"I need a New PC!" 2011 Thread of reading the OP. Seriously. [Part 2]
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I would buy the i5-2500k for your first purchase.ACE 1991 said:
power supply can wait as you can upgrade that part when you upgrade your GPU.
your rig is definitely future proofed. i would just buy that i5-2500k right off the bat. i don't see CPU prices going down much in the future. maybe 20 bucks at the most.
ACE 1991 said:
Yes, your mobo you listed Biostar TZ68A+ ATX LGA1155 Motherboard will work fine. Adding an SSD will even benefit more with your Z68 mobo as it does SSD caching.
SnakeSlashRO
Banned
I just finished my Build... I built around this case
I like the case design, and it is keeping my machine cool. But my main problem it the case was the cable management... It sucked! The holes in the back where really too small for the cables from my power supply to fit though... I have a corsair 750wat PSU.
Im ready to build another computer now that I got my last one out the the way, this one will be much more powerful. Can anyone recommend some good cases that are good with cable management? I don't want my wires hanging around in the front cause I cant shove them in the back though those holes...
Here is a picture of how it looked first....
Then I went back and tried a bit harder, but this is about as good as I could get it in the end...
Also what is a good temp for gaming? The highest mine seems to get is 71c...
It runs at about 38c-41c when I am not gaming.
I like the case design, and it is keeping my machine cool. But my main problem it the case was the cable management... It sucked! The holes in the back where really too small for the cables from my power supply to fit though... I have a corsair 750wat PSU.
Im ready to build another computer now that I got my last one out the the way, this one will be much more powerful. Can anyone recommend some good cases that are good with cable management? I don't want my wires hanging around in the front cause I cant shove them in the back though those holes...
Here is a picture of how it looked first....
Then I went back and tried a bit harder, but this is about as good as I could get it in the end...
Also what is a good temp for gaming? The highest mine seems to get is 71c...
It runs at about 38c-41c when I am not gaming.
SnakeSlashRO said:
That looks about right. My GTX 280 (45nm dye though) runs really hot. 80+ Celsius lol when under high load.
Just don't go over 97+ celsius, per GTX 570 specifications sheet
Jex
Member
Considering my thread on the OT went nowhere, I'll ask in here
I would like to replace my current 1440x900 monitor with something a bit better, but looking though a few websites reveals a huge variety of options and I feel rather uneducated on the subject, so any help would be appreciated.
Im looking to spend between £150-£200 ($240 $330) and, although I plan to use it primarily as a general day-to-day PC monitor, I will also be using it as my main screen to play Xbox 360 games.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
I would like to replace my current 1440x900 monitor with something a bit better, but looking though a few websites reveals a huge variety of options and I feel rather uneducated on the subject, so any help would be appreciated.
Im looking to spend between £150-£200 ($240 $330) and, although I plan to use it primarily as a general day-to-day PC monitor, I will also be using it as my main screen to play Xbox 360 games.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Something is probably wrong with my graphics card 
. I've posted in here before but my ASUS DirectCuII 580 does not show 100% usage in a lot of games. The only one it seems to do it in is Crysis 2. Last straw was GTA IV. People in the ice mod thread are getting better performance with similar or less hardware than me. Sethos has been helpful and ran the benchmark test in the game with similar settings and he was avg 58fps and that's with the ice mod. I downloaded 3DMark Basic 11 and read the tests (@ 720p) and it says :
I've went up and down with drivers, made sure the power was set to maximum, no overclocking etc . Am I gonna have to RMA my card?
. I've posted in here before but my ASUS DirectCuII 580 does not show 100% usage in a lot of games. The only one it seems to do it in is Crysis 2. Last straw was GTA IV. People in the ice mod thread are getting better performance with similar or less hardware than me. Sethos has been helpful and ran the benchmark test in the game with similar settings and he was avg 58fps and that's with the ice mod. I downloaded 3DMark Basic 11 and read the tests (@ 720p) and it says :
I've went up and down with drivers, made sure the power was set to maximum, no overclocking etc . Am I gonna have to RMA my card?
since you will be gaming, i would suggest buying a LCD TN panel with 2-5ms lag input.Jexhius said:
If you prefer very crisp text, I would suggest getting a monitor that does 1920x1200 at minimum. Most LCD monitors these days stay at 1920x1080, which is a real shame, but hey, its cheaper for the manufacturer without sacrificing much to the end user.
