"I need a New PC!" 2011 Thread of reading the OP. Seriously. [Part 2]

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InertiaXr said:
I just got home and my girlfriend's computer is popping up on every reboot loads of errors about 'Delayed Write Failed' for all sorts of different system32/ files.

She tried system restore while I was gone adnd it comes back with a lot of hard drive failures:

Hard drive space less than technical limits
Hard drive rotational speed exceeds system limits and may cause a system failure
Disk drive C:/ is unreadable
Damaged hard drive clusters detected. Private data is at risk. Restore is required.
Hard drive does not correspond to system requests
Boot sector of the hard drive is damaged
RAM memory speed decreased significantly and may cuase a system failure.
Hard drive rotational speed decreased by 20%

She also is getting a W7 popup about: Hard drive clusters partially damaged


Obviously this indicates to me a hard drive failure, is there any reason I shouldn't get her files off that she wants (just some pictures that are less than a couple GB total) and rip out the drive and reinstall W7? It still runs fine, I turned it on to copy over all these errors she is getting before I just turned it off again.

Probably best to put the hard drive in another PC and take the files off that way, if you can.
 
TotallyEpic said:
Probably best to put the hard drive in another PC and take the files off that way, if you can.

Yeah, I am on my own computer right now that has a hot swap bay so that's not a problem. I'm a little confused as to why her hard drive would be physically failing already, she bought this just this January, so the drive has been in use for less than a year...
 
Mengy said:
I've got a four year old PC that I'm thinking about either upgrading or replacing for Skyrim next month. Here are the specs:

E6750 Conroe Core2Duo 2.66GHz
ASUS P5K-E motherboard
MSI NX8800GT 512MB Nvidia video
4GB RAM
OCZ600SXS 600W power supply

I had it overclocked some but became unstable about half a year ago, so I brought it back down to default settings. It now has an issue where every great now and then it won't boot up properly, I get no video at all and the PC lets out 3 speaker beeps at boot up. Plus the occasional random lockup. I think the video card is acting up, but it happens very infrequently and when it does I just let it sit for awhile or play with powering up and down and eventually it boots up just fine. More of a random infrequent inconvenience than a serious problem I guess.

Other than that it's running Win7 with no problems at all. The newest games I play on it are Oblivion, Minecraft, Civ5, Microsoft FSX flight sim, and Starcraft II, and it runs all of them just fine. I can't max out SC2 but mid level graphics are good enough. FSX has to be dialed down of course, but it's acceptable.

But now with Skyrim coming finally, and Diablo III right around the corner, I'm wondering if my four year old system will be enough. I was thinking of doing one of two things:

1. Simply dropping a GTX560Ti 1GB card into it for about $220

or

2. Building a whole new I5 2500K Sandy Bridge PC with a GTX560Ti for about $800


Would a GTX560Ti even be worth it with an old E6750 processor, with Skyrim in mind? Or should I just bite the bullet and build a new PC?

I've got an E7500 core 2 duo running at 3.22ghz
currently have a 4870, but I'll be buying a GTX 560 this weekend.

I don't know what your finances are like, but mine are finite. Spending $200 on a graphic card, then....

Arkham City...
Battlefield 3
Skyrim
Star Wars: The Old Republic...

Depending on what resolution you plan on running at, I'd say just go with the 560ti. Good enough speed increase on your games, plus you still have money to buy the games.
 
Spayro said:
I'm looking into buying a new PC, mostly for gaming and picture/video editing (lightroom and premiere), so I need a little help as I know nothing about building PC's that will do good with modern stuff.

CPU: Intel i7 2600K
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67-M Pro
Memory: 1600Mhz 2x4GB G.Skill
HD: Samsung 1TB 7200RPM 32MB, SATA II HD103SJ
GPU: ASUS nVidia GTX570 DCII 1280MB
PSU: Chieftec 650W
Case: Thermaltake V4 + Thermaltake 230mm Blue LED Slient Fan AF0047

Should this run heavier stuff okay? what should I change or add?

