You'd have to use a PCI-E Ribbon and mod the case a bit, yeah. Or use a 90 Degree riser and move the PSU location.
-
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!" 2013 Part 1. Haswell, Crysis 3, and secret fairy sauce. Read da OP
- Thread starter Hazaro
- Start date
- Status
While the Samsun 840 250 GB has a shorter lifespan, it shouldn't matter if you intend to replace it within 5-7 years. Difference otherwise between that an the Pro is write speed, which beyond 200 MB/s isn't really useful for games (unless they cache on disk, in which case get the Pro for both lifespan and speed).
I mean by then SSDs will be 10x faster. I'm used to normal HDDs dying within 2 years anyway I don't see the lust for 20 year lifespan. I have an i5 750 PC in parts in my closet. Doubt I'll ever use it again. That was..4 years ago?
I mean by then SSDs will be 10x faster. I'm used to normal HDDs dying within 2 years anyway I don't see the lust for 20 year lifespan. I have an i5 750 PC in parts in my closet. Doubt I'll ever use it again. That was..4 years ago?
Well just finished installing my new PSU and multiple Corsair "Quiet Series" Fans. PC is now more or less completely silent and the fully modular Seasonic 660XP cut down the amount of cables that were in my rig (was using a partially modular PSU before). But now I can hear the HDD noise 
Can't wait to get a Fractal R4 when they go on sale again. Right now I just have a HAF 912.
Can't wait to get a Fractal R4 when they go on sale again. Right now I just have a HAF 912.
840 Pro and M4 both uses MLC memory component so same lifespan. If they are about the same price, take the 840 Pro every time.
rohlfinator
Member
Has anyone gotten their Bioshock key from the AMD game bundle yet? When do they normally send those out for pre-release games?
Xdrive05
Member
Still waiting for mine too, but I keep reading many reports of folks getting their keys as long ago as two weeks or more. Not sure what determines when they go out and for whom.
rohlfinator
Member
Someone on GameFAQs is saying they normally send them out 1-2 days before release day, so I guess we might not see them until Sunday/Monday.
Widdly Scuds
Member
egh, i finally got my second scythe ap-15 but i don't have the screws to mount it to the radiator for a push/pull.
guess i'm going to the hardware store tomorrow for 4 6/32 X 1.25" screws
guess i'm going to the hardware store tomorrow for 4 6/32 X 1.25" screws
SloaneRisette
Member
Well, all my parts are now here, probably going to be putting it all together this weekend/this week.
Just one preliminary question to make sure of that I've had in mind: The Crucial M4 SSD is reliable enough to install the OS on, right?
Infinite Justice
Member
Yea but update your Firmware.
Brother bought a prebuilt PC from gigaparts. Runs fine until he tries to run The Old Republic and it'll shut down completely within a minute or so. Any ideas? It doesn't do the usual 'hey your fan's messed up' thing at startup, so I'm not thinking it's that. I'm worried it migh be the power supply. He's going to go down there tomorrow, but I was hoping to help him solve it tonight if anyone had suggestions.
Irobot82
Member
Koroviev
Member
Sounds like overheating. What are his temps?
Download HWMonitor and OCCT.
Open HWMonitor. Open OCCT. Run Linpack for 30 mins, report back on temps. Run the GPU tester in it for 20 mins, report back on temps.
brandonh83
Banned
Well, I'm finally doing it. I'm about to sell off my entire PS2 collection to help pay for a gaming PC. I hope this is a good decision.
Wait to buy a GPU as the last thing.
Safest purchases:
Case
PSU
Memory (RAM)
SSD (snipe a sale)
If you aren't going to be doing a build for ~2-3 months, then wait for Haswell and the new motherboards.
7790 might be the budget card to buy, I'm still reading through all of the reviews to be certain.
In most games the 8800 GTS is definitely the limiting factor for you. IIRC, the Core 2 Quad is a motherboard with DDR2 RAM, so I'd probably skip upgrading that altogether and just focus on the video card. The Q6600 is an epic processor for its time, and if it's the G0 stepping version it can easily be overclocked to 3.4 Ghz with decent cooling.
A full system rebuild would obviously yield even better results, but I'm hesitant to recommend that with Haswell coming out in just over 2 months. A $150-200 video card upgrade would yield pretty significant improvements in most games. What games are you looking to play and what resolution is your monitor?
One important cautionary note: if this PC is a pre-built desktop (like a Dell), you probably shouldn't change anything because the power supply may not be able to handle it. If this is a custom-built machine, you can safely OC the processor and change the video card if you have the cooling and PSU capacity to handle it.
In other words, we need more info to properly advise you.
