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"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition
- Thread starter Spy
- Start date
1-D_FTW said:
Interesting. Perhaps I will hold off on it a bit longer.
But what can I do now to up my performance cheaply? I was playing Shatter Horizon with everything on High and would only get ~25 fps which would drop regularly.
Right now I'm rolling with
Windows 7 x64
Foxconn P34A01
Core 2 Duo E8500 (3.16)
1 GB GTX 460
4 GB RAM
500 watt PSU
I guess increasing my ram for starters, then OCing the cpu and graphics card?
is there a good all-in-one prebuilt UK deal at the moment? somethign that'll play games well, last me a while and do the usual other shit (general computer). Just need a base unit, have a monitor/keyboard/mouse. Only 1680x1050 at the moment, but will eventually be replaced with a 1080p TV.
who are good prebuilt suppliers?
No particular budget, but I'd like to see what £500/£750/£1000 would buy, and what the realistic differences would be.
who are good prebuilt suppliers?
No particular budget, but I'd like to see what £500/£750/£1000 would buy, and what the realistic differences would be.
drhankmccoyphd
Member
A friend just asked me to price a super cheap, super compact gaming PC. Mostly to play Source games/Diablo clones on his HDTV. I'm thinking that a Shuttle barebones system would fit the bill nicely along with an Athlon II, 2GB RAM and 4650/5660. Are there any other compact cases that would work? Most of the extraneous parts like HDD, OS and Optical I could scrounge from work so I think I could easily stay within the $300 mark. Thoughts?
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
$300 is a very tough mark to aim for but yeah, if you get everything else beside the Processor, RAM and GPU for free then $300 might just be sufficient.
The_Inquisitor
Member
Anyone know if Thermaltake's Armor A90 case is good? Frys has it on sale for 60 this weekend.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...133176&cm_re=Armor_A90-_-11-133-176-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...133176&cm_re=Armor_A90-_-11-133-176-_-Product
Pretty much nothing you could do except for getting an i7 or i5 and OC that to 4+GHZ. Increasing your RAM will do nothing for your performance, 4GB is plenty and you won't overload it. In the meanwhile OC your GPU and CPU, the CPU should do 4GHZ with a good cooler and your GPU should hit 850MHZ.Alucrid said:
godhandiscen
There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
I have had my Core i7 between 3.7 ~ 4.2 GHz since the platform launched about two years ago. When is Intel releasing its next enthusiast platform. The Core i7 is still pretty powerful for today's games, but I am itching to upgrade. I have considered the 980x, but it overclocks less than the processor I have (940). I don't care much for core count, but for clock speed.
A90?abq said:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003KGBCU8/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Whether you like how a case looks is up to you though. I'd tab though newegg on the 75-100 range and sort by reviews.
*Beaten to posting this case. Weiiiiiiiiird.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133176
OC CPU, then GPU. More RAM won't help.Alucrid said:
Are you sure that model for the mobo is right?
You should easily hit 3.8 with that chip and get 850Mhz+ on your 460. Should help a lot.
Grab an aftermarket for the E8500, you can probably hit around 3.5 on stock volts though.
Sandy Bridge? Possibly this year (Doubtful imo)godhandiscen said:
I'm sure you know how bad a value the 980X is. You could buy a phase change cooler for less and clock your i7 to 5Ghz+ :lol
drhankmccoyphd
Member
What do you guys think of this as a budget/small competent gaming PC for playing mostly Source games at about 768p?
HDD/Optical/KB+M can be scrounged
IN WIN BL631.300TBL Black Steel MicroATX Slim Case Computer Case 300W Power Supply
ECS GeForce6100PM-M2(V3.0) AM3/AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
ASUS EAH4650/DI/1GD2(LP) Radeon HD 4650 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Low Profile Ready Video Card
OCZ 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400)
select item 5 quantity of item 5
AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core
Subtotal: $263.95
HDD/Optical/KB+M can be scrounged
IN WIN BL631.300TBL Black Steel MicroATX Slim Case Computer Case 300W Power Supply
ECS GeForce6100PM-M2(V3.0) AM3/AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
ASUS EAH4650/DI/1GD2(LP) Radeon HD 4650 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Low Profile Ready Video Card
OCZ 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400)
select item 5 quantity of item 5
AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core
Subtotal: $263.95
mrklaw said:
Intel Core i7 920 D0 2.66GHz @ 4.00GHz Quad Core DDR3 System
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-025-OP
Check out their other options as they have loads.
drhankmccoyphd
Member
drhankmccoyphd
Member
Hazaro said:
I think that case needs a low profile card though.
