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

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I need some help on my graphic card, power supply and the cpu cooler:

I'm considering

graphics:
eVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB

cpu-cooler:
Scythe Mugen 2. Rev B. (With Core I5 2500k with ASUS P8P67 Rev 3.0)

power supply:
Be Quiet! Straight Power
BQT E8-550W ATX12V 2.3


what do you think about it?

Thank you very much in advance :)
 
Chesskid1 said:
last time i bought an external it was 500GB for $150 (this was about 3 years ago)

just ordered a 1.5GB for $69.99

hell yeah :)
Click to expand...
Be sure to order more when you have a chance. Backups of backups.

Seems like hard drives made bigger than 500GB these days tend to die faster.
 
I'm looking to build an HTPC living room tv/gaming rig (for 52 inch TV) for ~$1000. Is there anything I need to look out for when using an HTPC case vs. a standard tower? Also, would the builds in the OP be okay in an HTPC case?

Has anyone built one recently?
 
I just bought a Corsair 650D case last week, and that case is a thing of beauty man. I had been using my trusty 12+ year old Antec case, and I was blown away by how much improvement there has been made in case technology. The case is also very spacious.

Crappy iPhone picture:

MhurZ.jpg


Still on my old Gigabyte P35 mobo, running Q6600 with an ATI 5850. Thinking about upgrading to a i5 2500k. Worth it?
 
desh said:
It's supposed to look like an aluminum suit case.
Click to expand...

Well, yeah, but that doesn't stop it from possibly being flush with the panel it's on as opposed to jutting out from the top. Just an aesthetic issue for me, really. Doesn't stop me from wanting one if I ever have the need for a portable case.
 
So, how good are today's integrated sound cards for gaming? Would I notice any difference between an integrated one (ALC892 7.1) and an ASUS Xonar D1?
 
The integrated sound on my Gigabyte P67 UD4 is really, really good. Surprisingly so. Doesn't quite match up with the dynamics of my external DAC/amp, but I love the built in equalizer, as well as support for DD/DTS, as well as Dolby Headphone.

I got my Sennheiser PC 360 to stop sounding like muddy crap after toning down the bass and upping the midrange a tiny bit through the EQ.
 
tycoonheart said:
Still on my old Gigabyte P35 mobo, running Q6600 with an ATI 5850. Thinking about upgrading to a i5 2500k. Worth it?
Click to expand...
No, oc it to 2.8-3ghz and you are set for another year or two for gaming.

Or admit you just want a new toy for the sake of having it and buy one anyways.

Unless you dabble in wii/ps2 emulation you don't need a SB cpu for gaming.
 
SneakyStephan said:
No, oc it to 2.8-3ghz and you are set for another year or two for gaming.

Or admit you just want a new toy for the sake of having it and buy one anyways.

Unless you dabble in wii/ps2 emulation you don't need a SB cpu for gaming.
Click to expand...

A new toy is always nice.

But I'm going to try to push it to 3ghz and see how that works. I'm really waiting for BF3 to come out, and I'm trying to decide if i my rig can play the game at relatively high settings.
 
Has anyone ever had like a cursed computer case?

I have this cheap coolermaster case I bought for 30 bucks once. Everytime I tried to build something in there it just wouldn't boot, no power, nothing. I figured maybe it was the pw switch cable but even the screwdriver trick didn't work. Tried fucking with it again today but no dice.

Is it like a short or something? Is that even possible?
 
Can someone recommend me a few good monitors good for gaming? I have a 22 inch samsung with a max res of 1680 x 1050 right now. I think I'd like to stick with the same size and resolution. It seems that it's hard to find 22 inch monitors with 1680 as the max resolution which is strange to me.

The only other important factor is that I'm looking for something with a refresh rate of 75 or 80. Right now mine is 60 and I think it's straining my eyes.
 
Deadstar said:
Can someone recommend me a few good monitors good for gaming? I have a 22 inch samsung with a max res of 1680 x 1050 right now. I think I'd like to stick with the same size and resolution. It seems that it's hard to find 22 inch monitors with 1680 as the max resolution which is strange to me.

The only other important factor is that I'm looking for something with a refresh rate of 75 or 80. Right now mine is 60 and I think it's straining my eyes.
Click to expand...
Most manufacturers have moved on to 1920x1080 for the standard resolution of monitors bigger than 20".

For gaming, just look at the response rate and see if it's the lowest (2ms). If I were to purchase a monitor now, I would make sure it has LED backlighting.

If budget is an issue, from time to time, Staples has Acer monitors really cheap paired with a coupon. Also, the Newegg brand for monitors is known as Sceptre as they are right across the street from Newegg (at least in City of Industry, CA).
 
