• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

"I need a New PC!" 2012 Thread. 22nm+28nm, Tri-Gate, and reading the OP. [Part 1]

Status
Not open for further replies.
H

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
ColonialRaptor said:
Is AsRock a good brand in anyones opinion? i've never purchased them before so I got no idea... just the specs on an AsRock Mobo are so superior to the ASUS and Gigabyte board at the same price that I'm considering switching to that.
Click to expand...
They've become a lot better. Once they work out some BIOS kinks they should be better than the budget slot in they are at imo.
DeathNote said:
WTF removing Dell's pre-installed McAfee did something where Windows 7 seems to crash right after start up.

It takes a while for it to connect to wireless and all the icons reload.

Seems like it takes longer for windows to load up in general.
Click to expand...
That's pretty odd, did you run CCleaner and do a reg clean after you uninstalled it?
 
C

C.Dark.DN

Banned
Hazaro said:
They've become a lot better. Once they work out some BIOS kinks they should be better than the budget slot in they are at imo.

That's pretty odd, did you run CCleaner and do a reg clean after you uninstalled it?
Click to expand...

Yeah. Disabled start up programs through cleaner too since it seems to happen after a few pop up on the toolbar.

The wifi icon changed to a ball looking thing and seems to take a while to connect and change to bars then the icons refresh.

Thinking about doing a system restore. I uninstalled some dell software to see if it'd fix anything. Does third part registry cleaners mess with that?
 
M

mambadragon

Banned
So I'm having instability with my less than year old build. I'm getting random freezes/hardlocks where the audio goes into a loop. It can happen when playing a game as simple as Bastion or even just web surfing and listening to music. One difference I believe I have from most who I read about with similar problems is if I wait 2-3 minutes the PC recovers and I get back control, so though I haven't lost any work it makes playing games impossible.

This happens with no overclocking of my 2500k and running the RAM at the motherboard defaults (ie not using XMP). The PC is stable with Prime95 and OCCT. I reinstalled Windows 7 a few times now.

I think I can rule out the two most obvious things:
- motherboard: this problem started happening on my Asus Gene-Z, so I went and bought a Gigabyte Z68 mATX board and am having the same problem. I may be misremebering but it seems to happen more on this Gigabyte board.
- RAM: I have two 4GB DIMMS and I get no errors in Memtest. I've also been able to get the freezes to occur when using only one stick at a time in different slots.

So what's left in my PC to test?:
- 2500k
- XFX 850W power supply
- 6950 2GB (not unlocked)
- Samsung hard drive
- WiFi card (doubt this is the problem but Im just going to take it out and use Ethernet)

Logically I don't know what to think it is if the PC is stable with the benchmark software. My next idea is to take out the 6950 (not likely the problem) and disable the Realtek and use the 2500K's internal video and HDMI audio on my TV. Then probably power supply, then hard drive, and I guess worst case buy a new processor.

Any ideas are more than welcome. Ive been a lifelong PC gamer but this is really driving me nuts and I've put way too much time into this. Thanks.
 
L

larvi

Member
videotape said:
So what's left in my PC to test?:
Click to expand...

Just a shot in the dark but it may be worth trying a different keyboard/mouse if you haven't already. I've had input devices with shorts that caused some strange behaviour in the past. Also disconnect any other USB devices as well.
 
H

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
videotape said:
So I'm having instability with my less than year old build. I'm getting random freezes/hardlocks where the audio goes into a loop. It can happen when playing a game as simple as Bastion or even just web surfing and listening to music. One difference I believe I have from most who I read about with similar problems is if I wait 2-3 minutes the PC recovers and I get back control, so though I haven't lost any work it makes playing games impossible.

This happens with no overclocking of my 2500k and running the RAM at the motherboard defaults (ie not using XMP). The PC is stable with Prime95 and OCCT. I reinstalled Windows 7 a few times now.

I think I can rule out the two most obvious things:
- motherboard: this problem started happening on my Asus Gene-Z, so I went and bought a Gigabyte Z68 mATX board and am having the same problem. I may be misremebering but it seems to happen more on this Gigabyte board.
- RAM: I have two 4GB DIMMS and I get no errors in Memtest. I've also been able to get the freezes to occur when using only one stick at a time in different slots.

