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

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SalsaShark said:
Dont know if you guys remember but i got a new PSU back from RMA today after 1 month and 15 days. Never buying from that place again.

Too tired to install but i'll try tomorrow and see if the coil whine issues are gone.
What brand company / store? Did you keep annoying them?
Did you have to ship out of country?
 
Hazaro said:
Weird, I just mentioned at work that MicroCenter had those on sale near launch for $150.
Is it $170 even without the special sale still? Pffft.

Anyone buying a PC soon should go ahead and grab that if possible. In store only.

On top of that, there's a $40 off bundle deal with specific motherboards and the i5 2500k as well :)

i5 2500k + P8Z68-V LX = $240
i5 2500k + GA-Z68X-UD3h = $260 - $10 rb
i5 2500k + P8Z68-V =$290
i5 2500k + GA-Z68XP-UD4 B3 = $310 -$15rb

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/d472a0fd#/d472a0fd/27
 
Shiet.

I was really planning on waiting until until next summer to build a new computer.

But $150 for i5, $85 on a P8Z68, and $30 on RAM. That's a hell of a upgrade from my e8400.
 
MikeE21286 said:
Just came to post that MC deal on the 2500K

Amazing deal and perfect timing for some.

Came to do the same. <3 MicroCenter. I got my 2500k + mobo combination there. It was $179 + a $40 combo discount. So awesome.
 
Alright, PSU in the box ready to go back to Newegg. Their labels are just ground shipping so it will be a while before I get it returned to me. Definitely picking up a new PSU on my way back from work at Best Buy. Keeping my fingers crossed for a nice weekend of actually using the computer!!!
 
razgriz417 said:
On top of that, there's a $40 off bundle deal with specific motherboards and the i5 2500k as well :)

i5 2500k + P8Z68-V LX = $240
i5 2500k + GA-Z68X-UD3h = $260 - $10 rb
i5 2500k + P8Z68-V =$290
i5 2500k + GA-Z68XP-UD4 B3 = $310 -$15rb

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/d472a0fd#/d472a0fd/27


What would you guys recommend out of those mobo/PC combos? Looking to build a secondary PC that has SLI capability.

Gonna going with the P8Z68-V unless told otherwise :p --> If I can get SLI from the GA-Z68X-UD3h I might go with that.
 
If all of these upgrades are due to battlefield 3 and aging consoles then Nvidea and AMD should be jumping all over this.
They should be hitting their stride in advertising but they're not!
 
Anybody have any experience with this keyboard? I've been needing a new one, and that one seems like a good deal, and a decent keyboard. My only worry is that the ergonomic design may not be the best for gaming?

Any better recommendations for around the same price range?
 
cackhyena said:
Hoping someone can help me out with a minor issue. Every other time I restart my computer, the vibrancy of my monitor takes a nosedive. Really noticeable. I check the settings of the monitor and nothing is changed, so I'm assuming it's something to do with the GFX card?
Anyone?
 
rhfb said:
How cheap is cheap?

I was thinking under 50. Something to have for the PC when its late and I want to keep it quiet. I have an old pair now, must be a decade old, but one ear is failing.
 
Edit: nvm, post was too long.

Quick question: my current PC is FUBAR'd (Q6600, 4870 X2), so I'm building my new PC a few months early.

Do you guys think I should get a nVidia GTX 570 now alongside an i5 2500K, or should I wait for the new range of GPUs and recycle my 4870 X2 for a few months?
 
What do you guys think of my theoretical build? Most of the parts are taken from the list in the OP but the the gpu was my idea. and my budget is 400 to 500 USD

Intel i3 2100 2C/4T 3.1Ghz- $125

ASRock H61M-VS-55$

2x2GB Corsair 1333
CMV4GX3M2A1333C9- $30

WD5000AAK- $45

CX430 V2 430W- $35

Apex PC-389 ATX Black Mid Tower Case- $30


EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card- $137
 
MikeE21286 said:
What would you guys recommend out of those mobo/PC combos? Looking to build a secondary PC that has SLI capability.

Gonna going with the P8Z68-V unless told otherwise :p --> If I can get SLI from the GA-Z68X-UD3h I might go with that.


