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

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Anyone owns or has experience with the Lian Li PC-B25F case?

I'm looking to replace my 6 years old case and I really like how this one looks esthetically. The case was a bit to expensive for me but a Dutch webshop now offers them for €99. My previous case was also an aluminum one and I love that look.
 
Corky said:
IB is supposed to be 1155 from what I've understood so I'm guessing yes.
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Wasn't there something about UEFI making it impossible (or difficult) for current motherboards to support Ivy Bridge chips? Or was that resolved?
 
Just for kicks I looked at the parts I bought off Newegg for my new comp back in April to see what the price would be if I had waited until now, which was my original plan. Turns out it's only around $50 less, so I'm definitely glad I didn't wait.
 
Ice Raven said:
or go all in and get a zotac 580 for $313 with coupon and after rebate. :)
fuck it bro, go all in.
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Haha yea that's exactly what i did, was only shooting for a 570 but $313 + tax for a 580 is too good to pass up

Raw64life said:
Just for kicks I looked at the parts I bought off Newegg for my new comp back in April to see what the price would be if I had waited until now, which was my original plan. Turns out it's only around $50 less, so I'm definitely glad I didn't wait.
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Yea I don't think much has changed from April. Now if you check back after ivybridge and the new gpus come out, I'd suspect a decent drop
 
LordCanti said:
Wasn't there something about UEFI making it impossible (or difficult) for current motherboards to support Ivy Bridge chips? Or was that resolved?
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I only remember Gigabyte being mentioned in that particular scenario. Holy shit I'm uninformed.... Feist swoop in and save us >.<
 
I'm having a strange problem and am not sure how to stop it, figure either this or the HTPC thread would be the right place but I'd start here.

I have a 5870 outputting to
1. 24 inch monitor by DVI
2. 23 Inch monitor by DVI
3. AV Receiver by HDMI. The receiver is the connected to my 50 inch Plasma by HDMI.

I used to have this setup, then disconnected the Receiver for awhile for a variety of reasons, and now have hooked it back up again.

But when I turn TV off, it puts my computer to sleep. If I turn off the receiver before turning off the TV, it doesn't do anything to the pc. The problem is I use a universal remote and so it turn off TV first before turning off receiver.

The problem exists even if my computer is not even putting anything out to the receiver/TV.

The problem I am pretty sure the communication that HDMI sometimes carries where the TV can tell the receiver to turn off, etc. to make controlling them simpler. But I don't want that communication to be going on to my PC. Is there anyway to turn off that feature in CCC?
 
Corky said:
470 to 560 ti is a sidegrade in term of performance. However if you go for a twin frozr II/III or direct II CU you'll see drops in temps.
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I can still get a decent amount for my 470 on ebay and pick up the frozer II next week. If these reviews of the twin frozer II are correct i'll see a massive difference in temps - upwards of 40 degrees less at load.

Maybe i will actually be able to game without turning this room into a sweat lodge!

Definitely learned my lesson from this card. As much as i like the performance of it, the heat, without water cooling, is just too much.

Thanks :)
 
Duxxy3 said:
I can still get a decent amount for my 470 on ebay and pick up the frozer II next week. If these reviews of the twin frozer II are correct i'll see a massive difference in temps - upwards of 40 degrees less at load.

Maybe i will actually be able to game without turning this room into a sweat lodge!

Definitely learned my lesson from this card. As much as i like the performance of it, the heat, without water cooling, is just too much.

Thanks :)
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This is why I bought 35 foot extension cables (USB, HDMI, Audio, Power, etc) so that I could put my gaming rig in a closet. If I were really handy, I'd have run them through the walls, but along the baseboards (with a wire track) looks fine. My closet may be a sweat box, but at least my office/room is cool.
 
Duxxy3 said:
I can still get a decent amount for my 470 on ebay and pick up the frozer II next week. If these reviews of the twin frozer II are correct i'll see a massive difference in temps - upwards of 40 degrees less at load.

Maybe i will actually be able to game without turning this room into a sweat lodge!

Definitely learned my lesson from this card. As much as i like the performance of it, the heat, without water cooling, is just too much.

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

What 470 do you have? I have two EVGA GTX470 Superclocked and willing to buy a third.
 
Marco1 said:
You have it connected to the HDMI on the new z boards?
That is using the new sandybridge graphics.
Connect to the HDMI/mini HDMI on your graphics card.
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I only switched to the mobo after not getting a signal when using the 580's mini hdmi out.
 