So what's left in my PC to test?:
- 2500k
- XFX 850W power supply
- 6950 2GB (not unlocked)
- Samsung hard drive
- WiFi card (doubt this is the problem but Im just going to take it out and use Ethernet)

Logically I don't know what to think it is if the PC is stable with the benchmark software. My next idea is to take out the 6950 (not likely the problem) and disable the Realtek and use the 2500K's internal video and HDMI audio on my TV. Then probably power supply, then hard drive, and I guess worst case buy a new processor.

Any ideas are more than welcome. Ive been a lifelong PC gamer but this is really driving me nuts and I've put way too much time into this. Thanks.
Click to expand...
I'd run a HDD diagnostic just to get that out of the way and see if it keep happening. Test clean install on another hdd if possible. Is that an older 2TB drive? Might need a firmware update.
Then I'd replace the memory anyway, even if no errors in memtest.
 
B

border

Member
DeathNote said:
WTF removing Dell's pre-installed McAfee did something where Windows 7 seems to crash right after start up.

It takes a while for it to connect to wireless and all the icons reload.

Seems like it takes longer for windows to load up in general.
Click to expand...

I just uninstalled McAffe on my Dell refurb and you're making me nervous :)

I think the best idea for me (and you) would be to format the hard drive and do a clean install of Windows. Of course the problem is that we didn't get a Windows 7 installation disc, but rather a recovery disc that will put all the bloatware right back where it was. Someone said it was possible to download a clean installer from Microsoft, but all my googling hasn't turned up any free downloads -- only paid ones from Microsoft.

I suppose I could find something on a pirate site, but I don't exactly trust the warez community to give me a truly clean and untouched ISO. it's important to me that I'm running the real thing, rather than some hacked version meant to bypass Microsoft DRM.

There's gotta be something out there though, for people who have paid for a Windows license and have either lost their install disc or don't want OEM bloatware. Let me know if you turn up anything.
 
B

Biggzy

Member
Well I installed my new motherboard along with a core i7 2600k processor, 8 gb ram and an Amd Sapphire 6870. The only thing I am waiting for now is my W7 cd to arrive so I can install it and unleash my new and improved pc on my unsuspecting games.
 
K

Karram

Member
So I'm going to totally upgrade my PC and I would like to hear GAF's recommendations:

- Processor: price doesn't exceed $300, so far I think I'll be buying the i7 2600k

- video card: price doesn't exceed $300.

- 16GB DDR3 rams price doesn't matter.

- hard drive: fast, reliable and it's size is atleast 1 TB.

- motherboard: one that supports the previous components and it's price doesn't exceed $150
 
C

C.Dark.DN

Banned
border said:
I just uninstalled McAffe on my Dell refurb and you're making me nervous :)

I think the best idea for me (and you) would be to format the hard drive and do a clean install of Windows. Of course the problem is that we didn't get a Windows 7 installation disc, but rather a recovery disc that will put all the bloatware right back where it was. Someone said it was possible to download a clean installer from Microsoft, but all my googling hasn't turned up any free downloads -- only paid ones from Microsoft.

I suppose I could find something on a pirate site, but I don't exactly trust the warez community to give me a truly clean and untouched ISO. it's important to me that I'm running the real thing, rather than some hacked version meant to bypass Microsoft DRM.

There's gotta be something out there though, for people who have paid for a Windows license and have either lost their install disc or don't want OEM bloatware. Let me know if you turn up anything.
Click to expand...
How much are the paid ones and do you have a link?

If you don't notice anything weird at start up you should be good to go.

I did a System Restore and it still does it and the Dell local backup software doesn't work anymore and wont uninstall. I already made the discs tho.

Should have never touched it, lol. Damn Dell software. It'sOther than start up weirdness for a second it works fine so I'm not gonna use the discs I created yet.
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
Karram said:
So I'm going to totally upgrade my PC and I would like to hear GAF's recommendations:

- Processor: price doesn't exceed $300, so far I think I'll be buying the i7 2600k

- video card: price doesn't exceed $300.

