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[Revenant]

Quick question for those that know the market better.

Is the Phenom x4 series still very viable or since I'm starting a completely new build should it between Bulldozer and sandybridge(i'm not considering ivybridge since i'll have built buy then)

 

[EatChildren]

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_23_845&products_id=12544 is a popular one, but make sure your case can fit it. The case looks kinda skinny. If it can't, something like this might be better: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_23_845&products_id=14686 . With the latter, I guess read some reviews and impressions and make sure it's not likely to be blocked by anything on your motherboard, like RAM sticks or chipset heatsinks. Whichever you decide, find out whether it comes with thermal compound, as you may have to pick it up separately if it doesn't: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_163&products_id=16442

Blargh. Did some measuring and that CPU fan is unlikely to fit, and the GPU will be cramped as hell. The whole case will be really cramped.

Maybe I'd be better off getting a new case too, especially since it would fit into the budget.

Any thoughts? I'll have a look at some of the suggestions in the Op, but my main problem with so many modern cases is the whole "HARDCORE GAMING PC FROM THE FUTURE" look they go for. What I love about my Antec is the solid, sleek design. I dont want something thats a glowing spikey monstrosity. I want sturdy, with good air flow.

I'm going to miss you, sturdy Antec. You were...so good to me.

 

[Hawk269]

General use. For games they aren't that much of a benefit, especially considering how much space they take up. Unless you have a game or MMO you play a ton of I wouldn't install any on there.

Add a 580 now. Bulldozer will be out and Ivy Bridge will hopefully have more info in 6 months.
PSU should be fine for gaming. Just don't run FURMARK with both cards overclocked!

My PSU is the Corsair 850TX 850w. If I run 2 580's and plan to OC them to 900mhz on the core will that PSU still be ok? Would leaving the 460 in the rig for Phyx be too much for the PSU?

 

[Fredescu]

Any thoughts?

The Antec P193 is sort of the same thing only bigger isn't it? http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_733&products_id=11050

I'm not sure how much extra room that gets you. Evlcookie has one and swears by it if you wanted to ask him his opinion.

My personal favourites are:

- Silverstone FT02: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_608&products_id=13943 . The motherboard is inverted so you plug your cables into the top rather than the back, which is handy.

- Corsair 600T: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_961&products_id=15279

If those are a little expensive, popular cheaper cases are:

- Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_31&products_id=13772

- Lian Li Lancool K60: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_30_394&products_id=12170

Cases are a fairly personal thing though, as you point out. PCCG has a pretty big range.

 

[BloodySinner]

Overcloaking this dumb 1055T from 2.8Ghz to 3.3GHz is going to be a pain. I will really miss my Phenom 955...I'll also need to grab nab myself an aftermarket CPU cooler. The stock cooler is loud as fuck.

 

[Hazaro]

Quick question for those that know the market better.

Is the Phenom x4 series still very viable or since I'm starting a completely new build should it between Bulldozer and sandybridge(i'm not considering ivybridge since i'll have built buy then)

If you are spending under $700 I'd get a x4 955 BE. Over that and I'd lean more towards a SB set up. Depends when you are building.

My PSU is the Corsair 850TX 850w. If I run 2 580's and plan to OC them to 900mhz on the core will that PSU still be ok? Would leaving the 460 in the rig for Phyx be too much for the PSU?

Leaving a 460 in would not be the best choice.
A good 850W like that Corsair should manage fine. I'd lower the OC to 850MHz just to make sure since the 580 OC'd far just sucks power on load, thought you shouldn't need to.

 

[Hawk269]

If you are spending under $700 I'd get a x4 955 BE. Over that and I'd lean more towards a SB set up. Depends when you are building.

Leaving a 460 in would not be the best choice.
A good 850W like that Corsair should manage fine. I'd lower the OC to 850MHz just to make sure since the 580 OC'd far just sucks power on load, thought you shouldn't need to.

Haz-

The 460 will be coming out of the rig due to the current motherboard. It only has the 2 slots for SLI and I could not get the 460 in there as well.

So it would be just the two 580's in SLI in the rig. So with that being said, would you say that two 580's with an OC of about 850 to the core and 2050 to the memory with a slight voltage tweak be ok with my current PSU? I just dont want to blow anything up and rather be safe than sorry.

 

[opticalmace]

Haz-

The 460 will be coming out of the rig due to the current motherboard. It only has the 2 slots for SLI and I could not get the 460 in there as well.

