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[Hazaro]

Relatively overpriced at $60. Even with the last updates it received, it's outdated and out-spec'd by cases like the HAF 912. The Shinobi is like a properly updated 300: filtered intake for the PSU, 8 HDD rack with SSD option, cable management cut-outs, painted interior, two 120mm/140mm roof fan option with better water-cooling support, and additional USB ports (still 2.0, though it is a budget case). The general look is similar, dimensions are almost exactly the same, and as great as the 300's airflow is, the BF just about matches it with improved flexibility.

I've used the 300, still have one of my systems in one, and still recommend it. Pricing really shouldn't be over $50 at best, though (too often $10-15 above that).

It's $10 more blue LEDs.
I think that is worth it to a lot of people :u

 

[·feist·]

Heh. That's $60 for the basic version, though (w/o intakes). Shiny fan version goes for ~$70.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...129042&cm_re=antec_300-_-11-129-042-_-Product
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GQMHBI/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Not sure why it went up from $50 last year, that was a great price. Even when it comes in ~$55 or so, its weaknesses are starting to show.

 

[mrklaw]

any suggestions on Soundcards?
[/IMG]




Just looking for something that will enable 5.1 headphone use and hopefully provide better sound quality, or will there be no audible difference?(using studio monitors for speakers)

Xonar DG. Dolby headphone out, headphone amp for better quality, optical out with gaming support. $30. Job done.

 

[mrklaw]

PCGAF what are the best fans to have in your case who have the best airflow and are silent as well.
Would love to use them on my cpu cooler as well.

I use noctua fans. 2x80mm for exhaust, 2x92mm for front intake, and 2x92mm came with my noctua CPU cooler. They aren't 4-pin, so can't be controlled with a 4-pin motherboard header. I just connect them directly to the PSU and use the included low noise adapter to run them slower. Still blow plenty of air and are really quiet. They come with rubber mounts to avoid vibration too

 

[Unknown Soldier]

any suggestions on Soundcards?

I can't decide which is better-no souncard, Asus, or Creative?
reviews for the Asus and Creatives are all over the place(great sound but shitty drivers)



Xfi Titanium HD(newest Win7 version)

or


Asus Xonar

Just looking for something that will enable 5.1 headphone use and hopefully provide better sound quality, or will there be no audible difference?(using studio monitors for speakers)

If you want 5.1 headphone use, the $30 Xonar DG. On-board audio is more than plenty for optical/coaxial digital output to a receiver, or if you have an HDMI receiver, you can use a motherboard which has an HDMI output on-board or just your recent-model videocard which also has a mini-HDMI output for video and audio over one cable.

You should not, under any circumstances, ever buy a Creative product ever again. They should hopefully be going bankrupt soon, within the next few years, and the stain of their existence will finally be wiped clean from PC history.

 

[mrklaw]

On-board audio is more than plenty for optical/coaxial digital output to a receiver,

not for games unless you have DD live support, which most don't. you'll only get stereo on games, and DD5.1 passthrough for DVDs.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

not for games unless you have DD live support, which most don't. you'll only get stereo on games, and DD5.1 passthrough for DVDs.

Most moderately-priced and above motherboards do have DDL support for the on-board audio. It's just an additional feature the motherboard manufacturer pays the codec OEM for. So when you buy a motherboard just check to make sure it has DDL if you want it. My Gigabyte EP45-UD3P and X58A-UD3R both support DDL on the Realtek on-board audio. I don't use it, since I use the mini-HDMI output on one of my GTX 470s (on the gaming PC) and on the GTS 450 (on the media center PC) to output to my receiver. But it's there.