I finally decided to get the Msi lightning extremes, I will play at 1080p for the time being but will buy either an iMac or Dell 27" Ultrasharp in a few months for 2560x1440 goodness.
 
Calibrated Chaos said:
Hey GAF I was thinking of getting my first SSD.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148447

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817994085

for only $100. Thoughts? I guess I'd need to get an extra sata cable too
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M4 is probably your best bet, but the cost per gigabyte is high. We've been seeing fairly cheap 120gb models for some time now. This for instance (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233206) 120gb for $135 after rebate.

I'm not sure I'd spend $100 for 64gb right now. The M4 is inarguably a more reliable drive, but SSD prices are dropping, and in a year you'd probably be saying "why did I spend so much for this puny drive?"

If you aren't planning to put games on it, I guess 60gb is fine though.
 
LordCanti said:
M4 is probably your best bet, but the cost per gigabyte is high. We've been seeing fairly cheap 120gb models for some time now. This for instance (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233206) 120gb for $135 after rebate.

I'm not sure I'd spend $100 for 64gb right now. The M4 is inarguably a more reliable drive, but SSD prices are dropping, and in a year you'd probably be saying "why did I spend so much for this puny drive?"

If you aren't planning to put games on it, I guess 60gb is fine though.
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Don't really think the M4 is all that much more reliable, Intel fixed their bug and arguably has a better record for reliability. As for Sandforce drives I'm now running 5 and haven't had any of the BSOD issues, yes its anecdotal but the Sandforce issues didn't affect most users in the first place.

I would recomend whatever meets your budget because the speed difference between all current ssds is minimal and reliability is fairly similiar (with a nod for Intel).
 
So I finally sat down and worked out my new build

Processor:Intel i5-2500K
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V
Memory:G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600
PSU:Corsair TX650m (heard that the case is kinda cramped so figured modular would be best)
GPU: Zotan Amp!Geforce GTX 580 1536MB
Harddrives: WD Caviar Black 1TB sataIII
Intel 320 Series 120GB SSD
Disk Drives: 1 Asus Black DVD Burner OEM
Case: Fractal Design Define R3 Titanium

Grand Total: ~$1280 after tax & rebates


Hoping to order soon, what does gaf think?
 
scogoth said:
Don't really think the M4 is all that much more reliable, Intel fixed their bug and arguably has a better record for reliability. As for Sandforce drives I'm now running 5 and haven't had any of the BSOD issues, yes its anecdotal but the Sandforce issues didn't affect most users in the first place.

I would recomend whatever meets your budget because the speed difference between all current ssds is minimal and reliability is fairly similiar (with a nod for Intel).
Click to expand...

Reliability is similar between the M4 and the Intel models, but not between either and the OCZ models (or some other sandforce models). There are pages of poor reviews on Newegg for most of them.

I wasn't suggesting the SSD I linked to, only saying that SSD prices are coming down, and that 60gb isn't really big enough for a game drive. It's plenty for an OS + some apps drive though.
 
razgriz417 said:
So I finally sat down and worked out my new build

Processor:Intel i5-2500K
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V
Memory:G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600
PSU:Corsair TX650m (heard that the case is kinda cramped so figured modular would be best)
GPU: Zotan Amp!Geforce GTX 580 1536MB
Harddrives: WD Caviar Black 1TB sataIII
Intel 320 Series 120GB SSD
Disk Drives: 1 Asus Black DVD Burner OEM
Case: Fractal Design Define R3 Titanium

Grand Total: ~$1280 after tax & rebates


Hoping to order soon, what does gaf think?
Click to expand...

Mobo looks pretty bare bones, but it should be fine if you don't need SLI (it's also cheap). If you have a Microcenter nearby, there are deals on mobo + CPU combo's that could net you a better board, but if you don't, there aren't really any better boards out there for the price I'm seeing it on Newegg (except one of the P67 boards from MSI, arguably).

Edit: Just realized there is more than one model with -v on the end. Are you getting the pro? LX?

PSU is expensive, but if you want to go modular, that is your call.

Are you getting the Microcenter 20% off deal on the Zotac? If so, no complaints here. Otherwise, why Zotac over EVGA/MSI/ASUS/etc?

I would go with a 120gb (or 128, I forget which) M4 to take advantage of SATA III. Not sure where I got it in my head that they were Sata II.

