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[mkenyon]

So, 680 or 7970 oc'd with cat 12.7 beta? (supposed performance increase)

Go.

Can't go wrong, and it doesn't really matter in the end.

 

[triplestation]

I'm new to computer gaming and I've no computer hardware experience with parts other than HDD stuff so i ask for some help. I don't want to end up purchasing something that is inefficient/incompatible with my machine.

I'm looking for something in the $250-300 range good enough to run DayZ and other games in it's range with absolutely no issues. I want DayZ to look beautiful and all I can do now is play on lowest settings and it SUCKS! It'd be even better if I can find one less than $250.


Specs for my computer (Acer AM3400-U2052)

Memory Module Specifications
Memory Type DDR3
Memory Speed PC3-10600
Memory Speed MHz 1333MHz
Total Memory Size 6GB
Memory Slots (Total) 4
Memory Slots (Available) 0

Processor Specifications
Processor Brand AMD
Processor Class Phenom II X4
Processor Number 820
Processor Speed 2.80GHz
Processor Interface Socket AM3
Processors Supported 1
Processors Onboard 1

Hard Disk Drive Specifications
Hard Drives Included 1
Interface SATA
Capacity 640GB
Hard Drive Types Hard Disk Drive
Speed 7,200RPM

Graphics Specifications
Graphics Description Dedicated Graphics
GPU/VPU ATI Radeon HD 5450
Video Memory 512MB Dedicated Video RAM

 

[Ceebs]

Finally got around to ordering my parts tonight after an obnoxious delay in getting my paycheck.

ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77
ASUS GTX670-DC2T-2GD5 GeForce GTX 670
SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold (thanks for the heads up on the promo code mkenyon)
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB Low Profile
SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 128GB SSD
NOCTUA NH-D14 cooler
BitFenix Raider

Also ordered my CROSSOVER 27Q just now.

Picking up an i5 3570K from Microcenter tomorrow for 189.99 and using the 1TB drive I bought like 3 months ago.

This started out as a try to only spend $800 build, but I said fuck it since I settled last time around. I at least talked myself out of the 680 I was about to buy since the ASUS was in stock.

Should be a monster upgrade from my Phenom II X500 & 4870 + my like 8 year old 1440X900 display setup. It still runs most things fine at that res, but it's showing it's age on newer stuff.

Only spent about 1600 or so total. The plus side is everything should be here in time for the Steam sale. I should be able to get a comfortable 4.5ghz with that massive Noctua cooler right?

 

[endresults]

Here's what I did with my $1500 budget today:

MSI Z77A-G45 Intel 7 Series Z77 Motherboard and Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40 GHz Quad Core Unlocked Bundle $382.47
Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $119.99
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM $14.99
GIGABYTE GV-N680OC-2GD GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $524.99
ICY DOCK MB882SP-1S-2B 2.5" to 3.5" SATA 6Gb SSD & Hard Drive Converter / Adapter / Bracket x2 = $40.99
Rosewill Xtreme Series RX750-S-B 750W Continuous @40°C ,80 PLUS Certified, ATX12V v2.2 & EPS12V v2.91, SLI Ready CrossFire Ready, Active PFC Compatible with Core i7, i5 Power Supply $80
Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F120GBGT-BK 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $130
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 $50
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $70
Total damage: $1413

Any glaring holes with this setup? Think I have all the bases covered.

 

[MrBig]

I'm new to computer gaming and I've no computer hardware experience with parts other than HDD stuff so i ask for some help. I don't want to end up purchasing something that is inefficient/incompatible with my machine.

I'm looking for something in the $250-300 range good enough to run DayZ and other games in it's range with absolutely no issues. I want DayZ to look beautiful and all I can do now is play on lowest settings and it SUCKS! It'd be even better if I can find one less than $250.

You should be fine with either a 6850, 7850, or 560ti.

