• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition

So, i'm buying my gpu right now, a 5850. Is there much difference between Asus',Gigabyte's and Shappire's?
I've heard the difference is mainly in the heat dissipation, which is the best?
 
Need some help trouble shooting, I've completed putting the parts together, but I am having trouble getting it to boot. Fans will kick on, but the bios screen will not come up. When it posts I think I hear one long beep and one short beep. In my motherboard's manual it says it means memory or motherboard error. Is there any way to know for sure which? And some in general things to look out for?
 
zarkand said:
Need some help trouble shooting, I've completed putting the parts together, but I am having trouble getting it to boot. Fans will kick on, but the bios screen will not come up. When it posts I think I hear one long beep and one short beep. In my motherboard's manual it says it means memory or motherboard error. Is there any way to know for sure which? And some in general things to look out for?
Click to expand...

Best thing to do here is strip everything down the bare minimum. Power supply into the motherboard, cpu and fan on, gfx card (if it doesn't have on board video), one stick of ram. Power button wire from your case onto the motherboard. Nothing else. Add stuff from there!
 
zarkand said:
Need some help trouble shooting, I've completed putting the parts together, but I am having trouble getting it to boot. Fans will kick on, but the bios screen will not come up. When it posts I think I hear one long beep and one short beep. In my motherboard's manual it says it means memory or motherboard error. Is there any way to know for sure which? And some in general things to look out for?
Click to expand...

Make sure your memory is fitted in properly (press in the centre of the ram and there should be a click to tell you its in - I had this problem with my first rig as I just pushed the side of the stick rather than making sure the whole thing was in). Also consult your manual to make sure the ram is in the right slots for dual? ram. I would imagine it is a memory problem at the moment rather than a motherboard one.
 
Lonely1 said:
GAF, im currently installing my new q9400 on my rig. But I have noticed that my old heatsink (e6850 stock's) is a lot bigger than the one that came with my 9400. Should I install the new or keep the old one?
Click to expand...
Ok, WTF was that? I decided to intall the stock heatsink. But my PC kept shutting down, so, i checked the Bios and the CPU temp was over 80c! I installed my old now and now it sits comfortably in the 40s... The fan was working fine, but I distrusted that small ass heatsink. What could it be, guys?
 
Druz said:
I don't like when people list gaming as a necessity with a budget of 600 unless they're going to build it themselves.
Click to expand...

I am going to build it myself, I need some help with picking out the parts and by gaming I meant World of Warcraft exclusively.
 
J.M.Reyes said:
I am going to build it myself, I need some help with picking out the parts and by gaming I meant World of Warcraft exclusively.
Click to expand...
A cheap gts 250 will destroy wow. Someone will have to help you find a cheapie case and processor because stuff adds up rather quickly.

Id get a 250(or ati equivilent) and an i5 and just get bare minimum everything else. HD is not important, a simple asus mobo would do. On a phone atm so I can't run through the numbers.
 
With the help of some e-friends, they totally helped me gather the parts together to start the process of FINALLY getting a up-to-date PC.

I've ordered most of the parts, and some have already arrived.

FirstPackagesArrive.jpg


The final bits...

Sony Optiarc Drive (Link)
Intel 80GB SSD Harddrive (Link)
Western Digital 1TB Internal Harddrive (Link)
Antec Twelve Hundred Case (Link)
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX Power Supply (Link)
Gigabyte ex58-HD5 motherboard (Link)
Intel i7 930 Processor - Quad Core x 2.8ghz (Link)
6GB of Corsair DDR3 RAM (Link)
Ati 5870 Graphics Card (Link)


+

Windows 7 (Link)
A Monitor (range $300 or so) that I haven't picked out yet
New KB+Mouse
New Speakers

All in all it's gonna cost me around $2500, but I know it's gonna feel good to finally have a PC that can let my inner graphics whore out again.

Also, a bit overwhelmed. Never really built my own PC and this stuff looks intimidating. Should be a fun experience. I won't be overclocking or anything, just playing it straight.
 
Amir0x said:
With the help of some e-friends, they totally helped me gather the parts together to start the process of FINALLY getting a up-to-date PC.

I've ordered most of the parts, and some have already arrived.

FirstPackagesArrive.jpg


The final bits...

Sony Optiarc Drive (Link)
Intel 80GB SSD Harddrive (Link)
Western Digital 1TB Internal Harddrive (Link)
Antec Twelve Hundred Case (Link)
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX Power Supply (Link)
Gigabyte ex58-HD5 motherboard (Link)
Intel i7 930 Processor - Quad Core x 2.8ghz (Link)
6GB of Corsair DDR3 RAM (Link)
Ati 5870 Graphics Card (Link)


+

Windows 7 (Link)
A Monitor (range $300 or so) that I haven't picked out yet
New KB+Mouse
New Speakers

All in all it's gonna cost me around $2500, but I know it's gonna feel good to finally have a PC that can let my inner graphics whore out again.