Everything else looks good. Any particular reason you're shelling out for a 7200rpm secondary drive, instead of a cheaper model?

(I meant to add this to my previous post. FML)
 
RAM question - every good ram deal i see lately, I get told it's not a good voltage. Trying to search for 1.5 voltage ram on newegg for example pulls up minimal results. What am I missing here, and what am I looking for. Can someone explain why 1.65v ram is bad? I really want to jump on a 16 gig of ram for 50 bucks deal here.
 
LordCanti said:
Mobo looks pretty bare bones, but it should be fine if you don't need SLI (it's also cheap). If you have a Microcenter nearby, there are deals on mobo + CPU combo's that could net you a better board, but if you don't, there aren't really any better boards out there for the price I'm seeing it on Newegg (except one of the P67 boards from MSI, arguably).

Edit: Just realized there is more than one model with -v on the end. Are you getting the pro?

PSU is expensive, but if you want to go modular, that is your call.

Are you getting the Microcenter 20% off deal on the Zotac? If so, no complaints here. Otherwise, why Zotac over EVGA/MSI/ASUS/etc?

I would go with a 120gb (or 128, I forget which) M4 to take advantage of SATA III.

Everything else looks good. Any particular reason you're shelling out for a 7200rpm secondary drive, instead of a cheaper model?

(I meant to add this to my previous post. FML)
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Thanks for the reply Lord Canti

Yea the cpu, mobo and gpu are from microcenter. I actually already bought the gpu with the 20% off coupon for ~$330 after taxes and rebate already and its be taunting me ever since. CPU and Mobo are a bundled deal for $320 +tax. I'm sticking with the -V instead of Pro because I dont really think its worth the difference for bluetooth and 2 extra sata 3 ports and because of the combo deal. As for the SSD i was told that the M4 doesn't have trim, is that alright? The secondary drive is going to be for gaming and media. I have waaay too many steam games to fit on the ssd lol, would you suggest something else?

edit: for the mobo theres like 4 versions (really stupid imo), -v lx, -v le, -v, -v pro. I thinking the -v for my build should be best http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131729
 
razgriz417 said:
Thanks for the reply Lord Canti

Yea the cpu, mobo and gpu are from microcenter. I actually already bought the gpu with the 20% off coupon for ~$330 after taxes and rebate already and its be taunting me ever since. CPU and Mobo are a bundled deal for $320 +tax. I'm sticking with the -V instead of Pro because I dont really think its worth the difference for bluetooth and 2 extra sata 3 ports and because of the combo deal. As for the SSD i was told that the M4 doesn't have trim, is that alright? The secondary drive is going to be for gaming and media. I have waaay too many steam games to fit on the ssd lol, would you suggest something else?
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I was wrong about the Intel 320 being Sata II (only the smaller sized drives are). If the price is very similar, I would just go with the 320. Are you going to use the 20% storage coupon on it, or does it not apply? (I'm actually interested in the answer for my purposes). The M4's were getting a lot of publicity and recommendations while Intel was having problems with the 320's (now resolved, I believe) but at a similar price, Intel's reliability can't be beat.

That bundled price is great. If Battlefield 3 runs terribly on my rig come Tuesday, I'll be right in my local Microcenter buying a similar combo.

If you need the HDD for games, I'd just stick with the drive you have. Not sure of Microcenter HDD pricing, so it's hard to recommend anything else anyway.
 
elrechazao said:
RAM question - every good ram deal i see lately, I get told it's not a good voltage. Trying to search for 1.5 voltage ram on newegg for example pulls up minimal results. What am I missing here, and what am I looking for. Can someone explain why 1.65v ram is bad? I really want to jump on a 16 gig of ram for 50 bucks deal here.
Click to expand...

16 gigs for $50? Holy. O.O

Voltage should not matter unless you plan on overclocking. As to why that is, I'm not quite sure. At that price point though, I would probably just buy it depending on the brand. What brand is it?
 
woober said:
16 gigs for $50? Holy. O.O

Voltage should not matter unless you plan on overclocking. As to why that is, I'm not quite sure. At that price point though, I would probably just buy it depending on the brand. What brand is it?
Click to expand...

RAM is easily my weakest area, but as far as I'm aware, Sandy Bridge processors aren't designed for more than 1.65.

This may be a rumor, but I think I've heard that 1.65v ram is just 1.5v ram that wouldn't run at the recommended voltage. It's worse in quality, in other words. No reason to go for 1.65 when 1.5 can be found anywhere.