- 16GB DDR3 rams price doesn't matter.

- hard drive: fast, reliable and it's size is atleast 1 TB.

- motherboard: one that supports the previous components and it's price doesn't exceed $150
Click to expand...

What are your uses? What power supply and case do you currently have?

Biggzy said:
Well I installed my new motherboard along with a core i7 2600k processor, 8 gb ram and an Amd Sapphire 9870. The only thing I am waiting for now is my W7 cd to arrive so I can install it and unleash my new and improved pc on my unsuspecting games.
Click to expand...

o_O
 
ss_lemonade

ss_lemonade

Member
Karram said:
So I'm going to totally upgrade my PC and I would like to hear GAF's recommendations:

- Processor: price doesn't exceed $300, so far I think I'll be buying the i7 2600k

- video card: price doesn't exceed $300.

- 16GB DDR3 rams price doesn't matter.

- hard drive: fast, reliable and it's size is atleast 1 TB.

- motherboard: one that supports the previous components and it's price doesn't exceed $150
Click to expand...
If you ask me, just get a 2500k and add the price difference to your budget for other components like the videocard. That is if you need this PC just for gaming though.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Doc Holliday said:
FML! Like a dumbass I didn't bother to do some research before buying the 7970. It doesn't fit into my CM scout unless I cut out the HDD bay. Fuck that... Any Mid-Tower suggestions that will fit a large video card around for around 100 bucks.
Click to expand...

OP has the answers you seek, anything in the $80-$100 section will do. I have a 500r and it's not too different from the 400r, I'd recommend it with some reservations - need a PSU with long cables (Seasonic 650W barely reached the 4+4 pin by the CPU) and there's not much room for cable management toward the front of the case.
 
G

Gav47

Member
georaldc said:
If you ask me, just get a 2500k and add the price difference to your budget for other components like the videocard. That is if you need this PC just for gaming though.
Click to expand...

I would suggest the same. 350-400 will probably net you a 7950 when it's released or a gtx 580 if you shop around.
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
georaldc said:
If you ask me, just get a 2500k and add the price difference to your budget for other components like the videocard. That is if you need this PC just for gaming though.
Click to expand...

If he is building this as a gaming PC and has the PSU to back it up, I agree.

He could also look into getting an SSD with that money instead of spending it on the video card.
 
F

FlawlessCowboy

Member
Hazaro said:
Something similar to the Enhanced Build. Should be able to get something nearly the same, but with a 6870, might have to step down to a 550Ti, you that's something you can upgrade later along with your monitor size. I'd still get a K CPU because the resale is higher (It's the overclocking version).
Click to expand...

Is there any particular advantage between the AMD and Intel builds? I played around with the AMD desktops and came up with something like this:

  • COMPUCASE HEC 6C28B Black Mid-Tower Case, No PSU, ATX
  • HEC X-Power 585 Power Supply, 585W, 24-pin ATX12V, Dual 80mm Fans, OEM
  • GIGABYTE GA-A75-UD4H, FM1, AMD® A75, DDR3-1866 32GB /4, PCIe x16 CF /1+1*, SATA 6 Gb/s RAID 10 /5, VGA+DVI+HDMI+DP, USB 3.0 /4, HDA, GbLAN, FW /2, ATX, Retail
  • AMD Fusion A6-3650 Quad-Core 2.6GHz, HD Graphics, FM1, 4MB L2 cache, 100W, 32nm, Retail
  • CORSAIR 8GB (4 x 2GB) Vengeance™ LP PC3-12800 DDR3 1600MHz CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
  • SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon™ HD 5750 710MHz, 1GB GDDR5 4640MHz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, 2x DVI+HDMI+DP, Retail
  • SEAGATE 500GB Barracuda® 7200.12, SATA 6 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache
  • RAID No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
  • SONY AD-7261S Black 24x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ Lightscribe, SATA, OEM
  • MICROSOFT Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit Edition w/ SP1, OEM
  • WARRANTY Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty
)

Total Price: $773.82

Do I need to add a CPU cooler or upgrade the thermal compound?