So it would be just the two 580's in SLI in the rig. So with that being said, would you say that two 580's with an OC of about 850 to the core and 2050 to the memory with a slight voltage tweak be ok with my current PSU? I just dont want to blow anything up and rather be safe than sorry.

Probably fine, but nothing's gonna blow up if it's not. If you run too much juice your system will likely just turn itself off or randomly crash/reboot.

Run it with SLI at stock speeds and increase it a bit. A Corsair 850 should be OK I think.

 

[Revenant]

If you are spending under $700 I'd get a x4 955 BE. Over that and I'd lean more towards a SB set up. Depends when you are building.

May/June most likely

I wasn't sure if it would be better to go sandybridge or go with the cheaper phenoms and use the extra cash to beef up the GPU, possibly go Sli/crossfire.

The idea is to be ready to play games like BF3 and ESV but at the same time I'd like to get a nice comp to play some games in the summer when I'll have time.

 

[Government-man]

I'm about to change my motherboard (because of the sandy bridge thing with the sata ports, haven't had any problems but my store offered me a new one) and I'm wondering whether windows will complain about this. The new one is of the exact same model. Will I be able to just replace it without reinstalling windows?

 

[knitoe]

I'm about to change my motherboard (because of the sandy bridge thing with the sata ports, haven't had any problems but my store offered me a new one) and I'm wondering whether windows will complain about this. The new one is of the exact same model. Will I be able to just replace it without reinstalling windows?

I install my fixed replacement MB last week and didn't have to reinstall anything.

 

[mrklaw]

chittagong, here is a summary of my build for your reference. Thought it might be useful for others too


Case - SStone BLK LC17B LASCALA D/TOP - comes in black or silver, I went for the black.
CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor – OEM
CPU cooler - Noctua NH-U9B SE2 Dual Fan (other coolers may not fit that case)
RAM - 4GB 2x2GB CMX4GX3M2B1600C9
HDD - 1TB SAMSUNG HD103SJ SATA F3
DVDRW - SSUNG SH-S223L/RSMS SATA MULTI
Wifi - Linksys WMP600N DUALBAND N PCI (supports 5GHz ‘n’)
OS - MS Win 7 Home Prem 64bit OEM
PSU - 520W Seasonic M12II-520 Mod
Motherboard - Asus P8P67 P67 MoBo
GPU - 2GB XFX HD6950 DDR5 PCI-E


Quiet and cool (optional)
2 x Noctua NF-B9 Vortex-Control 92mm Quiet Case fan (for front case intake)
2x Noctua NF-R8 80mm Quiet Case Fan (for rear case exhaust)
2x Fansis Anti-Vibration 80mm Fan Gasket (for rear case exhaust)
Connect up with LNA and straight to the PSU


Soundcard (optional)
Soundcard - Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp


You may want to get an i7 2600k but its not necessary for gaming. GPU you were looking at the GTX580, which is excellent but you should check about noise/heat if you want the machine to be quiet. And if you go with the 580, you might want a slightly higher capacity PSU

even though my motherboard has onboard sound, and so does my GPU, I found that I couldn't get surround sound from games without a separate sound card. You need dolby digital live to get game sound converted to optical out if you're feeding a receiver, and I wanted dolby headphone for headphone play. Soundcard is cheap anyway.




If you want/need your PC to run quietly, I recommend replacing your fans. Those noctua ones come with rubber mounts to avoid vibration
The Noctua fans all come with low noise adapters (LNA) which is a resistor that you can plug inline to reduce the speed and therefore the noise. I put the standard LNA on, then connected directly to the PSU, so the fans are slow but constantly on. If you're serious about noise then I'd also go for a quiet GPU and consider recommendations for a quiet PSU.

 

[EatChildren]

- Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_31&products_id=13772

This looks pretty good, especially for air flow.

I'm thinking this might be it. Wont order it until tomorrow or Monday, so if anybody has any other ideas to chime in, please do so!

 

[CrankyJay]

Hey, nice setup, just wondering. Why did you choose to go with the P8P67 Evo vs the P8P67 Pro? I'm trying to decide between those two.

To be honest I think the pro was out of stock when I ordered it and I waited long enough for B3 to come out.

 

[mrklaw]

Blargh. Did some measuring and that CPU fan is unlikely to fit, and the GPU will be cramped as hell. The whole case will be really cramped.

Maybe I'd be better off getting a new case too, especially since it would fit into the budget.

Any thoughts? I'll have a look at some of the suggestions in the Op, but my main problem with so many modern cases is the whole "HARDCORE GAMING PC FROM THE FUTURE" look they go for. What I love about my Antec is the solid, sleek design. I dont want something thats a glowing spikey monstrosity. I want sturdy, with good air flow.

