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[bozeman]

Perhaps this is a silly question, but why not just buy a PS3 or 360?

I have both. I'm going to sell the 360 to my brother, who originally sold it to me a couple of years ago.

I'd like a decent gaming rig so that I can take advantage of Steam sales on games other than those that came out a decade ago. For instance, I'm not interested in Fallout: New Vegas at $60, but I would probably be interested when its $10-$15 during a Steam sale.

 

[Nabs]

sorry for the big pic, but two questions about what I hope is my final build

1. Am I doing it wrong? Are there any parts that will be incompatible or that I could find a better alternative to at a comparable price?

2. This is a little vague, but what could I expect out of my PC with a build like this. I just wonder how it'll do with modern releases, say compared to a 360, and if I'd be able to see a major difference. Hopefully I can run Crysis on decent settings.

dammit, last post on page

go for a 460 you know you want to

 

[Sanjay]

Perhaps this is a silly question, but why not just buy a PS3 or 360?

You exhibit a lack of wisdom or good sense, you fool.

 

[mclaren777]

go for a 460 you know you want to

This.

And do you have a case to put all of that stuff in?

 

[Snuggles]

go for a 460 you know you want to

Are you referring to my video card? There doesn't appear to be a 460 listed on Newegg. EDIT - just saw post below me, n/m.

I'll get a case at the end. That, or I'll just leave all the parts in a heap on the floor or put them in a shoebox or something and run the cords through a hole.

 

[Hazaro]

I have both. I'm going to sell the 360 to my brother, who originally sold it to me a couple of years ago.

I'd like a decent gaming rig so that I can take advantage of Steam sales on games other than those that came out a decade ago. For instance, I'm not interested in Fallout: New Vegas at $60, but I would probably be interested when its $10-$15 during a Steam sale.

Both you and Snuggler should simply get the budget options under the $1,000 rig.
GTX 460, UD3, F3 1TB, $50 or $60 case, Seasonic 520W (Or Antec BP550)

 

[mclaren777]

You exhibit a lack of wisdom or good sense, you fool.

Zzoram would probably agree with you.

 

[Fredescu]

I have both. I'm going to sell the 360 to my brother, who originally sold it to me a couple of years ago.

I'd like a decent gaming rig so that I can take advantage of Steam sales on games other than those that came out a decade ago. For instance, I'm not interested in Fallout: New Vegas at $60, but I would probably be interested when its $10-$15 during a Steam sale.

Quick and dirty $800 assembled build, you might be able to do better with a bit of looking around. No OS, if you're a student you can get one cheap.

 

[Snuggles]

Both you and Snuggler should simply get the budget options under the $1,000 rig.
GTX 460, UD3, F3 1TB, $50 or $60 case, Seasonic 520W (Or Antec BP550)

Hmm. Is it foolish of me to want the Sandy Bridge processor so much? I don't even know that much about it but it seems like something good to build off of. I kinda want it, plus I'm at just the right price point (<$800) so it's a tough call.

- just swapped out my v-card in that pic and replaced it with the GTX 460. Eh, it's only an extra $30.

 

[Nabs]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125333 i don't know how good gigabyte is, but it comes with just cause 2 and mafia 2 for $189 (and has a 20$ rebate)

 

[Snuggles]

I just went with the ASUS. Hopefully that'll work with the rest of my items.

Unfortunately I already own both of those games on Steam so it wouldn't be much of a bonus.

Thanks for all the help, by the way. It's pretty overwhelming for someone who's new to to this stuff.

 

[Stop It]

Please let me know how this board is. After hearing of the boot problems with the ASUS P67 boards and the Gigabyte boards not having UEFI, I'm leaning towards the Asrock. I used the Asrock board that had both a PCI-E and AGP slot on it about 5 years ago and that was a very stable board.

It really is a cracking board. Alas my i5 2500k is really locked at around 4.55Ghz maximum, as I don't want to add another 0.07v (With all of the heat/long term viability issues) just to get to 4.6ghz stable.

