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[Skel1ingt0n]

I've been using a Steelseries SX for the last two years or so, and it's an absolutely wonderful surface. Honestly, I have no complaints; it's a perfect surface that looks nice, continues to be ice-smooth 24 months later, and tracking is just a joy, with zero catching. I'd highly recommend it.

http://steelseries.com/products/surfaces/steelseries-sx

... But I was at Microcenter out for my birthday (lol) yesterday, and they had an open-box Steelseries I-2. I decided to take a look, knowing that I wouldn't really like it - I had used an IceMat in the past, which was the precursor to this, and it never clicked with me. Boy, I don't know what they changed, and I'm sure nothing major, but the top of this pad is just absolutely as smooth as can be. I was immediately taken aback at how easy my fingers glided across it. But, did I really need to "downgrade" from my perfectly fine SX? Probably not, so I left. I kept thinking about it, and my mom and sis said they'd get it for me for my birthday, and I figured why not? I'll give it a shot. I get home, and my mouse tracks so incredibly smooth. I can just flick my finger against the mouse and it'll slide off the other end - exactly how I like it.

http://steelseries.com/us/products/surfaces/steelseries-experience-i-2




Anyhoo; I didn't use to really like glass surfaces. I've always been an aluminum > hard plastic > glass > cloth kind of guy. But this changed my mind. If you like a smooth, hard surface (I know hard surface users are in the minority), it's certainly worth a look.

 

[scogoth]

Seem's like such a waste simply for peripheral vision. I've played with a few setups, and the bezel of the monitors just kills it for me.

I don't know I just don't see the benefit for the cost. If you just want to blow money just get a 7970 instead.

Also like said above it's just not supported well nor will it ever be b/c the majority of the community will never want to deal with buying 3 monitors.

Only thing I would ever recommend using it for is racing games. Everything else is a waste of money.

 

[DMczaf]

I'm looking for a cheap gaming monitor. I saw this one on sale at Best Buy for $169 (around $150 after I use my 10% coupon)

http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model/ET.VS2HP.A01

I want at least 23 inches and 2ms response time, and this fits both. I'm just wondering if there are better monitors for that $150 range.

 

[mmxzero]

I've got a question about the power supply I bought and the video card I was planing on getting and if it will work.

Here's my PS OCZ ZS 550
and was planning on getting a 6950 like this xfx one.

My power supply above has one 6pin PCIe and on that same cable a 6+2pin PCIe . Will this work for the 6950 that needs two 6 pins? Or do I need to send back my power supply and get one that has 2 separate 6pin PCIe cables? Thanks, hope I didn't screw up...

 

[Hazaro]

The +2 is detachable. You are fine

 

[mmxzero]

The +2 is detachable. You are fine

Thanks, I thought I made an oversight.

Built it today and am going to run on integrated graphics until I buy my video card this week (hopefully).

 

[AlberichMX]

Hello people! I need some advice with a build capable to run Oblivion and Skyrim @ a decent fps rate, my budget is $500 ~ $700 dlls. I live in Juarez, Mexico so I can go to the other side of the border and buy parts in El Paso, Texas (retail stores: Best Buy, Compusa) and if there is a good option to order via on-line to newegg (without a permanent US adress) i'll listen to it.

Other uses for this PC: Office work, HD movies and series, music, photoshop, games with lesser or equal specifications than Skyrim, and some software of my research work (X-ray cristallography, molecular docking, and other bioinformatic software), linux (for some software of my research work).

Hope you can help me.

 

[Mr Swine]

Those that own a SSD drive, is it worth to buy one even when the NAND Flash memory gets smaller and can't write as much as the older NAND flash? Going from 5000 writes per cell to 2000 is quite a big leap and I don't know if I want to get a SSD drive that dies so fast :/

 

[1-D_FTW]

Hello people! I need some advice with a build capable to run Oblivion and Skyrim @ a decent fps rate, my budget is $500 ~ $700 dlls. I live in Juarez, Mexico so I can go to the other side of the border and buy parts in El Paso, Texas (retail stores: Best Buy, Compusa) and if there is a good option to order via on-line to newegg (without a permanent US adress) i'll listen to it.

