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"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition

nextgeneration said:
I have the 160GB INTEL X25-M. Wow, less than 20 seconds is more like it! That's what I was expecting from mine, but I have no idea why it's taking so long! Anyone have any tips?
You using IDE or AHCI? AHCI should speed things up a little bit.
 
Alright so I'm looking into ordering a new PC in a week or two. Just trying to narrow down the component's and what exactly I want in it. Budget is around $2000 Canadian, but going over a little bit is fine. So after scouring Newegg reviews and this thread, this is what I've come up with so far:

Processor: Intel Core i7 930
Motherboard: ?
Ram: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ 6GB DDR3 3x2GB
Video Card: Radeon HD 5870
Computer Case: Cooler Master Haf 932 Black - still looking into this, but I like this one at a glance.
Power Supply: ?
CPU Cooling: Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H50
Monitor: Asus VH236H Black 23 - still looking into this too.
Hard drive: Samsung F3 1TB
SSD: Intel X25-V 40GB

For the power supply, I want it to be able to handle another card if I choose to add one in a couple years or so. As of right now I'm assuming I'll need a 750W power supply, but I'm not sure if that will be enough or if that will be overkill.

I'm also not sure what I should be getting for a motherboard. As I said, I'm going to want to crossfire this thing in a couple years, so I'm going to want one capable of doing that. Any suggestions GAF?
 
nextgeneration said:
For the people who have ssd's and are using windows 7, how long does it take to fully boot up windows? Mine takes about 40 seconds, which seems very slow for an ssd. Any one have tips to make win 7 boot up faster?

You're not counting the time for the BIOS to check RAM/HDDs etc are you? Basically start counting when you see the full screen Windows logo on your monitor, mine takes about 5 seconds from that point, and about another 5 seconds for all the apps to load after password entry.
 
nextgeneration said:
I have the 160GB INTEL X25-M. Wow, less than 20 seconds is more like it! That's what I was expecting from mine, but I have no idea why it's taking so long! Anyone have any tips?

Are you counting from pushing the power button or from the time windows starts to load? The entire POST process is dependant on your motherboard, not your drive. Putting an SSD in there won't change much of the POST as the motherboard is reading off of it's own flash chips, not the HD. You can go into your BIOS and check if there are any settings you can disable to reduce how many checks it goes through.

Shalashaska161 said:
For the power supply, I want it to be able to handle another card if I choose to add one in a couple years or so. As of right now I'm assuming I'll need a 750W power supply, but I'm not sure if that will be enough or if that will be overkill.

Yeah, 750W will be plenty to crossfire down the road. You could get by with a solid 650W unit but there isn't going to be all that much of a price difference between the two.
 
Crunched said:
You using IDE or AHCI? AHCI should speed things up a little bit.

I actually don't know. Sorry, my pc knowledge isn't that great. :lol

Minsc said:
You're not counting the time for the BIOS to check RAM/HDDs etc are you? Basically start counting when you see the full screen Windows logo on your monitor, mine takes about 5 seconds from that point, and about another 5 seconds for all the apps to load after password entry.

Shambles said:
Are you counting from pushing the power button or from the time windows starts to load? The entire POST process is dependant on your motherboard, not your drive. Putting an SSD in there won't change much of the POST as the motherboard is reading off of it's own flash chips, not the HD. You can go into your BIOS and check if there are any settings you can disable to reduce how many checks it goes through.

Yeah, I'm counting the time the second I push the power button. I guess that's the improper way to calculate this? Minsc - my pc behaves similarly to yours - 5 seconds from the point the Windows logo appears and less than 5 seconds for the apps to load, as I don't have many apps on my hard drive yet.
 
Siyou said:
Alright, I don't know anything about computers really.. However I just got a new game for PC and there's no way my current laptop can handle it. I'm thinking on getting a PC, but I'll be moving to China in august (there currently, but will be home for July-August). So GAF if you had $300-$500? would you recommend a laptop or a desktop given the current situation I have? I'm leaning more towards a PC as I would also like to turn it into an entertainment center later as well. I'm not looking at monitors as I will get one in China and I'm concerned about that getting ruined. The rest however I'm positive I can make it safe with the right precautions.

