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[garath]

I've noticed my CPU temp tends to reach 49-52C when I leave my PC idle, which seems pretty high. I'm assuming it gets higher after heavy use. I haven't had it shut down yet due to overheating, even after spending a good number of hours last night on Crysis and Resident Evil 5. I've got a feeling it might be thermal paste-related, as when I removed the heatsink and reapplied it when building, the amount on the CPU looked kinda weedy.

Those are pretty typical temps for the stock intel cooler. I wouldn't be worried about it.

If you wanted to do any overclocking I'd recommend the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ for $30. Best price to performance of CPU coolers.

edit: beaten

 

[gokieks]

So I'm thinking about picking up a Dell UltraSharp U2412M, and was just wondering if anyone else had any experience or knew of any reviews I should read. The review on Dell's site is fairly positive, but that's all I've found so far on it.

It's IPS but one of the new cheaper 6-bit + AFRC panels instead of the true 8-bit true color panels. Image quality won't be as good, but for most people it really shouldn't matter (and it'll still be far superior to TN panels). There have been quite a few lower-priced e-IPS screens lately, but they're mostly 1080p (1920x1080) instead of WUXGA (1920x1200).

If you're going with the Dell, I'd wait on a sale/coupon code... they're fairly frequent and you can save a decent amount usually.

 

[Mrcapcom]

Hey NeoGaf
So my computer finally died, and I want to replace the Mobo/Mem/Processor.
Everything else is prettymuch still new but the old MB/MEM/Proc are at least 5 years old.

This is what I had:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2GHz Socket AM2 89W Dual-Core Processor ADA4200CUBO
CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X1024-6400C4 (which I upgraded to the same kind but 4 1GB Chips)
DFI INFINITY NF ULTRAII-M2 AM2 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard

I wanted to replace the parts and my budget is 300 Dollars. This is what I came up with:

GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX

(Everything is from Newegg)

I don't really do much on my computer other than really light gaming, Remote Desktoping, Office Stuff,HD Anime/Films , Downloading, Video Converting. For my $300 Budget does that look pretty good? Should I switch somethings up? I would like to have the option of upgrading to the newer processor coming out if I wanted to. Just wanted to get some advise if this is good or should I try to respec what I'm looking for. Thanks in advance!

One other question, are gigabyte mb's any good? I only ever used DFI/MSI/Asus was going to try them out.

 

[opticalmace]

Those prices you have are pretty damn good. Just remember the Mobo is indeed the backbone of your system so an extra $20 in an econo build is worth it in my mind.

Thanks, I was on the fence about H61 vs H67. H67 is $20 more... I think I'll go with that in case she gets an upgrade later?

 

[John_B]

So I'm thinking about picking up a Dell UltraSharp U2412M, and was just wondering if anyone else had any experience or knew of any reviews I should read. The review on Dell's site is fairly positive, but that's all I've found so far on it.

Here is a very complete review (with calibration settings even)
http://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subaction=showfull&id=1312883832

 

[Skilletor]

Well, I shall soon be one of the master race. Thanks to this thread.

I ordered my PC today, parts will be here soon. Going to buy an ASUS monitor since I like to play fighting games.

Can't wait to get The Witcher games.

 

[Tallshortman]

Excuse me, what? Since when is SLI scaling anything other than moslty driver/software dependent?

If you want to give advice/facts to someone atleast back it up with something.
SLI scales amazing when it comes to games that support it well out of the gate, unless you're obviously bound by other factors e.g cpu.


So no, 460s don't scale well in SLI is bs. SLI IS a hassle sometimes when it comes to brand new games, but like many other pc game related issues they get ironed out in patches and drivers relatively swiftly. And that's the price you pay for paying 50% less.

Also, the direction pc gaming is going, I wouldn't for a second worry about having a 460 SLI setup in two years from now, something tells me that setup is still going to 60 fps the majority of all multiplat games.

A stones throw away from 100% scaling, awful awful scaling...

edit : I thought I'd find another article/review so all I stand on isn't just one lousy graph from techpowerup.

low resolution 85% scaling

high resolution, whaaat??? 100% scaling? Well I never...

