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[scoobs]

Installing my first CLC this weekend. Any recommendations on configuration/installation? Went with the new GTX, I guess I'll let you know how it goes.. I know its new.

It's going in a Corsair 800d, which is a notoriously bad case for air flow, so it will likely have to be exhaust with how my case is set up right now (intakes on the bottom and front, exhaust on back and top)... do you guys recommend push or pull? (not going push/pull)

 

[RGM79]

I don't know. I guess I just don't mind spending a bit of money just in case I do want to play a few games on the big screen. Reason for 2 HDMI ports would be for an option to add a second screen for streaming my MLB.TV games on. The HTPC will be located in my Reds 'man-cave'.

I have a 3gb 7950 in my current 'main pc' which is basically a spreadsheet, skype, and slack machine because most of the time I work from home. I tend to spend what little gaming time I do have on consoles or the vita.

I just like to have options and have the money to spend to give myself options. I still haven't bought anything I'm halfway across the globe right now for work and won't be home until probably Saturday. So while I'm sitting in the hotel at night I'm dreaming about building my ultimate HTPC.

Essentially I want a machine that has massive amounts of storage that I can rip all my blurays to and then be able to hardwire that PC into my network and play my movies on all of the screens in my house. If I remember correctly that would be 6 or 7. So I guess I need to figure out NAS and a solution to getting the content to those screens as well.

I'm well versed at building PC's but I'm not too familiar with the networking side of things. Eh, at least it gives me something to research when I get to the hotel tonight.

edit: I really should just PM my man Smokey.

I see, that makes sense, then. It's more general entertainment than just for video.

If you're interested in setting up a home server, take a look at these guides, they may help. The first one might not be so relevant as it's for a dedicated DIY NAS box (not sure if you meant your HTPC would also double as a NAS) but the second and third links show you how to set up Windows 8/8.1 to be a home server OS.

http://blog.brianmoses.net/2015/01/diy-nas-2015-edition.html
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/windows/windows_8_home_server_guide
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2026643/set-up-windows-8-as-a-home-server.html

Streaming to several different displays in your house could be costly unless you can wire up the rooms. Wireless display adaptors are pricey (Microsoft sells theirs for $60), although you may be able to find cheaper Miracast adaptors or something. I'll admit it's not really my field of expertise, but I'm planning to set up a DIY Windows 8 based NAS sometime in the near future - my 2 x 3TB cheap NAS box isn't cutting it anymore, and 4 drive NAS solutions are just too expensive, so I'm learning about it as well.

Installing my first CLC this weekend. Any recommendations on configuration/installation? Went with the new GTX, I guess I'll let you know how it goes.. I know its new.

It's going in a Corsair 800d, which is a notoriously bad case for air flow, so it will likely have to be exhaust with how my case is set up right now (intakes on the bottom and front, exhaust on back and top)... do you guys recommend push or pull? (not going push/pull)

Fans blowing air into the radiator are generally better for temperatures than fans pulling air into the radiator. This comprehensive test would seem to support that. There is a lot to read, so I'll show the relevant chart:

 

[DietRob]

Hey thanks for the links I can't check them now but I will definitely give them a look later.

 

[jfoul]

AMD to Skip 20 nm, Jump Straight to 14 nm with "Arctic Islands" GPU Family

"Intel and Samsung are currently the only fabs with 14 nm nodes that have attained production capacity."

 

[jwhit28]

AMD to Skip 20 nm, Jump Straight to 14 nm with "Arctic Islands" GPU Family

"Intel and Samsung are currently the only fabs with 14 nm nodes that have attained production capacity."

So is this more evidence of a Samsung hookup?

 

[Kvik]

I dumped nearly $30 per fan for my Noiseblocker eLoops

How did you like those fans? I owned 8 of those myself and I prefer them much more than Corsairs.