That said, I have put my CPU at 4.55Ghz (The newest 1.43 UEFI for the board allows PLL overvoltage control and BCLK changes by .01mhz steps) and I am using 1.34v to give a bit of headroom (I could get possibly away with 1,32v but hey) as it's not really worse heat wise and it's a safe voltage for long term use.

Where did you buy from? £350 seems reasonable. And any recommendations for a case that's as small as possible while still accommodating a big GPU (maybe a 6950, something like that)

Edit: While the Motherboard was from Ebuyer, because nobody else had one, Scan.co.uk currently have a good deal going on the 2500k + the ASUS P8P67 pro.

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

Scan have had the 2500k + something on offer pretty much every day since the chips launched, and as they have the OEM version in stock (Without a HSF) it means people who want to buy a proper cooler will save a few pennies.

 

[Hazaro]

Hmm. Is it foolish of me to want the Sandy Bridge processor so much? I don't even know that much about it but it seems like something good to build off of. I kinda want it, plus I'm at just the right price point (<$800) so it's a tough call.

- just swapped out my v-card in that pic and replaced it with the GTX 460. Eh, it's only an extra $30.

You shouldn't even consider the 450.
I'd get a Seasonic 520W as well. It's slightly built better. A 2500K + 460 is one of 'those' rigs that will last a person forever. Like a Q6600 + 8800GT.

The ASRock board looks to be very good as well.

 

[n0n44m]

After seeing the 690 II on the previous page I decided to try and redo the cabling on mine

couldn't get it much better than this unless I ripped out all my previous tiewrapped fan cables, but at least the bottom next to the PSU is now sorta cleaned up =] (connector sticking out is for the side panel fan)

*click for large*


and I made a new design in LCD Studio for my G510 keyboard so I can monitor CPU usage & system temps + GPU overclock profile (selected using MSI Afterburner keyboard shortcuts), temps and usage

 

[Adam Blue]

Just FYI, Microcenter as the i7 950 for $200, and a GTX 295 co-op can be had on Ebay for around $250. This helped me put together an amazing rig for under 1k. 6GB ram, Asus Sabertooth X58, and an Antec Nine hundred. The coolest, in terms of temp, computer I've ever built. It's decimating Crysis more than I could have imagined, so I'll be good for a while. I'm even using the stock CPU cooler.

 

[Hazaro]

For most the 2500K is a much better choice.

 

[Nabs]

microcenter still has the 2500k for $179

 

[Schmattakopf]

get this instead - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216

it's cheaper when you consider the free shipping option, and offers much nicer cable management over the case you linked to.

I did get this, actually. $72 at Micro Center because they gave me a coupon. But then they cancelled the order, so now I'm looking for a case again.

Edit: I'm gonna try placing an order with Micro Center again.

 

[TheKurgan]

Okay a little off topic but I didn't want to start a new thread so such a minor question. I haven't been a PC gamer for about 5 years so haven't been keeping up with the games at all.

What 1 game should I pick up off steam to try out my new gaming rig?

- send me a PM if you have a recommendation -

thanks.

 

[JoeBoy101]

Okay a little off topic but I didn't want to start a new thread so such a minor question. I haven't been a PC gamer for about 5 years so haven't been keeping up with the games at all.

What 1 game should I pick up off steam to try out my new gaming rig?

There are two games that are the winners right now for graphically testing a rig. Metro 2033 and Crysis. I'd go for Crysis because the gameplay is better and the graphics more vivid. Then there are a host of games maybe not AS good graphically, but easily as much fun like Just Cause 2. In short, go check out the PC Screenshots Super thread. That's at least for testing your graphics capabilities.

As for just regular games to try on your rig, well hell. Whatever you have fun playing. Any particular predilection towards a genre?

 

[TheKurgan]

There are two games that are the winners right now for graphically testing a rig. Metro 2033 and Crysis. I'd go for Crysis because the gameplay is better and the graphics more vivid. Then there are a host of games maybe not AS good graphically, but easily as much fun like Just Cause 2. In short, go check out the PC Screenshots Super thread. That's at least for testing your graphics capabilities.

