That would be huge if I was able to keep the case. This is basically the case:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...iteid=je6NUbpObpQ-5Ym5bF0CAEYe_3aNvVU0Uw#N721
Thanks for all of your help!
"I Need a New PC!" 2014 Part 2. Read OP, your 2500K will run Witcher 3. MX100s! 970!
- Thread starter Hazaro
- Start date
- Status
That would be huge if I was able to keep the case. This is basically the case:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...iteid=je6NUbpObpQ-5Ym5bF0CAEYe_3aNvVU0Uw#N721
Thanks for all of your help!
It's not as scary as it seems. As long as you pay attention to what you are doing, have a clean working area, take your time, use all the information provided in the OP (videos, instructions, etc) you will be fine. Also, if you are unsure of somthing don't try to be a badass and wing it. Everyone here is more than happy to help.
The Lamonster
Member
Why is a powerline adapter better than a USB adapter?
Here's a bit of an odd request.
I need a cheap rig for playing World of Warcraft. Starting with nothing but the monitor. I'm in the US, but the catch is it can't be assembled from parts (I know, I know) but putting in a new PSU/Video Card some extra RAM is kosher, the one who wants to buy it has a bad experience with putting together his own PC last time we played together.
I need a cheap rig for playing World of Warcraft. Starting with nothing but the monitor. I'm in the US, but the catch is it can't be assembled from parts (I know, I know) but putting in a new PSU/Video Card some extra RAM is kosher, the one who wants to buy it has a bad experience with putting together his own PC last time we played together.
eBay Huckster
Member
Approximately 3 weeks out from buying/building this (and I'm pretty sure my budget's up significantly from my first post ITT 
)
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qLrxxr
Is there anything glaringly wrong with it?
)http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qLrxxr
Is there anything glaringly wrong with it?
Need some help. Was messing around with the Fastboot settings on my computer, and ever since I enabled it (I have since disabled it, but it hasn't fixed my problem) I can't get any Steam games to work. They'll either white screen, black screen, or won't even start. I'm 99% sure this is somehow related to my editing the Fastboot settings because when I restarted Windows after that, both Battle.net and Steam had logged me out, and both had "lost" their game libraries (Windows is on my C drive, with my games on the D drive). I was able to "find" the games in both, but while the Battle.net games work, none of my Steam ones do. I even deleted a game and reinstalled it, verified the games cache, and uninstalled and reinstalled Steam. At this point I feel like my only option miught be to delete EVERYTHING Steam related off my computer. Is that even possible?
You can save yourself $20 with an MX100 SSD, and I'd go for a 7200RPM storage drive, but otherwise it seems fine.
Approximately 3 weeks out from buying/building this (and I'm pretty sure my budget's up significantly from my first post ITT
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qLrxxr
Is there anything glaringly wrong with it?
You can save yourself $20 with an MX100 SSD, and I'd go for a 7200RPM storage drive, but otherwise it seems fine.
Ok going to try this again with the new build and maybe someone has an idea.
I have the following components (that are relevant to my issue):
i5-4690 (non-K)
GA-H97-D3H mobo
Radeon HD 7950 DirectCutII
16 GB DDR3 RAM
750 PSU
The same thing happened to me when I tried all of this with an i5-4690K and GA-Z97 board.
Basically, whenever I plug my graphics card in, the PC will just power up/restart loop infinitely until I hold in the reset button, then it boots fine. Whenever I unplug the graphics card and use the onboard GPU everything works fine. This has happened across three different current gen motherboards. When I use it on my old ASUS P8Z68-V-PRO-GEN3 motherboard with an i7-2600K, everything works fine.
Any ideas what it is about my graphics card or current setup that might causing the problem? Is there a BIOS setting that might be the culprit? I'm seriously at a loss here.
I have the following components (that are relevant to my issue):
i5-4690 (non-K)
GA-H97-D3H mobo
Radeon HD 7950 DirectCutII
16 GB DDR3 RAM
750 PSU
The same thing happened to me when I tried all of this with an i5-4690K and GA-Z97 board.