I think everything is good except the PSU. The only good series I know of for them is GPS. Maybe try a different brand. Just a suggestion.
 
InertiaXr said:
Yeah, I am on my own computer right now that has a hot swap bay so that's not a problem. I'm a little confused as to why her hard drive would be physically failing already, she bought this just this January, so the drive has been in use for less than a year...
HDDs fail whenever they want.
 
So I'm starting to think about building a new computer and I had a couple questions. The main feature I'm looking for is a heavy-duty CPU, so I was going to go with the i7-2600. I don't plan on overclocking, so would there be any point in getting the K? Is quicksync of any use if I won't be doing any video-editing?

I think I have an idea of all the other components except for the graphics card. I want to save some money there, as I don't generally play the latest games, and normally go with the lowest res available (it often makes the text larger and I have vision problems--probably wouldn't appreciate real high resolutions anyway). I'd prefer to go nvidia. Any suggestions?
 
Therion said:
So I'm starting to think about building a new computer and I had a couple questions. The main feature I'm looking for is a heavy-duty CPU, so I was going to go with the i7-2600. I don't plan on overclocking, so would there be any point in getting the K? Is quicksync of any use if I won't be doing any video-editing?

I think I have an idea of all the other components except for the graphics card. I want to save some money there, as I don't generally play the latest games, and normally go with the lowest res available (it often makes the text larger and I have vision problems--probably wouldn't appreciate real high resolutions anyway). I'd prefer to go nvidia. Any suggestions?
I would go with a K version even if you don't plan to overclock right now. Price is not that much more. The option to run it 1GHz faster is huge. If you don't need encoding or SSD cache, go with P67 vs Z68 MB.
 
Thinking about building a Llano based gaming PC. I can get an A6-3650 APU and mobo for $130 at Fry's, overclock it to 4 Ghz, and I think that'd serve me well as a CPU.

My question is: A friend of mine works in IT and is willing to sell me a GTX 570 for $200, or 2 of them for $360. I think this sounds like a great deal since that's almost the cost of one new. Should I go for it?
 
I'm grossly overdue for a new build and finally have some buy-in from the fiancé as her photography workflow begins to be hamstrung by old tech. My current specs and proposed new rig are below - let me know if I'm on the right track or if there are opportunities for improvement/balancing.

Current specs: Core 2 Duo 6600, Asus P5BE, 4GB Corsair XMS DDR2, Asus
EAH4850, WD Raptor 74GB, Seagate 1TB storage HDD, Coolermaster Centurion, Enermax Liberty 500W

Budget: $1000-$1200USD

Main uses: Gaming (all types), photo editing/post-processing, general use

Monitor resolution: Will probably end up with a new IPS panel soon (HP ZR2440W pending reviews) so likely 1920X1200

Games I'd like to play at high level: BF3, Skyrim, Batman: AC

Reuse of parts: Keeping old system intact as second desktop

Build date: First half of November

Overclocking: Why the hell not...

Other: My current system is quite loud under load. I'd like to remedy that a bit.


Proposed build:
https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=13849834

Areas bringing about inner conflict: P67 vs Z68, Radeon 6950 vs Geforce 560ti, Crucial M4 vs Intel SSD, tank of a Seasonic PSU vs cheaper alternatives...


What's the word GAF? What should I switch up/keep the same?
 
BoobPhysics101 said:
My question is: A friend of mine works in IT and is willing to sell me a GTX 570 for $200, or 2 of them for $360. I think this sounds like a great deal since that's almost the cost of one new. Should I go for it?

I think it's a great deal, but I'd just get one. If you're the type of person that will go for a cheaper CPU/motherboard combo, you don't want to be messing around with SLI. I'd sooner take that extra $180 and get a 2500K combo instead, if I weren't being frugal. 2x GTX 570 also has some pretty hefty power requirements.
 