Also, would it be possible to simply transfer the contents of my current PC (windows XP) to this new one? I plan on upgrading to windows 7 soon, but it'd be nice to spend an extra 150 dollars or so on this system as opposed to spending it on windows 7 + Microsoft word.

Thanks for all your help.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
FlawlessCowboy said:
Is there any particular advantage between the AMD and Intel builds? I played around with the AMD desktops and came up with something like this:

  • COMPUCASE HEC 6C28B Black Mid-Tower Case, No PSU, ATX
  • HEC X-Power 585 Power Supply, 585W, 24-pin ATX12V, Dual 80mm Fans, OEM
  • GIGABYTE GA-A75-UD4H, FM1, AMD® A75, DDR3-1866 32GB /4, PCIe x16 CF /1+1*, SATA 6 Gb/s RAID 10 /5, VGA+DVI+HDMI+DP, USB 3.0 /4, HDA, GbLAN, FW /2, ATX, Retail
  • AMD Fusion A6-3650 Quad-Core 2.6GHz, HD Graphics, FM1, 4MB L2 cache, 100W, 32nm, Retail
  • CORSAIR 8GB (4 x 2GB) Vengeance™ LP PC3-12800 DDR3 1600MHz CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
  • SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon™ HD 5750 710MHz, 1GB GDDR5 4640MHz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, 2x DVI+HDMI+DP, Retail
  • SEAGATE 500GB Barracuda® 7200.12, SATA 6 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache
  • RAID No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
  • SONY AD-7261S Black 24x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ Lightscribe, SATA, OEM
  • MICROSOFT Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit Edition w/ SP1, OEM
  • WARRANTY Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty
)

Total Price: $773.82

Do I need to add a CPU cooler or upgrade the thermal compound?

Also, would it be possible to simply transfer the contents of my current PC (windows XP) to this new one? I plan on upgrading to windows 7 soon, but it'd be nice to spend an extra 150 dollars or so on this system as opposed to spending it on windows 7 + Microsoft word.

Thanks for all your help.
Click to expand...

The $800 build in the OP would run circles around that, granted it doesn't come with Windows. That CPU and GPU are significantly slower, and you're getting a very poor case and PSU with that. Not worth nearly $800 at all. Even cutting the OP build down to $700 or so, you could still put something together that would easily be faster than that AMD build.

You could move the HDD out of your PC and let XP detect the hardware (you would almost certainly have to re-register it with the product code), but you definitely wouldn't want to wait long to buy Win7. You won't be able to play DX10/10.1/11 games, and you're going to be limited to less than half your RAM (3GB or so).
 
I

Isaccard

Member
PC Gaf, a question.

I'm debating between two Asus Motherboards right now. The ASUS-Maximus-IV-Gene-Z (Micro ATX) and the ASUS P8Z68-V. (standard)

I'm leaning toward the Maximus since my primary objective is to game. They're both the same price, but would it be better to get the P8Z68 instead? Is there a big difference between the two and Micro ATX vs. Standard?

Help.
 
M

MC RaZaR

Neo Member
FlawlessCowboy said:
Is there any particular advantage between the AMD and Intel builds? I played around with the AMD desktops and came up with something like this:

  • COMPUCASE HEC 6C28B Black Mid-Tower Case, No PSU, ATX
  • HEC X-Power 585 Power Supply, 585W, 24-pin ATX12V, Dual 80mm Fans, OEM
  • GIGABYTE GA-A75-UD4H, FM1, AMD® A75, DDR3-1866 32GB /4, PCIe x16 CF /1+1*, SATA 6 Gb/s RAID 10 /5, VGA+DVI+HDMI+DP, USB 3.0 /4, HDA, GbLAN, FW /2, ATX, Retail
  • AMD Fusion A6-3650 Quad-Core 2.6GHz, HD Graphics, FM1, 4MB L2 cache, 100W, 32nm, Retail
  • CORSAIR 8GB (4 x 2GB) Vengeance™ LP PC3-12800 DDR3 1600MHz CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
  • SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon™ HD 5750 710MHz, 1GB GDDR5 4640MHz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, 2x DVI+HDMI+DP, Retail
  • SEAGATE 500GB Barracuda® 7200.12, SATA 6 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache
  • RAID No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
  • SONY AD-7261S Black 24x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ Lightscribe, SATA, OEM
  • MICROSOFT Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit Edition w/ SP1, OEM
  • WARRANTY Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty
)

Total Price: $773.82

Do I need to add a CPU cooler or upgrade the thermal compound?