Here's what I did with my $1500 budget today:

MSI Z77A-G45 Intel 7 Series Z77 Motherboard and Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40 GHz Quad Core Unlocked Bundle $382.47
Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $119.99
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM $14.99
GIGABYTE GV-N680OC-2GD GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $524.99
ICY DOCK MB882SP-1S-2B 2.5" to 3.5" SATA 6Gb SSD & Hard Drive Converter / Adapter / Bracket x2 = $40.99
Rosewill Xtreme Series RX750-S-B 750W Continuous @40°C ,80 PLUS Certified, ATX12V v2.2 & EPS12V v2.91, SLI Ready CrossFire Ready, Active PFC Compatible with Core i7, i5 Power Supply $80
Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F120GBGT-BK 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $130
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 $50
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $70
Total damage: $1413

Any glaring holes with this setup? Think I have all the bases covered.

You can drop the 680 to a 670 (from Asus, GB), save $100, and not lose any practical performance after an OC. Plan to SLI? Other wise all you need it a 500-600w PSU; at the very least stay away from Rosewill. Don't know what your conditions are, but a lot of people are able to drop optical media completely now. Aftermarket cooler for OCing? Switch the RAM to the low profile version or the samsung ram. I'd get a better case than that for the parts you're getting as well.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Second 680 shipped out! Amazons says it should be here tomorrow, though UPS doesn't have any records for it yet, so we'll see.

Pretty impressed by the first 680 now though. Seems like it is pretty much equal to my Sli 560 ti's, so should see a pretty huge improvement in performance with the second one.

 

[Costcosaurus]

Second 680 shipped out! Amazons says it should be here tomorrow, though UPS doesn't have any records for it yet, so we'll see.

Pretty impressed by the first 680 now though. Seems like it is pretty much equal to my Sli 560 ti's, so should see a pretty huge improvement in performance with the second one.

Two 680s? Who seriously needs that much performance?

 

[endresults]

You can drop the 680 to a 670 (from Asus, GB), save $100, and not lose any practical performance after an OC. Plan to SLI? Other wise all you need it a 500-600w PSU; at the very least stay away from Rosewill. Don't know what your conditions are, but a lot of people are able to drop optical media completely now. Aftermarket cooler for OCing? Switch the RAM to the low profile version or the samsung ram. I'd get a better case than that for the parts you're getting as well.

Thanks for the awesome input. Quick and concise. One question: How do I get the OS onto the HD without optical? Haven't seen any USB stick solutions.

Good idea on dropping the 680... looks like you're right from some quick research. Might do SLI in the future; didn't want to put myself in a position where I needed to upgrade the PS to add a second card.

 

[MrBig]

Two 680s? Who seriously needs that much performance?

120hz, eyefinity.

Thanks for the awesome input. Quick and concise. One question: How do I get the OS onto the HD without optical? Haven't seen any USB stick solutions.

Good idea on dropping the 680... looks like you're right from some quick research. Might do SLI in the future; didn't want to put myself in a position where I needed to upgrade the PS to add a second card.

MS provides their own USB tool and distributes ISOs via Digital River. Then yeah, go for a Seasonic/cooler master/Corsair PSU in the 700-800w range.

 

[triplestation]

You should be fine with either a 6850, 7850, or 560ti.

Thank you very much.

 

[mkenyon]

I'm new to computer gaming and I've no computer hardware experience with parts other than HDD stuff so i ask for some help. I don't want to end up purchasing something that is inefficient/incompatible with my machine.

I'm looking for something in the $250-300 range good enough to run DayZ and other games in it's range with absolutely no issues. I want DayZ to look beautiful and all I can do now is play on lowest settings and it SUCKS! It'd be even better if I can find one less than $250.

Spend every cent on a PSU and videocard from the OP. Antec BP550+ and a 6870/560Ti 448 core/7850. Then start putting some cash away for a new motherboard, RAM, and CPU.

Two 680s? Who seriously needs that much performance?

As MrBig pointed out, 120hz/fps.

 

[CRS]

How much hotter am I running my CPU if I used the Auto setting for the Core Voltage?

I'm an extreme beginner when it comes to overclocking so all I did was set the Bus Speed to 100 Mhz and raise the multiplier to 43 in the BIOS.

I've been running Prime95 for about 20 minutes and the Core Voltage has been around 1.248/1.256 for a while now and the temperatures have been floating around the mid 60s, maxing at 70 degrees C.

CPU is 3770k. Also, the only settings I've manually changed are the Bus Speed and multiplier settings. Nothing else.

