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

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nitric0 said:
How much better are the Phenom II X4's compared to the Athlon II X4's?
Nearly no difference, apart from the fact real Phenom IIs have L3 cache, and generally better clocking ability.


RukusProvider said:
2 questions:

1. My PSU died after a power outage. What's a good silent PSU? In Nov, I'll be overhauling by current PC completely but like a powerful PSU that I can use again later. In Nov, the goal will be get the best single gpu card to run BF3 and Skyrim.

2. My faithful old Netgear just can't handle it anymore so I need a new Wireless routers. Is there a good site that does Wireless router reviews? I'm looking for a Dual Band N. Performance is my main goal.
1. SeaSonic, SuperFlower (Kingston, NZXT, others), Corsair, SilverStone, higher end Antecs, etc. Should be looking for 80+ Bronze at minimum, with 80+ Gold (or Platinum) being preferable.

2. SmallNetBuilder. Depending on your budget, you may be interested in something like the Cisco Linksys E4200, or Asus RT-N56U.
 
MidgarBlowedUp said:
I used the student discount version on a friends computer and didn't need to do anything but install it with a custom install on a new partition.

Even better! I have a feeling a lot of the old posts I found on it where people who only had a dl version. I figured it was worth paying the extra 12 bucks for the back up DVD!

Alright time for the final run through (as I want to put the order in tomorrow).

Okay, now I'm a total idiot about these things, but can someone tell me which is better?
a Dual Core 3.1 Ghz or a Quad Core 2.8 Ghz?
In short is the red package going to produce far better results than the blue one?

Also does Sata 2 and 3 make a huge difference if I'm not transferring data a lot? I can get an extra 1tb for 3 bucks less?

I also picked a different graphics card (any other suggestions?). I just need to keep it under ~700 with shipping and insurance (so I can still drop the HD to a smaller size one if it helps).
eiqkb8.jpg


EDIT: I do have a case I just forgot to have it added in when I took the pic.
http://www.ncixus.com/products/index.php?sku=55447&promoid=1331
 
·feist· said:
1. SeaSonic, SuperFlower (Kingston, NZXT, others), Corsair, SilverStone, higher end Antecs, etc. Should be looking for 80+ Bronze at minimum, with 80+ Gold (or Platinum) being preferable.

2. SmallNetBuilder. Depending on your budget, you may be interested in something like the Cisco Linksys E4200, or Asus RT-N56U.

Any notable difference between these? They seem to be well regarded.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151102

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015

I like that Asus on the wireless site. Seems to be stupid fast. The problem right now is poor lan streaming over wifi. Seem the Asus will be good at that.
 
Posting again for the real new page.

Would it be possible to use the case from an HP Pavilion a230n for a new build? Will the mobo and PSU mount in it properly?
 
Manos: The Hans of Fate said:
[url]http://i56.tinypic.com/eiqkb8.jpg[/url] [/ IMG][/QUOTE]
Why the GTX 460 SE? You realize the SE has a block of shaders disabled compared to the regular GTX 460 1 GB? $163 seems like an awful lot for that card unless there's a big rebate; they were going for as little as $100 AR on Newegg not too long ago.
 
RukusProvider said:
Any notable difference between these? They seem to be well regarded.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151102

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015

I like that Asus on the wireless site. Seems to be stupid fast. The problem right now is poor lan streaming over wifi. Seem the Asus will be good at that.
The two are very similar, as they're based on the same platform. The price, warranty and customer service are all in favor of the Corsair.


Manos: The Hans of Fate said:
Even better! I have a feeling a lot of the old posts I found on it where people who only had a dl version. I figured it was worth paying the extra 12 bucks for the back up DVD!

Alright time for the final run through (as I want to put the order in tomorrow).

Okay, now I'm a total idiot about these things, but can someone tell me which is better?
a Dual Core 3.1 Ghz or a Quad Core 2.8 Ghz?
In short is the red package going to produce far better results than the blue one?

