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[TP17]

Yes to 212 and wifi.

I'd look at other boards in the OP, the LX is poor value on its offerings. I don't think the LK is sold where you are.
I'd also look at getting a $50 case and $60 PSU if possible, but that combo could be a lot worse. If you like the case that's fine.

Ahh I misread the OP and thought I had selected the motherboard mentioned there, thanks for that. Couldn't see the one that was actually mentioned so you must be correct about it not being sold here, so I added:

MSI Z77MA-G45 Z77 Socket 1155 8 Channel HD Audio mATX Motherboard

also switched the HD7850 from PowerColor to Sapphire.

Planned build now looking like this:

CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Motherboard: MSI Z77MA-G45 Z77 Socket 1155 8 Channel HD Audio mATX Motherboard
GPU: Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card [11200-00-20G]
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz CL9 1.5V Non-ECC Unbuffered
Storage: Samsung HD204UI Spinpoint F4 2TB Hard Drive SATA 5400RPM 32MB Cache - OEM
Case & Power Supply: Coolermaster Silencio 550 with GX 550W PSU
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB 22x DVD±RW DL & RAM SATA Optical Drive - OEM Black
Other: Tenda Wireless-N300 PCI Adapter, CoolerMaster Hyper 212

Yeah I do like that case, I was looking at that one and the fractal design R3.

edit-Although I like the look of the BitFenix Shinobi from the OP too so may switch to that and a "Corsair TX 650W V2 PSU - 80plus Bronze Certified" which works out at roughly the same price. In fact I'm pretty sure I will.


Thanks for running an eye over it.

 

[vocab]

Bought a gtx 670ftw to replace my 5850. I feel like I wasted my money simply because it performs worse in a lot of things. =/ FPS drops from 120 to 40 in dota 2? Hooray.

 

[Mr Swine]

How nice, woke up today and went to the gym to train, came home and the CPU fan that came with my I5-3570k wasn't spinning at all. The CPau fan is barely 2 months old. I really hope it's not the Motherboard that is acting all up and it's only the fan :/

 

[n0n44m]

Bought a gtx 670ftw to replace my 5850. I feel like I wasted my money simply because it performs worse in a lot of things. =/ FPS drops from 120 to 40 in dota 2? Hooray.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/512?vs=598

something ain't right then

tried other drivers? is it in the correct pci-e slot? what clockspeed is it at under load?

 

[Jagxyz]

Can anyone look this over and see if there's anything I need changed, and if it will work? Plan to SLI in the future.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer

 

[vocab]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/512?vs=598

something ain't right then

tried other drivers? is it in the correct pci-e slot? what clockspeed is it at under load?

I use the betas the one that "fixed" (but didn't 100%) the vsync issue. I dont want the newest beta. It runs at the advertised clock speed according to msi after burner. I said some games are wose. I notice an improvement in some things, but others, worse.

 

[BolognaSoup]

You got a 670 right? You should be able to play Portal 2 with supersampling on at your native res too.

Yep. Which setting is that? With V Sync off I'm seeing FPS in the 130-160 range on average when moving around it seems. 200ish in tighter spaces.

 

[megarockexe]

Hey guys. I'm looking for a budget build as a general use computer with no heavy tasks. Just a replacement for a dead comp from 2005 and laptop from 2009. Budget is less than $400 and I'm trying to find lower-priced alternatives to this list.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bmw8

I'm thinking the case from the first post now to cut a little off but maybe it's best to wait for a deal.

 

[HolyBaikal]

So, what are your opinions on building gaming PCs as cheaply as possible and cutting corners by using the Windows 8 preview instead of a costly copy of Windows 7?

 

[CTE]

Hey guys. I'm looking for a budget build as a general use computer with no heavy tasks. Just a replacement for a dead comp from 2005 and laptop from 2009. Budget is less than $400 and I'm trying to find lower-priced alternatives to this list.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bmw8

I'm thinking the case from the first post now to cut a little off but maybe it's best to wait for a deal.

I would get an i3 over that AMD. Same price, but better performance except in a few applications.

 

[Hazaro]

Bought a gtx 670ftw to replace my 5850. I feel like I wasted my money simply because it performs worse in a lot of things. =/ FPS drops from 120 to 40 in dota 2? Hooray.

Shouldn't be. Do a clean reinstall and use 304.48 or latest. Did any default settings change? Like it it running 8xAA by default or something now?

Can anyone look this over and see if there's anything I need changed, and if it will work? Plan to SLI in the future.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer

Looks fine to me.

So, what are your opinions on building gaming PCs as cheaply as possible and cutting corners by using the Windows 8 preview instead of a costly copy of Windows 7?

