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[mrklaw]

So, I decided to build a PC for the first time, budget of £700-750. Between this thread and advice from friends, I'm currently thinking of this:

Overclocked bundle from overclockers (£330):

- CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40GHz @ 4.40GHz Ivybridge CPU
- Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
- RAM: Samsung Green 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel
- Cooler: Prolimatech Megahalem CPU Cooler w/ x2 Tech Labs Zaward 2000RPM 120mm Fan
- Artic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

Then the rest of the components as per pcpartpicker:

Storage: Kingston SSDNow V200 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£64.78)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£57.23)

Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card (£119.62)

Case: BitFenix Merc Beta (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£25.51)
Power Supply: Corsair 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£52.92)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer (£13.98)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) (£72.96)

Total: £737


As some of these choices were made at random, I was hoping gaf could tell me if I've made any stupid decisions. Is an overclocked bundle worthwhile, or should I man up and learn to do it myself? Are Sata-III drives that important? Are OCZ SSDs really that bad? Is that power supply enough/too much?

general PC or gaming PC?

PSU is probably too much, but not sure how much you'd save dropping to a 500/550W seasonic.

Is it worth going for an ivy bridge i5 and new motherboard with a 6870? Wouldn't it be too powerful CPU wise (which isn't going to get leveraged much) and not powerful enough on the GPU side? If you went for a sandy bridge i3, you could probably save a fair amount on the CPU and motherboard, which you could throw into upgrading the GPU?

 

[Xdrive05]

Newegg is giving away 8GB RAM with this Asrock Z77 Extreme4:


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293


Is this a good deal?

 

[Hazaro]

Newegg is giving away 8GB RAM with this Asrock Z77 Extreme4:


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293


Is this a good deal?

Very

 

[opticalmace]

So my 120GB SSD (split between Linux and Windows) is getting super full. Even with offloading tons of stuff when possible to other drives.

I want to get a new bigger SSD. Will it be a problem having 2 of them, each booting a separate OS? I guess the only thing is putting the boot loader on one of them. Any reason why this could be a problem?

Thanks.

 

[teh_pwn]

So my 120GB SSD (split between Linux and Windows) is getting super full. Even with offloading tons of stuff when possible to other drives.

I want to get a new bigger SSD. Will it be a problem having 2 of them, each booting a separate OS? I guess the only thing is putting the boot loader on one of them. Any reason why this could be a problem?

Thanks.

Motherboards I've used will give a boot loader for all OSes on all drives if a HDD with one of the OSes is prioritized to boot. I'm guessing the motherboard handles this, but not sure.

You could try disabling hibernation on windows. That will remove the hibernation OS files at C:\ that's about the size of your RAM.
powercfg.exe /hibernate off

If you've got 16-32 GB of RAM that's a huge file.

If the boot thing doesn't work, you could junction large apps to a secondary HDD on windows.

 

[Cindres]

Well, after that initial fear, everything seems fine. So happy, the shinobi windowed case s gorgeous.

 

[ss_lemonade]

So my 120GB SSD (split between Linux and Windows) is getting super full. Even with offloading tons of stuff when possible to other drives.

I want to get a new bigger SSD. Will it be a problem having 2 of them, each booting a separate OS? I guess the only thing is putting the boot loader on one of them. Any reason why this could be a problem?

Thanks.

I think you'll be given a choice to choose which OS you want to boot to, if your computer detects multiple OS installations

 

[legacyzero]

Newegg is giving away 8GB RAM with this Asrock Z77 Extreme4:


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293


Is this a good deal?

FUCK I was going to get that board, too.

I skipped it for the Asus though.

 

[Xdrive05]

Very

Bought it. Thanks. Now I just have to decide on the CPU, or wait for a deal on one. Leaning toward 3570k.

 

[Albino_Samurai]

Like i promised, an update after installing the new graphics card :

SHIT RUNS SMOOV!!!!!!
Unlike anything i ever saw before!
Sleeping dogs is gorgeous in 1080p and after running the game for 12 hours straight i haven't encountered a single problem.
(Game has some jitters here and there, but FRAPS tells me it's cool so i reckon it could be a game/software or driver related issue)

MB : 44 C
CPU: 42 C
GPU: 62 C

(how do i type the degree sign properly?)