My advice to you raven is that if you can't get rid of that 460 without losing too much money on it, is that you can go for another 460 and get a terrific boost in performance with regards to the majority of games. If you got money and are willing to wait then I'd say wait for the next wave of gpus. If not, again, buy that 460.

First off, you're using games that have SLi optimization. The majority of games aren't well optimized for it, especially new ones as you said. There's no point in the hassle at all when by the time he intends to buy a new card it will be both useless and difficult to even find a new 460. Driver software changes from hardware to hardware, so I have no idea where you got that idea that they're one homogenous entity that work well across a spectrum of cards. If this were true, all SLi fermi cards would scale the exact same percentage, obviously this isn't true.

If you actually read his post he said his timescale is 2-3 years from now. Are you seriously going to recommend he SLi 460s in that time? Please actually read his post, otherwise your advise makes no sense.

 

[mkenyon]

Yeah, that advice is a bit off. Each card does scale differently, and the game in specific also makes a difference. It turns out that 460s do actually scale better than most, often outperforming a 580 in games with good profiles. However, the same caveats still apply, and it *will* be a pain in the ass. If you're considering SLI, read the intro guide to SLI/Crossfire in the OP.

If you're a pro tinkerer, or like all those horror stories about how much of a pain it is to be a PC Gamer, then it's a no-brainer to get a second 460 right now. Also, if you mostly play AAA games and don't mind waiting 1-3 weeks after release to use SLI, then it is also a no brainer.

 

[ZZMitch]

I am thinking of selling my desktop rig in the next few weeks, I was wondering if anyone could give me tips on how to do it. Should I sell it together or as parts or what? What are the best places to sell?

I kind of want to keep it, but I am going to college a ways a way and I won't be able to bring it with me. It seems like a waste since I will only be able to use it four months or so out of the year and I recently got a pretty powerful laptop that can handle most of the games I want to play anyway. I would like to sell it now because most of the parts are pretty new and I could get a lot of money from them.

 

[chaosblade]

I am thinking of selling my desktop rig in the next few weeks, I was wondering if anyone could give me tips on how to do it. Should I sell it together or as parts or what? What are the best places to sell?

I kind of want to keep it, but I am going to college a ways a way and I won't be able to bring it with me. It seems like a waste since I will only be able to use it four months or so out of the year and I recently got a pretty powerful laptop that can handle most of the games I want to play anyway. I would like to sell it now because most of the parts are pretty new and I could get a lot of money from them.

Depends on the parts. You could get more money for the components if you are able to sell them individually, but it would be a LOT easier to just sell the whole PC.

If the parts are all very new and in demand you might get lucky though.

 

[flowsnake]

I did something silly/ignorant when I was trying to work out what was wrong with my build - I took the processor out and put it back in without reappling thermal paste.

Is this likely to make it overheat? All I'm doing is memtest86 and samsung's hdd utility at the moment, so the processor isn't under much load at all.

 

[chaosblade]

I did something silly/ignorant when I was trying to work out what was wrong with my build - I took the processor out and put it back in without reappling thermal paste.

Is this likely to make it overheat? All I'm doing is memtest86 and samsung's hdd utility at the moment, so the processor isn't under much load at all.

Yes, you'll have air bubbles in there and heat won't transfer properly. You should definitely reapply it ASAP.

 

[ZZMitch]

Depends on the parts. You could get more money for the components if you are able to sell them individually, but it would be a LOT easier to just sell the whole PC.

If the parts are all very new and in demand you might get lucky though.

I'd rather sell it all together heh. The parts are mostly a year and a half old (i5 760 2.8ghz, 4GB ram, 750watt power supply, ASUS P7P55D motherboard, Antec 300 case, 1080p monitor, 1TB drive) except for the video card which I updated 6 months or so ago (6950 2GB).

 

[flowsnake]

Yes, you'll have air bubbles in there and heat won't transfer properly. You should definitely reapply it ASAP.

Okay, thank you. I had left it on for an hour or two running a hdd test...hopefully it didn't get damaged.

 

[Corky]

Before I even start, you were wrong about 460s not scaling well just accept it.

But...

First off, you're using games that have SLi optimization.

How clumsy of me I should've used games where SLI optimization is nil in order to show how well they can scale.

The majority of games aren't well optimized for it, especially new ones as you said. There's no point in the hassle at all when by the time he intends to buy a new card it will be both useless and difficult to even find a new 460

.

