Kabuki Waq
Member
guys is it worth it to upgrade my 5870? is there any card ou there that is a significant upgrade?
"I need a New PC!" 2011 Thread of reading the OP. Seriously. [Part 2]
- Thread starter Hazaro
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Kabuki Waq said:
If you don't want to look into the benchmarks yourselves, Toms publishes a heirarchy which they update every month.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2964-7.html
They recommend you only upgrade if it is at least three tiers higher. So from your 5870 you'd ahve to go 6990 or 590. I don't think anyone has either of these cards in stock right now.
Kabuki Waq
Member
coopolon said:
Thanks now to see if my case can fit a 6990
NullPointer
Member
Anybody know a good resource for looking into dual monitor + HDTV setups? Something that goes over what the limitations are in terms of extending our desktop and cloning to a HDTV?
I've got a new PC coming this Wednesday and I just want to get a jump on how I'm going to need to configure everything, but I don't know where to start.
In case details are needed I have two standard Dell 24 inch monitors and a 60 inch Bravia 1080p HDTV, all of which I want to connect to my crossfired Radeon 6950s (not eyefinity). The two monitors are for when I'm at my desk, but I'd like to output video and video games to the HDTV at times (games with gamepad support).
Any ideas on what I should read up on, or insights from personal experience?
I've got a new PC coming this Wednesday and I just want to get a jump on how I'm going to need to configure everything, but I don't know where to start.
In case details are needed I have two standard Dell 24 inch monitors and a 60 inch Bravia 1080p HDTV, all of which I want to connect to my crossfired Radeon 6950s (not eyefinity). The two monitors are for when I'm at my desk, but I'd like to output video and video games to the HDTV at times (games with gamepad support).
Any ideas on what I should read up on, or insights from personal experience?
NullPointer said:
You should be able to connect the two monitors via DVI and the TV via HDMI. You can set up profiles in Catalyst Control Center to easily switch between the two. Windows - P might also be a good keyboard shortcut for you depending on exactly how you want your setup to be for easily switching.
What do you guys think of this build? I will not use it for gaming until Diablo 3 comes out, at which point I will pick up a video card. My main concern is the PSU.
COOLER MASTER GX Series RS650-ACAAE3-US 650W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply $74.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) $54.99
ASUS P8H61-I (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard $84.99
Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor $124.99
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $39.99
LIAN LI PC-Q08B Black Aluminum Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case $109.99
COOLER MASTER GX Series RS650-ACAAE3-US 650W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply $74.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) $54.99
ASUS P8H61-I (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard $84.99
Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor $124.99
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $39.99
LIAN LI PC-Q08B Black Aluminum Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case $109.99
Hey guys, been catching up on this thread all weekend. I last built a PC way back in 2003 but I've been in Mac territory ever since. Figured with Diablo 3, BF3, Deus Ex and a bunch of other games coming I figured I'd take the plunge.
To keep it simple I'm thinking about building the $600 build in the OP and using my 1080p TV as the monitor. The only change would be to replace the i3 with an i5 2500 and 212 heat sink to give it some future proofing. This is possible, right?
And if I do build the $600 can I use a micro-atx case or is a mid-tower still recommended? I'd prefer to keep the case as small as possible with decent mid/high end innards.
Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
To keep it simple I'm thinking about building the $600 build in the OP and using my 1080p TV as the monitor. The only change would be to replace the i3 with an i5 2500 and 212 heat sink to give it some future proofing. This is possible, right?
And if I do build the $600 can I use a micro-atx case or is a mid-tower still recommended? I'd prefer to keep the case as small as possible with decent mid/high end innards.
Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hazaro said:
Hey Haz would you recommend going for a modular psu for a little bit extra £?
I cant decide between these for my build above...
corsair non modular
corsair modular
Concerned about what?suffah said:
550W XFX Core or pick a Corsair VX/HX.
You can get an mATX H67 or P67 (or Z68) board and put it just fine in an mATX case. Just know you may have some GPU limitations and that a lot of rifle style heatsinks (like the 212) won't fit.Dupy said:
1. If you get the 2500 and one of the H67 boards, don't bother with the 212+ as you really only need something like that if you're overclocking. If you really want to get a bit out of it and have the system last a bit longer, the 2500K + P67 mobo would help. But then you're more or less out of the $600 build.Dupy said:
2. You can do a mATX case if you get a mATX version of the H67/P67. Careful on which mATX case you choose, as they can limit GPU size and amount of HDDs.
