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[Pandemic]

Don't really need a new PC (probably do, actually...), but I'd like to upgrade my current one.

My current specs are (hopefully this helps),
OS Version: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium, Service Pack 2, 64 bit
Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) 9950 Quad-Core Processor, AMD64, 2.6ghz Family 16 Model 2 Stepping 3
Processor Count: 4
RAM: 4093 Mb
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT, 512 Mb
Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd., GA-MA78G-DS3HP

Not exactly sure what to update though.. I'd probably want to upgrade it to the point where I can run Battlefield 3 perfectly fine.. I have around $300 to spend..?

Any ideas?!

Much appreciated.

 

[Isocr4cy]

Give it a whirl through 3D Mark and see where you land.

Processor/frequency?

i7-3770K is my CPU.

My 3d Mark 11 score:
X1855 3DMarks (Not sure how good this is)
Graphics Score 1609
Physics Score 9805
Combined Score 3165

Something I noted in the results though was that it said the 'core clock' of my Gigabyte GTX 670 Factory OC was 705 MHz. Isn't that a bit low?

Edit: Unigine test with everything on the highest:

FPS:
20.4
Scores:
513
Min FPS:
8.4
Max FPS:
56.5

 

[JB1981]

how do you ensure that you have a motherboard or pc that supports optical/toslink or is that not possible?

 

[scogoth]

how do you ensure that you have a motherboard or pc that supports optical/toslink or is that not possible?

You make sure it has optical out on the I/O panel. Are you talking about buying a new one? Cause almost every motherboard as optical out these days.

 

[JB1981]

You make sure it has optical out on the I/O panel. Are you talking about buying a new one? Cause almost every motherboard as optical out these days.

ok yes i am going to buy the

Biostar Intel LGA1155 Z77 Chipset ATX 2600MHz DDR3 Memory Motherboard (TZ77B)

and wanted to make sure it supported optical out.

Also: I am going to go with a 6870. Will this power supply suffice

CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3

 

[TheCrow]

I recently put my new pc together so I thought I would share. Big thanks to mkenyon who helped me along the way. I had a general idea of where I wanted to go but he made sure everything worked together. I'm glad someone else beat me to buying your pc or else I would've missed out on the fun of building one. Had to use flash on my phone's camera because I have terrible lighting in my studio.

 

[JB1981]

doesnt look like that motherboard has optical out built in. An easy way to assure one does, just look for this port:

in the product images

as for the power supply, seems that should be fine for that card. Probably not much room for overclocking though, I would say go with a 500 watt if you plan to oc anything

wow .. good thing i checked ... and i need a more powerful PSU eh? man this just keeps getting more and more expensive

 

[JB1981]

no, what I meant is that psu you posted should do just fine. Just said if you ever plan to overclock anything may be better off with 500. But yea, go with that psu you posted, and you should be golden

btw, what processor you plan to use?

i5 2500k

 

[mkenyon]

i7-3770K is my CPU.

My 3d Mark 11 score:
X1855 3DMarks (Not sure how good this is)

That's almost half of what it should be. RMA time.

I recently put my new pc together so I thought I would share. Big thanks to mkenyon who helped me along the way. I had a general idea of where I wanted to go but he made sure everything worked together. I'm glad someone else beat me to buying your pc or else I would've missed out on the fun of building one. Had to use flash on my phone's camera because I have terrible lighting in my studio.

Glad I could help! Looks freaking fantastic. Love those Phobya shrouds too, heard nothing but good things. Should get one for the H60 in my V700 rig.

Don't really need a new PC (probably do, actually...), but I'd like to upgrade my current one.

My current specs are (hopefully this helps),
OS Version: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium, Service Pack 2, 64 bit
Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) 9950 Quad-Core Processor, AMD64, 2.6ghz Family 16 Model 2 Stepping 3
Processor Count: 4
RAM: 4093 Mb
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT, 512 Mb
Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd., GA-MA78G-DS3HP

Not exactly sure what to update though.. I'd probably want to upgrade it to the point where I can run Battlefield 3 perfectly fine.. I have around $300 to spend..?

Any ideas?!

Much appreciated.

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but it's time for a whole new system. The Phenom I procs are reaaaaaly dated. If you want to look into playing high end games at higher settings (like BF3), you're going to need to start from scratch.

Otherwise, you could pick up a better graphics card. I'd almost suggest just doing that and start saving for Proc/Mobo/RAM/PSU.