 

[Poetic]

So I "assembled" my first PC last night. I had a hell of a time trying to mount the Kraken x61 to the front of the S340. I swear I spent at least an hour on it. I'm not sure I'm 100% finished. I plugged in everything I thought needed it, plugged in the PSU, turned it on and got the Bios on the first try. I left it running for about 10 minutes to see if the temps would go haywire. Seemed to stay in the 36c-37c range. Not sure if that is good or bad. I could give a parts list if needed.

The two front fans attached to the Kraken x61 started spinning really fast in the 1500 rpm range I think.

I had a question, I have 4 fans, 2 intake, and 2 top/rear exhaust. My mobo the MSI x99s SLI plus only has 3 System fan slots. How do I get the 4th one to be controlled by the Mobo?

Also, how would I know if I missed anything or forgot to plug in anything? It seemed to work right away.

 

[Kayant]

So I "assembled" my first PC last night. I had a hell of a time trying to mount the Kraken x61 to the front of the S340. I swear I spent at least an hour on it. I'm not sure I'm 100% finished. I plugged in everything I thought needed it, plugged in the PSU, turned it on and got the Bios on the first try. I left it running for about 10 minutes to see if the temps would go haywire. Seemed to stay in the 36c-37c range. Not sure if that is good or bad. I could give a parts list if needed.

The two front fans attached to the Kraken x61 started spinning really fast in the 1500 rpm range I think.

I had a question, I have 4 fans, 2 intake, and 2 top/rear exhaust. My mobo the MSI x99s SLI plus only has 3 System fan slots. How do I get the 4th one to be controlled by the Mobo?

Also, how would I know if I missed anything or forgot to plug in anything? It seemed to work right away.

You will need a fan splitter, read this string of replies for help. That would be hard to say without a picture or something really it sounds like everything is fine. Os installed yet? -

Let's try approaching this issue from another point of view:

What motherboard do you have? What cooler do you have and how many fans are on it? And how do you want the rest of the case fans set up? Are there certain fans you would like to group up and control at the same time? (e.g., frontal intake fans are one group, top and rear exhaust fans are another group)

Looking at the Air 540, it has:
Front: (x3) 120mm or (x2) 140mm
Top: (x2) 120/140mm
Rear: (x1) 120/140mm

What I would do is use one splitter to connect the three frontal 120mm fans into one motherboard fan header, and another splitter to plug the remaining top and rear fans into another header. The motherboard only sees two fans, but each one ends up controlling three fans, one group for intake, and the other for exhaust. Setting the speed for one header would affect all fans connected to that header. Makes sense?

All you would need are two of these splitter cables that allow you to plug three fans into each header, like this one from Newegg. You can probably find a similar one on ebay.

 

[Poetic]

You will need a fan splitter, read this string of replies for help. That would be hard to say without a picture or something really it sounds like everything is fine. Os installed yet? -

Ok, I just ordered a SilverStone fan splitter from Amazon.

No OS yet, I paid for a copy late last night from reddit but haven't received the code from the seller. I'll probably have that taken care of today.

 

[BronzeWolf]

Quick question.

My Motherboard has 4 ddr3 slots, with two dual channels. I have 1600 2x4GB 8-8-8-24 1.5V RAM.

What's better from these options?

A) +1x8GB any RAM (+$55)
B) +1x8GB 8-8-8-24 1.5V RAM ($67)
C) +2x4GB any RAM (+$58)
D) +2x8GB 8-8-8-24 1.5V RAM (+$121)

I am trying to future proof a bit, I don't really need 24G Ram now, but for sure will someday.

Anyway, Thanks!

 

[Kayant]

Ok, I just ordered a SilverStone fan splitter from Amazon.

No OS yet, I paid for a copy late last night from reddit but haven't received the code from the seller. I'll probably have that taken care of today.

Oh kl if you can see your HDD/SDDs in the bios then I think you have everything plugged in as your system has posted and was running for 10 mins, your fans are working. Yh u should be fine from the sounds of it. Enjoy finishing the build and don't forget cable management

 

[RGM79]

Quick question.

