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[SneakyStephan]

So laptop gaf.

My grandmother casually mentioned that she might get a laptop soon (her first computer).
Being a good grandson and all I'm trying to prevent the retail equivalent of her getting her purse snatched.

The thing is, I'm a gamer who likes to tinker with his pc, so I've always avoided laptops like the plague.

Some basic requirements :
-500GB hdd or more, so I never have to hear 'why is my computer so slow' when she'd inevitably fill up n fragment the HDD.

-15 inch screen size at least, so she can read what's onscreen.

-It has to last a few years (knowing my grandma: 10 years) , so no sempron or atom bullshit.

Then all the common sense stuff like half decent battery life and decent build quality.

My youngest brother still spends a weekend at her place every month ,so some basic gaming capability would be a plus, but optional if there is nothing like that in the price range.

Price range : under 500 euros, less would be much preferred.
Aim: bang for buck as in not sacrificing too much just to skimp on a few dollars.
If buying a 350 dollar laptop means dealing with a single core cpu, 1GB ram , a gpu that chokes on youtube hd videos and a 200 GB HDD then that is not a good tradeoff.

I'd also set it up as an HTPC for her, so decent upscaling of dvd quality video etc is kind of important.

Any recommendations? I really don't know anything about the quality of all the laptop manufacturers etc so I wouldn't know where to look.

Spoiler

I really wanted to recommend she get a pc instead but that would mean getting a desk and shopping for a monitor and ugh the headaches and extra cost involved

 

[Izayoi]

Anyone who can weigh in on my PSU question? If I'm running two 580's am I going to need to worry if I've only got an 850W in there?

 

[Piggo]

It's going to be a fun day.

 

[kevm3]

Anyone who can weigh in on my PSU question? If I'm running two 580's am I going to need to worry if I've only got an 850W in there?

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=814784&mpage=1

 

[Izayoi]

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=814784&mpage=1

So the consensus is... upgrade just to be safe? I'm already really close to busting my budget here, and I would like to not spend anything more than necessary, but if it's going to save me a couple hundred down the line I might as well... I guess.

While I'm at it, I guess the faster 8-8-8-24 timings (as opposed to 9-9-9-24) on the Corsair are probably worth the extra $5, eh?

Also, as far as stock cooling vs. aftermarket, I hear you can go 4GHz+ with the stock Intel cooler. How much higher am I going to be able to reach with the aftermarket Cooler Master recommended in the OP? Is it worth the extra $30?

 

[opticalmace]

Anyone who can weigh in on my PSU question? If I'm running two 580's am I going to need to worry if I've only got an 850W in there?

Yes, go for a bigger PSU if you're going to SLI 580s.

 

[Izayoi]

Yes, go for a bigger PSU if you're going to SLI 580s.

Okay. So are we talking 950 or 1000+?

 

[kevm3]

So the consensus is... upgrade just to be safe? I'm already really close to busting my budget here, and I would like to not spend anything more than necessary, but if it's going to save me a couple hundred down the line I might as well... I guess.

While I'm at it, I guess the faster 8-8-8-24 timings (as opposed to 9-9-9-24) on the Corsair are probably worth the extra $5, eh?

You don't want to skimp out on power supply. It is best to get 'more than you think you'll need' , especially if you want to try overclocking down the line. The last thing you want is to push past the limits on your power supply. I heard it can seriously mess up your machine, and with as much money as you are putting in your machine, you don't want that to happen.

If you really can't stretch the extra money with that current setup for a bigger power supply, I'd switch out that 2600k for a 2500k and put those $100 savings towards power supply if you are going to use that rig primarily for gaming. The ability to overclock both processor and videocards without worrying if you are getting near that wattage limit will be much more advantageous than the rather negligable benefits of the 2600k for gaming. See this thread:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2149511

The great thing about power supplies is that if you buy a high quality one, you can use them on numerous builds... so I'd suggest investing in a high quality one now. I'd shoot for 1,000 watts at least, and if you want to be really safe, 1200 watts:

 

[opticalmace]

Okay. So are we talking 950 or 1000+?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/308?vs=305
Near the bottom, power consumption in Furmark/Crysis.

