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"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition
- Thread starter Spy
- Start date
Firestorm said:
Awesome. Yesterday night I was hesitating about going for this setup (December version) and this update just pushed me over the edge :lol
I have a question concerning my setup: the computer will be in the living room, plugged to an A/V receiver via HDMI that outputs PCM audio to a fairly large 5.0 speaker system. Do I need an audio card to get the best out of it, or will the integrated be fine?
brain_stew
Member
KittyKittyBangBang said:
Its a great budget CPU, though I'd recommend spending 5 minutes to OC it a little to 3-3.2ghz so that it doesn't struggle in some modern games that aren't optimised for more than two cores. It'll be really easy, perfectly safe, and is pretty much guaranteed to work. Just that little boost of .5ghz or so will make all the difference. Great upgrade once you've done that.
Misterinenja
Member
Just got my components. First time building a computer. Wish me luck! :lol
brain_stew
Member
rossonero said:I was going to buy a 5850+i5 750 rig for my CAD, 3D work and gaming but after thinking about it a little I think I'm going to go with the Phenom II 925+5770 route instead. I'm a student now and this autumn is going to be murderous with regards on school work so there isn't going to be a lot of time for gaming. The AMD rig should be sufficient in playing most games in a 1650x1080 resolution (maybe even 1920x1080 if I decide to go with the NEC and not the Dell monitor) and should be a lot better at CAD and 3D than my current Athlon XP 2800+ with 768 MB RAM right?
Just a bit! :lol
Honestly the 5770 +Phenom ii 925 is a great combo for the money. It offers enough GPU and CPU power for pretty much any task, is about as "futureproof" as you can get and even has a lot of OCing headroom incase you're ever dissatisfied with performance sometime in the future. Ticks all the right boxes and comes in under $600, can't be beat really. Its definitely the current "sweet spot" in terms of price
erformance.BudokaiMR2 said:
Yep, use the adapter + any bog standard HDMI cable and you should be good to go as long as you install the drivers correctly. Its a pretty damn elegant solution.
Oh. almost forgot, it'll probably only work out of one particular DVI port so, if you have trouble, just try the other port.
Misterinenja said:
Keep us posted!
What were your final choice of components?
Moving this lame question over at the request of mr brain_stew.
---
My laptop is dying and I have decided to go back to a desktop.
I found this DIY kit at newegg that is pretty tempting except the graphics cards are last gen.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.311768
Is that a pretty safe bet to go with, or should I piece the system together with individual parts? I'd like to keep it under $1000 if possible ($1200 max). The main things to change in my opinion would be replacing the crossfired 4860's with a 5870 (or two lower end ones) and bumping up the power supply wattage.
Also, has onboard audio become semi-passable now or something? I noticed that none of these DIY kits come with a sound card (even the $4600 ones).
---
My laptop is dying and I have decided to go back to a desktop.
I found this DIY kit at newegg that is pretty tempting except the graphics cards are last gen.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.311768
Is that a pretty safe bet to go with, or should I piece the system together with individual parts? I'd like to keep it under $1000 if possible ($1200 max). The main things to change in my opinion would be replacing the crossfired 4860's with a 5870 (or two lower end ones) and bumping up the power supply wattage.
Also, has onboard audio become semi-passable now or something? I noticed that none of these DIY kits come with a sound card (even the $4600 ones).
K.Jack said:
To be honest I would rather get something that's the best I can afford than settle for something second place in the name of saving money. What with all the new i5 machines coming out this month with graphics like GT330M and HD5830 at reasonable prices it seems a bit silly to get a last-gen model with a Core 2 CPU... of course, if those models don't make it to the UK before the end of the month I'll have to start considering laptops that aren't as good.
TouchMyBox
Member
Baker said:Moving this lame question over at the request of mr brain_stew.
---
My laptop is dying and I have decided to go back to a desktop.
