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[CountAntonius]

650W gold rated power supply will support all your single gfx card setups with overclocking.

CM 212 Evo for the cpu.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Arulan]

Probably so that you know the LEDs work. Check your mobo manual for details?

The manual doesn't go into detail beyond stating that if the LED is on its giving you an error report. Nothing on whether the LEDs on startup is fine, or if the colors mean anything.

 

[BY2K]

So I currently have a i7 4770k CPU, 16GB of RAM, a Z87-Pro MB and a 7970.

I wanted to get a 1070 or 1080 but I don't have the budget. How big of an upgrade would the R9 480 be instead?

 

[Vaettir]

So I currently have a i7 4770k CPU, 16GB of RAM, a Z87-Pro MB and a 7970.

I wanted to get a 1070 or 1080 but I don't have the budget. How big of an upgrade would the R9 480 be instead?

Pretty much same rig I have. I went from an R9-280X to a 970 and thought that was rather substantial. Jumping to a 480 will be similar to that. Looking close to around 35-40% performance jump.

 

[KageMaru]

Finally picked up all of my parts. Will probably put it together tomorrow when I have more free time.

CPU: Core i7-6700K
http://www.microcenter.com/product/451883/Core_i7-6700K_40GHz_LGA_1151_Boxed_Processor

GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Aero OC
http://www.microcenter.com/product/466271/GeForce_GTX_1070_AERO_8GB_Overclock_PCIe_Video_Card

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 LGA 1151 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.microcenter.com/product/452541/GA-Z170-HD3_LGA_1151_ATX_Intel_Motherboard

Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Universal CPU Cooler
http://www.microcenter.com/product/373900/Hyper_212_EVO_Universal_CPU_Cooler

Memory: 16GB Corsair DDR4-3000
http://www.microcenter.com/product/458668/16GB_2_x_8GB_DDR4-3000_PC4-24000_Desktop_Memory_Module

HDD: WD Blue 1TB
http://www.microcenter.com/product/..._35_Internal_Hard_Drive_WD10EZEX_-_Bare_Drive

SDD: PNY 240GB
http://www.microcenter.com/product/...nternal_Solid_State_Drive_-_SSD7CS1211-240-RB

Audio: Asus Xonar DSX 7.1
http://www.microcenter.com/product/397403/Xonar_DSX_PCIe_71_Audio_Card

Fans: 2 Cougar Vortex Hydro fans
http://www.microcenter.com/product/...ydro_Dynamic_Bearing_140mm_Silent_Cooling_Fan

Power Supply: Corsair CX Series CX750M 750 Watt
http://www.microcenter.com/product/457306/CX_Series_CX750M_750_Watt_ATX_Modular_Power_Supply

OS: Windows 10 home edition 64-bit
http://www.microcenter.com/product/452239/Windows_10_Home_32-bit-64-bit_-_USB_Drive

Case: Corsair Carbide Series 200R
http://www.microcenter.com/product/438345/Carbide_Series_200R_Windowed_Compact_ATX_Case

Can't wait to put this together. It's been more than 10 years since I put together a computer, so it should be interesting.

 

[Bloodember]

Anyone know the best place to get laptop hard drives for cheap? My drive is clicking really loudly and often, and my new case only takes 2.5" drives. I just need like a 1TB drive.

Amazon, newegg, ebay

 

[vector824]

Finally picked up all of my parts. Will probably put it together tomorrow when I have more free time.

CPU: Core i7-6700K
GPU: MSI LogoMSI GeForce GTX 1070 Aero OC
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 LGA 1151 ATX Intel Motherboard
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Universal CPU Cooler
Memory: 16GB Corsair DDR4-3000
HDD: WD Blue 1TB
SDD: PNY 240GB
Audio: Asus Xonar DSX 7.1
Fans: 2 Cougar Vortex Hydro fans
Power Supply: Corsair CX Series CX750M 750 Wat
OS: Windows 10 home edition 64-bit
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 200R

Can't wait to put this together. It's been more than 10 years since I put together a computer, so it should be interesting.