So GAF I need your wisdom on the matter, gaming PC or gaming Laptop, and what would the specs be in the price range of $300-500?
With your budget, only a laptop with crappy integrated graphics is possible. You'd need to allocate $700-$900 for something decent.
 
My TruePower New 650 arrived today. Very pleased, it's impressively quiet. Still think the modularity on these is a little silly (there's enough hardwired cables to connect everything in my rig without any modulars) but I will not argue with the performance so far.
 
My current PC is showing age rather badly :{

Few questions regarding building my self a new PC. Maybe not a super srs gaming rig. But I'd like it to run most new stuff pretty decently...

Where is it better to order from? American sites or Canadian ones? I'm a canadian, but I have a US shipping address so either or is fine. And duty isn't an issue. My dad works a ton in the USA so he can pick it up on his way back :).

How much would a decent i5 based PC with a SSD for software to be installed onto it be? With appropriate memory/videocard/mobo/PSU?

And what's a good size of SSD for installing the OS/games on to? And do SSDs provide a worthwhile speed boost for loading stuff?

And is water cooling recommended for a first time builder?

Is this do-able for $800? Or am I crazy? D:
 
WEGGLES said:
How much would a decent i5 based PC with a SSD for software to be installed onto it be? With appropriate memory/videocard/mobo/PSU?

And what's a good size of SSD for installing the OS/games on to? And do SSDs provide a worthwhile speed boost for loading stuff?
SSDs give a tremendous boost in many applications and general use, but don't benefit games. I would recommend an 80GB Intel X-25m. Install Windows and all your general programs on it, but put games on a different drive (a decent 7200 rpm drive will serve you well; check out the spinpoint or caviar black series).

And is water cooling recommended for a first time builder?
The Corsair H50 is a self-contained water cooling system that's easy even for first time users. It's a great solution in itself, and I'd say that anything water-based past that is going to be a hell of a job for a first build. Prices for custom water-cooling solutions can soar into the hundreds; the H50 is about $80 USD.

Check out Noctua's DH-14 or the Thermalright Ultra 120 air coolers; in some tests they are comparable, if not better than the Corsair H50.

Is this do-able for $800? Or am I crazy? D:
I would say that $800 would provide a solid rig, all around, especially if you forego the SSD in favor of upgrades in other areas.
 
Thanks for the advice.

I already have a decent hard drive to use for general use/games.

Is stock cooling sufficient, or will I need extra fans and such?

And what do I look into for a mobo? They vary so wildly in price. Some are $40 others are $400. what's the diff?
 
WEGGLES said:
Thanks for the advice.

I already have a decent hard drive to use for general use/games.

Is stock cooling sufficient, or will I need extra fans and such?

And what do I look into for a mobo? They vary so wildly in price. Some are $40 others are $400. what's the diff?

Stock cooling is totally fine if you're not going to do any kind of overclocking. Extra fans or CPU coolers are usually not necessary, just proper airflow and cable management should be more than enough at stock settings.

Motherboards can be tricky. It depends on the platform you're buying for, and what kind of features you need. Spending anything over... I'd say $110 or so is generally due to additional features you may or may not need. When you start dipping below that you start to get into lower quality motherboards that are cheaper because they're starting to cut costs on the components themselves.

You said you had a budget around $800? You can do plenty well with that kind of limit. Let me see what I can come up with...

Edit - Actually, quick questions:

- Do you need an OS?
- Other than the HDD, will you be reusing any components from your current PC?
 
Siyou said:
how much would a decent gaming desktop cost?

Depends if you already have some of the smaller things laying around like a case, monitor, KB/M, optical drive etc. If you have an old PSU laying around too then it makes thing even cheaper. If you are starting from absolute scratch than you're looking at dropping a decent amount of money.
 
Siyou said:
how much would a decent gaming desktop cost?

$600 for something that can play anything you throw at it respectably. (e.g. a much better graphically than consoles, but not insane supersampling and 120fps hotness) The sweet spot is around $800 though.
 