Bold statement, but here's some equally worthless anecdotal evidence :

Here's all the games I have currently installed, many of them didn't have SLI support day 1 ( as I agreed, a big down side of SLI ) : BC2 / Bulletstorm / Crysis2 / Dead Space 2 / Dirt 3 / NFS HP / SSF4AE / Starcraft 2 / The witcher 2. All of these games stress my gpus 1:1, i.e terrific SLI performance. Maybe you meant the majority of games bought of GoG.

Driver software changes from hardware to hardware, so I have no idea where you got that idea that they're one homogenous entity that work well across a spectrum of cards. If this were true, all SLi fermi cards would scale the exact same percentage, obviously this isn't true.

Yeah about putting words in my mouth I said that drivers and software ( games ) are mostly ( <- ) what dictates how well SLI works it seems, I have a hard time believing that SLI 460s have X%, 560s Y% etc etc in a given game, of course they're not exactly the same with regards to scaling since drivers and nvidia themselves put different amount of effort in different generation of cards. But don't come and tell me that the difference in scaling between modern GTXs is anything more than a couple of percent barring any bottlenecking from e.g cpu

If you actually read his post he said his timescale is 2-3 years from now. Are you seriously going to recommend he SLi 460s in that time? Please actually read his post, otherwise your advise makes no sense.

"and I plan to stick with it until next year." Can YOU read? Did YOU actually read what he said? "and I plan to stick with it until next year", means he is ( semantically speaking ) going go be able to buy a new card in 4 months ( this is what one can infer from his post ).
"I want to make sure my parts last for at least 3 years, and that means leaving g the option open for SLI " he wants his gear to last 3 years not to buy another gtx in 3 years.


edit : also please, don't let me dissuade you from your apparent criticism of SLI. But do ever so kindly indulge me in your personal experiences of SLI with 4xx -5xx cards.

 

[opticalmace]

Okay not sure what to do. Want to build my mom a computer.

Option 1 - upgrade my E8400 build to Sandy Bridge, give her the E8400 (with some components I have to purchase, PSU, case).

Option 2 - just build her a new i3-2100 system and hold onto my E8400 build and wait for Ivy Bridge to upgrade mine.

The prices are generally comparable, with the latter option being a bit cheaper now (but the first option means my old system isn't wasted when I upgrade).

Thanks.

 

[Tallshortman]

Before I even start, you were wrong about 460s not scaling well just accept it.

But...



How clumsy of me I should've used games where SLI optimization is nil in order to show how well they can scale.

.

Bold statement, but here's some equally worthless anecdotal evidence :

Here's all the games I have currently installed, many of them didn't have SLI support day 1 ( as I agreed, a big down side of SLI ) : BC2 / Bulletstorm / Crysis2 / Dead Space 2 / Dirt 3 / NFS HP / SSF4AE / Starcraft 2 / The witcher 2. All of these games stress my gpus 1:1, i.e terrific SLI performance. Maybe you meant the majority of games bought of GoG.



Yeah about putting words in my mouth I said that drivers and software ( games ) are mostly ( <- ) what dictates how well SLI works it seems, I have a hard time believing that SLI 460s have X%, 560s Y% etc etc in a given game, of course they're not exactly the same with regards to scaling since drivers and nvidia themselves put different amount of effort in different generation of cards. But don't come and tell me that the difference in scaling between modern GTXs is anything more than a couple of percent barring any bottlenecking from e.g cpu



"and I plan to stick with it until next year." Can YOU read? Did YOU actually read what he said? "and I plan to stick with it until next year", means he is ( semantically speaking ) going go be able to buy a new card in 4 months ( this is what one can infer from his post ).
"I want to make sure my parts last for at least 3 years, and that means leaving g the option open for SLI " he wants his gear to last 3 years not to buy another gtx in 3 years.


edit : also please, don't let me dissuade you from your apparent criticism of SLI. But do ever so kindly indulge me in your personal experiences of SLI with 4xx -5xx cards.

You were the one putting words in my mouth in the first place so please don't try to bullshit me. I never said it was entirely hardware dependent and that drivers weren't important, something you tried to accuse me of saying.

