nh-u12s
1 x noctua nf-a14flx (only 1 is available)
msi r9 270x

i didn't have time to buy the SSD because they didn't have my 1st choice, plextor M5P Xtreme.
they don't have any samsung model and crucial model either.

i have the choice to buy either plextor M5S 128gb or Corsair Neutron (non-GTX) 128gb or kingston hyperx 3k 120gb or OCZ vector 150, performance and controller wise which one do you think i should buy?

price is not my concern on the above three drives, but the Neutron is $160 even though it's not a flagship drive / Plextor is $135 / Kingston is $133 / ocz vector 150 is $160

which one should i go for?

cheerssssss

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 11:01 pm
by quest_for_silence
Troveo wrote:i have the choice to buy either plextor M5S 128gb or Corsair Neutron (non-GTX) 128gb or kingston hyperx 3k 120gb or OCZ vector 150, performance and controller wise which one do you think i should buy?

price is not my concern on the above three drives, but the Neutron is $160 even though it's not a flagship drive / Plextor is $135 / Kingston is $133 / ocz vector 150 is $160


The OCZ Vector 150 (Indilinx-based) is clearly the better SSD among them, but no one is a bad one. The Corsair Neutron (LAMS-based), while it's not a flagship, it is close: but at least the claimed certified endurance of the OCZ (now Toshiba) solution probably make the Corsair offering less convenient.

The other two drives are both a tad slower and less I/O consistent: the Plextor (Marvell-based) even if it's EOL, it is still a good all arounder, a well balanced products and I prefer it over the Kingston (Sandforce-based), but like the above OCZ/Corsair, they come close, so you may look at other factors, like warranty, in order to differentiate between them.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 4:14 am
by Troveo
So..., i assembled my PC last weekend... Its up and running now. But i hv a couple of questions to ask about the installation though...

firstly, the PC pict. this is my 1st PC. thank you very much for SPCR members that've helped me along the way.

Image

1) Regarding Video card installation::
==> My r9 270x vga have 2x6 pin connector. My psu comes with 2 pci-e express cable labeled SLI ready.
Unlike the regular psu pci-e cable i saw on youtube installation guide... My psu pci-e cable has 2 ends like in the photo below. Each cable has 2 ends and each end has 6 + 2 pin connector.
On the picture im using both cables that's supplied from my PSU. My question is... do i only need to plug in one cable to the vga (because each cable has 2 x 6+2 pin connector) or do i have to plug in both cable?

Image

2) Regarding 6 holes for speaker::
==> there's 6 holes for speaker, other than the one for mic. im confused about the other 5. which one should i use if my current speaker is an el-cheapo portable speaker with 1 plug. and also, which one is the one for plugging in my headphones?

Image

3) Regarding VGA Boost::
==>i read that combining msi board with msi vga then there wil be advantage feature called vga boost. I couldn't find the option anywhere in the BIOS nor in the MSI command center. I dl'd the msi gaming app but its only look like this photo
Image

Which software i should download and where is it located?

4) Regarding general driver installation::
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/H87G43_GA ... l#download
http://www.msi.com/product/vga/R9_270_G ... l#download

what driver and utility should i install and which ones are bloatwares? do you guys mind pointing it out for me?


5) Regarding far slower boot than my expectation::
==> The reason i asked no.3 question is because i installed all the drivers and utilities from the board and vga page. But then i notice that the time to boot from power off using my i5 ULV laptop with intel 330 is far faster than this PC that's using a OCZ Vector 150 and a i5-4570.

Id like to ask why my cheap laptop boot far faster than the pc?

The boot to windows itself is fairly fast. But the dragon gaming logo showed up for far too long 30 seconds-ish or so.

6) Regarding Fastboot option (both MSI and BIOS)::
==>Do i need to install msi fast boot or enable fastboot on bios or smthn? Because i notice there's both the regular and msi fast boot option on bios. Also theres the msi fast boot utility... which one should i install?