Also does Sata 2 and 3 make a huge difference if I'm not transferring data a lot? I can get an extra 1tb for 3 bucks less?

I also picked a different graphics card (any other suggestions?). I just need to keep it under ~700 with shipping and insurance (so I can still drop the HD to a smaller size one if it helps).
http://i56.tinypic.com/eiqkb8.jpg

EDIT: I do have a case I just forgot to have it added in when I took the pic.
http://www.ncixus.com/products/index.php?sku=55447&promoid=1331
Between those two CPUs, the i5 2300 would be a better choice. Although, at that price, it hard to recommend when a 2500K will outperform it, while having a longer shelf life, for only a bit more up front cost.

You have a GTX 460 SE. You'd be better off with a standard 460 1GB, or AMD 6850. Both perform better, while being similarly priced (or lower with a deal) to the SE.

SATA 3 makes more of a difference with SSDs, and hybrid drives.


edit:
I H8 Memes said:
Posting again for the real new page.

Would it be possible to use the case from an HP Pavilion a230n for a new build? Will the mobo and PSU mount in it properly?
Can you post a picture of the interior?
 
·feist· said:
Between those two CPUs, the i5 2300 would be a better choice. Although, at that price, it hard to recommend when a 2500K will outperform it, while having a longer shelf life, for only a bit more up front cost.
Hmm, well if I get a cheaper HD and find a cheaper GFX card then it's possible. Is it better to just get a cheaper graphics card now and than say in 6 months upgrade to a new one?

·feist· said:
You have a GTX 460 SE. You'd be better off with a standard 460 1GB, or AMD 6850. Both perform better, while being similarly priced (or lower with a deal) to the SE.
Sounds fine to me I was only using the default one. If you can find a link for one you recommend I'm open to it.

·feist· said:
SATA 3 makes more of a difference with SSDs, and hybrid drives.
Alright then that's really a non issue then.

slidewinder said:
Why the GTX 460 SE? You realize the SE has a block of shaders disabled compared to the regular GTX 460 1 GB? $163 seems like an awful lot for that card unless there's a big rebate; they were going for as little as $100 AR on Newegg not too long ago.

They were the default one in the build a PC thread. I have no problem picking a cheaper and/or better one. :) Perhaps. I can just get the video card from new egg if they have a far cheaper one laying around and put it in myself. Oh I'm assuming with this computer setup I can always add in another video card right?
 
Manos: The Hans of Fate said:
They were the default one in the build a PC thread. I have no problem picking a cheaper and/or better one. :) Perhaps. I can just get the video card from new egg if they have a far cheaper one laying around and put it in myself. Oh I'm assuming with this computer setup I can always add in another video card right?
No, the build in the OP recommends the regular GTX 460 1 GB, not the SE version. That "SE" is kind of a potential gotcha.

Anyway, here's a regular, reference design GTX 460 1 GB on NCIXUS for $174 with a $20 rebate, which is a pretty good deal. The one thing is that it has reference clocks, so 675 core, whereas your SE has a 765 MHz core speed. I believe that this card should still be the better deal thanks to the extra TMUs and shaders along with a slight advantage in memory speed, especially since you should be able to OC it as well, but hopefully someone more knowledgeable can confirm or deny that.

Edit: Here's that EVGA card I linked to on Newegg in case you want to check out the reviews. It does look like it should easily outperform that SE card for not much more $$ with a little OCing.
 
Okay I FINALLY have 100%, no doubt about it, finalized my build. Any last minute tips?

f8zJ0.png


Already have the GPU, it's an MSI 570GTX Twin Frozr 3 and the CPU will be a core i7 2600 from microcenter. I spent a little extra on the caviar black and I'd eventually like to SLI with another 570 in a few years.
 
slidewinder said:
No, the build in the OP recommends the regular GTX 460 1 GB, not the SE version. That "SE" is kind of a potential gotcha.

