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[NinjaFridge]

So my cousin wants a new computer and wants me to build it. He only wants it for Office, browsing the internet and Football manager - so not a high end machine. I told him a pre-built machine or even a laptop would do but like I said, he seems intent on getting me to build it.

Budget: Not sure exactly, but given the requirements I can't imagine it will cost too much. He hasn't given a budget, sorry. We're in the UK.
Main Use: Football Manager (5), General Usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback) (5)
Monitor Resolution: Buying a new monitor, something decent that will last a while.
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Football manager
When will you build?: Next few weeks
Will you be overclocking?: No

 

[mkenyon]

So my cousin wants a new computer and wants me to build it. He only wants it for Office, browsing the internet and Football manager - so not a high end machine. I told him a pre-built machine or even a laptop would do but like I said, he seems intent on getting me to build it.

Budget: Not sure exactly, but given the requirements I can't imagine it will cost too much. He hasn't given a budget, sorry. We're in the UK.
Main Use: Football Manager (5), General Usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback) (5)
Monitor Resolution: Buying a new monitor, something decent that will last a while.
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Football manager
When will you build?: Next few weeks
Will you be overclocking?: No

One of the AMD fusion procs will be pretty much perfect for this. The A4/A6 and an FM1 motherboard. Otherwise, Z68/77 + i3, no graphics card. Use the rest of the stuff from the budget builds to fill in blanks.

*edit* For those in the know, are the onboard graphics on H67 just as good as Z68/77?

*edit 2* Links for what I'd suggest after a quick gander (sorry for lazy unformatted mess):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131813

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103943

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147094

Add in the PSU, case, and a small SSD from the first two builds in the OP and you have yourself a machine.

Add in

 

[Archurro]

4 pin power connector at the top left of the motherboard

I'm hitting myself over the head right now.... Thanks. Is there anything else that could possibly be wrong?

 

[mkenyon]

Those cables will get dusty quickly unless you do some cable management. Link to a guide in the OP if you are interested.

 

[JonCha]

Installing Windows now. Restarted for some reason and is installing for the second time, though not sure if that's part of the process.

And it wasn't working because I copied the folder containing the setup files, not the files themselves. Dumb. Ass.

 

[EternalGamer]

I'm hitting myself over the head right now.... Thanks. Is there anything else that could possibly be wrong?

You are building a PC, so everything. But hey, as long as you still have other devices with internet connections you are good to go in the world of internet forums, youtube videos and FAQs.

I remember in the dark ages when building a PC and something went wrong meant you had no other resource except maybe that one dude you knew who might come over and help if you ask nice enough.

 

[mkenyon]

Installing Windows now. Restarted for some reason and is installing for the second time, though not sure if that's part of the process.

And it wasn't working because I copied the folder containing the setup files, not the files themselves. Dumb. Ass.

You are just going through the process again, overwriting what you did before. You need to change your boot disk priority to go to the HDD first instead of the USB stick. That's in BIOS.

 

[MisterNoisy]

and about the psu, are there any alternative to that on amazon cause i couldn't find it on there. i prefer amazon cause i got prime and newegg charge shipping.

Unfortunately, the Neo ECO units aren't on Amazon, but this XFX Core 650W unit is. We're starting to creep up a bit pricewise ($77), but it's a good unit.

 

[MooMoo]

Currently confused about which power cable to use for the graphics card. I bought a 560ti and it has a 8-pin port and a 6-pin port. Which do I use? The card came with this weird 8pin/double headed 6-pin thing and another cable which I assume to be for older motherboards. Also, my PSU came with similar cables; does it matter which one I use?

Edit: Also, for the HDD activity LED/Power LED/etc., I can't tell which of the two pins is pos/neg. One of them has an obvious arrow label but I'm still clueless as to which is which. I've read that for these set of pins it doesn't really matter (i.e. you won't fry anything) if you get it wrong but can anyone tell me what the arrow is most likely to label?

 

[mkenyon]

Put cables in there until you can't fit anything else. If it has both a 8 and a 6, put an 8 in the 8 and a 6 in the 6. PCI-E cables are referred to as '6+2 pin' cables because the +2 (making 8) is optional. You use the same one for both, just sans the extra two that should slide off.

 

[opticalmace]

Currently confused about which power cable to use for the graphics card. I bought a 560ti and it has a 8-pin port and a 6-pin port. Which do I use? The card came with this weird 8pin/double headed 6-pin thing and another cable which I assume to be for older motherboards. Also, my PSU came with similar cables; does it matter which one I use?