Also, would it be possible to simply transfer the contents of my current PC (windows XP) to this new one? I plan on upgrading to windows 7 soon, but it'd be nice to spend an extra 150 dollars or so on this system as opposed to spending it on windows 7 + Microsoft word.

Thanks for all your help.
Click to expand...

You don't need an aftermarket coolor or other thermal compund if you don't plan on overclocking. You can get the thermal compound if you plan on reusing your CPU at one point. That Windows 7 you listed is 32-bit. You would want 64 bit if you plan on using 4+ GB of RAM. I agree with chaosblade that you can make a better computer for around the same price.
 
H

herod

Member
I currently have an ASRock N68S with 4GB DDR2, a 1055T and a GTX260.

I'm aware that I'm on borrowed time, but I was wondering if dropping in a 560 Ti would be a stupid thing to do? I think I'm only very rarely CPU or memory bottlenecked in the games I dare to try, mostly based on seeing tearing while trying to drive 1080P from the GTX260.
 
K

Karram

Member
TheExodu5 said:
What are your uses? What power supply and case do you currently have?
Click to expand...
Sorry for not mentioning that currently I have a 550 W power supply I use my PC mainly for gaming and Level creation for various games (Gears of war,UDK, Crysis 1 and 2)



georaldc said:
if you ask me, just get a 2500k and add the price difference to your budget for other components like the videocard. That is if you need this PC just for gaming though.
Click to expand...
My current PC isn't that great. The motherboard doesn't even support i7 processors and only up to 4GB of DDR2 rams.
Here is my current rig:

Gigabyte G41M with 4GB rams
Intel Core 2 duo E8400
Nvidia geforce GTS 250
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
MC RaZaR said:
You don't need an aftermarket coolor or other thermal compund if you don't plan on overclocking. You can get the thermal compound if you plan on reusing your CPU at one point. That Windows 7 you listed is 32-bit. You would want 64 bit if you plan on using 4+ GB of RAM. I agree with chaosblade that you can make a better computer for around the same price.
Click to expand...

Didn't catch the 32-bit part. At this point you want to install 64-bit in almost every situation. The only exception that I can think of is if you run 16-bit software, since the 64-bit version of Win7 doesn't support 16-bit applications.
 
S

scogoth

Member
Isaccard said:
PC Gaf, a question.

I'm debating between two Asus Motherboards right now. The ASUS-Maximus-IV-Gene-Z (Micro ATX) and the ASUS P8Z68-V. (standard)

I'm leaning toward the Maximus since my primary objective is to game. They're both the same price, but would it be better to get the P8Z68 instead? Is there a big difference between the two and Micro ATX vs. Standard?

Help.
Click to expand...

You lose PCIe slots on the micro ATX. With less slots, less expandability, and less cost. Up to you whether you need more slots or not.
 
Celcius

Celcius

°Temp. member
Does any store still sell the msi gtx 580 3gb lightning extreme editions, or is the only way to get one nowdays to buy a used one?
 
H

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
FlawlessCowboy said:
Is there any particular advantage between the AMD and Intel builds? I played around with the AMD desktops and came up with something like this:

Total Price: $773.82

Do I need to add a CPU cooler or upgrade the thermal compound?

Also, would it be possible to simply transfer the contents of my current PC (windows XP) to this new one? I plan on upgrading to windows 7 soon, but it'd be nice to spend an extra 150 dollars or so on this system as opposed to spending it on windows 7 + Microsoft word.

Thanks for all your help.
Click to expand...
CPU is much worse, GPU is much much worse. Like 1/3 the power.
Intel offers best stock value over AMD in gaming right now, along with an upgrade path for lower end machines.

XP to 7 you can copy your data over, but not keep your installed OS.
 