 

[mrklaw]

Most moderately-priced and above motherboards do have DDL support for the on-board audio. It's just an additional feature the motherboard manufacturer pays the codec OEM for. So when you buy a motherboard just check to make sure it has DDL if you want it. My Gigabyte EP45-UD3P and X58A-UD3R both support DDL on the Realtek on-board audio. I don't use it, since I use the mini-HDMI output on one of my GTX 470s (on the gaming PC) and on the GTS 450 (on the media center PC) to output to my receiver. But it's there.

do you want to try and qualify 'most'? My qualification for 'most don't' is I specifically checked all sandy bridge motherboards and it seems only the gigabyte UD4 supports it. Most others have a realtek chip that could, but it isn't enabled.

if there is a way to patch it with a driver that'd be great, but as it is I've now bought a Xonar DG

 

[May16]

Will THIS:

# Intel Pentium Processor E6700
# Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
# Get powerful 64-bit performance with 4GB DDR3 system memory
# 1TB (Terabyte) hard drive
# 4 GB of RAM

...be able to play The MotherFucking Witcher 2, which requires THIS:

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz or similar AMD
Memory: 1 GB for Win XP / 2 GB for Win Vista
Graphics: Nvidia GF 8800 512 VR or similar ATI

?

I'm looking particularly at the graphics card req, because I can see its other specs seem to check out. My weak point in computer nawlej is that I don't know what's what in terms of graphic cards though.

Any help at all is very appreciated. Thanks, PC-Age.

 

[mambadragon]

I use noctua fans. 2x80mm for exhaust, 2x92mm for front intake, and 2x92mm came with my noctua CPU cooler. They aren't 4-pin, so can't be controlled with a 4-pin motherboard header. I just connect them directly to the PSU and use the included low noise adapter to run them slower. Still blow plenty of air and are really quiet. They come with rubber mounts to avoid vibration too

Noctuas are the best, but pricey. If you need to save money get Yate Loons from Petra Tech.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

do you want to try and qualify 'most'? My qualification for 'most don't' is I specifically checked all sandy bridge motherboards and it seems only the gigabyte UD4 supports it. Most others have a realtek chip that could, but it isn't enabled.

Hrm. Yeah, I haven't been paying much attention to the Sandy Bridge motherboards, but most of those use Realtek ALC892 and don't bother with DDL support. The Gigabyte UD4 is the sole exception because it alone uses ALC889 and enables DDL support. Well I dunno, a lot of the X58/P55 motherboards supported it. I guess most of the motherboard manufacturers figured in an age of HDMI output, DDL is no longer necessary.

if there is a way to patch it with a driver that'd be great, but as it is I've now bought a Xonar DG

I would imagine Realtek has implemented some kind of lockout on the codec chips they ship to motherboard manufacturers to prevent driver hacking from enabling it. Otherwise someone would have succeeded in unlocking it by now, just look at what happened when people unlocked features on Creative X-Fi cards that were supposed to be exclusive to the Auzentech X-Fi series.

 

[eznark]

Eznark, again, do you care at all about putting a game into your PC and being able to move every slider to max, run in 1080p and get close to or constant 60fps? Reason I am asking you this is I currently am running a 580 OC to 900Mhz and depending on the game, I don't see constant 60FPS with every slider set to max.

An example is this. I am playing Crysis 2 right now, maximum settings, 1080p and I am getting on average about 56fps depending on where I am at in the game. Now 56fps avg is really good and we are talking 4fps away from always being at 60, which alot of times i am at 60. However, Cysis 2 is a DX9 game right now, when the release the DX11 patch, I am lucky if I get 40 or so.

I know some here will say that it is overkill to do SLI x2 580's if you are only running 1080p, but I have other DX11 games that a single 580 cannot get to 60fps, Metro 2033 in dx11 does not come close to hitting 60, no chance in hell even overclocked like I have.

All I am saying here is that if you want to be able to max all current games with close to or at a solid 60fps, you will need something beefier that a 560. Now 2x560 would kick serious ass, but it sounds like you have the finances to go bigger. So why not go 580 now, save up for a second 580 if you are not hitting what you want?

And yes a 1000w PSU would be enough even for 2x580 and overclocking. The only reason I mentioned the 1200 PSU was you never know if you want to go 3xSLI 580's or 2xSLI 580's and a Physx card or who knows perhaps 2 590's in the future that will give you Quad SLI, but if you can afford that well more power to you buddy. lol

What resolution are you playing at? Like I said earlier, I don't have a problem spending the money on a 580 but I hate to spend money inefficiently. It seems like pound for pound the 570 makes more sense ($300 v. $500). I'm planning on playing at 1080p.

 

[ithorien]

So I've been contemplating something as of the last couple of weeks.

I'm currently on a P45 board, Q6600 with 4gb of DDR2, GTX260 card.