Edit: Now they're all around mid 70s. Edit x 2: Now they're 10 degrees cooler again. I think a certain Prime95 test was running the CPU a little harder than the current one.

If I'm satisfied with what I have now, is there any reason for me to tinker with it more?

 

[ink4n3]

120hz, eyefinity.



MS provides their own USB tool and distributes ISOs via Digital River.

So I have a current Upgrade edition of Windows 7 that I bought to go from Vista to 7 with no disc. I just downloaded the upgrade version and away I went.

Can I use this link and find a program to get my current product key to install windows on my new machine?

 

[Triz]

My rig took a dump today, and honestly its time to upgrade. I have a Raedon 6850 I purchased about 6 months ago so dont need a graphics card. How do these components loook?

Antec VP 450 power supply
Coolermaster 212+ fan
WD 500gb HDD
Cosair 8gb ddr3
Gigabyte GA-Z68P-UD3 MB
Intel core i5 2500k

for about 515 shipped

I have a case too so no need. Just looking for a mid range rig. Old rig was AMD quad core with 4gb ddr2 ram. Hence the complete overhaul of the system.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Two 680s? Who seriously needs that much performance?

Nobody. But, I want it. The 560's 1 gig of ram was already becoming a problem, and if you're gonna upgrade, may as well go all out.

I believe the person on here I bought the first one from is upgrading to four 4 gig 680's. Some people are just crazy. Like him. Not me.

 

[Infinite Justice]

I'm wondering if i should get the Cooler Master 212 Plus and use that instead of the stock?

I would like to save that 30 or so bucks since money is getting tight but its a possibility i might want to overclock someday and i dont want to just remove the stock to place the Cooler Master :/

 

[LightofRohan]

Alright here is what I got so far! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm just nervous about ordering them and not being compatible. Will this ram fit my mobo? Thanks to anyone that can provide some tips!

MEMORY: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233246

CPU/ MOTHERBOARD COMBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.975651

-No heat sink, is that ok?-

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

VIDEO CARD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102984
OR
VIDEO CARD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130620

HARD DRIVE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

OPTICAL DRIVE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

 

[Costcosaurus]

Alright here is what I got so far! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm just nervous about ordering them and not being compatible. Will this ram fit my mobo? Thanks to anyone that can provide some tips!

MEMORY: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233246

CPU/ MOTHERBOARD COMBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.975651

-No heat sink, is that ok?-

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

VIDEO CARD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102984
OR
VIDEO CARD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130620

HARD DRIVE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

OPTICAL DRIVE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

I don't think you need that much memory, maybe tone it down to 8 GB using two 4 GB sticks. Other than that, your build looks fine. If you plan to OC, definitely get an aftermarket heat sink. If not, your build should do just fine with the stock cooler.

 

[MrBig]

So I have a current Upgrade edition of Windows 7 that I bought to go from Vista to 7 with no disc. I just downloaded the upgrade version and away I went.

Can I use this link and find a program to get my current product key to install windows on my new machine?

afaik yes

 

[Piano]

I don't think you need that much memory, maybe tone it down to 8 GB using two 4 GB sticks. Other than that, your build looks fine. If you plan to OC, definitely get an aftermarket heat sink. If not, your build should do just fine with the stock cooler.

Yep. Spend half as much on RAM and use the money to get a Cooler Master Hyper 212

 

[Costcosaurus]

For my new CPU, should I buy an i5 2500K or a 3570K?

I'm definitely overclocking to at least 4.0 GHz, so should I just save money and get the 2500K?

 

[LightofRohan]

I don't think you need that much memory, maybe tone it down to 8 GB using two 4 GB sticks. Other than that, your build looks fine. If you plan to OC, definitely get an aftermarket heat sink. If not, your build should do just fine with the stock cooler.

Yep. Spend half as much on RAM and use the money to get a Cooler Master Hyper 212

Thanks for the tips! I need as much ram as I can get sadly, I do heavy Maya/Photoshop/Aftereffects/premiere/Zbrush (for School) and some of them are ram WHORES. It's why I'm investing mainly in CPU and Ram. And I'm not sure about the Heatsink cause I'm always nervous about overclocking.