L-gon said:
I'm grossly overdue for a new build and finally have some buy-in from the fiancé as her photography workflow begins to be hamstrung by old tech. My current specs and proposed new rig are below - let me know if I'm on the right track or if there are opportunities for improvement/balancing.

Current specs: Core 2 Duo 6600, Asus P5BE, 4GB Corsair XMS DDR2, Asus
EAH4850, WD Raptor 74GB, Seagate 1TB storage HDD, Coolermaster Centurion, Enermax Liberty 500W

Budget: $1000-$1200USD

Main uses: Gaming (all types), photo editing/post-processing, general use

Monitor resolution: Will probably end up with a new IPS panel soon (HP ZR2440W pending reviews) so likely 1920X1200

Games I'd like to play at high level: BF3, Skyrim, Batman: AC

Reuse of parts: Keeping old system intact as second desktop

Build date: First half of November

Overclocking: Why the hell not...

Other: My current system is quite loud under load. I'd like to remedy that a bit.


Proposed build:
https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=13849834

Areas bringing about inner conflict: P67 vs Z68, Radeon 6950 vs Geforce 560ti, Crucial M4 vs Intel SSD, tank of a Seasonic PSU vs cheaper alternatives...


What's the word GAF? What should I switch up/keep the same?
Does your fiance do a lot of video work as well as photography stuff? Might help your decision between the P and Z boards.
 
L-gon said:
I'm grossly overdue for a new build and finally have some buy-in from the fiancé as her photography workflow begins to be hamstrung by old tech. My current specs and proposed new rig are below - let me know if I'm on the right track or if there are opportunities for improvement/balancing.

Current specs: Core 2 Duo 6600, Asus P5BE, 4GB Corsair XMS DDR2, Asus
EAH4850, WD Raptor 74GB, Seagate 1TB storage HDD, Coolermaster Centurion, Enermax Liberty 500W

Budget: $1000-$1200USD

Main uses: Gaming (all types), photo editing/post-processing, general use
Fixed your WL: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=13849834

You can get 2GB 6950 for same price. A dual fan GTX 560Ti would be good and you get Batman free. But 2GB vRAM is real nice for Skyrim.
get Samsung HDD
x650 PSU isn't much more
Might as well get a $160 Z68 board in your budget
 
So my 500w psu just fried while playing bf3 for 3 hours.
2600k stock speed
Gtx 580
Corsair 500w psi
12gb ram

Are the components safe? Or it did it fry everything?
I first heard a popping sound while playing. I thought something fell. And then another sound. And that's when I smelled something burning. I immediately shut down my computer. Removed the side case and realized the smell is coming from the psu.
so is my computer completely screwed? Or did the psu the only damaged component?

Also need recommendations on a good psu. I plan on OC the 580 and 2600k.
 
Was it a CX500? Should not be powering a GTX 580... Maybe a Seasonic 560w, but not a 500W and not a CX. Won't know if any components are damaged until you put in a new PSU.

The X650 is on sale right now for $130. See if you can wrangle Corsair for an AX650 or something as a replacement, but I doubt it.
 
Ice Raven said:
So my 500w psu just fried while playing bf3 for 3 hours.
2600k stock speed
Gtx 580
Corsair 500w psi
12gb ram

Are the components safe? Or it did it fry everything?
I first heard a popping sound while playing. I thought something fell. And then another sound. And that's when I smelled something burning. I immediately shut down my computer. Removed the side case and realized the smell is coming from the psu.
so is my computer completely screwed? Or did the psu the only damaged component?

Also need recommendations on a good psu. I plan on OC the 580 and 2600k.

Ouch. Always scary when that happens.

To be honest without actually looking at the damage and testing the components there's no way to know. I think there's a good chance the rest of your kit is okay, though.

Personally I would go maybe 650w when you replace it, higher if you plan to ever add a second GPU. Corsair AX/TX series or Antec TPN are solid PSUs in that wattage.
 