All these new builds in the thread have gotten me salivating at the mouth, but because my tax return has been lacking in comparison to last year, I can't buy everything all at once.

So my dilemma is, Microcenter is still selling the 2500k at $180. Should I pick it up on sale, as long as whatever else is on my list that's at a good price now? Or do I wait?

You gurus know the calendar and patterns much better, so I need some insight. TIA

 

[drhankmccoyphd]

So I've been contemplating something as of the last couple of weeks.

I'm currently on a P45 board, Q6600 with 4gb of DDR2, GTX260 card.

All these new builds in the thread have gotten me salivating at the mouth, but because my tax return has been lacking in comparison to last year, I can't buy everything all at once.

So my dilemma is, Microcenter is still selling the 2500k at $180. Should I pick it up on sale, as long as whatever else is on my list that's at a good price now? Or do I wait?

You gurus know the calendar and patterns much better, so I need some insight. TIA

Microcenter consistently sells intel chips like the 2500k at a loss so it's not like it's a temporary sale. You could probably pick it up whenever.

 

[TheExodu5]

Will THIS:


...be able to play The MotherFucking Witcher 2, which requires THIS:

?

I'm looking particularly at the graphics card req, because I can see its other specs seem to check out. My weak point in computer nawlej is that I don't know what's what in terms of graphic cards though.

Any help at all is very appreciated. Thanks, PC-Age.

There's no graphics card mentioned in the top build, so I'll guess no. The CPU is also very outdated (nearly 5 year old dual core). I wouldn't be buying anything less than a quadcore today.

 

[eznark]

Looking at this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/compare,2674.html?prod[4835]=on&prod[4834]=on&prod[4833]=on

I don't see the point, really, in going 580? Of course, I could absolutely be missing something. I am 1000% on the fence on this, and in the end it doesn't seem like it will matter a ton at 1080 resolution. If I u

 

[TheExodu5]

What resolution are you playing at? Like I said earlier, I don't have a problem spending the money on a 580 but I hate to spend money inefficiently. It seems like pound for pound the 570 makes more sense ($300 v. $500). I'm planning on playing at 1080p.

Then go with a 570 or even a 6950. If you want, then you can go dual card if the performance isn't enough for you.

I wouldn't suggest anything lower, since VRAM could start limiting you on a card like a 560.

 

[eznark]

Looking at this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/compare,2674.html?prod[4835]=on&prod[4834]=on&prod[4833]=on

I don't see the point, really, in going 580? Of course, I could absolutely be missing something. I am 1000% on the fence on this, and in the end it doesn't seem like it will matter a ton at 1080 resolution.

One thing though, is my build easily upgradable? Will the 2500k and the P8P67 Pro hold up for a couple video card upgrades? If yes then I will probably go 570, 1000w PSU (is there really a downside) and Pro mobo (again just in case). Everything else seems set except for a case.

 

[kurtrussell]

I just wanted to jump in a recommend a couple of bits and pieces that I've had recent experience with, simply because I am chuffed to bits with how they've performed.

Seasonic X-460 PSU

It's a beast. Up to 95% efficent at some loads, but easily reaches 89% efficency. Really well built, completely fanless and, from reading hardware sites, I've found out that it is actually massively overspecced for what it is. You can push 700W draw from the 460 watt model, which is really saying something. I'm using it to SLI 2 Nvidia 450s (it comes with SLI cables in the box) and it doesn't get any hotter than warm without any fans whatsoever! Seems stable too - pushing it with Crysis and everything turned up to max is completely doable with no ill effects.

BenQ G2222HDL

A lovely monitor. Really inexpensive for what it is, sharp picture, minimal bleed - well worth looking at if you're in the market for a good looking 21.5 inch monitor.

Corsair F-120 SSD

I bought this blind on a recommendation as it has apparently taken over from the Vertex 2 as the SSD of choice for fast performance / decent value. It is stupidly fast - in Windows 7, I can open Excel 2010 in under 2 seconds from a cold boot, and I can boot Ubuntu in under 10 seconds from GRUB using it. If I had to just use one component to upgrade a PC, I'd use this, even over RAM, as the speed increase is just incredible over mechanical drives.