You are correct! I glanced at the case on newegg.mikespit1200 said:
This is probably your best bet: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102829
Yeah it's a 4650 with GDDR2, but you aren't going to get much better value since you have to use low profile.
It's about a 7900GS/1950 in performance which is... adequate.
The_Inquisitor
Member
Will that a90 case fit any size including that new 200 dollar nvidia card?
PjotrStroganov
Member
abq said:
Wow, that HAF 922 looks horrible!:lol
I have the CM 690 II Advanced and love it. It has style to it but still looks imposing. It's also very flexible when it comes to placing fans and removing HDD supports for better airflow. Not as clean looking as the Fractal, so it's a matter of taste I guess.
Hmm, I left my PC on overnight and apparently it blue screened twice. Checking the Event Viewer, I saw a Kernel-Power error, event ID 41. After Googling a bit, some users report that it's a problem with having multiple audio devices installed. I checked Device Manager and saw that I had 6 of the same "HD Audio Device"s listed. I didn't get a chance to mess around with it more since I had to go to work. Anyone know why there are so many devices listed?
demosthenes
Member
So as I've never done this. All I need to do to OC the CPU is change my base clock speed and the voltage to a stable level right?
Oh, and I found Turbo, under an Advanced menu.
edit: Ok, using this as a guide:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llqhe3N1cJA&feature=player_embedded#!
If I'm going with a pre defined setting from Tom's Hardware would I only need to change the CPU Vcore voltage?
Oh, and I found Turbo, under an Advanced menu.
edit: Ok, using this as a guide:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llqhe3N1cJA&feature=player_embedded#!
If I'm going with a pre defined setting from Tom's Hardware would I only need to change the CPU Vcore voltage?
The_Inquisitor
Member
Ok I am currently trying to decide between the EE and internal cooler version of the GTX 460. I am placing it into a A90 Armor case. How much louder in the external exhaust versus the in case version? Would it make more sense to use external exhaust for my case?
PjotrStroganov
Member
demosthenes said:
Depends on what CPU you are using.
Speaking from personal experience, I've OC'd my 955 Phenom from 3,2 to 3,6 ghz by just upping the multiplier. No voltage increase needed. I'm a noob at this but checking other site gave me confidence that it could be done without changing the voltage.
Just google for info on OC-ing your CPU and check out what is safe. It's also handy to try it out with software like AMD Overdrive (if you have an AMD) before changing your bios settings.
Felix Lighter
Member
demosthenes said:
You'll have to change your memory speeds as well to match the base clock speed but that is simple You'll likely be offered the acceptable values (base clock x memory multiplier), and you just pick the value that your memory can handle. You also set the QPI speed but that can just be set to the lowest allowable level (2 x base clock x memory multiplier).
You should probably optimize your CPU Voltage and your QPI/DRAM Core Voltage.
Before you get too deep, I'd find a quality guide. There seems to be quite a few i5 750 OC guides out there.
Edit: Looks like you found a guide.
GigaByte 1GB GTX460 for $204 shipped
Coupon "BUBBLE20"
Use Bing cashback (3%)http://www.bing.com/shopping/pages/stores.aspx?scope=cashback&FORM=R5FD31 (Select SuperBiiz)
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name...R5-2DVI-Mini-HDMI-PCI-Express-Video-Card&c=CJ
Coupon "BUBBLE20"
Use Bing cashback (3%)http://www.bing.com/shopping/pages/stores.aspx?scope=cashback&FORM=R5FD31 (Select SuperBiiz)
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name...R5-2DVI-Mini-HDMI-PCI-Express-Video-Card&c=CJ
http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image//skymtl/GPU/EVGA-GTX-460-SC-EE/EVGA-GTX-460-SC-EE-69.jpgThe_Inquisitor said:
That's an open air bench. Not sure if it favors the open coolers or the EE since temps would rise in a case normally. Not sure on noise but I'd imagine it would be slightly louder (the other eVGA review was not an EE)
The_Inquisitor
Member
Hazaro said:
Wait wtf. The computer runs HOTTER w/ the EE?
Also I am thinking of going MSI w/ my A90 case. I believe I should have enough airflow. I am even considering adding in the two extra 120mm fans. What are the best budget versus performance case fans these days?