My Motherboard has 4 ddr3 slots, with two dual channels. I have 1600 2x4GB 8-8-8-24 1.5V RAM.

What's better from these options?

A) +1x8GB any RAM (+$55)
B) +1x8GB 8-8-8-24 1.5V RAM ($67)
C) +2x4GB any RAM (+$58)
D) +2x8GB 8-8-8-24 1.5V RAM (+$121)

I am trying to future proof a bit, I don't really need 24G Ram now, but for sure will someday.

Anyway, Thanks!

What will you be doing with the PC that will require 24GB of RAM?

 

[BronzeWolf]

What will you be doing with the PC that will require 24GB of RAM?

At this moment nothing, but I DO use about 7GB performing physics simulations and could increase it to 16GB in the next year. Is this overkill?

 

[Poetic]

Oh kl if you can see your HDD/SDDs in the bios then I think you have everything plugged in as your system has posted and was running for 10 mins, your fans are working. Yh u should be fine from the sounds of it. Enjoy finishing the build and don't forget cable management

I received my OS key and was able to install, my problem now is it won't recognize my internet connection.

I have a NZXT s340 w/ no dvd drive.

Anyone have any idea how I'm supposed to update the motherboard drivers this way?

 

[RGM79]

I received my OS key and was able to install, my problem now is it won't recognize my internet connection.

I have a NZXT s340 w/ no dvd drive.

Anyone have any idea how I'm supposed to update the motherboard drivers this way?

On another PC with a working internet connection, download the drivers from the motherboard manufacturer's website. Here's the link. You want the "Intel Network Drivers".

At this moment nothing, but I DO use about 7GB performing physics simulations and could increase it to 16GB in the next year. Is this overkill?

I don't know anything about physics simulations, do you expect your workload to increase or will you have the need to run larger simulations?

 

[BronzeWolf]

I don't know anything about physics simulations, do you expect your workload to increase or will you have the need to run larger simulations?

Usually what the software does is create a mesh of elements. The resolution of these elements is saved in the RAM+GPU RAM. While the actual speed of the computations is CPU bound and the computations are not that difficult, the amount of finite elements is maxed at the RAM level.

Right now I am doing coarse simulations in a generic system. We will for sure try to offshoot into other more specialized systems and this will mean doing more simultaneous simulations (they offshoots are specified at the Runtime level).

Plus gaming!

Anyway, I just want to know if it's better matching the already installed RAM or adding a new one

 

[RGM79]

Usually what the software does is create a mesh of elements. The resolution of these elements is saved in the RAM+GPU RAM. While the actual speed of the computations is CPU bound and the computations are not that difficult, the amount of finite elements is maxed at the RAM level.

Right now I am doing coarse simulations in a generic system. We will for sure try to offshoot into other more specialized systems and this will mean doing more simultaneous simulations (they offshoots are specified at the Runtime level).

Plus gaming!

Anyway, I just want to know if it's better matching the already installed RAM or adding a new one

Well, in that case I guess the safest thing to do is get a single stick of 8GB RAM for now. It will work in dual channel mode with your existing 2x4GB of RAM if you install them in the correct slots, refer to your motherboard manual and this Intel guide. "For three-DIMM dual channel mode, the DIMMs in Channel A must match and the DIMM in Channel B (either slot) must be equal in capacity to all of Channel A. While probably not common, this scenario is likely if you upgrade the memory on your system." Then you will have 16GB of RAM which is usually enough for most things, not sure about your future physics simulation work, though.

If it turns out to not be enough, then you still have an empty slot for another stick of 8GB, and that will work in dual channel mode as well, of course.

