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[kharma45]

Hi guys.

Ok, I currently have a 10 year old PC that's been showing its age for a while now. Only notable parts are an AMD Athlon 64 Processor (3400+), 1GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT graphics card.

With my new PC, I'm not building it myself, simply choosing the parts for a company to make for me. I don't intend to do any kind of overclocking. I'm looking to play games, and do graphics and video editing. Would appreciate any feedback on the below...

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V
CPU Processor: Intel i7 3770K
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Loki SD-S963
RAM: 16GB DDR3 1333mhz (2x 8GB)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB
Sound: Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 PCI-E
Storage 1: Corsair 120GB Force3 SSD S-ATAIII 6.0Gb/s
Storage 2: 2TB S-ATAIII 6.0Gb/s
Optical Drive: 22x DVD±RW DL S-ATA
Power Supply: Corsair HX 850W Modular
Case: Corsair Obsidian 650D

I'm thinking (based on what I've read in posts above) that my power supply could be overkill!? No idea about the sound card, but the only other options are 'Creative' brands, who I've been told to stay away from.

Yeah cut back on the PSU, a good 650w should be ample.

I'd probably go for a Samsung 830 or a Crucial M4 SSD over the Corsair too. Although you're not planning to overclock it's still something I'd highly recommend looking into.

I'm currently toying with the idea of building a new gaming PC and wanted some thoughts on the best way forward.

My current system is running with an Intel Q9300 quad-core processor @ 2.5GHz, 8GB DDR2 ram and an ATI 6850HD with 1GB memory. It gets the job done, but it's starting to show its age. If I were to build a new PC in the next couple of months, I'd probably just keep my 6850 and my current HDD for the time being and put most of my focus on good processor and motherboard. The key thing I'm looking for, is a CPU that will last me a good thee to four years before I have to replace it. I know the i5 2500k is something of a go to processor at the moment, but I'm some what concerned about what the lifespan on it would be. Aside from that, I'm looking at going with 8GB DDR3 and a 600w power supply for future GPU upgrades. Since I'm not sure on a CPU yet, I've not really looked at motherboards. For just the case, board, ram, power supply and CPU I'm looking at a budget of around $500 to $600, though I might be convinced to go up to $700.

So what are people's thoughts? Will the i5 give me the life-cycle I'm looking for or should I go higher? Would I be better off waiting to build a new system until sometime later this year or early next?

My opinion would be to wait for Haswell to see what it brings, it should be out sometime in early 2013 if you can wait that long.

 

[Pie Lord]

My opinion would be to wait for Haswell to see what it brings, it should be out sometime in early 2013 if you can wait that long.

I've not kept up with Haswell all that much, but isn't its main selling point integrated graphics performance?

 

[kharma45]

I've not kept up with Haswell all that much, but isn't its main selling point integrated graphics performance?

That's Ivy Bridge that's out now, no?

 

[BolognaSoup]

For Crossover 27Q users, what DVI-dual link cable are you using?

*nevermind, just went with monoprice

 

[knitoe]

For Crossover 27Q users, what DVI-dual link cable are you using?

*nevermind, just went with monoprice

The monitor comes with one and that's the one I am using.

 

[Ceebs]

The monitor comes with one and that's the one I am using.

same here.

 

[Mairu]

What's the brand of choice for 670s? I'm looking to upgrade my GPU and I'm not exactly sure which ones to look at

 

[Ceebs]

What's the brand of choice for 670s? I'm looking to upgrade my GPU and I'm not exactly sure which ones to look at

Quite happy with the ASUS DC2T I got. Whisper quiet even during gameplay.

 

[Mairu]

Quite happy with the ASUS DC2T I got. Whisper quiet even during gameplay.

Is the only difference between the DC2T and the DC2 is the DC2T is already overclocked?

 

[TheExodu5]

The DC2T may be a little bit faster, or maybe not. The DC2 is fine.

 

[Gav47]

Is the only difference between the DC2T and the DC2 is the DC2T is already overclocked?

Yes, they probably use higher binned chips for the DC2T but if it were me I'd stick with the DC2 and just overclock it.

 

[BolognaSoup]

The monitor comes with one and that's the one I am using.

Woops. Might just return mine when it comes.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

Got a couple of questions.