NullPointer
Member
I hope its that easycoopolon said:
Thanks.Only if you think it is worth it.Citizen K said:
The XFX Core line is good value since it is based on the same Corsair platform and is pretty much identical.
I'd reccomend this but it seems to not be released yet:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w...silver-88-eff-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-135mm-fan
Surprisingly the 750TXM (modular of the TX750) from Corsair is out on Scan. The HX is a better PSU overall, but if you just want modular on your PSU then that would be a fine choice as well.
So, XFX 750W or the Corsair modular 750W would be my suggestion. 750W is only there for dual cards. Otherwise you can do 550W and there are more options there.
Hadn't crossed my mind to add regional Amazon links.flowsnake said:
I'll do that soon.
smallios74
Member
flowsnake said:This is my "first draft" after looking at the suggested builds in the OP.
Anything obviously wrong with it? I do plan to shop around for better prices and tweak things as necessary.
I don't plan to overclock. Is the lack of cooling a problem?
It seems a waste not to overclock those 2500ks, i bought one with a H67 Mboard first of all with no intention to overclock, that lasted about 2 days lol. Swapped it out for a P67 board and put in a pretty cheap (£20) CPU fan and it runs sweetly at 4.4Ghz with 1.3V on the Vcore and only gets to around 65 using IBT on maxium stress. You might as well save a few £s and get the non K version and slower memory (1333Mhz) if you are definatly not going to Overclock.
TheNamelessOne
Member
I got a XFX Core 550W for my i5 2500k and 560ti. Works great.Citizen K said:
smallios74 said:
You have a point, however the difference between the 2500K and the 2500 seems to be like £5. Memory probably isn't much different either. The K also seems to be more readily available. It would be nice to have the option to overclock later if I want, too. But in that case maybe I should get a P67. Hmm.
alright, narrowed down where the high pitched noise is coming from: the hard drives.
Now, it cant be the hard drives themselves since there's two of them and they couldnt possibly have started failing at the same time. I also changed them from Sata 6gb to Sata 3gb on the motherboard and the sound prevails, so im thinking its not the motherboard either?
wtf? :/
Its weird cause if i rest my ear on the hard drives BUT keep lifting my ear throughout the case's metal, i can still hear the noise with the same intensity, so im starting to think it might be some sort of vibration with the case's components that is making this high frequency noise. I took the hard drives out and held them in my hand and the sound was still coming from them, but i dont think this rules out the "case being the issue" theory, since the hard drives werent far enough or so.
Driving me nutsssssss
using an Asus p8p67 mobo btw (but rev 3 so no issues there), is there any option in BIOS or something that im missing?
Now, it cant be the hard drives themselves since there's two of them and they couldnt possibly have started failing at the same time. I also changed them from Sata 6gb to Sata 3gb on the motherboard and the sound prevails, so im thinking its not the motherboard either?
wtf? :/
Its weird cause if i rest my ear on the hard drives BUT keep lifting my ear throughout the case's metal, i can still hear the noise with the same intensity, so im starting to think it might be some sort of vibration with the case's components that is making this high frequency noise. I took the hard drives out and held them in my hand and the sound was still coming from them, but i dont think this rules out the "case being the issue" theory, since the hard drives werent far enough or so.
Driving me nutsssssss
using an Asus p8p67 mobo btw (but rev 3 so no issues there), is there any option in BIOS or something that im missing?
Meh, lookin to play GW2 and DIII...I have a decent computer now, but was thinking about building a new rig. Here is what I came up with, any advice/swap ideas appreciated.
COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 - 189.99
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM - 89.99
EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) - 459.99
COOLER MASTER Silent Pro RSA00-AMBAJ3-US 1000W - 189.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 - 79.99
ASUS Rampage III Formula LGA 1366 Intel X58 - 284.99
Intel Core i7-970 Gulftown 3.2GHz LGA 1366 130W Six-Core - 579.99
ZALMAN CNPS9900ALED 120mm - 58.24
Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) 2.5" 120GB SATA III SSD - 276.99
ASUS 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor - 189.99
COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 - 189.99
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM - 89.99
EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) - 459.99
COOLER MASTER Silent Pro RSA00-AMBAJ3-US 1000W - 189.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 - 79.99
ASUS Rampage III Formula LGA 1366 Intel X58 - 284.99
Intel Core i7-970 Gulftown 3.2GHz LGA 1366 130W Six-Core - 579.99
ZALMAN CNPS9900ALED 120mm - 58.24
Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) 2.5" 120GB SATA III SSD - 276.99
ASUS 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor - 189.99
Take a look at this monster.