Was worried the ASUS GTX 670 wouldn't fit in my Thermaltake Shark casing, but it fits real nice and isn't much longer than my former card.
So, i didn't realy have to buy this here Xigmatek Elysium case afterall...
Shame though, cause i realy am loving this humongous beast!
Leaves me no choice but to start with that new game specific sytem i suppose!

Motherboards with 2 proccesors and 8 slots for RAM... how do they work?

 

[Syphon Filter]

anyone know if the aoc i2353ph monitor is any good?

 

[Finn of Ooo]

So I'm not going to be able to connect to the internet via ethernet, so what do I need for wireless connectivity when building a pc?

 

[Soi-Fong]

So? Has ROG released their version of the 680 yet?

If not, I might just save up for two MSI 680's then to SLI. Hoping my 2600k lasts a good while for gaming.

Edit: One more question. Will my Corsair AX 850 (850 watt) be enough for a 2600k and two 680's SLI'd plus a soundcard?

 

[SniperHunter]

Hey guys here is my current rig:

AMD 1055t watercooled and overclocked to 4.3 GHz
4 GB DDR3 ram
600 PSU

I need a new graphics card. I was thinking of a GTX 680 but it's kinda expensive in Canada ATM, what's the difference between a GTX 670 and 680 anyway? I will be playings games at 1080p. Is GTX 670 a better buy for me?

 

[Celcius]

Edit: One more question. Will my Corsair AX 850 (850 watt) be enough for a 2600k and two 680's SLI'd plus a soundcard?

Should be fine. I've seen people run an overclocked 2600k plus gtx 580 sli (uses more power then 680's) on that exact psu.

 

[Soi-Fong]

Should be fine. I've seen people run an overclocked 2600k plus gtx 580 sli (uses more power then 680's) on that exact psu.

Awesome! Thanks for the reply! lol Hopefully 2 680's will be enough to play Watch Dogs (whenever that comes out) at max at 1080p! lol

 

[Whooter]

So I'm not going to be able to connect to the internet via ethernet, so what do I need for wireless connectivity when building a pc?

Either a PCI wireless LAN card or a USB wireless adapter.

I use this and it works great.

 

[johnsmith]

What's a good temperature to aim for on a 3570k?

I can overclock to 4.4ghz with the default voltage settings of 1.24v and i'm at 77c when stress testing, but to go any higher I need to start increasing the voltage. I was at 84c just to go 4.5ghz, but I can't remember what the voltage offset was.. Wondering if I should play it safe and stay at 4.4ghz or try to go up to 4.6ghz as long as i can stay under 90c.

 

[MMBosstones86]

i'm confused guys. is there any tangible difference between 212+ and 212 EVO?

Anyone used both? 212+ is cheaper right now

Spoiler

i know CM sucks w/ rebates, but still

and I could get an extra fan as well.

I do have 'high profile' RAM, but i've seen people can do it...just with VERY little clearance.

I have a 2500k (stock clocks right now), with four of these and one 140mm fan that came with the case (CM)

TLR - 212+ or 212 EVO and what would be a good extra fan to get?

Thanks GAF!

sorry, quoting for the new page. 212+ is on the sale for this weekend only i think

 

[Ashhong]

Hey so I got the NZXT 210, and can I mount the PSU with the fan facing down? It would make cable management easier. There's like a small gap between the PSU and the bottom of the case, which makes me think it's ok...but I'm not sure. Sounds counter-intuitive.

 

[HarryDemeanor]

sorry, quoting for the new page. 212+ is on the sale for this weekend only i think

I keep seeing people in this thread say to get the 212+ because the Evo isn't that big of an improvement over it.

I don't know if that has changed recently.

 

[Syphon Filter]

What is the biggest monitor i can get sitting from the normal 2-3 ft? And of course it can't be too big that it would become a problem from 2-3 ft.