Basically, whenever I plug my graphics card in, the PC will just power up/restart loop infinitely until I hold in the reset button, then it boots fine. Whenever I unplug the graphics card and use the onboard GPU everything works fine. This has happened across three different current gen motherboards. When I use it on my old ASUS P8Z68-V-PRO-GEN3 motherboard with an i7-2600K, everything works fine.
Any ideas what it is about my graphics card or current setup that might causing the problem? Is there a BIOS setting that might be the culprit? I'm seriously at a loss here.
AMD Crossfire vs. Nvidia SLI at 4k
Full review here.
They compared Asus Strix 780 6GB SLI vs. ASUS DCII 290x Crossfire
Seems the tide may have reversed on Nvidia...at least at 4k and in their testing...These games except for WD, which is a POS anyway, are all "AMD" titles..
Full review here.
They compared Asus Strix 780 6GB SLI vs. ASUS DCII 290x Crossfire
Seems the tide may have reversed on Nvidia...at least at 4k and in their testing...These games except for WD, which is a POS anyway, are all "AMD" titles..
1) GAF is a mini-ITX AMD based build advisable? I would like to move the savings on an AMD processor on to other parts of a build as I am trying to stay in the decent cost range of $800 or so. But it appears the Intel based boards are just a cut above. Moving up to the Micro ATX range and things are more comparable, but I don't want this to be large build as I want to plug the computer into my TV a la a Steam Machine type.
2) I need a good mini-ITX case as well. Any recommendations?
2) I need a good mini-ITX case as well. Any recommendations?
A $75 Pentium Anniversary edition out performs most AMD chips. There is no reason at all to go AMD unless you're using a case that won't hold a GPU.
eBay Huckster
Member
Switching that SSD to the 256GB MX100, but switching to a 3TB 7200RPM drive's gonna wipe that savings right back out.
At that price? Snap that thing right up.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed that.
Probably fine. Pretty much everything under $200 it doesn't matter what you get. The best way to monitor shop is to just go to a store and check out a few different ones, but everything is so good now it hardly matters (unless you're in the pro media/120hz crowd).
Also your lack of a trannysurprise reminded me of just how long I've been on GAF and how few people know that joke now.
Is there anything worth waiting for in the next six months besides the X99 mobos and Haswell E cpus? I wanted to wait until Broadwell, but this desktop build is on its last legs. I could stretch it out until first quarter of next year if there's something worth waiting for though.
I'm getting a case that will hold a GPU. It's odd though. I know that Intel chips, on average, outperform AMD chips, but my first build had a 3.5ghz quad core back in 2009 and that performed just fine. If I can get a decent AMD chip I could splurge on a more powerful GPU. With that said, I get your point. I'm probably dragging my feet before just buying an i5.
Nobody knows. The only thing that is certain is X99 in the next few months.
Do not go off of speculation. Many thought the 800 series would be out by now or even earlier and have literally postponed their builds for months...yet we still have no 800 series cards.
I'm getting a case that will hold a GPU. It's odd though. I know that Intel chips, on average, outperform AMD chips, but my first build had a 3.5ghz quad core back in 2009 and that performed just fine. If I can get a decent AMD chip I could splurge on a more powerful GPU. With that said, I get your point. I'm probably dragging my feet before just buying an i5.
You're not understanding me. The Anniversary Pentium is an unlocked dual core that clocks to 4.5ghz without any added heat. It performs almost exactly the same as an i5 in single threaded games. (ie. most games). And then when you do outgrow it/games start requiring multiple threads, you can just pop in an i7 for a huge boost. As well the Z97 ITX boards are phenomenal. The Gigabyte one can be found for cheap and it is a great board.
You'd be looking at $200 for an 8350 AMD chip, which would require a very expensive motherboard to get the most out of it and a higher rated PSU to be able to over clock. It would actually be more expensive for you to go AMD than Intel.
Bleagh, ok, thanks. This is what I hate most about pc building/buying. The next best thing is always just around the corner.
The easiest way to get over that is realizing that Intel has only been making each generation 5-10% faster than the last. A Sandy Bridge is still quite competitive with a Haswell.