The_Inquisitor said:
4 coolermaster 120s for the price of one noctua or other fancy brand
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000O8I474/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Hazaro said:
Damn that's a great price for that card. I almost regret buying this Palit a week early
Almost. Oh and don't get turned off by that SuperBiiz/ewiz site. i've already bought 2 laptops from that same site. Prices are competitive and they actually ship out the same day that you order.The_Inquisitor
Member
Hazaro said:
I thought the whole point of an external cooler is to decrease the temperature inside the case. That benchmark shows it's running even hotter with the external cooler unless I am misreading the chart.
I would only really need two. How loud are these things compared to the case fans that come with the A90 Armor?
This is what I am referring to. Doesn't seem like a great trade-off for the increase in noise and heat load on card.
Yeah, ewiz is pretty highly rated.kagete said:Damn that's a great price for that card. I almost regret buying this Palit a week early
Amazon has Logitech G500 Gaming Laser Wired Mouse for $60 -10% with code GXTPOFES - $20 mail-in rebate = $34 with free shipping.
Newegg also has Logitech G500 Gaming Laser Wired Mouse for $60 - $5 off with code EMCYVNN28 - $20 rebate = $35 with free shipping.
At 44CFM they should be quieter I would imagine. It says 19dB.
The_Inquisitor
Member
Hazaro said:
Cool. Thanks Hanzaro, I have been out of the PC world WAY too long. Feels good to be getting back into the slew of things. Did you see my edit in my post above?
Not sure about them being loud, as my case has a built-in manual fan controller and never set it to full blast. If you stick them on your motherboard and let it control speeds you can probably set them to only run up to a certain speed.
I only needed 2 myself at first but then I found another old one with a color I liked so now I have 3 spares lying around. At the time it seemed like a good deal since Amazon's free 2day shipping is way better than paying $3 for newegg to take an extra day to process your order and then wait 3 days for UPS to arrive.
Also, I really wouldn't know about the Armor's fans. Maybe you can try comparing RPMs or the manufacturer's listed noise values (which are probably too good to be true) for each fan. Hazaro mentioned a page or so ago that spending too much on extra fans is a pretty bad route to go. Aren't you building a $750-800 PC? Your case will already have great cooling out of the box (most recent cases at the pricepoints that us enthusiasts look at often do anyway) and having an extra $20-50 you can add to your system I'd rather you look at pushing from a 5770 to a gtx460 or any other core components. My two cents, peace
edit: looks like I type too slow, stuff already covered
I only needed 2 myself at first but then I found another old one with a color I liked so now I have 3 spares lying around
. At the time it seemed like a good deal since Amazon's free 2day shipping is way better than paying $3 for newegg to take an extra day to process your order and then wait 3 days for UPS to arrive.Also, I really wouldn't know about the Armor's fans. Maybe you can try comparing RPMs or the manufacturer's listed noise values (which are probably too good to be true) for each fan. Hazaro mentioned a page or so ago that spending too much on extra fans is a pretty bad route to go. Aren't you building a $750-800 PC? Your case will already have great cooling out of the box (most recent cases at the pricepoints that us enthusiasts look at often do anyway) and having an extra $20-50 you can add to your system I'd rather you look at pushing from a 5770 to a gtx460 or any other core components. My two cents, peace
edit: looks like I type too slow, stuff already covered
It doesn't cut you, unless if you handle it, which...you need to do in order to install it. I thought I was an idiot or something because installing the thing HURT!. Aside from that, it's not that bad, even given the warmer weather here the thing barely hits 60deg in IBT with my Q9400 clocked at 3.6ghz and in "usual" use it rarely touches 50. As I said though, you can find much better out there, but I love the look of the thing, so I am sticking with it, at least until I go i7 next year.Hazaro said:
Well, it could look like this: http://public.blu.livefilestore.com...PdUaPckv7I4ryX8Z4Lpsk9_-g013g/Fly1.jpg?psid=1abq said:
Oh wait, less bad looking (Yes, I probably am the only one in the world who loves the look of that case)... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129058&Tpk=Antec 902 <--The Antec 902?
demosthenes
Member
Alright, upped it to 3.6ghz.
Before the test, this is what I had:
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/beforetest-1.jpg
Test results:
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU1.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU2.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU3.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU4.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-GPU1.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-VCore.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-Volt3.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-Volt5.png
Anyone w/ more experience than me help me decipher
?
Based on temps though...I think I could increase it a little?