As for just regular games to try on your rig, well hell. Whatever you have fun playing. Any particular predilection towards a genre?

Thanks JoeBoy, I will check out the PC Screenshot thread.

I will be picking up some of my old favorites like Fallout 3, Heroes of Might and Magic V, and I have a download code for Civ V. I have a PS3, 360 and Wii so I have played a lot of the big cross platform games on PC. I am leaning towards Crysis as long as it it a fun game to play.

- Send me a PM if you have any suggestions, I don't want to clog up this thread.

 

[Hazaro]

Crysis pack + Just Cause 2.
Just make sure to check out the Crysis mod thread, it's on the forum somewhere.

 

[Fredescu]

- Send me a PM if you have any suggestions, I don't want to clog up this thread.

If you're worried about that, ask the Steam thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=417372

 

[Shaneus]

OC'd Q9550 (3.4GHz) and OC'd CF x2 5850 (850/1200) and I can run JC2 flat out at 60fps with absolutely zero frame drops on full detail at 1080p. It's a ridiculously well programmed game considering the view distance and fidelity it puts out... especially when compared to GTA4.

 

[DrBaalzamon]

I have a question. I've been debating between the GTX 460 and the 6850 for a while and wonder why most people here pick the Nvidia card? Is it the drivers or something else? The 6850 seems slightly faster and other than tessellation I dont see any advantage the 460 has. Price seems slightly higher.

What am I missing? Thanks!

 

[mclaren777]

I'm hearing lots of complaints on other forums regarding the 1253 BIOS update on P8P67 boards.

Have you guys been experiencing any problems with it?

 

[rabhw]

I'm hearing lots of complaints on other forums regarding the 1253 BIOS update on P8P67 boards.

Have you guys been experiencing any problems with it?

Yeah, specifically with resuming from sleep -- it doesn't.

Getting kind of frustrated with how unstable this board is. I've always bought gigabyte boards until this computer, and opted for ASUS because of their nice UEFI vs gigabyte's boards lacking it, but I'm really disappointed so far...

I just keep refreshing the BIOS update thread on [h]ardforum waiting for a new release...

 

[scitek]

Is there a way of utilizing EAX in Windows 7 with sound being output from a graphics card via HDMI? I really am clueless of what to do in the case of Condemned.

EDIT: Looks like I'd have to invest in a separate Creative sound card to get surround in Condemned. Fuck that. PLII it is, I guess.

 

[K.Jack]

Okay a little off topic but I didn't want to start a new thread so such a minor question. I haven't been a PC gamer for about 5 years so haven't been keeping up with the games at all.

What 1 game should I pick up off steam to try out my new gaming rig?

- send me a PM if you have a recommendation -

thanks.

RISEN gogogogo

 

[mclaren777]

Yeah, specifically with resuming from sleep -- it doesn't.

My plan = don't overclock

Apparently sleep mode is really sensitive to OC stability and I'd much rather use stock settings and have a properly working sleep function.

 

[Hazaro]

I have a question. I've been debating between the GTX 460 and the 6850 for a while and wonder why most people here pick the Nvidia card? Is it the drivers or something else? The 6850 seems slightly faster and other than tessellation I dont see any advantage the 460 has. Price seems slightly higher.

What am I missing? Thanks!

For a while the 6850 was priced above the 460. It seems now that the prices have come to be the same (In the US). For many outside the US a 6850 is a better buy since they are priced lower.

For some it may be drivers or past experiences, PhysX, 3D, later SLi, or whatever.

With both cards overclocked the 6850 is slightly faster and has less power draw. The 460 in most cases is also a shorter card.

 

[rabhw]

My plan = don't overclock

Apparently sleep mode is really sensitive to OC stability and I'd much rather use stock settings and have a properly working sleep function.

Well, there's also a lot of posts saying it is specifically related to the newly-added PLL Overvolt function being set to 'Enabled'.