Anyway, here's a regular, reference design GTX 460 1 GB on NCIXUS for $174 with a $20 rebate, which is a pretty good deal. The one thing is that it has reference clocks, so 675 core, whereas your SE has a 765 MHz core speed. I believe that this card should still be the better deal thanks to the extra TMUs and shaders along with a slight advantage in memory speed, especially since you should be able to OC it as well, but hopefully someone more knowledgeable can confirm or deny that.

Ah I see. I just had no clue what the hell SE meant via finding one that was better. I'm not joking when the last time I knew anything about graphics cards was Doom 3! So I have no clue what the hell is good or bad anymore. I have to say that I don't know if I'll be overclocking at all.
 
Red Blaster said:
Okay I FINALLY have 100%, no doubt about it, finalized my build. Any last minute tips?

http://i.imgur.com/f8zJ0.png[IMG]

Already have the GPU, it's an MSI 570GTX Twin Frozr 3 and the CPU will be a core i7 2600 from microcenter. I spent a little extra on the caviar black and I'd eventually like to SLI with another 570 in a few years.[/QUOTE]

2600 or 2600k?

I would suggest going with a modular power supply. It really makes a huge difference with cable management since you won't be using most of the cables that come attached to the one you have now.

Also, I, personally, wouldn't build a computer nowadays without an 100+gb ssd. Other than that it looks good.
 
Sketch_Turntable said:
So if i get the i5-2500K and only plan to OC it to 4.0 GHz, is the stock cooler going to be fine?

I wouldn't recommend that. Use core temp and prime95. Make sure it stays below 80C on full load.
 
Oh so assuming I get either of the Quad Core processors what's the cheapest motherboard I can most likely get? Yes, I know cheaping out on the motherboard is asking from vengeance to be delivered upon me, so when I say cheap, I mean not increasing the chance of being fried during normal use and being able to still do two video cards if I want to later.
 
mike23 said:
2600 or 2600k?

I would suggest going with a modular power supply. It really makes a huge difference with cable management since you won't be using most of the cables that come attached to the one you have now.

Also, I, personally, wouldn't build a computer nowadays without an 100+gb ssd. Other than that it looks good.

2600. Don't intend to do any OCing on the CPU and thought I may as well save a little. And is there any benefit to getting a modular PSU other than cable management? The equivalent the modular Corsair 750 is an extra 30 bucks.
 
I H8 Memes said:
Sorry I dont have a digital camera or a cell phone with a camera.
A cursory search brings up nothing. HP, Dell, and Gateway often use custom motherboards connectors and so on, on certain models. If the case opens from the left panel, and has the PCI slots located at the bottom, then it may be possible. If the case opens from the right panel, with the PCI slots also on the bottom, that would most likely be unusable. Either way, an entry level case would more than likely be a better choice for cooling, and flexibility.


Sketch_Turntable said:
So if i get the i5-2500K and only plan to OC it to 4.0 GHz, is the stock cooler going to be fine?
If you don't mind the noise, and high temps under heavy use, it's "adequate." Still, the Hyper 212+ would be one of the best ~$30 investments you can make for your PC.


Manos: The Hans of Fate said:
Hmm, well if I get a cheaper HD and find a cheaper GFX card then it's possible. Is it better to just get a cheaper graphics card now and than say in 6 months upgrade to a new one?

Sounds fine to me I was only using the default one. If you can find a link for one you recommend I'm open to it.
For either 460 or 6850, MSI Twin Frozr II (or Cyclone) or Asus Direct CU (especially TOP edition). For 6850, you can also try XFX, reference design, or twin fan custom cooler.

Lower priced GTX 500s/AMD 6000s: if your current card can carry you another ~6 months, or so. Or, entry-mid level GTX 600s/AMD 7000s.