Other uses for this PC: Office work, HD movies and series, music, photoshop, games with lesser or equal specifications than Skyrim, and some software of my research work (X-ray cristallography, molecular docking, and other bioinformatic software), linux (for some software of my research work).

Hope you can help me.

Don't even go to Best Buy. Head straight to Compusa. But I think there's a better retailer in Texas. Just can't think of the name. I know it's been featured on Slickdeals before and has had some deals that even give Fry's a run for their money. Not sure they're on the border, though.

 

[RomanticHeroX]

I'm feeling kinda underwhelmed with my SSD. Windows boots incredibly fast, and there is an appreciable difference for some programs loading on it, but it still feels like it's not exactly worth what I paid for it. Or maybe many years of PSOne RPGs has desensitized me to load times. Still feels like it would've been better to put that money towards a better cooler or GPU upgrade.

 

[ConstructMe]

I'm feeling kinda underwhelmed with my SSD. Windows boots incredibly fast, and there is an appreciable difference for some programs loading on it, but it still feels like it's not exactly worth what I paid for it. Or maybe many years of PSOne RPGs has desensitized me to load times. Still feels like it would've been better to put that money towards a better cooler or GPU upgrade.

What sort?

 

[mhayze]

Those that own a SSD drive, is it worth to buy one even when the NAND Flash memory gets smaller and can't write as much as the older NAND flash? Going from 5000 writes per cell to 2000 is quite a big leap and I don't know if I want to get a SSD drive that dies so fast :/

The key is not filling up the drive. I believe AnandTech had a good article on the subject that calculated that modern drives, even with cells made on smaller processes, would last years and years of high volume writing (especially Sandforce drives) if you had a decent amount of free space (like > 30% free). The worst case scenario is when you have less than 5% space free and are constantly writing to the drive so that there is very little TRIM time. While this was not very feasible with W7 and say 60GB drives, as the cost per GB has come down, 120 and 240GB drives are now relatively affordable. I bought a 32GB X25-E (SLC NAND) back in the day that cost more than the 240/256GB drives do now (still going strong, BTW).

 

[Thaedolus]

I'm feeling kinda underwhelmed with my SSD. Windows boots incredibly fast, and there is an appreciable difference for some programs loading on it, but it still feels like it's not exactly worth what I paid for it. Or maybe many years of PSOne RPGs has desensitized me to load times. Still feels like it would've been better to put that money towards a better cooler or GPU upgrade.

For me it depends on the situation. Loading almost any application is instant for me, installing anything is lightning quick, and bootup time is amazing. Game loading and such is noticeable but not to the point of making the thing feel worth it, which is why games stay on my traditional HDDs.

 

[RomanticHeroX]

What sort?

Intel 320 80 gig. There's probably some unrealistic expectations that I had before buying it, but it definitely feels a bit extravagant.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Don't even go to Best Buy. Head straight to Compusa. But I think there's a better retailer in Texas. Just can't think of the name. I know it's been featured on Slickdeals before and has had some deals that even give Fry's a run for their money. Not sure they're on the border, though.

Microcenter.

 

[ProXimity]

Hey, all!

I'm trying to build a powerful desktop to use for HD video editing and gaming for years to come. If you'd like to simply suggest certain specs, have at it. I'm more so looking for advice on what specifications I should be focused on and educated about throughout this process, but I know that requires more of your time, so it's cool if you don't even touch on that.

Some specifics:
HD video editing must be smooth and minimally taxing on my PC (this means storing lots of huge media files)
I want to be able to play new games on high settings w/ a system that facilitates continuous upgrades.
Looking to spend about $1000-$1500.

Software recommendations would be welcomed, too!

 

[teh_pwn]

lol, the v2 firmware updater for my Crucial C300 bricked it. 2 different motherboards exhibited the same problem: very slow boot, HDD access LED solid, by the time it got to the firmware 2->6 updater it would never find the drive. Even the first v2 updater couldn't find the drives. I was updating it to v7 (which is a 3 step process) to fix the annoying HDD access hang for 30 seconds bug that shows up every 3-10 days.