I need that to be enabled for my overclock to be stable at low voltages

So yeah, your plan of not overclocking works, but as I'm sure you're aware, that's not exactly the point

On the bright side, ASUS seems to be responsive and recognize the shitstorm they've created, so hopefully it gets fixed up soon.

 

[Frostburn]

How long are your boot times? I tend to just leave my computer on when I'm using it and just have the display turn off after 20 minutes if I'm not at my computer. When I'm not using it I just leave my computer off, it boots up so fast I don't mind waiting the 25 seconds to use it. Then again, my PC is in my room so I don't like having it on 24/7.

I hope Asus fixes these issues soon with their P8P67 boards though, I can't recall another time when they've had so many problems out of the gate like this. I'm glad they are working on them but it would be nice to see a stable release soon.

 

[antonz]

Wouldnt it be advisable to hold off on a 460 or similar card til sometime after this week? with the 560 supposedly coming in around 460 launch price it should shift card prices around

 

[rabhw]

How long are your boot times? I tend to just leave my computer on when I'm using it and just have the display turn off after 20 minutes if I'm not at my computer. When I'm not using it I just leave my computer off, it boots up so fast I don't mind waiting the 25 seconds to use it. Then again, my PC is in my room so I don't like having it on 24/7.

I hope Asus fixes these issues soon with their P8P67 boards though, I can't recall another time when they've had so many problems out of the gate like this. I'm glad they are working on them but it would be nice to see a stable release soon.

Yeah, for now I've just disabled sleep, and when I plan on going away from the computer for an extended period of time (sleep?), I plan on shutting down, since it boots up crazy fast with my SSD anyway.

 

[Hazaro]

Wouldnt it be advisable to hold off on a 460 or similar card til sometime after this week? with the 560 supposedly coming in around 460 launch price it should shift card prices around

It's a different price bracket so I don't think anything will happen, but it's only a few days now so you might as well.

 

[vocab]

I have a question. I've been debating between the GTX 460 and the 6850 for a while and wonder why most people here pick the Nvidia card? Is it the drivers or something else? The 6850 seems slightly faster and other than tessellation I dont see any advantage the 460 has. Price seems slightly higher.

What am I missing? Thanks!

Id just go Nvidia. I've had ATI for a year, and the first 8 months with my 5850 were great, but each driver gets worse and worse. I don't even want to update my drivers because ATI fixes one thing, and fucks up something else. 11.1 keeps the broken ass mouse cursor lag I had with 10.12.
ATI have fantastic cards, it's the drivers that make them crappy as hell.

I feel like a multiplatform PS3 user googling "game name 5850 fps problems".

 

[ExMachina]

Wow, hearing about all the problems other people have been having with their P8P67 boards makes me feel like I've dodged a bullet... *knocks on wood* Only issue I've had is the double boot, which was fixed by clearing CMOS. I'm still on the version of the BIOS that came with the board, and while I might be able to get a more ambitious overclock if I update it, I'm content staying at 4.3 GHz until Asus releases a rock solid revision.

I have a question. I've been debating between the GTX 460 and the 6850 for a while and wonder why most people here pick the Nvidia card? Is it the drivers or something else? The 6850 seems slightly faster and other than tessellation I dont see any advantage the 460 has. Price seems slightly higher.

What am I missing? Thanks!

I picked the 460 since I've had driver issues with ATI cards in the past, I actually do enable PhysX in quite a few games I own, and it's a really small/quiet card comparatively. Plus I could get a good deal on one at a local store, so it was any easy choice for me.

 

[Hazaro]

Wow, hearing about all the problems other people have been having with their P8P67 boards makes me feel like I've dodged a bullet... *knocks on wood* Only issue I've had is the double boot, which was fixed by clearing CMOS. I'm still on the version of the BIOS that came with the board, and while I might be able to get a more ambitious overclock if I update it, I'm content staying at 4.3 GHz until Asus releases a rock solid revision.

