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"I need a New PC!" 2011 Edition of SSD's for everyone! |OT|

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Wazzim

Banned
Chiggs said:
Ugh! Too much of a focus on absurd-looking tower cases in this thread. All the cool kids know that HTPCs and SFF systems are where it's at.:D

Because people only want to use there computers as a HTPC in a gaming thread?
 

n0n44m

Member
www.tweakers.net/pricewatch , you can pick out stuff there and when you have an account it'll show at which store(s) to order for lowest total price incl shipping

if you really don't want to build yourself you can check out alternate.nl , they have a builder and they've got lots of different components as well (not always the cheapest though)

---
HTPC/SFF is cool to look at but I wouldn't use it for a gaming system ... hell most stock graphic card fans are already hardly tolerable in a well cooled case :lol
 

Wazzim

Banned
n0n44m said:
www.tweakers.net/pricewatch , you can pick out stuff there and when you have an account it'll show at which store(s) to order for lowest total price incl shipping

if you really don't want to build yourself you can check out alternate.nl , they have a builder and they've got lots of different components as well (not always the cheapest though)
Thanks, that'll make things alot easier.
 

Kayhan

Member
Chiggs said:
Ugh! Too much of a focus on absurd-looking tower cases in this thread. All the cool kids know that HTPCs and SFF systems are where it's at.:D
WTF?

If you are looking at an enthusiast-level rig you are going with a tower case. Period.

I agree that a lot of 'gamer' tower cases look like lame as fuck, though.

Disco LED lights for the lose.
 

TheExodu5

Banned
I know I said I wouldn't, but I think I will get the Corsair AX850 for SLI GTX 570. The thing has a 7 year warranty after all...might as well stress it a bit.

Then again, I might not even go SLI.
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
Zaraki_Kenpachi said:
Because people only want to use there computers as a HTPC in a gaming thread?


Pfft! There are plenty of HTPC cases that can house a powerhouse gaming rig. Plus, they look about 100 times better than some of the Transformers shit in this thread.

Kayhan said:
WTF?

If you are looking at an enthusiast-level rig you are going with a tower case. Period.

I disagree. Antec and Lian Li make HTPC cases that are suitable for even the most high end rigs. Foot long video card? No problem.
 

Kayhan

Member
Am, I the only one pissed that the enthusiast-level Sandy Bridge CPUs will only be out in late 2011?

I find this idea of launching mainstream CPUs first annoying as hell. I want to build a new rig soon but the CPUs coming out now are only 4-core weenie models not the Extreme 6- or 8-core varieties.
 

Kayhan

Member
Chiggs said:
Pfft! There are plenty of HTPC cases that can house a powerhouse gaming rig. Plus, they look about 100 times better than some of the Transformers shit in this thread.



I disagree. Antec and Lian Li make HTPC cases that are suitable for even the most high end rigs. Foot long video card? No problem.
Is it a size issue for you or just that 'gamer' towers look gaudy and lame?
 

Ecto311

Member
Advice? Being slightly retarded I am using the bios oc utility to get to the speeds I have now. It's at 15% oc and 20% doesn't even fire up. Anything look like its stopping me from 2.5 or a bit higher manually?

I read that you can put the fsb at 400 safely to get 2.8 but I am either missing that setting or my ram is shitting the bed because it just long beeps on me. My ram is 2 different sets at different settings - if I recall. Might be better to pull 2gig and have 2gig only? Thanks for any advice.

comp1.jpg
 

n0n44m

Member
Chiggs said:
Pfft! There are plenty of HTPC cases that can house a powerhouse gaming rig. Plus, they look about 100 times better than some of the Transformers shit in this thread.



I disagree. Antec and Lian Li make HTPC cases that are suitable for even the most high end rigs. Foot long video card? No problem.

can't say I like the look of Antec's HTPC cases

Lian-Li has 3 that accept ATX motherboards, but apart from the fact that they're all pretty expensive they're also quite large as well ... which wouldn't be an issue for HTPC use but most pc gamers use a desk next to which a tower is the most logical option :D

got a Silverstone LC17 downstairs and I like it, but mostly because it looks really discrete and blends in next to the receiver

I agree a lot of towers these days don't look that good, but there are no HTPC cases that offer the same space or cooling at an equally low price while better looking

edit: and I wouldnt install a multi-gpu setup in even the best HTPC cases, as they barely have frontal ventilation because of the "better looking" solid front ... nothing is impossible but I think it is pretty clear why most people wouldn't consider it
 

n0n44m

Member
Ecto311 said:
Advice? Being slightly retarded I am using the bios oc utility to get to the speeds I have now. It's at 15% oc and 20% doesn't even fire up. Anything look like its stopping me from 2.5 or a bit higher manually?