Is the ram I'm getting decent? Not really sure if there's a brand atm that's better then others. Thanks again!

Also can anyone help me pick which one:
Radeon HD 7850: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102984
OR
GeForce GTX 570: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130620
(they list a lot of 570's on Newegg... which is the best around this price? I'm a newb at GPU's atm.)

Thanks a lot for the assistance, hope to order it tomorrow

 

[faceless007]

I was curious about fan speed and temps so I did a little experiment. I have a 3570K cooled by a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, with just the stock fan attached. I launched Prime95 and set the fan speed to 100%. CoreTemp and RealTemp reported highs in the 62-64 range--a little higher than I'd like but acceptable. Then I dropped the fan speed down to 50%. Temps were now around 59-62. They went down.

It's just a few degrees so not a big deal but that's not what I was expecting. What's going on here?

 

[natkingcoleslaw]

This thread has been great so far, and now it's inspired me to finally join the master race. Great job by the OP and all the noble souls contributing here. I hope with this exercise, I'll be qualified enough to contribute in this post myself. I do have some questions though.

First off, this is the build I'm looking at.

Motherboard: ASUS Intel Z77 ATX DDR3 2400 LGA 1155 Motherboard P8Z77-V
CPU : Intel Core i7-2700K 3.5 GHz LGA 1155 Processor BX80623I72700K
GPU : EVGA GeForce GTX670 FTW 2048MB GDDR5 ...etc etc... Graphics Card
RAM : Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin
Sound Card : ASUS PCI 5.1 Channel Sound Card XONAR_DG
HDD : WD Caviar Blue 1 TB HDD (WD10EALX)
SDD : SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 128GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD
CPU Heatsink : Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Cooler
Cabinet : Corsair 400R Mid Tower Cabinet

and thermal paste

I think these would fit in my $1500-$1600 budget... I hope. Now for the questions.
Some of the questions I have may seem noobish, but kindly do help me out

1. I haven't been able to figure out what power supply I would need for this setup. Particularly what specs should I be looking for on the PSU/guides for PSU selection?
2. Are the above components compatible? How do I check?
3. What other components/misc items(wires etc) do I need to assemble my rig?
4. Do I need an optical drive?
5. What about the UPS? Any pointers on choosing that one?

 

[kharma45]

Thanks for the tips! I need as much ram as I can get sadly, I do heavy Maya/Photoshop/Aftereffects/premiere/Zbrush (for School) and some of them are ram WHORES. It's why I'm investing mainly in CPU and Ram. And I'm not sure about the Heatsink cause I'm always nervous about overclocking.

Is the ram I'm getting decent? Not really sure if there's a brand atm that's better then others. Thanks again!

Also can anyone help me pick which one:
Radeon HD 7850: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102984
OR
GeForce GTX 570: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130620
(they list a lot of 570's on Newegg... which is the best around this price? I'm a newb at GPU's atm.)

Thanks a lot for the assistance, hope to order it tomorrow

I'd go for the 7850, especially after reading this thread. Convinced me to go for one and I never looked back.

You can also save yourself another $10 and just go for the non-OC version of it if you plan to OC it yourself

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102986

 

[abunai]

For my new CPU, should I buy an i5 2500K or a 3570K?

I'm definitely overclocking to at least 4.0 GHz, so should I just save money and get the 2500K?

3570k only craps out at 4.4-4.5GHz, so whichever you can find cheapest is good, if you only intend to go to around 4GHz.

I was curious about fan speed and temps so I did a little experiment. I have a 3570K cooled by a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, with just the stock fan attached. I launched Prime95 and set the fan speed to 100%. CoreTemp and RealTemp reported highs in the 62-64 range--a little higher than I'd like but acceptable. Then I dropped the fan speed down to 50%. Temps were now around 59-62. They went down.

It's just a few degrees so not a big deal but that's not what I was expecting. What's going on here?

Sensors can be crazy, different programs will report different things as well. AIDA/RealTemp report 57c load for my 3570k@4.6GHz, Speedfan reports 32c. Nothing to worry about.