Edit: Also, for the HDD activity LED/Power LED/etc., I can't tell which of the two pins is pos/neg. One of them has an obvious arrow label but I'm still clueless as to which is which. I've read that for these set of pins it doesn't really matter (i.e. you won't fry anything) if you get it wrong but can anyone tell me what the arrow is most likely to label?

Use both.

And for your edit, check the mobo manual if you can't read the writing on the board itself.

 

[MisterNoisy]

Currently confused about which power cable to use for the graphics card. I bought a 560ti and it has a 8-pin port and a 6-pin port. Which do I use? The card came with this weird 8pin/double headed 6-pin thing and another cable which I assume to be for older motherboards. Also, my PSU came with similar cables; does it matter which one I use?

Edit: Also, for the HDD activity LED/Power LED/etc., I can't tell which of the two pins is pos/neg. One of them has an obvious arrow label but I'm still clueless as to which is which. I've read that for these set of pins it doesn't really matter (i.e. you won't fry anything) if you get it wrong but can anyone tell me what the arrow is most likely to label?

Use both. Your PSU has a PCI-E 6-pin and a PCI-E 6+2 pin connector, and both will need to be connected to the card.

Most case front panel wires are white (or black) and another color. The other color is generally the positive/'hot' wire.

 

[ccbfan]

Can someone explain 12V+ rails.

I know the CPU and the GPU uses mostly power from the 12V+ rails. How about other things? Things like HHD, SSD, DVD-Drives, Fans, USB and other PCI-E devices like Wireless cards.

I've been using Power calculation websites and they always go by total wattage. Have I done my calculations completely wrong.

Bought a cx430 after seeing that my desired build of

i5 3570K (like OC like to 4.2 Ghz)
AsRock z77 Pro 4
Cooler MAster 212+
Corsair Vengence 8GB
Samsung 830 128 GB
Zalmon Z9
Samsung DVD -RW
Some 7850 Card
Some 1-2 TB Harddrive.

Couldn't get past 300 Watts on load on this and with a 430 Watt PS that's under 70 percent use which is great for efficiency

But if all this stuff uses Rail Watts. That cw430 only has 28*12 = 336. Thats almost 90 percent usage, that's too close for comfort.

 

[Jackben]

4 pin power connector at the top left of the motherboard

CPU connector (4 or 8 pin), should be on the top left of the mobo.

*edit*
Beat like an accommodating whore.

You guys are damn good. I sure as hell will be snapping pics once all my parts finally arrive (should be Thursday evening).

 

[Ryne]

Probably my first post here, and I have a question.

I built this computer back in November and I think it's pretty solid. However I was recently granted a 750 shopping spree for computer parts. I'm not allowed to give it away to someone who might need it, so what should I upgrade on this computer? Here are my specs:


CPU
Intel Core i7 2600K @ 3.40GHz 34 °C
Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology

RAM
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz (8-8-8-24)

Motherboard
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3

Graphics
SA300/SA350 (1920x1080@60Hz)
1535MB GeForce GTX 580 (EVGA)

Hard Drives
488GB Western Digital WDC WD5001AALS-00L3B2 ATA Device (SATA)
59GB OCZ OCZ-VERTEX3 ATA Device (SATA)
977GB SAMSUNG SAMSUNG HD103SJ ATA Device (SATA)

Optical Drives
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-222AL ATA Device

Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

 

[MooMoo]

Sorry but it's still not quite making sense. The card came with:
1. 6pin to 2x 3-pin looking thing. (it looks like 4 pins but the fourth pin isn't there)
2. 8pin to 2x 6-pin.

Meanwhile, my PSU came only with (well it came with more, but these are the only ones that seem relevant at the moment):
1. A single PCIE 6pin connector
2. A single 8/6 pin PCIE connector

I'm struggling as to which set of cables I'm supposed to be using. Am I'm using all four cables? Just the ones from that came with the card? Or just the ones from the PSU?

Also for all the LED lights, the wires came with the case and well, the manual for that kinda sucked. Is this the only situation in which it's okay to just take a guess as to which is which?

 

[zulfate]

Maximus V Gene or Rampage IV Gene (prior SB/IB, latter Sandy-E)

*edit* I overlooked the bottleneck question, which is odd. Maximus V Gene is literally one of the best motherboards (IMO, *the* best for single video card), let alone good mATX board.

Lemme know if you get serious about it. mATX builds are my favorite, there's a ton of options out there as far as cases and total thermal design to make sure it's performing on or above par with bigger cases.