And I reluctantly decided to replace it with the Crucial m4. If this thing doesn't work, I'm done with Crucial and SSD short term.

Apparently Anand had the same problem. One boot I had an error in the free DOS output saying that a table was corrupt - that's what Anand saw early 2011. So yeah, 2012ers, don't update the firmware for Crucial. It's risky business.

 

[DrBaalzamon]

So I went ahead and picked up the EVGA 560 Ti 448 FTW I had mentioned earlier and had a little time to play with it this weekend. The thing is incredibly fast. I've tested a few cards on my way to settling on this, my old original 4770, a 6870 and even a GTX 560Ti regular and this card actually gave me the experience and smoothness i wanted from games like Crysis2 (With all the bells and whistles to max).

If nothing comes up in the time frame I have in my local shops return period I cannot see myself being disappointed at all in the future with its performance. Some things I have noticed. At least in Crysis2 the card gets HOT. Monitoring through msi afterburner the card gets to 80c degrees and stays there. This is largely due to what seems to be a very slow response fan speed rampup. I belive this is within normal operating parameters but it does leave me a bit concerned for the cards longterm life. Adjusting the fan to user controlled with a more aggressive fan activation easily remedies the issue and the card stays rock solid at 60c with fans spinning up to 50-60%. i dont know why they kept it so low on stock, possibly sound reasons?

Which leads me to that, its a bit noisy. Not terribly bad but its not super silent. Granted I know this version is based on reference board cooling and nothing fancy but if I do stick with the card I'll probably buy a custom online cooling solution.

I havent even tried to OC it any further than the stock OC it has, partly because my slight fear of heat and it really doesnt need it. Is it normal to have such low ramping fans?

 

[Wolf Akela]

Hey, all!

I'm trying to build a powerful desktop to use for HD video editing and gaming for years to come. If you'd like to simply suggest certain specs, have at it. I'm more so looking for advice on what specifications I should be focused on and educated about throughout this process, but I know that requires more of your time, so it's cool if you don't even touch on that.

Some specifics:
HD video editing must be smooth and minimally taxing on my PC (this means storing lots of huge media files)
I want to be able to play new games on high settings w/ a system that facilitates continuous upgrades.
Looking to spend about $1000-$1500.

Software recommendations would be welcomed, too!

Pick the Excellent build from this list, then:
- Add the 128GB Crucial M4 SSD. This makes things snappier.
- Get Intel i7 2600K instead of i5 2500K. This makes encoding videos faster.
- Add another 2TB HDD if you need it. If you're going to record raw PC game footages, having a separate HDD for recording is very highly recommended. It makes recording smoother and you get so much more space.

The thing will play any game out there on at least High. Majority will be maxed.

Since you're doing gaming + HD editing, you pretty much have to get good parts on everything.

Not sure how taxing HD editing will be for RAM. You might have to consider going 16GB. But if you want to play safe, get a single 8GB RAM. Add another 8GB down the line if you need it.

 

[Hazaro]

Hey, all!

I'm trying to build a powerful desktop to use for HD video editing and gaming for years to come. If you'd like to simply suggest certain specs, have at it. I'm more so looking for advice on what specifications I should be focused on and educated about throughout this process, but I know that requires more of your time, so it's cool if you don't even touch on that.

Some specifics:
HD video editing must be smooth and minimally taxing on my PC (this means storing lots of huge media files)
I want to be able to play new games on high settings w/ a system that facilitates continuous upgrades.
Looking to spend about $1000-$1500.

Software recommendations would be welcomed, too!

Excellent build with 16GB of RAM and a 2600K

So I went ahead and picked up the EVGA 560 Ti 448 FTW I had mentioned earlier and had a little time to play with it this weekend. The thing is incredibly fast. I've tested a few cards on my way to settling on this, my old original 4770, a 6870 and even a GTX 560Ti regular and this card actually gave me the experience and smoothness i wanted from games like Crysis2 (With all the bells and whistles to max).