This thread has been great so far, and now it's inspired me to finally join the master race. Great job by the OP and all the noble souls contributing here. I hope with this exercise, I'll be qualified enough to contribute in this post myself. I do have some questions though.

First off, this is the build I'm looking at.

Motherboard: ASUS Intel Z77 ATX DDR3 2400 LGA 1155 Motherboard P8Z77-V
CPU : Intel Core i7-2700K 3.5 GHz LGA 1155 Processor BX80623I72700K
GPU : EVGA GeForce GTX670 FTW 2048MB GDDR5 ...etc etc... Graphics Card
RAM : Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin
Sound Card : ASUS PCI 5.1 Channel Sound Card XONAR_DG
HDD : WD Caviar Blue 1 TB HDD (WD10EALX)
SDD : SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 128GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD
CPU Heatsink : Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Cooler
Cabinet : Corsair 400R Mid Tower Cabinet

and thermal paste

I think these would fit in my $1500-$1600 budget... I hope. Now for the questions.
Some of the questions I have may seem noobish, but kindly do help me out

1. I haven't been able to figure out what power supply I would need for this setup. Particularly what specs should I be looking for on the PSU/guides for PSU selection?
2. Are the above components compatible? How do I check?
3. What other components/misc items(wires etc) do I need to assemble my rig?
4. Do I need an optical drive?
5. What about the UPS? Any pointers on choosing that one?

Build looks good, although there's a few changes I would make. Scrap the 2700k and get a 2500k or 3570k. There's not much point paying ~80$ more for a trivial increase in speed. Besides, you can overclock to a minimum of 4GHz for free with 2500k/3570k (and the cooler you picked) which are much cheaper than the 2700k. If you really need hyperthreading (virtual threads, good for stuff like Lightroom and compiling/heavy CPU tasks) get a 2600k instead. Motherboard, RAM, HDD/SSD/Heatsink good. The sound card isn't essential but if you want it, go for it.

As for your questions:
1. Something in the region of 550-600 watts would be the main number to go for. The figures (asides from total watt output) you need to look for are total amps on +12 volt rail(s), followed by +5 volt and +3.3v rails, in order of importance. Always stick to well-known brands, who are known to produce quality units with a good output. A random no-name brand will have output jitter and will eventually damage components. Good brands are Seasonic, Coolermaster, Antec, Corsair etc. Check the OP for some good power supplies. Mkenyon linked this one earlier in the thread, it's a great buy (assuming you are American).

2. Yeah, they are compatible. It's fairly easy these days to cross-check whether things will work. For CPU, you want to make sure the socket number is the same on both the CPU and Motherboard (I.e in your case, it'll be LGA 1155). Socket numbers differ between CPU generation and AMD/Intel use different naming standards, but a quick google can tell you which socket is which. To check for RAM/Motherboard compatibility, look for supported speeds (PC3 12800, in your case). The rest is by expansion bays, graphics cards go in PCI-E slots (the newest being PCI-E 3.0 x16, where x = bus speed). The motherboard listing will say how many sata 3.0/2.0 ports there are, and how many fan connectors etc.

3. The power supply will have all the cables you need to wire everything together. The case will have cables already attached for the front panel (buttons etc), so you just need to hook them up to the motherboard in accordance with what the manual says. A screwdriver will be required to put stuff in.

4. It's up to you. If you are going to be using a lot of optical media, it's best to get one as they aren't that expensive anyway. However, if you intend to use digital distribution instead, you could shave a few dollars from your build. You can install windows from a USB stick, so a DVD isn't required. They are cheap though, so you might as well just get one in case you come across something you want to use it with.

5. UPS? Uninterrupted Power Supply? You don't need one of those, unless I'm being silly and overlooking another acronym.

 

[BolognaSoup]

Has anyone here ever switched from Mac TO PC? Recently? What about switching over all my iTunes and iOS stuff? This is what has me holding back at the moment.

 

[mkenyon]

Has anyone here ever switched from Mac TO PC? Recently? What about switching over all my iTunes and iOS stuff? This is what has me holding back at the moment.

I went from crazy PC guy to OSX only when the Core Duo MBP hit in 2005 for about two years. I did have bootcamp going, but only for a few games. I still have that MBP, and it still works like a freaking champ.