Also, a bit overwhelmed. Never really built my own PC and this stuff looks intimidating. Should be a fun experience. I won't be overclocking or anything, just playing it straight.
Click to expand...
Up to date? That machine kills. Be careful when putting stuff together and you'll learn a lot. Part to be careful with: processor and motherboard. Everything else you can relax around. I like those antec cases, I have the 902... interesting method for hds and drives.


Btw monitor: can I suggest the XL2370? I've had it for about a month and its amazing. $300 23inch 2ms 1920x1080 monitor with great colors. (Keep in mind its a TN panel, but a good one)
 
Got my new SSD yesterday, and I've been running with it for a while now and I'm pretty impressed. The effect is a little more subtle than I had expected, but it's sooo nice not to have to deal with the 2-3 second hard drive "hiccups" any more. My platter HDD even seems to be running a lot smoother now that it's not pulling the OS and games/media off the same disk.

I was a little worried about space, but so far I'm only using 16 out of 60GB with the OS and all my non-game apps installed, so I think I have some pretty good growing room.

Amir0x: Nice, balanced rig, that should serve you really well. :lol at the "SSD compatible" sticker on the case packaging.
 
Amir0x said:
All in all it's gonna cost me around $2500, but I know it's gonna feel good to finally have a PC that can let my inner graphics whore out again.

Also, a bit overwhelmed. Never really built my own PC and this stuff looks intimidating. Should be a fun experience. I won't be overclocking or anything, just playing it straight.
Click to expand...

amir0x with a god slaying rig, it seems so immediately right.

my only warning would be this: once raised, standards aren't reversible.
 
Druz said:
Up to date? That machine kills. Be careful when putting stuff together and you'll learn a lot. Part to be careful with: processor and motherboard. Everything else you can relax around. I like those antec cases, I have the 902... interesting method for hds and drives.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip. Yeah, I got great help selecting the parts. I was told these things would all work together and fit in this massive case just fine, so I'm prepared :lol

It's just all so complicated looking though. I am going to piss myself if I break the fragile motherboard :lol

Druz said:
Btw monitor: can I suggest the XL2370? I've had it for about a month and its amazing. $300 23inch 2ms 1920x1080 monitor with great colors. (Keep in mind its a TN panel, but a good one)
Click to expand...

Sure, I'd love monitor suggestions. I couldn't settle on anything yet but since some of the parts (mainly the graphics card) are gonna take a week or two to arrive, I still have time to think about it. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Take your time and read the manuals. Its all pretty straight forward if you follow the instructions.

Very nice rig BTW.
 
Amir0x said:
Sure, I'd love monitor suggestions. I couldn't settle on anything yet but since some of the parts (mainly the graphics card) are gonna take a week or two to arrive, I still have time to think about it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Click to expand...

If you want a good, affordable IPS panel I just bought one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824002524

So awesome, color clarity/purity really is above and beyond any TN panel i've used. Viewing angles are superb and I haven't seen any ghosting in games ive tried.
 
J.M.Reyes said:
Hi guys, I want to upgrade my main computer (currently using a netbook -_-), I dont live in the U.S./Canada but I will be buying from U.S. based stores.

Budget: $500-$550 ($600 only if its really worth it)
Main Use(s): Web browsing, listening music, light programming, writing papers, gaming
Monitor Resolution: I already have an LG 22" LCD 1680x1050
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: World of Warcraft, Source games and older

I dont need an OS since I got a copy of Vista 32, no mouse and kb either.
Click to expand...

anyone?
 
Amir0x said:
Thanks for the tip. Yeah, I got great help selecting the parts. I was told these things would all work together and fit in this massive case just fine, so I'm prepared :lol

It's just all so complicated looking though. I am going to piss myself if I break the fragile motherboard :lol



Sure, I'd love monitor suggestions. I couldn't settle on anything yet but since some of the parts (mainly the graphics card) are gonna take a week or two to arrive, I still have time to think about it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Click to expand...

There's actually a couple of good rig building guides in the op, well worth reading. Its a lot easier than you think despite being overwhelming at first and motherboards aren't fragile at all, they can take a lot of force and expect to give it jus that when you're fitting the heatsink.
 
Got a new PC yesterday and it just feels so great :)

Had a 6 year old Windows XP PC, then "upgraded" to a netbook since the PC didn't work anymore, had the netbook since last week as it died too, and finally got a new PC with Win7, 4GB RAM, nvidia GT250 and a X3 2900Mhz processor and it's just awesome how fast this it is.