1) Has anyone bought software from DiscountMountainSoftware.com?
2) It is legal to use OEM Windows 7 that has been branded for HP or Dell or whatever on my own system build? Are there potential compatibility issues?

Thanks!

 

[Seraphinianus]

oc'd my i5-2500k to 4.00ghz at stock cooling. My cpu idles about 47-50 and after putting it under load, doesn't seem to crack 60c (tried Crysis maxed for about 10 minutes, ran cpu burn in.)

sound healthy and stable?

 

[Celcius]

^^60C load is fine, but try stressing it for at least an hour and then check temps.

Anyone here ever ordered from Corsair.com before? If so, do they ship orders reasonably fast?

 

[Mairu]

I saw this deal on sd on a 7950 for $320 after rebate, now I'm wondering whether I should go with this instead of the 670. I haven't used a Radeon in awhile...

 

[McHuj]

I saw this deal on sd on a 7950 for $320 after rebate, now I'm wondering whether I should go with this instead of the 670. I haven't used a Radeon in awhile...

Yeah saw this too. And I'm really wondering/tempted. I'd be upgrading from a 560Ti. Worth it? Currently, gaming on 1920x1200 resolution.

I was hoping that when the GTX 660 was announced, there would be a little bit of a price war, and I could snag a 670 for under $350.

 

[Horsemama1956]

Will you guys overclock at all? The 7950 and 670 are within like 10% of each other when both are overclocked to their limits. Too be honest you probably wouldn't notice the difference at stock unless all you do is benchmark shit.

 

[Marty Chinn]

I wouldn't bother with the 7870, the price difference over the 7850 isn't worth it, you'd be better off spending bit more either on a 670 or a 79xx card, or just getting a 7850 and OCing it.

The Sapphire 7870 is on sale at Tiger Direct for like $260 or something around that range.

 

[Hazaro]

I saw this deal on sd on a 7950 for $320 after rebate, now I'm wondering whether I should go with this instead of the 670. I haven't used a Radeon in awhile...

The 7950 the fantastic value card for the money.

Yeah saw this too. And I'm really wondering/tempted. I'd be upgrading from a 560Ti. Worth it? Currently, gaming on 1920x1200 resolution.

I was hoping that when the GTX 660 was announced, there would be a little bit of a price war, and I could snag a 670 for under $350.

I would just wait for the gtx 660

 

[Mairu]

The 7950 the fantastic value card for the money.
I would just wait for the gtx 660

The 7950 is OOS from Amazon, where I would've loved to avoid sales tax, so it's deciding between taking a chance on AMD with a 7950 for $350 and going with my comfort of nvidia with a 670 for $420. Hmm...

 

[Ceebs]

Is the only difference between the DC2T and the DC2 is the DC2T is already overclocked?

The only reason I got the top was because it was the only one in stock at the time.

 

[saltinekracka]

Thanks to this thread, I've done a little bit of mix and matching and have come up with a build. Can anyone double check this and let me know if everything looks good, or have any suggestions?


Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Graphics: XFX HD-687A-ZHFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
Power Supply: Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Storage: Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ/ST500DM005 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Optical Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM
Case: COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Well, my mobo and case went up in price by a collective $40 dollars, so I'm on hold for the moment. Hoping for some decent 4yh of july sales.

 

[K' Dash]

You can push it further than that, you should be able to get the GPU up to 1200MHz and the memory a bit higher too, around 1400 or so (mine is at 1450).

Every card is different but I've that on 1.175v. Glad you're happy with the card considering I was one of the ones who suggested it

Yeah, I'm really happy with it, like REALLY happy, I'm still not using the OC'd configuration, I'm using the Overdrive in the CCC, that's not that much, but it's good for now, I have the OC configuration I made saved in Trixx, I'll load it when the time comes, now I should be reading how to OC my 2500K and not fry it.

I have a question, how can I force Vsync on this card? I did it on the CCC and added some AA, the framerates on Dead Space 2 stay over 100fps but I keep seeing some tearing, is this normal? I've seen some people complain about this but have not seen a fix.

Edit: I have triple buffering enabled too.

 

[BolognaSoup]

Any recommendations on a full sized wireless mouse? Preferably with forward and back buttons. I don't really plan to play much competitive multiplayer so I don't need insane response times.