I found this DIY kit at newegg that is pretty tempting except the graphics cards are last gen.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.311768
Is that a pretty safe bet to go with, or should I piece the system together with individual parts? I'd like to keep it under $1000 if possible ($1200 max). The main things to change in my opinion would be replacing the crossfired 4860's with a 5870 (or two lower end ones) and bumping up the power supply wattage.
Also, has onboard audio become semi-passable now or something? I noticed that none of these DIY kits come with a sound card (even the $4600 ones).
I say just pick out the individual parts yourself, we'll help you out with that if you're not sure what's compatible with what. Get yourself a P55 motherboard, a core i5 750 and a radeon 5850 with 4GB DDR-1333 for starters, a build based on that should meet your budget requirements.
As far as sound cards go, onboard is the standard as it's good enough. If you're looking to hook up your machine to a home theatre, then you'll want to shell out some dough on say an Auzentech x-fi forte.
Leatherface
Member
Firestorm said:Different people like different types of cases. Some love LED lights and shit everything, I hate them. I love my Antec 300 but to others it's too plain:
This is one of the cases I'd love to have given the cash, but might again not be to your liking: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129061&Tpk=p183
I just wouldn't spend $600 more for lower specs just because you want a nice case.
As in way more than any game needs. Especially on what is now a lower-mid range card.
Great case. Screw lighting kits and pimped cases. It's all about the air flow!
TouchMyBox
Member
Leatherface said:
It's been a while since I've had LEDs in my case, but I recently got a Lancool which has LEDs on it's 140mm fans. It's one of the rare cases for me where LEDs actually look tasteful.
Yeah I feel you. A ton of new kit was just introduced at CES, so my main recommendation is to not buy a new machine until sometime in February, as the refresh just isn't coming out yet.Danj said:
Fwiw, the GT 240M is a genuine G200 core, the same one as the GT 330M, only it's clocked a bit lower. The GT 335M is a step up, as it jumps from 48 shaders to 72, but the only machine it's been announced for is the new Alienware M11x, which is an 11" wonder at $999 USD.
Even the ATI 5800/5700 won't be out until February/March.
Now is really not a good time to require an ASAP machine.
Stantron
Member
Yeah, I realized that after making my post and then doing some more research. The HP box power supply is only 460W. From what I can tell, 500W minimum is recommended for the HD5770 and up graphics cards. Funny thing is, 500W is also recommended for GTX260, which happens to be a card build option for the HP box. I guess you can run it at lower than optimal power, but it may cause problems.brain_stew said:
These look nice. I like the gray trim one. Thanks. I'm going to continue looking through their catalog when I get some time after work today.Firestorm said:
PoweredBySoy
Banned
TouchMyBox said:
I love me some 140mm. My latest build is in the Lian Li PC-60FB which has a 140mm intake. That too was an LED fan, but that was still just too much for me, so I swapped it out with a non LED version. I also installed a 120mm side-fan and a 120mm top exhaust for some air cooled mayhem.
Lian Li is probably one of the nicest case companies I've used.
Thanks for the reply. I've built two computers before, but I've just been out of the desktop loop for 3-4 years so I'm pretty dumb now.TouchMyBox said:
So the i5 750 is the way to go? My buddy at work said I "needed" an i7 920 with an x58 mobo so that's why I started there. I don't really want to skimp on parts, but on the flipside I don't want to build a $2000 machine either. I just want to be able to play games on very high settings at acceptable framerates. As of right now, I have no uber-interest in oc'ing but I guess that could change once I start messing around.
More random questions:
1) What is the deal with graphic cards today? Is it better to get one hog or two cheaper models and crossfire/sli them?
2) Do I really need a cpu cooler?
3) What hdd brands are the good ones now? Should just get one big one or a couple smaller and set up a RAID 0?
4) Is a 600w power supply enough or do I need a 750 (especially if I crossfire).