If nothing comes up in the time frame I have in my local shops return period I cannot see myself being disappointed at all in the future with its performance. Some things I have noticed. At least in Crysis2 the card gets HOT. Monitoring through msi afterburner the card gets to 80c degrees and stays there. This is largely due to what seems to be a very slow response fan speed rampup. I belive this is within normal operating parameters but it does leave me a bit concerned for the cards longterm life. Adjusting the fan to user controlled with a more aggressive fan activation easily remedies the issue and the card stays rock solid at 60c with fans spinning up to 50-60%. i dont know why they kept it so low on stock, possibly sound reasons?

Which leads me to that, its a bit noisy. Not terribly bad but its not super silent. Granted I know this version is based on reference board cooling and nothing fancy but if I do stick with the card I'll probably buy a custom online cooling solution.

I havent even tried to OC it any further than the stock OC it has, partly because my slight fear of heat and it really doesnt need it. Is it normal to have such low ramping fans?

Yeah that's normal.

 

[·feist·]

Hey, all!

I'm trying to build a powerful desktop to use for HD video editing and gaming for years to come. If you'd like to simply suggest certain specs, have at it. I'm more so looking for advice on what specifications I should be focused on and educated about throughout this process, but I know that requires more of your time, so it's cool if you don't even touch on that.

Some specifics:
HD video editing must be smooth and minimally taxing on my PC (this means storing lots of huge media files)
I want to be able to play new games on high settings w/ a system that facilitates continuous upgrades.
Looking to spend about $1000-$1500.

Software recommendations would be welcomed, too!

Software specific request thread in OT may be your best bet.
GPU: New AMDs already rolling out. Nvidia shortly. Choice may be software dependent. Nvidia tends to have better support in productivity apps.

CPU: Wait for an i7 3770K, around April-ish. If buying soon-ish, 4c i7 2600K, or 4c i7 3820. 3820 cost less, but motherboards are pricier (though better spec'd). 3820 overclocks very well despite not being fully unlocked, like the 2600K. LGA 2011 + 3820 option gives you the choice of upgrading in the future to a higher end SB-E/IB-E CPU with more cores, for increased productivity. 6c and 8c, around $500-1500. No specifics on release, cost, or compatibility of 10c, as of yet.

The Antec 300 2 is out, don't but the old one, especially at that price (I don't trust MIRs). The new one has USB3 and has several improvements inside such as cable routing holes in the motherboard etc. I've been happy with my old 300 but at the 60-70 price point there are other options out there to consider. I like the HAF 912 better on the inside but I think the outside looks stupid. I like the CM 690 II as well but it's a little more expensive and doesn't have USB3. At this point I wouldn't bother with a case without front USB3 ports.

Things done changed, Shambles.

CM 690 II Advanced (USB 3.0 version)
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=32710728&postcount=17226
CM 690 II Advanced Black & White Edition
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=34569406&postcount=2502

 

[·feist·]

So, after months of build up, and the added Gigabyte confirmation leak from a weeks back, Intel officially released the i5 2550K, and the iGPU-less SB CPUs.


In related news, C2 stepping on sale:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=33393497&postcount=19532

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Family: Specification Update
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/core/core-i7-lga-2011-specification-update.html

SR0KF/SR0KY（ARK）
http://ark.intel.com/search?q=SR0KF
http://ark.intel.com/search?q=SR0KY

i7 3960X SR0KF, i7 3930K SR0KY


Core i5 2550K, Core i5 2450P, Core i5 2380P

 

[onken]

So will Ivy Bridge use the same socket as Sandy Bridge? Might get a 2500k now and upgrade at the end of year to a beasty IB.

 

[chaosblade]

So will Ivy Bridge use the same socket as Sandy Bridge? Might get a 2500k now and upgrade at the end of year to a beasty IB.

That wouldn't be much of an upgrade though unless IB manages to somehow overclock better (I'm not counting on that). IB is improving the integrated GPU and reducing power consumption with the move to 22nm, improvements on the CPU side are going to be minimal.