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=60932&vpn=EAH6970%20DCII%2F2DI4S%2F2GD5&manufacture=ASUS
Is this normal?
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=60932&vpn=EAH6970%20DCII%2F2DI4S%2F2GD5&manufacture=ASUS
Is this normal?
cartman414
Member
Nat3yBo1 said:
Do you really need a 6-core? Because for that Sandy Bridge-E is mere months away.
And otherwise, the 2500K and 2600K will rival if not exceed it for much less.
black_vegeta
Member
BY2K said:
Are you asking about the price or the size?
Hello there you!
Is there any point to getting a 2gb 6950 if your max rezzzz is 1080?
Also is a 27inch 1080 max res moniter good >.>? The new samsung ones is what im thinking of, with the 3d stuffs.
Gaming wise, is 120hz better than an ips moniter?
Also whats the best connector/cable to go for? Displayport? Hdmi? Dvi? >.<
Is there any point to getting a 2gb 6950 if your max rezzzz is 1080?
Also is a 27inch 1080 max res moniter good >.>? The new samsung ones is what im thinking of, with the 3d stuffs.
Gaming wise, is 120hz better than an ips moniter?
Also whats the best connector/cable to go for? Displayport? Hdmi? Dvi? >.<
wandering goat
Member
SalsaShark said:
Don't know if this will help, but you can try downloading a program like HDDScan. In there, select your drive, go to change the features, and enable AAM (automatic acoustic management). This will sometimes make the HDD a tad slower, but can cut down on noise. Hopefully, it fixes the high pitched noise. Just make sure you download the program from a trusted source (top few Google links should be good), as HDD Scan is also the name of a spyware that some people can get (the real program is fine).
black_vegeta
Member
BY2K said:
Yes, it's legit. It's in my rig and it is godlike.
Unless you have explicit need for 6 Intel cores get the 2600K. It's just a much much better deal.Nat3yBo1 said:
If you HAVE an need for all those cores wait for socket 2011 (due in 2012) and buy the updated 6 core 12 thread on that platform.
Bulldozer will also launch in a month so keep your eye on that.
Custom 3 slot cooler. It's nice.BY2K said:
You go either 1GB or 2GB. It's only about $20 more and while most of the time it won't be needed I'd suggest it as you will probably keep the card a good long while.markot said:
Misanthropy
Member
A word of advice for people who want to buy a computer from a store: Don't. About two years ago (before I even knew what that regular people could build computers) my parents and I went to a Best Buy and bought a computer. It was "top of the line" because it had the new i7 and a sweet graphics card.
At first it seemed cool but after maybe one year my computer kept crashing on me, and it was to the extent where it would BSOD after playing maybe thirty minutes of fallout 3. I never checked the temps on the system so I thought I would give it a try. First thing I notice is that my "sweet" graphics card was at 105 degrees Celsius and at idle (as in nothing at all running other than the desktop) the temp was at 70 degrees Celsius. The card was a 4870 radeon btw. Anyway, so I say to myself that this is unacceptable and I decide to open the side of the case.
There was enough dust in there to make the attic in your house look clean, and then I slowly saw what was marketed as a "high-end" computer was really just a polished turd. The only thing to cool the entire case was a 120 mm fan at the back of it, stock cooling for the cpu (idle temp at 50 C), a non-modular 360 W power supply (which the store obviously know is not near close enough to handle these parts, a 500 gb harddrive that is mounted on the side of the case with something analogous to mighty putty, and then there's the kicker: it seems that they installed the video card upside down. In order to describe what this means, imagine that you are looking into the side of your case and your graphics card is only 3 inches away from the bottom of it and the bottom has no air holes or anything, it's just steel. Now imagine that video card so that the "bottom" was facing the ceiling and the part with the fancy cover with the fan was facing the bottom. In all their brilliant engineering it seems that it would be really efficient if they would make the fan face the bottom so that it would blow the hot 105 degree Celsius air into itself since there is nowhere else for the air to go and the 120 mm fan is not powerful enough to draw away the hot air.