Hazaro said:
Was it a CX500? Should not be powering a GTX 580... Maybe a Seasonic 560w, but not a 500W and not a CX. Won't know if any components are damaged until you put in a new PSU.

The X650 is on sale right now for $130. See if you can wrangle Corsair for an AX650 or something as a replacement, but I doubt it.
yeah it was a cx500.
good tip on the CX. thx bro.

Wallach said:
Ouch. Always scary when that happens.

To be honest without actually looking at the damage and testing the components there's no way to know. I think there's a good chance the rest of your kit is okay, though.

Personally I would go maybe 650w when you replace it, higher if you plan to ever add a second GPU. Corsair AX/TX series or Antec TPN are solid PSUs in that wattage.
well, i did shut down the computer myself while the psu was making that popping sound and everything seemed fine before i immediately shut it down.
650w psu, gotcha. thank you.
 
TheExodu5 said:
I think it's a great deal, but I'd just get one. If you're the type of person that will go for a cheaper CPU/motherboard combo, you don't want to be messing around with SLI. I'd sooner take that extra $180 and get a 2500K combo instead, if I weren't being frugal. 2x GTX 570 also has some pretty hefty power requirements.

I was going to sell the 2nd GTX 570 for $240ish on Craigslist and keep the other GTX 570 or sell it for a 6950 2gb since I prefer AMD. I'm gonna go pick those up this week. Whether I keep it or not, I just want a nice card to tide me over until the 7950s come out.
 
Guys, I'm looking for a mid ranged card for a family member. Nothing too crazy in price or power just something to run 1080p video and play an old game or two. I was thinking along the lines of a HD4670 or GT 240. Any ideas?
 
Is it possible to find a LCD (with or without LED) that is uniformly lit/doesn't have haloing or backlight bleeding. And, of course, the darker the blacks the better. Is that even possible? My Dell U2412M is pretty poor in that regard.
 
Can you exchange the Dell? I have a U2211H and there is a little bleeding on the top of the screen, but I don't notice it unless it's all black. Might just be an issue with that particular monitor.
 
chaosblade said:
Can you exchange the Dell? I have a U2211H and there is a little bleeding on the top of the screen, but I don't notice it unless it's all black. Might just be an issue with that particular monitor.

Yeah, they'll let me but they're also going to let me return it so I just wanted to check with others/read up some more first. I'm curious about the U2410's dynamic contrast ratio (the next step up in their IPS monitor line) as the 2412 doesn't have that. I can't imagine that makes a difference with backlight bleeding though. Also have to research whether the dynamic contrast ratio is only for still images or is feasible with gaming.
 
commish said:
Wifi for gaming, or should I go through the trouble of laying down some wire?
Wireless N works very well for gaming, provided you have a decent router. I haven't had as much luck with Wireless G. Wire is always preferable, but I've been on wireless N for the past few months (as my ethernet controller is borked) with no issues.
 
Garryk said:
Anyone have a good recommendation for a 2.1 speaker setup?

I used to say Klipsch ProMedia 2.1, but after replacing my 8 year old set recently, the quality is shit in comparison. Still beats most, but it is depressing to see what has happened to them.
 
I have yet to listen to a good pair of cheap 2.1 PC speakers. They're all awful nowadays. They pretty much all went the Bose route -> boomy bass, harsh highs, and no midrange to speak of. Just gotta find that diamond in the rough, I guess.

Anyways, you'll need a budget before anyone recommends anything.
 
TheExodu5 said:
Wireless N works very well for gaming, provided you have a decent router. I haven't had as much luck with Wireless G. Wire is always preferable, but I've been on wireless N for the past few months (as my ethernet controller is borked) with no issues.

At the moment, just using the Verizon Fios router. What card are you using?
 
My brother wants to upgrade his GPU (he currently has a 7900GTX), and he doesn't want to spend much because he doesn't really play that many games on PC.