 

[mkenyon]

So? Has ROG released their version of the 680 yet?

If not, I might just save up for two MSI 680's then to SLI. Hoping my 2600k lasts a good while for gaming.

Edit: One more question. Will my Corsair AX 850 (850 watt) be enough for a 2600k and two 680's SLI'd plus a soundcard?

Do you mean the RoG pseudo 690? The Mars? Should be out in a month or so.

You'll be pulling around 500-600W with that setup. Totally cool.

Hey guys here is my current rig:

AMD 1055t watercooled and overclocked to 4.3 GHz
4 GB DDR3 ram
600 PSU

I need a new graphics card. I was thinking of a GTX 680 but it's kinda expensive in Canada ATM, what's the difference between a GTX 670 and 680 anyway? I will be playings games at 1080p. Is GTX 670 a better buy for me?

670 a better buy. Get the ASUS DCII or the Gigabyte Windforce version.

What's a good temperature to aim for on a 3570k?

I can overclock to 4.4ghz with the default voltage settings of 1.24v and i'm at 77c when stress testing, but to go any higher I need to start increasing the voltage. I was at 84c just to go 4.5ghz, but I can't remember what the voltage offset was.. Wondering if I should play it safe and stay at 4.4ghz or try to go up to 4.6ghz as long as i can stay under 90c.

Stay in the 70s.

Hey so I got the NZXT 210, and can I mount the PSU with the fan facing down? It would make cable management easier. There's like a small gap between the PSU and the bottom of the case, which makes me think it's ok...but I'm not sure. Sounds counter-intuitive.

Does the source 210 have a cutout below so it can draw air from underneath the case? If so, that's totally fine.

 

[antistar]

I need a recommendation for a video card upgrade. Right now I have an E8500 OCd with a 250GTS. Looking for something to play BL2 and hold me over for a year or so until my next computer build.

 

[Domcorleone]

I cant boot to windows wit my GTX 690, is it my PSU? I have 850w. I have to restart the comp several times and run safe mode than to an os restart and then i can boot normally, I can never boot by just turning the comp on however.

 

[Ashhong]

Does the source 210 have a cutout below so it can draw air from underneath the case? If so, that's totally fine.

No not a full cutout. There's just a small groove of space under the PSU area, but its sealed off, so the heat would be stuck there I imagine...not a good idea then right?

 

[MrBig]

What is the biggest monitor i can get sitting from the normal 2-3 ft? And of course it can't be too big that it would become a problem from 2-3 ft.

A 27" 2560x1440 or a 30" 2560x1600.

At 27" you can get a Crossover 27Q for ~$400, and at 30" theres the U3011 at around $1200 iirc.

 

[mkenyon]

No not a full cutout. There's just a small groove of space under the PSU area, but its sealed off, so the heat would be stuck there I imagine...not a good idea then right?

Have the fan facing up for sure then.

I need a recommendation for a video card upgrade. Right now I have an E8500 OCd with a 250GTS. Looking for something to play BL2 and hold me over for a year or so until my next computer build.

7850 or 6870. If you can find a 560Ti for ~$170, that'd be a good pickup too.

I cant boot to windows wit my GTX 690, is it my PSU? I have 850w. I have to restart the comp several times and run safe mode than to an os restart and then i can boot normally, I can never boot by just turning the comp on however.

Could be a huge number of things. Troubleshoot by eliminating variables. For example, try booting without the 690 to see if the problem exists.

 

[MMBosstones86]

I keep seeing people in this thread say to get the 212+ because the Evo isn't that big of an improvement over it.

I don't know if that has changed recently.

sounds good to me. i'm going to be changing out the stock intel one, is there any guides available for removing and installing a new heatsink?

thanks GAF!

 

[MagicWithEarvin]

I picked up the Antec 1100 case at Frys for $99. The cable management looks sweeeet.

Can't wait to put this together.

 

[Fantomex]

Thanks so much for the thread it's really helped me out. However im a bit stumped in a couple of things. Is there a big difference from getting a video card thats 1.2gb and one that's 2 gb? I'm saying this because I have a $300 dollar budget for a video card but am stumped on what to get. I mostly want to play WOW, Witcher 2, and not have to buy another video card for at least 3 years. Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

[MagicWithEarvin]

Let's do this.