In Furmark it peaks at 850W total system consumption. So in general you'd probably be fine most of the time with an 850W PSU but at the extreme you're going to be stressing it.

I would personally get a really nice 950W or 1000W unit. That is definitely enough.

Edit: this assumes you're not going to be overclocking (or just lightly). If you're going for big overclocks you're going to need a big PSU.

 

[Izayoi]

I do plan on overclocking, at least a by a fair amount. Back to that aftermarket cooler question, how much of a benefit am I going to see from that Cooler Master as far as clock ceiling goes? I will probably be leaving my video cards stock (I'm sure that going from a single 4890 to one or maybe two 580's is going to be a big enough leap as it is). For that kind of situation, with just a heavy CPU overclock, will I still need to go 1200W? There's a $100 jump over the 950W. Although, at this point, I may just say fuck it and go with the 850W and worry about a new PSU when I decide to drop in another 580.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Yeah, you haven't even decided if you're going to go SLI or not, you might as well just keep what you got for now. I power my Core i7-950 @4.01ghz and 2x GTX 470 SLI @760/1520/1850 with a Corsair 950TX. My own testing with a Kill-a-Watt has me comfortably within range of this PSU, my highest power draw that I've seen was in the ~650-700W range and that was when I had the Raptors and several hard drives in the machine which have now moved over to the media center PC.

If you're going for broke on air-cooling and don't feel like spending the money for watercooling, the best air-cooler currently available is the Noctua NH-D14. It's not cheap. You can see it in my case, it's one big goddamn heatsink. It will fit quite comfortably in an HAF X, though.

 

[MedIC86]

I do plan on overclocking, at least a by a fair amount. Back to that aftermarket cooler question, how much of a benefit am I going to see from that Cooler Master as far as clock ceiling goes? I will probably be leaving my video cards stock (I'm sure that going from a single 4890 to one or maybe two 580's is going to be a big enough leap as it is). For that kind of situation, with just a heavy CPU overclock, will I still need to go 1200W? There's a $100 jump over the 950W. Although, at this point, I may just say fuck it and go with the 850W and worry about a new PSU when I decide to drop in another 580.

your dropping 800+USD on gpu's and your worried about 100$ for a psu ?
Seriously get the 1200W, if your gonna run that SLI plus a healthy overclock on your cpu its no overkill...in fact dont go any lower then 1000W just to be sure.

 

[opticalmace]

I do plan on overclocking, at least a by a fair amount. Back to that aftermarket cooler question, how much of a benefit am I going to see from that Cooler Master as far as clock ceiling goes? I will probably be leaving my video cards stock (I'm sure that going from a single 4890 to one or maybe two 580's is going to be a big enough leap as it is). For that kind of situation, with just a heavy CPU overclock, will I still need to go 1200W? There's a $100 jump over the 950W. Although, at this point, I may just say fuck it and go with the 850W and worry about a new PSU when I decide to drop in another 580.

Oh you already have the 850? I thought you were building a new system.

In that case don't worry about it right now. Worry later if/when you get another 580.

 

[kevm3]

If your machine is primarily for gaming, switch from 2600k to 2500k and use the saved money to get a bigger power supply. The ability to SLI and overclock without worry will way outperform the difference between the 2500k and 2600k for most gaming applications, which is around 5% in a lot of games, and in Crysis, I believe the 2500k even slightly outperformed.

 

[ZombieFred]

Hey guys, I just want to see if these Temps and info is fine for my CPU?

I'm thinking of overclocking my CPU to 4.0 ghz, and was wondering if that is OK to do? (Not done this area of computing before you see ) Thanks in advance.

