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[Ether_Snake]

Yeah I do mostly 3D rendering, 2D images, and eventually video editing. I use UDK just because it goes pretty fast to build environments using a game editor rather than doing everything pre-rendered, which is a good base to finish things in 2D. But in some cases I'll be doing rendering along those lines. Only reason I haven't been doing much in footage is because my PC is shit and I can't be bothered to render anything as a result.

 

[Wolf Akela]

How much does CUDA help with rendering?

 

[Syphon Filter]

Anyone remember the newegg code for new customers to get $10 off? Getting ready to build my PC soon and need it.

 

[RumblingRosco]

Microcenter is currently selling the i5 2500k for $179.99. Decent memorial day savings. I was going to hold off, but I think I'll just jump in to save $40. Still looking at motherboards, any suggestions? The one in the OP is sold out at newegg, and I'd like to get one closer to $100 than $200.

Keep in mind, that $179.99 does not include tax which varies state-to-state of course, which somewhat reduces that benefit.

I've heard many good things about the ASrock brand of mobos... I think they are rebranded Asus, or partners with Asus, or something related to Asus.

Anyone remember the newegg code for new customers to get $10 off? Getting ready to build my PC soon and need it.

NEWCUSTOMER10 I think? I believe you have to spend $50 or more.

 

[killamockingbrd]

I've heard many good things about the ASrock brand of mobos... I think they are rebranded Asus, or partners with Asus, or something related to Asus.

I can confirm that ASRock makes nice and reasonably priced mobos.

 

[Smokey]

After playing various titles earlier it looks like the temps using the H70 didn't go any higher than 60 C. Granted I didn't play for hours but I did get some decent time in. Guess I'll leave it in for now, with the 212 as my backup. Someone mentioned earlier that the pump from the H70 shouldn't be plugged into the headers on the mobo?

 

[The Teachinator]

After playing various titles earlier it looks like the temps using the H70 didn't go any higher than 60 C. Granted I didn't play for hours but I did get some decent time in. Guess I'll leave it in for now, with the 212 as my backup. Someone mentioned earlier that the pump from the H70 shouldn't be plugged into the headers on the mobo?

Sounds fine but with the 212 I don't go over 55 when playing titles such as crysis, Dirt 3.

I also have a full arsenal of fans in my haf-922 and a room that doesn't go above 77F.

 

[Mr Nightman]

Is a 9800GTX XXX a good card for 40? Found an ad for a used one, was just wondering if that would be a good card to snag for a backup if ever needed

 

[Daigoro]

thanks for making an attempt anyways feist. ill seek help elsewhere, or just stumble around until i figure this bullshit out.

 

[clav]

Yeah I do mostly 3D rendering, 2D images, and eventually video editing. I use UDK just because it goes pretty fast to build environments using a game editor rather than doing everything pre-rendered, which is a good base to finish things in 2D. But in some cases I'll be doing rendering along those lines. Only reason I haven't been doing much in footage is because my PC is shit and I can't be bothered to render anything as a result.

Why don't get one of those Professional videos cards? The ones that cost like $250-$1800?

This is just a random one I picked out: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003X26T70/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Not for gaming. This is for professional work use (i.e. image editing, rendering, engineering: AutoCAD)

Windows 7 (relatively new install)
various Hitachi/Samsung drives
ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 Mobo
Rosewill 700W PSU
HIS Radeon 5770 (also tried using an old ATI 4670)
AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb P5W
x2 Mushkin DDR3 4GB DDR3 SDRAM

build is less than a year old.



not sure where i would find those. been looking at the Even Viewer log and not really seeing much besides some Kernel power reads under Critical, but i figured that those were because i was using the case's power switch to power down. (the back of the case switch. the normal power button doesnt do anything when i crash)

edit: well i looked up where to find the BSOD logs. but would this actually pertain to my issues as i am not getting any blue screens?

cant hurt to check the log i guess.

thanks for making an attempt anyways feist. ill seek help elsewhere, or just stumble around until i figure this bullshit out.