Can't wait to see it! Post pictures once you're finished. Looks like it's gonna be a smokey one.

 

[KageMaru]

Can't wait to see it! Post pictures once you're finished. Looks like it's gonna be a smokey one.

Will do =) I only hope I don't run into too many issues.

 

[Arc07]

Could someone who's familiar with custom loops PM me? Doing a pretty big build but it's my first time doing one of these.

 

[ShadowKingpin]

I have my new build planned out and about to purchase all of the parts:

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty X99X Killer ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
Storage: Sandisk X400 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card
Case: Thermaltake Suppressor F31 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A14 industrialPPC-3000 PWM 158.5 CFM 140mm Fan
Monitor: Acer G257HU smidpx 25.0" 60Hz Monitor
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Chroma Wired Gaming Keyboard
Mouse: Razer Naga Chroma Wired Laser Mouse

Going to use this for Twitch streaming and for 4K video editing. I have been saving up for so long to afford this.

 

[lostsupper]

I have my new build planned out and about to purchase all of the parts:

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty X99X Killer ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
Storage: Sandisk X400 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card
Case: Thermaltake Suppressor F31 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A14 industrialPPC-3000 PWM 158.5 CFM 140mm Fan
Monitor: Acer G257HU smidpx 25.0" 60Hz Monitor
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Chroma Wired Gaming Keyboard
Mouse: Razer Naga Chroma Wired Laser Mouse

Going to use this for Twitch streaming and for 4K video editing. I have been saving up for so long to afford this.

Go with the Noctua D14 or D15 and low profile RAM. The U14S will be working pretty hard on that cpu. And you don't need the Arctic Silver.

 

[ShadowKingpin]

Go with the Noctua D14 or D15 and low profile RAM. The U14S will be working pretty hard on that cpu. And you don't need the Arctic Silver.

Any suggestions for the low profile? I'm a huge fan of Gskillz and their "V" series is getting near-perfect reviews. I was worried about the heat spreaders and the CPU cooler, but didn't think they would really be an issue after seeing plenty of videos show the cooler working well with taller RAM.

 

[Trigg]

Any suggestions for the low profile? I'm a huge fan of Gskillz and their "V" series is getting near-perfect reviews. I was worried about the heat spreaders and the CPU cooler, but didn't think they would really be an issue after seeing plenty of videos show the cooler working well with taller RAM.

Noctua has compatibility lists.

http://noctua.at/en/nh-d14?rcomp=1

The d15 should allow the big ram in single fan mode, otherwise the above list from the d14 should be the same.

Really any normal ram will work, the huge heat spreaders serve no purpose except for aesthetics.

Had my NH-D14 for years, doesn't disappoint.

 

[ShadowKingpin]

Noctua has compatibility lists.

http://noctua.at/en/nh-d14?rcomp=1

The d15 should allow the big ram in single fan mode, otherwise the above list from the d14 should be the same.

Really any normal ram will work, the huge heat spreaders serve no purpose except for aesthetics.

Had my NH-D14 for years, doesn't disappoint.

Ahhh ok. From the website, the G Skillz 4 series are compatible, but I guess it hasn't been updated with the V series.

 

[lostsupper]

G.Skill Aegis or Corsair Vengeance LP.

 

[kennah]

G.Skill Aegis or Corsair Vengeance LP.

Whichever is cheaper or matches the colour of your motherboard.

Also, whichever has the highest MHZ with the lowest CAS

 

[ShadowKingpin]

G.Skill Aegis or Corsair Vengeance LP.

Would this suffice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ZBIFcJza5d13FtIGwuRmkaAn7q8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds ?

 

[BizzyBum]

Just set up my new PC, I always feel like I'm missing something to do...

So far I updated my graphic drivers, anti virus, windows, and have Steam installing Witcher 3.

Is there anything else I forgot before playing?

 

[knitoe]

Just set up my new PC, I always feel like I'm missing something to do...

So far I updated my graphic drivers, anti virus, windows, and have Steam installing Witcher 3.

Is there anything else I forgot before playing?