Same.
Just seems to be some sleep and double boot issues. No biggie for me. I'm still on stock for now, will update when a more solid BIOS comes out and probably aim for 1.25V @ 4.4Ghz.

 

[knitoe]

Running 4.5Ghz@1.27V on Asus Deluxe, I don't have any problem coming out of sleep mode. Did you guys disable any power saving features? Any enable any overclocking features? The only thing I change was multiplier 45, increase CPU Voltage offset 0.40, set ram voltage 1.5V and lower PLL 1.50. Everything was disable / least setting.

 

[MikeE21286]

Running 4.5Ghz@1.27V on Asus Deluxe, I don't have any problem coming out of sleep mode. Did you guys disable any power saving features? Any enable any overclocking features? The only thing I change was multiplier 45, increase CPU Voltage offset 0.40, set ram voltage 1.5V and lower PLL 1.50. Everything was disable / least setting.

Yeah, I was coming out of sleep pretty poorly (ASUS Pro) and I changed the power save settings (they were by default set to go to sleep after my new OS install).

 

[ChoklitReign]

Should I get Sapphire's 6850 (link) or ASUS's 760MB 460 (link)? While the 6850's extra power would be nice, I like the 460's brand features more and it would still be powerful enough for the games I would be playing. What would you choose?

 

[Mr Nightman]

Should I get Sapphire's 6850 (link) or ASUS's 760MB 460 (link)? While the 6850's extra power would be nice, I like the 460's brand features more and it would still be powerful enough for the games I would be playing. What would you choose?

Really depends man, what resolution you running in typically?

 

[Jak140]

Hey guys I got a BSOD for the first time today so now I'm trying to I'm trying to run memtest86+ and for some reason it won't run the test. It says my ram settings are 0 mHz and DDR3- 0. I have an ASUS p8p67 motherboard and 2 x 4gb 1337 mHz DDR 3 Cosair RAM. I've tried running each stick individually and still nothing. Any clue as to why memtest won't run? Thanks!

Edit n/m found the solution, Sandy Bridge needs the new beta version to run it:

http://forum.canardpc.com/showthread.php?t=52132

 

[Big Baybee]

Are Razer keyboards and mice reliable? Been reading really mixed reviews. What keyboards do you guys game on? Mice?

 

[Metalic Sand]

Are Razer keyboards and mice reliable? Been reading really mixed reviews. What keyboards do you guys game on? Mice?

They are really good when they work. Some have had double clicking issues, Driver issues. Mine ended up with a short in the wire so would turn on and off.

 

[Hazaro]

Are Razer keyboards and mice reliable? Been reading really mixed reviews. What keyboards do you guys game on? Mice?

Mice I've heard of a lot of reliability issues. KB no idea

 

[vocab]

Are Razer keyboards and mice reliable? Been reading really mixed reviews. What keyboards do you guys game on? Mice?

Don't waste your money on some high end keyboard. Waste of money. I've been using a Microsoft internet keyboard for 8 years. It's the most basic piece of shit I own, and it's fine. The only thing I would change is max amount of buttons pressed.

Razer mice are alright. I never owned one, but find one that feels good in your hand, or you are gonna hate it. Logitech mice are more accessible, but YYMV on how fast they die out.

Also get a damn cloth mousepad. Don't use your desk or some shitty plastic. Makes a world of difference.

 

[Conflict NZ]

Recently picked up an Asus GTX580 and having problems with the temperature. At stock it is idling at 50C and load it gets to 80C, so I have no room to overclock. According to benchmarking sites I should be sitting around 40 at idle and 65-70 load at stock settings. Any ideas why it would be doing this?

 

[vocab]

Recently picked up an Asus GTX580 and having problems with the temperature. At stock it is idling at 50C and load it gets to 80C, so I have no room to overclock. According to benchmarking sites I should be sitting around 40 at idle and 65-70 load at stock settings. Any ideas why it would be doing this?

Ambient temps are different per person.

50C idle 80C Load sounds normal to me. At least from a Fermi point of view.