I don't like Win 8 and you can run into some compatibility/support issues. If you need to pinch for a bit it can tide you over though.

Hey guys. I'm looking for a budget build as a general use computer with no heavy tasks. Just a replacement for a dead comp from 2005 and laptop from 2009. Budget is less than $400 and I'm trying to find lower-priced alternatives to this list.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bmw8

I'm thinking the case from the first post now to cut a little off but maybe it's best to wait for a deal.

I'd get a Source 210 over the Cent 5 easily. VP450 over the EA, but either is fine.
Give it 8GB (2x4GB) of RAM for $40 of 1333/1600.

 

[BolognaSoup]

The PS3 MotionJoy tool seems to work pretty well. Tried it with Super Meat Boy and Arkham City. Should save me $30 buying an Xbox controller.

 

[megarockexe]

I'd get a Source 210 over the Cent 5 easily. VP450 over the EA, but either is fine.
Give it 8GB (2x4GB) of RAM for $40 of 1333/1600.

I thought it only worked with certain types of RAM. That's why I couldn't get a better deal on the RAM.

I would get an i3 over that AMD. Same price, but better performance except in a few applications.

That seems to be the common recommendation. Isn't the graphics on the AMD one better than the i3 and therefore be better value?

 

[vocab]

Shouldn't be. Do a clean reinstall and use 304.48 or latest. Did any default settings change? Like it it running 8xAA by default or something now?

.

I already did it twice. Same results.

 

[HolyBaikal]

I don't like Win 8 and you can run into some compatibility/support issues. If you need to pinch for a bit it can tide you over though.

I hope not too many. It is certainly tempting.

I'm thinking of going with that for an extra little super cheap PC I'm hoping to build.

 

[MrBig]

I hope not too many. It is certainly tempting.

I'm thinking of going with that for an extra little super cheap PC I'm hoping to build.

I have had no compatibility issues, besides when a version check is included driver installers, but there is always ways around it.

 

[Ceebs]

Yep. Which setting is that? With V Sync off I'm seeing FPS in the 130-160 range on average when moving around it seems. 200ish in tighter spaces.

You need to get Nvidia Inspector. It lets you force way more stuff than the default control panel.

 

[Hazaro]

I thought it only worked with certain types of RAM. That's why I couldn't get a better deal on the RAM.



That seems to be the common recommendation. Isn't the graphics on the AMD one better than the i3 and therefore be better value?

Depends what you plan to be using it for. Most common work won't care and I'd like the extra GPU. If you do extra CPU related things than maybe a 2120 or G860 even.

I already did it twice. Same results.

What about other titles?

 

[megarockexe]

Depends what you plan to be using it for. Most common work won't care and I'd like the extra GPU. If you do extra CPU related things than maybe a 2120 or G860 even.

I thought I saw on the motherboard specs that it only accepted DDR3-1866 RAM. If this was a mistake, I an easily drop the price on less expensive RAM.

 

[Hazaro]

I thought I saw on the motherboard specs that it only accepted DDR3-1866 RAM. If this was a mistake, I an easily drop the price on less expensive RAM.

Just about any motherboard can run 1066-2133 fine.

Memory Standard
DDR3 2800+(OC)/2400(OC)/2133(OC)/1866(OC)/1600/1333/1066

 

[megarockexe]

Just about any motherboard can run 1066-2133 fine.

Oh right, it was the processor that had the restriction.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0382496

Makes sense for the monster integrated graphics, right?

 

[vocab]

What about other titles?

Like I said good on some, bad on others.

At this point i don't even know if its the games fault or the cards fault.

 

[Hazaro]

Like I said good on some, bad on others.

At this point i don't even know if its the games fault or the cards fault.

I'm really surprised you are having such disparity in DOTA2.
Even for slight vendor differences ~10% the 670 should blow away everything.

 

[K' Dash]

Hey guys, I'm playing with my 7850 to OC it, what's the max temp it can stay for a 2-3 hour session of gaming?

 

[Hazaro]

I'm still looking to sell my ASUS P8P67 PRO B3 for $100 shipped.

Hey guys, I'm playing with my 7850 to OC it, what's the max temp it can stay for a 2-3 hour session of gaming?

I'd keep it under 80C if possible, 85C is ok.

 

[K' Dash]

I'm still looking to sell my ASUS P8P67 PRO B3 for $100 shipped.

I'd keep it under 80C if possible, 85C is ok.

Thank you Haz!

 

[Melhisedek]

Hello there folks,

Just wonder what your opinions on mechanical keyboards (will be used for gaming) are, and do you use them? I have a option of buying: Steelseries, Qpad, Ducky, Corsair and Razer. I'll go and try and check them out first but your input is appreciated as well

I also really need a new mouse mat, had this func one for over a decade and it is time for it to go.