As for whether or not to get matching timings.. it's generally not important enough to matter. Timing won't influence RAM compatibility or dual channel mode. It may have an effect when you are overclocking, but most motherboards will let you adjust the timing so you can manually match up the RAM timings yourself. You may be forced to match them at a slower timing like CL9, though.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Understanding-RAM-Timings/26/2
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Memory-Overclocking/152/6

It's up to you whether you want to pay extra for the same timings. Are you in the US?

 

[Poetic]

I was able to install the LAN drivers and a couple others from MSI. I couldn't do the Bios one, but I'll look into it later after work. GPU is updated.

Is it weird for the CAM software to show 29c temps and Bios shows 37c?

 

[Wensih]

Someone stop me if I'm crazy, but because Amazon canceled my i7-4790s order, I'm going with the Xeon 1231v3. Is this reasoning sound:

- About the same price point as the i7-4790s (~$330)
- No IGP needed since I'm getting a 960
- Apparently runs cooler (?) compared to other i7s for some reason.

The other possible option is the i7-4790 which is around $40 over my initial costs. Neither option will break the bank, but I still want to make the smart choice... An i5 may be another option too, but I'd lose hyperthreading and my use-case is core sensitive.

(Oh, and to refresh everyone, rendering/video/image processing machine with occasional gaming and CUDA)

I'm probably going to order everything by this weekend since my teahcing semester officially ends by the end of this week.



Taking a cursory glance at the alpha i7, the GPU is kind of underwhelming. The 290 should blow it out of the water.

Thanks for the feedback. I was looking into PC parts more last night (instead of studying for my anatomy final tomorrow/today) and realized the GPU is probably the most important part (correct me if I'm wrong) in the build and that the alpha has a non-upgradable GPU which is a deterrent.

 

[BronzeWolf]

Well, in that case I guess the safest thing to do is get a single stick of 8GB RAM for now. It will work in dual channel mode with your existing 2x4GB of RAM if you install them in the correct slots, refer to your motherboard manual and this Intel guide. "For three-DIMM dual channel mode, the DIMMs in Channel A must match and the DIMM in Channel B (either slot) must be equal in capacity to all of Channel A. While probably not common, this scenario is likely if you upgrade the memory on your system." Then you will have 16GB of RAM which is usually enough for most things, not sure about your future physics simulation work, though.

If it turns out to not be enough, then you still have an empty slot for another stick of 8GB, and that will work in dual channel mode as well, of course.

As for whether or not to get matching timings.. it's generally not important enough to matter. Timing won't influence RAM compatibility or dual channel mode. It may have an effect when you are overclocking, but most motherboards will let you adjust the timing so you can manually match up the RAM timings yourself. You may be forced to match them at a slower timing like CL9, though.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Understanding-RAM-Timings/26/2
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Memory-Overclocking/152/6

It's up to you whether you want to pay extra for the same timings. Are you in the US?

Got it.

Thanks for the help. My fear was that I didn't know if diverse CAS' could impact dual channel performance, because it is increasingly difficult to find 8-8-8 RAM in the 8GB level and I don't mind matching them at CL9. At some point I can cut my simulations in two since they will be CPU bottlenecked anyway, it's more of a convenience (Instead of going to the computer every 8 hours I could leave it working for 16). I am not buying this right now, but would like to have an upgrade roadmap for when the opportunity is available.

 

[Kayant]

I was able to install the LAN drivers and a couple others from MSI. I couldn't do the Bios one, but I'll look into it later after work. GPU is updated.

Is it weird for the CAM software to show 29c temps and Bios shows 37c?

There is always a variance in temperature between OS software apps and Bios although am not sure if it being that large is "normal". But the bios one is generally the most accurate if am not mistaken. Try other softwares like Coretemp, hwinfo and see if it's similar.

 

[Dahaka]

So what do you guys suggest to replace my 2GB GTX 670?

Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Tri-X OC, 8GB GDDR5 or wait until August and get the new gen?

 

[kennah]

Haha, I can definitely afford it, but it feels like feature creep to me. I started out wanting a 4790s because of its low power consumption (and the rock-bottom price of $330 until Amazon canceled on me). Typical price of the 4790s runs about $370-390 in Canada... whereas the 4790k is about $420.