Before the test, this is what I had:
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/beforetest-1.jpg
Test results:
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU1.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU2.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU3.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU4.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-GPU1.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-VCore.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-Volt3.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-Volt5.png
Anyone w/ more experience than me help me decipher
?Based on temps though...I think I could increase it a little?
The EE may make your case cooler, but I wouldn't say its worth it if you have good airflow.The_Inquisitor said:
Also the A90 looks like it uses 3 very quiet fans (1000RPM / 15dB) so those CM fans would actually be louder, but still quiet.
Yeah, keep going. I'd run it up until I hit maybe 66C or so load. Maybe higher if I get a nice clock.demosthenes said:
Temps seem fine, as does the Vcore, although the 3 downwards spikes are worrying, that said I don't know enough about the Intel i* series chips to know if that is a known occurance or not.demosthenes said:Alright, upped it to 3.6ghz.
Before the test, this is what I had:
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/beforetest-1.jpg
Test results:
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU1.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU2.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU3.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU4.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-GPU1.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-VCore.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-Volt3.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-Volt5.png
Anyone w/ more experience than me help me decipher
Based on temps though...I think I could increase it a little?
Honestly though, I'd say you're more than able to push the chip a bit further, just keep an eye on temps because sometimes you can reach a point where temps just spike out of nowhere which is usually the time to call it a day.
Yeah, I've never had good luck with rebates, but that could be because I tried one or two yearrrs ago and they never came and haven't bought anything with a MIR since. .1-D_FTW said:
Hazaro said:
I have a US shipping address as well. I wouldn't be ordering from Newegg other wise. They love UPS, and UPS loves to charge a $21.06 "Import fee" at the door. :lol
PjotrStroganov
Member
Nexus fans are dirt cheap and almost as quiet as noctuas.
Felix Lighter
Member
demosthenes said:Alright, upped it to 3.6ghz.
Before the test, this is what I had:
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/beforetest-1.jpg
Test results:
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU1.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU2.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU3.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-CPU4.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-GPU1.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-VCore.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-Volt3.png
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab145/mpmaley0/2010-07-23-14h29-Volt5.png
Anyone w/ more experience than me help me decipher
Based on temps though...I think I could increase it a little?
:lol Another set of temp readings that make my machine look like an oven. I'm definitely putting 2 fans on my heat sink ASAP.
Everything looks great by the way.
demosthenes
Member
Thanks for the feedback all.
What might those 3 downward spikes be indicative of?
As I said before, the CPU is in my basement which is freezing, it will change when I move into my apartment in 4 weeks :lol
Stop It said:
What might those 3 downward spikes be indicative of?
Felix Lighter said:
As I said before, the CPU is in my basement which is freezing, it will change when I move into my apartment in 4 weeks :lol
Felix Lighter
Member
Hazaro said:
The fan pulling air into the case? It's a 140mm fan and it seems to be working fine. I also removed all unused drive trays to allow for better airflow.
I didn't get an opportunity last night to do much with it. I still need to make sure everything is tighten down and check my temps with the case open. Or I could just go by my Speedfan readings and pretend they are correct. It shows all my temperatures 15C lower than RealTemp and CoreTemp.
The_Inquisitor
Member
Hazaro said:
I'm in the same boat actually. For now I plan to roll with a single 1GB GTX460. However down the line I plan to potentially either SLI another 460, or upgrade to a better card. Can anyone point out a specific PSU or PSU I should look at?
As it stands, my build cost is at
Case - A90 Armor (60 bucks)
DVD Drive - Lite-on (15)
GPU - gigabyte GTX460 (203)
CPU - ???
MB - ??
PSU - ??
RAM - ??
Misc. Cables - ??
Total: 278
Budget - 750 USD +/- 50
Any help on the ?? marks, lol. Obviously I am looking for at least 4GB of ram. I do plan to do high end gaming. Monitor rez is at 1680x1050. I do extensive photoshop and run engineering apps too.
Okay I've received some laptop suggestions and need more experienced eyes to tell me the performance difference.
MSI GX640
HP dv6t
Thinkpad T510
HP Envy 14
Sony VAIO CW
HP DM4t
All I'm really looking for is a fresh mobile workstation that will also comfortably run recent multiplayer games like Team Fortress and StarCraft 2.
MSI GX640
HP dv6t
Thinkpad T510
HP Envy 14
Sony VAIO CW
HP DM4t
All I'm really looking for is a fresh mobile workstation that will also comfortably run recent multiplayer games like Team Fortress and StarCraft 2.