I'm going to miss you, sturdy Antec. You were...so good to me.

Fractal design R3

 

[MoxManiac]

Is 4GB ram enough? Or should it be 6 or 8 these days?

 

[thelurkinghorror]

Hello GAF, need some help.
The GPU of my videocard recently start to act strange. Sometimes i have some strange artifact not only in my W7 but also during the bootstrap. I think i need to change this thing.

I have an Nvidia9800Gx2 1gb card, of course i need something better but please i don't want sli anymore and i don't want to spend too much. What i need is just a good replacement.

What you say?

 

[mxgt]

Is 4GB ram enough? Or should it be 6 or 8 these days?

4GB is fine if you're just doing stuff like gaming and internet browsing.

 

[TheExodu5]

Is 4GB ram enough? Or should it be 6 or 8 these days?

4GB is fine. 8GB if you want to future proof for an additional $40.

 

[hiryu]

I'm having a hard time finding asus P67 motherboards in stock at amazon or newegg. Does anyone know if there are problems or the general quality of MSI boards?

 

[Wrekt]

I'm having a hard time finding asus P67 motherboards in stock at amazon or newegg. Does anyone know if there are problems or the general quality of MSI boards?

Check out this thread for a general motherboard comparison. I haven't heard anything particularly negative about MSI boards, but I have only been reading up on Asus boards since the regular p8p67 is the cheapest of the boards that have all of the features I want.

 

[mkenyon]

?
Phenom is not a large different above Athlon and certainly not worth upgrading just for games.

Unless I'm missing something

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/athlon-l3-cache,2416-9.html

Once you get into the 3.0Ghz range, that L3 cache comes in handy big time. That, and the higher end PIIX4 chips are higher quality silicon, meaning they can reach much higher speeds. You can get a 965/970 to 4.0Ghz without much trouble. That's hugely significant, for a relatively inexpensive upgrade.

Haz-

The 460 will be coming out of the rig due to the current motherboard. It only has the 2 slots for SLI and I could not get the 460 in there as well.

So it would be just the two 580's in SLI in the rig. So with that being said, would you say that two 580's with an OC of about 850 to the core and 2050 to the memory with a slight voltage tweak be ok with my current PSU? I just dont want to blow anything up and rather be safe than sorry.

A lot of folks I know run 1000w procs in that sort of setup. You can always give it a try, not having enough juice won't fry your cards.

May/June most likely

I wasn't sure if it would be better to go sandybridge or go with the cheaper phenoms and use the extra cash to beef up the GPU, possibly go Sli/crossfire.

The idea is to be ready to play games like BF3 and ESV but at the same time I'd like to get a nice comp to play some games in the summer when I'll have time.

Bulldozer is out in June, I'd wait for that to see how it compares.

I'm about to change my motherboard (because of the sandy bridge thing with the sata ports, haven't had any problems but my store offered me a new one) and I'm wondering whether windows will complain about this. The new one is of the exact same model. Will I be able to just replace it without reinstalling windows?

I've never replaced a motherboard with the exact same model, but most likely you'll have to reinstall windows. It'll only take you a night and save you possible headaches with HDDs in the future that'll be a lot more painful.

Is 4GB ram enough? Or should it be 6 or 8 these days?

I need 8, but that's because I'm running 1 or 2 virtual machines at a time. 4 should be fine if you dont have 20+ tabs in chrome running as well as a bunch of different applications.

 

[Government-man]

I install my fixed replacement MB last week and didn't have to reinstall anything.

I've never replaced a motherboard with the exact same model, but most likely you'll have to reinstall windows. It'll only take you a night and save you possible headaches with HDDs in the future that'll be a lot more painful.

Okay, thanks for both answers. I guess I'll just try and replace it first as reinstalling windows would be a pain at the moment, but if Windows notifies me of anything I'll just reinstall it then.
What do you mean with headaches with HDDs, is there some specific issue that'll become apparent later on?

 

[mkenyon]

Yeah, that's why there was the recall. You might lose all your data when one of those SATA ports go bad.

 

[Government-man]

Yeah, that's why there was the recall. You might lose all your data when one of those SATA ports go bad.

Yes I'm aware of that. Though I don't think any data would be lost, just that the sata port would be deteriorating over time and maybe eventually loosing connectivity.

I thought you meant there was gonna be a problem related to the switching of the MBs.