 

[Corky]

Hey guys, I just want to see if these Temps and info is fine for my CPU?

I'm thinking of overclocking my CPU to 4.0 ghz, and was wondering if that is OK to do? (Not done this area of computing before you see ) Thanks in advance.

Those are good idle temps, the 2600k can go well above 4.0 but you kinda need to do your homework on OCing before jumping into it. What kind of cooler do you have?

 

[ZombieFred]

Those are good idle temps, the 2600k can go well above 4.0 but you kinda need to do your homework on OCing before jumping into it. What kind of cooler do you have?

I've got this over my CPU (love how fitting it is in my tower) and I have a NXT tower (three big fans inside) so I am sure it should be fine for OCing? Got a good guide where to start?

 

[Corky]

I've got this over my CPU (love how fitting it is in my tower) and I have a NXT tower (three big fans inside) so I am sure it should be fine for OCing? Got a good guide where to start?

Ah that's a good start, well depends on what your motherboard is, there's a great guide for OCing the 2600k with an asus p67 deluxe motherboard on the Hard-forums but I'm stupid and can never find it.

 

[ZombieFred]

Ah that's a good start, well depends on what your motherboard is, there's a great guide for OCing the 2600k with an asus p67 deluxe motherboard on the Hard-forums but I'm stupid and can never find it.

Thanks man. My GPU (radeon 6970) temp is around 53 C average so that's fine right? Just like to double check so I know I've not got any problems :lol:

 

[Corky]

Thanks man. My GPU (radeon 6970) temp is around 53 C average so that's fine right? Just like to double check so I know I've not got any problems :lol:

I'm not all up to date with radeon temps but according to the info I just dug up on anandtech idle temps on the 6970 around 40 degrees and load temps gaming around 80 is what they had so you know somewhere around that.

 

[ZombieFred]

Excellent, I'm good then. Time to look up about OCing my CPU! You're the man Corky thanks for the help!

 

[Corky]

Excellent, I'm good then. Time to look up about OCing my CPU! You're the man Corky thanks for the help!

np man, speaking of OC what is your motherboard?

 

[toastyToast]

Is there any way to figure out my power usage without some sort of multimeter?

I'm thinking about tracking down a used 5850 so I can CF. My power supply is a Corsair HX650

 

[Corky]

Is there any way to figure out my power usage without some sort of multimeter?

I'm thinking about tracking down a used 5850 so I can CF. My power supply is a Corsair HX650

now this isn't written in stone or anything but a good indicator I reckon :

 

[toastyToast]

That doesn't look good. I have an overclocked Q6600 which I'm sure is sucking up a lot of juice.

What's the ideal operating range of a power supply?

 

[Corky]

That doesn't look good. I have an overclocked Q6600 which I'm sure is sucking up a lot of juice.

What's the ideal operating range of a power supply?

Isn't 80+ bronze like 90%? Which I guess that corsair of yours is

 

[toastyToast]

Oh no, I didn't mean that. I just thought that there might be something wrong with a power supply operating at close to its max.

Seems unhealthy.

 

[Corky]

Oh no, I didn't mean that. I just thought that there might be something wrong with a power supply operating at close to its max.

Seems unhealthy.

Actually I think I read somewhere in this thread that psus are meant to be operating at that high load or w/e, something about something going to waste even if the system is in idle.

Damn I don't remember

 

[BloodySinner]

Monster sale going on at NCIX. Hopefully someone will refer them to the idiots in the other thread.

Spoiler

Owning a high-end PC is "expensive" lololol

 

[Yurt]

Noob question. Is my TR2 550w enough for OCing ? ( 2500k combo and Radeon 6950 )

If not, which one is ?

 

[Wolf Akela]

I'd go with 650 to be safe.

 

[Red Blaster]

Finalized my rig, will all these parts work nicely in the selected case?

 

[Yurt]

I'd go with 650 to be safe.

Thanks ! I hope it's cheap because I'm already way beyond my planned budget.