Second, I didn't say games didn't have SLI support.

Please let me know where I said anything of the kind. I said they weren't optimized for it. SLi support effectiveness varies widely according to the developer. Once again you're trying to put words in my mouth. Seriously, show me where SLi support actually indicates great optimization. Most "big" games come with SLi support, however not all of them scale well.

Once again, you didn't actually read his post correctly. If he's going to get a new card in 4 months why would he not sell his 460 and get a better single card solution with the same/better performance at ~$240 if that was the case? After 2 years there's no point in wasting money on a 460 upgrade, especially when by that time a new DirectX will quite possibly have been released. You're literally the only one advising him to SLi an already old tech card for his 3 years of use when it's far better for him to keep his money and stay with his 460 for a while and then upgrade when the next gen comes out.

 

[Corky]

t.

There's no point in talking to you, this whole time I've been only trying to correct you on your erroneous statement but you keep bringing more and more irrelevant things. I'm done.

Raven my man, it seems there's a misconception of your actual plans, but here are my advice as someone who owned a pair of 460s and is currently using 560 Ti SLI.

a) If you're going to buy a new card within a couple of months ( and don't want to go all out and a new high end card ) and can get your hands on a 460 then do it since it's a cheap way with some minor headaches to get a great performance. Mind you I've personally have had only a pair of games that literally glitch out on me because of SLI and the solution is often either to just use one card ( a simple option in the nvidia panel ) or to adjust the AA bits in nvidia inspector ( again easy as pie when there's people who know the "correct" one ). Some peoples scream of terror of the woes of SLI makes me wonder how on earth they managed to put together a pc to begin with.

b) If you're going to buy a new card in 3 years, well what the hell do I know about that market other than the 460 being very old ( techwise ) by that point, and the obvious solution is to buy a brand new card that suits your needs.

 

[MedIC86]

I wanted to replace the parts and my budget is 300 Dollars. This is what I came up with:

GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX

(Everything is from Newegg)

One other question, are gigabyte mb's any good? I only ever used DFI/MSI/Asus was going to try them out.

Looks solid, those cpu's overclock like insanity. Also Gigabyte MB's are pretty good. I've had two myself, very stable and good build quality.

 

[MedIC86]

Okay not sure what to do. Want to build my mom a computer.

Option 1 - upgrade my E8400 build to Sandy Bridge, give her the E8400 (with some components I have to purchase, PSU, case).

Option 2 - just build her a new i3-2100 system and hold onto my E8400 build and wait for Ivy Bridge to upgrade mine.

The prices are generally comparable, with the latter option being a bit cheaper now (but the first option means my old system isn't wasted when I upgrade).

Thanks.

I would go for option 2, when im building a new pc for myself i want to take time, and not make hasty decisions (wich you have to do now?) also if your into gaming on the PC you want to get something better then an i3.

also you can sell your old system in parts, so it wont be wasted really.

 

[Mrcapcom]

Looks solid, those cpu's overclock like insanity. Also Gigabyte MB's are pretty good. I've had two myself, very stable and good build quality.

Nice to hear because I was a little bit scared to get Gigabyte, but they all got good reviews so I was like ill try it this time.

I doubt ill be OCing but the board has enough potential to OC if I feel like it later and has support for the new Bulldozer if I want it.

Thanks for the Response

 

[MedIC86]

Nice to hear because I was a little bit scared to get Gigabyte, but they all got good reviews so I was like ill try it this time.

I doubt ill be OCing but the board has enough potential to OC if I feel like it later and has support for the new Bulldozer if I want it.

Thanks for the Response

Well the past part of a black edition cpu is that you dont need any skill to overclock, just increase the multiplier and done..so awesome.

Also Gigabyte was one of the earlier motherboard producers to have all solid capacitators

 

[Horsemama1956]

There's no point in talking to you, this whole time I've been only trying to correct you on your erroneous statement but you keep bringing more and more irrelevant things. I'm done.