I hope this helps someone who may be looking at components - all of these parts I've purchased and used myself, and they are all great

 

[TheExodu5]

Looking at this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/compare,2674.html?prod[4835]=on&prod[4834]=on&prod[4833]=on

I don't see the point, really, in going 580? Of course, I could absolutely be missing something. I am 1000% on the fence on this, and in the end it doesn't seem like it will matter a ton at 1080 resolution. If I u

I mean, it depends. For me, upgrading from a GTX 275, the GTX 580 yielded roughly the same relative performance gain per dollar
As the GTX 570.

If you want to take an extreme example, imagine upgrading from a 6950 to a choice of either the 6970 or a 580. 6970 is a 10^ improvement for $350. 580 is a 30% improvement for $500. It becomes a better deal. You current GPU would have to be equivalent to a GTX 460 or better, for that to be somewhat true.

 

[eznark]

I mean, it depends. For me, upgrading from a GTX 275, the GTX 580 yielded roughly the same relative performance gain per dollar
As the GTX 570.

If you want to take an extreme example, imagine upgrading from a 6950 to a choice of either the 6970 or a 580. 6970 is a 10^ improvement for $350. 580 is a 30% improvement for $500. It becomes a better deal. You current GPU would have to be equivalent to a GTX 460 or better, for that to be somewhat true.

I'm currently using an 8800 so any card I get is going to give me some massive increases over that. Looking at the performance chart though I am looking at less than a 10% performance boost from the 570 to the 580. I'm not sure that is worth $200 when I can probably get a second 570 in 8-10 months for what, guessing $250? Two 570's will significantly outperform a 580 obviously...right? If I end up going down that dodgy SLI road in a couple quarters that is.

 

[sk3tch]

Thinning a layer of paste may be overcomplicating the process. The whole idea behind the thin line/pea method is you want to centre the paste on the location that will touch the area above the cpu cores and the pressure of the cooler will spread the paste out for you. Take a look at this video to see how paste spread with different methods. The video is on older hardware and cheesy but its still relevant. Don't get so hung up on the heat pipe direct cooler, the paste will spread in a very similar way.

Here's a picture of an intel quad core processor and how you want the paste to spread.

1st pic, how to apply the thermal paste using the line method
2nd pic, what the cpu looks like under the metal cap
3rd pic, preferred spread of the thermal paste once the cooler is placed on the cpu

I could kiss you. Your video finally made me "get it" with the thermal paste application. What I was doing is putting down a pea-sized drop or a line and then spreading it with a business card! The video enlightened me to placing the card on the drop or line and using that to spread the paste. Then, when applying the 212+ to the CPU, it spreads a bit further.

Long story short - i5 2500k, 1.2700v @ 4.2 GHz - high 50s C under Prime95 load! Time to clock this baby to the MOON! lol.

Before (me = stingy thermal paste-guy):
(I applied to the 212+)
Heatsink:

(click to enlarge)

CPU:

(click to enlarge)

After:
(I applied a line to the CPU)

(click to enlarge)

Under load in Prime95:

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP! :-D

 

[May16]

There's no graphics card mentioned in the top build, so I'll guess no. The CPU is also very outdated (nearly 5 year old dual core). I wouldn't be buying anything less than a quadcore today.

Whoa snap, thanks. I was probably going to purchase that action today-style. I would have been all kinds of pissed at myself.
Good save.

Edit:
I had been looking into this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004I5BWFK/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Could I buy the graphic card separately and add it into that, or does that oldish CPU still mean bad news?

If that's still likely not up to the task, what would you recommend, in general?
Thanks so much, again.

 

[Shambles]

Intel 320 series SSD reviews are out, still a SATA2 device but the IOPS, latency, and pricing makes it quite attractive. No street prices seen yet though.

@PCPer

 

[mrklaw]

Whoa snap, thanks. I was probably going to purchase that action today-style. I would have been all kinds of pissed at myself.
Good save.

Edit:
I had been looking into this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004I5BWFK/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Could I buy the graphic card separately and add it into that, or does that oldish CPU still mean bad news?

If that's still likely not up to the task, what would you recommend, in general?
Thanks so much, again.

whats your budget? check the first post, it has two recommended builds - one $600 (so around the same price as that pavilion but will kick its arse), and one $1000 that is the price/performance sweet spot IMO, but its twice the cost of that HP.