7) Regarding Boot Order?
==> What boot order should i do? And should i go legacy + uefi or uefi only?


cheers,

*ps: i hv some other question about fan as well but i'll ask that later.. cheers :D

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 7:27 am
by flemeister
Troveo wrote:So..., i assembled my PC last weekend... Its up and running now.
Nice rig! :)
Troveo wrote:1) Regarding Video card installation::
==> My r9 270x vga have 2x6 pin connector. My psu comes with 2 pci-e express cable labeled SLI ready.
Unlike the regular psu pci-e cable i saw on youtube installation guide... My psu pci-e cable has 2 ends like in the photo below. Each cable has 2 ends and each end has 6 + 2 pin connector.
On the picture im using both cables that's supplied from my PSU. My question is... do i only need to plug in one cable to the vga (because each cable has 2 x 6+2 pin connector) or do i have to plug in both cable?
You can use one of the PCI-e power cables that come from the PSU, but make sure to plug both 6-pin connectors into the graphics card.
Troveo wrote:2) Regarding 6 holes for speaker::
==> there's 6 holes for speaker, other than the one for mic. im confused about the other 5. which one should i use if my current speaker is an el-cheapo portable speaker with 1 plug. and also, which one is the one for plugging in my headphones?
The green one is for your headphones/speakers.
Troveo wrote:3) Regarding VGA Boost
Not sure about that, sorry.
Troveo wrote:4) Regarding general driver installation::

what driver and utility should i install and which ones are bloatwares? do you guys mind pointing it out for me?
Install the latest drivers from the motherboard website. For the graphics card, you should download the latest AMD Catalyst drivers from the AMD website: http://support.amd.com/en-us/download
Troveo wrote:5) Regarding far slower boot than my expectation::

The boot to windows itself is fairly fast. But the dragon gaming logo showed up for far too long 30 seconds-ish or so.
It may be taking longer to start up any extra controller chips.
Troveo wrote:6) Regarding Fastboot option (both MSI and BIOS)::
==>Do i need to install msi fast boot or enable fastboot on bios or smthn?
Do it in the BIOS if you can, otherwise just use the Windows program to do it. Should fix your slower than normal boot time.
Troveo wrote:7) Regarding Boot Order?
==> What boot order should i do? And should i go legacy + uefi or uefi only?
Check the manual to see if there are any compatibility issues to enabling UEFI only mode. This may also fix your slow boot time. Try both, see what works best. :)

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 7:52 am
by CA_Steve
I'm not familiar with the VGA Boost stuff.

Go with UEFI boot.

There are options in the UEFI to turn on fast boot as well as not displaying the logo. In Windows, the MSI Fast Boot utility will pop up for a few seconds and then remain in your hardware tray. If you ever want to disable fast boot, you can use the windows utility to do so. The theory being your PC boots so fast you don't have the opportunity otherwise.

Boot order: if you are still installing from DVD, then use 1) DVD, 2) SSD. If you are done installing from DVD, then use 1) SSD. This may be one source of your long boot time - if the UEFI is polling the DVD drive...

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 8:14 am
by Troveo
alrighty... thank you for you guys answer...

1) on to the motherboard utility. on the MSI board download page there are superRAID / Live Update / Command Center / Supercharger / sound blaster / intel extreme tuning ability / fastboot

i hv no experience with PC, but based on the title alone, i think i don't need supercharger and intel extreme tuning ability.
i definitely need command center.
i'm not sure about superRAID and Live Update. Do i need to install Live Update? and since i'm not RAIDing my storage. do i need superRAID utility?

2) Also, i'm still confused about fastboot. there is the utility MSI fastboot. there's also two options on BIOS, MSI fastboot, and the normal fastboot (i'd assume it's windows own fastboot). So... should i enable all three fastboot or do i have to choose only one? if so, which one is it?

@ca_steve apologies for posting earlier on your thread, i've since edited it and keep my questions here, and again thank you for you guys help, i can't make it with you guys, i have quiet PC now, and it'll be quieter once my H440 arrived ^_^

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 8:46 am
by CA_Steve
I just fooled around with my UEFI settings. In my Win7 system, I had to keep the boot set at UEFI+Legacy. When I tried UEFI only, it would throw me into a shell and not boot windows.

As for the other stuff:

I like to load as few windows utilities as possible. So, I don't use any of the ones you've listed. I tried Live Update for a week and just found it to be annoying. I've had bad experiences with Creative in the past and don't think the Soundblaster utility will add value. No RAID or Supercharger. I haven't bothered with MSI's Command Center. If you want to fool around with the functions in Command Center - go for it.