 

[Thraktor]

Thanks so much for the thread it's really helped me out. However im a bit stumped in a couple of things. Is there a big difference from getting a video card thats 1.2gb and one that's 2 gb? I'm saying this because I have a $300 dollar budget for a video card but am stumped on what to get. I mostly want to play WOW, Witcher 2, and not have to buy another video card for at least 3 years. Any input is greatly appreciated.

Which cards are you looking at? You should be able to get a 7950 (which is a 3GB card) for about $300, which should last you a good while.

Edit: Such as this one.

 

[big_z]

Let's do this.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s145/earvcunanan/_MG_6377.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]

whats with the strapping? didnt they ship the stuff inside shipping boxes?

 

[Fantomex]

Which cards are you looking at? You should be able to get a 7950 (which is a 3GB card) for about $300, which should last you a good while.

Edit: Such as this one.

Thanks Thraktor. As of now I am looking at these

GTX 560 Ti

GTX 660 Ti

I've had bad experiences with ATI in the past, that's why I didn't even research what they are offering but I'll definitely look into your suggestion

 

[Fjordson]

I've been wondering about the 7950 pricing. That's a pretty beefy card right? With the 3GB ram and whatnot. Why is it so much cheaper than like a GTX 670?

 

[mkenyon]

I've been wondering about the 7950 pricing. That's a pretty beefy card right? With the 3GB ram and whatnot. Why is it so much cheaper than like a GTX 670?

Because they're finally playing the price wars game. All of the AMD cards are insanely good value right now.

 

[big_z]

Thanks Thraktor. As of now I am looking at these

GTX 560 Ti

GTX 660 Ti

I've had bad experiences with ATI in the past, that's why I didn't even research what they are offering but I'll definitely look into your suggestion

theres a rumor that the price on the 660 cards are dropping next week. with the money saved you could get a 660 with better cooling like the asus.

 

[Xdrive05]

How viable is the stock HSF for the 3570K for some light OCing?

I'd like to go maybe 4.0GHz, nothing too crazy yet. Is the fan noise and temps terrible for that kind of work?

 

[Thraktor]

Thanks Thraktor. As of now I am looking at these

GTX 560 Ti

GTX 660 Ti

I've had bad experiences with ATI in the past, that's why I didn't even research what they are offering but I'll definitely look into your suggestion

The reason I would recommend the 7950 over the 660Ti is that you said you wanted a card to last you three years. They're in the same sort of performance bracket at the moment (the 7950 generally does a bit better, although it depends on the game), but the 7950 not only has the extra GB of RAM, it more importantly has twice the memory bandwidth, which means it's more likely to hold up well when faced with games released in the coming years.

I wouldn't worry too much about past experiences with ATI cards, AMD's drivers have apparently been fine for a while now.

I've been wondering about the 7950 pricing. That's a pretty beefy card right? With the 3GB ram and whatnot. Why is it so much cheaper than like a GTX 670?

They dropped the price (along with the 7850 and 7870) to compete with the 660Ti. The 670 is more of a competitor, both in price and performance, to the 7970.

theres a rumor that the price on the 660 cards are dropping next week. with the money saved you could get a 660 with better cooling like the asus.

Are you sure? They only released the 660Ti a few weeks ago.

 

[Fantomex]

theres a rumor that the price on the 660 cards are dropping next week. with the money saved you could get a 660 with better cooling like the asus.

The reason I would recommend the 7950 over the 660Ti is that you said you wanted a card to last you three years. They're in the same sort of performance bracket at the moment (the 7950 generally does a bit better, although it depends on the game), but the 7950 not only has the extra GB of RAM, it more importantly has twice the memory bandwidth, which means it's more likely to hold up well when faced with games released in the coming years.

I wouldn't worry too much about past experiences with ATI cards, AMD's drivers have apparently been fine for a while now.