Let's celebrate the next 6 years!
 
brain_stew said:
There's actually a couple of good rig building guides in the op, well worth reading. Its a lot easier than you think despite being overwhelming at first and motherboards aren't fragile at all, they can take a lot of force and expect to give it jus that when you're fitting the heatsink.
Click to expand...
Do be careful, though. While trying to disconnect a particularly sticky connection from my laptop's motherboard, I managed to entirely rip it off. Fortunately, it was a component that was broken and irreplacable anyways, but I've always been a little more cautious since then.
 
Q8D3vil said:
already own street fighter 4
how about getting 9800 gt , will it make a difference ( 30 $ more is not an issue here ) . because am aiming for stable 60 fps in games like batman and hopefully Mafia II ( if it possible )
Click to expand...

It won't make a difference to performance and it'll suck nearly two times as much power as well as costing more. Not worth it imo. A GT 220 is usually a fast enough PhysX card and this will be literally two times as quick for PhysX, a 9800GT is a much better gaming card but its not really any faster at PhysX.
 
so i got a couple of questions for you guys since im new to this pc gaming thing.

i got a amd phenom 2 x4 or something black edition 965 and because my budget wasent that high i got a 5770 ati radeon.
now here's my question i got a motherboard that supports crossfire and my idea was to get a new 5770 next month and put it so i have 2 5770 cards, i have 2 reasons for this.
first of all the 5850 was out of my budget for this month and i have no patience
and second of all the 5850 has a waiting period in holland of weeks if not months.

so my question is, will i get the same result from 2 5770 cards as i would get from 1 5850 card.

also with those specs in mind ( phenom 2 x4 black edition and a 5770 and 4gb ram ) can i play crysis and empire total war just cause 2 and dirt 2 on high ..?
 
brain_stew said:
It won't make a difference to performance and it'll suck nearly two times as much power as well as costing more. Not worth it imo. A GT 220 is usually a fast enough PhysX card and this will be literally two times as quick for PhysX, a 9800GT is a much better gaming card but its not really any faster at PhysX.
Click to expand...

Actually it should be faster. Its got more stream processors and thats pretty much the key thing when it comes to PhysX.

If he goes for the new green (eco or power saving) editions of the 9800GT that don't require a PCI-E power connector they wont take any more power than the GTS 240:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261046&cm_re=9800gt-_-14-261-046-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500142&cm_re=9800gt-_-14-500-142-_-Product

The Zotac would be the better choice if those because of the single slot cooler. Cost a bit more but its up to how much you think its worth.
 
catfish said:
think I'm finalized

My new HTPC. Will be used for playing HD media (blueray player coming later not purchased here) of all descriptions.

Anybody see any glaring issues here? Think everything should be compatible and cheap. the case comes with its own 350watt power supply.


Asrock M3A785GMH128M 785G / SB710 AM3 mATX 1 € 58.88 € 58.88
Antec Micro Fusion 350 - EC LP 1 € 80.22 € 80.22
AMD Athlon X2 240 2.8Ghz AM3 Box 1 € 43.39 € 43.39
WD Caviar Blue 640GB 16MB 7200rpm SATA 1 € 43.53 € 43.53
KHX1333C7D3/1GB 1333MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL7 (7-7-7-20) 2€ 29.48 € 58.96

for a total of 339.13

antec_micro_fusion_350_profilelarge.jpg
Click to expand...

sorry to quote myself guys, but I don't remember from my last build, with the processor I've ordered above, does it come with a stock fan and heatsink or do I need to buy that seperate? From memory my phenom II X4 came with a stock fan and heatsink and I didn't need to buy the goo either as there was some already on it.

This machine is only going to be for media playback so it shouldn't be getting heavily taxed which is why I'll go without purchasing a seperate one.
 
Actually it should be faster. Its got more stream processors and thats pretty much the key thing when it comes to PhysX.

If he goes for the new green (eco or power saving) editions of the 9800GT that don't require a PCI-E power connector they wont take any more power than the GTS 240:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-046-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-142-_-Product

The Zotac would be the better choice if those because of the single slot cooler. Cost a bit more but its up to how much you think its worth.
Click to expand...
thanks
i may go with the second one .

also , one of my friend want to jump in the physx thing
but he have 750w PSU
can he handle i7 stock + gx 295 + 240 gt

thanks
 
Quick question guys. I already have a 5870 is it worth it to get another one and crossfire? are their any complications with certain games? is there a huge increase in performance?
 
catfish said:
sorry to quote myself guys, but I don't remember from my last build, with the processor I've ordered above, does it come with a stock fan and heatsink or do I need to buy that seperate? From memory my phenom II X4 came with a stock fan and heatsink and I didn't need to buy the goo either as there was some already on it.
Click to expand...

That should come with a stock hsf yes.


Kabuki Waq said:
Quick question guys. I already have a 5870 is it worth it to get another one and crossfire? are their any complications with certain games? is there a huge increase in performance?
Click to expand...

