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[UltimateIke]

I've been dipping my feet into overclocking for the first time with my 3570k (following the guide in the awesome OP).

I have a Bitfenix Shinobi with 3 fans (front, back, top) and a 212+ Evo.

My first run was 4.4 GHz with core voltage set at 2.500. My max temps after running Prime95 were 71, 76, 76, 74.

I've been working on bringing core voltage down, and at 1.175 my temps are 67, 72, 74, 69.

Where should I go next? Keep under volting or increasing the clock speed? I am pretty happy with 4.4GHz as I know IB runs hotter than SB.

I hope you meant 1.25. Haha. 1.175V is very good for 4.4GHz.

I'm only able to get to a stable 4.5GHz with 1.24V, but my temperatures stay in the mid-70s during hours and hours of Prime95. I think that's the best I'm going to manage for now.

I'm hoping a dedicated GPU will lower the temps a little. I don't know if it does much, but the integrated graphics have to be generating some heat, right?

 

[r4z4]

MORE POWER. Find your heat wall, go just below it.

Ok, how does one find their heat wall? Every time my temps hit high 70s I poop my pants.

I hope you meant 1.25

Doh, yep meant 1.25.

 

[JonCha]

The motherboard standoffs aren't brass for the Shinobi. My manual says there are nine - I need a six - and they're the square-ish ones.

 

[LordAlu]

I hope you meant 1.25. Haha. 1.175V is very good for 4.4GHz.

I'm only able to get to a stable 4.5GHz with 1.24V, but my temperatures stay in the mid-70s during hours and hours of Prime95. I think that's the best I'm going to manage for now.

I'm hoping a dedicated GPU will lower the temps a little. I don't know if it does much, but the integrated graphics have to be generating some heat, right?

I can only get 4.4GHz with 1.27v, with temps around 72. I can't get my RAM to its rated 1600MHz either, and there's no VCCIO setting on the P8Z77-V. Ah well

 

[professor_t]

Have you always played on a TV? And always with triple buffering? Any syncing method will have a hit on performance as the hardware has to wait for the device to refresh before displaying the rendered image instead of just rendering as fast as possible and displaying.

Your average FPS with syncing on/off wasn't that different and going by the min FPS your system is struggling with it either way in certain areas. Is your CPU holding back the GPU, perhaps? It's not that old, though.

Why not try with just vsync enabled though the control panel and see what happens.

I have always played on this particular TV, and almost always with triple buffering (ever since I discovered it).

I tried benchmarking and playing the game with triple buffering off and adaptive v-sync enabled through the control panel. The benchmark was a travesty -- my minimum fps was FOUR. A hamster in a wheel would power better performance.

In gameplay, it's much of the same -- at points it's buttery smooth, but there are ridiculously awful frame drops, and they happen pretty frequently.

So, there seems to be a problem, but the synthetic benchmarks are just fine (performing in line with expectations, or even better than some of the review benchmarks on systems with better RAM and CPUs).

Is it normal for a synthetic benchmark to be fantastic but for a game benchmark to be terrible? Bad drivers, maybe?

I need to benchmark a few other games. The only other thing I've played so far is Crysis 2, which at 1080p with DX1/tesselation/high-res textures and everything at the max settings hovers between 52 and 60 fps (with triple buffering on), and occasionally dips into the 40s. Is that what I should expect with a 670?

Thanks for the help so far.

 

[alternade]

God this is so frustrating and i haven't even begun getting my parts yet. I talked to some people and they said the 550ti is crap and i should go with the HD6870.

Is the i5-3550 ivy bridge that much better than a i5-2500k? I don't plan/know how to OC.

 

[Ty4on]

God this is so frustrating and i haven't even begun getting my parts yet. I talked to some people and they said the 550ti is crap and i should go with the HD6870.

Is the i5-3550 ivy bridge that much better than a i5-2500k? I don't plan/know how to OC.

Check out the reviews.

It's the same for games, even in Just Cause 2 which AMD used to struggle with (78XX and 79XX shine in Just Cause 2) the 6870 beats the 550ti.

 

[JonCha]

Trying to get the motherboard to line up and it's proving really hard ...

 

[opticalmace]

Trying to get the motherboard to line up and it's proving really hard ...