Oh and as a funny sidenote they told me that they had a backup harddrive on the computer when in fact they just partitioned 15 gigs of the 500gb one. What that means is if my harddrive fails or whatever the backup is also gone as well since it's on the same drive. They gave me 4 gigs of RAM but the speed of it is like 600mhz and the motherboard is locked so I can't do anything to overclock or change settings. My room got so hot that I had to leave the side open permanently have a portable fan blow into it directly all the time on high and have my room installed with a personal AC, but the card still reaches about 90 C on really user intensive things. I mean even on Minecraft it heats up to 80 degrees. What the hell kind of card is this?
Well today my portable fan broke because it was blowing so much air into it that it pushed itself back and broke one of its blades from the fall. So I've had it with this computer. I'm going to use this until Q1 2012 when I'm going to build an ivy bridge and Nvidia card comp. Screw best buy and screw any company that makes premade computers and doesn't tell you that they are essentially scamming you.
At first it seemed cool but after maybe one year my computer kept crashing on me, and it was to the extent where it would BSOD after playing maybe thirty minutes of fallout 3. I never checked the temps on the system so I thought I would give it a try. First thing I notice is that my "sweet" graphics card was at 105 degrees Celsius and at idle (as in nothing at all running other than the desktop) the temp was at 70 degrees Celsius. The card was a 4870 radeon btw. Anyway, so I say to myself that this is unacceptable and I decide to open the side of the case.
There was enough dust in there to make the attic in your house look clean, and then I slowly saw what was marketed as a "high-end" computer was really just a polished turd. The only thing to cool the entire case was a 120 mm fan at the back of it, stock cooling for the cpu (idle temp at 50 C), a non-modular 360 W power supply (which the store obviously know is not near close enough to handle these parts, a 500 gb harddrive that is mounted on the side of the case with something analogous to mighty putty, and then there's the kicker: it seems that they installed the video card upside down. In order to describe what this means, imagine that you are looking into the side of your case and your graphics card is only 3 inches away from the bottom of it and the bottom has no air holes or anything, it's just steel. Now imagine that video card so that the "bottom" was facing the ceiling and the part with the fancy cover with the fan was facing the bottom. In all their brilliant engineering it seems that it would be really efficient if they would make the fan face the bottom so that it would blow the hot 105 degree Celsius air into itself since there is nowhere else for the air to go and the 120 mm fan is not powerful enough to draw away the hot air.
Oh and as a funny sidenote they told me that they had a backup harddrive on the computer when in fact they just partitioned 15 gigs of the 500gb one. What that means is if my harddrive fails or whatever the backup is also gone as well since it's on the same drive. They gave me 4 gigs of RAM but the speed of it is like 600mhz and the motherboard is locked so I can't do anything to overclock or change settings. My room got so hot that I had to leave the side open permanently have a portable fan blow into it directly all the time on high and have my room installed with a personal AC, but the card still reaches about 90 C on really user intensive things. I mean even on Minecraft it heats up to 80 degrees. What the hell kind of card is this?
Well today my portable fan broke because it was blowing so much air into it that it pushed itself back and broke one of its blades from the fall. So I've had it with this computer. I'm going to use this until Q1 2012 when I'm going to build an ivy bridge and Nvidia card comp. Screw best buy and screw any company that makes premade computers and doesn't tell you that they are essentially scamming you.
black_vegeta
Member
Izayoi said:
.
Misanthropy
Member
This is what I mean.
CarbonatedFalcon
Member
Question: How difficult/annoying is it to fresh install your OS and the like on an SSD after your computer was built/setup already? Not that it will necessarily be an issue for me, but if I did skip out on the SSD at build time and got one later, it would save me ~$100 upfront, so it's something I'm considering.
black_vegeta
Member
Misanthropy said:
You're saying the fans are in the downward direction below your graphic card causing hot air the bottom of your case?
That's how my GPU and case are as well as many others have the same setup.
Usually the PCB of the GPU is on top as the fans sit underneath it.
mkenyon said:
That Lian Li case looks pretty perfect for what I need. Do you know if it's easy/possible to disable the blue fan lights in the front? The Newegg reviews don't seem to mention that.
Edit - I found a review that said you can snip the LED wires so not a worry.
Right now my build is pretty standard but looks like this:
Case: LIAN LI PC-V354B Black Aluminum MicroATX Mini Tower $150
Motherboard: ASRock H67M (B3) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel $80
CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core $190
GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1370-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 $170
Power: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC $45
RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit $31
DVD: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner $21
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" $40
I assume this is going to be a pretty decent machine for the next round of games? I think the extra $ for the case is going to be worth it for my media center setup. Any final critiques are welcome.
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