Depends, do you actually need the extra performance? If you do, then the performance increase will be decent in games that have good crossfire support, obviously older games won't support Crossfire as well but you shouldn't need crossfire for older games anyway.
 
GHG said:
Actually it should be faster. Its got more stream processors and thats pretty much the key thing when it comes to PhysX.

If he goes for the new green (eco or power saving) editions of the 9800GT that don't require a PCI-E power connector they wont take any more power than the GTS 240:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261046&cm_re=9800gt-_-14-261-046-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500142&cm_re=9800gt-_-14-500-142-_-Product

The Zotac would be the better choice if those because of the single slot cooler. Cost a bit more but its up to how much you think its worth.
Click to expand...

Its not going to effect his framerate in PhysX games is the point and even the Eco version draws a lot more power than a standard GT 240 and they'll be noisier as well. Its just chucking money away for the sake of it imo.
 
Amir0x said:
With the help of some e-friends, they totally helped me gather the parts together to start the process of FINALLY getting a up-to-date PC.

I've ordered most of the parts, and some have already arrived.

The final bits...

Sony Optiarc Drive (Link)
Intel 80GB SSD Harddrive (Link)
Western Digital 1TB Internal Harddrive (Link)
Antec Twelve Hundred Case (Link)
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX Power Supply (Link)
Gigabyte ex58-HD5 motherboard (Link)
Intel i7 930 Processor - Quad Core x 2.8ghz (Link)
6GB of Corsair DDR3 RAM (Link)
Ati 5870 Graphics Card (Link)


+

Windows 7 (Link)
A Monitor (range $300 or so) that I haven't picked out yet
New KB+Mouse
New Speakers

All in all it's gonna cost me around $2500, but I know it's gonna feel good to finally have a PC that can let my inner graphics whore out again.

Also, a bit overwhelmed. Never really built my own PC and this stuff looks intimidating. Should be a fun experience. I won't be overclocking or anything, just playing it straight.
Click to expand...

wow monster rig!

buy a good heatsink and do a lite overclocking to 3.4ghz, just by changing the bclk. on one hand, you get free performance, and the other, a cooler quieter pc! It is a must for i7 chips, i think intel is forcing our hands by including their crappy and noisy stock heatsink!

get a good ips or spva monitor, forget about the cheaper tn panels.
 
 
So there was a slight flood and water sprayed into the power strip in which my PC was plugged in. It was on at the time. I unplugged everything and turned it all off. Today it's a couple days later and I plugged the PC back into a new power strip. It seems okay? How can I check whether or not stuff is damaged? I ran arkham asylum for a few minutes and it didn't chug, defragged, copied some files. There doesn't seem to be any noticeable problems. What do you guys think?

Edit: Main reason I ask is that I'm looking to use some of these parts (like the power supply) for a new rig to save cash. But I wouldn't want to mess up any of my brand new components.
 
Launch said:
I'm looking to build a new pc, got all the likely components ready to buy, but I'm a pc noob (first build), could anyone take a look at my basket and see if there are any compatibility issues or basically if it'll all fit in that case, etc? Would be greatly appreciated! :D

Link to basket: here

Basket print screened in case link fails
Click to expand...

Looks good to me, though I'm no expert. I think the general consensus is that this is the best sata harddrive at the moment for your money http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1TB-...3-SATA-3Gb-s-7200rpm-32MB-Cache-89-ms-NCQ-OEM though. Everything is sure to fit in that case, make sure to get somebody else's advice as well though :)
 
Firestorm said:
GPU - $160 ($150 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873

CPU - $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

Mobo - $95 ($85 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128419

Case - $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

PSU - $51 ($36 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

HDD - $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

DVD - $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030
--
$621 ($586 after rebate)

If you can't do rebates, the power supply could probably be switched out for something else.
Click to expand...

Thank you for that, can you recommend some RAM? It was left out from your list.
 
I am looking for a good internal HD capture card. Mostly for PS3/360.

Ideally I wanted an HDMI. But PS3 has HDCP protection for everything (Bluray/Games), so I need HD capture that doesnt have HDMI.

Anyone here who is using it and have a suggestion?
 
Sorry for the stupid question, but I am looking to possibly upgrade my GPU, I just want to know is my GTX280 really that outdated? And what would be a good starting card to get (looking towards ATI, as I have read that they have some amazing performance for less money). I am pretty sure that my GTX280 has 512mb of ram.

I was looking at the 5850, just to specify.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

PC games that are ONLY in a borderless window need to stop.
2
53
937
RoboFu replied
Do we even need a new consoles so soon?
Opinion  2
80
469
Three replied
Fallout New Vegas 15th Anniversary Edition Announced - $155
News  2 3
100
1K
KungFucius replied
FusionFix 4.0 Turns GTA IV on PC Into the Definitive Edition
2 3
100
7K
Windom Earle replied
PC Master Race, I need your help!
37
2K
lachesis replied
Top Bottom