He has a C2D @ 2.66GHz, so it's kind of pointless to spend much money on a GPU anyway, and he has no plans to upgrade the CPU anytime soon either. Is there any card under $100 that would give him a decent boost over the 7900, or should he add another $50 or so for the GTX460?
 
TheExodu5 said:
Wireless N works very well for gaming, provided you have a decent router. I haven't had as much luck with Wireless G. Wire is always preferable, but I've been on wireless N for the past few months (as my ethernet controller is borked) with no issues.

Hey did you ever order that WASD keyboard?
 
What's the best way to clean a LOT of dust inside my pc? I thought about getting one of those vacuum types, but I read somewhere that I should be worried about static.
 
luiztfc said:
What's the best way to clean a LOT of dust inside my pc? I thought about getting one of those vacuum types, but I read somewhere that I should be worried about static.
This:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=26388661&postcount=8506
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=26388903&postcount=8508
·feist· said:
21y6CfbhROL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Metro Vacuum ED500 DataVac
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001J4ZOAW/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Looks like the price went up a bit. A bit noisy, but a great buy that beats the limited angles and use time of canned air.

There are pricier, more full-featured models (additional functions, nozzles and the like) from Metro Vacuum and other companies, though the one above is solid, cheap ($40-50) and helpful for people who don't have the space, or tolerance for larger-sized compressors.
No need to worry about static, as despite its name, this is just a miniaturized compressor. Also, no need to worry about it frosting up, like canned air. You don't have to hold it close for it to be effective, and it's best to keep a slight distance when cleaning frail components. Like TheExodu5 mentioned, you'll want to hold or tape down your fan blades to avoid possible damage. If you're unsure, or that sounds scary in anyway, just watch some usage videos.
 
TheExodu5 said:
Can of compressed air. Just make sure you don't blow on the fans too much, as you can break their bearings.

Thanks, I think I'll buy a can of compressed air for the time being and then I'll buy one of those babies feist recommended.


·feist· said:
This:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=26388661&postcount=8506
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=26388903&postcount=8508
No need to worry about static, as despite its name, this is just a miniaturized compressor. Also, no need to worry about it frosting up, like canned air. You don't have to hold it close for it to be effective, and it's best to keep a slight distance when cleaning frail components. Like TheExodu5 mentioned, you'll want to hold or tape down your fan blades to avoid possible damage. If you're unsure, or that sounds scary in anyway, just watch some usage videos.

Scary? This sounds awesome!

Thanks, guys!
 
Ice Raven said:
Are the components safe? Or it did it fry everything?
I first heard a popping sound while playing.
It's likely, but it's also likely it could have fried everything. If your computer was on and working while you were hearing the noise, not too likely then.

The sound you were hearing was probably blown capacitors
 
luiztfc said:
Thanks, I think I'll buy a can of compressed air for the time being and then I'll buy one of those babies feist recommended.

Scary? This sounds awesome!

Thanks, guys!
I must have missed this post. I use this at work and it is very very strong. Fingers in fans or zip ties.
AndyMoogle said:
My brother wants to upgrade his GPU (he currently has a 7900GTX), and he doesn't want to spend much because he doesn't really play that many games on PC.

He has a C2D @ 2.66GHz, so it's kind of pointless to spend much money on a GPU anyway, and he has no plans to upgrade the CPU anytime soon either. Is there any card under $100 that would give him a decent boost over the 7900, or should he add another $50 or so for the GTX460?
4850, 4870, gtx 260 used. I'm still trying to sell my GTX 260.
Other than that a 6790 isn't bad.
 
I'm just casually going to buy a GTX 570 card in a week or two, but as I've only ever built a computer and a half and never really upgraded inbetween, I have to ask, there's not really any difference in these ridicolous brands that come before "GeForce GTX 570" is there? I'm seeing ASUS GeForce and Gainward GeForce and ZOTAC GeForce and from what I see in the spec sheets they're all identical.