You can also look at the ASUS Z77 ITX board, which is just as capable as its bigger brothers thanks to some really unique design features.

wow those are expensive! i was looking around for maybe $100

A micro atx motherboard will not bottleneck you. The biostar in the op, and the asus gene are good choices.

i am sorry hazaro but when i look up the biostar in the OP i dont see the micro atx board

 

[MisterNoisy]

Sorry but it's still not quite making sense. The card came with:
1. 6pin to 2x 3-pin looking thing. (it looks like 4 pins but the fourth pin isn't there)
2. 8pin to 2x 6-pin.

Meanwhile, my PSU came only with (well it came with more, but these are the only ones that seem relevant at the moment):
1. A single PCIE 6pin connector
2. A single 8/6 pin PCIE connector

I'm struggling as to which set of cables I'm supposed to be using. Am I'm using all four cables? Just the ones from that came with the card? Or just the ones from the PSU?

Also for all the LED lights, the wires came with the case and well, the manual for that kinda sucked. Is this the only situation in which it's okay to just take a guess as to which is which?

Ignore the stuff that came with your card and connect the two lines from the PSU to your video card 'as is'. As for the case panel wires, are the wires themselves all black?

 

[MooMoo]

Ignore the stuff that came with your card and connect the two lines from the PSU to your video card 'as is'. As for the case panel wires, are the wires themselves all black?

Okay cool, that's what I kind of figured in my head. And yeah, they're all stupidly black and the only clue I have is that one side is labeled with an arrow =/

 

[MisterNoisy]

Okay cool, that's what I kind of figured in my head. And yeah, they're all stupidly black and the only clue I have is that one side is labeled with an arrow =/

A bit of Googling tells me that the arrows indicate positive (or at least it will function that way), so go with that.

 

[ProXimity]

I'm assuming when I build my PC, I'll need a start up disc to install Windows 7. Where is the best place I can get a physical copy of Windows 7 to put on a fresh-built rig?

 

[surly]

My new mATX build is running nicely. It's the most I've ever spent on a PC and I still don't have a GPU! Specs: -

Silverstone TJ08-E case with the front fan replaced with a Phobya 180mm
Maximus IV Gene-Z/Gen3
Core i7 3770k
Corsair 620HX modular PSU (from my old machine)
16GB of Corsair RAM
Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 cooler
Samsung 830 128GB SSD
Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 2TB HDD in a Silverstone FP57 hot-swappable bay
Lite-On iHAS 624B burner
Silverstone FP37 card reader
Native Instruments Audio 6 external sound card

When the funds allow it, I'll be getting one of these as this PC is so quiet it would be a shame to spoil it with a loud GPU: -

The HD 4000 integrated graphics score pretty high in the WEI, but I haven't tried playing any games yet other than Torchlight (which runs nicely).

Once the GPU is in I'll do some overclocking.

 

[MisterNoisy]

Can someone explain 12V+ rails.

I know the CPU and the GPU uses mostly power from the 12V+ rails. How about other things? Things like HHD, SSD, DVD-Drives, Fans, USB and other PCI-E devices like Wireless cards.

I've been using Power calculation websites and they always go by total wattage. Have I done my calculations completely wrong.

Bought a cx430 after seeing that my desired build of

i5 3570K (like OC like to 4.2 Ghz)
AsRock z77 Pro 4
Cooler MAster 212+
Corsair Vengence 8GB
Samsung 830 128 GB
Zalmon Z9
Samsung DVD -RW
Some 7850 Card
Some 1-2 TB Harddrive.

Couldn't get past 300 Watts on load on this and with a 430 Watt PS that's under 70 percent use which is great for efficiency

But if all this stuff uses Rail Watts. That cw430 only has 28*12 = 336. Thats almost 90 percent usage, that's too close for comfort.

A lot of that hardware will be drawing from the 12v rail, so a bit more headroom wouldn't be a bad idea, especially if you're overclocking. If you're up for exchanging, etc, there's a number of higher output/quality units that wouldn't be too much more expensive (Antec NeoECO 520W/620W or BP550Plus, XFX Core 550W/650W, etc.)

I'm assuming when I build my PC, I'll need a start up disc to install Windows 7. Where is the best place I can get a physical copy of Windows 7 to put on a fresh-built rig?

Newegg has it for $100 usually, though you can occasionally snap a copy up discounted.

 

[MooMoo]

A bit of Googling tells me that the arrows indicate positive (or at least it will function that way), so go with that.