PoweredBySoy
Banned
K.Jack said:
When is it ever? If your current computing needs requires an update - just do it and be rest assured that whatever you buy will be second-rate within months. As a gamer I've learned long ago to just buy the best of the last generation and to avoid the inflated premiums of the new.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Baker said:
....unless you want to fry your CPU, then yeah, you need one.
PoweredBySoy
Banned
Baker said:
1) I've always preferred the single-card method, especially if you're building from scratch. I know they've come a long ways, but SLI and crossfire are still very inefficient and can be a potential source of drama. Two video cards doesn't give you twice the power. It's also takes up a lot of space, consumes a lot of power and generates extra heat.
The only reasons I've ever seen to run dual cards is if you (for some reason) need the absolutely fastest machine out there - and then run two high-end cards. Or, if your old machine needs a quick upgrade you just buy another one of your old cards for cheap.
2) lol... ahhhhhh. I assume you mean aftermarket cooler? Then no, not if you're not going to overclock, in which case the stock cooler is fine.
3) I'm a huge fan of the Velociraptors - or anything 10k. I've never had them go bad on me. SSD is still too fringe for me to trust.
4) For a single-card solution, 600 is more than plenty. Crossfire you'd probably want the 750.
Manatee Mahn
Member
I'm primarily a lurker here, but I've recently come to the conclusion that I have no idea what I'm doing with building pc's and need help. I've never owned a gaming rig, let alone any pc, but I want to make my own.
Using parts suggestions mostly from brain_stew, I've come up with something that fits within my price range ($800). Would appreciate feedback on my selections from newegg.
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
Item #:N82E16835233003
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate
$39.66
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #:N82E16822152181
$54.99
Antec Sonata Elite Black Computer Case
Item #:N82E16811129057
-$20.00 Instant
$99.99
$79.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820231277
$93.99
XFX Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) HD-577A-ZNFC Video Card
Item #: N82E16814150447
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
Item #: N82E16819103808
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
-$25.00 Combo
$355.98
$330.98
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128392
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W Power Supply compatible with core i7
Item #: N82E16817341018
-$45.00 Instant
-$20.00 Combo
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$214.98
$149.98
Grand Total: $749.59
Using parts suggestions mostly from brain_stew, I've come up with something that fits within my price range ($800). Would appreciate feedback on my selections from newegg.
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
Item #:N82E16835233003
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate
$39.66
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #:N82E16822152181
$54.99
Antec Sonata Elite Black Computer Case
Item #:N82E16811129057
-$20.00 Instant
$99.99
$79.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820231277
$93.99
XFX Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) HD-577A-ZNFC Video Card
Item #: N82E16814150447
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
Item #: N82E16819103808
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
-$25.00 Combo
$355.98
$330.98
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128392
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W Power Supply compatible with core i7
Item #: N82E16817341018
-$45.00 Instant
-$20.00 Combo
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$214.98
$149.98
Grand Total: $749.59
GHG
Member
Trojita said:
Didn't think you could crossfire 2 cards from different series. You'll need to pair your 4870 with another 4870 or even a 4890. Also consider when you crossfire, the higher speed card can barely perform above the level of the lower speed card.
So if you want to make the jump to DX11 you need to sell your 4870 and start fresh.
Well, there's always the unknown on the horizon, but right now is a case of the new stuff having been announced and going into production as we type. In the mobile market the new is directly replacing the old, and at same or lesser prices.PoweredBySoy said:
Waiting a month , maybe less, will save you money and net you much higher performing gear.
Alright, I started messing around on newegg and have a pretty decent build going on except I need to pick out a case. I have always just reused old cases, so I have no idea what to look for besides air flow.
Currently this is what the build is looking like:
-ASUS SABERTOOTH 55i (mobo)
-Intel BX80605I7860 (i7 860)
-G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL (4gig 1600)
-Seagate ST31500541AS (1.5tb)
Combo deal, save $62.98... total $630.98
-SAPPHIRE 100282SR Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Retail
-Thermaltake TR2 W0388RU 600W ATX 12V v2.2 Power Supply - Retail
Combo deal, power supply is free... total $299.99
So after that I would just need a case and maybe cpu cooler, right?