I hope you have the case on its side.

edit: you should be able to see the standoffs through the holes on the MB.

 

[JonCha]

I hope you have the case on its side.

edit: you should be able to see the standoffs through the holes on the MB.

Yeah, its. And the standoffs are in the the right place, and line up without the I/O on. With it on, they're like half a mm off.

 

[opticalmace]

Yeah, its. And the standoffs are in the the right place, and line up without the I/O on. With it on, they're like half a mm off.

Oh, the I/O insert? Yeah sometimes I found they weren't a perfect fit. Just do what you can, as long as you can plug your stuff in and the motherboard is secure in the case.

 

[JonCha]

Oh, the I/O insert? Yeah sometimes I found they weren't a perfect fit. Just do what you can, as long as you can plug your stuff in and the motherboard is secure in the case.

Thanks. I just forced it a little and everything lined up (I think, judging with my iPhone light).

Next step: screwing the motherboard down. My 'board manual says M3 Round screws are used, and there are 13 of them. I counted 14, and they're the really small ones. I've screwed one in and it seemed to fit.

Note, none of my screws for the 'board are brass. I'm a little worried.

 

[ccbfan]

The HD 4000 can supposedly push Skyrim at ~30+fps @1080 with medium-low settings (which is what my current 9600m GT gets). If he's already made his order it'd be nice to see what kind of results he gets, no site I've found has done a review of the HD 4000 under normal play. If people are just going to be playing games like that, just buying a 3570k instead of a 2500k + a GPU for lower end builds could be a fine recommendation.

I already got all the parts. Just waiting for the SSD to arrive. I'll give updates on how this performs. Even if it suck then I'll just get a graphics card earlier than I expected. I live near a microcenter so the I5 3570K was only 10 bucks more than the I5 2500K.

I know what you mean when you say, there's no real world research for the HD 4000 on the internet. The only reason I'm somewhat confident I'll be fine is a friend of mine is building a new PC and giving his old one to his girlfriend. His is a higher powered one than mine

i5 3770K
AsRock Extreme 4
16 Gigs Corsair Vengence Ram
Crucial M4 256 GB
Some 750 watt power supply I think its antec

(He was still waiting for a 680, so thats why he didn't have a graphics card yet)

Well we ran Starcraft 2 and the Diablo 3 beta on that setup and it ran well. I mean still looks on par or better than most PS3/360 games. Since the 3770K and the 3570K both use HD 4000 and we're using the same ram. As long as I get similar results I'll be happy.

 

[MrBig]

Well we ran Starcraft 2 and the Diablo 3 beta on that setup and it ran well. I mean still looks on par or better than most PS3/360 games. Since the 3770K and the 3570K both use HD 4000 and we're using the same ram. As long as I get similar results I'll be happy.

That's about what I was expecting. My 9600m gives me just a bit more performance in games than the 360 does, and the vague reports I've seen showed similar performance to that. Certainly post back when you build and try out Skyrim.
I'll be playing on a 670, but I'd like to know.

 

[r4z4]

Note, none of my screws for the 'board are brass. I'm a little worried.

I used the screws that came with my Shinobi, the small black ones. They appear to hold the weight of my motherboard and everything on it perfectly so I wouldn't worry.

 

[Ledsen]

E-ATX, XL-ATX, more HDD space, more radiator space.

'

Don't know any of those acronyms, but pretty sure i don't need them as a pc gamer that just wants to play games on max settings on a 1080p tv, with a good graphics card and the standard 2500k+overclock and nothing else. I don't utilize all my fan slots as is and my R3 has like 5 slots for hdds (I own 1 hdd). Still can't see the need for anything bigger than
mid tower unless you're a super entusiast with tons of space and money.

 

[BackwardsSuggestions]

My current rig is as follows:

Intel® Core™i5-2400 Quad Core (3.10GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
ASUS® P8Z68-V LX
8GB RAM
Nvidia GTX570
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU

Is it worth upgrading the CPU or is it better to wait?

Also, is the motherboard ok to keep for another year or so or is it better to also upgrade that?

 

[opticalmace]

My current rig is as follows:

Intel® Core™i5-2400 Quad Core (3.10GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
ASUS® P8Z68-V LX
8GB RAM
Nvidia GTX570
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU

Is it worth upgrading the CPU or is it better to wait?