I read that you can put the fsb at 400 safely to get 2.8 but I am either missing that setting or my ram is shitting the bed because it just long beeps on me. My ram is 2 different sets at different settings - if I recall. Might be better to pull 2gig and have 2gig only? Thanks for any advice.

adjust your RAM dividers in the bios; the ram is getting overclocked as well which it probably doesn't like that much

you're now using the default (fsb:ram) 2:3 divider which makes 400 ram at a default 266 fsb (ie 266/2 = 133, 133*3 = 400) , so now search a divider that makes it close to 400 at the fsb you are overclocking to

(you can always try to overclock the RAM later for some slight amount of extra performance)
 

artist

Banned
Is going triple channel worth it? There is some triple channel memory on sale and I was thinking of jumping on it or not. From the wiki it seems only the Extreme i7 will support it ..

What do you think GAF?
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
Kayhan said:
Is it a size issue for you or just that 'gamer' towers look gaudy and lame?

Gaudy and lame.

My idea of a full tower would be along the lines of the Fractal Extended case.

n0n44m said:
edit: and I wouldnt install a multi-gpu setup in even the best HTPC cases, as they barely have frontal ventilation because of the "better looking" solid front ... nothing is impossible but I think it is pretty clear why most people wouldn't consider it

I'm going to try this out next month, actually. I'll let you know how it goes. :lol
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
So a quick question. I just installed a GT 430 in my HTPC, to add a bit of low level gaming power and HDMI 1.4 support. Previously I had a GT210. I am currently having what I assume are HDMI handshake issues. First on reboot the resolution is switching to an overscan compatible 1080p (18xx by 9xx or so) leaving me with black borders. Also if I come out of sleep without the TV on (inevitable for scheduled recordings), I end up with a black screen and no input detected. I thought all these HDMI issues had been solved by now, anyone have any ideas if this is true, if so then cleaning out my drivers and reinstalling might be the best plan. Otherwise I will have to use a workaround with hdmiON.
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
poppabk said:
So a quick question. I just installed a GT 430 in my HTPC, to add a bit of low level gaming power and HDMI 1.4 support. Previously I had a GT210. I am currently having what I assume are HDMI handshake issues. First on reboot the resolution is switching to an overscan compatible 1080p (18xx by 9xx or so) leaving me with black borders. Also if I come out of sleep without the TV on (inevitable for scheduled recordings), I end up with a black screen and no input detected. I thought all these HDMI issues had been solved by now, anyone have any ideas if this is true, if so then cleaning out my drivers and reinstalling might be the best plan. Otherwise I will have to use a workaround with hdmiON.


Hmm...do you have your television set to a particular format, like 16X9? If so, switch it to automatic or Just Scan or whatever it's called.

Not sure if driver issues are what's causing the problem since both cards you've used have been Nvidia.
 

Ecto311

Member
n0n44m said:
adjust your RAM dividers in the bios; the ram is getting overclocked as well which it probably doesn't like that much

you're now using the default (fsb:ram) 2:3 divider which makes 400 ram at a default 266 fsb (ie 266/2 = 133, 133*3 = 400) , so now search a divider that makes it close to 400 at the fsb you are overclocking to

(you can always try to overclock the RAM later for some slight amount of extra performance)

Would this chart be what I am looking for?

Assuming no because it's for amd - I'll keep poking around. Thanks.
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
Chiggs said:
Hmm...do you have your television set to a particular format, like 16X9? If so, switch it to automatic or Just Scan or whatever it's called.

Not sure if driver issues are what's causing the problem since both cards you've used have been Nvidia.
Its set to just scan (equivalent), and when the resolution is set to the true 1080p setting it fills the whole screen, but it defaults to a slightly lower resolution also labeled 1080p in the control panel on reboot. I am sure it will be fixable somewhere in the control panel, the handshake issues on resume are gonna be more of a pain in the ass if it isn't some redundant driver remnant causing the issue.
 

n0n44m

Member
Ecto311 said:
Would this chart be what I am looking for?