Hey man. I saw what you wrote before the edit. Sorry I didn't reply back earlier as I'm not in
this thread all the time.

You can start by testing out your RAM, so we can eliminate that issue first. Start by clicking on the Windows logo icon and type, "Windows Memory Diagnostic."

Let Windows reboot. Windows will proceed to run two tests twice and then boot back to desktop. If everything works out ok, then a balloon box will appear. If your RAM is faulty, a dialogue box will appear warning your equipment is falty.

You will also notice if something is wrong during testing as the system will say there is a hardware problem in your system.

 

[Hazaro]

Is a 9800GTX XXX a good card for 40? Found an ad for a used one, was just wondering if that would be a good card to snag for a backup if ever needed

Yes

 

[RS4-]

As much as I'd like to get one of the Corsair H models, I'll stick with my TRUE 120. Can't believe I got the damn thing and I haven't bothered OC'ing my C2Q until recently lol. Then I went back to stock. :|

 

[clav]

Yes

Hey Hazaro.

I was thinking of upgrading my Core 2 rig with a better graphics card.

If I were to do that and purchase the CX430V2, what graphics card would you put in it?

It's a E2180 (the Q6600 situation didn't work out for me. faulty chip.) overclocked to 3GHz, and I know this will be the bottleneck of my system aside from my hard drive.

I feel like it may not be worth it, and that I should wait until I purchase a new rig to do all of this.

Currently system is running on a 9800 GT ECO.

 

[snack]

Yeah I do mostly 3D rendering, 2D images, and eventually video editing. I use UDK just because it goes pretty fast to build environments using a game editor rather than doing everything pre-rendered, which is a good base to finish things in 2D. But in some cases I'll be doing rendering along those lines. Only reason I haven't been doing much in footage is because my PC is shit and I can't be bothered to render anything as a result.

Oh, okay. Then it's understandable that you're getting a 2600k.

 

[ElyrionX]

Had my mind set on the CM 690II Advanced but I was looking at the Corsair 650D yesterday and now I have my doubts. The 650D is a very nice case indeed but it is also almost twice the price of the 690II. Any thoughts?

Also, will the airflow in both cases be good enough to support the MSI or Asus cards that pump more hot air into the casing?

 

[clav]

Oh, okay. Then it's understandable that you're getting a 2600k.

Wouldn't it be more beneficial to purchase a professional/engineering video card as opposed to gaming?

 

[Hazaro]

Hey Hazaro.

I was thinking of upgrading my Core 2 rig with a better graphics card.

If I were to do that and purchase the CX430V2, what graphics card would you put in it?

It's a E2180 (the Q6600 situation didn't work out for me. faulty chip.) overclocked to 3GHz, and I know this will be the bottleneck of my system aside from my hard drive.

I feel like it may not be worth it, and that I should wait until I purchase a new rig to do all of this.

Currently system is running on a 9800 GT ECO.

I'd probably wait it out until you have enough for a new system.

Had my mind set on the CM 690II Advanced but I was looking at the Corsair 650D yesterday and now I have my doubts. The 650D is a very nice case indeed but it is also almost twice the price of the 690II. Any thoughts?

Also, will the airflow in both cases be good enough to support the MSI or Asus cards that pump more hot air into the casing?

Depends how long you think you will use the case and if it is important to you.
ATX spec will probably stay around a couple more years at least.

Wouldn't it be more beneficial to purchase a professional/engineering video card as opposed to gaming?

I don't think the cost/time benefit is high enough. Easier to wait the extra time you spend rendering unless you have a deadline or a spare $1,200.

 

[clav]

I'd probably wait it out until you have enough for a new system.

Depends how long you think you will use the case and if it is important to you.
ATX spec will probably stay around a couple more years at least.

I don't think the cost/time benefit is high enough. Easier to wait the extra time you spend rendering unless you have a deadline or a spare $1,200.