 

[knitoe]

I recently put my new pc together so I thought I would share. Big thanks to mkenyon who helped me along the way. I had a general idea of where I wanted to go but he made sure everything worked together. I'm glad someone else beat me to buying your pc or else I would've missed out on the fun of building one. Had to use flash on my phone's camera because I have terrible lighting in my studio.

PSU fan should be facing down so it can pull fresh cool outside air from under the case.

 

[mkenyon]

PSU fan should be facing down so it can pull fresh cool outside air from under the case.

If you have negative pressure, it's a good way to get a little extra airflow out of the computer. With new (good) PSU's as cool and quiet as they are, it's a good way to go.

 

[Pandemic]

That's almost half of what it should be. RMA time.

Glad I could help! Looks freaking fantastic. Love those Phobya shrouds too, heard nothing but good things. Should get one for the H60 in my V700 rig.

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but it's time for a whole new system. The Phenom I procs are reaaaaaly dated. If you want to look into playing high end games at higher settings (like BF3), you're going to need to start from scratch.

Otherwise, you could pick up a better graphics card. I'd almost suggest just doing that and start saving for Proc/Mobo/RAM/PSU.

Hmmmm, might just do that then. Start saving up till around $1200 and spend it on a new computer... Thanks.

 

[mkenyon]

The 'enhanced' build will do you just fine, and won't bottleneck anything for a long time with that processor.

 

[Edgeward]

How easy/difficult is it to take apart a computer and put it all in a new casing? I recently put in a new amd 6850 replacing my tiny 5670. But now, the wires seem more cluttered now and it runs a bit hotter than before. And really hot when playing Witcher 2 now, regardless of settings. I have a Dell computer btw if that helps so I'm not that well versed in this.

I will say that putting in a new PSU and GPU was a pretty neat first time experience.

 

[MisterNoisy]

I recently put my new pc together so I thought I would share. Big thanks to mkenyon who helped me along the way. I had a general idea of where I wanted to go but he made sure everything worked together. I'm glad someone else beat me to buying your pc or else I would've missed out on the fun of building one. Had to use flash on my phone's camera because I have terrible lighting in my studio.

Man - I really dig the Switch 810, but that mATX motherboard looks almost lost in there. Nice build!

 

[TheCrow]

Man - I really dig the Switch 810, but that mATX motherboard looks almost lost in there. Nice build!

Yeah that's what I was thinking too but I saw it on sale for around $125 so I went with it anyway. I like how it looks compared to my old cases and it was easy to fit a 360 radiator in it. Plus later I can put in a 240 rad if I want to add the gpus to my loop.

 

[MrCunningham]

.OK, since I got no response in the tech thread in off topic, So I will ask here:

Intel Core i5-2500K
BIOSTAR TZ77B LGA 1155
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600
Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous @40°C
Seagate ST31000524AS 1TB 3.5
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner SATA
Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

I just picked up all these parts in the mail. So far I attached the mother board with no issues, set up the power supply, ram , DVD drive, harddrive, everything except for the CPU. I go and plug in the CPU and heatsync and.... ahh no post.... the system starts up for a second and shuts down. I can get it to start without the CPU... but with the CPU and heatsync plugged in, I get nothing. I pull out all the ram and start and I still get nothing. Did I make a mistake in buying the wrong CPU + Motherboard combo? :S I assumed these two world work, wince there hasn't been anything stating otherwise.

Could the power supply be insufficient? I have no idea. :S

 

[Windom Earle]

D3 has hown me that my notebook is just not made for playing games.

Will the $700 build in the OP be able to run it maxed out @1080p/60fps? BF3 with decent settings would be a bonus.

 

[MrCunningham]

.OK, since I got no response in the tech thread in off topic, So I will ask here:


I just picked up all these parts in the mail. So far I attached the mother board with no issues, set up the power supply, ram , DVD drive, harddrive, everything except for the CPU. I go and plug in the CPU and heatsync and.... ahh no post.... the system starts up for a second and shuts down. I can get it to start without the CPU... but with the CPU and heatsync plugged in, I get nothing. I pull out all the ram and start and I still get nothing. Did I make a mistake in buying the wrong CPU + Motherboard combo? :S I assumed these two world work, wince there hasn't been anything stating otherwise.

Could the power supply be insufficient? I have no idea. :S

OK....nevermind!

I got it! There was nothing wrong with any of these parts, it was my own inability to read the manual that came with the mother board that caused all my grief. I failed to plug in a 2+2 connector into the ATXPWR2 connection. Honestly I haven't built a new PC in years, so I overlooked this.