The Arc Midi is sitting my desk now waiting for my power supply and display to arrive so I can put it all together. Much nicer looking in person than in photos.

 

[WX3]

My buddy wanted to do a complete system rebuild after a bad prebuilt journey. Here is a list of the NEW components....

ASUS p8p67 Deluxe
Core i5- 3570k
PNY GTX 670

Here is a list of parts he reused against my advice...

RAM Cheap shit that came in the prebuilt system named above.
2x500gb HDD's that came out of the prebuilt. All HDD are still loaded with everything the prebuilt system had, including OS. Being unexperienced I wanted him to go with a new HDD choice and fresh W7 64bit install, but he was against it, figuring once his old shit was companied with the new parts, everything would just jive like no issue at all!

Read what I posted and tell me your opinions GAF, please. I wont be able to add or reply to this of the time being.

 

[Salacious Crumb]

I'm pretty sure he'll have to reinstall windows if he's replacing the motherboard.

 

[MrBig]

My buddy wanted to do a complete system rebuild after a bad prebuilt journey. Here is a list of the NEW components....

ASUS p8p67 Deluxe
Core i5- 3570k
PNY GTX 670

Here is a list of parts he reused against my advice...

RAM Cheap shit that came in the prebuilt system named above.
2x500gb HDD's that came out of the prebuilt. All HDD are still loaded with everything the prebuilt system had, including OS. Being unexperienced I wanted him to go with a new HDD choice and fresh W7 64bit install, but he was against it, figuring once his old shit was companied with the new parts, everything would just jive like no issue at all!

Read what I posted and tell me your opinions GAF, please. I wont be able to add or reply to this of the time being.

I don't know what the problem was in the first place but it could have easily come from any junk that that the OEM got paid to shove on there. Fresh install is pretty much necessary anyway.

 

[WX3]

Thanks for the info thus far I appreciate it. More details...
The PC will not start, it fires, but shuts down within seconds. No post or nothing, of course we dont have a speaker in the mobo, but there isnt enough time for the thing to even place anything on the display before it shutsdown and restarts again.

At first I thought bad ram, especially since using the RAM he plucked from his XPS8300. (12 gigs 4gbx2~2gbx2)

Everything is plugged in properly, he double checked it and I went ahead and tore it down and redid it just to check and there wasnt any problems.

Thanks for any help once again.

EDIT- Adding the fact that the mother board was a special deal board out of box, cost a bit less, but looked complete save for the mb speaker for post beeps and such... Wondering if he got a bunk board?

 

[chriskun]

If I want to play xbox 360 multiplat games on my PC what is a nice cheap card for me to get????

 

[LiquidMetal14]

You try reseting the CMOS battery sinister?

Good luck.

 

[MrBig]

Thanks for the info thus far I appreciate it. More details...
The PC will not start, it fires, but shuts down within seconds. No post or nothing, of course we dont have a speaker in the mobo, but there isnt enough time for the thing to even place anything on the display before it shutsdown and restarts again.

At first I thought bad ram, especially since using the RAM he plucked from his XPS8300. (12 gigs 4gbx2~2gbx2)

Everything is plugged in properly, he double checked it and I went ahead and tore it down and redid it just to check and there wasnt any problems.

Thanks for any help once again.

Using non symmetric ram isn't recommended. Just use the 4gb stick and see what happens (usually in the second slot closest to the CPU socket, but check the manual). Also, to be sure, do you have the 8pin power plugged into the mobo in addition to the 24pin?

 

[WX3]

Tried the battery reset, even replaced the battery just in case cuz this thing acts funny. All board components are plugged in properly, 8 and 24 pins as well, double checked once again to verify.

 

[WX3]

Using non symmetric ram isn't recommended. Just use the 4gb stick and see what happens (usually in the second slot closest to the CPU socket, but check the manual). Also, to be sure, do you have the 8pin power plugged into the mobo in addition to the 24pin?

Most of the trial and error so far we have just been using the 2 4gb sticks. We did swap their locations, any other shit imaginable in that region all following the mobo manual.

Thanks for taking your time on the weekend to help me out everyone.

Also a note, we virtualy copied the tested.com build from the OP, with a few upgrades like the deluxe and the 670. Same case to, the Fractal R3. Everything just went together so slick!