Wallach said:
Stock cooling is totally fine if you're not going to do any kind of overclocking. Extra fans or CPU coolers are usually not necessary, just proper airflow and cable management should be more than enough at stock settings.

Motherboards can be tricky. It depends on the platform you're buying for, and what kind of features you need. Spending anything over... I'd say $110 or so is generally due to additional features you may or may not need. When you start dipping below that you start to get into lower quality motherboards that are cheaper because they're starting to cut costs on the components themselves.

You said you had a budget around $800? You can do plenty well with that kind of limit. Let me see what I can come up with...

Edit - Actually, quick questions:

- Do you need an OS?
- Other than the HDD, will you be reusing any components from your current PC?
I Will need an OS. Currently running XP.
I'll be re-using.. Monitor, keyboard, mouse, HDD. Aside from that not much to salvage from my current PC. videocard is integrated, processor is 6 years old. :lol

Oh, dunno if it's a big deal but I'd need a firewire port for my camcorder.
 
What is everyone's thoughts on the Radeon 5830? Is it a better card than the GTX260?

What is the best one to get, as far as low noise/decent cooling goes?
 
Crunched said:
You using IDE or AHCI? AHCI should speed things up a little bit.

·feist· said:
Take a look in your bios to see how your HDDs are configured. If you're not in AHCI mode, you should switch over.

Ok, I just checked my bios and indeed, I am using IDE. So does switching over just involve selecting AHCI, reboot, and that's it? I read that you need to reinstall Windows after switching over to AHCI. Is that true?
 
WEGGLES said:
I Will need an OS. Currently running XP.
I'll be re-using.. Monitor, keyboard, mouse, HDD. Aside from that not much to salvage from my current PC. videocard is integrated, processor is 6 years old. :lol

Oh, dunno if it's a big deal but I'd need a firewire port for my camcorder.

So, skipping the HDD, KB/M, and monitor and working with $800 (Price is Right rules, of course!):

i5-750 and Gigabyte P55M-UD2 combo
- $289.98
Antec 300 case and TruePower New 550w PSU combo - $129.94
Diamond Radeon 5770 - $164.99
4GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 - $109.99 ($10 MIR available)
Windows 7 Home Premium OEM (64-bit) - $99.99

Total = $794.89

More could probably be cut if you wanted to fit an extra component in there. I didn't add any optical drives, I am guessing you will migrate those, but even if you do not they are pretty cheap (like this ASUS DVD RW for $22).
 
So I bought a Samsung EcoGreen 1.5TB HD for $89 from Newegg (Link), I got it mainly as a storage drive (it's only 5400rpm) but it's actually pretty darn fast and runs very cool (28C temp vs. 35 - 39C for my 7200 rpm drives)

I just thought i'd give a heads up for anyone not wanting to go SSD just yet and wants an affordable drive with a good amount of space.

I ran a couple benchmarks and turns out it's actually faster than the rest of my 7200RPM SATA drives. Go figure.

This is my first Samsung brand HD so hopefully it's reliable in the long run, I usually buy WD or Maxtor and thankfully i've had good luck with both brands (ive always ran HD fans in my cases but can't say for sure if thats a factor for reliability, but I'm sure it doesn't hurt).

Newegg user comments are mostly positive so far.

atto_samsung.JPG


Samsung_hdtune.JPG


And a review of the drive here: http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...54UI-15-Terabyte-hard-drive-reviewed/Reviews/

My PC: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R / Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W PSU / i7 920 @ 3.36ghz / 6GB DDR3 1600 Corsair / EVGA GTX 480 / RealtekHD Audio / 2.4TB total HD / Win 7 64bit / Samsung PX2370 LED LCD
 
Wallach said:
So, skipping the HDD, KB/M, and monitor and working with $800 (Price is Right rules, of course!):

i5-750 and Gigabyte P55M-UD2 combo
- $289.98
Antec 300 case and TruePower New 550w PSU combo - $129.94
Diamond Radeon 5770 - $164.99
4GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 - $109.99 ($10 MIR available)
Windows 7 Home Premium OEM (64-bit) - $99.99

Total = $794.89

More could probably be cut if you wanted to fit an extra component in there. I didn't add any optical drives, I am guessing you will migrate those, but even if you do not they are pretty cheap (like this ASUS DVD RW for $22).
Yeah, I just got a new DVD drive for my current PC, so I'll likely get that out.