Did you install the drivers that came with your MB? Best to get latest from the MB's website.

 

[mochi~]

My new ML120 PRO LEDs came in

 

[kiunchbb]

Try this on for size. I halved your storage but increased the speed of your HDD with better drive, decreased your PSU but it's fully modular and still plenty of power, same one I have, then increased the RAM to 3000mhz.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant


If you want to use the other drives you picked go for it, but definitely keep the RAM @ 3000.

Thanks for the suggestion!

I think I going to keep the 4TB harddrive, even though it is slower, I used them up very quick with anime.

 

[Dryk]

Just ran PerformanceTest after installing my 1070 with the 2500k still at stock. Came out with a G3D of 10271 which isn't great but it will do for now. I installed a new cooler at the same time so I'll get around to overclocking at some point.

 

[Mohasus]

I don't know how you guys like LEDs in the case.

Not only it is hideous, it is very distracting at night.

 

[xCaptainCanadax]

I don't know how you guys like LEDs in the case.

Not only it is hideous, it is very distracting at night.

I mean sure hideous is your opinion, distracting at night is only a problem if its in a bedroom. My computer is on my desk in a basement so its distracting to nobody and I just find a clean lit case to just standout and look nice. I dunno to each their own really.

 

[KoolAidPitcher]

Hi Haz. Great guide! Being a software engineer and an LGA2011 fanboy, I have decided to make some LGA2011 modifications to your post.

I have an Intel i7 3930K. The processor is a 2nd generation i7, is nearly 5 years old, and still beats the newest skylake LGA1151 processor in synthetic benchmarks. A 5 year old processor beating today's latest processor. How cool is that?

What is the difference between LGA2011 and LGA1151?

• LGA2011 is a high performance socket designed for servers. LGA1151 is designed for consumer desktops.
• LGA2011 has quad channel memory. LGA1151 is dual channel.
• LGA2011 processors tend to be more parallel, offering 6, 10, or even 22 CPU cores.
• LGA2011 processors tend to be more expensive.
• LGA2011 consumer processors are all unlocked and tend to be amazing at overclocking.

What applications and users would benefit from an LGA2011 processor over an LGA1151?
While games still don't often take advantage of more than 4 CPU cores, certain users, such as twitch streamers would benefit greatly from having an LGA2011. The processors are better at multitasking-- for example, playing a game, managing a chat client overlay, live streaming with a web camera, processing a green screen, and transcoding a video. As a matter of fact, all CPU-bound batch tasks which can be parallelized can benefit from an LGA2011 processor over an 1151. These tasks include software development and code compilation, video editing, video encoding, graphic design, CAD development, and more!

LGA2011 Budget/Good/Great:
(There are no LGA2011 budget, good, or great tiers)

LGA2011 Excellent:
($369.99) Intel Core i7-5820K 6C/12T @ 3.3
Intel Core i7-6800K 6C/12T @ 3.4 (+$60)

LGA2011 Enthusiast:
($999.99) Intel Core i7-5960X 8C/16T @ 3.0
Intel Core i7-6900K 8C/16T @ 3.2 (+$75)
Intel Core i7-6950X 10C/20T @ 3.0 (+$650)

Motherboards: Good news. Pretty much all LGA2011v3 motherboards are the same, because they all use the same Intel X99 chipset! Buy your motherboard based on additional factors like number of RAM slots (there will either be 4 or 8), PCI express slots, brand reliability, etc. LGA2011v3 motherboards start at $169.99.

RAM: Make sure you have at least 4 DIMMs. LGA2011v3 is quad channel.

Join the LGA2011 dark side ;D.

 

[lostsupper]

Would this suffice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ZBIFcJza5d13FtIGwuRmkaAn7q8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds ?

It will, but shop around a little. Like Kennah said, you want the fastest clock and lowest latency for your money.

 

[Aztechnology]

Hi Haz. Great guide! Being a software engineer and an LGA2011 fanboy, I have decided to make some LGA2011 modifications to your post.