I went with that exact combination, best value and I liked the way ASUS handles the new EFI Bios.
Found this to be a good review of the board (Its a review of the pro version but the differences are minimal)
http://techreport.com/articles.x/20911
 
ToD_ said:
Anyway, for what it's worth, I'm loving the Corsair 400R case. Installing everything was a breeze and the system was almost silent.

I got my 400R yesterday and there is a 3 inch crack in the front plastic cover from the left edge that extends on to the forward facing portion of it. It wouldn't be that bad but it spreads wide when the cover is popped on the front of the case. I am hoping that the cover can just be replaced through RMA and I don't have to send the whole thing back.

I was surprised because the cardboard box is not beat up at all.

really like everything else about the case though and can tell the build/cable management will be really easy.
 
Quesion for those with power supply knowledge (I won't even pretend to)

I have an extra power supply

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V

I most recently used it when I had my Q6600. I'd like to save some money on this build, as it's a secondary computer, and would like to reuse the power supply. The new build I want to use it in will be spec'd as such;

i5 2500k
8GB DDR3
GTX460 or GTX560 Ti
1TB HDD
1 DVD-RW

Am I good?
 
MikeE21286 said:
Quesion for those with power supply knowledge (I won't even pretend to)

I have an extra power supply

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V

I most recently used it when I had my Q6600. I'd like to save some money on this build, as it's a secondary computer, and would like to reuse the power supply. The new build I want to use it in will be spec'd as such;

i5 2500k
8GB DDR3
GTX460 or GTX560 Ti
1TB HDD
1 DVD-RW

Am I good?

without a doubt

edit : on a related note, ran some heavy benchmarks with my pc and measured the powerdraw from the wall, and it was around 450w. Not bad for a 2600k@4.5, and hefty OCed SLI 560 TIs.
 
Corky said:
without a doubt

edit : on a related note, ran some heavy benchmarks with my pc and measured the powerdraw from the wall, and it was around 450w. Not bad for a 2600k@4.5, and hefty OCed SLI 560 TIs.

Awesome. Thought so but wanted to make sure.

Thanks!
 
Okay, is it possible that the box my video card came in doesn't have a UPC code anywhere? I wanna get this warranty out but I can't find the fucking UPC code anywhere. It's an XFX model.
 
Parts are trickling in.

GhZBI.jpg


And the most important part:

UDAMH.jpg


Free Batman.

CPU will be here Monday, motherboard on Tuesday. Still won't be able to put it together until next Friday 'cause my case and PSU are at my parents house (away for college).

The 200mm fan will go next to the graphics cards. Hoping it'll help me get a little over clock going with them, not that I intend to go hardcore with it.

Corky said:
without a doubt

edit : on a related note, ran some heavy benchmarks with my pc and measured the powerdraw from the wall, and it was around 450w. Not bad for a 2600k@4.5, and hefty OCed SLI 560 TIs.

What brand 560's do you have, what did you get them OC'd to, and how much real world gaming improvement did you see? I expected a bigger power draw. Crazy.
 
So I installed my 560 Ti and started getting weird artifacting randomly and my drivers would stop responding. I do a little troubleshooting and find a big problem. My Seasonic SS-550HT only has 18A across my 12V rails, not the minimum 30A that the card recommends lol. Stupid oversight on my part.

Now to start power supply shopping!

How's the Corsair CX600 for a GTX 560 Ti?
 
Can anyone vouch for Das Keyboard? I'm considering getting a mechanical for the first time in my life. Know that I'm getting the student discount for it so it costs around 90 instead of 129.
 
Hero_of_the_Day_1985 said:
What brand 560's do you have, what did you get them OC'd to, and how much real world gaming improvement did you see? I expected a bigger power draw. Crazy.


I have the MSI twinfrozr II ones ( love em love em ) the cards themselves come at a factory OC from 820 to 880 mhz but I got mine up 980 while still having comfortable temps and not maxing the voltage slider, ( 1.1v, 1.15 is max IIRC ).

To be perfectly honest I see 0 real world gaming improvement right now because :

a) the 560 tis even at 880 will still 60fps virtually everything so going higher is no point for me.
b) whenever they can't keep up 60 for example in games like metro 2033 or c2 at max settings and 2560x1440 it's more often than not due to VRAM limitation than the shaders/OC not being high enough.