Those cards do make a difference though, and it seems like he needs it for the work he does.

That market is something I've never touched as it is exponentially ridiculous in terms of the prices of those professional video cards.

 

[Wallach]

Had my mind set on the CM 690II Advanced but I was looking at the Corsair 650D yesterday and now I have my doubts. The 650D is a very nice case indeed but it is also almost twice the price of the 690II. Any thoughts?

Also, will the airflow in both cases be good enough to support the MSI or Asus cards that pump more hot air into the casing?

I can tell you that the 690 II Adv. has more than enough airflow with just stock case fans to handle those types of cards.

 

[TheExodu5]

Had my mind set on the CM 690II Advanced but I was looking at the Corsair 650D yesterday and now I have my doubts. The 650D is a very nice case indeed but it is also almost twice the price of the 690II. Any thoughts?

Also, will the airflow in both cases be good enough to support the MSI or Asus cards that pump more hot air into the casing?

The CM 690 II is a really nice case for the money. The 650D has more steel, is easier to work with and do cable management, but it's also much bigger and heavier...keep that in mind.

And yeah, I wouldn't worry about airflow. If you ever find the airflow lacking in the CM 690 II, you can add a $5-10 fan on the GPU intake on the side panel.

 

[snack]

Rumors have it that the Bulldozer launch has been postponed to July. GO INTEL?!

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/news/cpu/amd-postpones-bulldozer-launch-until-q3-2011/

 

[Hazaro]

Rumors have it that the Bulldozer launch has been postponed to July. GO INTEL?!

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/news/cpu/amd-postpones-bulldozer-launch-until-q3-2011/

Yeah, stuff has been floating about production delays.
Wouldn't be surprised if it was past July tbh.

Also NO INTEL. Need competition. Need that Ivy Bridge and Tri-Gates at a reasonable price in reasonable time.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

It's looking uglier and uglier for Bulldozer, not that nobody could have predicted that:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/di...lock_Speed_of_FX_Bulldozer_Chips_Sources.html

The long-awaited central processing units (CPUs) featuring the code-named Bulldozer micro-architecture are now fully-functional and work without flaws, according to a person who wished to remain anonymous. The problem with the delay of the AMD FX family of chips is that they currently cannot operate at truly high-speeds and thus cannot achieve performance levels that AMD wanted them to. As result, AMD will need to design a new stepping of the processor and therefore delay the commercial launch to September.

The currently available B0 and B1 stepping Zambezi/Bulldozer processors can function at around 2.50GHz/3.50GHz (nominal/turbo) clock-speeds and at such frequency they cannot deliver performance AMD considers competitive, a person with knowledge of the situation said on Monday. As a consequence, AMD needs to tune the design of the processor and create B2 stepping of the chip with better clock-speed potential amid similar thermal design power (TDP), which will take several months to complete. Therefore, the Sunnyvale, California-based chip designer will release its highly-anticipated Bulldozer processors for desktops in September, not in June, as planned.

If Bulldozer really doesn't launch until September, it will be as DOA as Phenom I was because that's around when Sandy Bridge-E will be arriving. It looks like AMD will never be performance-competitve with Intel ever again, although we've been living with a non-competitive AMD for about 5-6 years now, ever since the original Core 2 Duo (Conroe), so it's not as if this is anything new.

 

[snack]

I've never made an Intel build before. But that's all about to change really soon. I'll just wait a little more until prices drop a tad more because BF3 isn't even out yet and that's the main reason why I need this new rig.

I CAN'T WAIT TO CHANGE SIDES.

 

[Hazaro]

AMD could go Pentium 4 route and just name some 125W TDP CPU's EXTREME that run at 4Ghz. Not give a damn about TDP. (For the consumer).
Integrated video should win over more OEM?

I just hope BD is competitive and Tri-Gate from Intel can deliver half of what it is promising.

 

[snack]

Percentage wise, how many Intel users do you think there are on PC-GAF compared to AMD users? I'm just wondering.