Is it worthwhile to upgrade my GTS 250 512 MB to a 6850 1GB? I can't find any benchmarks directly comparing to two. The current card works well enough with multi-plats, so I'm primarily looking for performance increases in Civ 5 and The Witcher 2 (I suspect people will recommend a 6870 instead, but because of the way my mobo is designed I'm limited to 9 inch or shorter cards).
 
Teetris said:
Has anyone ever had like a cursed computer case?

I have this cheap coolermaster case I bought for 30 bucks once. Everytime I tried to build something in there it just wouldn't boot, no power, nothing. I figured maybe it was the pw switch cable but even the screwdriver trick didn't work. Tried fucking with it again today but no dice.

Is it like a short or something? Is that even possible?
Click to expand...

Yes, I bought an Antec Sonata III about 10 years ago and everything inside it went to crap. I had video cards, mobos, and CPUs die inside of it. It was also made of steel so it was pretty heavy. I replaced it last year and haven't had any issues since.
 
Deadstar said:
Can someone recommend me a few good monitors good for gaming? I have a 22 inch samsung with a max res of 1680 x 1050 right now. I think I'd like to stick with the same size and resolution. It seems that it's hard to find 22 inch monitors with 1680 as the max resolution which is strange to me.

The only other important factor is that I'm looking for something with a refresh rate of 75 or 80. Right now mine is 60 and I think it's straining my eyes.
Click to expand...

The refresh rate of the picture should not have an impact on eye strain. The only thing that might is the refresh rate of the backlight...which is usually faster than 60Hz (since flicker is still perceptable at this rate). I have heard of some displays having 60Hz backlighting, though.

This might not effect you, or might not even be a consideration but: you could consider a bigger monitor that you can put further away from you. In my personal experience, the main thing that causes eye strain for me is having a display too close to me. I use a 32" HDTV from a few feet away, which has been much easier on my eyes.

Garryk said:
Yes, I bought an Antec Sonata III about 10 years ago and everything inside it went to crap. I had video cards, mobos, and CPUs die inside of it. It was also made of steel so it was pretty heavy. I replaced it last year and haven't had any issues since.
Click to expand...

The Sonata III isn't even close to 10 years old. :p
 
DoctorPayne said:
Is it worthwhile to upgrade my GTS 250 512 MB to a 6850 1GB? I can't find any benchmarks directly comparing to two. The current card works well enough with multi-plats, so I'm primarily looking for performance increases in Civ 5 and The Witcher 2 (I suspect people will recommend a 6870 instead, but because of the way my mobo is designed I'm limited to 9 inch or shorter cards).
Click to expand...

Why not a GTX 560ti? They go at 9 inches.
 
Garryk said:
Yes, I bought an Antec Sonata III about 10 years ago and everything inside it went to crap. I had video cards, mobos, and CPUs die inside of it. It was also made of steel so it was pretty heavy. I replaced it last year and haven't had any issues since.
Click to expand...
But the PC always started tho right? I can't even have power with the components inside. Although hearing about this is interesting in itself, guess I can now add "faulty case" to troubleshooting hardware. Did you find out the exact cause?
 
Teetris said:
But the PC always started tho right? I can't even have power with the components inside. Although hearing about this is interesting in itself, guess I can now add "faulty case" to troubleshooting hardware. Did you find out the exact cause?
Click to expand...

Did you screw the standoffs onto the case, and the motherboard onto the standoffs? You need this to create a proper ground and to avoid creating a short.

DoctorPayne said:
Is it worthwhile to upgrade my GTS 250 512 MB to a 6850 1GB? I can't find any benchmarks directly comparing to two. The current card works well enough with multi-plats, so I'm primarily looking for performance increases in Civ 5 and The Witcher 2 (I suspect people will recommend a 6870 instead, but because of the way my mobo is designed I'm limited to 9 inch or shorter cards).
Click to expand...

Motherboard design should in no way limit the size of your card. Only the case should limit that.
 
Teetris said:
But the PC always started tho right? I can't even have power with the components inside. Although hearing about this is interesting in itself, guess I can now add "faulty case" to troubleshooting hardware. Did you find out the exact cause?
Click to expand...
More like user mounting error.

I've used a plethora of cases from Gateways (when they were big), the crappy $20 ones, and other low-end cases for myself, friends, and friends of friends.

They all still work to this day, and nothing has died inside of them.
 
jonabbey said:
Why not a GTX 560ti? They go at 9 inches.
Click to expand...

Thought about it, but it's out of my current price range.

TheExodu5 said:
Motherboard design should in no way limit the size of your card. Only the case should limit that.
Click to expand...

All 4 SATA ports would be directly underneath the card. The current card, at 9 inches, covers two of them.
 
voady said:
I need some help on my graphic card, power supply and the cpu cooler:

I'm considering

graphics:
eVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB

cpu-cooler:
Scythe Mugen 2. Rev B. (With Core I5 2500k with ASUS P8P67 Rev 3.0)

power supply:
Be Quiet! Straight Power
BQT E8-550W ATX12V 2.3


what do you think about it?