 

[chaosblade]

Finalized my rig, will all these parts work nicely in the selected case?

http://i.imgur.com/NczMT.png

Check for combo deals, you can probably save yourself some money.

Get the 212+ from Amazon for $10 less (get it from Amazon and not a third party).

And it looks like all of the parts will fit, but I don't know if that case will hold really long video cards. The 560 should fit fine though.

 

[Mœbius]

Please excuse my ignorance fellows, but I'm starting on the research road for an epic upgrade (it's been about 5 years since I built my last PC), but what's the consensus on the use of SSDs...

Are most people using them as the primary drive to install Windows on, or are they better used as a secondary to install and run your games / most used software on?

Or both assuming the capacity allows it?

 

[Resolution]

ok so the pc turned on but i still have a problem. i plugged in the monitor and i get no display. also there is an indicator thats says "memory ok" thats stays lit up. what does that mean? also the fan that i have plugged on the radiator on my antcec kuhler h20 wont turn on.

 

[knitoe]

Please excuse my ignorance fellows, but I'm starting on the research road for an epic upgrade (it's been about 5 years since I built my last PC), but what's the consensus on the use of SSDs...

Are most people using them as the primary drive to install Windows on, or are they better used as a secondary to install and run your games / most used software on?

Or both assuming the capacity allows it?

1) Use as both if you get a large enough capacity SDD.
2) SDD as OS drive and another drive(s) for programs / storage.

 

[kevm3]

Finalized my rig, will all these parts work nicely in the selected case?

If you're going to get a sandy bridge processor, make sure you get the "k" edition so you will be able to overclock with the unlocked multiplier. They are only around 15 dollars more.

 

[Mœbius]

1) Use as both if you get a large enough capacity SDD.
2) SDD as OS drive and another drive(s) for programs / storage.

Thanks man. So what qualifies as large enough to make option 1 viable - 80GB minimum?

 

[knitoe]

Thanks man. So what qualifies as large enough to make option 1 viable - 80GB minimum?

Well, Windows 7 takes about 30GB. Figure out how big a SDD you need after that. I would say 124GB or greater.

 

[Mœbius]

Well, Windows 7 takes about 30GB. Figure out how big a SDD you need after that. I would say 124GB or greater.

Damn, that's going be pretty pricey. Thanks again.

 

[Veal]

SO what can be done with a stick of bad RAM? It will post, but it failed memtestx86 pretty badly. Is there no hope for it?

 

[Resolution]

so i fixed the fan problem. the mobo still has the mem ok indicator still on and getting no display on my monitor. i have the ram set right according to my manual. also is it bad if i turn on the tower it powers off right away but then comes on again 3 seconds later?

 

[longdi]

not sure if this is posted but Intel 320 SSD now comes with 5 years warranty!

Personally i would get the X25M series if you can find them cheaper. I have both and X25M works better as an OS drive with its faster random small size read and longer 34nm flash life

 

[black_vegeta]

not sure if this is posted but Intel 320 SSD now comes with 5 years warranty!

Personally i would get the X25M series if you can find them cheaper. I have both and X25M works better as an OS drive with its faster random small size read and longer 34nm flash life

5 year warranty, awesome sauce!! Just got mine yesterday.

 

[mkenyon]

Whelp, she's alive.

Need to clean up and finish cable management, but pretty happy with the build so far.

Final specs:

AMD 965BE
Sapphire 785g mini itx
Scythe Big Shuriken
4 GB GSkill DDR3 1600 Ripjaws
Sapphire 6870
Corsair F90 90GB SSD
OCZ Fatality Series 550w PSU
Razer Imperator Mouse
Razer Blackwidow Keyboard
ASUS VE205 20" Monitor

Nice to have two highly capable gaming rigs.

 

[Izayoi]

If you're going for broke on air-cooling and don't feel like spending the money for watercooling, the best air-cooler currently available is the Noctua NH-D14. It's not cheap. You can see it in my case, it's one big goddamn heatsink. It will fit quite comfortably in an HAF X, though.