This is from the Steam Stats (PC Processor usage by manufacturer):

I found this very interesting.

 

[Skirn]

I just put an order on a Cooler Master Hyper 212+, but the store won't get them in stock until 9th of June, so I hope it's worth the wait. I don't feel like piecing together my computer (I've got every other part already) and use the stock cooler on the i5 2500K just to disassemble everything a few weeks later. :lol

How much can one expect to OC a i5 2500K using a Hyper 212+? Anyone with experience care to share numbers?

 

[Daigoro]

Hey man. I saw what you wrote before the edit. Sorry I didn't reply back earlier as I'm not in
this thread all the time.

You can start by testing out your RAM, so we can eliminate that issue first. Start by clicking on the Windows logo icon and type, "Windows Memory Diagnostic."

Let Windows reboot. Windows will proceed to run two tests twice and then boot back to desktop. If everything works out ok, then a balloon box will appear. If your RAM is faulty, a dialogue box will appear warning your equipment is falty.

You will also notice if something is wrong during testing as the system will say there is a hardware problem in your system.

thanks kindly. no worries about timeliness, i appreciate you taking the time to help me out.

ill do the memory diagnostic in several hours when i get home and post back with the results.

thanks.


(for the record, there was no minidump. i assume thats because im not actually blue screening)

 

[Hazaro]

If Bulldozer really doesn't launch until September, it will be as DOA as Phenom I was because that's around when Sandy Bridge-E will be arriving.

Those are entirely two different market segments.
People who buy a 2011 SB-E with QUAD channel DDR3 and 4x PCI-E lanes are not the same who would buy BD.

Percentage wise, how many Intel users do you think there are on PC-GAF compared to AMD users? I'm just wondering.

Gonna go with about 75% Intel and 25% AMD
http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey

I just put an order on a Cooler Master Hyper 212+, but the store won't get them in stock until 9th of June, so I hope it's worth the wait. I don't feel like piecing together my computer (I've got every other part already) and use the stock cooler on the i5 2500K just to disassemble everything a few weeks later. :lol

How much can one expect to OC a i5 2500K using a Hyper 212+? Anyone with experience care to share numbers?

4.4Ghz is a good number to aim for. Should take you around 1.30V and add 35W under load to your wattage. 7W idle.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Those are entirely two different market segments.
People who buy a 2011 SB-E with QUAD channel DDR3 and 4x PCI-E lanes are not the same who would buy BD.

This is true, but it depends on how much SB-E is planned to cost. If they are the $1000 Extreme processors then maybe, but the highest Bulldozer was only supposed to be $320 which means it would at best be competitive with i7-2600k, except that 2600k will have been on the market nearly a year before Bulldozer even launches if Xbit-Labs is accurate about AMD not being able to launch until September and ramp up until late 2011/early 2012. I wonder if this is why Intel is delaying Ivy Bridge, as Intel has a vested interest in keeping AMD alive in order to continue using the x86-64 license.

 

[Skirn]

4.4Ghz is a good number to aim for. Should take you around 1.30V and add 35W under load to your wattage. 7W idle.

Cheers.

Man, this feels like waiting for Christmas as a kid. Can't wait to take the plunge into PC gaming again.

 

[opticalmace]

This is true, but it depends on how much SB-E is planned to cost. If they are the $1000 Extreme processors then maybe, but the highest Bulldozer was only supposed to be $320 which means it would at best be competitive with i7-2600k, except that 2600k will have been on the market nearly a year before Bulldozer even launches if Xbit-Labs is accurate about AMD not being able to launch until September and ramp up until late 2011/early 2012. I wonder if this is why Intel is delaying Ivy Bridge, as Intel has a vested interest in keeping AMD alive in order to continue using the x86-64 license.

They will be around $300-$1000, per some AnandTech article I read earlier tonight. I think it mentioned three specifically, one around $100, another around $550, and another somewhere around the 2600K mark.