I have an Intel i7 3930K. The processor is a 2nd generation i7, is nearly 5 years old, and still beats the newest skylake LGA1151 processor in synthetic benchmarks. A 5 year old processor beating today's latest processor. How cool is that?

What is the difference between LGA2011 and LGA1151?

• LGA2011 is a high performance socket designed for servers. LGA1151 is designed for consumer desktops.
• LGA2011 has quad channel memory. LGA1151 is dual channel.
• LGA2011 processors tend to be more parallel, offering 6, 10, or even 22 CPU cores.
• LGA2011 processors tend to be more expensive.
• LGA2011 consumer processors are all unlocked and tend to be amazing at overclocking.

What applications and users would benefit from an LGA2011 processor over an LGA1151?
While games still don't often take advantage of more than 4 CPU cores, certain users, such as twitch streamers would benefit greatly from having an LGA2011. The processors are better at multitasking-- for example, playing a game, managing a chat client overlay, live streaming with a web camera, processing a green screen, and transcoding a video. As a matter of fact, all CPU-bound batch tasks which can be parallelized can benefit from an LGA2011 processor over an 1151. These tasks include software development and code compilation, video editing, video encoding, graphic design, CAD development, and more!

LGA2011 Budget/Good/Great:
(There are no LGA2011 budget, good, or great tiers)

LGA2011 Excellent:
($369.99) Intel Core i7-5820K 6C/12T @ 3.3
Intel Core i7-6800K 6C/12T @ 3.4 (+$60)

LGA2011 Enthusiast:
($999.99) Intel Core i7-5960X 8C/16T @ 3.0
Intel Core i7-6900K 8C/16T @ 3.2 (+$75)
Intel Core i7-6950X 10C/20T @ 3.0 (+$650)

Motherboards: Good news. Pretty much all LGA2011v3 motherboards are the same, because they all use the same Intel X99 chipset! Buy your motherboard based on additional factors like number of RAM slots (there will either be 4 or 8), PCI express slots, brand reliability, etc. LGA2011v3 motherboards start at $169.99.

RAM: Make sure you have at least 4 DIMMs. LGA2011v3 is quad channel.

Join the LGA2011 dark side ;D.

I can no longer post with 4 dimms on my X99a SLI Plus board after 6 months (5820k). Only two. I've tried everything I can think of outside of voltage testing. Seems to be pretty common with X99 boards as there's an inordinate amount of reviews and forums topics about these boards. Maybe it's unique to 2011-V3 though. It seems insane the failure rate. I have to send mine in for RMA and likely be without a computer for a few weeks to get a refurbished board

Any thoughts?

Here is my forum thread . Sounds to me I'll probably just have to RMA the board, but I can't help but to feel it's a BIOS issue. I just can't imagine all of these boards DIMM slots are failing or the memory controllers of the CPU's are failing. The forums are filled with people having the same issues.

 

[XTERC]

I'm building most of this over the weekend...

Unfortunately some of the fittings from Koolance have not come in yet, so I'll have to be patient.

 

[Owlowiscious]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157588

what 2x8gb ram should I get with this?

 

[Jafku]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157588

what 2x8gb ram should I get with this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233834
Should work for you

 

[TheRealJakoozie]

EDIT: Never mind. I had LGA1150 and LGA1155 mixed up. Ugh. I guess I will have to upgrade my motherboard after all. Or are there any LGA1155 CPUs that will give me a significant performance boost from my 3570k, without costing too much? (I've looked at the X models, but they're still crazy expensive in Norway, and there really isn't a second hand market for CPUs here)

 

[mochi~]

I don't know how you guys like LEDs in the case.

Not only it is hideous, it is very distracting at night.

? I LOVE them at night. Creates an amazing ambience effect. My previous rig had no LEDs and it was very mundane, dull, and had no life in it at all. It's obvious your build is exactly the one I disposed.

 

[LilJoka]

I don't even plug the power led and HDD led in.