What I'm asking is how much of a benefit doing aftermarket is at all. If I can do over 4GHz on stock cooling, how much more is aftermarket going to get me is what I'm trying to ask, I guess. Another 500MHz? Another GHz? If it's the latter I see myself doing for it, but 4GHz is already almost twice my current speed and I don't really know if an extra couple hundred MHz is worth the extra cost.

your dropping 800+USD on gpu's and your worried about 100$ for a psu ?
Seriously get the 1200W, if your gonna run that SLI plus a healthy overclock on your cpu its no overkill...in fact dont go any lower then 1000W just to be sure.

I'm dropping only $450 on GPUs right now. I plan on getting another one sometime in the future, but for now I'm just going with one. If I were buying two at this moment this wouldn't even be a question. I'm just

Oh you already have the 850? I thought you were building a new system.

In that case don't worry about it right now. Worry later if/when you get another 580.

I am building a brand new system, I don't own a power supply yet.

So if I do get a 1200W, what am I looking at? The Cooler Master Gold is actually fairly reasonable. Any benefit of going with Corsair Gold or Antec Gold?

 

[Bisnic]

Someone need to explain something to me.

I just bought a MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr 1gb.

I tried playing WoW sooner, with ultra setting, hoping to finally get 60 FPS whenever i go... but, it's still not happening! Yes, sometimes i get 60 fps(like before), but most of the time i get 35-45 in high lvl zones, and maybe below 30 in populated cities.

I saw little to no changes in Witcher 1 too.

I took the latest nvidia beta driver, no 3D stuff installed..

My CPU is a AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2ghz

I got 4gb of RAM

My OS is Vista 64 bits.

It piss me off to buy a 235$ video card and see little improvement over my old 9800gt.

Is my OS hurting? Do i need more RAM? Or am i missing something else?

 

[Resolution]

Still no display. what gives? im not sure if that red light means if my ram is not goood or not. i don't see why it shouldn't be?

 

[TheExodu5]

What I'm asking is how much of a benefit doing aftermarket is at all. If I can do over 4GHz on stock cooling, how much more is aftermarket going to get me is what I'm trying to ask, I guess. Another 500MHz? Another GHz? If it's the latter I see myself doing for it, but 4GHz is already almost twice my current speed and I don't really know if an extra couple hundred MHz is worth the extra cost.

A Cooler Master Hyper 212+ is a must, IMO. It will allow you to do 4.6-5GHz very comfortably, whereas stock cooling will max out closer to 4GHz, and be much louder for it. It's only a $30 investment.

I'd only go higher than that if you're concerned about noise. The DH-14 is designed to be quieter than something like the 212+, so that's where your money's going.

Also, as for the PSU, the Corsair AX850 is just fine for 2x GTX 580. It's a quality PSU that is actually designed to run at max wattage, but really, you won't be maxing it out 99% of the time, even with an overclocked Sandy Bridge CPU and 2x GTX 580.

I'm running an i5 2500K @ 4.8GHz, and 2x GTX 570, and have had zero issues with my AX850.

The GTX 580 have a max TDP limit of 300W...unless that safety feature is removed, they won't consume more than that a piece. And even then, benchmarks have shown that this TDP is only reached in Furmark...in games it tends to be closer to 220-250W. Even at 2x 300W, you have 250W left over for your CPU and peripherals. That is more than enough.

Most of the time, we recommend having a more powerful PSU than needed because a lot of people have cheap $30-50 PSUs that came included with a prebuilt or a case. Often times, these PSUs are not even designed to put out their rated wattage. The Corsair and other quality PSUs, on the other hand, can put out their rated wattage, and then some. What's more? The Corsair is warrantied for 7 years, so you don't even have to worry about stressing it too much. It's a PSU that's built to last and take a heavy load.