 

[EMBee99]

Quick question:

If I pick up an SSD for storing my OS, around how much space should I look at and are there any issues with transferring all the system files to the SSD drive? (association loss and such)

 

[May16]

whats your budget? check the first post, it has two recommended builds - one $600 (so around the same price as that pavilion but will kick its arse), and one $1000 that is the price/performance sweet spot IMO, but its twice the cost of that HP.

Yeah $600~$700 is probably as high as I can go right now, sadly. I love the idea of smashin a grand into it but unfortunately it just can't happen.

I'll check out that section of the OP. Thank you.

 

[BigBlackGamer]

Just looking for something that will enable 5.1 headphone use and hopefully provide better sound quality, or will there be no audible difference?(using studio monitors for speakers)

I use the Xonar ST for my HD 595's and AV40 monitor speakers. awesome fucking card but if your on a budget you would be better off with something else. Last I checked the ST was around 210$ and that's a hefty chunk of change to drop on a sound card. (It IS pretty awesome though)

If you do go the Xonar route make sure you get the ST and not the STX. The ST sounds alot better than the STX even though the STX is the more recent model. Asus even knows this as the ST is actually priced higher even though it's the older model.

 

[mkenyon]

I'm currently using an 8800 so any card I get is going to give me some massive increases over that. Looking at the performance chart though I am looking at less than a 10% performance boost from the 570 to the 580. I'm not sure that is worth $200 when I can probably get a second 570 in 8-10 months for what, guessing $250? Two 570's will significantly outperform a 580 obviously...right? If I end up going down that dodgy SLI road in a couple quarters that is.

The thing that you have to remember, is that there will be something new and awesome coming out by the time you're going to want to think about SLI. At that point, you could sell your 570 and grab the newest card with the extra money.

What game are you worried about not being able to max out with this build? Other than Crysis/Metro 2033, there really aren't any games you won't be getting 100fps+ on with a single 570. Thats why I have that SLI rundown of who should and shouldn't do it. If you are hesitant on getting a 580 because of diminishing returns, buying an additional 570 for about 40-50% increased performance is just as silly. If you have to constantly empty out gold and cash from your wallet because it weighs just too darn much, by all means, go crazy. On the other hand, if maxing out *every* game, especially the non-optimized ones, is what you want to do with this PC, then it's also a good choice. You just need to be aware that it's going to take a lot of tinkering and fiddling. That's cool for people like me and Exodu5, because I almost prefer doing that over playing games.

I should note, if you want to go balls deep into the PC tinkering world, know that I give you my blessing any any help that I can. It's a fun world.

Quick question:

If I pick up an SSD for storing my OS, around how much space should I look at and are there any issues with transferring all the system files to the SSD drive? (association loss and such)

The 64 jigger ones will do what you want. For transferring your primary drive, you could look into Acronis EZ Migrate. I've had mixed success with it, but a friend of mine swears by it. All else fails, back up your important data prior so you can just do a fresh install.

 

[Darkatomz]

I use the Xonar ST for my HD 595's and AV40 monitor speakers. awesome fucking card but if your on a budget you would be better off with something else. Last I checked the ST was around 210$ and that's a hefty chunk of change to drop on a sound card. (It IS pretty awesome though)

If you do go the Xonar route make sure you get the ST and not the STX. The ST sounds alot better than the STX even though the STX is the more recent model. Asus even knows this as the ST is actually priced higher even though it's the older model.

Not true. The difference is very, very, VERY minimal. I can't hear the difference. Be more concerned about what slot and space you have open on your mobo (PCI vs. PCI-E)

 

[Johnlenham]

Good god I hate this, I say oh im looking to get a pc and you guys help me out then I change my mind, 3 weeks later im looking again!
Dosent help pre built prices are all over the bloody shop and noone includes win 7 in the price
This with win 7 for £575 is what I think is the best I can find but chuck in the 6850 and it jumps to £650 would also want a blu ray drive so I can sell my PS3 and a dedicated sound card but seems ill need a bag of money for all that.

 

[BigBlackGamer]

Not true. The difference is very, very, VERY minimal. I can't hear the difference. Be more concerned about what slot and space you have open on your mobo (PCI vs. PCI-E)

I had the STx and ST and I just like the ST much better. Not saying the STx is a bad card but ST clearly sounds better to me.