Edit: Nevermind. That hdd is only 5900rpm. Yuck.
Currently this is what the build is looking like:
-ASUS SABERTOOTH 55i (mobo)
-Intel BX80605I7860 (i7 860)
-G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL (4gig 1600)
-Seagate ST31500541AS (1.5tb)
Combo deal, save $62.98... total $630.98
-SAPPHIRE 100282SR Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Retail
-Thermaltake TR2 W0388RU 600W ATX 12V v2.2 Power Supply - Retail
Combo deal, power supply is free... total $299.99
So after that I would just need a case and maybe cpu cooler, right?
Edit: Nevermind. That hdd is only 5900rpm. Yuck.
Fixed1979
Member
JRW said:
I had an Antec 900 that was way too bright and it was terrible to work with, just swapped it out for a Corsair Obsidian 800D. This thing is a dream to work with, highly recomended. I actually meant to post a couple pictures of the build and will do so eventually but here's the front from a stock picture...one white light.
SundaySounds
Banned
Baker said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156241&Tpk=raidmax quantum
This is the case that I've got and I'm loving it. This baby has all the airflow you could ever need. Pretty quiet, too.
2x120mm fans front intake(Blue LED)
2x120mm fans top intake
1x120mm fan rear exhaust
The only thing I didn't like is the molex connectors for the fans. You have to daisy-chain them all and they're kinda cheap and they're kinda difficult to fit together, but once you get those all put together, it's great!
Also, I don't think a custom cpu cooler is necessary unless you plan on overclocking.
Firestorm said:
that's the case i actually got. i really like it. it was on sale when i bought it, but was still a little pricey. i like the power supply chamber, but in practice it can make setting things up a bit more of a pain in the ass. once all the power cables are run, though, it's fine.
Fixed1979
Member
sillymonkey321 said:
Seems like a pretty good buy, if you were going to install an aftermarket CPU cooler then you will probably run into trouble with the side (window) fan.
EDIT: Just notice the location of the USB ports (bottom side), it's an odd location but it may not make a difference to you.
TouchMyBox
Member
Baker said:
Well you certainly don't need an i7. If you don't mind paying a premium for a processor that will most likely treat you better in the long term, i7 is a nice route to go. As far as minimums go, that would be a Athlon II x3 435. I see you're considering a i7 860 now which is a wiser choice as it is a generation ahead of the 920. For hard drives I like Western Digital Blacks for non-SSD systems. (other people here will swear by seagate, but I've had awful experiences with all my seagates, guess I have unfortunate luck) As far as the PSU goes, the thermaltake will more than likely suit your needs fine, but I have a friend who lost almost an entire machine to his thermaltake PSU. I'd personally go with a Corsair TX750W.
Thanks again. Yeah, I'm not too happy about the power supply. However, it comes free with the cheapest 5850 card so I'm kind of stuck unless I end up with an extra PSU.TouchMyBox said:
Can you explain the difference between the i7 860 and 920? My buddy at work got pretty snippy when I mentioned the 860, hehe. He's really sold on the 920's.
I did find a WD Black 640gig combo with 6 gigs of OCZ Gold ram for $217.98 so I'll probably go with that.
BravoSuperStar
Member
KittyKittyBangBang said:
I bought that exact combo deal about a month ago, been running it with a ATI 4870. Great price for a quad core CPU with massive OC'ing potential. I just installed a Arctic Cooling freezer 64 pro, just waiting for thermal paste to set before I start pushing it. On all stock settings it gets 30fps average in Crysis @ 1368x768 everything very high, bump shaders/post processing to high and it gets 38-40fps. (it's hooked to a 32inch lcd through HDMI) Street Fighter IV runs locked 60fps, GTAIV runs great, Serious Sam HD, etc. I think I am RAM bottlenecked to be honest, it's only got 2gb at the moment. Anyway, I think you made a good decision, in the future you will be glad to have a true quad core.
chixdiggit
Member
Firestorm said:
I can now confirm that the Ram listed is not compatible with the motherboard. I bought this:Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D Dominator 6 GB 3 x 2 GB PC3-12800 1600MHz instead and it works like a dream.
