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[mkenyon]

The 860i is available on NCIX US, def buy from there.

As much as I hate on the reference EVGA cards, they do a better job in SLI than a ton of open air coolers.

I know a lot is predicated on when/if you eventually go three cards, but with two cards I'd suggest this, and for three cards this guy. If you do see yourself with three as an eventuality (and they scale really well at that resolution), then go with the EVGA one.

Be sure to get this H60. The fan on it is really good.

*EDIT*

Also, be sure to get the 3770K

And the UD7, at only $30 more than the Maximus Extreme, is WELL worth it. It's one of the best motherboards in years.

 

[Seance]

So i've done some research and I can get this pre-built PC for about the same as it would cost to build ( less actually but that's assuming i get all the parts from the same site ).

$1679
Price in NZ$

PC costs are pretty expensive here.

My other, more extravagant build, is this one at $2300
Case
Cooling
2 of these video cards
or
These cheaper ones

No tax as I will be buying through my dads business.

Price isn't the issue, I just want the better value for money and future-proofing option.
I already have a 1080p monitor and a headset.

I'm leaning towards this keyboard and mouse.


This is my first voyage into the vast ocean of PC building/gaming.
Tips?

 

[Infinite Justice]

I'm looking for a new computer, nothing too fancy:
MPT 2400C5
Intel Core i5 2400 @ 3.1Ghz
Gigabyte Intel H61 chipset Motherboard
4GB PC3-10600 High Speed DDR3 RAM
500GB Western Digital SATA HD, 18X LG DVD Writer
Integrated Intel HD Graphics
Onboard 10/100 Fast Ethernet
Integrated High Definition Audio
Standard 250W Multimedia Speakers
Black Mini Tower ATX Case w. 300W p/s
$749

Is this good?

for playing games? stay the fuck away :O


check the builds in the OP and i'm confident (maybe even too confident) that the budget and standard builds in the OP beats this thing at what you want and is way cheaper.

 

[Darte]

Hmm my package containing the main components for my first rig from Newegg says it was delivered to my house, but there is no package at my house...
D:

 

[Infinite Justice]

Hmm my package containing the main components for my first rig from Newegg says it was delivered to my house, but there is no package at my house...
D:

iirc newegg is usually UPS so check the delivery with the tracking system on their site and see if a signature was required, who signed for it or where was the package left at.

 

[Exuro]

Hmm my package containing the main components for my first rig from Newegg says it was delivered to my house, but there is no package at my house...
D:

I remember when I got my solid state drive I got a text message from amazon saying it was delivered and freaked out since I couldn't find it. Then I realized I was living in an apartment and they put a key in your mailbox to open a larger box that stores said type of packages.

 

[Darte]

UPS supposedly left it on the front door about 30 minutes before I left for work (thats what the tracking info says). Didn't see anything around my house and they never knocked or asked for a signature...
The item was delivered to my house where my family lives, and they didn't sign for anything either.

The package (I would assume) is also large enough that it can't fit into the mailboxes either (contains MOBO, CPU, RAM, Power Supply, and Optical Disk Drive). I guess I'll need to contact them when I get home from work :/

 

[demigod]

Someone hiding it from you!

 

[RedSwirl]

So I'm probably gonna have to delay ordering those parts until at least next spring. Are there gonna be any major changes between now and then? I'm hearing about Haswell and how AMD and Nvidia will probably release new cards in that timeframe.

I was planning to go with an i5-3570 and an HD7850 (2GB) altogether for a $1000 system. Could anything in the next few months replace that?

 

[SolarPowered]

I got my 2500k and now I'm just waiting on my 670 Windforce. It is unlikely, but I hope my component arrives today so I can build it over the weekend.