Assuming no because it's for amd - I'll keep poking around. Thanks.

no that's for AMD's because they used a different (more complex) way of calculating ram speed

but just go in the bios and look at the options

there should be a option that is named "dram divider" or something like that

it should have values that are something like 2:1 , 3:2 , 1:1 , 2:3 , 1:2 and so on or that are listed as 133 , 166 , 200, 266 , 400, 533 and so on
the second type of values are simply the resulting memory clockspeed at the default FSB

what these options do is they change this divider, you need to set a divider that makes the ram run slower at the default FSB but close to it's original speed at the current overclocked FSB ..
the 2:3 (or 400) divider is the (currently chosen) default divider -> a 3:4 divider (or 355 I guess) divider would result in the memory running at stock 400 mhz with a fsb speed of 300 mhz ... if you make it to the 400 fsb, a 1:1 divider (or 266) should do the trick

edit: I just looked through this review of your board but it has some other features I never used, namely the possibility to "unlink" DDR and FSB clocks from each other? Came across bunch of P5N-E SLI related forum post that did mentioned regular dividers so I'm not really sure what the case is ... better check your motherboard's manual to be sure
 

TheExodu5

Banned
Why is it so hard to find a good 2x4GB memory kit. :(

Any suggestions? I need it to be black. I'm trying to find the A-Data kits in Canada but an having trouble finding anything more than 2GB DIMMs
 

subversus

I've done nothing with my life except eat and fap
I bought HIS 6950 and Viewsonic VP2365wb for my Photoshop and Illustrator needs. Feels good.
 

Mr_Brit

Banned
TheExodu5 said:
Why is it so hard to find a good 2x4GB memory kit. :(

Any suggestions? I need it to be black. I'm trying to find the A-Data kits in Canada but an having trouble finding anything more than 2GB DIMMs
I'll never understand this fascination with having the things inside your case, which you'll paractically never see, colour coordinate and match. Why would you willingly pay extra for something like that?
 

TheExodu5

Banned
Mr_Brit said:
I'll never understand this fascination with having the things inside your case, which you'll paractically never see, colour coordinate and match. Why would you willingly pay extra for something like that?
Because it looks sexy. Whatever, I'm doing it for fun. It really doesn't cost much more at all...I'm just limiting myself to black components. That means no Gigabyte. Not a big deal.

Some of us actually appreciate a nice looking and clean design when it comes to the inside of a case. I have a window...might as well show off while I'm at it.

Anyways, found an 8GB A-Data 1600MHz kit for $120 on NewEgg. Should do just fine. No massive heatspreader either, which means it should play nice with most CPU heatsinks.
 

JoeBoy101

Member
Mr_Brit said:
I'll never understand this fascination with having the things inside your case, which you'll paractically never see, colour coordinate and match. Why would you willingly pay extra for something like that?

Have to admit, I'm with you on this one.
 

gogojira

Member
I'm about to start piecing together a computer (I'll be ordering it a few pieces at a time to help spread the cost over a month or so), and I was looking at what video card I should get.

Honestly, I want something pretty beastly and was looking at this. I see there's also a GTX 580 but it's a couple hundreds bucks on top of that.

I'd do it if it'd make a significant improvement to my rig, but is it worth dropping the extra money for it?
 

JoeBoy101

Member
TheExodu5 said:
It's basically nerd porn

I can understand 99% of gamers not giving a shit.

Oh I understand it. Hell, I can't settle for a basic and cheaper case that's as good, I need a snazzy looking one. I just don't come down the same way with regards to the innards. Its all tidiness and functionality there for me. Much like mine own organs. :D

gogojira said:
I'm about to start piecing together a computer (I'll be ordering it a few pieces at a time to help spread the cost over a month or so), and I was looking at what video card I should get.

Honestly, I want something pretty beastly and was looking at this. I see there's also a GTX 580 series but it's a couple hundreds bucks on top of that.

I'd do it if it'd make a significant improvement to my rig, but is it worth dropping the extra money for it?

What's the card you currently have/are considering?
 

gogojira

Member
JoeBoy101 said:
What's the card you currently have/are considering?

My computer is four years old or so, so I'm actually building a new one altogether. I'm currently working with an 8800 GTS.

I'm admittedly not as tech savvy as many people here so I've been trying to use this thread for a guideline, but my price range hasn't been updated in the OP yet so I'm struggling, heh. Looking to spend about $1500 total.

I figured I'd start with figuring out what video card I want and go from there. I know as far as motherboards go, I should get one that's Sandy Bridge compatible and wait for it, right?
 

