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[TheExodu5]

Flatband cable is under the mainboard to the front (used for Soundblaster Frontpanel):

Man, I won't miss IDE cables in the least. Cable management nightmares.

Nice build! Thanks for the pics.

edit: wait...did you pass the IDE cable underneath the botherboard? There can't be an IDE port at the top of the motherboard like that, can there? In any case, I'm impressed.

 

[Gibbo]

hey guys, I tried overclocking my HD 7870 via AMD overdrive. moved gpu from 1000 to 1050 . and mem clock from 1200 to 1450. manual fan control remained unchanged at 57% and power control at 0%. played max payne 3 and world in conflict and both games seem to crash on me after playing it awhile. am i doing something wrong here?

 

[Lasthope106]

I have a question regarding OCing. If my memory is rated 800 MHz and the FBS is 400 MHz I can't overclock the CPU past 400 MHz. Is this correct? If it is, then I made a mistake a few years ago by OCing my E6750 at 415 MHz x 8.

 

[Takuya]

Finally got my 2nd card in the mail!!!

 

[Horsemama1956]

hey guys, I tried overclocking my HD 7870 via AMD overdrive. moved gpu from 1000 to 1050 . and mem clock from 1200 to 1450. manual fan control remained unchanged at 57% and power control at 0%. played max payne 3 and world in conflict and both games seem to crash on me after playing it awhile. am i doing something wrong here?

Get MSI Afterburner and start with the voltage at 1.2 with a 1200 core and 1400 memory and set the power to +20 to ensure it gets a bit more juice. Run Heaven and tweak until you get things stable and to your liking. Then test with games. Heaven is quick to get running and will stress the GPU out as well if not more then any game. Avoid Furmark, I don't care what anyone tells you about it.

 

[littleworm]

Can someone with a ASUS MB tell me what the ASUS Optimal setting in the BIOS does? When I turn it on and run Prime95 my computer crashes, when I use the default setting it doesn't.

 

[knitoe]

Can someone with a ASUS MB tell me what the ASUS Optimal setting in the BIOS does? When I turn it on and tun Prime95 my computer crashes, when I use the default setting it doesn't.

Pretty sure the optimal settings are what you MB detects you hardware and runs them base on their specs. That's why after running a bios update, they recommend you load the optimal settings and reboot. If it crashes when you select that option, the MB is incorrectly identifying you hardware. You can find out what's wrong by compare the difference(s) in the bios.

 

[kharma45]

Just ordered the HIS iceQ 7850 2GB to replace my 6850. Will I need to uninstall all my current drivers first and uninstall my CCC and redownload the new stuff?

Yeah that's the best thing to do.

 

[Caesar III]

Man, I won't miss IDE cables in the least. Cable management nightmares.
Nice build! Thanks for the pics.
edit: wait...did you pass the IDE cable underneath the botherboard? There can't be an IDE port at the top of the motherboard like that, can there? In any case, I'm impressed.

This is not an ordinary IDE cable. It's the connector from my soundcard to the frontpanel. It starts in the pic above, goes under the mainboard and into the front panel.

btw: I was a bit bummed when I saw my 2 ide dvd drives are not usable anymore though. Had to buy a new drive with sata cause the board does not have an ide port anymore.

 

[Trojita]

I'm thinking about building a new PC and taking my old one to my parents house to use when I visit.

I guess I'll start first with a case.

I'm thinking about getting a Corsair Case or a Silverstone one. Still looking, but I was considering the Corsair 800D. Anyone have any other suggestions.

 

[RedBullEnergy]

Finally got my 2nd card in the mail!!!

Whoa, what kind of setup is that? Beautifully clean and tidy!

 

[ToyMachine228]

So I'm trying to fix my parents old tower. It randomly restarts itself during use. Any use at all. It even happens during boot sometimes. So I ordered a new power supply. The old power supply has a cable that hooks into the motherboard that the new power supply does night. Here is a picture of it.

Any insight? I assume it's mandatory if it's running to the motherboard. I believe the PC was built in 2004, so it is pretty old. What is this wire, and will the tower run with the new power supply which doesn't have it? Seems odd to me.