The original Ram tests out fine just not with that motherboard.
evil solrac v3.0
Member
I have this motherboard :
and the blue and white PCI-e slots are taken up by the graphics cards, the bottom
PCI-e x8 slot is taken up by the sound card and i have the black PCi slot left which i wanted to use to install this old video card i had laying around as a PhysX card :
but the fan is too thick to let me insert properly (or maybe i didn't push hard enough) if i remove the fan would the card break down in any sort of way without a cooler?, i have an Antec 1200 and have fans blowing air all over the place and the card doesnt even need a PSU connection of any sort, any tips would be appreciated.
and the blue and white PCI-e slots are taken up by the graphics cards, the bottom
PCI-e x8 slot is taken up by the sound card and i have the black PCi slot left which i wanted to use to install this old video card i had laying around as a PhysX card :
but the fan is too thick to let me insert properly (or maybe i didn't push hard enough) if i remove the fan would the card break down in any sort of way without a cooler?, i have an Antec 1200 and have fans blowing air all over the place and the card doesnt even need a PSU connection of any sort, any tips would be appreciated.
My build is sitting around $1100 right now. This whole 860 vs 920 debacle is driving me absolutely crazy. Right now I'm not going with dual video cards, but the x58 seems to be more "hey let's add some parts" proof.
i7 920
ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.315557
Sapphire HD Radeon 5850
Thermaltake TR2 W0388RU 600W ATX 12V v2.2 Power Supply (* I really don't want this PSU but it's frickin' free so it saves me $70 in the build)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.310962
WD Black 1tb
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.321231
Cooler Master Storm Scout
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196&cm_re=storm_scout-_-11-119-196-_-Product
Final price $1121. Everything is paired in a combo bundle, so not even counting the PSU, I saved at least another $80.
Money saving ideas:
- Go the i7 860 route (cheaper mobo and less ram)
- Drop the hdd to 640gig
- Different video card (pissed the 5850's went up $40 since launch)
i7 920
ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.315557
Sapphire HD Radeon 5850
Thermaltake TR2 W0388RU 600W ATX 12V v2.2 Power Supply (* I really don't want this PSU but it's frickin' free so it saves me $70 in the build)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.310962
WD Black 1tb
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.321231
Cooler Master Storm Scout
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196&cm_re=storm_scout-_-11-119-196-_-Product
Final price $1121. Everything is paired in a combo bundle, so not even counting the PSU, I saved at least another $80.
Money saving ideas:
- Go the i7 860 route (cheaper mobo and less ram)
- Drop the hdd to 640gig
- Different video card (pissed the 5850's went up $40 since launch)
These two weren't compatible?chixdiggit said:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=42530
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=46237
It's really odd as I haven't heard anyone else say so yet.
BravoSuperStar
Member
Speaking of RAM when the hell did it get so expensive again? I bought 8gb of DDR2 800 for $80 about a year ago. I wanted to pick up 2gb for my bedroom PC to bump it up to 4gb and paid $47 for a single 2gb stick. Oy vey!
chixdiggit
Member
Firestorm said:
Built PC with that same motherboard and Ram, Also with i5 and 5850 vid card. Had tons of problems with system freezes and BSOD with random errors. Tried different PSU, graphic card, and even returned the mother board for a new one. Nothing worked until replacing the Ram with a different model.
Did the standard using one stick of Ram at a time but both gave me problems even when only one was inserted. Also did memory test and it checked out fine.