Opiate

Member
So I'm interested in finally upgrading to an SSD, but I have some questions.

I'd obviously love to get my gaming drive operating on an SSD, but it is unsurprisingly very large: approximately 300GBs used right now, with ~600GBs unused for future expansion.

Do people have a solution for that problem? Obviously, I can uninstall/reinstall games as I use them (or don't), but that's actually an inconvenience I'd rather avoid, if possible. I thoroughly enjoy having all my games at my fingertips immediately. However, a 300GB+ SSD is very expensive.

Am I going to be frustrated with my inability to load my games from the SSD? Will I be sufficiently pleased with performance improvements just from loading my OS/basic applications to one of these drives?
 

JoeBoy101

Member
gogojira said:
My computer is four years old or so, so I'm actually building a new one altogether. I'm currently working with an 8800 GTS.

I'm admittedly not as tech savvy as many people here so I've been trying to use this thread for a guideline, but my price range hasn't been updated in the OP yet so I'm struggling, heh. Looking to spend about $1500 total.

I figured I'd start with figuring out what video card I want and go from there. I know as far as motherboards go, I should get one that's Sandy Bridge compatible and wait for it, right?

A 570 is pretty high end for sure, and it's actually a price and performance improvement over the 480. That sad, the 470 is hardly shabby and its about $100 cheaper. I guess it comes from figuring out whats more important to you. I put together my build with a i5 760 and a good Asus mobo as a placeholder, but the prices of both right now will be about what the prices are for the same items in the Sandy Bridge line. If you're going $1,500 for a build, I'd say go balls to the wall and get the 570, but bear in mind you're really going to be pushing that price/performance return to being unfavorable.

Opiate said:
So I'm interested in finally upgrading to an SSD, but I have some questions.

I'd obviously love to get my gaming drive operating on an SSD, but it is unsurprisingly very large: approximately 300GBs used right now, with ~600GBs unused for future expansion.

Do people have a solution for that problem? Obviously, I can uninstall/reinstall games as I use them (or don't), but that's actually an inconvenience I'd rather avoid, if possible. I thoroughly enjoy having all my games at my fingertips immediately. However, a 300GB+ SSD is very expensive.

Am I going to be frustrated with my inability to load my games from the SSD? Will I be sufficiently pleased with performance improvements just from loading my OS/basic applications to one of these drives?

When are you looking to upgrade? Based on what others are saying here, that size makes it quite pricey for right now but Intel is supposed to be releasing a whole new lineup of larger and cheaper SSDs in Q1 next year. If i had to blow smoke out my ass, I'd say you'd be able to get a 250G drive for the cost of a 125G right now (i.e., roughly $225).
 

TheExodu5

Banned
gogojira said:
I'm about to start piecing together a computer (I'll be ordering it a few pieces at a time to help spread the cost over a month or so), and I was looking at what video card I should get.

Honestly, I want something pretty beastly and was looking at this. I see there's also a GTX 580 but it's a couple hundreds bucks on top of that.

I'd do it if it'd make a significant improvement to my rig, but is it worth dropping the extra money for it?
The GTX 580 is only about 15% faster, for 50% more money. Not worth it unless you want the top of the line.

Also, you might as well go with a kore reputed manufacturer like eVGA or Asus, considering they're pretty much the same price.
 

gogojira

Member
Cool, thanks for the help. I'll probably pick up the 570 then.

So eVGA is the way to go? I really had no idea on brands, to be honest. How much memory would be ahead of the curve at this point? I was thinking I'd get at least 8GB or more, but fuck if I know if that's the norm now.

Edit: Putting these suggestion in my newegg account, too. Definitely going to be starting this soon (potentially today).

What resolution monitor would you guys suggest. I've always just got the common 1680x1050, but I'd imagine I could push for more than that with that card.
 

TheExodu5

Banned
Opiate said:
So I'm interested in finally upgrading to an SSD, but I have some questions.

I'd obviously love to get my gaming drive operating on an SSD, but it is unsurprisingly very large: approximately 300GBs used right now, with ~600GBs unused for future expansion.

Do people have a solution for that problem? Obviously, I can uninstall/reinstall games as I use them (or don't), but that's actually an inconvenience I'd rather avoid, if possible. I thoroughly enjoy having all my games at my fingertips immediately. However, a 300GB+ SSD is very expensive.