Also, is the motherboard ok to keep for another year or so or is it better to also upgrade that?

No need to upgrade at all, your system is very fast.

 

[BackwardsSuggestions]

No need to upgrade at all, your system is very fast.

Lovely. Only thing is the stock cooler with the CPU busted so have to buy another.

 

[JonCha]

Overwhelmed with the amount of ports I need to connect to. My ASUS motherboard doesn't include one of those easy connection things either ...

 

[mkenyon]

Ok, how does one find their heat wall? Every time my temps hit high 70s I poop my pants.



Doh, yep meant 1.25.

Keep going, when it hits the 90s-100s, thats the heat wall. Back it off from there. Ivy is not Sandy, it runs hot. You don't really have to worry about going too hot, just try to stay below 1.4V and nothing is going to get hurt.

Don't know any of those acronyms, but pretty sure i don't need them as a pc gamer that just wants to play games on max settings on a 1080p tv, with a good graphics card and the standard 2500k+overclock and nothing else. I don't utilize all my fan slots as is and my R3 has like 5 slots for hdds (I own 1 hdd). Still can't see the need for anything bigger than mid tower unless you're a super entusiast with tons of space and money.

When you have room for the radiators, you can run a near silent case. It's subjective, and *you* have no use for anything larger, but others do. I barely have enough space for the watercooling stuff in my 600T, even having to cut the crap out of it as I type this to fit in a 360mm radiator.

 

[Caelus]

GAF, I'm thinking of upgrading my old Dell Desktop GPU.

My current specs:
CPU: Intel Pentium D 3.00 GHz
4 GB RAM
Radeon X600 series

I want to upgrade to a Radeon HD 4670, because I heard it would consume less energy. My desktop has a 305w PSU. Is this appropriate, and can I run newer games at decent settings? I don't plan on enabling AA.

 

[opticalmace]

GAF, I'm thinking of upgrading my old Dell Desktop GPU.

My current specs:
CPU: Intel Pentium D 3.00 GHz
4 GB RAM
Radeon X600 series

I want to upgrade to a Radeon HD 4670, because I heard it would consume less energy. My desktop has a 305w PSU. Is this appropriate, and can I run newer games at decent settings? I don't plan on enabling AA.

What resolution are you using? And what brand of PSU?

To be honest I would just do a new budget build. Even something pretty cheap would be a shitload faster.

 

[Caelus]

What resolution are you using? And what brand of PSU?

Highest resolutions I will run are at 1360x768 and 1280x1024.

As for the PSU, this is all the info I could find:

DC power supply:

Wattage

305 W

Heat dissipation

1041 BTU/hr

Voltage (see the safety instructions in the Product Information Guide for important voltage setting information)

90 to 135 V and 180 to 265 V at 50/60 Hz

I thought about upgrading to this specific card due to this recommendation, and this running at what I believe to be similar specs (I have a dual-core CPU).

I already own this desktop, I just want to upgrade the GPU, I plan on building a new one when I have the time and permission (check my age).

 

[EternalGamer]

God this is so frustrating and i haven't even begun getting my parts yet. I talked to some people and they said the 550ti is crap and i should go with the HD6870.

Is the i5-3550 ivy bridge that much better than a i5-2500k? I don't plan/know how to OC

I can say that I have dual 6870s and they chew through everything I throw at them at maxed out specs. There have been a few driver problems with older games, but, for example, even though Witcher 2 only supported 1 card at launch, I was still able to max out everything except "uber sampling" and get very high constant framerates. As long as you can put up with having to patient waiting for drivers on occasion, it's a very very good card. I've had the pair of them for about a year and half and they've done me well.

 

[DeadTrees]

I thought about upgrading to this specific card due to this recommendation, and this running at what I believe to be similar specs (I have a dual-core CPU).

The Pentium D is based on Pentium 4/Netburst tech--it's not anywhere close to an E5700.