And couple questions.
1. Micro ATX? Will that cause any issues should I want to upgrade later on? I'm assuming it means it's a smaller mobo format.

2. If you had $100 more, what would you put it towards? And would that upgrade be worth it?

Nice case though. Looks simple :) Don't want flashy lights everywhere/plexi and such. :D

Thanks for all the help though, dude :D
 
Is a GTX 470 worth swapping with a HD5850 just for the benefit of nvidia drivers? I play a lot of UE3 games it seems and not being able to force AA and other things is pretty annoying. Also I'm pretty interested in Physx after seeing a Mafia II video.
Yay or nay, I'm willing to do it if it would be better. But I need a professional opinion, so to speak.
 
I should be doing hw said:
Is a GTX 470 worth swapping with a HD5850 just for the benefit of nvidia drivers? I play a lot of UE3 games it seems and not being able to force AA and other things is pretty annoying. Also I'm pretty interested in Physx after seeing a Mafia II video.
Yay or nay, I'm willing to do it if it would be better. But I need a professional opinion, so to speak.

Considering that they aren't really different in power, I wouldn't bother getting a new card just for some driver features. Just look at the drivers more before you buy your next video card in 2 years to see where things sit then.

Physx offers some flashy particle or cloth effects in a couple of games, and it's rarely even that good. Forcing AA is nice but at higher resolutions (1680x1050 or higher) it's not as big a deal since aliasing is less noticeable.
 
WEGGLES said:
1. Micro ATX? Will that cause any issues should I want to upgrade later on? I'm assuming it means it's a smaller mobo format.

2. If you had $100 more, what would you put it towards? And would that upgrade be worth it?

Micro ATX doesn't really come with a sacrifice anymore. The main thing you're giving up from a full size ATX is expansion slots (i.e. PCI-E and PCI slots). Outside of video cards though, people hardly utilize many of them anymore; I'd be surprised if you needed more than what the UD2 offers.

If I had another $100 or so I'd upgrade the video card to a 5850 (though realistically it would be about ~$130-140). Significant improvement over a 5770, and probably the biggest improvement you could make to the system as far as gaming goes. You wouldn't get a similar increase out of a CPU upgrade, for example.

I should be doing hw said:
Is a GTX 470 worth swapping with a HD5850 just for the benefit of nvidia drivers? I play a lot of UE3 games it seems and not being able to force AA and other things is pretty annoying. Also I'm pretty interested in Physx after seeing a Mafia II video.
Yay or nay, I'm willing to do it if it would be better. But I need a professional opinion, so to speak.

I wouldn't, personally. PhysX is neat but will cause a small performance hit that, in my eyes, has yet to be a worthwhile trade-off.

You can force AA in UE3 games with the 5850, though you need to rename the executable of whatever game you're trying to force it in to UT3.exe. That should let you force AA through CCC.
 
Wallach said:
Micro ATX doesn't really come with a sacrifice anymore. The main thing you're giving up from a full size ATX is expansion slots (i.e. PCI-E and PCI slots). Outside of video cards though, people hardly utilize many of them anymore; I'd be surprised if you needed more than what the UD2 offers.

If I had another $100 or so I'd upgrade the video card to a 5850 (though realistically it would be about ~$130-140). Significant improvement over a 5770, and probably the biggest improvement you could make to the system as far as gaming goes. You wouldn't get a similar increase out of a CPU upgrade, for example.
Ah ok. Any chance of a price drop coming on 5850 cards? My plan was to put the PC together after my vacation in August. (Didn't want to spend all my money and have nothing to travel with)

If it is as significant as you say, I imagine it'd be worth it in the long run.