 

[gurudyne]

(Near-)Fully built and posting this from the PC. Thanks for all the help, mkenyon and Hazaro (and anyone else I may have missed.) OC starts tomorrow, actual gaming begins when the last SATA cable arrives so I can connect my HDD. All in all, so far, no problems what so ever. Well, one small one:

Fair warning to anyone who installs a BluRay drive--they do not all come with software and I have yet to find a decent free BluRay player. I was expecting something more professional than a bare drive wrapped in bubble wrap and nothing else. There's nothing wrong with it physically, so I can jot this one down as a mere annoyance, but it's still an annoyance and that's what the Internet is for--venting about such things. Fie! Curse you, BluRay player! You have tarnished the glory of this day!

God it's late. I'm going to bed.

Thanks again!

 

[Infinite Justice]

UPS supposedly left it on the front door about 30 minutes before I left for work (thats what the tracking info says). Didn't see anything around my house and they never knocked or asked for a signature...
The item was delivered to my house where my family lives, and they didn't sign for anything either.

The package (I would assume) is also large enough that it can't fit into the mailboxes either (contains MOBO, CPU, RAM, Power Supply, and Optical Disk Drive). I guess I'll need to contact them when I get home from work :/

yea that doesn't sound good at all :/

Someone hiding it from you!

with someone being family i really hope this is the worst case scenario.

 

[Darte]

Thing is, I was at home according to the time it was delivered. I kept checking the front door cause I was expecting it to arrive today, but I left for work about half an hour after it was supposedly delivered ;;

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

UPS supposedly left it on the front door about 30 minutes before I left for work (thats what the tracking info says). Didn't see anything around my house and they never knocked or asked for a signature...
The item was delivered to my house where my family lives, and they didn't sign for anything either.

The package (I would assume) is also large enough that it can't fit into the mailboxes either (contains MOBO, CPU, RAM, Power Supply, and Optical Disk Drive). I guess I'll need to contact them when I get home from work :/

always order to have it delivered to your job man, UPS and Fed-Ex home delivery is awful. business delivery is far better.

 

[mrklaw]

My wife's HDD sounds me its on the way out, so I want to buy another drive ASAP. Should I just buy an SSD to give it a new lease of life and make it feel more snappy? Prices seem fairly close to standard 2.5 drives if I don't need big capacity (which I don't).

Anything I need to consider? Should I clone or backup to an external drive first, swap to the new drive and then restore? I have software for backing up (acronis true image)

Is Samsung 830 still the best option? Doesn't need to be super fast, but does need to be reliable. 64 or 128GB would be fine

 

[Alacrity]

hey guys have you ever though of putting up an SLI/Crossfire build in the OP? Basically I'm trying to plan a sli build for haswell/next gen video cards, but I'm not sure where to start as a base for the build. Basically going to replace everything in current build which is:

I7 930 at stock (2.8ghz my Mobo always says overclock failed, might not be able to OC)
Asus p6t
G.skill Ares 2x8gb 1600
Asus GTX 580 dcII
Corsair TX850w psu

Corsair 600t case

Edit: building mostly for 120hz gaming, plus normal internet use.

 

[beje]

That sounds a bit more sensible, thanks.

Sometimes not even that. My Windows 7 OEM copy survived 2 HDD changes and a full mobo/CPU/RAM upgrade and still activates fine, no calls to MS involved.

 

[longdi]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ICA49G/?tag=neogaf0e-20
some one looking for a cheaper third party heatsink that competes with the cm 212+, the above xigmatek gaia is only $20 at amazon.


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002G1YPH0/?tag=neogaf0e-20
of course the 212+ is only $15 with rebate at amazon

 

[n0n44m]

hey guys have you ever though of putting up an SLI/Crossfire build in the OP? Basically I'm trying to plan a sli build for haswell/next gen video cards, but I'm not sure where to start as a base for the build. Basically going to replace everything in current build which is:

I7 930 at stock (2.8ghz my Mobo always says overclock failed, might not be able to OC)
Asus p6t
G.skill Ares 2x8gb 1600
Asus GTX 580 dcII
Corsair TX850w psu