 

[Cheeto]

Quick question:

If I pick up an SSD for storing my OS, around how much space should I look at and are there any issues with transferring all the system files to the SSD drive? (association loss and such)

What OS?
I do just fine with a 40gb SSDs on my linux boxes, but I use an 80gb on my Win7 box and it gets pushed.

 

[verbum]

Quick question:

If I pick up an SSD for storing my OS, around how much space should I look at and are there any issues with transferring all the system files to the SSD drive? (association loss and such)

I have a 90GB SSD.
Win7 Pro 64 bit, some geographical mapping programs, about 4 Steam games, Office 2010, and some video/audio transcoding programs and audio maintenance programs.
My libraries are stored on a separate drive. Paging file and indexing files are on a separate hard drive. Recycle bin down to 100 mb on the SSD and increased on a separate drive.
One month's usage, I have 27 GB free at present. I think most of the bloat is program data files from the geographical mapping programs. No videos, photos, music, or documents on the SSD.

A nice article on setting up Windows to use a SSD efficiently.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/windows-7-and-ssds-cutting-your-system-drive-down-to-size/2941?tag=mantle_skin;content

 

[eznark]

The thing that you have to remember, is that there will be something new and awesome coming out by the time you're going to want to think about SLI. At that point, you could sell your 570 and grab the newest card with the extra money.

What game are you worried about not being able to max out with this build? Other than Crysis/Metro 2033, there really aren't any games you won't be getting 100fps+ on with a single 570. Thats why I have that SLI rundown of who should and shouldn't do it. If you are hesitant on getting a 580 because of diminishing returns, buying an additional 570 for about 40-50% increased performance is just as silly. If you have to constantly empty out gold and cash from your wallet because it weighs just too darn much, by all means, go crazy. On the other hand, if maxing out *every* game, especially the non-optimized ones, is what you want to do with this PC, then it's also a good choice. You just need to be aware that it's going to take a lot of tinkering and fiddling. That's cool for people like me and Exodu5, because I almost prefer doing that over playing games.

I should note, if you want to go balls deep into the PC tinkering world, know that I give you my blessing any any help that I can. It's a fun world.

I just kind of want to be prepared for any eventuality. You're probably right about just being able to buy the new hotness if I feel I'm not getting enough performance. I appreciate your input. I'm definitely not impressed with the number of issues people have had with SLI (poor performance on Shogun 2?! not acceptable!) so it's not something I'm thrilled about. On the other hand, the 580 seems like a foolish waste of money today.

I'm also into the tinkering and fiddling. I know I sound like a nincompoop, but my last build was an 8800 and a Q6600 when they were better than mid-tier. It's a wildly different world today! I'm looking forward to getting back into it once I get the hardware, but it's tough for me to care about keeping up with the latest and greatest when I wasn't interested in upgrading.

With that said; I'm sold on the 570, the 2500k, and the pro board discussed above. Pretty decent machine right?

 

[Darkatomz]

I had the STx and ST and I just like the ST much better. Not saying the STx is a bad card but ST clearly sounds better to me.

Your hearing must be insanely good. I consider myself somewhat of an audiophile and I can't hear the damn difference in the jitter clock at all...

 

[BigBlackGamer]

Your hearing must be insanely good. I consider myself somewhat of an audiophile and I can't hear the damn difference in the jitter clock at all...

nah my hearing is pretty average lol. Like I said both are good cards but if you have a PCI slot it's probably worth it to get the better card for a extra 10-20$

A simple google search on St vs. STx will provide you with all the info you need anyway.

 

[TheExodu5]

Intel G3 has been reviewed by Anandtech. Doesn't look too great. Also, it's only releasing in 300/600 GB sizes.

 

[Shambles]

Intel G3 has been reviewed by Anandtech. Doesn't look too great. Also, it's only releasing in 300/600 GB sizes.

On the contrary for it's price point it's looking pretty good. Sure it's not as fast as the Vertex 3's but at 1.74/GB at release for the 120GB it's far cheaper than the OCZ. Models are available in 40/80/120/160/300/600 for the 320's

 

[TheExodu5]

My mistake on the drive sizes. Still, the Vertex 3 is supposed to be around $2/GB, is it not? The Vertex 3 is a much faster drive, and it's performance doesn't degrade as the drive fills up. It doesn't need TRIM and is a nice candidate for an OSX drive because of that. I was going to avoid the OCZ drives...but the performance is just too good to ignore.