Oh you're stuck with us in Canada. Get a used 2600k

 

[R3TRO]

Would it be worth it to overclock an i7 5820k?

 

[Poetic]

Would it be worth it to overclock an i7 5820k?

I plan on doing mine once I finish all the cable management and the last little part I'm waiting on tomorrow. Nothing crazy, probably to like 4ghz, but I've seen people doing 4.5-4.7ghz.

 

[Chitown B]

Looking for a PC-only game to push my graphics card. Cannot be on any console system. Go!

 

[Dead]

Any recommendations on sound cards?

Im planning to get a pair of Sennheiser headphones for my PC and want a dedicated card

was looking at the Creative sound blaster ZX

Any thoughts or other recommendations? I like the fact that it has the little control module, making it very convenient for plugging in your phones.

 

[Chitown B]

I didn't realize people still bought sound cards. My motherboard has built in HD audio.

 

[Chinbo37]

I didn't realize people still bought sound cards. My motherboard has built in HD audio.

And how is its amp for driving high impedance headphones?

 

[Chitown B]

And how is its amp for driving high impedance headphones?

Unsure, have not tried it yet. I used to have an external USB sound card though for pushing Senn 650's.

 

[The Llama]

Any recommendations on sound cards?

Im planning to get a pair of Sennheiser headphones for my PC and want a dedicated card

was looking at the Creative sound blaster ZX

Any thoughts or other recommendations? I like the fact that it has the little control module, making it very convenient for plugging in your phones.

I have the Z and really like it. I considered the ZX but apparently the audio coming through the external module isn't as high quality as it is coming straight through the sound card, so I didn't bother with it (I also sit EXTREMLY close to my desktop due to having a very, very tiny apartment).

 

[kittoo]

When are the next major GPU launches by Nvidia/AMD? Can someone post a roadmap?
My GTX 780 has kicked the bucket it seems. I would wait and see when the stacked memory cards launch. Isnt AMD supposed to launch them soon? They should be a major upgrade. I was hoping for 20nm cards but maybe thats too much to ask for.

 

[DietRob]

Well I went ahead and bought this card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487095

and a 2tb Seagate NAS drive.

 

[Evo X]

EDIT: SOLD

Heads up for anyone looking for a GPU for their build.

I've got a Like New MSI Gaming GTX 980 TwinFrozer V for sale.

Bought it for $~600. Barely used before I swapped for a Titan X.

Great performance & cooling with low noise levels.

I have all the original packaging and accessories.

Looking to get $450. Located in the Chicagoland area. PM me if interested.

 

[SRG01]

Oh you're stuck with us in Canada. Get a used 2600k

No one's selling on Kijiji, unfortunately.

 

[Bumhat]

After the great success I had building my own PC at the end of last year I recommended GAF's services to my mate Adam who does a lot of audio production work. In his own words:

I'm looking to build a really fast computer, that can run loads of plugins which use a lot of CPU when mixing audio in my studio... I also need vast amounts of RAM and space...

For around £800-£1000 what parts could I get? It needs to have a beefy CPU to run these plugins.

Graphics are of no importance right now.

What say you, GAF? Are there any audio production experts who can recommend something decent? Thanks all!

 

[kennah]

No one's selling on Kijiji, unfortunately.

Where are you?

 

[SRG01]

Where are you?

Edmonton! I found a few listings on eBay but the price is only marginally cheaper than getting a 4790k.

 

[ACE 1991]

With my new CPU cooler fan coming in tomorrow, I'm wondering if it's time to try pushing my 2500K a little further. I'm currently running it at 4.0ghz (as I have been since 2011), will I get much additional performance by looking for another .5ghz? Also, what settings should I up (voltage wise?) to get to 4.5?