I go here for LCD panel reviews. They are thorough.
If you are ok with max resolution of 1920x1080, get this
If you want a bit crisper text, and a bit higher resolution (1920x1200) in gaming, go for this
ACE 1991 said:
Your rig will be beasting through those games no problem
SnakeSlashRO
Banned
Gvaz said:
Too small =(
Kaltagesta
Banned
Ok! So! I'm putting together a new PC after 4 years of my trusty old gal doing a stella job of keeping up. My current specs are a Q6600, 4GB of RAM and an 8800GT (Originally a 7900GT, which I replaced when it broke, as performance wise those two cards were basically identical). As I say, it's done beautifully, but it's time to take her into the woods and shoot her in the back of the head, Lenny-and-George style. What I'm thinking is (primarily inspired by BF3) is...
i5 2500k
asus p8p67 pro
570 gtx
16gb DDR 1600mhz (hear me out...)
120gb SSD (ocz solid 3)
650w branded psu
generic case
aftermarket fan
I'll declare that I'm also a CG artist. As such, I need my PC to also double as a workstation for when I work from home - that's why I've gone for 16GB of RAM (and anyway, if there's any component you're going to go overboard with, you might as well make it RAM, right?)
So my questions...
a) I've seen from the BF3 thread that 1) we don't know the specs as the game isn't finished and b) that impressions from the alpha suggest this should play the game fairly well at 1080p with most settings on high. That's good enough for me. But is the trajectory of gaming heading in the direction of this setup by-and-large falling behind the curve already, or will it keep up for a while? Basically, is BF3 likely to become the new Crysis, where new systems are measured against it for years to come?
b) if I later decide to add a second 570 in SLI, will a 650w PSU be enough (assuming it has the right connectors) or will I need to upgrade that?
c) is my 8800gt any use as a second card for physX or any of that crap? I haven't read up on it in a long long time.
d) is there anything obviously ridiculous with my build or staggeringly wrong that you would all change?
Thanks in advance!
(PS I'm UK based. If all this is kosher and I go ahead and order, I'll fastidiously research it for all the cheapest prices at all the big retailers, and draw up a list so others don't have to bother!)
i5 2500k
asus p8p67 pro
570 gtx
16gb DDR 1600mhz (hear me out...)
120gb SSD (ocz solid 3)
650w branded psu
generic case
aftermarket fan
I'll declare that I'm also a CG artist. As such, I need my PC to also double as a workstation for when I work from home - that's why I've gone for 16GB of RAM (and anyway, if there's any component you're going to go overboard with, you might as well make it RAM, right?)
So my questions...
a) I've seen from the BF3 thread that 1) we don't know the specs as the game isn't finished and b) that impressions from the alpha suggest this should play the game fairly well at 1080p with most settings on high. That's good enough for me. But is the trajectory of gaming heading in the direction of this setup by-and-large falling behind the curve already, or will it keep up for a while? Basically, is BF3 likely to become the new Crysis, where new systems are measured against it for years to come?
b) if I later decide to add a second 570 in SLI, will a 650w PSU be enough (assuming it has the right connectors) or will I need to upgrade that?
c) is my 8800gt any use as a second card for physX or any of that crap? I haven't read up on it in a long long time.
d) is there anything obviously ridiculous with my build or staggeringly wrong that you would all change?
Thanks in advance!
(PS I'm UK based. If all this is kosher and I go ahead and order, I'll fastidiously research it for all the cheapest prices at all the big retailers, and draw up a list so others don't have to bother!)
iSurvivedTheOutage
Member
SnakeSlashRO said:
Why wouldnt you buy The NZXT Gamma?
35 dollars and way better cable management options than that case.Plus up to 5 case fans.....Dont tell me the window sold you on that cooler master case...PLEASE dont tell me they sold you on the window.
Smokey said:Something is probably wrong with my graphics card
I've went up and down with drivers, made sure the power was set to maximum, no overclocking etc . Am I gonna have to RMA my card?
I just sent my Asus 560ti DirectCUII back in for a refund. The thing stayed SUPER cool at all times but it had serious driver issues.
Finally built a new pc after using my previous one (AMD 3500+) for about 7 years!
Used my old Kingwin case but replaced the three case fans. Also used my old ESI soundcard and the PSU I bought two months ago (Coolermaster silent pro gold).