I'd recommend just sticking with a 2500k going forward or waiting until IB in 2-3 months and building then. That's a better option anyway since we'll have a clearer picture of the GPU market with new cards available from AMD and possibly NVidia if the rumors are true, it's tough to recommend a GPU right now when that level of performance might be $100 less in 3 months time.

 

[RS4-]

A note about those glass mouse pads, some mice just refuse to work properly on them. So google around to see if there are issues with the combination that you plan on putting together.

 

[onken]

That wouldn't be much of an upgrade though unless IB manages to somehow overclock better (I'm not counting on that). IB is improving the integrated GPU and reducing power consumption with the move to 22nm, improvements on the CPU side are going to be minimal.

I'd recommend just sticking with a 2500k going forward or waiting until IB in 2-3 months and building then. That's a better option anyway since we'll have a clearer picture of the GPU market with new cards available from AMD and possibly NVidia if the rumors are true, it's tough to recommend a GPU right now when that level of performance might be $100 less in 3 months time.

Yeah but 3 months nggggggggggggguh. If those rumors of the GTX 680 in February are true I might cave and go with a 2500k/2600k. I wonder if the 680 is going to be a ridiculous overheating, power-hungry monster like all nvidia cards these days or if they're actually going to reign it in to a sensible degree this time.

 

[T-Matt]

So when I'm typing in a form(like google search) a lot of times I have to click back into it because the cursor isn't there anymore, or another example netflix not staying fullscreen. any ideas what causes this?

 

[CAW]

I built the following PC a few months ago:

• MB: Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 ATX LGA1155 Z68 DDR3 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 2PCI HDMI SLI SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard - DirectCanada
• CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB - DirectCanada
• CPU Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120MM - DirectCanada
• GPU: MSI Radeon HD 6950 Twin Frozr II OC 810MHZ 2GB GDDR5 2XDVI 2x Mini DisplayPort HDMI PCI-E Video Card - DirectCanada
• RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1333 CL9-9-9-24 Memory - DirectCanada

I kept the old HDD I had and the PSU and the case. The PSU is a Corsair TX750 (http://ncix.com/products/?sku=58382&vpn=CMPSU-750TXV2&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1141).

Everything has been working great, except the other day when I went to boot the PC I noticed it sounded a bit odd. Like something was struggling or a lot louder when booting up. Then one day last week the computer went into a boot cycle. It wouldn't reach the OS before rebooting. Finally after my final attempt to boot it, it booted normal but gave a checksum error. I went into Bios, reset defaults and it booted fine.

This was probably about a week ago and it's been working fine. Yesterday and last night it ran fine. I played SWTOR for about 5+ hours and no signs of issues. I shut down and went to bed.

Wake up this morning and go to boot up the PC and it's back to that power cycling issue. Sounds like it's going to boot up but just after I see the MB info on the monitor, it reboots. Never reach the OS loading screen.

So I'm pretty sure it's the PSU. I have no real way to know for certain, but that does sound like a PSU issue right?

The Corsair TX750 I'm using right now is about 4 years old. It's in fine shape, as in I've always keep it clean, etc. I read too Corsair has a 5 year warranty?

Anyway, should I just order a new PSU? Should I order a new 750 or upgrade to an 850 maybe or more?

 

[chaosblade]

I built the following PC a few months ago:


http://i.imgur.com/bLy6r.png

• MB: Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 ATX LGA1155 Z68 DDR3 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 2PCI HDMI SLI SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard - DirectCanada
• CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB - DirectCanada
• CPU Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120MM - DirectCanada
• GPU: MSI Radeon HD 6950 Twin Frozr II OC 810MHZ 2GB GDDR5 2XDVI 2x Mini DisplayPort HDMI PCI-E Video Card - DirectCanada
• RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1333 CL9-9-9-24 Memory - DirectCanada

I kept the old HDD I had and the PSU and the case. The PSU is a Corsair TX750 (http://ncix.com/products/?sku=58382&vpn=CMPSU-750TXV2&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1141).

Everything has been working great, except the other day when I went to boot the PC I noticed it sounded a bit odd. Like something was struggling or a lot louder when booting up. Then one day last week the computer went into a boot cycle. It wouldn't reach the OS before rebooting. Finally after my final attempt to boot it, it booted normal but gave a checksum error. I went into Bios, reset defaults and it booted fine.