And do I need thermal paste or any extra cables for any of this stuff? My monitor is hooked up VGA, will that be fine with the videocard posted?
 
WEGGLES said:
Ah ok. Any chance of a price drop coming on 5850 cards? My plan was to put the PC together after my vacation in August. (Didn't want to spend all my money and have nothing to travel with)

If it is as significant as you say, I imagine it'd be worth it in the long run.

And do I need thermal paste or any extra cables for any of this stuff? My monitor is hooked up VGA, will that be fine with the videocard posted?

We're all hoping the 5xxx series comes down soon as they're actually above their initial MSRP (you can thank NVidia for that). The longer you wait the better right now.

You shouldn't need any additional cabling or anything like that. The stock cooler for the i5 will have a pre-applied section of thermal paste ready to go. As for the VGA monitor, the card should come with a DVI -> VGA adapter that will take care of that.
 
Can someone help me out?
I wanted to buy some US dvds(movies that are not available in EU)so Region1, and i was thinking, do i need 2 different dvd reader on the PC?
How does it work? Can i switch whenever i want? should i buy a second one, region 1?
 
UrbanRats said:
Can someone help me out?
I wanted to buy some US dvds(movies that are not available in EU)so Region1, and i was thinking, do i need 2 different dvd reader on the PC?
How does it work? Can i switch whenever i want? should i buy a second one, region 1?
I'm no DVD expert but I believe it should work fine?
If it doesn't you should be able to change the firmware of your DVD drive between regions, but don't know how legit that is.
 
Ok so I need some advice on a gaming laptop. I just want it to be able to play the telltale games and Starcraft 2 at decent settings. If it can handle HL2 and portal or Red Alert 3 thats just gravy. The smaller the better (11-15 inch screen thin is welcome) and macs work well too.
 
*Reposting*
1)Basic Desktop Questions
Budget: Price Range + Country
Main Use: Gaming, Video editing, or just general usage
Monitor Resolution: What resolution will you be playing your games at? Are you going to upgrade later?
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Self Explanatory

2)General Guide on what to buy (Summer)
Hazaro's buying guide (July, 2010)
De facto internet standard. Accept no substitutes :D
Tech Report Builders Guide!
A very good basic guide that has been updated for Summer. Has alternative options and many price points.

3) 15 minute video how-to
http://vimeo.com/5685229
40 minute how-to
http://www.tested.com/news/video-how-to-build-the-best-1500-gaming-pc-step-by-step/152/

4) Prospective laptop buyers please fill this out and ask their forum as well.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/wha...ould-i-buy-form-must-read-before-posting.html
 
*Repost* I'll only repost this once. I don't want to come off as annoying but at the same time I really need help with this decision/computer build.

I need some help with my upcoming purchase. I've finally decided to get more involved in PC gaming (I've been using a laptop up until now) and I want to build or buy myself a good first desktop rig. I'm currently stuck between two different computers and I can't seem to make up my mind. I was hoping Gaf would help me choose.

First off I have this prebuilt PC from Gateway.

Futureshop has a deal right now where I could get this for 100$ cheaper than the asking price (1700$ before tax) and it comes with a 23" (I think) monitor and mouse and keyboard. Aside from how simple it is to just buy this and know it works, I can also finance the thing and not worry about paying it off all right away. Which would be pretty nice right now since I have a few other things I want as well.

My major problem with this thing aside from the stupid amount of RAM (16 gigs!?) is how inflexible I hear prebuilt computers are. I don't like the idea that in a few years I have the option to upgrade the video card among other things.



On the other hand I have the option to get a PC custom built online. Since I'm no good with computers I had a friend walk me through the process and help me figure out exactly what I want in a computer. We came up with this:
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout Gaming Case
Enermax MODU82+ 625W SLI 80 Plus Active PFC
Intel Core i5 750 2.66 LGA1156 L3 8MB
GIGABYTE SKT.1156 Intel P55 DDR3 ATX
G.SKILL DDR3-1600 4GB Dual Channel Kit
MSI Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI-E
MSI Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI-E
LG 10x Blu-Ray Reader / DVD-RW SATA w/Lightscribe Black
WD Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://pccyber.com/?v=Product&i=CF-SCY-SCMG-2100
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Prem 64 Bit

Hopefully I didn't miss anything. Comes to 1418 before tax though I still need to attach a monitor (suggestions are welcome) and the keyboard and mouse. Can't finance this thing and I'm sure the price will end up being sort of similar once I take the extra few items into consideration. It's a more focused machine that is upgradeable in the future at the cost of having to pay this off up front.