Hm I'm not buying a new PC I just want a card for my current one. RAM will be upgraded later this yuear, I'm in no hurry, but the time to buy the gpu is right now, as my primary video card bursted into flames lol
I agree. But I was suggesting a 3rd option: 840. I never put important files on SSD because I put those on RAID1 on normal HDDs. I imagine others do the same for cost reasons, or at least have until recently. So in what I see as the primary use case of SSD - extreme performance but non-critical reliability, I see it more like a GPU. Who cares if the GPU works in 10 years, I'm not going to use it. I have an Nvidia 6800 Ultra OC that still works, but I don't care because Intel's IGP is like 10x that.
I'm also suggesting the 840 over the Pro because the primary performance difference is write speed, and when do gamers do that? When they're bottlenecked by Steam downloads or DVD installs, both of which are way less than 200 MB/s of the non pro and 500 MB/s of the pro.
Maybe I'm projecting a false use case onto everyone, and if so I'm curious what the benefits of 500 MB/s writes are. I have use cases at work that benefit (bulky software builds with tons of files), but for people on gaf? Maybe OS backups? I use ghost and it seems to bottleneck somewhere around 50 MB/s for software design reasons.
Edit: Hilarious that I have this huge post about "why does 500 MB/s matter?" and the post above is cheering a screen cap of 500 MB/s.
SneakyStephan
Banned
Cpu should still be okay, perhaps overclock it if you need more performance (will depend on what games you play)
Upgrading the gpu to a hd7850 is the cheapest option and the one with by far the most bang for buck. You should see a massive massive performance increase (3x higher framerates as long as you aren't cpu bottlenecked, which you won't be in most games, but will be in some)
Skel1ingt0n
I can't *believe* these lazy developers keep making file sizes so damn large. Btw, how does technology work?
Out with the 570 and in with the 670!
Bought it from Dave_6 and just had a chance to install it today. It runs great, and is a nice upgrade from my 570. In BF3 on Ultra Everything/4x AA/16xAF @ 1080p, I went from 35-50fps averages with several dips into the lower 30s, to 50+ fps at almost all times. Also, I was so used to having case fans on high and GPU fans on high, and on my 570 that would still make me hit 90c on occasion. Keeping those same extremely aggressive fan profiles, I'm managing to stay in the low 60s. Good stuff.
Honestly, if anything, it's really showing me how great the legs of the original i7 are/were. My i7 930 is still performing pretty well, IMO.
I think I'll end up getting another 670 this summer when I do a new Haswell build, and will SLI them.
Anyway, that's my story ;p
Bought it from Dave_6 and just had a chance to install it today. It runs great, and is a nice upgrade from my 570. In BF3 on Ultra Everything/4x AA/16xAF @ 1080p, I went from 35-50fps averages with several dips into the lower 30s, to 50+ fps at almost all times. Also, I was so used to having case fans on high and GPU fans on high, and on my 570 that would still make me hit 90c on occasion. Keeping those same extremely aggressive fan profiles, I'm managing to stay in the low 60s. Good stuff.
Honestly, if anything, it's really showing me how great the legs of the original i7 are/were. My i7 930 is still performing pretty well, IMO.
I think I'll end up getting another 670 this summer when I do a new Haswell build, and will SLI them.
Anyway, that's my story ;p
Appollowexx
Member
My new build. Wires all tidy. Runs very quiet.
Thanks for the help guys.
cpp_is_king
Member
Trying to install these memory fans that came with my memory (g skill ripjaws z) and im not sure how to do it. there is nothing to allow the fan to fasten anywhere, it seems like it just sits unstably gripped to the little handle you push to release the memory.
Seems awfully loose though, am i doing it right?
Seems awfully loose though, am i doing it right?
Confusion Illusion
Banned
Built my system on Wednesday. Took way longer than it should have(spent too much time on bios tinkering). It's not as neat on the inside like some cases in this thread - having a non-modular PSU, cable management is a bit of a pain. I kind of yearning for one, but this will do for now. Also my RAM configuration is wrong in this picture, but I've fixed it.
For future upgrades it will be a new GPU and SSD.
OriginofHysteria
Banned
Welp, after a week of not having a computer due to a busted motherboard, I finally get to use my new case...and new motherboard!
New setup:
New setup:
cpp_is_king
Member
Ok, so a few questions now that I've got everything all set up:
1) I found this cable that was attached to the front panel of the case;
The piece that was plugged into the case looks like this:
and the plug that it was plugged into looks like this:
However, nothing was labelled, and none of the 4 plugs on the other side were connected to anything. Anyone know what this is?
2) Here's a picture of that RAM fan i mentioned in an earlier post:
Still haven't figured out how to correctly install this thing. Any ideas? Obviously it goes on top of the RAM and blows down, but I can't figure out how to get it to fit securely, it's very loose and unstable and doesn't seem right.
1) I found this cable that was attached to the front panel of the case;
The piece that was plugged into the case looks like this:
and the plug that it was plugged into looks like this:
However, nothing was labelled, and none of the 4 plugs on the other side were connected to anything. Anyone know what this is?