 

[cazosozey]

So I'm trying to fix my parents old tower. It randomly restarts itself during use. Any use at all. It even happens during boot sometimes. So I ordered a new power supply. The old power supply has a cable that hooks into the motherboard that the new power supply does night. Here is a picture of it.

Any insight? I assume it's mandatory if it's running to the motherboard. I believe the PC was built in 2004, so it is pretty old. What is this wire, and will the tower run with the new power supply which doesn't have it? Seems odd to me.

Looks like a fan power connector

 

[Infinite Justice]

This is not an ordinary IDE cable. It's the connector from my soundcard to the frontpanel. It starts in the pic above, goes under the mainboard and into the front panel.

btw: I was a bit bummed when I saw my 2 ide dvd drives are not usable anymore though. Had to buy a new drive with sata cause the board does not have an ide port anymore.

Yea that's currently bumming me out as well (goodbye HDD and DVD-RW Drive )

 

[Ocho]

Whoa, what kind of setup is that? Beautifully clean and tidy!

I also want to know. Fell in love.

 

[ghostmind]

My new build is complete!

 

[Negaiido]

My new build is complete!

Nice setup
Bit dark, very clean though.
Does it have 1 GFX card or 2 ?

 

[LordAlu]

Guys, I'd like some advice.

A friend of mine would like to buy a desktop. She is very heavily into 3D editing and rendering as well as Photoshop and After Effects use. Obviously she'd like a computer that can handle these tasks well but the sort of stuff you buy in shops is terrible, or stupendously expensive for what it is.

Therefore I'm gonna build one. The budget for it, including monitor/keyboard/mouse etc is £1,500. This is what I've got so far:

• Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
• Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
• Corsair XMS3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
• Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
• Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
• EVGA GeForce GTX 570 1.25GB Video Card
• Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl ATX Mid Tower Case
• Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
• Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)

This comes up to just over £1,000, leaving around £500 some of which must go on a suitable monitor. A few things though: do you guys think this would be a suitable computer for 3D editing? The graphics card isn't mega fancy since it won't really be used for games... should I drop it down? Also does anyone have any recommendations for a monitor suitable for photo editing, so good colour reproduction etc?

 

[DodgyGeezerFella]

I bought myself a GTX 670 the other day, what the hell has happened with rear exhaust coolers these days They all seem to have this annoying mechanical noise about them when in use, something i never experienced with 8800GTS or GTX 260, the only thing you could hear was the air being pumped out, not the actual fan.

Since those i have had a GTX 460 EE, 560 Ti EE and now the 670 GTX, all have this annoying mechanical buzz about them (i think my AMD 5770 also had it but no sure since it was long ago). What gives ? I prefer external exhaust but not with this pneumatic drill noise they give off now :/

 

[DeVeAn]

Guys I have the EVGA GTX 570, and I am kinda feeling like I should have went with a GTX 680 or 70.

Is it hard to install a new Graphics card into my system? What do you do? I am thinking about returning it to Amazon, and getting the 680

I have a gtx 570 and every game I get 1080p 60fps. Unless its a shit port or BF3 and witcher 2 on ULTRA.

 

[legacyzero]

Yea I have basically the same cpu, just 3ghz instead. Plenty of power for any game out imo. As for a card, If you don't want to spend nearly that much, a 560ti would be a great buy. If 400 is indeed your range I would say a gtx 670 would be a great buy as well. Someone correct me if there's a better card he could buy, lol

So my Quad Core 3.2 CPU will be fine if I grab a 7970?

I just read about stuff like bottle-necks and worry.

 

[ghostmind]

Nice setup
Bit dark, very clean though.
Does it have 1 GFX card or 2 ?

One for now - I'll add a second 670 later this year or early next.

 

[MrBig]

This comes up to just over £1,000, leaving around £500 some of which must go on a suitable monitor. A few things though: do you guys think this would be a suitable computer for 3D editing? The graphics card isn't mega fancy since it won't really be used for games... should I drop it down? Also does anyone have any recommendations for a monitor suitable for photo editing, so good colour reproduction etc?

The components you picked out a very good. The R3 is getting phased out atm and Fractal is probably going to be out with a new iteration soon, if you can find one though it's great.