I just put an order on a Cooler Master Hyper 212+, but the store won't get them in stock until 9th of June, so I hope it's worth the wait. I don't feel like piecing together my computer (I've got every other part already) and use the stock cooler on the i5 2500K just to disassemble everything a few weeks later. :lol

How much can one expect to OC a i5 2500K using a Hyper 212+? Anyone with experience care to share numbers?

You don't have to disassemble everything to replace the heatsink. If it were me I would just build it now, get it up, running, and stable, and then change the heatsink when it arrives. It won't take you more than 15min to change the heatsink anyway.

 

[kpx0]

If all you do is mainly gaming, I'd go with a 2500k as well. With that money saved, you could use it on a better gfx card.

Unless you plan on doing crazy video editing, the 2600k's hyperthreading won't do you any good in games.

if all you do is gaming, honestly an i3 2100 is enough for any game out currently... take the extra $200 you save from not getting the 2600k and upgrade the video card and get an SSD

the quad cores are only really useful for media encoding

if you look at benchmarks, a 2500k barely gives 5fps benefit over a 2100 in normal resolutions

 

[opticalmace]

if all you do is gaming, honestly an i3 2100 is enough for any game out currently... take the extra $200 you save from not getting the 2600k and upgrade the video card and get an SSD

the quad cores are only really useful for media encoding

if you look at benchmarks, a 2500k barely gives 5fps benefit over a 2100 in normal resolutions

Link? I would consider 1080p to be a normal resolution if that's what you mean.

 

[Skirn]

You don't have to disassemble everything to replace the heatsink. If it were me I would just build it now, get it up, running, and stable, and then change the heatsink when it arrives. It won't take you more than 15min to change the heatsink anyway.

According to the user manual of the Hyper 212+, I'd need to take the motherboard out of the case, flip it over, place it on a flat surface and install some kind of plate on the back, thus the need to remove RAM etc.

Sounds like hassle, especially if you're inexperienced like me. I've only bulit one computer before and that was 7-8 years ago. The Witcher 2 box on my desk is tempting me, though!

 

[Unknown Soldier]

if all you do is gaming, honestly an i3 2100 is enough for any game out currently... take the extra $200 you save from not getting the 2600k and upgrade the video card and get an SSD

the quad cores are only really useful for media encoding

if you look at benchmarks, a 2500k barely gives 5fps benefit over a 2100 in normal resolutions

I don't know what your definition of a 'normal resolution' is but it's not relevant here. I've have run into CPU-bound situations on my i7-950 OCed to 4.01ghz. Izayoi has an i7-2600k OCed to 4.5ghz and he was getting better performance than me in the same situation. So to say that dual-cores is enough is quite frankly laughable when I've run into situations already on my machine where it's definitely not the case.

 

[Ezahn]

I'm deciding towards a single gpu build for my new rig: do you guys have any good combo mobo (z68?) + psu + gpu to suggest?
It's important that the mobo has SATA 3 (eSata would be a plus) in order to put in a fast SSD, maybe not right now...

Thanks all!

 

[Hazaro]

I'm deciding towards a single gpu build for my new rig: do you guys have any good combo mobo (z68?) + psu + gpu to suggest?
It's important that the mobo has SATA 3 (eSata would be a plus) in order to put in a fast SSD, maybe not right now...

Thanks all!

Fill out list in OP.
What do you have now?
What do you want to do with it?
What is your budget?

MSI P67A-C43, CX430 V2, 6950 2GB

 

[Ezahn]

Here it comes then!

Basic Desktop Questions:
Your Current Specs (just sold it): e8400 / 8800 GT 512 / 4 GB RAM / Asus P5K-VM
Budget: 800-1000 €, Italy
Main Use: Light Gaming @ 1080p / 120 Hz
Monitor Resolution: 1080p / 120 Hz
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Crysis 2, DoW II, The Witcher 2, Guild Wars 2
Are reusing any parts?: nope, all brand new
When will you build?: Right now me thinks
Will you be overclocking?: Maybe

Thanks!