What should I do Gaf? Any other recommendations would also be considered.
 
Wallach said:
We're all hoping the 5xxx series comes down soon as they're actually above their initial MSRP (you can thank NVidia for that). The longer you wait the better right now.

You shouldn't need any additional cabling or anything like that. The stock cooler for the i5 will have a pre-applied section of thermal paste ready to go. As for the VGA monitor, the card should come with a DVI -> VGA adapter that will take care of that.
Oh Excellent.

I think my monitor may have come with a DVI cable, but my current setup only had VGA so I used my old monitors old cable.

Where's a good website to watch for computer component price drops?
 
I'm now an "open box" convert. Got my PowerColor 5850 from NewEgg last night and I'm much happier knowing I got a great discount for the exact same product. Time to look into CPUs!
 
Kholdstare said:
*Repost* I'll only repost this once. I don't want to come off as annoying but at the same time I really need help with this decision/computer build.

It's a more focused machine that is upgradeable in the future at the cost of having to pay this off up front.
Well the custom built should come about $100 cheaper before tax (get a slightly cheaper PSU/Mobo, otherwise ~ same cost after tossing in a monitor and better mouse+KB)

What you will have is a better cooler, the ability to overclock(!), and an easier time upgrading.

The Gateway at that price is a good buy, but if you can go custom it is better imo.

Are you sure you cannot do financing on a big purchase from a Canadian e-tailer? I know Newegg works with BillMeLater and you can pay through that on purchases over $500.

Don't know if newegg.ca does that, or if any other companies do that.
 
Blizzard said:
In L4D2, the e8400 + l4d2 with multicore rendering is only getting 36 fps or so. Is that normal for 1680x1050? http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=21774113&postcount=9427
I dunno if it's just my slow-ass processor, but multicore rendering seemed to hurt performance when I tried in in vanilla HL2. The average framerate reported by cl_showfps was pretty high, but it caused a lot of visual hiccups that made it look really choppy. I'm not convinced that the setting isn't just broken -- how's your framerate when you turn it off?
 
rohlfinator said:
I dunno if it's just my slow-ass processor, but multicore rendering seemed to hurt performance when I tried in in vanilla HL2. The average framerate reported by cl_showfps was pretty high, but it caused a lot of visual hiccups that made it look really choppy. I'm not convinced that the setting isn't just broken -- how's your framerate when you turn it off?
Definitely worse, at least in TF2. I play with it turned off. I just didn't like playing with the CPU solid at 52-56C especially when the GPU was around the same temperature. :lol
 
Blizzard said:
Thanks for the PM, Wallach. I'll try to respond to you with some Crysis performance etc. this weekend.

In L4D2, the e8400 + l4d2 with multicore rendering is only getting 36 fps or so. Is that normal for 1680x1050? http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=21774113&postcount=9427

I actually didn't realize you had an e8400. Now your Crysis numbers sound a lot more accurate.

Multicore rendering is really jank I think, I wouldn't run with it on if it's producing weird results (and it does fairly regularly).
 
Need AM3 motherboard recommendations. I'm planning on buying the 2.8hghz version of the hexacore chip, but am unsure about what motherboard to pick. I never have gone SLI/Crossfire so that doesn't need to be there. I also don't need on board video either. Just a board with the normal base line stuff.

Obviously the cheaper the better, but I want something reliable here. I'm just not that anal about having a ton of features. Just need to be able too hook up my dvd drive and my hdd and then slap my GPU and go.