 

[LordAlu]

Ordered everything I needed for my (semi)new build this morning:

I'll be cannibalizing my current build for the PSU, some large SATA hard drives and a 560Ti. Will then put my old components (C2D e8400, 4GB DDR2) into a small case with an old 9800GT and make a HTPC out of it

 

[Manp]

Question: Do you want that rig for gaming?

Just curious.

actually no, i don't play games on pc that much anymore.
i'm not sure why, i probably need something to spend some time on

why the question? do you find something weird about my build?

ah! microATX in an ATX case! my archnemesis!

 

[Duallusion]

After 5 years of exclusive console gaming I'm seriously contemplating going back to where it all began for me: PC.

A question, though (with which Google surprisingly didn't help me much on a first glance): is there an elegant hasle-free way to use a PC hooked to a monitor (for work, programs and such) and TV (only for games and movies)? Only one option would be in use at the same time and I don't want GPU to waste resorces to feed both the monitor and TV at the same time.

GPU would be GTX580 or something in that rang.

 

[LordAlu]

After 5 years of exclusive console gaming I'm seriously contemplating going back to where it all began for me: PC.

A question, though (with which Google surprisingly didn't help me much on a first glance): is there an elegant hasle-free way to use a PC hooked to a monitor (for work, programs and such) and TV (only for games and movies)? Only one option would be in use at the same time and I don't want GPU to waste resorces to feed both the monitor and TV at the same time.

GPU would be GTX580 or something in that rang.

Sure, you can have both displays hooked up and just use the Windows+P key to switch between them. You could have just the monitor on, both on at the same time (either duplicated or extended) or just the TV on.

 

[Duallusion]

Sure, you can have both displays hooked up and just use the Windows+P key to switch between them. You could have just the monitor on, both on at the same time (either duplicated or extended) or just the TV on.

Sounds great, thanks!

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

Started overcloking my 2500k today and got it to 4.3ghz easily with great voltage and low, low temps.

I'm gonna use this for a while and if it's all fine and dandy I'll go for 4.5

2 hours on Prime95 tells me I should be alright, though!

What a great little CPU.

 

[Sethos]

Started overcloking my 2500k today and got it to 4.3ghz easily with great voltage and low, low temps.

I'm gonna use this for a while and if it's all fine and dandy I'll go for 4.5

2 hours on Prime95 tells me I should be alright, though!

What a great little CPU.

Just crank it up to 4.5 right away, that's pretty much the default overclock with those SB CPUs, you won't have a single problem. Then you can start messing around with undervolting for even better temps and voltages.

 

[drhankmccoyphd]

What do you guys think of this bundle? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2628606&CatId=6976
A friend sent it to me and at first glance it looks like a good deal, considering there's a Z77, 3570k, 560 ti 2GB, 8GB RAM, Case all for $800, but I can't help but think TD is cutting corners somewhere, my guess would be the PSU and HDD. I've never heard of Ultra as a brand for PSUs and their lifetime warranty doesn't really put me at ease.

 

[th3dude]

I'm looking to add/replace some case fans in my Corsair 600T. I'm running 570 2.5gb SLI and these babies are pumping heat into the case, so I need some (quiet) high airflow fans.

What are the best fans?

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

Just crank it up to 4.5 right away, that's pretty much the default overclock with those SB CPUs, you won't have a single problem. Then you can start messing around with undervolting for even better temps and voltages.

I bumped it to 4.4 and I'm testing that in DayZ now. Seems to be okay! 4.5 will be applied when I finish this session, I think.

 

[Pocks]

What do you guys think of this bundle? http://www.tigerdirect.com/email/WE...CjCKbz_kBNV2sbf
A friend sent it to me and at first glance it looks like a good deal, considering there's a Z77, 3570k, 560 ti 2GB, 8GB RAM, Case all for $800, but I can't help but think TD is cutting corners somewhere, my guess would be the PSU and HDD. I've never heard of Ultra as a brand for PSUs and their lifetime warranty doesn't really put me at ease.

Link is broken.. did you mean this bundle? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2628606&CatId=6976

 

[drhankmccoyphd]

Link is broken.. did you mean this bundle? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2628606&CatId=6976

Yup, sorry. Fixed link in my post.

 

[evilpigking]

Alright, everything is up and running! CPU seems to be running slightly hotter than I expected (28-30) at basically idle so I ordered a few fans. Not sure if I did the thermal grease well or not since it was my first time installing the heatsink (212 evo) and I redid it like 3 times (scraping off the grease). The shifting through me off a lot.