 

[Bombadil]

Hi guys, planning on building a new computer, my 2nd, since I started windows gaming, only change this time is, I'm having it built by a professional OC'er because of time constraints, any ways, here is the list;

Intel Core i7 3930K + Asus X79 Pro - 1198
Gskill Ripjaws Z 1600Mhz CL9 32GB - 324
WD 1TB Black x2 - 400
Asus 7970 3GB DDR5 - 845
Coolermaster Storm Enforcer - 145
Coolermaster Silent Pro Gold 1000W - 245
LG 24x DVD RW - 28
Win 7 Home premium 64bit OEM - 118
Noctua D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler - 134
Advanced Tuning Package + Delivery - 220
prices in Singapore dollars

any critique would be greatly appreciated, thank you

yes I haven't added in a SSD yet, researching still, any recommendations?

If those numbers at end of each item are prices then I think you've been ripped off several times, even when I converted the price to US dollars. Are prices for electronics higher in Singapore because you're basically paying 665 USD for a graphics card that costs 500 USD on Newegg.

 

[tigerin]

hey friends,

i'm a rookie to this custom pc hobby. but i've been wanting to experience pc games for a while. i've read the op for the last few hours(but there are few things i still can't comprehend yet) and got the prefer price/parts for my custom pc. i'm trying my best to fill out the outline, so here it is:

Your Current Specs:
cpu-intel i3 2120
motherboard-ASUS P8H61-M LE/CSM Intel H61 Chipset DDR3 1333 Micro ATX Motherboard
ram-Corsair Vengeance Blue 8 GB (2X4 GB) PC3-12800 1600mHz DDR3 240-Pin SDRAM Dual Channel Memory Kit CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B
graphic-EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD Superclocked 1280 MB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 2DVI/HDMI/Display Port SLI Ready Graphics Card, 012-P3-1573-KR
storage-Western Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB SATA III 7200 RPM 16 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive - WD5000AAKX
power supply-Antec VP-450 450 Watt Energy Star Certified Power Supply
case-NZXT Technologies Source 210 Computer Case (Black)
optical drive-Asus 24xDVD-RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black)Budget: Price Range + Country
Main Use: Light Gaming5, Gaming4, Emulation (PS2/Wii)1, HD Streaming3, General Usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback)3. Rate importance on a 1-5 scale. (5 Being highest)
Monitor Resolution: What resolution will you be playing your games at? Are you going to upgrade later? Are you buying a new monitor? i'll be buying a new monitor, i want something that shows me the power of pc gamnig but also at a affordable price, preferably $100-$200.
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Self Explanatory. i want to play first person shooter games like battlefield 3 and i'm curious about diablo 3. so basically something that the pc can offer that consoles can't.
Looking to reuse any parts?: List make and model (e.g. Corsair 520HX 520W) sorry i'm not too familiar with this part lol.
When will you build?: What time frames are doable? Are you building this weekend? Do you need it in a week or so? Can you wait a month or two? i can wait a month or two.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes, No, Maybe (This means yes) maybe not yet since i'm still new to this but playing most pc games will satisfy me for now.

according to the guide, the total will come out around $540. i'm gonig to sell my macbook pro for around $1000 so i got a little bit more space to play with if there are any parts you guys prefer. i just want to try out pc gamnig for the first time and wants to be able to upgrade parts over the years.

i'm still new to this so any advice or recommendation will be appreciated. =)

 

[EternalGamer]

So my brother's old PC died and I'm trying to help him piece together a replacement using some left over parts and some new. His budget is $400 but he also wants to buy a copy of Diablo 3, which lowers it to around $340. He already has a case, a Radeon 5700, a Harddrive, and 6GB of RAM. I know the videocard is a kind of old but it will do him ok for a while longer. He wants to wait and upgrade it this Fall during BlackFriday sales. So that leaves us with a need for a processor, motherboard and power supply for around $340.

Here is what I was thinking:

OPTION 1:

Ivy Bridge Intel-Core-3450-Processor: $189 (Amazon)
Biostar TZ77B LGA1155 Motherboard $110 (Amazon)
Antec VP-450 450 Watt Energy Star Certified Power Supply $37.56 (Amazon)

Total: $337.53

I'm planning on using my Amazon Prime for free shipping for him, so this build leaves us pretty close to the very edge of his budget with taxes (maybe a little over). He actually said something about wanting an new keyboard too.

OPTION 2:

Intel I5 2500k $205 (Amazon)
Biostar TZ77B Motherboard $100 (Amazon)
Antec VP-450 450 Watt Energy Star Certified Power Supply $37.56 (Amazon)

Total: $342.54

This build pushes us a little over his budget but it has the much championed i5 2500k.