Another moment of shame: I still use iTunes for my primary music player. The iTunes between the two is a piece of cake, it's the same program entirely. For the brief time that I had an iPad, it was a really simple integration.

Motherboard: ASUS Intel Z77 ATX DDR3 2400 LGA 1155 Motherboard P8Z77-V
CPU : Intel Core i7-2700K 3.5 GHz LGA 1155 Processor BX80623I72700K
GPU : EVGA GeForce GTX670 FTW 2048MB GDDR5 ...etc etc... Graphics Card
RAM : Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin
Sound Card : ASUS PCI 5.1 Channel Sound Card XONAR_DG
HDD : WD Caviar Blue 1 TB HDD (WD10EALX)
SDD : SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 128GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD
CPU Heatsink : Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Cooler
Cabinet : Corsair 400R Mid Tower Cabinet

and thermal paste

I think these would fit in my $1500-$1600 budget... I hope. Now for the questions.
Some of the questions I have may seem noobish, but kindly do help me out

1. I haven't been able to figure out what power supply I would need for this setup. Particularly what specs should I be looking for on the PSU/guides for PSU selection?
2. Are the above components compatible? How do I check?
3. What other components/misc items(wires etc) do I need to assemble my rig?
4. Do I need an optical drive?
5. What about the UPS? Any pointers on choosing that one?

Looks good. So the reason why people suggest 2500K/3550K over the i7 is that it is literally the same processor. The only difference is that the i7 is hyperthreaded, meaning that each core tricks the OS into thinking that it is two different cores. This gives you performance increases in programs that are n-threaded (meaning they use as many cores as they can), most games are single or dual threaded, though that might change in a few years.

Cav Blue HDD's are unreliable. If that is going to be your only HDD in the house, and you don't do much cloud backup stuff, then I'd go with a black. If you already have a backup system in place, don't worry about it.

690II and Fractal Arc Midi are much much better cases than the 400R.

1. 650W should be good. If you go with an AX650 or X650, will leave enough room for a second 670 down the line.
2. Yes they are, knowing only comes from knowledge of sockets and memory type.
3. None.
4. Not really unless you're an audiophile.
5. UPS's are expensive for something that will work well for your system, and will still need to be changed out every 1.5 years or so to remain safe. Just go with a good surge protector, and buy a new one every year to keep it safe.

 

[Ceebs]

Just got back from Microcenter. Love that store, it's like Newegg but as a retail store.

Was so tempted to just buy the i7 3770K since it was on sale for about what the 3570k usually goes for. Instead I just picked up the i5 like a boring person.

 

[specialguy]

Just got back from Microcenter. Love that store, it's like Newegg but as a retail store.

Was so tempted to just buy the i7 3770K since it was on sale for about what the 3570k usually goes for. Instead I just picked up the i5 like a boring person.

i remember when fry's used to be the hot thing. fry's ran insane combo deals back in the day where you could literally pick up the core of a decent computer, a decent amd cpu and a mobo, for like 50 dollars. i used to marvel at it.

now microcenter has taken over.

for me it sucks though, nearest is 100m away. after you figure gas and taxes, no real savings over newegg, especially factoring in inconvenience of making a long drive, vs waiting for it to plunk on your doorstep.

 

[mkenyon]

i remember when fry's used to be the hot thing. fry's ran insane combo deals back in the day where you could literally pick up the core of a decent computer, a decent amd cpu and a mobo, for like 50 dollars. i used to marvel at it.

now microcenter has taken over.

for me it sucks though, nearest is 100m away. after you figure gas and taxes, no real savings over newegg, especially factoring in inconvenience of making a long drive, vs waiting for it to plunk on your doorstep.

Same issue here. The only thing relatively close to me is a Fry's, which is like 40miles away. Still though, there's something to be said about going into the store and holding it as you buy it. Those trips to Comp USA/Computer City/Incredible Universe as a kid were a very magical thing, and a bit of that is still present when I go in to Fry's.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Same issue here. The only thing relatively close to me is a Fry's, which is like 40miles away. Still though, there's something to be said about going into the store and holding it as you buy it. Those trips to Comp USA/Computer City/Incredible Universe as a kid were a very magical thing, and a bit of that is still present when I go in to Fry's.