This was probably about a week ago and it's been working fine. Yesterday and last night it ran fine. I played SWTOR for about 5+ hours and no signs of issues. I shut down and went to bed.

Wake up this morning and go to boot up the PC and it's back to that power cycling issue. Sounds like it's going to boot up but just after I see the MB info on the monitor, it reboots. Never reach the OS loading screen.

So I'm pretty sure it's the PSU. I have no real way to know for certain, but that does sound like a PSU issue right?

The Corsair TX750 I'm using right now is about 4 years old. It's in fine shape, as in I've always keep it clean, etc. I read too Corsair has a 5 year warranty?

Anyway, should I just order a new PSU? Should I order a new 750 or upgrade to an 850 maybe or more?

That could be a number of issues, but I wouldn't suspect the PSU first. And you're not even stressing a 750W PSU, there's no reason to go to 850W for one GPU. If you can still get into the bios enable your onboard video and take the GPU out. That's a quick way to determine if it's the problem.

Seems like a motherboard or CPU issue to me, can you tell what point it's getting caught up trying to boot? Might even be a USB device, my PC did something similar while my old phone was plugged in, had to reset the bios to get it to boot. Then the problem started up again, unplugged some USB stuff and ended up realizing it was the phone causing the problems.

Edit: And I assume you haven't re-overclocked (or overclocked at all?) since the first time you had issues? When you have trouble like that the first thing you should do is check your OC.

 

[CAW]

That could be a number of issues, but I wouldn't suspect the PSU first. And you're not even stressing a 750W PSU, there's no reason to go to 850W for one GPU. If you can still get into the bios enable your onboard video and take the GPU out. That's a quick way to determine if it's the problem.

Seems like a motherboard or CPU issue to me, can you tell what point it's getting caught up trying to boot? Might even be a USB device, my PC did something similar while my old phone was plugged in, had to reset the bios to get it to boot. Then the problem started up again, unplugged some USB stuff and ended up realizing it was the phone causing the problems.

Edit: And I assume you haven't re-overclocked (or overclocked at all?) since the first time you had issues? When you have trouble like that the first thing you should do is check your OC.

I can't get into the bios. The reboot cycle appears to have two stages. Stage one, when I first power on, it reboots almost right away. Like comes on (everything inside the case) then almost immediately reboots. Stage two, after the first reboot, the PC boots to the MB info page on the monitor where I hit DEL in hopes to get into BIOS control but as soon as I see that page it reboots. And it follows the same pattern by going back to stage one, the instant reboot, then stage two, the boot that brings me to the BIOS info screen then rinse and repeat.

All USB devices have been unplugged, everything, no dice.

I haven't overclocked. Everything is factory default and whatever ever overclocks the card has were done by the manufacture.

All fans seem to work when it boots up. CPU heatsink, GPU fans, case fans. I can hear the HDD try to boot on stage two as well.

I appreciate the feedback. I haven't ordered a new PSU yet. Even the PSU seems to function properly, the fan boots up on the PSU too.

 

[chaosblade]

I can't get into the bios. The reboot cycle appears to have two stages. Stage one, when I first power on, it reboots almost right away. Like comes on (everything inside the case) then almost immediately reboots. Stage two, after the first reboot, the PC boots to the MB info page on the monitor where I hit DEL in hopes to get into BIOS control but as soon as I see that page it reboots. And it follows the same pattern by going back to stage one, the instant reboot, then stage two, the boot that brings me to the BIOS info screen then rinse and repeat.

All USB devices have been unplugged, everything, no dice.

I haven't overclocked. Everything is factory default and whatever ever overclocks the card has were done by the manufacture.

All fans seem to work when it boots up. CPU heatsink, GPU fans, case fans. I can hear the HDD try to boot on stage two as well.

I appreciate the feedback. I haven't ordered a new PSU yet. Even the PSU seems to function properly, the fan boots up on the PSU too.