Am I going to be frustrated with my inability to load my games from the SSD? Will I be sufficiently pleased with performance improvements just from loading my OS/basic applications to one of these drives?
Symbolic links will let you move games from your HDD to your SSD without any troubles. Your OS will think they still reside on your HDD, when they will in fact reside on your SSD.

The only thing to expect from gaming on an SSD is slightly faster load times, and quiet drive operation. I have had it help with HDD access based stutters in games like LOTRO. Otherwise, the main improvement you'll see with an SSD is OS responsiveness. And yes, it's well worth it for that alone.
 

JoeBoy101

Member
gogojira said:
Cool, thanks for the help. I'll probably pick up the 570 then.

So eVGA is the way to go? I really had no idea on brands, to be honest. How much memory would be ahead of the curve at this point? I was thinking I'd get at least 8GB or more, but fuck if I know if that's the norm now.

1. PNY is okay, but as Exodu5 said, eVGA or Asus is the way to go.

2. 8GB is worthless unless you are doing video editing or a large amount of applications running at the same time. Its not going to buy you a reasonable amount of performance, even for the cheap cost of memory. Maybe 10% better over 4GB.
 

gogojira

Member
JoeBoy101 said:
1. PNY is okay, but as Exodu5 said, eVGA or Asus is the way to go.

2. 8GB is worthless unless you are doing video editing or a large amount of applications running at the same time. Its not going to buy you a reasonable amount of performance, even for the cheap cost of memory. Maybe 10% better over 4GB.

Ha, I guess I've overvalued what ram does (this is why I came to this thread, heh).
 

TheExodu5

Banned
gogojira said:
Cool, thanks for the help. I'll probably pick up the 570 then.

So eVGA is the way to go? I really had no idea on brands, to be honest. How much memory would be ahead of the curve at this point? I was thinking I'd get at least 8GB or more, but fuck if I know if that's the norm now.

Edit: Putting these suggestion in my newegg account, too. Definitely going to be starting this soon (potentially today).

What resolution monitor would you guys suggest. I've always just got the common 1680x1050, but I'd imagine I could push for more than that with that card.
eVGA is just more reputed lately, which means easier resale. In the end they're all pretty much the same though, just different stickers.

8GB is a perfect amount to stay ahead of the curve. Don't need any more than that. I just ordered the A-Data 8GB 1600MHz dual channel kit. The cheaper G.Skill Ripjaws would be another good choice as well. I just went A-Data to avoid possible heatsink clearance issues.

As for monitor resolution, 1920*1080. It's quickly turning into a standard PC resolution. Also, go 24" if you can. Not much more than 22", but you'll definitely appreciate the extra size. If you have the desk space, you could also consider using an HDTV.
 

JoeBoy101

Member
TheExodu5 said:
As for monitor resolution, 1920*1080. It's quickly turning into a standard PC resolution. Also, go 24" if you can. Not much more than 22", but you'll definitely appreciate the extra size. If you have the desk space, you could also consider using an HDTV.

Think its worth it to upgrade from 1680*1050? I've been pretty happy with my 21" and the slightly lesser resolution has been helping on framerates I think.
 

gogojira

Member
TheExodu5 said:
eVGA is just more reputed lately, which means easier resale. In the end they're all pretty much the same though, just different stickers.

8GB is a perfect amount to stay ahead of the curve. Don't need any more than that. I just ordered the A-Data 8GB 1600MHz dual channel kit. The cheaper G.Skill Ripjaws would be another good choice as well. I just went A-Data to avoid possible heatsink clearance issues.

As for monitor resolution, 1920*1080. It's quickly turning into a standard PC resolution. Also, go 24" if you can. Not much more than 22", but you'll definitely appreciate the extra size. If you have the desk space, you could also consider using an HDTV.


Awesome, thanks for the advice. Dropped a few items in the cart already. Is it worth it to wait for CES to even worry about motherboards or should I be alright with one that's out now but compatible with Sandy Bridges?
 

Omiee

Member
i have a bit of a problem and i need your help gaf.
i currently have a 470, i used to have 2 but after not installing it in my pc and being able to run almost all games on max i sold it.
now with all these amazing games coming out in 2011 im thinking about upgrading.
my current path is either get a second 470 in sli, or i could sell my 470 for 150 euro or something and my budget would be around 300 to 350 maybe even 400 to get a videocard.
what should i do gaf, just get the 470 and wait for a new card untill 2012 or sell my 470 and get 1 card, and if its the last option what is my best option and most bang for the buck if i have 400 to spend.
 