I just went to fry's yesterday to pick up a new video card. Its 5 miles away, so awesome. Though they were out of stock on most of their gpu's. Luckily their website tells you if the store has it in or not.

Fry's is better than Comp USA though, they have tons of stuff.

 

[mkenyon]

Leaked Haswell slide:

 

[Zombie James]

That's Haswell-EP (server). As far as I know, desktop Haswell won't support DDR4 or have more than 10 cores.

 

[clav]

As far as I know, desktop Haswell won't support DDR4 or have more than 10 cores.

That's disappointing.

 

[MrBig]

Haswell is still the same 4 core set-up. DDR4 will only be a server thing for the next couple years, and that is what the -EP line is for.

 

[mkenyon]

Thank you for the confirmation that it is Haswell

Sorry I didn't make the server part clear.

 

[BolognaSoup]

Any glaring problems with this as a first build? I don't really know which motherboard to go with and picking a case seems to be a daunting task. I love the way the Corsair 600T looks but it might be overkill. I don't know!

MB: Asus P8Z77-V
GPU: EVGA GTX 670 2gb
PSU: SeaSonic M12II 620W modular
CPU: i5-3570K
SSD: ADATA s510 Series As510S3 120gb
RAM: GSKILL Value Series 2x4gb 1333 240-pin
HDD: Samsung 1TB
ODD: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Burner
Fan: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1

Total is around $1100

Will also likely go with a Crossover 27Q 2560x1440 display.

 

[ROBOKITTYZILLA]

Someone I know offered to sell me two XFX 6970s for $150 each. I currently have two 5870s. Worth it to upgrade or save that money for my next build?

 

[mkenyon]

Someone I know offered to sell me two XFX 6970s for $150 each. I currently have two 5870s. Worth it to upgrade or save that money for my next build?

Save.

Any glaring problems with this as a first build? I don't really know which motherboard to go with and picking a case seems to be a daunting task. I love the way the Corsair 600T looks but it might be overkill. I don't know!

MB: Asus P8Z77-V
GPU: EVGA GTX 670 2gb
PSU: SeaSonic M12II 620W modular
CPU: i5-3570K
SSD: ADATA s510 Series As510S3 120gb
RAM: GSKILL Value Series 2x4gb 1333 240-pin
HDD: Samsung 1TB
ODD: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Burner
Fan: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1

Total is around $1200

Will also likely go with a Crossover 27Q 2560x1440 display.

Looks good. 600T has less functionality than the 690II and Arc Midi, but some of it is totally personal preference. I'd say go Samsung 830, Crucial M4, or Corsair Force GT over the ADATA for SSD.

 

[BolognaSoup]

Thanks! The reason I picked the ADATA was it's only $95 for a 120gb and the reviews are very high (though not as many reviews).

 

[mkenyon]

Thanks! The reason I picked the ADATA was it's only $95 for a 120gb and the reviews are very high (though not as many reviews).

Yeah, it's not that I've heard bad things, its just that I *haven't* heard things. $20 for a more well known brand with high reliability is a small price to pay for your main OS drive.

 

[mu cephei]

I'm looking to build a new pc, I haven't done one from scratch for about 8 years. Here's what I'm thinking:

Case: Fractal Design Arc Black Midi Tower Chassis
SSD: Crucial m4 128GB 2.5" SATA-III Solid State Hard Drive
HD: 2TB Seagate Barracuda Green 3.5" SATA III
Optical drive: Sony 24x AD-7280S-0B Internal DVD-RAM+/- Writer SATA
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge)
PSU: 750W Corsair TX750 V2 80PLUS Bronze
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz
Graphics card: MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC 2048MB
Mouse: Logitech G400 3600DPI Gaming Mouse
Keyboard: UK Filco Majestouch-2

Most of it's different to the stuff in the OP, partly cos I couldn't find them, or because, for example, the asus g43 mb doesn't support sli and I've gone for nvidia. Also, according to overclockers, the samsung f4 has the same manufacture code as the seagate (well, sort of) so am I right in assuming they're actually the same?