Probably the motherboard, that's more likely than the CPU but it could be either. Tough to really check either unless you have another one to test with.

Do you have a speaker that came with the motherboard you can plug in so it might give a beep code?

Also a chance it could be a short someone, but if it ran fine until now that seems pretty unlikely.

 

[CAW]

I have some old computers in the basement I could pull the MB speaker out and plug it into this board. It didn't come with one by default. It has 'phase LEDs' though.

A member from another forum community wrote this:

Its a motherboard issue.

I've had that boot loop on a Gigabyte P67A-UD4, Asus WS revolution, Gigabyte X79-UD3, and Rampage 4 extreme.

Its just something that they like to do for some reason once in awhile, lots of people have that issue. Your best bet is to try a more recent bios since that will occasionally fix the issue.

To fix the boot loop, you need to power off and reset the bios. Either remove the bios battery and motherboard power, or hit the reset bios switch if your board has it. Then boot into the bios and change your settings to whatever works best.

I remember having to reset the cmos when I first put everything together and the other day I did have to reset bios to default settings. Sadly I tried the steps he suggested and it's still doing the same thing.

Actually, since taking out the MB battery and putting it back in, now the MB only does the stage one rebooting. No longer does it go to stage two and make it to the BIOS info page.

If it is the MB or CPU they should still be covered under warranty as I've only had them for about 3-4 months. I guess I should check and see if Gigabyte has a customer or technical support line.

 

[Hazaro]

I'm not positive of the symptoms, but is that not the Gigabyte board loop?
If so RMA time.

CPU errors are at least 10,000 times less likely than the mobo, but it happens occasionally.

 

[CAW]

I'm not positive of the symptoms, but is that not the Gigabyte board loop?
If so RMA time.

Apparently that's what this is. From my searches, in many (most?) cases it's fixable by loading bios defaults but I can't even get into BIOS, that's what's frustrating.

If I have to RMA the board I guess it's going to be console gaming for a month. I should just buy a new board to save the time...

 

[Hazaro]

Sorry you had that problem. I've since removed the boards due to that bug seemingly popping up more.
It doesn't feel great just recommending ASUS to mainly everyone, but they usually work well.

 

[Grizza]

I plan on getting a new video card in the next few months, most likely something comparable to this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

These are the specs on my system:

Processor
AMD Phenom II X4 925 (2.8GHz)

Processor Main Features
64 bit Quad-Core Processor

Cache Per Processor
4 x 512KB L2 Cache

Memory
4GB (2GB x 2) DDR3 1333

Hard Drive
1TB SATA II

Optical Drive 1
24X DL DVD+/-RW Drive

Graphics
ATI Radeon HD 5570 1GB

Audio
Sound card - Integrated

Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet

Power Supply
480W

I'm a bit conflicted on if I should upgrade my power supply. Is it really necessary? I've heard people say it can fry your system if you aren't running enough wattage, but I've had power supply units go bad in the past and replaced them with no problems. Just looking for another opinion.

 

[CAW]

http://www.overclock.net/t/1034724/gigabyte-p67-z68-boot-cycling-problem/140#post_13922610

There it is, you were correct. It looks like it's RMA time. The other day when I had the issue, I was lucky and I got the BIOS to come up, now it's simply not coming up and I've let it cycle for a couple minutes with the same results.

ASUS it is then. Can you reccomend me a certain model to go with the CPU and GPU I currently have? I'll post the build again:

• MB: Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 ATX LGA1155 Z68 DDR3 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 2PCI HDMI SLI SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard - DirectCanada
• CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB - DirectCanada
• CPU Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120MM - DirectCanada
• GPU: MSI Radeon HD 6950 Twin Frozr II OC 810MHZ 2GB GDDR5 2XDVI 2x Mini DisplayPort HDMI PCI-E Video Card - DirectCanada
• RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1333 CL9-9-9-24 Memory - DirectCanada

 

[TheExodu5]

I've heard of PSUs frying systems but have never experienced. Usually when you stress a PSU it will just shut off randomly or die without harming anything else.