I'm sure I could have found this information by googling with the right terms but I'm not sure which and I gather you guys will be quick to tell me if I'm really wrong.

EDIT: Oh, right, it's how much they're factory overclocked, isn't it?
 
Rapstah said:
I'm just casually going to buy a GTX 570 card in a week or two, but as I've only ever built a computer and a half and never really upgraded inbetween, I have to ask, there's not really any difference in these ridicolous brands that come before "GeForce GTX 570" is there? I'm seeing ASUS GeForce and Gainward GeForce and ZOTAC GeForce and from what I see in the spec sheets they're all identical.

I'm sure I could have found this information by googling with the right terms but I'm not sure which and I gather you guys will be quick to tell me if I'm really wrong.

EDIT: Oh, right, it's how much they're factory overclocked, isn't it?
nVidia provides a reference design on a GTX 570.
Companies can use that design, modify it, buy GTX 570's and put their sticker on it, whatever.
Some companies will replace capacitors, use a different cooler, change fan speed or profiles, clock it higher, give them different warranties, etc.

However card performance itself is identical across all GTX 570's based on its clock speed.

Most people buy their GPU for a good cooler or good warranty.
 
That, and other than actual circuitry, the physical hardware is different (i.e. case design, coolers etc). Some brands are more durable and easier to overclock than others.
Oh, and each brand has different customer support. The brand is more important than you might think.
 
Hazaro said:
nVidia provides a reference design on a GTX 570.
Companies can use that design, modify it, buy GTX 570's and put their sticker on it, whatever.
Some companies will replace capacitors, use a different cooler, change fan speed or profiles, clock it higher, give them different warranties, etc.

However card performance itself is identical across all GTX 570's based on its clock speed.

Most people buy their GPU for a good cooler or good warranty.
Wichu said:
That, and other than actual circuitry, the physical hardware is different (i.e. case design, coolers etc). Some brands are more durable and easier to overclock than others.
Oh, and each brand has different customer support. The brand is more important than you might think.
Thanks! I'll look into what I'm really buying then.
 
I wouldn't worry about it. Almost all GPUs come with a half decent 3 year warranty.
If there are more than 15% 1 star reviews on the product read them and be aware of what they mention, but it isn't too much of a big deal.

eVGA has good support, MSI and ASUS have their nice coolers.
 
So PC-GAF, I've been out of the game for five years now. I'm feeling a need to jump back in. I'm going from the ground up because all I have is an ancient laptop. Was hoping I could get some advice on if the build I have set up is viable or not. It's been so long since I shopped for PC parts, I'm pretty in the dark with all this.

My budget is around $900, already have a nice monitor, resolution is at 1920 x 1080. It's hard to list all the games I know I want to play, but there are a few: Witcher 2, Battlefield 3, Starcraft II, Arkham City and Skyrim. I don't absolutely need to max out the really intense stuff like BF 3, don't need every little effect turned on and maxed, but it'd be nice to at least be on high settings at or near 60 FPS.

My build right now mostly looks like the $900 build in the OP, with one possible change.

CPU: Intel i5 2500K 4C/4T 3.7Ghz Turbo
Motherboard: MSI P67A-GD55
RAM: Corsair Vengeance (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Graphics: GTX560Ti 1GB
Storage: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
Power Supply: XFX PRO550W
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912
Optical Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST
Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212

Now for the possible change. Had a friend say that if I could, bumping up that video card to the GTX 570 would be well worth it. Is this true? Is it noticeable over the 560ti? And if I did this, would I need to alter anything else like the case or the motherboard?

Also (prepare to laugh, this is probably a dumb question) with that heat sink, do I need to buy any other fans for cooling? I mean is that all I need for cooling the entire PC?

Many thanks in advance for any advice. Please feel free to point out any dumb choices. Wanna get this right.
 
I wouldn't say the GTX 570 is a worthwhile upgrade. Diminishing returns on the cost.

that HS comes with a fan and good thermal paste. All you need.
 
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