JoeBoy101

Member
Omiee said:
i have a bit of a problem and i need your help gaf.
i currently have a 470, i used to have 2 but after not installing it in my pc and being able to run almost all games on max i sold it.
now with all these amazing games coming out in 2011 im thinking about upgrading.
my current path is either get a second 470 in sli, or i could sell my 470 for 150 euro or something and my budget would be around 300 to 350 maybe even 400 to get a videocard.
what should i do gaf, just get the 470 and wait for a new card untill 2012 or sell my 470 and get 1 card, and if its the last option what is my best option and most bang for the buck if i have 400 to spend.

I only upgrade my card when I can get something 2 generations higher. Now, that's me, but that's an awfully high premium to pay for the performance boost from 470 to 570 (assuming you stick with Nvidia). One thing to consider is alot of these amazing games are coming out multiplatform. Which means it has to have at least near decent graphics on the consoles, so your 470 should be able to handle it really well unless they scaled it like a mother (ref. Metro 2011).
 

Omiee

Member
JoeBoy101 said:
I only upgrade my card when I can get something 2 generations higher. Now, that's me, but that's an awfully high premium to pay for the performance boost from 470 to 570 (assuming you stick with Nvidia). One thing to consider is alot of these amazing games are coming out multiplatform. Which means it has to have at least near decent graphics on the consoles, so your 470 should be able to handle it really well unless they scaled it like a mother (ref. Metro 2011).
i can get a used 470 for around 130 euro should i just do that for sli..?
would my 850W power supply be enough, its a seasonic so its a AAA one.
 
Yes it would. A bit more wattage headroom wouldn't hurt, either.


Smokey said:
Thanks for this.
NP.


DyobolikaL. said:
That's a custom cooler on top of a custom board. I'd go for a reference card (or reference board attached to a custom cooler) for MSRP or less, and if you want lower temps or sound levels, you could always pick up an aftermarket GPU heatsink.


JoeBoy101 said:
Case Question for the thread:

I'm currently waiting on my build until we see SB, but I figure i'd take the time to debate the little things and am currently torn between two cases:

1) The frontrunner:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Yt21FgveL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

COOLER MASTER HAF 922: Its only a mid-tower but should suit my needs beautifully, plus I like the look of it, fan LEDs aside.

Linkie.

2) The challenger:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41XXRQVNhyL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

SILVERSTONE RV02B (Raven): Gives me the full tower, and a sexy design overall, but am leery about the rotated mobo configuration (e.g., the mobo goes in so that all the exterior connections come out the top, not the back. A panel sits over the top to hide the connections. It has dust filters though whereas the HAF does not (at least, the 922 doesn't.)

Linkie.

So PCGaf, what do you think?
The RV02-Evo and RV03 are both on sale now, though they're priced higher. In case you decide on the Raven, did you notice that Amazon has the better price?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/SILVERSTON/?tag=neogaf0e-20

$160 at checkout, against Newegg's $160 after rebate. Also, the Amazon purchase nets you free shipping along with an additional $20 rebate, bringing the total cost to $140 with zero tax/shipping charges.


TheExodu5 said:
Because it looks sexy. Whatever, I'm doing it for fun. It really doesn't cost much more at all...I'm just limiting myself to black components. That means no Gigabyte. Not a big deal.
Gigabyte P67A-UD5 and P67A-UD7

84a.jpg


The upcoming "G1-Killer" boards (Asus ROG competitors) look to be similarly themed, though they have some absurd design elements.
 
Chiggs said:
Ugh! Too much of a focus on absurd-looking tower cases in this thread. All the cool kids know that HTPCs and SFF systems are where it's at.:D
You must have missed a few of the cases TheExodu5 and I recommended earlier.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=24126899&postcount=16723
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=24128914&postcount=16732
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=24128955&postcount=16733
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=24130545&postcount=16755
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=24348685&postcount=17360
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=24425120&postcount=17551

Among others.

Generally, we both tend to like cleaner looking designs. Still, that shouldn't stop anyone from recommending an enclosure that performs well, is suitable for the specific user, or is reasonably priced in part because it doesn't match our particular aesthetic preferences. You'll notice that most of the cases brought up are $100 or less because those tend to make the most sense for the average GAF member. A few $150-250 options are thrown in from time to time, but rarely ever anything higher than that.