2) Here's a picture of that RAM fan i mentioned in an earlier post:
Still haven't figured out how to correctly install this thing. Any ideas? Obviously it goes on top of the RAM and blows down, but I can't figure out how to get it to fit securely, it's very loose and unstable and doesn't seem right.
OriginofHysteria
Banned
Ok, so a few questions now that I've got everything all set up:
1) I found this cable that was attached to the front panel of the case;
The piece that was plugged into the case looks like this:
and the plug that it was plugged into looks like this:
However, nothing was labelled, and none of the 4 plugs on the other side were connected to anything. Anyone know what this is?
2) Here's a picture of that RAM fan i mentioned in an earlier post:
Still haven't figured out how to correctly install this thing. Any ideas? Obviously it goes on top of the RAM and blows down, but I can't figure out how to get it to fit securely, it's very loose and unstable and doesn't seem right.
Those look like pins to connect fans to.
1) Looks like a front fan controller. The 3 wires that are the same is where you connect your fans to adjust their speed = quietness / loadness. The other wire you connect to the PSU for powering the fans.Ok, so a few questions now that I've got everything all set up:
1) I found this cable that was attached to the front panel of the case;
The piece that was plugged into the case looks like this:
and the plug that it was plugged into looks like this:
However, nothing was labelled, and none of the 4 plugs on the other side were connected to anything. Anyone know what this is?
2) Here's a picture of that RAM fan i mentioned in an earlier post:
Still haven't figured out how to correctly install this thing. Any ideas? Obviously it goes on top of the RAM and blows down, but I can't figure out how to get it to fit securely, it's very loose and unstable and doesn't seem right.
2) Sorry, can't help you with ram fan. Never use them. If you are not overclocking your ram, shouldn't need to use them.
cpp_is_king
Member
Why are these fan cables necessary when all the fans are already plugged directly into the motherboard's chassis fan ports?
The ram I got is 2400MHz. Which is pretty high speed, but I don't plan to "overclock" it higher than that. Would you still say that the fan probably isn't necessary?
You can manually control the fans. Connecting to the MB, they my run full speed and be louder than you like. Connect 1-3 fans to the controller, they all run at the same speed and you can set them between slowest(quiet) to full speed(loudest).
If you are running the ram at the default 2400mhz@1.65V, do they get hot. If yes, use the ram fans.
They should look like this on:
Well, I had a spot of luck this week.
I spotted this eBay auction earlier in the week and thought about putting a bid in. I had 8GB of RAM anyway, but it was low end 1600Mhz Corsair XMS3 so thought if the bidding wasn't too bad it was worth it.
I noticed that all Corsair product IDs were on the label, so I looked at the picture, just about read the ID and realised it was in fact a 16GB set at 1866Mhz CAS10. I put in a maximum bid of £60 inc shipping and fully expected to lose thinking that someone else would've noticed and bid higher. I even sent a message to the seller stating they may have had a listing issue. Turns out I won the bidding, the seller didn't reply until they sent the items.
When I received it, it was in a box for an 8GB set, but the RAM was clearly labeled as pictured and shown as 16GB. Oh dear I thought, must be a faulty return or something, but I set the RAM to XMP profile, ran memtest for a few hours, 0 errors. So, I loosened the timings a little, upped the voltage to 1.65v and set the speed to 2133Mhz. Again 3 hours or so of memtest came clean and I've now got more memory than Windows 8 would ever need.
Now, my only other 2013 change would possibly be my GPU. My CPU, an i5 2500k clocked at 4.5Ghz and cooled by a nice new TRUE Spirit 140 with a Silverstone FM121 as the main fan isn't exactly outdated yet. That just leaves my Radeon 7850 (Admittedly clocked at 1153Mhz/5400Mhz). It's a good card and I was to go Crossfire but the horror stories of microstutter etc keep me from buying one. I can probably hold off for now, but I know it wont be long until that card struggles with more and more games so I need to decide soon.
I spotted this eBay auction earlier in the week and thought about putting a bid in. I had 8GB of RAM anyway, but it was low end 1600Mhz Corsair XMS3 so thought if the bidding wasn't too bad it was worth it.
I noticed that all Corsair product IDs were on the label, so I looked at the picture, just about read the ID and realised it was in fact a 16GB set at 1866Mhz CAS10. I put in a maximum bid of £60 inc shipping and fully expected to lose thinking that someone else would've noticed and bid higher. I even sent a message to the seller stating they may have had a listing issue. Turns out I won the bidding, the seller didn't reply until they sent the items.