Ether_Snake
å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®
Damnit guys, every time I boot my new rig, something different happens:|
Yesterday it showed me the bios screen and asked to choose the hard drive, today I got a black screen with a blinking white bar in the top left corner of the secondary monitor (the main had no signal) and it just stayed there endlessly. I rebooted, and then nothing came up at all, no signal for both monitors. I shut it down and inspected, found no loose wires or anything, booted again and now windows booted, showed up on the secondary monitor, then no signal to both, and then the login screen appeared on the main monitor.
Any idea? I didn't reinstall windows after cganging motherboard/cpu/gpu, but I did install the drivers. Windows also asked me yesterday to do an online validation of my windows license and it said it succeeded.
Don't know what is happening:/
Yesterday it showed me the bios screen and asked to choose the hard drive, today I got a black screen with a blinking white bar in the top left corner of the secondary monitor (the main had no signal) and it just stayed there endlessly. I rebooted, and then nothing came up at all, no signal for both monitors. I shut it down and inspected, found no loose wires or anything, booted again and now windows booted, showed up on the secondary monitor, then no signal to both, and then the login screen appeared on the main monitor.
Any idea? I didn't reinstall windows after cganging motherboard/cpu/gpu, but I did install the drivers. Windows also asked me yesterday to do an online validation of my windows license and it said it succeeded.
Don't know what is happening:/
I only do a full new build every 4-5 years, so I always overbuy. If a few months wait will mean I can get something that will extend the life of the build, I will do that. The only reason I'm most likely going to go ahead with a build this fall instead of waiting for next year is because tracking down the source of this intermittent power problem I'm having with my current desktop won't be cost effective and will be too much of a PITA (it's either failing ram, dying mobo, or dying water cooler). I've already replaced the power supply and SSD.
Can you try connecting to the monitor via HDMI from the motherboard?
Also have you changed or upgraded your BIOS? Do you have the most recent version? Have you reset CMOS?
What is different in this machine from your last?
Thank you both! I'll probably pull the trigger on it. And I'm afraid I don't get the joke...... and I'm scared to think if I want to get it lol.
EDIT: Another deal that was sent to me, EVGA 780 FTW's are down to $464.99 after rebate on Newegg. If you don't want to wait for the 800 series, here ya go.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ex-_-DesktopGraphicsVideoCards-_-14130951-L0A
Ether_Snake
å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®
What does "have you reset CMOS?" mean?
I guess I could try using the HDMI cable, but I doubt it's the issue? It seems more motherboard or Windows related.
I believe my BIOS is up to date since this is a new motherboard and I installed the latest drivers.
Everything is new except the hard drives: new cpu, new motherboard, new graphic card.
Tabasco
Member
I have a problem with possibly my motherboard.
It is now starting to disconnect/reconnect my input devices (keyboard/mouse) and on an every time occurrence, it will crap out and fail to reconnect them, forcing me to do a hard shut down.
Is it time for a new motherboard or can this problem be fixed somehow?
It is now starting to disconnect/reconnect my input devices (keyboard/mouse) and on an every time occurrence, it will crap out and fail to reconnect them, forcing me to do a hard shut down.
Is it time for a new motherboard or can this problem be fixed somehow?
CMOS:
http://m.wikihow.com/Reset-Your-BIOS
With trouble shooting you want to try everything and rule out nothing.That's why I mentioned HDMI directly from the motherboard. Remove the second monitor and start with one. Go from there. Maybe your current BIOS doesn't play nice with your new GPU. You need to isolate the problem.
Check your BIOS version and see if it'd the most recent from your vendors website.
You should probably do a clean install of Windows when getting a new motherboard and CPU. .
I feel like I should clarify some of the things here to give you some peace of mind.
Most likely, those USB slots were not initialized yet. Most motherboards come with just a couple of "internal" (for lack of better word) USB connections and extra chips to enable the other 4-6 USB slots that need to be activated or initialized before use.
Second part about mouse/keyboard not working: It's because you just installed a new motherboard. Windows probably didn't recognize any of the USB ports (after searching for the old ones) and had to install the correct/generic drivers before it could detect your device.