Thanks, and thanks to everyone else who posted to help. Spent most of the afternoon trying to put this together. First boot-up coming up! *crosses fingers*

 

[surly]

I'm assuming when I build my PC, I'll need a start up disc to install Windows 7. Where is the best place I can get a physical copy of Windows 7 to put on a fresh-built rig?

Download it from Digital River (Google it). You can get Windows 7 of all flavours, but with SP1 integrated, so it's less of a ball ache when you first run Windows Update and it saves you some hard drive space too.

You will need a legit license of course, so you could still purchase it from the NewEgg link above - just don't use the disc that comes with it to install it.

 

[MisterNoisy]

Thanks, and thanks to everyone else who posted to help. Spent most of the afternoon trying to put this together. First boot-up coming up! *crosses fingers*

Assuming you don't accidentally let the smoke out, take pictures.

 

[MooMoo]

Assuming you don't accidentally let the smoke out, take pictures.

Haha will do! Taking a little longer because I wanted to change some of the cabling around to make it neater. I have to say, I admire you guys for your expertise in this stuff. I kinda walked in thinking it'd be easy like legos but gotta say it's not that easy My biggest regret so far is the lack of foresight as to cabling/what goes where. Every time I decided to change up something or ran into an issue I pretty much had to unscrew the motherboard again just because the CPU cooler is kinda a rock in a hard place.

 

[MisterNoisy]

Haha will do! Taking a little longer because I wanted to change some of the cabling around to make it neater. I have to say, I admire you guys for your expertise in this stuff. I kinda walked in thinking it'd be easy like legos but gotta say it's not that easy My biggest regret so far is the lack of foresight as to cabling/what goes where. Every time I decided to change up something or ran into an issue I pretty much had to unscrew the motherboard again just because the CPU cooler is kinda a rock in a hard place.

If you used the cabling pass-throughs in your case, you shouldn't have to pull the motherboard to reorganize, assuming you have them routed to generally the correct locations. All the cables from the PSU (possibly excepting the 8-pin EPS/CPU power cable, which is occasionally too short) should go behind the tray through the hole next to the PSU location and come out from the holes in the 'front' of the motherboard tray - after that, just arrange them so they generally are in a single layer and ziptie them down on the back before closing the right-side door.

EDIT: I will note that I make sure everything boots and you get Windows installed with the case wide open first, before tying everything down - it's a royal pain in the ass to have to unclip all those ties in the event of a bad part.

 

[MooMoo]

If you used the cabling pass-throughs in your case, you shouldn't have to pull the motherboard to reorganize, assuming you have them routed to generally the correct locations. All the cables from the PSU (possibly excepting the 8-pin EPS/CPU power cable, which is occasionally too short) should go behind the tray through the hole next to the PSU location and come out from the holes in the 'front' of the motherboard tray - after that, just arrange them so they generally are in a single layer and ziptie them down on the back before closing the right-side door.

It was more of I have an unusually hard time mounting the SSD. It's definitely my inexperience with the whole process; once I get around to posting up pictures I can point out the exact spot I was having issues with. The gist of it was that I realized I had mounted the SSD wrong but then the way the manual had it didn't make much sense because the tray wouldn't lock into position. So I kind of had to make a judgment call and each time I changed my mind I couldn't just pull out the tray because the CPU cooler took just a little too much space for me to be able to freely pull out the tray. So now my SSD isn't exactly screwed in anymore but I figured that that shouldn't really matter since it's not like my desktop will be moving around or anything and a SSD has no moving parts anyways. But yeah, hindsight is always 20/20.

 

[EternalGamer]

A lot of that hardware will be drawing from the 12v rail, so a bit more headroom wouldn't be a bad idea, especially if you're overclocking. If you're up for exchanging, etc, there's a number of higher output/quality units that wouldn't be too much more expensive (Antec NeoECO 520W/620W or BP550Plus, XFX Core 550W/650W, etc.)



Newegg has it for $100 usually, though you can occasionally snap a copy up discounted.

If you are a student at a university with a .edu address, you can get it for $35 through MS's website.

 

[EternalGamer]

Probably my first post here, and I have a question.