Manos: The Hans of Fate said:
They were the default one in the build a PC thread. I have no problem picking a cheaper and/or better one. :) Perhaps. I can just get the video card from new egg if they have a far cheaper one laying around and put it in myself. Oh I'm assuming with this computer setup I can always add in another video card right?
Yes.
 
Red Blaster said:
2600. Don't intend to do any OCing on the CPU and thought I may as well save a little. And is there any benefit to getting a modular PSU other than cable management? The equivalent the modular Corsair 750 is an extra 30 bucks.

Up to you. You'll just have a clump of wires the size of a fist or two in the bottom of the case next to the power supply.

edit: picture of a case with a non-modular ps:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=28782728&postcount=1874
 
Okay here is the final build (well I have to sell my PSP and do some negotiation, but I doubt it will be too hard).

4tkbv4.png


So can someone tell me how will this handle Battlefield 3 and Skyrim most likely, and can I crank up Deus Ex HR to the maximum levels? I hope to no longer have to annoy anyone here in this thread anymore and only post how great it works in a week or two. :)
 
Deputy Moonman said:

Here's goes some pics of mine. If you need better angles, let me know and I'll take some better pics.

eYiRI.jpg

k5Yvp.jpg


On the 2nd pic, you'll notice on the top of the case there's the multi colored extension cable connected to the power cable.

I noticed for your rig, your HDD tray needs to be switched around so the cables will be facing the back on the case. That will help you clean up your rig. If you have any other questions, let me know.

Oh yeah, also since this is the 1st time I posted pics of my rig since it was just completed...here's the specs:

ASUS P67 Pro
ASUS GTX 570
G. SKill Ripjaw 8GB
Intel 320 SSD
2 Samsung F3 HDD's
Lite-On Blu Ray
Lite-On DVD W/R
Corsair ATX 850
Noctua DH14

Not Pictured:
ASUS VH236H LCD
Razer Black Widow Ultimate Edition Keyboard
Razer Mamba
 
Manos: The Hans of Fate said:
Okay here is the final build (well I have to sell my PSP and do some negoation, but I doubt it will be too hard).

4tkbv4.png


So can someone tell me how will this handle Battlefield 3 and Skyrim most likely, and can I crank up Deus Ex HR to the maximum levels? I hope to no longer have to annoy anyone here in this thread anymore and only post how great it works in a week or two. :)

At what resolution and what fps is acceptable to you? 60fps@1080p+ seems highly unlikely with a 460.
 
Azwethinkweiz said:
At what resolution and what fps is acceptable to you? 60fps@1080p+ seems highly unlikely with a 460.
I'd be fine with 30 (hell I'm used to playing games with 15-20 and everything turned down lol). The monitors being used would be either a 1080p full res tv or a 1080i, depending on which room I'm in.
 
Alright guys. I feel I am starting to splurge on my initial mid-budget build. But I don't really trick out my car, so this is my baby. :)

I want one of those fancy touchscreen fan controller/temp monitors. I would be willing to shell out around 50 bucks. I have 2 cd/bay slots open. This would have to fit on my Thermaltake Armor A90. Thanks!
 
FrenchMovieTheme said:
thanks for the tips friends. bought all the stuff for the $1000 rig but i changed the gfx card to geforce 560. hopefully i can put it all together.

any recommendations on good wireless keyboards/mouse?
560 Ti I hope. The 560 is just a faster 460.
RukusProvider said:
Any notable difference between these? They seem to be well regarded.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151102

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015

I like that Asus on the wireless site. Seems to be stupid fast. The problem right now is poor lan streaming over wifi. Seem the Asus will be good at that.
The Seasonic I believe has about 1 better component. They are very very similar.
Manos: The Hans of Fate said:
I'd be fine with 30 (hell I'm used to playing games with 15-20 and everything turned down lol). The monitors being used would be either a 1080p full res tv or a 1080i, depending on which room I'm in.
An overclocked 460 will do very well with a lot of games at 1080p. You should get 60fps with good settings on most games.
black_vegeta said:
Here's goes some pics of mine. If you need better angles, let me know and I'll take some better pics.

eYiRI.jpg

k5Yvp.jpg
Very slick build.
 