The endless blinking is probably the computer trying to read/boot the hard drives but were unsuccessful.
...Either that or your hard drive is dying.
Sounds normal. If you have a SSD, sometimes Windows will boot faster than your monitor as it tries to auto-rotate between connections and detect a signal. Most of them try DVI first, then HDMI, then VGA/Displayport (not necessarily in that order).
On a normal boot-up, the loading screen is usually displayed on all monitors connected.
Also, BIOS (for any device) are not automatically installed or updated by Windows. You will need to visit the manufacturer's website to download and install it through a specific method as outlined by your manufacturer's manual or instructions.
(It doesn't matter how "new" you think your motherboard is, the BIOS is probably a few revisions behind after a couple of months of being produced.)
Most likely, those USB slots were not initialized yet. Most motherboards come with just a couple of "internal" (for lack of better word) USB connections and extra chips to enable the other 4-6 USB slots that need to be activated or initialized before use.
Second part about mouse/keyboard not working: It's because you just installed a new motherboard. Windows probably didn't recognize any of the USB ports (after searching for the old ones) and had to install the correct/generic drivers before it could detect your device.
Sounds like one of the hard drives wasn't connected. Just in case, I recommend unplugging and replugging the wires for the hard drives again from both ends.
The endless blinking is probably the computer trying to read/boot the hard drives but were unsuccessful.
...Either that or your hard drive is dying.
Once again, could be your hard drive is not connected or dying.
Sounds normal. If you have a SSD, sometimes Windows will boot faster than your monitor as it tries to auto-rotate between connections and detect a signal. Most of them try DVI first, then HDMI, then VGA/Displayport (not necessarily in that order).
On a normal boot-up, the loading screen is usually displayed on all monitors connected.
Also, BIOS (for any device) are not automatically installed or updated by Windows. You will need to visit the manufacturer's website to download and install it through a specific method as outlined by your manufacturer's manual or instructions.
(It doesn't matter how "new" you think your motherboard is, the BIOS is probably a few revisions behind after a couple of months of being produced.)
rand0mZer0
Banned
First, I want to say how lucky I am to have found such a great thread about building PCs!
Okay. So I will be returning and getting a refund on my MSI Gaming Laptop of $1,854 and I would like to build a PC with that refund. This will be my first time building a PC so I'm still reading and researching on how to do just that.
Here are the specs on the MSI Laptop & the basic desktop questions I answered::
CPU: 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7-4700MQ
RAM: 16 GB DDR3
Motherboard: ??? (I ran CPU-Z but don't know what I should be looking for. Again, this is all new to me so apologies for not getting the specific motherboard)
GPU (Graphics): NVIDIA Geforce GTX770M
PSU (Power Supply): 100-240V
HDD (Hard Drive): 750 GB 7200 rpm
Budget: $1,854 + U.S
Main Use: 5. Will be used for gaming, video editing, streaming games in HD & general usage.
Monitor Resolution: I already have an Asus 24" monitor, but would like to add to that. Specifically, games that can be played at maximum ratio & whatnot.
I don't have specific games or applications that need to run well. Just something that makes this year's crop of games look good and at a framerate that is smooth and not choppy.PhysX and things like that don't really matter too much to me.
When will you build?: Do you have a deadline?: I will be looking to build it within the next month. 2 months at the most.
Will you be overclocking?: I suppose so?
I already have a mouse and keyboard so no need to purchase those.
Hopefully that's enough info to offer suggestions on parts & items I should consider using for my new PC. If you guys need more info, please let me know. Thanks in advance for any advice that is given. I appreciate it.
Okay. So I will be returning and getting a refund on my MSI Gaming Laptop of $1,854 and I would like to build a PC with that refund. This will be my first time building a PC so I'm still reading and researching on how to do just that.
Here are the specs on the MSI Laptop & the basic desktop questions I answered::
CPU: 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7-4700MQ
RAM: 16 GB DDR3
Motherboard: ??? (I ran CPU-Z but don't know what I should be looking for. Again, this is all new to me so apologies for not getting the specific motherboard)
GPU (Graphics): NVIDIA Geforce GTX770M
PSU (Power Supply): 100-240V
HDD (Hard Drive): 750 GB 7200 rpm
Budget: $1,854 + U.S
Main Use: 5. Will be used for gaming, video editing, streaming games in HD & general usage.