 

[Hellish]

more pics, only the gpu's + fans are new everything else I have had for a while.

 

[Whooter]

What's the story on those individually shielded cables, and where can I buy them? Love the look...

 

[Hellish]

What's the story on those individually shielded cables, and where can I buy them? Love the look...

They are bitfenix alchemy sleeved cables, and they make them for just about any cable, not sure where your from but I bought mine locally at canadacomputers but I know frozencpu carries them.

 

[Costcosaurus]

Amazing looking rig. The graphics performance on that thing is definitely outstanding.

 

[TheExodu5]

That looks fantastic.

 

[Sutton Dagger]

What's the brand of choice for 670s? I'm looking to upgrade my GPU and I'm not exactly sure which ones to look at

Read through this.
http://m.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-test-review,3217.html

 

[Whooter]

They are bitfenix alchemy sleeved cables, and they make them for just about any cable, not sure where your from but I bought mine locally at canadacomputers but I know frozencpu carries them.

Excellent, thank you sir!

 

[LordAlu]

Any recommendations on a full sized wireless mouse? Preferably with forward and back buttons. I don't really plan to play much competitive multiplayer so I don't need insane response times.

For a big, comfy wireless mouse I'd go with the Logitech Performance Mouse MX

 

[Hazaro]

Any recommendations on a full sized wireless mouse? Preferably with forward and back buttons. I don't really plan to play much competitive multiplayer so I don't need insane response times.

The Arc Midi is sitting my desk now waiting for my power supply and display to arrive so I can put it all together. Much nicer looking in person than in photos.

MX Revolution if you can find it. Otherwise the newer worse version (but still good) Performance MX.

more pics, only the gpu's + fans are new everything else I have had for a while.

Slick.

Most of the trial and error so far we have just been using the 2 4gb sticks. We did swap their locations, any other shit imaginable in that region all following the mobo manual.

Thanks for taking your time on the weekend to help me out everyone.

Also a note, we virtualy copied the tested.com build from the OP, with a few upgrades like the deluxe and the 670. Same case to, the Fractal R3. Everything just went together so slick!

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-post-boot-video-problems

Non boots are easily over 90% user error imo. It's incredibly frustrating. Especially when you are 100% sure it's a mobo problem and it's the CPU which 'never' goes bad.

 

[Krauser Kat]

Microcenter is a fucking fantastic place to shop.

My parents computer blew up from a storm in the midwest on friday. Thankfully the HD was fine the power supply was shot, but everything else was good. It was 6 years old anyway.

I walked out of MicroCenter with
i5-2400
8gb DDR3 1333
60GB OCZ SSD
500W Cooler master PS
H61-Gigabye Mother board
Grand Total of 389-45(MIRebates)= 344


When mechwarrior online rolls around he will be ready for it with a new videocard.

 

[L0st Id3ntity]

Installed a GTX 690 replacing GTX 480 sli.

Now to spam AA all over the place.

 

[RS4-]

any reason why your D14 is N/S instead of E/W?

 

[L0st Id3ntity]

any reason why your D14 is N/S instead of E/W?

I don't exactly remember why, built it 2 years ago, probably because of the fan beside it or something I read.

 

[TheDuke56]

Couldn't find this anywhere else, and I'm not completely trusting random solutions via google. Just bought a monitor used, an Asus V248H. Got a good deal, but only because it has a couple of scratches. They are only noticeable on a white background (so any webpage really) but I'd like to fix them if possible. The only reasonably safe method I saw to try was an eraser and that seems to help a little, but after 30 minutes or so of rubbing didn't do as well as I'd hoped.

Just wondering if anyone has any reliable solutions for fixing scratches on LCDs? They aren't terribly deep, but they are annoying. Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[Ceebs]

any reason why your D14 is N/S instead of E/W?

I was thinking the same thing. Mine would block the PCI-E 3.0 slot if I faced it that way.

 

[TouchMyBox]

So I'm taking a gander at z77 motherboards and I don't understand why all these companies have decided that we have to choose between having a high-end motherboard (with stuff like intel ethernet and built-in audio with DTS-connect) or having a PS/2 port.

Why does everybody hate NKRO?