Now this one that I've got is plastic and gets dirty easily so I presume that will continue with the one that I get as well.

Anyway I game a lot so easy glide is a must as is the ease of cleaning. I saw some cloth looking "Steelseries" I believe, really expensive but are they any good?

Thank you for your time!

 

[Hazaro]

Check the Mech KB Thread in the 3rd line of the OP.
I use a DAS with MX Blues and I enjoy typing on it. Gaming wise I don't really see an impact. But it feels much nicer to use.
If you like clicky go with Blues, if not clicky, go with Browns.

Mousepad I'm pleased with my RatPadz. Good grip and surface for years now. Just use a napkin to clean it.

 

[Acosta]

Guys, fast question. My secondary PC was starting to have problems related to power supply (hot weather, not the best electric system in the world, pretty usual for me). I have decided to act before the thing goes down, and I'm thinking about the possibility to upgrading the GPU for keeping it a bit more decent for more recent gaming.

It has a Core duo (2,6 Ghz), 4 Gb of RAM (old system) and a 5670.. Will it be worth to upgrade to a 6850 or the CPU is too much a bottle neck?

Anyone could give me a hand on this please? I must decide today if I want the new card or it's not worth the money with that CPU.

 

[Hazaro]

Anyone could give me a hand on this please? I must decide today if I want the new card or it's not worth the money with that CPU.

A 6850 will give you more frames and you'll get a nice boost later from upgrading your CPU. Are you replacing your PSU too?
Can you overclock at all with your setup?

 

[extremepabs]

Hi

I am seeking a little advice. I have recently built a new pc I5 3570K processor,8 gig ram,560TI graphics card, and gigabyte motherboard. This has 3 case fans (Bitfenix Merc case) and an Artic cooler processor cooler and a 750w OCZ power supply.

The problem I am having is that I have had 2 BSOD in the last couple of days and I can't work out why. My best guess is that its overheating but the fan ports seem cool and I have opened the case and the pc doesn't seem to be running hot.

This was a brand new Windows 7 install and very little has been installed so far. Does anyone have any recommendations on measuring pc temps? or anything they suggest I check?

This was my first pc build for a long time and I am at a bit of a loss.

Thanks

 

[Hazaro]

Hi

I am seeking a little advice. I have recently built a new pc I5 3570K processor,8 gig ram,560TI graphics card, and gigabyte motherboard. This has 3 case fans (Bitfenix Merc case) and an Artic cooler processor cooler and a 750w OCZ power supply.

The problem I am having is that I have had 2 BSOD in the last couple of days and I can't work out why. My best guess is that its overheating but the fan ports seem cool and I have opened the case and the pc doesn't seem to be running hot.

This was a brand new Windows 7 install and very little has been installed so far. Does anyone have any recommendations on measuring pc temps? or anything they suggest I check?

This was my first pc build for a long time and I am at a bit of a loss.

Thanks

Check your BSOD error code?

You can see temperature and load testers in the bottom of the first post. you want CPU load under 65C.
I'd run a quick 15 minute memtest86+ as a starting point.

 

[K' Dash]

nm

 

[sk3tch]

*sold

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

Hey guys, there's a discount on this power supply at Newegg today:

CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...C-070512-Index-_-PowerSupplies-_-17139028-L0B

Anyone have any comments about this particular model or Corsair PSUs in general? A couple are recommended in the OP, so it's probably fine.

Secondly, is 600W overkill for this build? (I don't plan to overclock anything):

CPU: i5 3570K w/Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus
Motherboard: P8Z77V-LK
Ram: Mushkin Essentials 8 GB
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3
SDD: Some 60GB model, haven't decided yet
GPU: GTX 460 (to be upgraded in a few months, but definitely to a single card, no dual-gpu shenanigans)
Case: Probably the NZXT H2

If it is too much power, will I be wasting lots of energy or is 600W just the maximum output and the power output will scale down to whatever my components require?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[CambriaRising]

Hey guys, there's a discount on this power supply at Newegg today:

CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...C-070512-Index-_-PowerSupplies-_-17139028-L0B

Anyone have any comments about this particular model or Corsair PSUs in general? A couple are recommended in the OP, so it's probably fine.

Secondly, is 600W overkill for this build? (I don't plan to overclock anything):

CPU: i5 3570K w/Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus
Motherboard: P8Z77V-LK
Ram: Mushkin Essentials 8 GB
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3
SDD: Some 60GB model, haven't decided yet
GPU: GTX 460 (to be upgraded in a few months, but definitely to a single card, no dual-gpu shenanigans)
Case: Probably the NZXT H2

If it is too much power, will I be wasting lots of energy or is 600W just the maximum output and the power output will scale down to whatever my components require?