The_Inquisitor said:
Alright guys. I feel I am starting to splurge on my initial mid-budget build. But I don't really trick out my car, so this is my baby. :)

I want one of those fancy touchscreen fan controller/temp monitors. I would be willing to shell out around 50 bucks. I have 2 cd/bay slots open. This would have to fit on my Thermaltake Armor A90. Thanks!

NZXT Sentry 2 is a touch screen fan controller iirc, but the wiring is annoying because there's quite a few of them. It's decently priced, around 20-30 bucks I believe
 
RS4- said:
NZXT Sentry 2 is a touch screen fan controller iirc, but the wiring is annoying because there's quite a few of them. It's decently priced, around 20-30 bucks I believe

I'm reading horror stories about them catching rigs on fire.
 
Hazaro said:
An overclocked 460 will do very well with a lot of games at 1080p. You should get 60fps with good settings on most games.

Can you overclock by doing simple software enabling? I'm still kind of hesitant to do any overclocking due to a strong desire not to burn anything because I'm a schmuck who pushes it a little to far. lol
 
The_Inquisitor said:
I'm reading horror stories about them catching rigs on fire.

Lol mine did and it wasn't a fan controller; it was just one of those temp readers that NZXT have in their cases. Installed, wired things up, smelled something burning; haven't bothered to reconnect the whole time I've had the case.

NZXT was nice enough to ignore my emails, so fuck them.

But yeah, the Sentry 2, I hear decent things about them. I think Zalman and Aerocool do some nice ones as well.
 
Manos: The Hans of Fate said:
Can you overclock by doing simple software enabling? I'm still kind of hesitant to do any overclocking due to a strong desire not to burn anything because I'm a schmuck who pushes it a little to far. lol

Yeah. Just download MSI Afterburner and Kombustor. Slowly notch up your speeds in 5-10 mhz increments and then run kombustor. If you don't see anything funny in the picture after 8 hours or so you're good to go.
 
RS4- said:
Lol mine did and it wasn't a fan controller; it was just one of those temp readers that NZXT have in their cases. Installed, wired things up, smelled something burning; haven't bothered to reconnect the whole time I've had the case.

NZXT was nice enough to ignore my emails, so fuck them.

But yeah, the Sentry 2, I hear decent things about them. I think Zalman and Aerocool do some nice ones as well.

I haven't heard of NZXT outside this discussion today. I think eventually I am going to want to upgrade to a nicer (probably bigger) case in the future, and retire this one to NAS duty.

Who are the performance case companies now?

Also, what about the LXE?

http://www.nzxt.com/new/products/fan_control/sentry_lxe

It's so beautiful. @_@ So it works by connecting to a PCI card interface? Shit I would go for that if it went being able to keep the front of my computer closed.
 
Alright so my Cpu & Video card will be here this week, everything else is already in the case. The next thing i need to figure out is how im gonna get my data off my old Ide HDD on to my new Sata Hdd? I basically don't want to have to redownload all these mods and programs again. Will i have to reinstall everything or is there a way i can copy everything to the new drive? Thanks!
 
Darkman M said:
Alright so my Cpu & Video card will be here this week, everything else is already in the case. The next thing i need to figure out is how im gonna get my data off my old Ide HDD on to my new Sata Hdd? I basically don't want to have to redownload all these mods and programs again. Will i have to reinstall everything or is there a way i can copy everything to the new drive? Thanks!

Don't you have a legacy IDE port on your mobo? Hook up your old HDD, download partition magic. Create a partition on your new HDD for your old HDD's stuff. Then just copy the partition over.
 