This adds up to about £200 more than I wanted (all that costs £1200!!) so could anyone tell me if SSDs are really that necessary? I like boot up speed etc and I hate waiting in games but also I expect the 16gig ram is overkill.

Is this ok? What parts are excessive or not up to scratch?

 

[mkenyon]

Could reduce PSU to 650, RAM to 8GB, and then get a snappier HDD, like a WD Cav Black to replace both SSD and the larger 2TB drive. Could also go lower on the GPU, like a 7950, 7870, or even 560Ti 448 core.

 

[cametall]

How much hotter am I running my CPU if I used the Auto setting for the Core Voltage?

I'm an extreme beginner when it comes to overclocking so all I did was set the Bus Speed to 100 Mhz and raise the multiplier to 43 in the BIOS.

I've been running Prime95 for about 20 minutes and the Core Voltage has been around 1.248/1.256 for a while now and the temperatures have been floating around the mid 60s, maxing at 70 degrees C.

CPU is 3770k. Also, the only settings I've manually changed are the Bus Speed and multiplier settings. Nothing else.

Edit: Now they're all around mid 70s. Edit x 2: Now they're 10 degrees cooler again. I think a certain Prime95 test was running the CPU a little harder than the current one.

If I'm satisfied with what I have now, is there any reason for me to tinker with it more?

I overclocked my i5 3570K recently (go back a few pages and you can see all my newb questions).

I didn't touch bus speed, only core clock and core voltage. I got stable at 4.2ghz at 2.10v and decided to just stop there.

I would assume the 3770K is relatively similar, though I heard they don't OC as well. My load temperatures rarely hit above 70c now that I got the voltage down.

Some of Prime95's tests seem to stress a little more than others. Test 2 always jacks up the load temps on my CPU.

 

[mkenyon]

I overclocked my i5 3570K recently (go back a few pages and you can see all my newb questions).

I didn't touch bus speed, only core clock and core voltage. I got stable at 4.2ghz at 2.10v and decided to just stop there.

I hope you mean 1.2V!

Small FFT is proc only, blend is memory and proc.

BCLK is at 100, and shouldn't be touched on SB/IB (but should be on SB-E).

4.2 is a really light overclock, and 4.5 should be easily reached with a 3570/3770. That's usually where the wall comes in.

 

[mu cephei]

@ mkenyon

Thanks for replying.

Upthread I think you say an AX650 psu will support two 670 graphics cards? Or am I getting mixed up? If so, definitely I'll go for that instead of the 750 psu.

The trouble with the HDDs is that the seagate costs £79 for 2TB, the crucial m4 £93 (128gb) but the WD black costs £87 for 1TB. It is quite a bit faster tho. I have a 1TB external already so I don't need more I guess.

I think I will be sensible about the RAM, but I don't want to go lower on the graphics.

 

[JJBro One]

is anyone having trouble running arkham city on max? I just did a benchmark and I got a max of 60fps and an average of 43 at 1920x1080. I thought I could run this game on max at 60fps constantly no problem. I have an i5 2500k oc to 4.5, 16gb of ram, and dual 670's. I can run bf3 on 60fps most of the time, what gives?

 

[mkenyon]

FWIW, all of my computers only have a single SSD at the moment. 128, 120, 90, and 90. I do have a fileserver for media/backup, but if your external HDD is way under capacity, you don't really need a secondary HDD anymore, especially because of Steam.

is anyone having trouble running arkham city on max? I just did a benchmark and I got a max of 60fps and an average of 43. I thought I could run this game on max at 60fps constantly no problem. I have an i5 2500k oc to 4.5, 16gb of ram, and dual 670's. I can run bf3 on 60fps most of the time, what gives?

AC is notoriously unoptimized. Check out reviews where they use it for benches to get an idea.

 

[Ceebs]

is anyone having trouble running arkham city on max? I just did a benchmark and I got a max of 60fps and an average of 43 at 1920x1080. I thought I could run this game on max at 60fps constantly no problem. I have an i5 2500k oc to 4.5, 16gb of ram, and dual 670's. I can run bf3 on 60fps most of the time, what gives?

Do you have the PhysX stuff turned on as well?