 

[ShadowKingpin]

I can no longer post with 4 dimms on my X99a SLI Plus board after 6 months (5820k). Only two. I've tried everything I can think of outside of voltage testing. Seems to be pretty common with X99 boards as there's an inordinate amount of reviews and forums topics about these boards. Maybe it's unique to 2011-V3 though. It seems insane the failure rate. I have to send mine in for RMA and likely be without a computer for a few weeks to get a refurbished board

Any thoughts?

Here is my forum thread . Sounds to me I'll probably just have to RMA the board, but I can't help but to feel it's a BIOS issue. I just can't imagine all of these boards DIMM slots are failing or the memory controllers of the CPU's are failing. The forums are filled with people having the same issues.

The majority of X99 boards I have read seem to have high failure rates and that worries me a lot as someone building my first X99 PC (5920k, ASrock Fatal1ty X99 Killer Mobo). I need the extra cores for good streaming on Twitch, but I keep reading these negative reviews and they are beginning to push me back to Quad-Core since a lot of Mobo's in that range aren't failing as much.

I understand that technology fails and it's a gamble regardless, but when I am paying $1,800 to build a PC, I don't want to RMA my motherboard within months like a lot of people I keep seeing are for X99. Maybe I am just paranoid since I have never invested this kind of money before, I don't know.

 

[ACE 1991]

I think someone mentioned this yesterday, but should I set the two case fans in the front of my s340 as intake or outtake? Planning to leave the pre-installed fans as they are.

 

[super-famicom]

I think someone mentioned this yesterday, but should I set the two case fans in the front of my s340 as intake or outtake? Planning to leave the pre-installed fans as they are.

Intake, since the two pre-installed fans are set as outtake.

 

[vector824]

I think someone mentioned this yesterday, but should I set the two case fans in the front of my s340 as intake or outtake? Planning to leave the pre-installed fans as they are.

Intake, since the two pre-installed fans are set as outtake.

I have the same case, mine are also intake.

 

[mochi~]

I won the cpu lottery. 4.5ghz OC on 6600k 1.25v )))

 

[BizzyBum]

Did you install the drivers that came with your MB? Best to get latest from the MB's website.

Should I do BIOS too or just the drivers?

 

[knitoe]

Should I do BIOS too or just the drivers?

Start with the drivers. Generally, people don't recommend you updating the bios unless it fixes a problem you are experiencing due to possibly flashing wrong and bricking the MB. Personally, I always update them.

 

[ACE 1991]

Ok, first time putting together a PC solo. How the heck do I tell what I should and should not plug in on my non-modular PSU? The only things I'm really sure about is the GPU and main PCB plug. Is there a handy infographic or anything? Obviously a lot of the connectors won't be used.

Thanks for the CPU setup answer above, by the way!

 

[nightmare-slain]

Start with the drivers. Generally, people don't recommend you updating the bios unless it fixes a problem you are experiencing due to possibly flashing wrong and bricking the MB. Personally, I always update them.

i avoided updating my bios because of this advice but it's not as scary as some make it out to be. i had to update my BIOS because i was getting a load of BSOD's. all you're doing is downloading a file, sticking it on a usb (don't need to create folders or anything), going into bios, find the file, and let it do it's thing.

the only way it'll mess up is if you pull out the USB or power. it only takes about a minute to update. i was going to leave updating it on my new PC but did it anyway. very simple and straight forward.

Ok, first time putting together a PC solo. How the heck do I tell what I should and should not plug in on my non-modular PSU? The only things I'm really sure about is the GPU and main PCB plug. Is there a handy infographic or anything? Obviously a lot of the connectors won't be used.

Thanks for the CPU setup answer above, by the way!

the two main ones are the motherboard and cpu/atx. the motherboard is the largest connector. the cpu/atx is 4+4 pin. if the motherboard is 4 pin then just let the other 4 pin hang off to the side without touching anything. after that you have your SATA cables. these are for your HDD/SSD. next is your VGA which is usually 6+2 pin. if your GPU is 6 pin then let the other 2 pins hang off.

other types of cables are molex. these are for things like fans/led lights or any other things you will be installing in your case. i prefer to power my fans through the motherboard. all the cables should be labeled with what they are.