Celcius

Celcius

°Temp. member
It may be a good idea to remove the msi lightning 580 from the build in the OP due to being discontinued...
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
What's the recommended BT adapter? I had some 99 cent thing a while back and it broke. Need to add about $5 to my Amazon order for free shipping and need another BT adapter, so I might as well pick that up now.

Edit: Too slow! Well, I can still use recommendations for next time I buy something and need to add something for free shipping.
 
·

·feist·

Member
BitFenix Shinobi XL

vxTcq.jpg


Pics & Info:

http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/shinobi-xl

BitFenix Shinobi XL big tower with USB 3.0, SofTouch and SuperCharge-Port
http://www.caseking.de/shop/catalog/News/?view=getBlogItem&BlogId=926

BitFenix Shinobi XL Big-Tower
http://www.caseking.de/shop/catalog/BitFenix-Shinobi-XL-Big-Tower:_:494.html


Videos:

BitFenix Shinobi XL Official Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1bC-XVnI-k

Shinobi XL - Caseking TV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4wkIsgIgkA

Shinobi XL Guided Tour
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0rYbpf8kdQ

BitFenix Shinobi XL Launches!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STCdgvrO9a4


emfj9.jpg
shinobi-xl-bitfenixf6v4c.png


BitFenix Shinobi XL will be available on store shelves beginning March 2012 with an estimated MSRP of 139€ (incl. 19% VAT) in the EU and $149 in North America.
Click to expand...
Technical details:

  • Dimensions: 245 x 570 x 557 mm (W x H x D)
  • Weight: 12.6 kg
  • Material: Steel
  • Colour: Matt Black
  • Form Factor: M-ATX, ATX, Micro ATX, ATX, SSI EEB, SSI CEB
  • Possible total fan:
1x 230 / 3 x 120 mm (front)
1x 140 / 120 mm (rear)
2x 230 / 3 x 120 mm (cover)
2x 120 mm (bottom)​
  • Preinstalled which:
1x 230 mm (front)
1x 120 mm (rear)
1x 230 mm (cover)​
  • Filters: Front, Back, Power Supply
  • Drive bays:
5 x 5.25 inches (external, no tools required)
1 x 3.5 inches (external, instead of 1x 5.25 inch)
8 x 3.5 inch / 2.5 inch (internal 3.5 inch tools, instead of 1x 1x 5.25 inch)
Power Supply: Standard ATX 1x (optional)
Expansion Slots: 9
I / O Panel:
4x USB 3.0 (internal connector)
1x Port supercharge (2.5 A with SATA power connector)
1x each Audio In / Out​
  • Maximum graphics card length: 377 mm (with cage)
  • Mainboardtray distance to side wall: 205 mm
  • Features:
Spacious interior
Distinctive Design
BitFenix ​​SofTouch surface
Removable or at 90 ° rotating cage flex
supercharge port for fast charging of peripheral
Motherboards up to XL-ATX and longest possible VGAs
Radiator Mounting for 1x 360 & 1x 360er/240er
Sleeps up to 8 drives in 3.5 or 2.5
Power supply by four rubber-base decoupled
Blown dust filters on all positions
3 BitFenix ​​Spectre fan pre-installed
Partial-tool installation
Cable Management​
Click to expand...
IySQA.jpg

612.png

IoPrt.jpg

608.png

611.png
613.png


614.png
615.png
Click to expand...
 
R

RS4-

Member
The Shinobi XL looks nice. I'm still not sure how much air you can possibly get from the front like that though. What was the other case that has something similar, the 550D and NZXT 810?
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
chaosblade said:
What's the recommended BT adapter? I had some 99 cent thing a while back and it broke. Need to add about $5 to my Amazon order for free shipping and need another BT adapter, so I might as well pick that up now.

Edit: Too slow! Well, I can still use recommendations for next time I buy something and need to add something for free shipping.
Click to expand...

I'd say just make sure it's Class 3 for the added range/power.
 