If she isn't gaming I might drop it to a 560ti 448 or just a 560. I'm not sure how linearly 3DS Max/render performance translates from games.

For a monitor I'd recommend this. It's the panel (rejected for some likely small reason, the seller will pay for any problems) from an Apple cinema display repackaged in a different bezel and sold pretty much at cost. There are several ebay sellers that sell these from the respective manufacturers but AW seems to be the best.

Otherwise maybe a u2412, but whatever you get for her make sure it's IPS. I believe Asus sells a calibrated production oriented IPS display.

 

[Negaiido]

One for now - I'll add a second 670 later this year or early next.

Ah right otherwise I would have told you that having a 750W PSU is a waste. But that's cool Something I want to have as well but not sure if SLI is the best way to play games.

 

[mkenyon]

So my Quad Core 3.2 CPU will be fine if I grab a 7970?

I just read about stuff like bottle-necks and worry.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120.html

That's the article I said I posted a few pages back.

tl;dr, games that like speedy cores such as SC2, Civ V, and unreal engine games will have a serious frame difference, and no amount of GPU can make up for it. This is a minority of games though.

Guys, I'd like some advice.

A friend of mine would like to buy a desktop. She is very heavily into 3D editing and rendering as well as Photoshop and After Effects use. Obviously she'd like a computer that can handle these tasks well but the sort of stuff you buy in shops is terrible, or stupendously expensive for what it is.

Therefore I'm gonna build one. The budget for it, including monitor/keyboard/mouse etc is £1,500. This is what I've got so far:

• Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
• Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
• Corsair XMS3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
• Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
• Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
• EVGA GeForce GTX 570 1.25GB Video Card
• Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl ATX Mid Tower Case
• Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
• Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)

This comes up to just over £1,000, leaving around £500 some of which must go on a suitable monitor. A few things though: do you guys think this would be a suitable computer for 3D editing? The graphics card isn't mega fancy since it won't really be used for games... should I drop it down? Also does anyone have any recommendations for a monitor suitable for photo editing, so good colour reproduction etc?

If at all possible, skimp in certain places to get a 3930K + X79 motherboard. It's designed for the task you're describing.

Ah right otherwise I would have told you that having a 750W PSU is a waste. But that's cool Something I want to have as well but not sure if SLI is the best way to play games.

If you're not on a tight budget, getting a bit of overhead with a better PSU is always advisable.

 

[Negaiido]

If you're not on a tight budget, getting a bit of overhead with a better PSU is always advisable.

Well electricity needs budgeting as well and there's always heat generation. 200W is too big of a overhead I'd say, if 550 is all he needs.

 

[LordAlu]

The components you picked out a very good. The R3 is getting phased out atm and Fractal is probably going to be out with a new iteration soon, if you can find one though it's great.

If she isn't gaming I might drop it to a 560ti 448 or just a 560. I'm not sure how linearly 3DS Max/render performance translates from games.

For a monitor I'd recommend this. It's the panel (rejected for some likely small reason, the seller will pay for any problems) from an Apple cinema display repackaged in a different bezel and sold pretty much at cost. There are several ebay sellers that sell these from the respective manufacturers but AW seems to be the best.

Otherwise maybe a u2412, but whatever you get for her make sure it's IPS. I believe Asus sells a calibrated production oriented IPS display.

Thanks for the advice, I was looking at the 27" Dell monitor but £560+ was pretty steep. £245 is much more like it!

If at all possible, skimp in certain places to get a 3930K + X79 motherboard. It's designed for the task you're describing.

I originally had a 3930K and ASRock X79 motherboard with only a 64GB SSD and a 560Ti 448. It came out at over £1,250 not including delivery costs and so-on, leaving very little for a monitor. Just the 3930K took up nearly 1/3rd of the whole budget

 

[MrBig]

Thanks for the advice, I was looking at the 27" Dell monitor but £560+ was pretty steep. £245 is much more like it!

Yeah the u2711 is ridiculously priced for consumers. I'm getting my Crossover in on Monday, I'll do some sort of a review on it and post it here.

 

[mkenyon]

Well electricity needs budgeting as well and there's always heat generation. 200W is too big of a overhead I'd say, if 550 is all he needs.