Thank you very much in advance :)
Click to expand...

You need a 600+ watt for this. EarthWatts EA-650 or anything 80+ 600W+. Cooler and GPU are nice.
 
DoctorPayne said:
All 4 SATA ports would be directly underneath the card. The current card, at 9 inches, covers two of them.
Click to expand...

Having the GPU over the SATA ports shouldn't really be an issue...the wires might be a bit cramped, though.

Garryk said:
It was the Sonata II. Just google imaged it :(

I bought it in 2002-03 as well so it's getting close to 10.
Click to expand...

I ran an overclocked E6600 in my Sonata II, as well as an 8800GT. Didn't have any issues, personally. I did add an intake fan to bring my temps down a bit.
 
claviertekky said:
More like user mounting error.

I've used a plethora of cases from Gateways (when they were big), the crappy $20 ones, and other low-end cases for myself, friends, and friends of friends.

They all still work to this day, and nothing has died inside of them.
Click to expand...
I've tried all kinds of mobos inside. What mounting errors could there be?

TheExodu5 said:
Did you screw the standoffs onto the case, and the motherboard onto the standoffs? You need this to create a proper ground and to avoid creating a short.
Click to expand...
Yep, but now that you mention it I always kept the same standoffs and used the same screws to tighten the board. Could it be that it's the screws themselves causing a short? I never checked if something was wrong with them
 
claviertekky said:
What's your price range?
Click to expand...

Around 140-170. I'm also limited to retailers that ship to Canada/have similar Canadian pricing. I've spent a lot of time looking, and all I can find for that cost are the AMD 68xx cards; all the GTX 560 TIs seem to be in the 200+ category.

TheExodu5 said:
Having the GPU over the SATA ports shouldn't really be an issue...the wires might be a bit cramped, though.
Click to expand...

I wish, but they're not just cramped, they're literally completely covered if I use a two slot card. Maybe .5 cm of space separating the card and the port.
 
Teetris said:
Yep, but now that you mention it I always kept the same standoffs and used the same screws to tighten the board. Could it be that it's the screws themselves causing a short? I never checked if something was wrong with them
Click to expand...

I don't actually know how it works, but I assume that the standoffs are meant to create an electrical link from the motherboard to the case (ground). That's why there's an electrical contact around the screwholes on a motherboard. The screw shouldn't cause any short, since there wouldn't be any current passing (other than maybe the ground) through the center of those holes.

Anyways my first guess would have been the power switch...but you've already ruled that out. Have you checked the PSU?
 
TheExodu5 said:
I don't actually know how it works, but I assume that the standoffs are meant to create an electrical link from the motherboard to the case (ground). That's why there's an electrical contact around the screwholes on a motherboard. The screw shouldn't cause any short, since there wouldn't be any current passing (other than maybe the ground) through the center of those holes.

Anyways my first guess would have been the power switch...but you've already ruled that out. Have you checked the PSU?
Click to expand...
Ah OK, thanks. Yeah, if everything is connected (sans the case) it works. It's an old vx450 but it still reliable. I figure that by now I'll just have it checked out by a pro, or just throw it away.
 
B-Dex said:
This is what I was thinking:

Case: Tempest Evo (Case isn't set in stone just I hate all the bland looking black boxes everyone gets all the time!)
Mobo: Gigabyte Z68 UD4
CPU: i5 2500k
Vid Card:msi GTX 560ti Twin Frozr
RAM: 8GB (Can probably just get 4GB if 8 is kinda overkill atm)
PSU: Corsair HX750W
HDD: 1TB or 2TB WD Caviar Black
SSD: Intel 320 80GB
DVD/Blu Drive: (Most likely just a dvd one since I don't really need a blu drive in the pc)

Don't need a monitor or kb/m but wouldn't mind getting a new KB anyways.
Click to expand...

Bumping from yesterday as I got no feedback :(

The master race has abandoned me :(
 
Im back! Sorry nilbog for not being there for you when you needed me the most. :( Forgive me.

Since I have had more time I decided to add on a couple things. Every thing I am about to list is what I plan on buying. Unless these are not ideal for my main purpose, which is gaming. (Specifically Witcher 2 + all the multiplayer games I frequent on steam) I would appreciate feedback/critiques. :)

(Apologies once again if this is a hassle for people to navigate through)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233 - Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130275 - MOBO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102921 - GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044 - PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220480 - RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808 - CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073 - HDD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009299 - Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166022 - Dongle
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118040 - CD/DVD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823107120 - Keyboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104178 - Mouse
 
Teetris said:
Ah OK, thanks. Yeah, if everything is connected (sans the case) it works. It's an old vx450 but it still reliable. I figure that by now I'll just have it checked out by a pro, or just throw it away.
Click to expand...