F

FourDoor

Member
What's up PC GAF!!! OK, I read all 21 pages of this thread so here it goes:

Basic Desktop Questions:
  • Your Current Specs: Dell400SC P4 (don't laugh too loud) LOL
  • Budget: ~$2k (USA)
  • Main Use: (1) Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop for picture editing (80% usage) (2) BR/video ripping/streaming @ 1080p (3) some gaming (SWOTR) (4) Adobe Premiere (5) General Use
  • Monitor Resolution: 1080p on dual Dell 24" monitors and an LG 42" LCD
  • List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: SWOTR (but doubt I'll find time to play it)
  • Are reusing any parts?: None outside the monitors
  • When will you build?: I plan on building this within the next couple of weeks
  • Will you be overclocking?: Yes (will be my first one)

OK above is my current situation. I need a new PC that I am planning on keeping for at least the next 3-5years. I recently started taking photography classes and need a much faster PC for editing with Lightroom and PS. In addition, I foresee myself having to put together some DVD's together with Premiere. I already have an HP N40L Microserver running WHS2011 that I just set up that will store all of my media (8GB ram, 120GB SSD, 8TB of green drives). The server and this pc will serve as the backbone for distributing out music/pictures through itunes via apple tvs and video via XBOX360s throughout the rest of the house. This will be my first ever real true build (unless you count my original old school 486DX LOL). Below is the current list of parts I've decided on:

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ CompUSA)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($329.95 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHBS212-08 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($112.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1042.89
​

I've already purchased the NZXT Phantom case and the Crucial M4 256GB SSD as I liked the looks of the Phantom case and the M4 seams to be one of the faster SSDs to use. I'm set on purchasing the i7 2600k for the CPU but need help picking out a the right mobo and video card. I currently have 2 dell 1080P monitors on my desk hooked up to my PC and a 42" LG TV mounted on the wall in front of my desk. I want to be able to keep my current setup of 2 monitors and throw in the 42" TV as a mirror of the first screen should I ever really want to display something on the TV. A bonus would be if I could run HDMI to the 42" with audio with an HDMI splitter like this: MonoPrice HDMI splitter

Motherboard:
For the mobo I have narrowed it down to these ASUS boards but am open to other recommendations:
P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 (2 x SATA 6Gb/s ports; 4 x USB 3.0 ports; HDMI, BT) @ $205
Maximus IV GENE-Z (2 x SATA 6Gb/s ports; 4 x USB 3.0 ports; HDMI; no BT) @ $209
Maximus IV GENE-Z/GEN3 (6 x SATA 6Gb/s port; 4 x USB 3.0 ports; HDMI; no BT) @ $263
Maximus IV Extreme-Z (2 x SATA 6Gb/s port; 8 x USB 3.0 ports; No HDMI, BT) @ $340

I was first leaning towards the P8Z68 but then started looking at the Maximus IV boards but couldn't find a mention in this thread of anyone using it. Any direction would be nice. (plus I was hoping to go for a black/white/red theme inside the case so the Maximus seemed to fit a little better esthetics wise LOL). I'm willing to spend a little more money on the motherboard as I foresee myself upgrading things like video, hdds, ram etc in the future but not so much the motherboard.

GPU
For the video cards it looks like the AMD 7950 and 7970 are the latest and greatest. I'll be running on a single card (at lease for now) and can wait until the end of the month if the 7950 will be a better fit for my setup. Are there any benchmark graphs yet comparing the AMD 7950, 7970 and the GTX 580 like the one below?

radeon-hd-7970-anandtech-chart.jpg


TLDNR; Help me pick out a motherboard for the 2600k and choose between the 7950 and 7970 given my current reqs.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

"I Need a New PC!" 2024. 240 Hz OLEDs, PCI-Gen5, Path Tracing & Ray Reconstruction.
8 9 10 11 12
560
32K
3liteDragon replied
The Last of Us: Part II Remastered [Review Thread]
2 3 4
171
14K
Paulxo87 replied
PC build, is it worth it for 1080p gaming going forward?
Social Hardware Platform 2
62
4K
Rossco EZ replied
[DF Tech Interview] How God of War Ragnarök was ported to PC
Game Dev
24
1K
Skifi28 replied
Mark Cerny: When making consoles, we're not trying to build low-cost PCs
Opinion Game Dev Hardware 2 3 4 5
238
17K
Seider replied
Top Bottom