Monitor Resolution: I already have an Asus 24" monitor, but would like to add to that. Specifically, games that can be played at maximum ratio & whatnot.
I don't have specific games or applications that need to run well. Just something that makes this year's crop of games look good and at a framerate that is smooth and not choppy.PhysX and things like that don't really matter too much to me.
When will you build?: Do you have a deadline?: I will be looking to build it within the next month. 2 months at the most.
Will you be overclocking?: I suppose so?
I already have a mouse and keyboard so no need to purchase those.
Hopefully that's enough info to offer suggestions on parts & items I should consider using for my new PC. If you guys need more info, please let me know. Thanks in advance for any advice that is given. I appreciate it.
I've been using a laptop with a 2880x1800 15-inch screen and I foolishly decided on a 1080p monitor for my gaming PC. It's mind blowing how visible and huge the pixels appear. My question to GAF is this: is it worth it to shell out for a 2560x1440p 27-inch monitor? I'd be sacrificing a significant amount of performance (running an R9 290) for what appears to be an insignificant increase in pixel density.
Been toying with the idea of building a HTPC for the past year now, and with the new G3258 I've had a look again. What do we think of this?
Got an external generic bluray drive than I can crack the case on and have it as a slimeline internal. Apparently there's BIOS' for Asus boards that let you overlock on non-Z boards?
What's the iGPU like on the G series? I'm thinking XBMC for 1080p movies and TV (either stored locally or streamed from one of our other 2 PCs), Steam home streaming, and possibly some local games - 2D indies and the like, not AAA titles.
Got an external generic bluray drive than I can crack the case on and have it as a slimeline internal. Apparently there's BIOS' for Asus boards that let you overlock on non-Z boards?
What's the iGPU like on the G series? I'm thinking XBMC for 1080p movies and TV (either stored locally or streamed from one of our other 2 PCs), Steam home streaming, and possibly some local games - 2D indies and the like, not AAA titles.
helloiamgary
Neo Member
Hello Gaf duders,
I'm in the process of building my first pc, mini itx based box to sit in my living room and run nice local multiplayer games like gang beasts, starwhal and mount your friends, although I would't mind it being able to play something with a bit of meat to it or the occasional racing game. So far I've got the following parts ordered or intended, I suspect it should be powerful enough to do what I want but if anyone sees anything that could be swapped out for cheaper or nicer HW it would be much appreciated.
Case - Cooler Master Elite 130
PSU - Cooler Master G550M Modular (bundled with case)
GPU - Palit GTX 750 ti StormX
CPU - i5 4670K or 4690K (won't be over clocking ATM but may do in the future with a new MB)
MB - Gigabyte GA-H87N-Wifi
Cooler - Antec H20 950 water cooler (pcpartspicker suggests this may be too big)
HDD/SSD - Either some 240/256GB SSD or a 2TB+ HHD
OS - Windows 7 or 8, possibly SteamOS if the majority of my games support it.
RAM - Currently have 4gb of borrowed, buying 8gb of something, likely whatever is cheapest/highest rated on Amazon at the time
Not sure whether I need the newest 4690K or if the 4670K would be fine, the price difference isn't huge so I may as well go newer, unless the power difference isn't massive.
So far I have GPU, case, PSU waiting, MB and Cooler on the way, anyone see any flaws or issues, or have any suggestions of what I should be buying instead of what I'm aiming for? Budget is around £500, so far I'm at £290~
Thanks
I'm in the process of building my first pc, mini itx based box to sit in my living room and run nice local multiplayer games like gang beasts, starwhal and mount your friends, although I would't mind it being able to play something with a bit of meat to it or the occasional racing game. So far I've got the following parts ordered or intended, I suspect it should be powerful enough to do what I want but if anyone sees anything that could be swapped out for cheaper or nicer HW it would be much appreciated.