Fast boot: To clarify - enable MSI Fast Boot in the UEFI. Then, load the windows utility. The latter merely allows you to enable/diable the UEFI function from within Windows. As I mentioned in the earlier post, the theory is that your PC may boot faster than you'd have the time to hit the DEL key. So, this Windows Utility allows you another way to get there.

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 9:04 am
by Troveo
that's great to hear, thank you for your explanations. yeah maybe it's polling from the dvd drive. i put uefi dvd and the normal dvd ahead of hdd in boot order.

okay, i will enable MSI fastboot on BIOS. 1 dumb question... when you and fleimester mentioned about windows utility for fastboot, you guys means the MSI fastboot software right?
or does windows have its own fastboot utility inside windows? i tried typing fastboot just now on my laptop and i couldn't find windows own fastboot utility.

2) about VGA boost, when i checked revo uninstaller pro, the program exist there, it doesn't appear when i type it on win8 though, but nevermind.

3) alright now that the utilities part are settled, id like to ask about the board driver, i've installed intel chipset / intel engine / killer driver / realtek driver.

i haven't install smartconnect / small business advantage / IRST driver for 8x and IRST driver. i don't understand any of those from just reading the title. Any of those is compulsory to install? would you guys point out which ones is optional / i probably won't need? also... is IRST a RAID Driver or an SSD driver?

i tried googling IRST driver just now and from the little info i read it seems like a RAID driver, does that mean i won't need it ATM since i dont RAID?

4) how to control the Case fans to make it low RPM without command center? or do you just leave it on Auto?

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 5:58 am
by Troveo
1)There’s ac97 and hd audio. Which one I shud plug in to the board audio plug?
Image


2) Before buying the board I noticed that most nicer boards have some extra audio features like audio boost / purity sound / etc.
=> My question is,, if I plug in my speaker or headphone on the green plug in front of the case,, will the purity sound / audio boost / etc feature still works if I plug my headphone or speaker to the front of the case?
=> aka... will it have different sound quality than if I plug it directly to the motherboard green plug on the back of the case?


3) So far I’ve only been using the 2 fans supplied by the case. Based on youtube videos, I plugged it directly to the board on the plug written SYSFAN1 and SYSFAN2. From my MSI command center I can control the fan from 50~100%.
=> My Q is... if i add up 4 more fans, where should i plug it in? i think i noticed the board only have 2 or 3 SYSFAN plugs. Is this the situation where PSU molex cable for?
=> What's the difference between the fans plugged into the board SYSFAN plug directly and to molex connector? Can i still control the fan speed either way?
=> Is there any way to make the fans move lesser than 50%?

4) On my research while trying to understand which parts does what and choosing it… I noticed reviews and general discussions of people talking about temperatures, VGA CPU and HDD. I notice I can check it on BIOS. Is there a way / SW where can I check temperatures from within windows?

5) I have 2 cables from my PSU that I haven’t use yet, and I don’t know what it’s for. Here are the picts.

a) No.1 is the 2 SATA + 2 Molex Cable. Why do they combine SATA plug and Molex plug? Is it because the molex plug goes into the spiky parts of the HDD?
Image

b) Cable no. 2 is the 3 Molex + 1 small plug cable
Image


6) I read about sleeving cables articles from google. i'm not going to DIY my cable myself since the tools is not easy to find here at my place. (at least i cant find it in my local walmart). i also find that my local retailers sell sleeved extension cables like this one here http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... =CB-071-BX

is extension cable different than normal cables? is it only for extending PSU cable for better cable management or is it for completely replacing the PSU cable? how to use extension sleeved cable? is it PSU => plug PSU original modular cable => Plug extension sleeved cable => Motherboard?

is that the right order?

============

ps: i edit this on MS word... i apologies that the format becomes messy after i copy paste it to forum reply >_<

Re: my 1st pc build (mid-range), went from 0 knowledge

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 7:48 am
by xan_user
that drive has no molex. its sata type power connector only. if a device has both types of connectors, NEVER use them at the same time.
the last picture is a connector for floppy drives.

Id suggest watching some 'how to build computer' video's on youtube