Well...if you can't figure it out, just chuck it and get a new case (or you could try support/RMA if you're still under warranty). It's not worth spending money or excessive amounts of time diagnosing a $30 case.
 
B-Dex said:
Bumping from yesterday as I got no feedback :(

The master race has abandoned me :(
Click to expand...

Looks great to me. Just add a CPU cooler. The Cooler Master Hyper 212+ is a cheap $30 cooler that is well endorsed.

The motherboard is a bit overkill (unless you're trying to leave open the possibility of SLI), but I won't fault you for it...that board looks sexy as hell. :P
 
TheExodu5 said:
Looks great to me. Just add a CPU cooler. The Cooler Master Hyper 212+ is a cheap $30 cooler that is well endorsed.

The motherboard is a bit overkill (unless you're trying to leave open the possibility of SLI), but I won't fault you for it...that board looks sexy as hell. :P
Click to expand...

Yes I want to leave SLI open. Not sure I wanna jump on it yet though.

EDIT: Also 4GB or go for 8GB of RAM?
 
B-Dex said:
Yes I want to leave SLI open. Not sure I wanna jump on it yet though.

EDIT: Also 4GB or go for 8GB of RAM?
Click to expand...

4GB is enough, though I could foresee you wanting to upgrade to 8GB within the next few years. I say bite the bullet now for a measly $40. Unless you're budget constrained, 8GB is a good amount of RAM to put in a medium-high end PC.
 
voady said:
I need some help on my graphic card, power supply and the cpu cooler:

I'm considering

graphics:
eVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB

cpu-cooler:
Scythe Mugen 2. Rev B. (With Core I5 2500k with ASUS P8P67 Rev 3.0)

power supply:
Be Quiet! Straight Power
BQT E8-550W ATX12V 2.3


what do you think about it?

Thank you very much in advance :)
Click to expand...
Check whether or not that EVGA has a lifetime warranty, and, if so, who would handle it in your country (EVGA, or a local third party). If it's a standard warranty, you may want to look into a 560 Ti with a better cooling system, like MSI, Asus, Sparkle, etc.

The Mugen 2 is a good HSF. Just watch out for the sharp edges, and know that installing it can be a pain.

Otherwise, it looks fine.


Griffin said:
You need a 600+ watt for this. EarthWatts EA-650 or anything 80+ 600W+. Cooler and GPU are nice.
Click to expand...
He doesn't, actually. That's an 80+ Silver FSP-built unit. I'm not familiar with its specific performance, but as long as it has enough amps he has more than enough room to overclock. A better built, and/or higher efficiency model may cost more than what he's looking to spend.


Syphon Filter said:
Need help finding which cable is to power the case fans on this psu?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Image...VER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

I am thinking it's the molex black one but the other end of it doesn't look like a 6 pin or 8 pin to connect to the psu?
Click to expand...
Going by the photo below, your PSU comes with two of the cables on the far right. Connect the smaller end to your fans, and connect the larger, 4 pin molex end to one of the 3 cables in the second row from the left. The cables in the second row from the left plug directly into your PSU.

Dk0Kl.jpg
 
Finally RMA'ing my ASUS P8P67 Pro back to NCIX for a replacement. =( It going to suck taking my build apart. Are there any major improvements (besides the new intel chipset) with the V3 boards?

Also think I might buy another 4GB of RAM and maybe a 120GB SDD. What is the best "value" SDD out there right now?
 
voady said:
cpu-cooler:
Click to expand...

This cooler is pretty amazing for the money. You can get some very good cooling at low RPMs with this. I was cooling my old Q8300 @ 3.0GHz with a 400RPM fan with this cooler. Loved it.

Now, the bad news. It's a bitch and a half to install. The problem is that the cooler needs to be screwed directly into the backplate, so you basically need someone holding them together while you screw them. Maybe you could manage along by just putting the cooler on its head and setting the board on top of it like that... Also, it's massive, so hopefully it won't interfere with your RAM, or with your ability to plug in the CPU power plug.

TheKurgan said:
Finally RMA'ing my ASUS P8P67 Pro back to NCIX for a replacement. =( It going to suck taking my build apart. Are there any major improvements (besides the new intel chipset) with the V3 boards?

Also think I might buy another 4GB of RAM and maybe a 120GB SDD. What is the best "value" SDD out there right now?
Click to expand...

Intel 320 series for reliability.

OCZ Vertex 2 for 'value' (I've seen it on sale for $150 during the Dads & Grads sale), though you may have to deal with some issues, expect a more likely chance of failure, or get shafted with their slower 25/32nm memory.
 
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