 

[mkenyon]

Hooray for SSDs

With my new CPU cooler fan coming in tomorrow, I'm wondering if it's time to try pushing my 2500K a little further. I'm currently running it at 4.0ghz (as I have been since 2011), will I get much additional performance by looking for another .5ghz? Also, what settings should I up (voltage wise?) to get to 4.5?

1.35V, 4.5GHz ezpz

Out of the ~30+ Sandy 2500K and 2600Ks I've overclocked, I've never met one that didn't do 4.5 at 1.35V.

You'll see improvements in: RTS/Strategy games, MMOs, anything UE3 or Source, and most multiplayer games. Probably not a significant difference in raw FPS, but they'll run smoother and have much lower 99th Percentile frame times.

 

[Photolysis]

I've got a stable OC of 4.4 GHz on my 5960X. I could probably push it higher to 4.5, but I don't think the tradeoff in temps/voltage is worth it. I've got the headroom but I'll settle for it running cooler. Still a huge overclock from the stock speed of 3.0 Ghz (3.3 with all 8 cores on turbo), and a monster of a CPU.

It did look at one point like I'd get 4.5 around 1.265V, but it was blue screening after half an hour of Prime95. After several tries of putting the voltage up further I still wasn't getting anywhere, so I dropped the multiplier to 44x. Currently sitting at 1.25V. I might try to lower it at some point, but for now it'll do.

I also had to turn Max Performance power setting on, since turbo boost wasn't kicking in properly, except when using Handbrake or something, and it was spending most of the time sitting at 12x multiplier. Bit annoying that it'll increase the power consumption by not downclocking, but it only idles about 2-3 degrees hotter at about 32C or so. Definitely worth it for dramatic increase in performance though.

 

[NeOak]

I also had to turn Max Performance power setting on, since turbo boost wasn't kicking in properly, except when using Handbrake or something, and it was spending most of the time sitting at 12x multiplier.

Because that is how it is supposed to work: low clockrate when idle, max when pushed.

 

[lordy88]

I'm thinking I need to upgrade my GeForce 660.

My budget max is about $300. Should I jump on a Geforce 970 now, wait a few weeks for the price to lower, or grab a different card?

 

[RGM79]

So what do you guys suggest to replace my 2GB GTX 670?

Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Tri-X OC, 8GB GDDR5 or wait until August and get the new gen?

The 8GB version of the R9 290X is pretty expensive and meant for crossfire setups at high resolutions like 4K. You don't really need one, do you? Why August and not June?

When are the next major GPU launches by Nvidia/AMD? Can someone post a roadmap?
My GTX 780 has kicked the bucket it seems. I would wait and see when the stacked memory cards launch. Isnt AMD supposed to launch them soon? They should be a major upgrade. I was hoping for 20nm cards but maybe thats too much to ask for.

Rumors say AMD will release their R9 3XX line in June. I haven't seen any AMD graphics roadmaps, the company hasn't officially mentioned anything except vague statements like "Today during AMD’s Q1 2015 conference call the company’s President and CEO Lisa Su announced that the company will talk about upcoming graphics product launches later this quarter."

Nvidia did release a general roadmap about a month ago. Pascal GPU architecture is still slated for 2016.

With my new CPU cooler fan coming in tomorrow, I'm wondering if it's time to try pushing my 2500K a little further. I'm currently running it at 4.0ghz (as I have been since 2011), will I get much additional performance by looking for another .5ghz? Also, what settings should I up (voltage wise?) to get to 4.5?

The jump in performance from 4.0GHz to 4.5GHz won't be that great, but it does bring it somewhat closer to current generation i5 processors.

 

[spinz]

im looking to upgrade off of a radeon 5700 and phenom II 960.
Iv noticed the motherboard is AM3... so i guess that means im stuck there with the processor.
Any opinions on how far i should go with the GPU considering the processor? I'd be happy with something cheaper that gets me through games for another year or two. But id also consider dropping a few hundred on a better card... but not sure if its worth it with this cpu.