Raven my man, it seems there's a misconception of your actual plans, but here are my advice as someone who owned a pair of 460s and is currently using 560 Ti SLI.

a) If you're going to buy a new card within a couple of months ( and don't want to go all out and a new high end card ) and can get your hands on a 460 then do it since it's a cheap way with some minor headaches to get a great performance. Mind you I've personally have had only a pair of games that literally glitch out on me because of SLI and the solution is often either to just use one card ( a simple option in the nvidia panel ) or to adjust the AA bits in nvidia inspector ( again easy as pie when there's people who know the "correct" one ). Some peoples scream of terror of the woes of SLI makes me wonder how on earth they managed to put together a pc to begin with.

b) If you're going to buy a new card in 3 years, well what the hell do I know about that market other than the 460 being very old ( techwise ) by that point, and the obvious solution is to buy a brand new card that suits your needs.

A second 460 is the way to go for sure if he has the power supply and motherboard for it (and it's cheap). Personally I wouldn't bother buying anything over $200 at this point. Wait for the next round of cards.

I just sold my 460 and was going to grab something a little more powerful but performance gap per tier is pretty shitty at this point so I just bought a cheap used 360 to screw around with until the next batch of cards come out.

 

[black_vegeta]

Dat PC Gaf beef

<3

 

[woodsey1982]

Looking for a completely new built for gaming to tide me over for the next few years, how does this sound ?

Gigabye GA-Z68A-D3-B3 Intel Z68 motherboard
Intel Core i5 2500k 3.30ghz
Samsung Spin Point F4EG EcoGreen 2TB H/D
Novatech PowerStation Gaming 600W Silent ATX2 Modular Power Supply
8GB DDR3 2133mhz RAM
PNY GeForce GTX 580 - 1.5 GB

Currently have a dual core P4 3.0Ghz with 3GB ram and a GeForce 9500 GT so anything would be a step up!


Is it worth keeping my 9500GT and using that in the second PCI slot for a dedicated PhysX card? Would I be best to up the wattage in my PSU? Will be looking to overclock to 4.4ghz so will buy a new CPU cooler rather than stock.

 

[Smokey]

BF3 MP greatness has caused everyone to turn on each other.

 

[MedIC86]

Looking for a completely new built for gaming to tide me over for the next few years, how does this sound ?

Gigabye GA-Z68A-D3-B3 Intel Z68 motherboard
Intel Core i5 2500k 3.30ghz
Samsung Spin Point F4EG EcoGreen 2TB H/D
Novatech PowerStation Gaming 600W Silent ATX2 Modular Power Supply
8GB DDR3 2133mhz RAM
PNY GeForce GTX 580 - 1.5 GB

Currently have a dual core P4 3.0Ghz with 3GB ram and a GeForce 9500 GT so anything would be a step up!

Is it worth keeping my 9500GT and using that in the second PCI slot for a dedicated PhysX card? Would I be best to up the wattage in my PSU? Will be looking to overclock to 4.4ghz so will buy a new CPU cooler rather than stock.

Okay some questions.
1. Why did you chose that particulair brand of a PSU ? most of them are made by Sirfa, so its not that bad. But why risk it ? If i were you i would get a more mainstream brand (CM, Corsair, Enermax etc)
2. Your dropping some serious cash on that GPU (its very nice tho) but why no SSD ? (if its a money issue i would take a 570 and an SSD)
3. i would stick to 700w minimum really.
4. Also no need for dedicated PhysX card, my 580 does the trick perfect.

 

[R2D4]

I'm running two 460's as well. The only problem I've ever had is playing Quake 3. Lulz.

 

[woodsey1982]

Okay some questions.
1. Why did you chose that particulair brand of a PSU ? most of them are made by Sirfa, so its not that bad. But why risk it ? If i were you i would get a more mainstream brand (CM, Corsair, Enermax etc)
2. Your dropping some serious cash on that GPU (its very nice tho) but why no SSD ? (if its a money issue i would take a 570 and an SSD)
3. i would stick to 700w minimum really.
4. Also no need for dedicated PhysX card, my 580 does the trick perfect.

Thanks for the reply
1. To be honest, my current PSU must have been from a jet engine because its SO LOUD and the silent part of the title got me interested! Most of my parts will be from Novatech, however, there's some OCZ PSU's i.e this one that I might choose.
2. To be honest, I usually have my PC on for 4-6 hours at a time, so 20 seconds boot time at the start doesn't bother me, it was a choice between a 560 Ti super oc'd card + SSD or a 580 and no SSD - I'd rather have the graphics power.
3. Thanks, think I'll go 700w
4. Would there be any performance boost? otherwise my old card would just be thrown away? Wouldnt like to waste it if I could even squeeze a little extra out of it.