A big thanks to everyone that helped along the way.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Okay GAF, after tweaking skyrim to get it looking and running the best i can on my horrible old rig iv decided im going to slowly start on building a new rig.

First build since i got my last systems pre built.

Going in what do i need to know (basics, how do i setup a bios ect)

Few things, I want this to be as future proof as possible, so im looking into buying a mobo which will support future processors ect.

First thing ill grab is a motherboard so whats going to to support the highest end CPU and whats the best one to get, I favour Nvidia but iv been out the GFX card scene for so long that if ATI are significantly better ill get ATI.

Looking for a Dual GFX card setup.

Since this is a overtime build no price limit.

 

[MisterNoisy]

Alright, everything is up and running! CPU seems to be running slightly hotter than I expected (28-30) at basically idle so I ordered a few fans. Not sure if I did the thermal grease well or not since it was my first time installing the heatsink (212 evo) and I redid it like 3 times (scraping off the grease). The shifting through me off a lot.

A big thanks to everyone that helped along the way.

28-30C at idle is pretty much the norm unless you're doing your computing in a freezer. You'll need to put a load on it to actually see how well your cooler is doing it's job. Congrats on the new build.

 

[K' Dash]

actually no, i don't play games on pc that much anymore.
i'm not sure why, i probably need something to spend some time on

why the question? do you find something weird about my build?

Cause I'd have spent less on the CPU and get and i5 2500K, add the difference to the Graphics budget and get a better card, but you already said that is not for gaming, so, it doesn't matter

 

[theRizzle]

Few things, I want this to be as future proof as possible, so im looking into buying a mobo which will support future processors ect.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing right now, unless you are planning to go AMD, which I would not suggest. The newest Intel mobos are using the Z77 chipset and are socket 1155, which is a dead socket, as the next processors coming out will use socket 1150.

 

[mkenyon]

I'm looking to add/replace some case fans in my Corsair 600T. I'm running 570 2.5gb SLI and these babies are pumping heat into the case, so I need some (quiet) high airflow fans.

What are the best fans?

Get some BitFenix Spectre Pro's, non-LEDs. The 200mm ones line up perfectly. I was using 200mm intake front, 200mm intake side (required drilling, can go with 2x120 instead), 120 exhaust rear, 2x120 exhaust top over H100/240mm radiator. Puts it right at slight positive pressure. Dual TFII 560Ti's were running nice and cool with that arrangement.

You'll also want to get a fan controller. NZXT Sentry Mesh blends in perfectly with the mesh front panel and adjusts on voltage which is what you want. The reason why I suggest non-LEDs is that the LED spectre pros make a weird electronic fluttering noise when you are somewhere between min and max volts on it. The non-LED fans do not have that problem, and are cheaper.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing right now, unless you are planning to go AMD, which I would not suggest. The newest Intel mobos are using the Z77 chipset and are socket 1155, which is a dead socket, as the next processors coming out will use socket 1150.

Not a binary choice. Reason I went with socket 2011 (aside from amazing motherboard options), is so I'd be set for Ivy-E. So yeah, there is X79 which will have Ivy-E processors out by the end of the year.

 

[Ace 8095]

Can someone help me decide between the Antec 1100 and the Antec P280? I'd like a quieter case but I'm worried the P280 won't cool as well as the 1100.

 

[mkenyon]

Can someone help me decide between the Antec 1100 and the Antec P280? I'd like a quieter case but I'm worried the P280 won't cool as well as the 1100.

Neither. Fractal R3 or Corsair 550D.

*edit*

Or go with the Fractal Arc and get some decent fans. If you want quiet, high performing fans (which it sounds like you do), you aren't going to find a case that comes with them.

 

[Ace 8095]

Neither. Fractal R3 or Corsair 550D.

*edit*

Or go with the Fractal Arc and get some decent fans. If you want quiet, high performing fans (which it sounds like you do), you aren't going to find a case that comes with them.

This? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352014

 

[mkenyon]

Yeah, for silence. Arc for more variety in cooling options/performance.

 

[MooMoo]

Gah, I literally have every piece needed to build my first desktop this weekend EXCEPT for the case. =/ Dammit NCIX US.