When I received it, it was in a box for an 8GB set, but the RAM was clearly labeled as pictured and shown as 16GB. Oh dear I thought, must be a faulty return or something, but I set the RAM to XMP profile, ran memtest for a few hours, 0 errors. So, I loosened the timings a little, upped the voltage to 1.65v and set the speed to 2133Mhz. Again 3 hours or so of memtest came clean and I've now got more memory than Windows 8 would ever need.
Now, my only other 2013 change would possibly be my GPU. My CPU, an i5 2500k clocked at 4.5Ghz and cooled by a nice new TRUE Spirit 140 with a Silverstone FM121 as the main fan isn't exactly outdated yet. That just leaves my Radeon 7850 (Admittedly clocked at 1153Mhz/5400Mhz). It's a good card and I was to go Crossfire but the horror stories of microstutter etc keep me from buying one. I can probably hold off for now, but I know it wont be long until that card struggles with more and more games so I need to decide soon.
All these posts are making me want to swap my PC fans.
Think I'll get on it tomorrow.
Think I'll get on it tomorrow.
Yup, just update the firmware (Should be fine given the volume of sales, but do it anyway if you are worried)
My new build. Wires all tidy. Runs very quiet.
Thanks for the help guys.
Completely unneeded.
You can upgrade to a used 7950/7970 in the meantime from those crazy Titan owners, nothing powerful should really be coming soon.
That's my other option I was considering. If I find a dirt cheap 7850 2Gb I'll got for that for Crossfire, or if I can get an OK amount of money from this, I could jump to the 7950. It's not an urgent concern yet, but it's not going away either.
Welp, after a week of not having a computer due to a busted motherboard, I finally get to use my new case...and new motherboard!
New setup:
You could probably remove several fans from that case without issue, and it'll sound a ton better too.
GHG
Member
Agreed. Id say one intake from the front and single exhaust at the top should do you fine.
Ugh
While I wait for my replacement components after the last lot was non-functional, my PSU is deciding to give up the ghost. The fan just won't get going properly. It runs at an inconsistent, slow, noisy speed. Fucks me right off, and probably a disaster waiting to happen.
Time to replace.
Modular would be nice, but the most important feature for me right now is low noise levels.
Have a HD4850. Don't think I'll ever be going down the SLI/Crossfire route when it comes to future upgrades, so enough to power a single mid-to-high-end GPU will be fine.
Are the ones mentioned in the OP still the going recommendation? I can't actually find a "BP550 plus" on the UK stores.
While I wait for my replacement components after the last lot was non-functional, my PSU is deciding to give up the ghost. The fan just won't get going properly. It runs at an inconsistent, slow, noisy speed. Fucks me right off, and probably a disaster waiting to happen.
Time to replace.
Modular would be nice, but the most important feature for me right now is low noise levels.
Have a HD4850. Don't think I'll ever be going down the SLI/Crossfire route when it comes to future upgrades, so enough to power a single mid-to-high-end GPU will be fine.
Are the ones mentioned in the OP still the going recommendation? I can't actually find a "BP550 plus" on the UK stores.
VP550 I think is sold where you are. If it's anything like the VP450 it's a great budget supply.
Antec likes to rebrand things, but if they have a modular 550W unit it should be good.
A decent BeQuiet unit should also be serviceable, but I haven't read up on them recently at all.
is there a good way to reasonably stress both CPU and GPU in order to test temperatures? I want to try out a couple of fan configurations
and any good logging tools? I'm just using speedfan to get a pretty graph and CPUID to get min/max for now.
edit:
tried this. Got CPU temp of 63c, GPU of 40. Tried the combined one which shoudl stress both CPU & GPU, got CPU of 63 but GPU of 35! Maybe the increased CPU exhaust fan pulled warm air from the GPU out of the case which lowered its temps. GPU fan was never off 30% though. Is that an ok test of the GPU, didn't seem to be particularly stressed.
and any good logging tools? I'm just using speedfan to get a pretty graph and CPUID to get min/max for now.
edit:
tried this. Got CPU temp of 63c, GPU of 40. Tried the combined one which shoudl stress both CPU & GPU, got CPU of 63 but GPU of 35! Maybe the increased CPU exhaust fan pulled warm air from the GPU out of the case which lowered its temps. GPU fan was never off 30% though. Is that an ok test of the GPU, didn't seem to be particularly stressed.
yeah a Be Quiet is probably the best you'll do without spending over £90.
their mid-range one that is modular is the Pure Power L8, and they're good units. I bought one myself (430w version) and it has been going great guns.
most places seem to sell them so just check the usual places like amazon, ebuyer etc.
Intel burn test for CPU and just running Heaven 4 or the Valley bench should be enough for the GPU.
Core Temp logs to a spreadsheet.
Loop a game benchmark?
Could run a CPU stress and a small windowed FURMARK or something.
I don't get why people use IBT.
Just run OCCT/Prime95
i was always under the impression it was a more thorough and tougher test that Prime is.
- Status