I built this computer back in November and I think it's pretty solid. However I was recently granted a 750 shopping spree for computer parts. I'm not allowed to give it away to someone who might need it, so what should I upgrade on this computer? Here are my specs:


CPU
Intel Core i7 2600K @ 3.40GHz 34 °C
Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology

RAM
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz (8-8-8-24)

Motherboard
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3

Graphics
SA300/SA350 (1920x1080@60Hz)
1535MB GeForce GTX 580 (EVGA)

Hard Drives
488GB Western Digital WDC WD5001AALS-00L3B2 ATA Device (SATA)
59GB OCZ OCZ-VERTEX3 ATA Device (SATA)
977GB SAMSUNG SAMSUNG HD103SJ ATA Device (SATA)

Optical Drives
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-222AL ATA Device

Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

I don't really see anything there that is not throwing away money. Buy a nice headset or monitor, a monitor swivelling wall mount, or a computer chair or or some Steam bucks! In other words, think about the stuff surrounding your box rather than the box itself.

 

[MooMoo]

If you used the cabling pass-throughs in your case, you shouldn't have to pull the motherboard to reorganize, assuming you have them routed to generally the correct locations. All the cables from the PSU (possibly excepting the 8-pin EPS/CPU power cable, which is occasionally too short) should go behind the tray through the hole next to the PSU location and come out from the holes in the 'front' of the motherboard tray - after that, just arrange them so they generally are in a single layer and ziptie them down on the back before closing the right-side door.

EDIT: I will note that I make sure everything boots and you get Windows installed with the case wide open first, before tying everything down - it's a royal pain in the ass to have to unclip all those ties in the event of a bad part.

Yeah...that definitely crossed my mind but I decided to just forego my luck today. SUCH A BEAUTIFUL NOISE. But two things:
1. I kind of lost the screw that holds the side of the case. Thank god for spares. Definitely gonna spend some time looking for it though because it has to be in my room somewhere.
2. Definitely forgot to plug in the power for my DVD player :3

Double Edit: Oh...crap. Have enough of the SATA power but not enough SATA data cables. Any recommendations for some cheap SATA data cables?

 

[mkenyon]

Probably my first post here, and I have a question.

I built this computer back in November and I think it's pretty solid. However I was recently granted a 750 shopping spree for computer parts. I'm not allowed to give it away to someone who might need it, so what should I upgrade on this computer? Here are my specs:


CPU
Intel Core i7 2600K @ 3.40GHz 34 °C
Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology

RAM
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz (8-8-8-24)

Motherboard
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3

Graphics
SA300/SA350 (1920x1080@60Hz)
1535MB GeForce GTX 580 (EVGA)

Hard Drives
488GB Western Digital WDC WD5001AALS-00L3B2 ATA Device (SATA)
59GB OCZ OCZ-VERTEX3 ATA Device (SATA)
977GB SAMSUNG SAMSUNG HD103SJ ATA Device (SATA)

Optical Drives
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-222AL ATA Device

Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

Where I would go, in order of awesomeness.

1) If you don't have a CPU cooler, get a Coolermaster Hyper 212, TPC 812, Corsair H60, or H100 and overclock that processor to the 4.5-4.8 range.

2) BenQ XL2420T, get on board with 120hz. Its so amazing, my favorite new tech of the past couple of years.

3) If you have a really beefy power supply, get a second 580. 850+ watts should do fine.

4) If you are a music listener and enjoy rich game sound, get a really nice soundcard with preamp, like the ASUS Essence STX or Phoebus with a nice set of headphones like the Sennheiser PC-350's or PC-360s.

5) If you don't have a great case, a better one with really nice and quiet fans.

I don't really see anything there that is not throwing away money.

Hater.

 

[K' Dash]

Hater.

Lol.

I'd get the 120hz monitor and try to make the machine as quiet as possible, but that's just me.

 

[MisterNoisy]

Yeah...that definitely crossed my mind but I decided to just forego my luck today. SUCH A BEAUTIFUL NOISE. But two things:
1. I kind of lost the screw that holds the side of the case. Thank god for spares. Definitely gonna spend some time looking for it though because it has to be in my room somewhere.
2. Definitely forgot to plug in the power for my DVD player :3

Double Edit: Oh...crap. Have enough of the SATA power but not enough SATA data cables. Any recommendations for some cheap SATA data cables?

SATA cables are pretty cheap - if you have a local computer shop and aren't too picky about color, etc, I'd just get them there so you're not waiting on shipping. Beyond that, the usual sources (Newegg, Amazon, etc.).

 

[EternalGamer]

Hater.

I'm not saying he can't improve stuff, I just don't know improving the internal components would be anything that he would substantially notice; that's a pretty awesome PC as is.

That's why I suggested the stuff on the "outside" of the box itself.

 

[MooMoo]

SATA cables are pretty cheap - if you have a local computer shop and aren't too picky about color, etc, I'd just get them there so you're not waiting on shipping. Beyond that, the usual sources (Newegg, Amazon, etc.).