Nice cable management black_vegeta

Did some more stress testing on my 2500K OC, 6 hour blend test now and it's still going strong at 4.8GHz on 1.32V. Average max core temperatures around 58C (56/57/63/57)

Tried out some games and my goodness, these damn console ports. Tried both AC2 and Bro as well as NFS:HP both locked at 60fps. Before I was middling in the 30s on my Q6600 with the same GPU.
 
Manos: The Hans of Fate said:
Can you overclock by doing simple software enabling? I'm still kind of hesitant to do any overclocking due to a strong desire not to burn anything because I'm a schmuck who pushes it a little to far. lol
MSI Afterburner.
Drag a slider and hit save. Easy peasy.
 
Darkman M said:
I have no clue to what that is, here is my motherboard though.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128494
Doesn't seem to have any IDE ports. You are going to need IDE to SATA convertor to use the HDD on the new MB, or leave it on your old computer and copy the files over LAN to the new SATA HDD. You will most likely need to reinstall them anyway. Registry settings, shortcuts, require software and/or etc. will be missing.
 
RS4- said:
No ide on that, just SATA. I think one of the few sandy bridge boards that do have IDE, it's from ASrock.


The_Inquisitor said:
Well that sucks! You could buy an enclosure for it, and do the same thing I said above.

knitoe said:
Doesn't seem to have any IDE ports. You are going to need IDE to SATA convertor to use the HDD on the new MB, or leave it on your old computer and copy the files over LAN to the new SATA HDD. You will most likely need to reinstall them anyway. Registry settings, shortcuts, require software and/or etc. will be missing.


Thanks guys yeah..... i figured i was screwed, would buying a cheap external HDD be the easiest way to go about this?
 
black_vegeta said:
Here's goes some pics of mine. If you need better angles, let me know and I'll take some better pics.

eYiRI.jpg

k5Yvp.jpg


On the 2nd pic, you'll notice on the top of the case there's the multi colored extension cable connected to the power cable.

I noticed for your rig, your HDD tray needs to be switched around so the cables will be facing the back on the case. That will help you clean up your rig. If you have any other questions, let me know.

Oh yeah, also since this is the 1st time I posted pics of my rig since it was just completed...here's the specs:

ASUS P67 Pro
ASUS GTX 570
G. SKill Ripjaw 8GB
Intel 320 SSD
2 Samsung F3 HDD's
Lite-On Blu Ray
Lite-On DVD W/R
Corsair ATX 850
Noctua DH14

Not Pictured:
ASUS VH236H LCD
Razer Black Widow Ultimate Edition Keyboard
Razer Mamba
I hadn't even considered flipping around the trays, but it's another really great suggestion. Thanks again! Your setup is very nice and the cable management is clean. I should have gone for a modular PSU, but it's not the end of the world. I'm definitely going to get an extension for the mobo power cable, and try to flip the trays around. Did you have any trouble putting the side panel back on with all the cables run through the back?
 
Deputy Moonman said:
I hadn't even considered flipping around the trays, but it's another really great suggestion. Thanks again! Your setup is very nice and the cable management is clean. I should have gone for a modular PSU, but it's not the end of the world. I'm definitely going to get an extension for the mobo power cable, and try to flip the trays around. Did you have any trouble putting the side panel back on with all the cables run through the back?

At first I couldn't get it to close properly, then I redid the cables with more zip ties and made sure the cables were laying as flat as possible to the back of the case. Do that and it will close as it should.
 
black_vegeta said:
At first I couldn't get it to close properly, then I redid the cables with more zip ties and made sure the cables were laying as flat as possible to the back of the case. Do that and it will close as it should.

You've got enough cable to run some of them closer to the heatsink cutout just in case you decide to tidy up your cables even more.
 
RS4- said:
You've got enough cable to run some of them closer to the heatsink cutout just in case you decide to tidy up your cables even more.

I thought about doing that, but for now it looks nice for my first ever build.
 
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