Case - Cooler Master Elite 130
PSU - Cooler Master G550M Modular (bundled with case)
GPU - Palit GTX 750 ti StormX
CPU - i5 4670K or 4690K (won't be over clocking ATM but may do in the future with a new MB)
MB - Gigabyte GA-H87N-Wifi
Cooler - Antec H20 950 water cooler (pcpartspicker suggests this may be too big)
HDD/SSD - Either some 240/256GB SSD or a 2TB+ HHD
OS - Windows 7 or 8, possibly SteamOS if the majority of my games support it.
RAM - Currently have 4gb of borrowed, buying 8gb of something, likely whatever is cheapest/highest rated on Amazon at the time
Not sure whether I need the newest 4690K or if the 4670K would be fine, the price difference isn't huge so I may as well go newer, unless the power difference isn't massive.
So far I have GPU, case, PSU waiting, MB and Cooler on the way, anyone see any flaws or issues, or have any suggestions of what I should be buying instead of what I'm aiming for? Budget is around £500, so far I'm at £290~
Thanks
I wouldn't say it is at all.
Its a tiny amount of space and I guarantee it'll get filled up with a quickness.
Don't bother with the K chip since you didn't buy a Z board. You also don't need the water cooler since you aren't overclocking.
Ditch the water cooling, forget the 750 Ti and get an R7 265 or better. Lastly see if you can get both an SSD and a HDD, you're going to want both realistically. If you can't afford both, prioritise the SSD and just be careful with how many games you're playing at any one time.
Ive finally come up with a build
Will sit on my desk and is supposed to be an audio recording rig (+gaming in the future)
Mobo: Asus Z97i-plus mini itx (because OCing and i like asus and yay I get watch dogs for free)
CPU: Intel 4690k
Cpu-cooler: Cooler Master 212 evo
case fractal node 304 white
reused parts from previous build:
ATX PSU (450W)
Samsung 840 evo 250gb ssd
2x2GB Kingston 1333 DDR3 ram
future updates:
a GTX 860 late 2014 / early 2015 until then iGPU
flaws?
Will sit on my desk and is supposed to be an audio recording rig (+gaming in the future)
Mobo: Asus Z97i-plus mini itx (because OCing and i like asus and yay I get watch dogs for free)
CPU: Intel 4690k
Cpu-cooler: Cooler Master 212 evo
case fractal node 304 white
reused parts from previous build:
ATX PSU (450W)
Samsung 840 evo 250gb ssd
2x2GB Kingston 1333 DDR3 ram
future updates:
a GTX 860 late 2014 / early 2015 until then iGPU
flaws?
Try a system restore point?
Any particular reason an GPU (MSI GTX 750 Ti) would only work in the Legacy BIOS mode with a 'not-that-old' motherboard (GA-B75-D3V, BIOS version F5)?
When I inserted the card in the default BIOS mode, the computer froze during the Boot Screen (all fans were still running, but keyboard stopped responding). Works fine so far with the Legacy BIOS (thank god MSI had that option), but I'm curious why one would work and the other wouldn't...
When I inserted the card in the default BIOS mode, the computer froze during the Boot Screen (all fans were still running, but keyboard stopped responding). Works fine so far with the Legacy BIOS (thank god MSI had that option), but I'm curious why one would work and the other wouldn't...
Looks like it's an ATX case. And currently there's a microATX mainboard inside. So you should be good to keep your case.
First thing I'd try is disabling the onboard GPU in the BIOS.
fifasnipe2224
Member
I have about $400 I can spend on a graphics card. What would you recommend?
I'd wait a month and see what the Nvidia 800 series looks like.
R9 290 at the moment. I don't like waiting on graphics cards. There's a lot of uncertainty about what's in store/when.
fifasnipe2224
Member
Why R9 290 instead of a 780?
Better value for money.
fifasnipe2224
Member
How far off are they in terms of performance?
I have only ever owned an nvidia card, never owned a Radeon card.
I have only ever owned an nvidia card, never owned a Radeon card.
If you define "value" as "average FPS in most games".
This is from a very recent summer 2014 GPU comparison with the latest drivers for all cards.
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