Sounds like a plan. My current makeshift strategy is to just hook up my SSD/DVD just to install Windows 7 for now and then to unplug everuthing and convert back to my SSD/HDD so I can spend the later part of the night transferring all my files/updating drivers. Thanks again for the help! I'll post pictures tomorrow when I'm not so exhausted lol.

 

[klownboots]

Just ordered an EVGA GTX 550 (fermi) and a new case (my old one is a mini ATX and there is no way I could shove anything else in it haha).

Replacing a GTS 250. Just hoping my 3 core AMD will still hold its weight although I am fairly confident in its abilities thus far.

 

[tigerin]

CPU -Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor $199.99 @ ncix us

Motherboard- Biostar TZ77B ATX LGA1155 Motherboard $79.99 @ newegg

Memory- Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $54.99 @ newegg

GPU- Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB PCI-E Video Card (100315L) - SAPPHIRE $135 @ amazon

Hard Drive- Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $79.99 @ newegg

case- NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case $39.99 @ amazon/newegg

psu- Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply $34.99 @ amazon

okay, after all the price research, these are all the parts i'm going with that have the cheapest price(thanks to PCPartPicker site form the op.) i decided to leave out the optical drive for now because i don't need discs for the time being. i noticed there's a section for cpu cooler on the site, but since no one mention it and i don't think i will overclock or do any heavy task on it, i won't need it now?

comes out to be around $625.......not bad.

okay, are there any objection before i click "order"?

 

[MrBig]

okay, are there any objection before i click "order"?

Get the 2500k at Newegg or Amazon, the extra $20 is worth not having to deal with NCIX.
I'd also get two of these Samsung RAM sticks instead of the Corsair.

 

[Wolf Akela]

Why not bump that up to a 6870?

 

[ProXimity]

I am right that I specifically need a physical disc to install Windows 7 and a built-from-scratch rig, right?

 

[Wolf Akela]

I am right that I specifically need a physical disc to install Windows 7 and a built-from-scratch rig, right?

Not at all. You can install from the USB. You can download the ISO and tool from Microsoft's site.

 

[klownboots]

This will come off as a dumb question... but is there truly an advantage for having more than 4 gigs of ram? I don't feel my system is having any issues (aside from the graphics card which as mentioned before I am upgrading).

 

[MrBig]

I am right that I specifically need a physical disc to install Windows 7 and a built-from-scratch rig, right?

Not at all. You can install from the USB. You can download the ISO and tool from Microsoft's site.

Yes, specifically this tool. You can use your existing license and an ISO of the same version of Windows (get the one that includes SP1, though) from Digital River (google it).

This will come off as a dumb question... but is there truly an advantage for having more than 4 gigs of ram? I don't feel my system is having any issues (aside from the graphics card which as mentioned before I am upgrading).

If you never run out of ram in your workflow, don't waste money on anything you wont use.

 

[mkenyon]

This will come off as a dumb question... but is there truly an advantage for having more than 4 gigs of ram? I don't feel my system is having any issues (aside from the graphics card which as mentioned before I am upgrading).

For games? Only if you like to leave a ton of stuff open while playing. I usually hover around 4-5GB used.

*edit*
What MrBig said.

 

[klownboots]

Gotcha, I am... I guess we could say old school in that I close out of almost everything before I load up a game lol. I really only use my PC for games anymore (at least those would be considered my most taxing of processes).

Makes sense, thanks for the input! I can't wait to get my parts in and re-join the master race... it has been far too long.

 

[ombz]

If you are a student at a university with a .edu address, you can get it for $35 through MS's website.

This is the only copy of windows I see for students on MS's website. It's 65 dollars and it's an upgrade so you have to install xp or vista first.
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/productID.216644200/flyout.true

 

[MooMoo]

So everything is running smoothly but I can't seem to locate my second HDD on my main desktop window. Is there something in the BIOS I specifically need to activate in order to see it? It's definitely wired correctly because when I go into the BIOS I can see it listed under all the hard drives installed.

 

[EternalGamer]

This is the only copy of windows I see for students on MS's website. It's 65 dollars and it's an upgrade so you have to install xp or vista first.
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/productID.216644200/flyout.true

Actually it isn't true that you need Vista installed for the upgrade. Not sure if the deal is still going on but it was only $29 and it was through digital river I believe.

Edit: Yeah it now looks like it is $65 for the student version, but I am nearly 100% you do not need a previous version of Windows installed.