 

[clav]

16GB (8GB x 2) DDR3 Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz RAM
120GB OCZ Vertex 3 SSD
1TB Seagate SATA 3 HDD
1TB WD SATA 2 HDD
Asus DVD-RW drive
2x GTX 260s in SLI

for reference here is the other stuff again:

i7 3770K CPU (nothing is overclocked)
Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H Motherboard
Corsair HX850 PSU
That's about it. All of the voltages are wrong?

The freezes might be related to your SSD.

Have you tried updating the firmware?

http://www.ocztechnology.com/ssd_tools/SandForce_Based/

Please backup any sensitive data before proceding.

Download the "Linux-based Tool" as I suppose you are using the SSD as a main drive (contains OS). If not, then you can use the easier Windows update tool.

----------------------

If it is the main drive, then follow the directions below:

1. Burn the ISO with the built-in Windows 7 tool called Windows Disc Image Burner or download a copy of IMGburn.

Alternatively, you can use a USB stick by using a program called "Universal USB Installer".

Boot the DVD/CD/USB stick.

More info: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...-for-OCZ-SSD-s&p=714047&viewfull=1#post714047

2. Set the Network connection in Linux. If you don't, the firmware refuses to update (wtf).

More info: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...-for-OCZ-SSD-s&p=714057&viewfull=1#post714057

3. Update the firmware.

More info: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...-for-OCZ-SSD-s&p=714069&viewfull=1#post714069

 

[JonCha]

The Antec 450W is enough for an i5 2400 and a AMD Sapphire HD6850 isn't it? My build is literally Standard with the i5 2400.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Unfortunately, there is no such thing right now, unless you are planning to go AMD, which I would not suggest. The newest Intel mobos are using the Z77 chipset and are socket 1155, which is a dead socket, as the next processors coming out will use socket 1150.

so i want to wait till socket 1150 Mobo's hit yeah?

 

[mkenyon]

The thing is, is that buying a motherboard for future processor compatibility is a thing of the past.

You pick something and go with it now. If you want to be able to upgrade later on to a possibly better piece of silicon, then X79 is the way to go. It's a bit more pricey though for basically zero gaming performance.

I only plan to use one GTX 670 so will the R3 provide enough ventilation to handle it?

Absolutely.

 

[Ace 8095]

Yeah, for silence. Arc for more variety in cooling options/performance.

I only plan to use one GTX 670 so will the R3 provide enough ventilation to handle it?

 

[Gr1mLock]

Ok guys. My current rig is pretty much breathing its dying breath. Here is what i was going to go with.

i7 3770k Ivy
Gigabyte Radeon Hd 7970
Corsair Vengance 4x4 ddr3 1600
Corsair pro AX850
Xonar DGX
Samsung 1tb 7200rpm

I have some minor concerns about cooling. I have never dabbled in water cooling, not do i really want to, so in that respect how important is using an after market heat sinks/fans for the cpu?

 

[th3dude]

Get some BitFenix Spectre Pro's, non-LEDs. The 200mm ones line up perfectly. I was using 200mm intake front, 200mm intake side (required drilling, can go with 2x120 instead), 120 exhaust rear, 2x120 exhaust top over H100/240mm radiator. Puts it right at slight positive pressure. Dual TFII 560Ti's were running nice and cool with that arrangement.

You'll also want to get a fan controller. NZXT Sentry Mesh blends in perfectly with the mesh front panel and adjusts on voltage which is what you want. The reason why I suggest non-LEDs is that the LED spectre pros make a weird electronic fluttering noise when you are somewhere between min and max volts on it. The non-LED fans do not have that problem, and are cheaper.

Thanks for the great post.

I'm thinking maybe 2 of these: http://us.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=64850&promoid=1069

and a couple of these: http://us.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=64846&promoid=1069

I have an H60 for my CPU hooked up to where the rear exhaust would be.

Maybe I'll replace the 2 200mm fans with these and then mount a few of the 120s on the side and also replace the H60 fan.

Thoughts?

 

[mkenyon]

The Spectre's don't move a lot of air, but are silent. You'll want at least one Pro for your H60 since it has a really high pressure rating (which is much more important than CFM on a radiator). They're expensive, but the Pro's are a much better choice for the rest of the case as well. The regular spectre's will be fine if you don't really want to go to that price level. They're a bit cheaper through performance-pc's and frozen cpu, but the shipping can be painful if you aren't on the east coast.

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=66092&vpn=BFF-SPRO-12025KK-RP&manufacture=BitFenix

If your videocards are non-reference type, as in, they just have fans that push air over a heatpipe heatsink rather than pull from the front and exhaust out the back, then you could set your H60 for intake on the rear.