The official DDR3 spec is 1.5v, according to a bit of reading I've been doing.
 
LordCanti said:
I was wrong about the Intel 320 being Sata II (only the smaller sized drives are). If the price is very similar, I would just go with the 320. Are you going to use the 20% storage coupon on it, or does it not apply? (I'm actually interested in the answer for my purposes). The M4's were getting a lot of publicity and recommendations while Intel was having problems with the 320's (now resolved, I believe) but at a similar price, Intel's reliability can't be beat.

That bundled price is great. If Battlefield 3 runs terribly on my rig come Tuesday, I'll be right in my local Microcenter buying a similar combo.

If you need the HDD for games, I'd just stick with the drive you have. Not sure of Microcenter HDD pricing, so it's hard to recommend anything else anyway.
Click to expand...

The only things im getting from Microcenter are the CPU, Mobo and GPU, rest of my parts I'm going with Newegg. And yea you're right, microcenter's pricing for hdds aren't too good and the coupon is actually for memory not storage :(. As for the 320, i believe the cheapest i found was $215 from newegg, m4 is 199 for sata III? I was going off a friend's advice and don't know too much about ssd yet. Something about TRIM is very important for SSDs and the M4s don't have it enabled.


Here's my current build breakdowns so far https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjljjdeKnwnKdDFOMC03MUhMR1BxVldORkxuVUtPNWc&hl=en_US#gid=0
 
razgriz417 said:
The only things im getting from Microcenter are the CPU, Mobo and GPU, rest of my parts I'm going with Newegg. And yea you're right, microcenter's pricing for hdds aren't too good and the coupon is actually for memory not storage :(. As for the 320, i believe the cheapest i found was $215 from newegg, m4 is 95 for sata III as Shady pointed out? I was going off a friend's advice and don't know too much about ssd yet. Maybe I should swap em and save $100


Here's my current build breakdowns so far https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjljjdeKnwnKdDFOMC03MUhMR1BxVldORkxuVUtPNWc&hl=en_US#gid=0
Click to expand...

That was for a 60gb drive. M4 120gb is also around $200

At the same price, I would just go Intel and call it a day. There are cheaper SSD's out there, but none are more reliable.

I wait for sales though.
 
LordCanti said:
That was for a 60gb drive. M4 120gb is also around $200

At the same price, I would just go Intel and call it a day. There are cheaper SSD's out there, but none are more reliable.

I wait for sales though.
Click to expand...


yea I just caught that lol, didn't make any sense. I would wait too if I wasn't building a new machine. Is it possible to build without one then copy windows over later?
 
64 GB SSd should be plenty for me. Windows 7, updates+drivers etc. and ~4 games. I can't think of anything else I'd need the SSD for really. Just personally of course. Can't think of anything else that wouldn't be just as good on the big storage drive anyway.
 
ShadyLurker said:
64 GB SSd should be plenty for me. Windows 7, updates+drivers etc. and ~4 games. I can't think of anything else I'd need the SSD for really. Just personally of course. Can't think of anything else that wouldn't be just as good on the big storage drive anyway.
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Battlefield 3 recommends 20gb of storage space. I have no idea if the game will actually use that much, but games are getting bigger and bigger. It's better to have more storage space than less.

If I were buying a 120gb SSD today, I'd probably take the chance on one of the cheap models out there, that are around $1 per GB. Worst case scenario, I bug Newegg until they give me an RMA, and I try again.

That's me though. I completely understand anyone wanting to pay more for the sure thing.
 
I am trying to stand strong and wait until I can get at least 250GB for under $100 before I pick up a sdd.

The 6 year old 64GB raptor is still going strong. lol

btw, just finished ordering everything for the build. I'll take pics next weekend, and it should be an Nvidia fanboi wet dream. So much green...
 
Woody Invincible said:
I am trying to stand strong and wait until I can get at least 250GB for under $100 before I pick up a sdd.

The 6 year old 64GB raptor is still going strong. lol

btw, just finished ordering everything for the build. I'll take pics next weekend, and it should be an Nvidia fanboi wet dream. So much green...
Click to expand...

You'll be waiting a while. And you should probably realize that the 74GB Raptor (I have one) is actually quite a lot slower than almost all current mechanical HDDs. If you're seriously going to wait for SSDs to drop below $0.5 per GB, you should probably just go pick up a Samsung F3 or WD Caviar Black to use for the next 3 years.
 
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