OPTION 3:

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz $189.99 (Microcenter)
ASUS P8Z77-V LX Socket 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard $89.99 (Microcenter)
Cooler Master Elite Power 460 Watt ATX Power Supply $37.99 (Microcenter)

Total: $318+tax

This looks like a great deal. Closer to what we were hoping to find.

So here are my questions:

1) Processors: I assume the Radeon 5700, despite being old, is better than the Ivy's integrated graphics, so that makes little difference, but a decent motherboard for overclocking the 2500k seems more expensive. Obviously overclocking is the one big advantage of the 2500k over the 3570k. Is it really worth it with a cheapish motherboard, though? We'd frankly like to lower the cost of this build as much as possible and the 2500k is already pushing it even with that motherboard. Aside from the cheaper motherboard (?), option 3's lower price is seeming pretty appealing.

2) Motherboards: What is the difference between the BIOSTAR TZ77B and the Biostar Intel LGA1155 Z77 besides $10 in price? Also, what am I losing by going with that cheaper Asus in Option 3? It seems like a good board with lots of ports.

3) Power: Is that 450Watt power supply going to be enough for all of these builds?

4) Any suggestions for even better deals/alterations (no matter how drastic) are also welcome as well. As long as it is below the $340 budget, we're willing to entertain anything.

Keep in mind that even when he upgrades the graphics card in the Fall he isn't going to go crazy. So I don't want a processor/motherboard combo that is overkill for his needs. Never the less, he obviously wants the best he can do so he doesn't have to upgrade for a good while.

 

[EternalGamer]

hey friends,


Your Current Specs:
cpu-intel i3 2120
motherboard-ASUS P8H61-M LE/CSM Intel H61 Chipset DDR3 1333 Micro ATX Motherboard

......

according to the guide, the total will come out around $540. i'm gonig to sell my macbook pro for around $1000 so i got a little bit more space to play with if there are any parts you guys prefer. i just want to try out pc gamnig for the first time and wants to be able to upgrade parts over the years.

i'm still new to this so any advice or recommendation will be appreciated. =)

I'm not expert either, but the general rule is, if you have more cash, put it into the motherboard and processor first. Those are the parts that you will be keeping the longest and are often the biggest bottleneck. Other parts are easier and cheaper to upgrade later. Perhaps look at the two sets of motherboards and processors I've listed in the post right above this one. I have a feeling alot of people will recommend you upgrading to the i5 2500k.

In fact, most tech sites seem to argue that the i5 2500k is fantastic in terms of value and price and that nothing beyond it is even that significant of an improvement in terms of bang for the buck. So for a little over $120 more invested in that motherboard and processor you will significantly be improving the power capabilities and the longevity of your system. So much so that you might even consider downgrading other parts (a little less RAM and a little lower tier graphics card) just to get to the i5 2500k if $120 extra is too much to swing.

 

[JonCha]

Building until just before 2AM this morning (getting up at half seven for work - that's how I roll). Everything's installed. My remaining issues are:

• I can't find where the three-pin connector goes for my case fan. I've got the black connector, but can't find the slot on the board anywhere
• Is my GPU meant to just kind of … sit there? Can't get over how it rests. Looks unsafe, though it's secured in
• Will the machine blow up if something isn't connected properly when I turn it on?
• Finally, I can't get the L-shaped SATA connector for my HDD in properly. It goes in, but doesn't click like the other end on the 'board. I can pull it out pretty easily

 

[daviyoung]

Your GPU is secured into the motherboard, and should also be secured at the back of the case where the outputs are.

Motherboards nowadays are great bits of kit, if anything is wrongly connected it will flash a warning on an LED. Your PC won't blow up, and will only fry a circuitboard if you've done something really wrong, which I don't think you have.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

Building until just before 2AM this morning (getting up at half seven for work - that's how I roll). Everything's installed. My remaining issues are:

• I can't find where the three-pin connector goes for my case fan. I've got the black connector, but can't find the slot on the board anywhere
• Is my GPU meant to just kind of … sit there? Can't get over how it rests. Looks unsafe, though it's secured in
• Will the machine blow up if something isn't connected properly when I turn it on?
• Finally, I can't get the L-shaped SATA connector for my HDD in properly. It goes in, but doesn't click like the other end on the 'board. I can pull it out pretty easily

1. Usually the motherboard has a 4pin female piece that the 3 pin connects to or vice versa.
   
   
2. The GPU should be fairly secure if you've got it snapped into the motherboard and back of your case. You won't be attaching any extra weight to it, so it should be fine.
3. Not likely. Usually if something isn't connected properly, the case fans will come on but nothing else. Or it just won't boot up.
4. Not sure about the SATA connector. Might try swapping out the cable for a different one.