New PC parts:
Intel Core i5 2500K
Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3
Kingston Hyper X Genesis Special Edition Grey 8 GB, PC3-12800, 1600 MHz
XFX Radeon HD 6870
WD 500GB 3.5" SATA-600 7200rpm 16MB Caviar Blue
Cooler Master Hyper TX 3
Probably going to buy a SSD next year and a better GPU two years from now and maybe a new case.
Used my old Kingwin case but replaced the three case fans. Also used my old ESI soundcard and the PSU I bought two months ago (Coolermaster silent pro gold).
New PC parts:
Intel Core i5 2500K
Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3
Kingston Hyper X Genesis Special Edition Grey 8 GB, PC3-12800, 1600 MHz
XFX Radeon HD 6870
WD 500GB 3.5" SATA-600 7200rpm 16MB Caviar Blue
Cooler Master Hyper TX 3
Probably going to buy a SSD next year and a better GPU two years from now and maybe a new case.
SnakeSlashRO said:I just finished my Build... I built around this case
I like the case design, and it is keeping my machine cool. But my main problem it the case was the cable management... It sucked! The holes in the back where really too small for the cables from my power supply to fit though... I have a corsair 750wat PSU.
Im ready to build another computer now that I got my last one out the the way, this one will be much more powerful. Can anyone recommend some good cases that are good with cable management? I don't want my wires hanging around in the front cause I cant shove them in the back though those holes...
Here is a picture of how it looked first....
Then I went back and tried a bit harder, but this is about as good as I could get it in the end...
Also what is a good temp for gaming? The highest mine seems to get is 71c...
It runs at about 38c-41c when I am not gaming.
That cable set up is the stuff of nightmares. Your temps (temp*) assuming it's your CPU is ok. 10c lower would be ideal though. Zip tie those cables together then fasten (lol) them to where your cable management holes are in your case so that it is not so fucking cluster fucked in there. In terms of further cooling solution than what you have to work with already, I suggest you try IC diamond thermal compound to get -4c to -5c on your overall CPU temps and perhaps a fan controller.
iSurvivedTheOutage
Member
I actually think that case is quite sexy 
wandering goat
Member
Smokey said:
Just to make sure, you don't have AA or AF forced on, do you? That can affect benchmarks quite a bit. I was wondering about the 3DMark scores for my card (6950) until I realized I had 16x AF forced. Also, it's normal for most games not to use 100% of your GTX580, at least with VSync on. Many aren't demanding enough, usually just more high-end games and stress programs would on a GPU that powerful. On my card, I think World of Warcraft uses maybe 60%, Portal 2 mid 80s.
Kurashima said:
No. I've gone back and forth between driver sets doing a clean install each time. In the Control Panel everything is set to application controlled, and I have removed Nvidia Inspector. Also I'm aware of the bold. The problem is utilization fluctuates with this card. It doesn't sit at 80% or 60%. It jumps all over making things unplayable.
I just ordered the MSI Lightning Xtreme 3GB 580. I'll hold off on sending the Asus 580 in until I get this card later in the week. If I don't have any issues with the MSI then I'll have to figure out what to do with the Asus. If I have the same issues then I'll know something else is going on.
so my gpu fan, i think, is making a weird ticking noise which seems to happen after extended periods of play. seems to happen within a certain RPM range as well and it stops after awhile. picking up my case slightly makes the noise stick if that means anything? it's only started happening after using the afterburner custom fan profile.
edit: going to have to rma it probably.
edit: going to have to rma it probably.
MisterNoisy
Member
Well, over the weekend, I finished my new build - a friend of mine bought my previous gaming PC, which largely financed this one:
Core i5-2500K under a Hyper 212 (waiting on the second fan and Y-cable still)
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3
8GB Corsair Vengeance (1600/CL9/1.35v)
ASUS ENGTX570
Corsair Nova2 60GB SSD (I know it's not the fastest thing out there, but it's fast enough)
Samsung Spinpoint F3
NZXT Hale90 750W
NZXT Phantom
Core i5-2500K under a Hyper 212 (waiting on the second fan and Y-cable still)
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3
8GB Corsair Vengeance (1600/CL9/1.35v)
ASUS ENGTX570
Corsair Nova2 60GB SSD (I know it's not the fastest thing out there, but it's fast enough)
Samsung Spinpoint F3
NZXT Hale90 750W
NZXT Phantom
MisterNoisy said:Well, over the weekend, I finished my new build - a friend of mine bought my previous gaming PC, which largely financed this one:
Core i5-2500K under a Hyper 212 (waiting on the second fan and Y-cable still)
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3
8GB Corsair Vengeance (1600/CL9/1.35v)
ASUS ENGTX570
Corsair Nova2 60GB SSD (I know it's not the fastest thing out there, but it's fast enough)
Samsung Spinpoint F3
NZXT Hale90 750W
NZXT Phantom
Your 570 looks to be sagging a little.