They dropped the price (along with the 7850 and 7870) to compete with the 660Ti. The 670 is more of a competitor, both in price and performance, to the 7970.



Are you sure? They only released the 660Ti a few weeks ago.

Man I'm loving this information. Thanks for all the input guys, I don't mind waiting a bit just to see what comes about

 

[SniperHunter]

670 a better buy. Get the ASUS DCII or the Gigabyte Windforce version.

.

I see, thanks for the recommendation. BTW if a 670 is a better buy then why were all the next gen games running on a GTX 680 at E3?

 

[Hoplatee]

I see, thanks for the recommendation. BTW if a 670 is a better buy then why were all the next gen games running on a GTX 680 at E3?

The extra money you pay for the 680 is not worth it for the increase of performance. That is what I was told a few months ago so I guess that still is true today. The 670 is more than fine and those fancy next gen games will just run fine on the 670. And everything you throw at it is fine. Such a great card.

Try to get the Asus version if you care about noise. It is extremely silent and cools very good. I don't hear that thing at all. Not even when I was finding a problem in my setup and had the case open.

 

[Infinite Justice]

Are you sure? They only released the 660Ti a few weeks ago.

He might be referring to the 660 (non Ti version) since that is apparently gonna be released on the 12th of this month


Or maybe it will have a drop or both happens (660 release and slight drop to the ti version)

 

[SniperHunter]

The extra money you pay for the 680 is not worth it for the increase of performance. That is what I was told a few months ago so I guess that still is true today. The 670 is more than fine and those fancy next gen games will just run fine on the 670. And everything you throw at it is fine. Such a great card.

Try to get the Asus version if you care about noise. It is extremely silent and cools very good. I don't hear that thing at all. Not even when I was finding a problem in my setup and had the case open.

Now tharkotar is saying a ATI 7000 series card is a better buy because it has an extra gig of Vram....who to believe? I want to futureproof my system a bit, is 7970 the best option?

 

[Fjordson]

They dropped the price (along with the 7850 and 7870) to compete with the 660Ti. The 670 is more of a competitor, both in price and performance, to the 7970.

Interesting. Though even the 7970 seems pretty cheap given its specs.

Admittedly, I don't know much about video card specs, but ATI cards all seem positively loaded with video ram for around the same price as GeForce cards with much less ram. Weird.

 

[big_z]

He might be referring to the 660 (non Ti version) since that is apparently gonna be released on the 12th of this month


Or maybe it will have a drop or both happens (660 release and slight drop to the ti version)

im talking about the 660ti, the announcement is supposed to come around the same time as the 660 release. would be nice to see all of nvidias line drop in price. the 670 was on sale for $300 here in canada so there's a lot of markup on these cards as is.

 

[Jarmel]

Anyone have any advice for a 1155 motherboard?

 

[Hazaro]

The extra money you pay for the 680 is not worth it for the increase of performance. That is what I was told a few months ago so I guess that still is true today. The 670 is more than fine and those fancy next gen games will just run fine on the 670. And everything you throw at it is fine. Such a great card.

Try to get the Asus version if you care about noise. It is extremely silent and cools very good. I don't hear that thing at all. Not even when I was finding a problem in my setup and had the case open.

Gigabyte 670
ASUS ones are extremely hard to find and some had clock issues.

im talking about the 660ti, the announcement is supposed to come around the same time as the 660 release. would be nice to see all of nvidias line drop in price. the 670 was on sale for $300 here in canada so there's a lot of markup on these cards as is.

It would be nice to see some extra price competition, but I don't see it happening on 660Ti's because of the BL2 bundle. 670 I don't see any pressure on them.
The 7950 at $300 is the far better buy though.

Anyone have any advice for a 1155 motherboard?

What are you looking for?
Everything in the Excellent and Enhanced builds is a good buy.

 

[Jarmel]

What are you looking for?
Everything in the Excellent and Enhanced builds is a good buy.

Primarily something that can run in SLI and a decent amount of USB ports. Wi-fi would be nice. Will be running a 2700k in it.

Not exactly sure if there is something else I should be thinking about.