If you want to know whether or not you need to replace it, that depends. 480W is enough for a GTX 560 Ti, but you should be popping open the case and checking the amperage on each rail. You're going to want ~30 or more amps on the 12V rail. I've seen 500 watt PSUs with less than 20 amps of 12V power, and those would not last long.

 

[Hazaro]

480W along with a 925 and 5570 makes me think it's an OEM PSU.
Can you get any more information on it? 12V Amps are the important thing besides model.

 

[clav]

With the Intel 320 still having the 8MB bug brick, why is this SSD still recommended here?

http://communities.intel.com/thread/24339?start=0&tstart=0

 

[scogoth]

With the Intel 320 still having the 8MB bug brick, why is this SSD still recommended here?

http://communities.intel.com/thread/24339?start=0&tstart=0

OCZ(and all sandforce drives) had a bug, Crucials drives had a bug, so who else would you recommend? I guess you have to go Samsung.

 

[Grizza]

480W along with a 925 and 5570 makes me think it's an OEM PSU.
Can you get any more information on it? 12V Amps are the important thing besides model.

I believe this is the one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170016

 

[chaosblade]

OCZ(and all sandforce drives) had a bug, Crucials drives had a bug, so who else would you recommend? I guess you have to go Samsung.

M4 bug has already been fixed in a firmware update, unless there is another one I don't know about.

 

[DrBaalzamon]

Excellent build with 16GB of RAM and a 2600K

Yeah that's normal.

Awesome, thanks again Hazaro! You're the best!

 

[Hazaro]

http://www.overclock.net/t/1034724/gigabyte-p67-z68-boot-cycling-problem/140#post_13922610

There it is, you were correct. It looks like it's RMA time. The other day when I had the issue, I was lucky and I got the BIOS to come up, now it's simply not coming up and I've let it cycle for a couple minutes with the same results.

ASUS it is then. Can you reccomend me a certain model to go with the CPU and GPU I currently have? I'll post the build again:

• MB: Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 ATX LGA1155 Z68 DDR3 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 2PCI HDMI SLI SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard - DirectCanada
• CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB - DirectCanada
• CPU Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120MM - DirectCanada
• GPU: MSI Radeon HD 6950 Twin Frozr II OC 810MHZ 2GB GDDR5 2XDVI 2x Mini DisplayPort HDMI PCI-E Video Card - DirectCanada
• RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1333 CL9-9-9-24 Memory - DirectCanada

ASUS P8Z68-V LE
ASUS P8Z68-V
MSI GD55

With the Intel 320 still having the 8MB bug brick, why is this SSD still recommended here?

http://communities.intel.com/thread/24339?start=0&tstart=0

I hadn't heard of any major issues past the firmware update and it still seems like the failure rate is extremely below other drives. Still, with the options of the M4 and 830 now those are better value choices for speed, and BSODs are better than a drive wipe.
Probably about time to move on.

I believe this is the one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170016

Replace it. PSU options in OP. If you want cheap (besides CX 430V2) you can see if an OCZ PSU is onsale.

 

[Grizza]

Will do. Thanks, Hazaro.

 

[Yoritomo]

M4 bug has already been fixed in a firmware update, unless there is another one I don't know about.

As have the sandforce drives.

Hell my sandforce drive is now my most stable SSD.

 

[scogoth]

As have the sandforce drives.

Hell my sandforce drive is now my most stable SSD.

I'm running 4 of them some updated some not, and no issues with any of them.

 

[Guri]

Not sure about local shops in SF itself, but most people just hit Fry's Electronics in the Bay Area. Nearest one though is a good drive away (either Palo Alto down in the peninsula or in Concord over in the East Bay). They have both PC parts and games. And everything else, really.

I'll try to shop online there if I can't find anywhere else. However, I found this store, but I can't find the Hard Drive, Memory RAM and Motherboard suggested in the $500-$900PC build Does anyone know any alternatives that are similar?

http://www.centralcomputers.com/

 

[Sanky Panky]

I can't imagine how many times it has been asked, and it's a very basic question, but I can't find it in this thread.

What do you guys usually do with your old builds (assuming you are not re-using parts?) is the best course of action craigslist or something like that?