P.S. I'd prefer a Geforce GPU, since I reckon atm ATI has some problems with 120 Hz monitor above DirectX 9

 

[squicken]

How difficult is it to change out motherboards? I've never built a system, but I feel like I could do it if need be. I'm less confident about removing a CPU and heatsink and cleaning off and reapplying the thermal gel.

 

[RS4-]

How difficult is it to change out motherboards? I've never built a system, but I feel like I could do it if need be. I'm less confident about removing a CPU and heatsink and cleaning off and reapplying the thermal gel.

It's pretty easy. You'll spend more time routing wires and plugging them into the right places. Paste is just getting something to scrape the old junk off (like using a credit card or coffee filter/qtip with isopropyl alcohol. Applying it, I think it depends on the paste and cooler; some want you to just put a small amount in the middle and the cooler will do the rest and spread it out as pressure is applied, others prefer that you spread a thin layer across it.

The scariest thing for me when I was putting it together was thinking that I was going to break my mobo when putting pressure to lock the processor in place.

 

[Curufinwe]

I just got a GTX 460 for $120 bucks. I hope it's worth the upgraded from an 8800 GT.

768 MB or 1 GB?

My Sparkle 768 MB GTX 460 has been a nice upgrade from my old 320 MB 8800 GTS that died in February.

 

[scogoth]

ECS's X79 Board

Gotta love 4-channel memory having to be split on either side of the CPU because they had trouble with all the trace lines. So we have the 4-channel DDR3 ram, PCIe 3.0 slots, LGA 2011 socket and of course no USB3.0/Thunderbolt built in(USB3.0 still done through add-on controllers). Guess we'll have to wait for ivy bridge for that.

 

[TheExodu5]

Those bords are really going to limit aftermarket heatsink and memory combinations.

 

[Daigoro]

Hey man. I saw what you wrote before the edit. Sorry I didn't reply back earlier as I'm not in
this thread all the time.

You can start by testing out your RAM, so we can eliminate that issue first. Start by clicking on the Windows logo icon and type, "Windows Memory Diagnostic."

Let Windows reboot. Windows will proceed to run two tests twice and then boot back to desktop. If everything works out ok, then a balloon box will appear. If your RAM is faulty, a dialogue box will appear warning your equipment is falty.

You will also notice if something is wrong during testing as the system will say there is a hardware problem in your system.

ok. mem diagnostic done, no errors. the system rebooted like six times before i could confirm in the event viewer.

its actually rebooting itself a bit more than usual this morning. usually it just locks up and goes blank.

a few things ive noticed over the last day of watching the thing crash: the hard drive seems to cease all function. it just stops, not sound from the drive and the red light that signals that is in use does not come on at all. otherwise everything else seems to be functioning. the disk drive even opens and attempts to read a disk when inserted, lights and fans all remain on, etc.

i also attempted to do a check on the HD for errors, but it rebooted part of the way through. its crashing and rebooting constantly this morning. i cant get to stay on for more than two minutes at a time if i can even log on at all.

 

[TheExodu5]

How difficult is it to change out motherboards? I've never built a system, but I feel like I could do it if need be. I'm less confident about removing a CPU and heatsink and cleaning off and reapplying the thermal gel.

Changing a motherboard is pretty much the most complicated thing you can do in a regular build. Not too bad though.

Unplug all the components from your old motherboard.

Put your CPU in the socket.
Put on CPU heatsink.
Insert RAM.
Screw motherboard to the case (making sure to screw them on the little metal standoffs, not directly to the case).
Plug in front panel headers (bottom right of the motherboard...power, power led, hdd access light etc...)
Plug in 4/8pin CPU connector from PSU, making sure the PSU is off (should be located near the CPU).
Plug in 24pin motherboard connector from PSU.
Connect SATA devices.
Plug in video card.
Plug in 6/8pin PCI-E video card connectors from motherboard if needed.