Corsair 600t case

Edit: building mostly for 120hz gaming, plus normal internet use.

err ... enthusiast + a 2nd video card ?

you'll want an overclocked Intel CPU (3570K/3770K or better) to take full benefit of SLI, and an 850W or better PSU (depending on energy usage of future cards, your TX850 is plenty for 670/680 SLI )

also make sure that whatever case you get has plenty of airflow (possibilities) around the GPU area ... the 600T is fine

 

[Ty4on]

So I'm probably gonna have to delay ordering those parts until at least next spring. Are there gonna be any major changes between now and then? I'm hearing about Haswell and how AMD and Nvidia will probably release new cards in that timeframe.

I was planning to go with an i5-3570 and an HD7850 (2GB) altogether for a $1000 system. Could anything in the next few months replace that?

Not really. AMD and Nvidia will probably soon release new cards, but they will probably be in a higher price bracket. When the 7000 series first came out the 6000 cards (6870 especially) were still better bang for buck. The 7970 was priced at 550 because it was the best card on the marked and the 7870 was priced to compete with the 570.

While the cards are getting old, their price is still new. After the 88XX/87XX comes out the 78XX will probably still be the best value cards.

 

[NervousXtian]

NewEgg is being pretty slow on getting stuff shipped out. My early Thursday morning order with my GPU, software, and HDD is still sitting in packaging.

There goes my idea of probably getting this shit built early next week. That's the one thing I love about Amazon, I usually get tracking numbers the same day I order, at worst the next day.

Does Newegg ship on Saturdays.. because if it ships Monday I might not have it til next weekend. I would have just bought it all at Amazon if they had the AMD game promo that Newegg had for the free games.. can't pass up free copies of Far Cry 3, Sleeping Dogs, Hitman and MoH.

 

[Lkr]

NewEgg is being pretty slow on getting stuff shipped out. My early Thursday morning order with my GPU, software, and HDD is still sitting in packaging.

There goes my idea of probably getting this shit built early next week. That's the one thing I love about Amazon, I usually get tracking numbers the same day I order, at worst the next day.

Does Newegg ship on Saturdays.. because if it ships Monday I might not have it til next weekend. I would have just bought it all at Amazon if they had the AMD game promo that Newegg had for the free games.. can't pass up free copies of Far Cry 3, Sleeping Dogs, Hitman and MoH.

Newegg shipping is 2-3 days so you wouldn't have been any better off with amazon

 

[Leonsito]

Had to return my second WD20EARX in a row, bad luck or my mobo is stupid (or me).

 

[Azzurri]

What is the difference between resistance on mechanical keyboards, i.e low to high?

 

[NervousXtian]

Newegg shipping is 2-3 days so you wouldn't have been any better off with amazon

Actually, I would have.. because the 3570k and a few other things I ordered at the same time will be here Monday.. because they shipped already. I'm getting some games I ordered yesterday on Monday as well, because they shipped same day.

 

[sixghost]

Is it okay to not have anything hooked up to the PWR_FAN pins on my mobo? I don't think my PSU came with a fan cable, but it might just be with some other cables.

Seasonic 550w G-series for reference.

 

[Infinite Justice]

Thing is, I was at home according to the time it was delivered. I kept checking the front door cause I was expecting it to arrive today, but I left for work about half an hour after it was supposedly delivered ;;

i saw that in your last post and was hoping you meant after instead of before i.e it supposedly happened after you left.

definitely check that out and i hope for the best.

Is it okay to not have anything hooked up to the PWR_FAN pins on my mobo? I don't think my PSU came with a fan cable, but it might just be with some other cables.

Seasonic 550w G-series for reference.

Fan connectors (except the CPU fan which is from the cooler you are using) are normally from the case itself so you can connect them to those pins on the mobo, but there is a good chance they will have an adapter attached that allows it to use the molex connector from your PSU.