 

[ombz]

Ok, first time putting together a PC solo. How the heck do I tell what I should and should not plug in on my non-modular PSU? The only things I'm really sure about is the GPU and main PCB plug. Is there a handy infographic or anything? Obviously a lot of the connectors won't be used.

Thanks for the CPU setup answer above, by the way!

Your motherboard manual should have diagrams of its power connectors. Generally the important power ports you should connect are the 8 or 4 pin CPU power connector, 24 pin motherboard power connector, and the power cables for your peripherals such as your hard drives, GPU, etc.

 

[vector824]

Ok, first time putting together a PC solo. How the heck do I tell what I should and should not plug in on my non-modular PSU? The only things I'm really sure about is the GPU and main PCB plug. Is there a handy infographic or anything? Obviously a lot of the connectors won't be used.

Your motherboard manual should have diagrams of its power connectors. Generally the important power ports you should connect are the 8 or 4 pin CPU power connector, 24 pin motherboard power connector, and the power cables for your peripherals such as your hard drives, GPU, etc.

Yeah don't forget that CPU power plug! Did that once... oops.

There should be a diagram in the PSU box that tells you what's what, and I think it'll even say it on the PSU itself.

 

[Marceles]

Ok, first time putting together a PC solo. How the heck do I tell what I should and should not plug in on my non-modular PSU? The only things I'm really sure about is the GPU and main PCB plug. Is there a handy infographic or anything? Obviously a lot of the connectors won't be used.

Thanks for the CPU setup answer above, by the way!

Yeah like the people above said, there's diagrams in the manual and also should be on the motherboard itself for what plugs into what. A lot of "____bone connected to the ___bone" type stuff, it'll start making sense after you take a good look at it. The videos on the main page of the thread for PC building were also helpful to me during my first build.

 

[matmanx1]

Well ladies and gents, first CPU+mobo+RAM upgrade for me since the initial Sandy Bridge parts were released is officially happening within a week or so. I've been trucking along with an overclocked i5 2500K setup but a month or so ago my PC wouldn't boot and I finally tracked it down to my CPU no longer being able to hold the overclock.

I have an i7 6700k 4.0GHz and Asus Pro Gaming Z170 mobo on the way from Newegg along with a Cooler Master 212 Evo and then 16gigs of DDR4 3200 Corsair Vengeance memory from Amazon (I had some Amazon credit to burn).

I'll be using the 980 Ti GPU I purchased last summer and re-using my existing Silverstone case, Corsair PSU and Sandisk SSD for my build.

As a guy who used to do a major upgrade every two to three years, it feels like it's been forever since I upgraded. Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to it.

 

[LilJoka]

Ok, first time putting together a PC solo. How the heck do I tell what I should and should not plug in on my non-modular PSU? The only things I'm really sure about is the GPU and main PCB plug. Is there a handy infographic or anything? Obviously a lot of the connectors won't be used.

Thanks for the CPU setup answer above, by the way!

Simple logic:
I have X component - it has an X pin plug.
Find the corresponding plug on the PSU cables.
If it isnt on the PSU, then find the cable and plug it into the PSU. Plug the other end into the component.
Repeat.

All the plugs are uniquely keyed, so you cant plug the wrong thing in.

 

[ACE 1991]

Simple logic:
I have X component - it has an X pin plug.
Find the corresponding plug on the PSU cables.
If it isnt on the PSU, then find the cable and plug it into the PSU. Plug the other end into the component.
Repeat.

All the plugs are uniquely keyed, so you cant plug the wrong thing in.

Ah, ok! Cables included in the case just go directly into the mobo, right?

 

[BizzyBum]

For some reason my two USB 3.0 ports on the front of my tower don't work. I tried connecting my headset and Xbox One controller. They light up but Windows is not recognizing them in device manager and tried playing a game with the controller and no go.

 

[LilJoka]

Ah, ok! Cables included in the case just go directly into the mobo, right?

Indeed. Those would be USB ports, Fan cables, Front Panel Audio and Front panel connectors (Switches+LEDs). Motherboard Manual will explain all that to you.