Looking to get something from newegg or amazon. Thanks in advance! :D
 
I want to do a new build my first since 03/04. I've been out of the loop for while now so I'm not too update on video cards, cpu's, or mobo's. I'm not looking for top of line my budget is $500 with $600 being my limit so really a budget build. Monitor, kbm, speakers, optical drives will be reused. Right now I'm running an AMD cpu wouldn't mind staying with AMD but if I can get more bang for the buck with an Intel cpu thats fine. I'm wondering if I can use my current case(mid tower) and just replace the PSU. I would also like to have HD capability for future use. hxa155 posted this link for an HD monitor seems alright to me http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236053. I was also leaning towards grabbing a 1TB HDD and a 500GB HDD.
 
Wallach said:
I actually didn't realize you had an e8400. Now your Crysis numbers sound a lot more accurate.

Multicore rendering is really jank I think, I wouldn't run with it on if it's producing weird results (and it does fairly regularly).
So if I'm getting 30-35 fps in L4D2/TF2 in parts with an 5850 in windowed mode, doesn't that mean I'm CPU limited? And if I play with multicore rendering off, what CPU out there is going to be much better in singlecore than a 3.0 GHz core 2 duo right now? Are the i7's that much faster for each core? :p
 
Ah, just installed my new mobo, RAM, and Phenom II X6. Most painless upgrade ever -- surprisingly I didn't even have to reinstall Windows. (Maybe because I kept the same brand of mobo/processor?)

It feels snappier on the desktop already, which I didn't really expect. I must have more than tripled my CPU performance. :lol Now to try some games...

Brettison said:
Need AM3 motherboard recommendations. I'm planning on buying the 2.8hghz version of the hexacore chip, but am unsure about what motherboard to pick. I never have gone SLI/Crossfire so that doesn't need to be there. I also don't need on board video either. Just a board with the normal base line stuff.

Obviously the cheaper the better, but I want something reliable here. I'm just not that anal about having a ton of features. Just need to be able too hook up my dvd drive and my hdd and then slap my GPU and go.

Looking to get something from newegg or amazon. Thanks in advance!
Here's the one I just got. Haven't really put it through it's paces yet, but I'm happy with the features... I figure I'll get some use out of USB 3.0 and SATA 3.0, and it has a BIOS backup feature which will be nice to have if I ever mess something up.

Blizzard said:
So if I'm getting 30-35 fps in L4D2/TF2 in parts with an 5850 in windowed mode, doesn't that mean I'm CPU limited? And if I play with multicore rendering off, what CPU out there is going to be much better in singlecore than a 3.0 GHz core 2 duo right now? Are the i7's that much faster for each core? :p
Sounds like something funny is going on -- Source games are CPU-limited on any modern GPU, but the E8400 should be averaging well over 100fps.

Does it run better in fullscreen? Or is your processor or memory getting underclocked somehow?
 
OK PC GAF...

What wattage PSU should I get with this (most likely going to be Corsair, really like them)? I'm thinking I might have to get a 1000w....


Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Model #:Nine Hundred
Item #:N82E16811129021
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$139.95 -$40.00 Instant $99.95


ASUS Maximus III Formula LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:Maximus III Formula
Item #:N82E16813131482
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$249.99 -$20.00 Instant $229.99


2xEVGA 015-P3-1482-AR GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ...
Model #:015-P3-1482-AR
Item #:N82E16814130551
Return Policy:VGA Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$532.99 $1,065.98


Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - OEM
Model #:SSDSA2M080G2XXX
Item #:N82E16820167016
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$299.99 -$80.00 Instant $219.99


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model F3-8500CL7D-8GBRL
Model #:F3-8500CL7D-8GBRL
Item #:N82E16820231308
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$229.99 $229.99


LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support
Model #:iHAS424-98
Item #:N82E16827106335
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$25.99 $25.99


ZALMAN 9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Model #:9500A
Item #:N82E16835118223
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$52.99 $52.99

and a i7 930 that I picked up from microcenter.
 
rocK` said:
OK PC GAF...

What wattage PSU should I get with this (most likely going to be Corsair, really like them)? I'm thinking I might have to get a 1000w....


Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Model #:Nine Hundred
Item #:N82E16811129021
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$139.95 -$40.00 Instant $99.95


ASUS Maximus III Formula LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:Maximus III Formula
Item #:N82E16813131482
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$249.99 -$20.00 Instant $229.99


2xEVGA 015-P3-1482-AR GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ...
Model #:015-P3-1482-AR
Item #:N82E16814130551
Return Policy:VGA Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$532.99 $1,065.98


Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - OEM
Model #:SSDSA2M080G2XXX
Item #:N82E16820167016
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$299.99 -$80.00 Instant $219.99


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model F3-8500CL7D-8GBRL
Model #:F3-8500CL7D-8GBRL
Item #:N82E16820231308
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$229.99 $229.99


LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support
Model #:iHAS424-98
Item #:N82E16827106335
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$25.99 $25.99


ZALMAN 9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Model #:9500A
Item #:N82E16835118223
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$52.99 $52.99

and a i7 930 that I picked up from microcenter.

that motherboard is not compatible with the i7 930, and do you need that much RAM?
 
Hazaro said:
*Reposting*
1)Basic Desktop Questions

Budget: Price Range + Country
Main Use: Gaming, Video editing, or just general usage
Monitor Resolution: What resolution will you be playing your games at? Are you going to upgrade later?
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Self Explanatory

2)General Guide on what to buy (Spring)
Tech Report Builders Guide!

A very good basic guide that has been updated for Spring (Right now there is some new stuff coming out + new GPU's on the way, so once that gets out of the way hopefully they will update.)
http://techreport.com/articles.x/18747/2

3) 15 minute video how-to
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/video_how_build_pc_ever_step_explained

If someone has a better short video please share.

4) Prospective laptop buyers please fill this out (and maybe even ask their forum):
http://forum.notebookreview.com/wha...ould-i-buy-form-must-read-before-posting.html

Will did a updated "how to" video with his new site tested.com (he even does some bios stuff) 40 mins long too.

http://www.tested.com/news/video-how-to-build-the-best-1500-gaming-pc-step-by-step/152/

otherwise good stuff. :D
 
rocK` said:
OK PC GAF...

What wattage PSU should I get with this (most likely going to be Corsair, really like them)? I'm thinking I might have to get a 1000w....


Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Model #:Nine Hundred
Item #:N82E16811129021
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$139.95 -$40.00 Instant $99.95


ASUS Maximus III Formula LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:Maximus III Formula
Item #:N82E16813131482
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$249.99 -$20.00 Instant $229.99


2xEVGA 015-P3-1482-AR GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ...
Model #:015-P3-1482-AR
Item #:N82E16814130551
Return Policy:VGA Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$532.99 $1,065.98


Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - OEM
Model #:SSDSA2M080G2XXX
Item #:N82E16820167016
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$299.99 -$80.00 Instant $219.99


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model F3-8500CL7D-8GBRL
Model #:F3-8500CL7D-8GBRL
Item #:N82E16820231308
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$229.99 $229.99


LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support
Model #:iHAS424-98
Item #:N82E16827106335
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$25.99 $25.99


ZALMAN 9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Model #:9500A
Item #:N82E16835118223
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$52.99 $52.99

and a i7 930 that I picked up from microcenter.

Two things:

1) The mobo need to be LGA 1366 for an i7-930, not LGA 1156, so you'll have to swap that one out.

2) You want 6 GB or 12 GB of RAM, not 8. You'll be running this in triple channel, so 2x2x2 or 4x4x4.

As for the 2x480s, if you're set on doing it (and you're prepared to handle the heat output somehow), you should be looking at 850w or higher. High quality 850w, maybe an Antec Signature or an HX850. The power draw on the 480 is absurd so be prepared. I think you'd be better off with 2x5870s but it's your decision.
 
rohlfinator said:
Ah, just installed my new mobo, RAM, and Phenom II X6. Most painless upgrade ever -- surprisingly I didn't even have to reinstall Windows. (Maybe because I kept the same brand of mobo/processor?)

Its because you kept the same processor brand, if you switch from AMD to Intel and vice-versa you have to re-install Windows.
 
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