Something along those lines.

 

[squicken]

It's pretty easy. You'll spend more time routing wires and plugging them into the right places. Paste is just getting something to scrape the old junk off (like using a credit card or coffee filter/qtip with isopropyl alcohol. Applying it, I think it depends on the paste and cooler; some want you to just put a small amount in the middle and the cooler will do the rest and spread it out as pressure is applied, others prefer that you spread a thin layer across it.

The scariest thing for me when I was putting it together was thinking that I was going to break my mobo when putting pressure to lock the processor in place.

Changing a motherboard is pretty much the most complicated thing you can do in a regular build. Not too bad though.

Unplug all the components from your old motherboard.

Put your CPU in the socket.
Put on CPU heatsink.
Insert RAM.
Screw motherboard to the case (making sure to screw them on the little metal standoffs, not directly to the case).
Plug in front panel headers (bottom right of the motherboard...power, power led, hdd access light etc...)
Plug in 4/8pin CPU connector from PSU, making sure the PSU is off (should be located near the CPU).
Plug in 24pin motherboard connector from PSU.
Connect SATA devices.
Plug in video card.
Plug in 6/8pin PCI-E video card connectors from motherboard if needed.

Something along those lines.

I've watched nearly every Youtube video on the subject. I'm just scared I'm going to get goo on the CPU/mobo pins.

It's a very fluid decision. I want to move up to a SATA III mobo, but it feels like any extra money spent on AM3 (and keep going with my 955) is toward a dead end. Even if I bought an i3/SB mobo for, I'd still have plenty of head room for CPU upgrades. Whereas a new AM3 mobo would never see anything besides my existing CPU

 

[barnone]

How do I tell if the motherboard/GPU/cooler will fit into a case? Jut check the physical dimensions for everything?

Beginning to research for a build in a couple months.

 

[TheExodu5]

I've watched nearly every Youtube video on the subject. I'm just scared I'm going to get goo on the CPU/mobo pins.

It's a very fluid decision. I want to move up to a SATA III mobo, but it feels like any extra money spent on AM3 (and keep going with my 955) is toward a dead end. Even if I bought an i3/SB mobo for, I'd still have plenty of head room for CPU upgrades. Whereas a new AM3 mobo would never see anything besides my existing CPU

Don't upgrade just for SATA III. It's not worth it. At all.

That being said, just don't put much thermal paste on. Just the amount of a small grain of rice.

How do I tell if the motherboard/GPU/cooler will fit into a case? Jut check the physical dimensions for everything?

Beginning to research for a build in a couple months.

Motherboard: it will say mini-ATX, m-ATX, ATX, E-ATX. You'll have either a m-ATX or ATX motherboard, most likely...just check your case specifications and see if it supports that standard. Usually, mid towers support m-ATX and ATX. Some slim designs, HTPC cases, or esoteric designs (like the Silverstone FT03) only support m-ATX or mini-ATX. Full towers usually support m-ATX, ATX, and certain ones support E-ATX.

As for cooler/GPU...I just look for existing builds online that people have done to see if it's doable. There's no official information that will let you know for sure whether a component fits or not.

 

[The Teachinator]

According to the user manual of the Hyper 212+, I'd need to take the motherboard out of the case, flip it over, place it on a flat surface and install some kind of plate on the back, thus the need to remove RAM etc.

Sounds like hassle, especially if you're inexperienced like me. I've only bulit one computer before and that was 7-8 years ago. The Witcher 2 box on my desk is tempting me, though!

Skirn the 212 can be very tough. the backplate is easy to install, it's the tension rod that is a bitch. Just pay attention to how the tension rod sits in the center and shifting the unit so that the posts on the 212 line up with the holes on the bracket.

I screwed my original install of it up. Simply took it out and redid it. Much easier the second time around. Just watch videos on youtube, move slowly, and work patiently.