 

[knitoe]

Okay, thanks for both answers. I guess I'll just try and replace it first as reinstalling windows would be a pain at the moment, but if Windows notifies me of anything I'll just reinstall it then.
What do you mean with headaches with HDDs, is there some specific issue that'll become apparent later on?

If you install the same MB, there are not issue. It's only installing a different chipset /MB is it recommended to reinstall Windows.

 

[mkenyon]

If you install the same MB, there are not issue. It's only installing a different chipset /MB is it recommended to reinstall Windows.

Thanks for the clarification, I was unsure about this. Good to note for future refrence!

 

[Government-man]

If you install the same MB, there are not issue. It's only installing a different chipset /MB is it recommended to reinstall Windows.

Thanks, that's a relief.

 

[Mudkips]

I've never replaced a motherboard with the exact same model, but most likely you'll have to reinstall windows. It'll only take you a night and save you possible headaches with HDDs in the future that'll be a lot more painful.

Was plug and play for me. Didn't even trigger the reactivation.

 

[Aquavelvaman]

Got my 6870 in and updated. It's running a full 26c (!!) cooler than my old card, and giving me crazy frame rates on max settings of the games I've tried out. Plus it's way quieter than my old one. Tears of joy.

 

[Schmattakopf]

I posted this in the tech support thread but it doesn't look like that's very active, so I'm sorry if this is out of place:

When I play Battlefield Bad Company 2 (BC2) online, I am able to get into a game for ~10 to 15 minutes before I get either a hard freeze or a blue screen, sometimes with a sound loop.

This is only related to BC2 because I have played other games without issue, and Furmark tests work fine, and I've searched on Google and found a lot of other people with this specific problem. The fixes they mentioned did not work for me. I disabled the onboard sound, I disabled sound altogether, I reinstalled PunkBuster, I changed the memory voltage, I updated to the right GPU driver.

I went to the Event Viewer, and maybe it's just because this last time was a hard freeze instead of a BSOD, but all it says is things like, "The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first."

I'm on Windows 7 64-bit
i5 2500k (not OC'd)
HD 6950 (with a modified BIOS that unlocked the shaders of the 6970)
4GB Adata RAM 1600
Corsair 650TX
GA-P67-UD3

 

[Corky]

So what's the most powerful GPU setup that isn't 580 SLI ?

I've been eyeing 6970 2gb CF or 570 SLI, but I'm not impressed with the numbers :/

 

[mkenyon]

So what's the most powerful GPU setup that isn't 580 SLI ?

I've been eyeing 6970 2gb CF or 570 SLI, but I'm not impressed with the numbers :/

SLI and Crossfire are always going to be lacking when you're not playing at super high res. If you aren't satisfied with a 580 @ or under 1080p, I don't know what to tell you. Wait, I guess? What do you need more power than a 580 for?

This is only related to BC2 because I have played other games without issue, and Furmark tests work fine, and I've searched on Google and found a lot of other people with this specific problem. The fixes they mentioned did not work for me. I disabled the onboard sound, I disabled sound altogether, I reinstalled PunkBuster, I changed the memory voltage, I updated to the right GPU driver.

So it sounds (pun!) like a sound issue possibly. Might be worth trying out a cheapo asus xonar and see if that fixes things.

 

[TheExodu5]

So what's the most powerful GPU setup that isn't 580 SLI ?

I've been eyeing 6970 2gb CF or 570 SLI, but I'm not impressed with the numbers :/

At 1080p, 6950/6970 or 570 SLI setups are pretty damn fast.

SLi has annoying issues though. SLI breaks Shogun 2 atm, so I have to settle for turning it off in that game.

If I had to redo it, I would buy a GTX 580 with the Accelero Xtreme Plus and get a hefty overclock out of it.

The only game where my SLI GTX 570 setup struggles is Metro 2033 at the highest settings. It will sometimes drop to 20-25 fps.

 

[Corky]

SLI and Crossfire are always going to be lacking when you're not playing at super high res. If you aren't satisfied with a 580 @ or under 1080p, I don't know what to tell you. Wait, I guess? What do you need more power than a 580 for?

I'm looking to build a "futureproof" pc, one that'll last 3years while during said years being able to play all the ( welloptimized i.e not broken p.o.s ) games @ 60fps max etc etc.

But since the future of the manufacturingprocess seems obscure and uncertain, I'm contemplating building my pc within the coming month. Instead of waiting upwards to a year or so.

 

[ASilva]

Finally, after about 5 years without a PC (only a macbook pro). I'm back!