 

[Ledsen]

Building until just before 2AM this morning (getting up at half seven for work - that's how I roll). Everything's installed. My remaining issues are:

• I can't find where the three-pin connector goes for my case fan. I've got the black connector, but can't find the slot on the board anywhere
• Is my GPU meant to just kind of … sit there? Can't get over how it rests. Looks unsafe, though it's secured in
• Will the machine blow up if something isn't connected properly when I turn it on?
• Finally, I can't get the L-shaped SATA connector for my HDD in properly. It goes in, but doesn't click like the other end on the 'board. I can pull it out pretty easily

2. What do you mean? It should be completely secured from two directions: the main connector on the motherboard and the screw/screws you use to line up the ports that go out the back of the case.

3. Hehe It may not start, that's usually the worst that can happen if, say, something is shorting out.

4. Mine doesn't snap either. I don't care because it won't fall off unless I shake it move it violently.

 

[codhand]

I am considering getting one of those Korean manufactured 2560 x 1440 monitors, but am unsure if my i7-2600K, 8gb, gtx 570, will be able to get proper fps, at such a high resolution. So I'm wondering based on my specs if I could hang at 2560 x 1440 for most games or if it wouldn't get the framerate needed for an enjoyable experience.

 

[MrBig]

I am considering getting one of those Korean manufactured 2560 x 1440 monitors, but am unsure if my i7-2600K, 8gb, gtx 570, will be able to get proper fps, at such a high resolution. So I'm wondering based on my specs if I could hang at 2560 x 1440 for most games or if it wouldn't get the framerate needed for an enjoyable experience.

You'l be fine, but have to move to a 670/680 if you want to keep the same graphical settings and framerate.

 

[ccbfan]

Is it a good idea to have a backup power supply?

I already bought a Corsair CX430 only paid 17 bucks for it and shipping it back to newegg and have a 15 percent restocking fee makes it not worth returning.

There's an Antec Neo Eco 620C for 35 bucks on newegg today thats I'm tempted to buy. While my wattage usage never spiked over 300W in any of the online calculations I've used. Is it worth it just to be safe.

 

[Wolf Akela]

Is it a good idea to have a backup power supply?

Waste of cash, personally unless you find some ridiculously good deal that's just way too good to pass up. Good power supplies will last you years or unless you decide to build something that eats a lot more power.

What are your specs?

 

[ccbfan]

Waste of cash, personally unless you find some ridiculously good deal that's just way too good to pass up. Good power supplies will last you years or unless you decide to build something that eats a lot more power.

What are your specs?

Currently

i5 3570K
AsRock z77 Pro 4
Corsair Vengence 8GB
Samsung 830 128 GB
Corsair cx430
Zalmon Z9

No graphics card yet and holding out until 650, 660 comes out and hopefully the the 7850 prices will drop. Only playing Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, and Skyrim on mid settings so HD 4000 should hold me until then.

Also probably going to get a 2-3 TB harddrive but not in a hurry since I have a 2 TB external drive already.

Light OC, probably to what ever the max for the i5 3570K is at stock voltage.

All the calculations I've done using various power calculations website (including 6 usbs and 4 fans) have been under 300.

 

[Coen]

Hey all, I could use some advice. For the last couple of years I've used several different media boxes, all of them pretty horrible. So a couple of weeks ago, I've started looking into building a HTPC. Thing is, about two years ago I build my first PC, also thanks to this thread, based on a i5 750 and a HD 5850. It's due for some upgrading, but I'd like to know if there's a decent option to combine both a technical upgrade and a way to connect it to my TV without it involving a 15m hdmi through my living room.

 

[MWS Natural]

I'd be really interested in seeing your results once done

It's definitely going to be a project!