Also yeah, I was quite shocked at the powerdraw I was expecting much much higher, I guess my 1000w psu was overkill now that I think of it...
 
Misanthropy said:
Can anyone vouch for Das Keyboard? I'm considering getting a mechanical for the first time in my life. Know that I'm getting the student discount for it so it costs around 90 instead of 129.
I don't have one, but I'm getting one soon. High quality, lots of fingerprint smudges (comes with a cloth but I have like five various ones already lol), takes up two usb slots but there's two usb slots on the keyboard so it makes up for it. From what I hear it's totally worth it. I'm so excited.
 
Hazaro said:
Obvious steps first.
Lower your GPU to 800/1200
CPU to stock
Set memory manually to voltage, timing, speed in BIOS.

Stuff like that is almost always OC related, driver after.

Sorry for late reply about this. I was also getting a BSOD (atikmpag.sys) in another game, and after setting everything back to stock the games seem to run fine. The point where the BSOD or vertical line crash would occur is no more.

What would my next steps from here be if I wanted to OC? Try again and check for stability more carefully as I go in little steps? Also, could there be a chance I need a better PSU?
(Here is the original post for specs and what the problem was)
 
Corky said:
I have the MSI twinfrozr II ones ( love em love em ) the cards themselves come at a factory OC from 820 to 880 mhz but I got mine up 980 while still having comfortable temps and not maxing the voltage slider, ( 1.1v, 1.15 is max IIRC ).

To be perfectly honest I see 0 real world gaming improvement right now because :

a) the 560 tis even at 880 will still 60fps virtually everything so going higher is no point for me.
b) whenever they can't keep up 60 for example in games like metro 2033 or c2 at max settings and 2560x1440 it's more often than not due to VRAM limitation than the shaders/OC not being high enough.

Also yeah, I was quite shocked at the powerdraw I was expecting much much higher, I guess my 1000w psu was overkill now that I think of it...

Sweet. I'll only be at 1080p so I should pretty well have no probelm getting 60FPS in everything. Still do a little OC to at least factory overclocked PNY's since I just bought the standard ones.

What power supply do you have?
 
Misanthropy said:
Can anyone vouch for Das Keyboard? I'm considering getting a mechanical for the first time in my life. Know that I'm getting the student discount for it so it costs around 90 instead of 129.
I just bought one and posted about it on the previous page, lol. I have the "silent" model w/ Browns, and Hazaro and Wallach both have Model S's with Blues (which is what you're looking at I assume, from the price you posted?).

The packaging's pretty flimsy, but the build quality of the board itself is great. And the typing experience on mechanical switches is so much better than on membrane-based. For gaming, it's definitely very responsive and the n-key rollover (with the included USB->PS2 adapter) is a godsend. The second USB cord that Gvaz mentioned is to power the 2-port hub on the side of the KB.

But yeah, highly recommended and well worth the money.
 
DMczaf said:
So I installed my 560 Ti and started getting weird artifacting randomly and my drivers would stop responding. I do a little troubleshooting and find a big problem. My Seasonic SS-550HT only has 18A across my 12V rails, not the minimum 30A that the card recommends lol. Stupid oversight on my part.

Now to start power supply shopping!

How's the Corsair CX600 for a GTX 560 Ti?
Should be fine. 40A on 1 single 12v rail. Although I'd go with the TX650 V2 for more upgrade room in the future.
 
So I was thinking about building a pc for the first time and need advice.
I just started the amazon prime trial so I can get free shipping on all of the parts, but would it be better just to wait for the next crop of GPUs?
Here's the list I created (please tell me if anything is wrong)
http://amzn.com/w/1RZRINFIJQOZN
I used this chart for reference: http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af150/The_FalconO6/CurrentLogicalPCBuyingGuide/Guide.png
I didn't add a hard drive. Is it ok to just use the hard drive off of an old pc (its around four years old). I don't care that much about its speed or storage.
 