 

[Chinner]

woodsey i basically have the same setup as you and i'm on a 600w psu without any problems.

 

[woodsey1982]

woodsey i basically have the same setup as you and i'm on a 600w psu without any problems.

Cheers thanks!

 

[MedIC86]

Thanks for the reply
1. To be honest, my current PSU must have been from a jet engine because its SO LOUD and the silent part of the title got me interested! Most of my parts will be from Novatech, however, there's some OCZ PSU's i.e this one that I might choose.
2. To be honest, I usually have my PC on for 4-6 hours at a time, so 20 seconds boot time at the start doesn't bother me, it was a choice between a 560 Ti super oc'd card + SSD or a 580 and no SSD - I'd rather have the graphics power.
3. Thanks, think I'll go 700w
4. Would there be any performance boost? otherwise my old card would just be thrown away? Wouldnt like to waste it if I could even squeeze a little extra out of it.

Okay thanks,

1. Get the OCZ one then, there good enough and silent (like the guy said i think you can stick to 600w, just check ur usages with overclocking)
2. I understand your comment BUT, i cant stress enough how much let me rephrase insane much faster your OS becomes of an SSD, its not just booting etc, the whole system becomes a lot snapier. Also you dont have to buy a super expensive one, just get a smaller one for your OS. if you use a seperate HD for your games it will benefit from the SSD as well.
4. No performance boost, PhysX is more like an on/off switch. Just put your card on craiglist or whatever

 

[LordCanti]

BF3 MP greatness has caused everyone to turn on each other.

It's a BF3 grudge match for the PC gaming master race. All of our blood is hot with lust.

 

[·feist·]

Okay not sure what to do. Want to build my mom a computer.

Option 1 - upgrade my E8400 build to Sandy Bridge, give her the E8400 (with some components I have to purchase, PSU, case).

Option 2 - just build her a new i3-2100 system and hold onto my E8400 build and wait for Ivy Bridge to upgrade mine.

The prices are generally comparable, with the latter option being a bit cheaper now (but the first option means my old system isn't wasted when I upgrade).

Thanks.

Option 1, if you don't think you'll want, or need, a back up PC at all. Option 2, if you think you might (media center, file server, contingency plan, etc.).

I'd say Option 1. Even at stock, an E8400 would be more than capable for what sounds like a basic email, surfing, office apps system for her. You could possibly overclock it to 3.6-4.0GHz for her -- as even basic browsers, sites, etc are becoming more resource hungry -- and she should be set for years. If you're feeling generous, you could also throw in a 40-64GB SSD.

Hey NeoGaf
So my computer finally died, and I want to replace the Mobo/Mem/Processor.
Everything else is prettymuch still new but the old MB/MEM/Proc are at least 5 years old.

This is what I had:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2GHz Socket AM2 89W Dual-Core Processor ADA4200CUBO
CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X1024-6400C4 (which I upgraded to the same kind but 4 1GB Chips)
DFI INFINITY NF ULTRAII-M2 AM2 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard

I wanted to replace the parts and my budget is 300 Dollars. This is what I came up with:

GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX

(Everything is from Newegg)

I don't really do much on my computer other than really light gaming, Remote Desktoping, Office Stuff,HD Anime/Films , Downloading, Video Converting. For my $300 Budget does that look pretty good? Should I switch somethings up? I would like to have the option of upgrading to the newer processor coming out if I wanted to. Just wanted to get some advise if this is good or should I try to respec what I'm looking for. Thanks in advance!

One other question, are gigabyte mb's any good? I only ever used DFI/MSI/Asus was going to try them out.

"$10 off with promo code HARDOCPX81XB, ends 8/16"

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

That would bring the Phenom II X4 955 down to $110, or $25 cheaper than the 965. Performance wise, there's little between them, as they're effectively the same CPU with different factory clocks. The two overclock about the same.

With $25 saved, you can get a better board. At least look at something like the Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 for $15 more than that D3.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128519

Another option would be to try Micro Center, if you live near one.