So if those case connetors have enough reach to the mobo fan pins then connect them or if it has that adapter then use a molex connector from your PSU to connect it or a combination of both methods.Therefore it is possible for the scenario you talked about provideing they are being powered elsewhere.


*Note this is excluding the CPU Fan connector since that is very important.*

 

[Grimm Fandango]

Sorry to duck in-and-out but is now a good time to get one of the top tier cards? Or are there big updates in the horizon? Thinking about a GTX 660 (currently have Radeon 6850).

 

[TheExodu5]

I really haven't had a very good run with my current setup.

I think my power supply is now going. Not surprising since it's a cheap CX600 (bought it as my AX850 died on me). I guess I really need to send in my AX850 in for RMA now.

My screen occasionally goes black for a few seconds, and I've had a few hard locks so far, where the screen just freezes. I might suspect the video card, except ever since this started happening the PSU fan sometimes makes an incredibly loud and grating sound, which makes me think the bearing might be dead. Due to the nature of my case (Lian-Li PC-V750), taking it out is a pain in the ass. I kind of regret buying this case. As nice as it is, the Fractal Define just makes a lot more sense to me in terms of design. Wish I went with that instead.

 

[Salsa]

man first time messing with fan curves on 6xx but anything above %70 feels like a jet.

Think i'll live with the card reaching 83°C in some games with a +135mhz OC

 

[Easy_D]

Would you guys recommend me to upgrade from an C2D E8500 @3.16ghz to an AMD Athlon II X4 640 @ 3.0ghz?

What I'm looking for is:

A) A clear upgrade from my current CPU
B) Something cheap

 

[Jackben]

Bad PSU can really ruin your day and cause other things to go bad. I would try replacing it before you give up on your whole set-up, Exodu5.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Man... I'm still torn between the 7970 and 680.

It looks like the 7970 genuinely is the better performer, and the word is that ATI graphics are better for anti-aliasing. It's also a bit cheaper than the 680.

However, the 680 consumes less power, generally has the advantage when it comes to drivers and has some exclusive Nvidia features.

Do features like Adaptive V-sync make the 680 the better choice?

 

[Musician]

Man... I'm still torn between the 7970 and 680.

It looks like the 7970 genuinely is the better performer, and the word is that ATI graphics are better for anti-aliasing. It's also a bit cheaper than the 680.

However, the 680 consumes less power, generally has the advantage when it comes to drivers and has some exclusive Nvidia features.

Do features like Adaptive V-sync make the 680 the better choice?

Buy both and run them in sli-fire!

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Hmm... now I'm reading some stuff that says I'd be better off getting a 670 unless I'm running a multi-monitor setup since it's cheaper and performs just about the same clock for clock as the 680.

This generation of video cards is frustrating. It was easier in the past when there was a clear winner in the bang-for-your-buck department.

 

[wilflare]

thinking of doing some budget upgrades to my rig listed below.
it has been with me.. since.. late 2009/2010 with some small upgrades.

any advice or suggestions?

Processor
AMD Phenom II X2 550BE @ X4 3.5GHz w/ Noctua U12P
Mainboard
MSi 790FX-GD70
Graphics Card
Sapphire HD5830 Xtreme
Memory
Kingston 2X4GB
Display
DELL 2209WA
Storage
WD 640GB Black (OS) + WD 1TB Green (Storage)
Optical Storage
Pioneer DVR-217BK (20x)
Casing
Silverstone FT01
PSU
Corsair HX620
Audio
Audinst HUD-MX1 @ AE Aego M
OS
Windows 7 (X64) Home Premium

would this rig last me? haha can i avoid the upgrade bug?
only resolution i'm playing at is 1680x1050 on my 22inch Dell

 

[kennah]

Sorry to duck in-and-out but is now a good time to get one of the top tier cards? Or are there big updates in the horizon? Thinking about a GTX 660 (currently have Radeon 6850).

? 660 isn't top tier, it's mid-tier. What kind of CPU do you have?