Just ordered a Corsair H51 headset. I want a sound card, but I need one that is PCI x1. What are some good options here. I know the Asus Xonar Essence is x1, but are there any others that have a headphone amp that are cheaper?
 
So the Battlefield 3 Beta got me interested in overclocking my PC. I'm getting pretty good FPS for having it on Ultra and in 1080p, but I was wondering if OC'ing my PC will get a few more frames closer to 60.

I'm currently using a rig that contains:

Asus P8P676 Pro Mobo
Nvidia GTX 570 w/1.25GB
8 GB Ram
i5 2500k @ 3.30GHz

So where do I start in the overclocking process?
Should I do both video card and CPU or just CPU?
 
I'm starting to second guess myself. Anyone care to provide input?

I'm running the following system on a Corsair 650TX v2. Should I upgrade this to something 'SLI Compatible' or leave it as is?

* i5 2500k @ 4.2Ghz cooled by Corsair H60
* 2x EVGA GTX 560ti Superclocked
* 8gb RAM
* DVD drive
* SSD
* 2x HDD

Thoughts?
 
grkazan12 said:
So the Battlefield 3 Beta got me interested in overclocking my PC. I'm getting pretty good FPS for having it on Ultra and in 1080p, but I was wondering if OC'ing my PC will get a few more frames closer to 60.

I'm currently using a rig that contains:

Asus P8P676 Pro Mobo
Nvidia GTX 570 w/1.25GB
8 GB Ram
i5 2500k @ 3.30GHz

So where do I start in the overclocking process?
Should I do both video card and CPU or just CPU?
For CPU, you just have to go to the efi advanced screen and adjust the multiplier.

You can also have the motherboard automatically do it.
 
grkazan12 said:
So the Battlefield 3 Beta got me interested in overclocking my PC. I'm getting pretty good FPS for having it on Ultra and in 1080p, but I was wondering if OC'ing my PC will get a few more frames closer to 60.

I'm currently using a rig that contains:

Asus P8P676 Pro Mobo
Nvidia GTX 570 w/1.25GB
8 GB Ram
i5 2500k @ 3.30GHz

So where do I start in the overclocking process?
Should I do both video card and CPU or just CPU?

CPU (from the OP): http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/overclocking/39184-p67-sandy-bridge-overclocking-guide-beginners.html

GPU (using MSI Afterburner): http://mytechencounters.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/gpu-overclocking-overclocking-your-graphic-card/
 
Hero_of_the_Day_1985 said:
Sweet. I'll only be at 1080p so I should pretty well have no probelm getting 60FPS in everything. Still do a little OC to at least factory overclocked PNY's since I just bought the standard ones.

What power supply do you have?

Not sure you even need to OC at all mate, get a feel for it first :). If we were to simplify a scenario I'd rather have : lower temps/noise and still get 60fps than higher temps/noise / OC just for the hell of it.

My psu is a corsair TX950
 
Thanks for the info guys and will any of this fry my CPU or GPU? I forgot to add that I have the Coolermaster Hyper 212 on my CPU, is that suitable for overclocking?
 
grkazan12 said:
Thanks for the info guys and will any of this fry my CPU or GPU? I forgot to add that I have the Coolermaster Hyper 212 on my CPU, is that suitable for overclocking?

more than suitable very good cpu cooler for it's price.
 
does anyone else's pc get dusty as hell

i just upgraded my ram and gpu's recently and the dust was everywhere, i cleaned up as much
as i could with a cloth and even my finger in the hard to reach places, but i'd rather prevent it to avoid this mess again
 
grkazan12 said:
Thanks for the info guys and will any of this fry my CPU or GPU? I forgot to add that I have the Coolermaster Hyper 212 on my CPU, is that suitable for overclocking?
Yep! I'm using a 212+ on my 2500k and I have an every day OC of 4.5GHz.
 
Corky said:
Not sure you even need to OC at all mate, get a feel for it first :). If we were to simplify a scenario I'd rather have : lower temps/noise and still get 60fps than higher temps/noise / OC just for the hell of it.

My psu is a corsair TX950

Right. I do like it to run cool, which is why I got the big ass fan to go on the side. We'll see how Battlefield 3 goes for me before I do any overclocking. Thanks for answering my questions.
 
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