Just missing L3 cache. Alternatively, you can try a predetermined motherboard bundle:

http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/AMDbundlePROMO.html

Or, select one yourself with $50 off:

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/98ab8cea#/98ab8cea/29

 

[Manp]

Thanks for the reply
1. To be honest, my current PSU must have been from a jet engine because its SO LOUD and the silent part of the title got me interested! Most of my parts will be from Novatech, however, there's some OCZ PSU's i.e this one that I might choose.

i had an OCZ StealthXStream and it was easily the louder part in my setup... yeah Stealth, go figure...

i'd get a corsair PSU. i have an HX750 modular right now and it's great, i can't imagine newer ones being any worse.

 

[LordCanti]

I've been considering that Microcenter AMD deal. My goal is essentially to unbottleneck my GTX 580, and I'm thinking I could do that without going all out for a 2500k.

I'm not sure if I can live with myself if it turns out that the game requires all the CPU power it can get though. The 955 black edition is getting kind of old, and there is no guarantee that it wouldn't be a bottleneck. The newer six cores though...darn are they cheap when bundled...

 

[dc89]

What do you guys think about this PC: http://www.glhf.co.uk/high/49-glhf-2500k-oc.html

I could probably build it for cheaper but I've never built a PC before and don't know if I can be bothered with the hassle.

Is that worth it for the price?

 

[Sethos]

What do you guys think about this PC: http://www.glhf.co.uk/high/49-glhf-2500k-oc.html

I could probably build it for cheaper but I've never built a PC before and don't know if I can be bothered with the hassle.

Is that worth it for the price?

Looks solid.

I couldn't help but laugh at the Source video, how pointless. Yes, those 500+ FPS is sure to give you an advantage ...

 

[MedIC86]

Looks solid.

I couldn't help but laugh at the Source video, how pointless. Yes, those 500+ FPS is sure to give you an advantage ...

damn framedrops to 317!

 

[·feist·]

What do you guys think about this PC: http://www.glhf.co.uk/high/49-glhf-2500k-oc.html

I could probably build it for cheaper but I've never built a PC before and don't know if I can be bothered with the hassle.

Is that worth it for the price?

Poor choice for OS drive, low end PSU, along with a less than optimal case and cooling solution.

Build it yourself.

I've been considering that Microcenter AMD deal. My goal is essentially to unbottleneck my GTX 580, and I'm thinking I could do that without going all out for a 2500k.

I'm not sure if I can live with myself if it turns out that the game requires all the CPU power it can get though. The 955 black edition is getting kind of old, and there is no guarantee that it wouldn't be a bottleneck. The newer six cores though...darn are they cheap when bundled...

I wouldn't. You have an OC C2D, correct? It'd be a bit like going from that to one of the better C2Qs, but pricier. At this point, I'd wait for Bulldozer, and compare it to s1155/s2011.

 

[dc89]

Looks solid.

I couldn't help but laugh at the Source video, how pointless. Yes, those 500+ FPS is sure to give you an advantage ...

Yeah I paid no attention to them videos, don't care much about source so.

Just need something that will run games coming out at high graphics and nice FPS, Skyrim/BF3 etc.

 

[Kyaw]

Poor choice for OS drive, low end PSU, along with a less than optimal case and cooling solution.

Build it yourself.

It's not that much of a low end PSU though. I've seen much worse in prebuilt solutions.

It looks like a solid PC for the price. You may want to get a faster HDD for the OS though.

 

[Salsa]

welp i just sent the PSU to RMA based on the loud coil whine, only problem is i'll know if they think its a proper issue and if they're gonna change it in like.. 2 weeks :/

also sent the mobo back to warranty to swap it for another new one since it was making another high pitched noise when i connected anything through the USB port, and the guy told me he would change it with no issue, so i left it there.

I miss my pc wish me luck dammit, this is the last stop on my "high pitched noise" issues. If it still continues after this, im pretty much screwed.

 

[LordCanti]

Poor choice for OS drive, low end PSU, along with a less than optimal case and cooling solution.

Build it yourself.


I wouldn't. You have an OC C2D, correct? It'd be a bit like going from that to one of the better C2Qs, but pricier. At this point, I'd wait for Bulldozer, and compare it to s1155/s2011.