It only pulls as much as you need. It doesn't constantly pull 700W, if that's what you're thinking.

I originally had a 3930K and ASRock X79 motherboard with only a 64GB SSD and a 560Ti 448. It came out at over £1,250 not including delivery costs and so-on, leaving very little for a monitor. Just the 3930K took up nearly 1/3rd of the whole budget

Could go lower on the GPU. 6870 maybe?

 

[dragonlife]

Finally got my 2nd card in the mail!!!

Those pics... it's beautiful.

 

[MrBig]

Could go lower on the GPU. 6870 maybe?

Best to stick with nvidia in this situation for Cuda and Photoshop gpu acceleration.

 

[mkenyon]

Ah, thanks for that.

 

[TouchMyBox]

You guys keep on making me want to spend money on stuff I don't need with these pictures.

 

[Negaiido]

It only pulls as much as you need. It doesn't constantly pull 700W, if that's what you're thinking.

Could go lower on the GPU. 6870 maybe?

I guess I had it wrong, my apologies.

 

[Bucket-o-roadkill]

I have just got a Bitfenix Windowed Shinobi USB3.0, the fans are all connected up, the airflow is fine but I get like a whirrrring, i have no idea why, whether its the desk that the computer is sat in or the case itself, any ideas?? I repeat that its not the fans... I have tightened up the screws and its no different. It whirrs on the carpet or in the desk enclosure..

The ironic thing is I literally got this new case and spent quite a bit on it to eliminate this noise... That was the sole purpose of replacing my last case. To say I feel a bit stupid now is an understatement..

 

[_woLf]

Hey guys, I'm having some problems with my new PC and I would like your help figuring out what could be causing it.

Every so often my computer will completely freeze and a high-pitch noise will come out of my headphones. There's no way to predict the problem, sometimes I can go days without it happening, other days it'll happen 3 times in 3 hours.

I *think* that it's my OCZ Vertex 3 drive. I know the controller on this particular series is notoriously unstable, so thats what is leading me to think it's that...

Similarly, every so often all programs that I have installed on that drive will freeze up and stop responding (skype and firefox, for example) where as programs on other drives (like the Guild Wars 2 beta, for example) will work fine. Confusing, but yeah.

I updated the harddrive's firmware hoping that'd fix it, but it hasn't helped at all.

Does anyone know what could be causing the problem? I wish I got a bluescreen error code or something to help, but the freezing that happens requires me to hold down the power button on my PC to restart it, so I don't get any kind of notification.

 

[Lesiroth]

Hoping to upgrade (for real this time) from my 4850, budget can go as far as 250. I suppose the best thing out there for the money is the 7850 or is there something else I should be on the lookout for?

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

I see some newer GPUs use PCIe 3.0. Given what I've read about when 3.0 came into use, my machine predates it. Would that make one of these 3.0 cards unusable, or just not optimally efficient?

 

[kharma45]

Hoping to upgrade (for real this time) from my 4850, budget can go as far as 250. I suppose the best thing out there for the money is the 7850 or is there something else I should be on the lookout for?

Yeah the 7850 is for my money the best bang for buck midrange card out there, especially when overclocked.

I see some newer GPUs use PCIe 3.0. Given what I've read about when 3.0 came into use, my machine predates it. Would that make one of these 3.0 cards unusable, or just not optimally efficient?

You'll not be at any disadvantage.

 

[Voltron64]

Hello PC GAF. I'm trying to figure out which card I can buy that will allow me to play the most recent games at 1920 x 1080 maxed ou, that's the least expensive. Any help?

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Seeing high end RAM in someones system is the first big indicator that they are a dumbass. Paying a bit extra for something that aesthetically matches your rig is one thing. Dumping money on something that looks like a Michael Bay transformer makes you an idiot. Here's a pro-tip for the non LN2-overclockers out there. If you're buying DDR3 with any heat spreader at all, you're doing it wrong.

I was with you until this last sentence when you went full retard. The heatspreaders are there because even at default clocks DDR3 gets extremely hot. They aren't there to look pretty, and almost all RAM which isn't the bottom-of-the-barrel junk which "isn't guaranteed to be compatible with any system" in the disclaimers will bear heatspreaders.