I'm using a PC-Q08 with GTX 680 and i7-@2600k. The main issue with these matx/itx boxes is the stowage of cables and the availability of good motherboards that arent ridiculously over-priced

Yep, my current case is a lanbox lite and I had the same issues. I went with a modular PSU and will give cable sleeving a try.

 

[mkenyon]

Is it a good idea to have a backup power supply?

I already bought a Corsair CX430 only paid 17 bucks for it and shipping it back to newegg and have a 15 percent restocking fee makes it not worth returning.

There's an Antec Neo Eco 620C for 35 bucks on newegg today thats I'm tempted to buy. While my wattage usage never spiked over 300W in any of the online calculations I've used. Is it worth it just to be safe.

If you think you'll get into building multiple machines, having a backup is a total godsend. You could save it for an HTPC or something like that too.

 

[kharma45]

No graphics card yet and holding out until 650, 660 comes out and hopefully the the 7850 prices will drop. Only playing Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, and Skyrim on mid settings so HD 4000 should hold me until then.

They're not expected until at least September so you could be waiting quite a while, last month the supply manager for OcUK said on their forums it'll be another 5/6 months until the 660 appears.

 

[Niks]

Guys, I have a Sapphire 5850 and its fan is shot. (I have googled it, cant fix it.)
What would be a good replacement for it? Im looking for best bang for the buck, with equal or better performance...

Thanks.

 

[kharma45]

Guys, I have a Sapphire 5850 and its fan is shot. (I have googled it, cant fix it.)
What would be a good replacement for it? Im looking for best bang for the buck, with equal or better performance...

Thanks.

Depending on your budget 7850 is probably best mid-range bang (especially when overclocked, best OCing card on the market) for buck and the 670 at the high end.

 

[K' Dash]

Just got my case, I'm really impressed by the weight of that thing, and the size of dat top fan, wow, I didn't get it out of the box, tho, the other parts will arrive on june 27th if I'm lucky.

 

[tigerin]

I'm not expert either, but the general rule is, if you have more cash, put it into the motherboard and processor first. Those are the parts that you will be keeping the longest and are often the biggest bottleneck. Other parts are easier and cheaper to upgrade later. Perhaps look at the two sets of motherboards and processors I've listed in the post right above this one. I have a feeling alot of people will recommend you upgrading to the i5 2500k.

In fact, most tech sites seem to argue that the i5 2500k is fantastic in terms of value and price and that nothing beyond it is even that significant of an improvement in terms of bang for the buck. So for a little over $120 more invested in that motherboard and processor you will significantly be improving the power capabilities and the longevity of your system. So much so that you might even consider downgrading other parts (a little less RAM and a little lower tier graphics card) just to get to the i5 2500k if $120 extra is too much to swing.

thanks. so if i change the cpu and motherboard to what you reccomended then i should be good? if that is true then i think i can afford a bit more.

 

[mkenyon]

Guys, I have a Sapphire 5850 and its fan is shot. (I have googled it, cant fix it.)
What would be a good replacement for it? Im looking for best bang for the buck, with equal or better performance...

Thanks.

Get an aftermarket cooler?

 

[EternalGamer]

thanks. so if i change the cpu and motherboard to what you reccomended then i should be good? if that is true then i think i can afford a bit more.

Well it looks to me like you'd be able to run most things at max settings, probably for quite a while. That would be very powerful machine, better than what I currently have and I can max out almost everything at above 60fps.

Btw, if you have a Microcenter in your area, they have some amazing deals on processors and motherboard combos right now, but they are in store only. If you go to their site and click on a product there is a store locator on the right hand side.

For example, you can get

This Quadcore 3.4GHZ Ivy Bridge Processor.

And if you buy it with this motherboard, you get the motherboard for a big discount.

That's a total of only around $75 more than the motherboard and processor you currently have and that processor is way, way better. You are going from a dual core processor to a quadcore and a new Ivy bridge that uses less energy for roughly the price of a new videogame.

However, if you don't have a Microcenter around you, I'd just go with one of the two combos I listed above. Both of those are quadcores too and would be a substantial increase.

 

[Ace 8095]

What's the best motherboard for a 2500k for around $125. I had to RMA my ASRock board and don't want to buy another from that company.