 

[eznark]

When do the Vertex 3's release? (I'm thinking of upping my SDD size now, I'm like the government, can't leave budgeted money on the table!)

 

[CabbageRed]

So I'm ready to pull the trigger but I've ended up under budget.

System:

2500k (decent after-market heatsink)
2x6970
4gigs 1600
X-fi (might not be making the transition)
4tb hard drive space
Crucial F60

So, my budget still has $100 left. I was planning on grabbing a 2600k but that seems needless, although I do some encoding (2 times weekly, perhaps).

So:

2600K instead of 2500k
Crucial F40: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233130
8gb Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428
4gb Memory with more bandwidth or tighter timings
[other]

Any quick thoughts? Thanks

 

[BigBlackGamer]

yea im thinking of going vertex 3. I have X-25M but I wanna upgrade.

 

[Shambles]

My mistake on the drive sizes. Still, the Vertex 3 is supposed to be around $2/GB, is it not? The Vertex 3 is a much faster drive, and it's performance doesn't degrade as the drive fills up. It doesn't need TRIM and is a nice candidate for an OSX drive because of that. I was going to avoid the OCZ drives...but the performance is just too good to ignore.

The vertex 3 is selling at 290-300$ right now for the 120GB, while the 320 is listed for 209$ on paper but we'll see how it shows in retail. Nearly 100$ difference is pretty large and not worth the performance difference in my books. I wasn't aware OSX didn't support trim, that's a nice feature on the Vertex drives but I keep my place apple free so I don't have to worry about it

 

[scogoth]

Yeah $600~$700 is probably as high as I can go right now, sadly. I love the idea of smashin a grand into it but unfortunately it just can't happen.

I'll check out that section of the OP. Thank you.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black $140
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper+ 212 $35
Motherboard: ASRock M3A770DE $60
RAM: G.Skill 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) DDR3-1333 (PC3 10600) Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBNS $40
Graphics: Sapphire 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1 GB $170
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F4 HD322GJ/U 320 GB SATA 3Gb/s $43
Case: Xigmatek Asgard II B/O CPC-T45UE-U01 $30
Power: Antec EarthWatts Green EA380D 380 W $40
Optical: Lite-On 24x DVD Burner SATA iHAS 124-04 $19
Total Price: $577

 

[Artanisix]

Xonar DG. Dolby headphone out, headphone amp for better quality, optical out with gaming support. $30. Job done.

What soundcard do you recommend for a 5.1 surround sound setup (direct connection)? I'm no audiophile by any means but I do want to play my games with true surround sound.

 

[LabouredSubterfuge]

What soundcard do you recommend for a 5.1 surround sound setup (direct connection)? I'm no audiophile by any means but I do want to play my games with true surround sound.

The one in his quoted post. Asus Xonar DG. It's what I'm getting for it.

 

[nataku]

My Fractal Define R3 came in today. It's a lot nicer than any other case I've owned. Really sturdy feeling and the noise dampening material looks great. I did have a lot of trouble getting the rear thumb screws back in though after putting the side panels on.

Too bad I won't have enough time to put this thing together until Wednesday.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Do Sandy Bridge processors run relatively hot normally? I haven't been having any restarting problems or anything with my 2500k, but I used Real Temp and Core Temp to check the heat levels earlier this morning and it was running in the high 40s/low 50s (Celsius) when I was just idling in Windows. That seems pretty hot to me.

I'm wondering if I messed up applying the thermal paste and need to re-seat it or not.

 

[scogoth]

Do Sandy Bridge processors run relatively hot normally? I haven't been having any restarting problems or anything with my 2500k, but I used Real Temp and Core Temp to check the heat levels earlier this morning and it was running in the high 40s/low 50s (Celsius) when I was just idling in Windows. That seems pretty hot to me.

I'm wondering if I messed up applying the thermal paste and need to re-seat it or not.

Does seem a little hot, usually it idles between 30-40 depending on room temp. What are the load temps?