 

[Mandoric]

Any decent RAM deals floating around lately? I've got a pretty desperate need for another pair of 8GB modules.

 

[Photolysis]

Because that is how it is supposed to work: low clockrate when idle, max when pushed.

Yes, it is how it's supposed to work. But it's not actually meeting the load requirements and not clocking up to meet those requirements in many scenarios where it should be. Aside from video encoding using all the cores, or loading it using Prime95, the most I could get was a thread briefly clocking to 28x multiplier before clocking back down to 12x.

For example, I've got a game that's been ordered to run at 60FPS. The OS should detect the load and increase the clock speed, but it isn't. The game uses as much power as it can get, but it isn't enough, resulting in the FPS being far below what it should be (40ish when unhindered it's capable of around 200 or so). As soon as I manually order the cores to speed up, presto, I get the performance I requested, and my ultra smooth 60FPS.

It's the software trying to be clever, but failing completely. It's no way near sensitive enough.

 

[Blackage]

I've been considering picking up a 2nd 980 and jumping into 4K gaming, would this be wise or should I just be content with my single 980 and 1080p @ Ultra?

 

[RGM79]

After the great success I had building my own PC at the end of last year I recommended GAF's services to my mate Adam who does a lot of audio production work. In his own words:

I'm looking to build a really fast computer, that can run loads of plugins which use a lot of CPU when mixing audio in my studio... I also need vast amounts of RAM and space...

For around £800-£1000 what parts could I get? It needs to have a beefy CPU to run these plugins.

Graphics are of no importance right now.

What say you, GAF? Are there any audio production experts who can recommend something decent? Thanks all!

I'm no audio expert, but if it's CPU power, RAM, and storage space you want, then something like this should work well:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor (£317.00 @ Scan.co.uk)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£48.12 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI X99S SLI Plus ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard (£166.76 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston FURY 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (£159.98 @ Novatech)
Storage: Crucial BX100 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£129.90 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£56.34 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GT 610 2GB Video Card (£26.50 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design FD-CA-CORE-3300-BL ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.95 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£49.98 @ Novatech)
Total: £1004.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-23 22:36 BST+0100

Frankly speaking though, depending on the requirements of the audio production software he uses, he could probably get away with a cheaper build. If he has any parts from his current PC that he could reuse (hard drives? case?) that would make a bit of a difference as well. And I'm not sure if he needs a sound card?

I'm thinking I need to upgrade my GeForce 660.

My budget max is about $300. Should I jump on a Geforce 970 now, wait a few weeks for the price to lower, or grab a different card?

There's a Gigabyte GTX 970 Windforce model for $295 after rebates and discounts available now, otherwise I'd say you should wait and see how the graphics card situation plays out in June.

im looking to upgrade off of a radeon 5700 and phenom II 960.
Iv noticed the motherboard is AM3... so i guess that means im stuck there with the processor.
Any opinions on how far i should go with the GPU considering the processor? I'd be happy with something cheaper that gets me through games for another year or two. But id also consider dropping a few hundred on a better card... but not sure if its worth it with this cpu.

You have a few options depending on your budget and motherboard model. You might be able to upgrade to an AMD FX-6XXX or 8XXX processor if your motherboard supports it. If you can afford it I'd recommend upgrading to Intel processor and motherboard though, it'll be more capable for a few years longer.

What kind of games do you play? Any specific examples? You might not need a processor upgrade. Is your Phenom overclocked?

Any decent RAM deals floating around lately? I've got a pretty desperate need for another pair of 8GB modules.

Assuming you're in the US, you can get 2x8GB for $100 or less. What are your system specs? It'd be best to get something that matches your current RAM and motherboard well.

 

[Hattori]

Ok I decided to grab a Titan X instead of waiting for the fabled 980ti, will the NEX650G PSU be enough to safely run it for the time being while I wait to get a new one?