 

[mkenyon]

I have just got a Bitfenix Windowed Shinobi USB3.0, the fans are all connected up, the airflow is fine but I get like a whirrrring, i have no idea why, whether its the desk that the computer is sat in or the case itself, any ideas?? I repeat that its not the fans... I have tightened up the screws and its no different. It whirrs on the carpet or in the desk enclosure..

The ironic thing is I literally got this new case and spent quite a bit on it to eliminate this noise... That was the sole purpose of replacing my last case. To say I feel a bit stupid now is an understatement..

It has to be a fan, fans are the only thing that cause noise in a computer other than PSU coil whine. Stop each fan in your computer (heatsink, case fans, video card, psu) one at a time to find out which it is.

Hey guys, I'm having some problems with my new PC and I would like your help figuring out what could be causing it.

Every so often my computer will completely freeze and a high-pitch noise will come out of my headphones. There's no way to predict the problem, sometimes I can go days without it happening, other days it'll happen 3 times in 3 hours.

I *think* that it's my OCZ Vertex 3 drive. I know the controller on this particular series is notoriously unstable, so thats what is leading me to think it's that...

Similarly, every so often all programs that I have installed on that drive will freeze up and stop responding (skype and firefox, for example) where as programs on other drives (like the Guild Wars 2 beta, for example) will work fine. Confusing, but yeah.

I updated the harddrive's firmware hoping that'd fix it, but it hasn't helped at all.

Does anyone know what could be causing the problem? I wish I got a bluescreen error code or something to help, but the freezing that happens requires me to hold down the power button on my PC to restart it, so I don't get any kind of notification.

Could try to reformat. Serious hardware errors usually end in bluescreens, this sounds software related on a hunch.

Hello PC GAF. I'm trying to figure out which card I can buy that will allow me to play the most recent games at 1920 x 1080 maxed ou, that's the least expensive. Any help?

Maxed out? Does this include Batman: AC, Crysis 2, Metro, Witcher 2, and Guild Wars 2? If yes, then 7970, 680, 690.

There's a lot of (apparently on GAF) subjective stuff in your requirements. Maxed out = sliders to the right and 60fps? If 30fps is acceptable to you, then a 6870 should even do the trick for the most part.

What kind of processor do you have? What games do you want to max out on?

I was with you until this last sentence when you went full retard. The heatspreaders are there because even at default clocks DDR3 gets extremely hot. They aren't there to look pretty, and almost all RAM which isn't the bottom-of-the-barrel junk which "isn't guaranteed to be compatible with any system" in the disclaimers will bear heatspreaders.

Actually, DDR3 runs really really cool. It's DDR2 that you're thinking of. I use Samsung 30nm RAM at ~2100mhz in quad channel that is overvolted. It has no heat spreaders. It's not even hot to the touch.

Additionally, the 'heatspreaders' don't do anything at all for temps, unless you look at highend stuff like Patriot Viper, Corsair Dominator, etc. Those actually have copper which do transfer some of the heat. The aluminum shells on Vengeance, Gskill, and low-end mushkin are entirely aesthetic and do zero for temps.

 

[EternalGamer]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120.html

That's the article I said I posted a few pages back.

tl;dr, games that like speedy cores such as SC2, Civ V, and unreal engine games will have a serious frame difference, and no amount of GPU can make up for it. This is a minority of games though.
.

This seems somewhat contradictory?

 

[mkenyon]

Not sure if serious.

 

[ToyMachine228]

Looks like a fan power connector

It goes right into the motherboard. I'm not even knowledgeable when it comes to computers but it just seems odd.

Anyone else have insight?

 

[sk3]

It goes right into the motherboard. I'm not even knowledgeable when it comes to computers but it just seems odd.

Anyone else have insight?

I'll echo what he said. The best I can tell from your shitty picture (seriously man what is that an android phone?) is it's a 3-pin fan connector. My guess is it used the mobo to change the speed of the PSU fan depending on the temp sensors in the case. Some manufacturers cheap out and use the PSU fan as a replacement for a case fan.