Monitor: Samsung XL2370
Case: CM 690 II Advanced
Mobo: ASUS P8P67
Processor: i5 2500k
Cooler: CM Hyper 212+
Memory: GSkill Ripjaw X 1600Mhz 4+4Gb
Graphics: EVGA GTX570
Disc: Samsung F3 1Tb
Drive: Samsung SH-223
PSU: Corsair HX750W

This was my first time building a PC. Very happy with the results!

Now i just need to replace my mouse & keyboard (G500 + G110 incoming), buy an Xbox 360 controller for windows and i'm set!

 

[TheExodu5]

Grats. Solid build, and nice job with the cable management.

Didn't realize you could remove individual HDD bays in the CM 690 II. Nice.

 

[Hazaro]

Beautiful.

 

[DeadRockstar]

Didn't realize you could remove individual HDD bays in the CM 690 II. Nice.

Yeah, I've never seen that before. Really cool.

Grats on the build man!

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

How do you get your cables so tidy? Mine are an utter mess. Now that I'll be shoving in a few parts I'd like to get it a bit tidier.

 

[ASilva]

Grats. Solid build, and nice job with the cable management.

Didn't realize you could remove individual HDD bays in the CM 690 II. Nice.

You can but only the bottom 4. I like it best this way and it improves airflow i guess. I will be getting an SSD sometime in the future and put it in the bottom bay probably.

The cable management was a bitch with some of the cables but ALOT of zipties and some patience do miracles. Here are some more shots:

 

[Dinokill]

What do you think of this board? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130582

I'm sick and tired of waiting for ASUS mobos to show up on Neweeg.com

 

[DeadRockstar]

Lol did you take a lighter to your keyboard after a rage quit or something?

 

[mkenyon]

I'm looking to build a "futureproof" pc, one that'll last 3years while during said years being able to play all the ( welloptimized i.e not broken p.o.s ) games @ 60fps max etc etc.

But since the future of the manufacturingprocess seems obscure and uncertain, I'm contemplating building my pc within the coming month. Instead of waiting upwards to a year or so.

Buy a 580 now, when that starts to lag, upgrade the video card. Might be in 1 year, might be in 3 years. That's all you can do man. You can't forsee the future or even have a good idea of what games will require what tech. Its a quickly evolving hobby, that requires a lot of time if you want the results you're asking for here. That's the tough truth right there.

This was my first time building a PC. Very happy with the results!

Now i just need to replace my mouse & keyboard (G500 + G110 incoming), buy an Xbox 360 controller for windows and i'm set!

Very slick build! Great parts, and great job on the cable management. Looks like your a pro, not a first timer. Welcome back to the ubermensch.

 

[Funky Papa]

What is the ETA for the next generations of GPUs? I'd flip shit if I find a new monster card right at the corner now that I can finally put together my new Sandy Bridge computer (with a fresh 6950 card to unlock).

 

[mxgt]

Finally, after about 5 years without a PC (only a macbook pro). I'm back!

This is pretty much my exact build besides a different PSU and CPU cooler. Loving it so far.

Didn't even realise you could remove the HDD bays, going to have to do that so I can get better cable management because mine is nowhere near as tidy as yours!

 

[MisterAnderson]

Is there any real difference in the PNY GTX580 and the EVGA? The PNY is 489.99 and the EVGA is 499.99.

 

[mkenyon]

Is there any real difference in the PNY GTX580 and the EVGA? The PNY is 489.99 and the EVGA is 499.99.

Maybe? Are they both reference cards? Is the clock speed the same? Compare the details and see if you see anything different. Without links, I can only guess.

 

[Corky]

Buy a 580 now, when that starts to lag, upgrade the video card. Might be in 1 year, might be in 3 years. That's all you can do man. You can't forsee the future or even have a good idea of what games will require what tech. Its a quickly evolving hobby, that requires a lot of time if you want the results you're asking for here. That's the tough truth right there.
.

yeah might stick to one 580 for starters. We'll see if the 590 is garbage ( which I assume it'll be since it wont be priced well )

 

[mkenyon]

If you don't like to troubleshoot and fiddle, stay away from dual-gpu solutions, IMO. Just keep up with a great single card. To be honest, I don't see the GTX580 lacking at all in the future. That thing is seriously powerful.

Alternatively, you could do something like get a upper-mid range card like a 570, 6970, or 6950 w/ 6970 BIOS, and just upgrade it when it starts to lag. Might save you a bit of cash going that route, unless you have near unlimited funds.