 

[Grimm Fandango]

? 660 isn't top tier, it's mid-tier. What kind of CPU do you have?

i5 2500k no OC yet. 8GB DDR3 RAM.

 

[Salsa]

670 - 680 would be top tier, if you're going with Nvidia

the 660 has 192 bus width and 24 ROPs, wich is pretty bad considering the 670/680 are already kinda low on that

 

[kennah]

Yeah, you'd be better off going with a 670 or 680 or one of the frequently recommended AMD (nee ATI) cards.

 

[Piercedveil]

Is it possible to install a Windows 8 upgrade on a new PC? I've done some searching but it looks like an OEM version will be necessary, which is unfortunate. Anyone been successful with this or know of a way to make this possible?

 

[Lkr]

Is it possible to install a Windows 8 upgrade on a new PC? I've done some searching but it looks like an OEM version will be necessary, which is unfortunate. Anyone been successful with this or know of a way to make this possible?

http://m.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/clean-install-windows-8-upgrade-media-144648

 

[Piercedveil]

http://m.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/clean-install-windows-8-upgrade-media-144648

Thanks! I think I understand but I'm kind of confused. He is able to run the installer on a computer using Windows 7, but when he gets to a certain point, he can stop and run it on a different computer with a blank hard drive and install and activate Windows 8 to that machine?

 

[bananas]

PCGaf! I look to join the master race but know nothing for I am a mere console peasant.

Please let me know if this is good for a capable PC for handling the games of today and perhaps tomorrow:

DVD Drive - ASUS 24X DVD Burner - $20
Case - BitFenix Outlaw Black Steel - $60
HDD - WD Green 2TB - $110
GPU - GIGABYTE Radeon HD 7870 GHz 2GB - $230
Power Supply - Antec BP550 Plus 550W - $65
RAM - G.SKILL Ares 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 - $38
Motherboard - BIOSTAR Intel Motherboard - $100
CPU - Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) -$215
Heat Sink - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 - $35
27" Monitor - $230

Total Cost - ~$1130

 

[scogoth]

PCGaf! I look to join the master race but know nothing for I am a mere console peasant.

Please let me know if this is goof for a capable PC for handling the games of today and perhaps tomorrow:

DVD Drive - ASUS 24X DVD Burner - $20
Case - BitFenix Outlaw Black Steel - $60
HDD - WD Green 2TB - $110
GPU - GIGABYTE Radeon HD 7870 GHz 2GB - $230
Power Supply - Antec BP550 Plus 550W - $65
RAM - G.SKILL Ares 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 - $38
Motherboard - BIOSTAR Intel Motherboard - $100
CPU - Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) -$215
Heat Sink - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 - $35
27" Monitor - $230

Total Cost - ~$1130

It is goof! Dont get the WD Green for your OS drive

 

[bananas]

It is goof! Dont get the WD Green for your OS drive

What would you recommend?

 

[Salsa]

What would you recommend?

WD caviars are a good idea, but get the blue

green - super quiet, worse performance

blue - average noise, average performance

black - very loud, best performance

 

[mrklaw]

Just bought a Samsung 830 for my wife's laptop. Now my laptop will get jealous

 

[teiresias]

I really don't have any reason to upgrade my i7-870 cpu/mobo combo at the moment, but for some reason my overclock to 4GHz has suddenly started making my M4 SSD system drive unstable - probably due to the elevated BCLK. It's not severe yet - maybe one crash every few weeks, but it's unpredictable and the system just hard locks up and then upon reboot the BIOS won't even detect the drive until I clock the system back down, it's been fine for months at this clock before this.

So, I'm thinking of getting in on the MC 3570k deal while the getting is good. Not sure yet on the mobo or anything, though I'd like to overclock it (and since its multiplier unlocked I'd hope I wouldn't have the same issue with my SSD as I'm apparently having now).

 

[ashbash159]

I think I'm looking to get a Z77 motherboard and i5 3570K CPU.

Could someone point me to the best price for this combo (UK prices please £££)