Thanks for any advice!

600-650 is safe for your build. If you are upgrading your gpu soon, a lot of the newer cards like the 600 series require 500. That is a good price for a corsair. Look around a bit more before going for it, you may be able to find an antec for a similar price, if not a little cheaper.

 

[Curufinwe]

I've finally come across a game that doesn't recognize the thumb buttons on my MS Sidewinder mouse: the Fear 2 demo. But I was able to set up keystroke shortcuts.

Every other game I've tried has been fine, including the original Fear.

 

[kharma45]

Hey guys, I'm playing with my 7850 to OC it, what's the max temp it can stay for a 2-3 hour session of gaming?

Mine has never went about 80 degrees even with a game like Alan Wake really hammering it.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Does anyone know why microcenter keeps giving me a combo discount on the 2500k with a motherboard? I don't see anything telling me why, but if I add them to my cart together, the motherboard is getting a nice discount.

 

[MrBig]

Does anyone know why microcenter keeps giving me a combo discount on the 2500k with a motherboard? I don't see anything telling me why, but if I add them to my cart together, the motherboard is getting a nice discount.

They've had that since release... Are you complaining?

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

They've had that since release... Are you complaining?

Haha. Was just wondering if it was a sale and I should order quickly.

 

[saltinekracka]

I made a couple changes to my list and all parts are on their way. Wanted to get approval before I started putting her together. Thanks!

Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W
Motherboard: MSI Z77MA-G45 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX
Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Graphics: XFX HD-687A-ZHFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
Power Supply: CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM
Optical Drive: Sony Optiarc 24X DVD Burner
Case: Fractal Design Define Mini

Total came out to $736. Would've been cheaper, but I had to splurge on the Fractal case. It seemed like the best bang for the buck.

 

[MrBig]

I made a couple changes to my list and all parts are on their way. Wanted to get approval before I started putting her together. Thanks!

Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W
Motherboard: MSI Z77MA-G45 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX
Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Graphics: XFX HD-687A-ZHFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
Power Supply: CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM
Optical Drive: Sony Optiarc 24X DVD Burner
Case: Fractal Design Define Mini

Total came out to $736. Would've been cheaper, but I had to splurge on the Fractal case. It seemed like the best bang for the buck.

The WD Blue wasn't a good choice; they're pretty bad drives.

 

[saltinekracka]

The WD Blue wasn't a good choice; they're pretty bad drives.

I originally had the Samsung picked out, but that one went off sale and the WD went on sale. Both had 4 egg ratings, so I assumed everyone has their own issues from time to time. If I made a huge misstep, I'll send it back.

 

[mkenyon]

I originally had the Samsung picked out, but that one went off sale and the WD went on sale. Both had 4 egg ratings, so I assumed everyone has their own issues from time to time. If I made a huge misstep, I'll send it back.

Just don't count on it as a 'safe backup' drive. Will work fine otherwise.

 

[cametall]

Should I just avoid SSDs with SandForce controllers? Seems like even OCZ (who I am avoiding) have moved away from them.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

600-650 is safe for your build. If you are upgrading your gpu soon, a lot of the newer cards like the 600 series require 500. That is a good price for a corsair. Look around a bit more before going for it, you may be able to find an antec for a similar price, if not a little cheaper.

Thanks for the response. I'm reading reviews of this PSU and it's got a fairly high proportion of unhappy customers. Many complaints about high pitched whining noise, so I think I'd better look elsewhere.

 

[kharma45]

From the looks of I'm going to have to RMA my 7850

 

[gutterboy44]

OK, I am torn between SSD/HDD solutions.

Right now I have 256GB Samsung 830 and two 1TB Caviars (RAID 1) wishlisted for my build.

I definitely want RAID redundancy and SSD performance. I've considered going one 64GB SSD in front of a 2TB RAID 1 array to give me SSD speeds with the simplicity of a single large storage array.

I have set up two friends PC's with SRT and they seem do be doing great with it. Anyone other solutions I am missing for some redundancy and speed configurations?

Edit: I miss cheap 1TB Caviar Blacks. If they were still on sale for 69$ pre flooding, I would even consider a RAID 5 array.

 

[mkenyon]

If you're talking about going half way there, it's worth saving up to go all the way. Especially when you're talking about a RAID5 array that is in a separate NAS box or linux fileserver, you can afford to not buy the most dead reliable drives in the world.

The moment you have that RAID1 filled up or even assembled, you'll constantly kick yourself for not doing it right. Just grab some 2-3TB drives like the Samsung/Seagate Eco Drives.