MisterNoisy
Member
Smokey said:
No doubt - it does look kinda worrisome, but I figure that as long as I don't go toting it back and forth all the time, I should be okay - the back of the card has a metal plate that's pretty firmly attached to the slot brackets.
And yea - that fucker's heavy.
Sax Russel
Banned
You could also try setting the long/short duration limits and the core current limit up to 250 from their defaults (leave the time 1s), if you're still having problems. Just makes sure your CPU can get all the power it needs. I had a stability issue on my ASRock board with a 2500k OC until I did that. For what it's worth my C states and Speedstep were enabled with manual voltage.TommyT said:
Edit: And yeah their auto OC settings over-volt way too much for those speeds.
TheExodu5 said:3 slot cards are heavy. Not much to be done about it...it's not really a problem anyways. Still, it's one thing that might push me towards getting something like the FT02 for my next case.
Did you ever end up getting a second 580 for yours?
Not directly. I'm having some GPU utilization issues with my 580 that's resulting in some games being unplayable. I've ordered a MSI Extreme 3GB 580 that will be here later this week. If I don't have issues with it I'll have to do something with the Asus. If I do then I'll know it's not the graphics card.
Smokey said:Something is probably wrong with my graphics card
http://i52.tinypic.com/2qns29d.png[/]
I've went up and down with drivers, made sure the power was set to maximum, no overclocking etc . Am I gonna have to RMA my card?
:([/QUOTE]
if I run my GTX480 at stock clocks (4.8ghz 2600K) I get
3DMark ScoreP5750
Graphics Score5254
so your score seems pretty normal to me ... keep in mind that lots of people submitting scores are (heavily) overclocking, which shifts the expected/average score upwards
else run something like Unigine Heaven Benchmark (very gpu dependent, cpu hardly matters) and compare to someone who ran the exact same settings
for constant 99~100% GPU usage you'll always need to turn off V-Sync ofcourse
Is anyone familiar with XMP memory? I had to RMA a stick of G.Skill Ripjaws. Problem is the stick they gave me does not agree with my system -- it beeps twice during post and mentions a problem with overclocking. A quick look at the sticker shows "XMP" before the memory timings. The other stick doesn't have "XMP" on it, so I'm thinking that's the problem.
OatmealMu said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Presence_Detect#Extreme_Memory_Profile_.28XMP.29
XMP is just some extension to the normal SPD standard which automatically tells the motherboard which settings (speed, latency, voltage) the RAM supports/needs
if you bough them as a pair I would've sent them in as a pair, but it's probably not really an issue unless they are way different in specifications. (e.g. same specs different date of manufacture shouldn't matter)
just reset your bios to auto speed / auto settings with auto voltage , boot into Windows, download CPU-Z and check the memory tabs to compare the sticks
childplease
Banned
MisterNoisy said:
MisterNoisy
Member
gibon3z said:
I haven't really stressed it yet (only played a bit of ST:O and TF2 so far) - waiting on the second fan for my 212 before I start OCing in earnest. One thing that surprised me is how quiet it is, even packed full of fans.
If it helps, CPU, GPU and mobo are at 29-31C at idle.
The Albatross
Member
Just wanted to say thanks to this thread. Someone in here helped me out many pages ago. I had a fried motherboard and I was lost because I had to replace it but couldn't find the same mobo for anything less than $200, even though this thing was a PoS 2 year old mobo. Somebody linked me to a replacement board, I got it for $40 and within about an hour had everything moved over tonight. Plugged everything in, turned it on, and what do you know, the computer is working pretty much exactly as it did a 5 weeks ago... Maybe better.
I am thrilled.
Thanks Gaf PC Thread!!
I am thrilled.
Thanks Gaf PC Thread!!
Big Papa Husker
Member
Anyone have any ideas?Big Papa Husker said:
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