Around $1300 for the build if you want higher end stuff, not including monitors or other peripherals. Those specs are not at all a guarantee - nothing ever is in this industry - but it at least gives us a good idea of what to expect.

How would you get it to $1000 without skimping?

I built this last month for $1512 USD:

CPU       Intel i5 3570K              200
Mobo      Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe         250
RAM       Corsair Vng LP 2x4GB        55
Graphics  Direct CU II Top 670-DC2T   430
Storage   Crucial M4 256GB            250
PSU       SeaSonic M12ii 620 Brnz     70
Case      Antec P280                  115
Optical   Asus SATA DRW-24B1ST        18
Heatsink  Enermax ETS-T40-TB          25
Fans      Scythe SY1225SL12LM-P x4    55
Cabling   Misc NXZT Extensions        50

This gets you to $1000:

CPU       Intel i5 3570K              200
Mobo      Cheap Z77 board             150
RAM       Corsair Vng LP 2x4GB        55
Graphics  Reference GTX470            400
Storage   Standard HDD                50
PSU       SeaSonic M12ii 620 Brnz     70
Case      Standard case               60
Optical   Asus SATA DRW-24B1ST        18
Heatsink  Intel                       0
Fans      Built in                    0
Cabling   None                        0

No it's not an i7. But no one needs an i7. You might as well flush $100.

 

[purvispisgah]

So GAF, I bought the following components about 3 years ago (on GAF recommendation of course):

• 1 x Rosewill R901-P BK Triple 120mm Cooling Fan, Mesh Design Front Panel, ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
• 1 x ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
• 1 x HIS H489F1GP Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
• 1 x Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply
• 1 x AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor HDZ720WFGIBOX
• 1 x G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ
• 1 x ASUS VH222H Black 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor
• 1 x Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
• 1 x LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model GH22NP20 - OEM

I'm now looking to make a few upgrades. First, I would like to switch to an HTPC case. Looking at Newegg, there seems to be a big price difference between the Lian Li cases and others. Is there a big difference? Is Lian Li that much better? I don't have any particular preferences regarding size, but it needs to hold at least as big a videocard as what I currently have (4890) and I would like for it to be black.

Next, I'd like to get an SSD. I'm thinking that 128GB is probably the sweet spot. If I get a 64GB I might have to end up doing a little more file management than I would like. 256 seems much too large, especially given the price. Are there specific brands and/or features I should be considering when looking at SSDs?

The final two upgrades are optional: processor and GPU. I have been extremely happy with this system over the last three years and I don't play a ton of really graphically intense games, but the extra horsepower would probably be nice for Metro 2033, Crysis titles, and newer games like Witcher 2 when I get around to playing them. As for the processor, I would really like to stick with something AMD as I don't want to have to change my motherboard as well. I know that the GPU is far more important for games than the processor, but will my current processor hold me back, especially if I upgrade the GPU?

Finally, what do people recommend as far as wireless M/KB is concerned? I am going to be using this setup on a couch exclusively.

I am looking to spend no more the $500 for everything, though I could be convinced to spend a little more if people are persuasive. I look forward to responses and appreciate everyones' time. This thread is really great.

 

[MrBig]

No it's not an i7. But no one needs an i7. You might as well flush $100.

That's a bare bones minimum but I guess it would run. You could a lot better, especially since he was looking to spend $2.5k when he first posted here iirc. Going up to $1300 gives him a lot better parts e.g. SSD, a heatsink for OCing, a non ref 670 for better OC potential and cooling, and a better case.

 

[riceandbeans]

Slightly off-topic question, but I'd figured I'd ask here since it's PC related. Is there an easy or simpler way to transition between your computer monitor and your TV? I've got my TV connected to my graphics card via HDMI and it's kind of annoying having to go to the screen resolution to change monitors, grab the remote in time, and then go to the TV input.

 

[clav]

It goes right into the motherboard. I'm not even knowledgeable when it comes to computers but it just seems odd.

Anyone else have insight?

My guess is that plug is a 12V fan connector using power from one of the motherboard's fan headers for the power supply's internal fan.

Must be a lousy design for the old power supply.

Your new one will not have that problem.

If you still don't understand, don't worry about it.