BTW, I'm a big SFF and HTPC fan. Before switching my main rig to a 22nm CPU late 2011/early 2012, I may end up building a small Sandy Bridge system. There's a broad spectrum of pricing and styling options and I don't think the average user would be up for spending equal or more for an SFF enclosure than they would for mid and full towers. Like this mATX case that costs more than a Corsair 800D:

017t1m.jpg


Love it. Wouldn't even mention it outside of a tiny percentage of people.


Chiggs said:
Pfft! There are plenty of HTPC cases that can house a powerhouse gaming rig. Plus, they look about 100 times better than some of the Transformers shit in this thread.

I disagree. Antec and Lian Li make HTPC cases that are suitable for even the most high end rigs. Foot long video card? No problem.
Chiggs said:
Gaudy and lame.

My idea of a full tower would be along the lines of the Fractal Extended case.


I'm going to try this out next month, actually. I'll let you know how it goes. :lol
Not everyone likes what you like?

I'd recommend (and use) Fractal even more than I do now if they would finally get around to selling their wares through Newegg, Amazon, etc. For a new and small outfit, they've come a long way in a brief period of time so hopefully they address that soon so that more people can buy cases like the ones below without paying exorbitant shipping costs.

Fractal Design Arc

http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2&prod=57

fractal-arc-5-s.jpg
fractal-arc-3-s.png


fractal-arc-4-s.png
fractal-arc-1-s.jpg



Fractal Design Define Mini

http://www.sweclockers.com/nyhet/13268-fractal-design-avslojar-define-mini

2w558xh.jpg


2d9r69x.jpg
 

artist

Banned
gogojira said:
I'm about to start piecing together a computer (I'll be ordering it a few pieces at a time to help spread the cost over a month or so), and I was looking at what video card I should get.

Honestly, I want something pretty beastly and was looking at this. I see there's also a GTX 580 but it's a couple hundreds bucks on top of that.

I'd do it if it'd make a significant improvement to my rig, but is it worth dropping the extra money for it?
I think you can some cash to spare :p and not sure if you are going to like this "value" suggestion of mine. Get a 6950, save $50 bucks and mod to a 6970. With a 2GB framebuffer and a new arch, you are bound to get more performance/life out of it. ;)


Opiate said:
So I'm interested in finally upgrading to an SSD, but I have some questions.

I'd obviously love to get my gaming drive operating on an SSD, but it is unsurprisingly very large: approximately 300GBs used right now, with ~600GBs unused for future expansion.

Do people have a solution for that problem? Obviously, I can uninstall/reinstall games as I use them (or don't), but that's actually an inconvenience I'd rather avoid, if possible. I thoroughly enjoy having all my games at my fingertips immediately. However, a 300GB+ SSD is very expensive.

Am I going to be frustrated with my inability to load my games from the SSD? Will I be sufficiently pleased with performance improvements just from loading my OS/basic applications to one of these drives?
I'm in the same boat as you and did some reading yesterday. It looks like two Momentus XTs in RAID 0 is the way to go. The drive learns your habits so its going to perform very well for your most used applications. For the apps that you dont use often, the speed ups will come in the 2nd/3rd uses.

Read this; http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=25145025&postcount=416
 

artist

Banned
irfan said:
Is going triple channel worth it? There is some triple channel memory on sale and I was thinking of jumping on it or not. From the wiki it seems only the Extreme i7 will support it ..

What do you think GAF?
Anyone?
 

JoeBoy101

Member
Omiee said:
i can get a used 470 for around 130 euro should i just do that for sli..?
would my 850W power supply be enough, its a seasonic so its a AAA one.

SLI'ing another 470 in would definitively do more than upgrading into a 570 or even a 580. Your supply should be enough, but double check with a power calculator to make sure you have enough headroom (i.e., what feist said).

feist said:
The RV02-Evo and RV03 are both on sale now, though they're priced higher. In case you decide on the Raven, did you notice that Amazon has the better price?

http://www.amazon.com/SILVERSTONE-RV...3731903&sr=8-1

$160 at checkout, against Newegg's $160 after rebate. Also, the Amazon purchase nets you free shipping along with an additional $20 rebate, bringing the total cost to $140 with zero tax/shipping charges.

Actually, on my worksheet, I'm keeping track of Amazon and Newegg prices, but that one seems updated with the rebate compared to what I had. Still, after having a 'innovative' case with my current machine, I'm leaning to something more standard. But obviously, I got a bit of time to torture myself until SB comes out. :D
 
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