Yeah, an E8500 @ 4ghz. I was just looking at these Microcenter deals, and saw that I could potentially get rid of my bottleneck for approximately $200, instead of the $350-$400 I'd be spending on a sandy bridge CPU/Mobo.

I guess I'm being stupid though. The mobo's in the deal aren't that great, and I could probably find a cheap Sandy Bridge mobo too if I wanted to cut corners.

You're right though. I should wait until I've seen what my performance is like in the beta, and then go from there to either Bulldozer or Sandy Bridge. No sense spending money on a dead socket right now.

 

[ZZMitch]

How much do you guys think I should sell this PC for if I decide to?

GPU- 6950 2GB Twin Frozr II
CPU- i5 760 2.8ghz
Mobo- ASUS P7P55D-E
RAM- Ripjaws 4GB DDR3
PSU- Corsair 650W
Case- Antec 300
HDD- Samsung 1TB
Drive- Samesun Bluray/DVD

 

[Tallshortman]

There's no point in talking to you, this whole time I've been only trying to correct you on your erroneous statement but you keep bringing more and more irrelevant things. I'm done.

Raven my man, it seems there's a misconception of your actual plans, but here are my advice as someone who owned a pair of 460s and is currently using 560 Ti SLI.

a) If you're going to buy a new card within a couple of months ( and don't want to go all out and a new high end card ) and can get your hands on a 460 then do it since it's a cheap way with some minor headaches to get a great performance. Mind you I've personally have had only a pair of games that literally glitch out on me because of SLI and the solution is often either to just use one card ( a simple option in the nvidia panel ) or to adjust the AA bits in nvidia inspector ( again easy as pie when there's people who know the "correct" one ). Some peoples scream of terror of the woes of SLI makes me wonder how on earth they managed to put together a pc to begin with.

b) If you're going to buy a new card in 3 years, well what the hell do I know about that market other than the 460 being very old ( techwise ) by that point, and the obvious solution is to buy a brand new card that suits your needs.

Whatever man, I've told you numerous times you've misunderstood what he's saying and thus given him bad advice. He's already responded to my post, thus it's obvious my response was in the vein of his intended upgrade timeline. Don't get angry because you tried to misconstrue my statements and I corrected you where you were wrong. Also, no one said SLi was difficult in any way. CF and SLi are very easy to configure nowadays so I don't know why you think driver and hardware inflicted deficiencies in dual GPUs vs. single card solutions are somehow the fault of the user.

Anyways, Raven just wait it out with your single 460 and if you want better performance in the short term either sell it and use the money to get a 6950/560 Ti or wait it out for the next gen cards from AMD and Nvidia.

In the long term, it's the same deal for a 2 year upgrade interval. The 460 is too old of tech to be worth it in 2 years even in SLi and there will be better value at that price range anyways.

 

[·feist·]

It's not that much of a low end PSU though. I've seen much worse in prebuilt solutions.

It looks like a solid PC for the price. You may want to get a faster HDD for the OS though.

Certainly better than one of those Apex-like PSUs, and the OEM does build decent entry level models. The other matters are more of an issue, anyway. Either way, for ~$1,000, or so, I'd be looking for something better.

 

[Chesskid1]

i just read that the ps2 emulator now supports quadcores, still in beta. generally 10-45% speedup. yay for more use out of quadcores

 

[Guerrillas in the Mist]

Those are pretty typical temps for the stock intel cooler. I wouldn't be worried about it.

If you wanted to do any overclocking I'd recommend the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ for $30. Best price to performance of CPU coolers.

edit: beaten

Cheers again. I just used Realtemp, and, according to it, all four of my cores averaged around 30C. Not sure where the discrepancy is from, but it's good to hear either way that my CPU isn't about to fry itself.

 

[BY2K]

Since this thread is about PCs and related.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Mad-Catz-Cyborg-R.A.T.-albino-Darren-Richardson,13234.html#xtor=998

Late last week, Mad Catz said that it had begun shipping its new Cyborg R.A.T. Albino gaming mouse for the PC and Mac, packed with an enhanced 6400 DPI sensor, improved tracking capabilities and a matte "Albino" white finish to boot. It also comes toting a hefty $100 USD pricetag, meaning you probably won't see it sitting on the shelves at Walmart and Target.