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[kharma45]

I might get an i5, haven't fully decided yet.

There is a £12 difference between the Samsung RAM and the ones that I mentioned. I'm happy to go with the Samsung, but what is the difference?

PSU - I can go for around £50-60. Are these OK?

http://www.yoyotech.co.uk/antec-hcg...es-520w-modular-power-supply-0-761345-06211-4

http://www.yoyotech.co.uk/ocz-ocz500mxsp-500w-modxstream-modular-power-supply

Will the cables be long enough for the R4?


Thanks for your help

The Samsung stuff is extremely low profile (around 2/3 of the size of the low profile Corsair stuff) and it overclocks like an absolute beast.

PSU if it had to be one of those two, the Antec. Can't see anything about cable length in the one review I found for it unless I'm just skimming too fast.

 

[comu]

The Samsung stuff is extremely low profile (around 2/3 of the size of the low profile Corsair stuff) and it overclocks like an absolute beast.

PSU if it had to be one of those two, the Antec. Can't see anything about cable length in the one review I found for it unless I'm just skimming too fast.

Is this any better? (for reliability)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001GLFD54/

 

[GHG]

So if I do want Physx then 3 gig 660 or 660ti?

If the price difference does not concern you then go for the 3GB 660 Ti, especially if you will be enabling Physx in games (the extra cuda cores help a lot here).

If you are on a budget, then get the 3GB non ti version and overclock it slightly so that you wont be missing much.

 

[kharma45]

Is this any better? (for reliability)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001GLFD54/

I would rather still have the Antec as it's a Seasonic-made unit. The OCZ isn't bad though.

 

[CornBurrito]

Is anything -amazing- coming out between now and summer that I should wait for before planning out a PC build/buying parts? I'm not interested in the latest and greatest, but I'm assuming that something new and shiny coming out will cause a price drop for the older stuff.

 

[kharma45]

Is anything -amazing- coming out between now and summer that I should wait for before planning out a PC build/buying parts? I'm not interested in the latest and greatest, but I'm assuming that something new and shiny coming out will cause a price drop for the older stuff.

Just Haswell from Intel in June, but CPU prices likely won't change much, they rarely do.

 

[SquiddyCracker]

Weird graphic problems galore.

Whenever I play Planetside 2, I get a weird orange/red line on the top and left of the screen but only when I'm playing, not in the menu (and it shows up on screen shots). No other game has this issue, not even other graphically intense games.

Driver/hardware malfunction?
Or is the game bugged?

 

[OriginofHysteria]

Has anyone heard of these coolers? Thinking about picking them up to replace my vapor-x fans as I heard these can drop temperatures quite a bit


http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Cooling-Accelero-Xtreme-Support/dp/B008LA7FC2

 

[ruxtpin]

Another question on the build I listed above - regarding the 4GB video card - should I go with a different option? I figured, 4GB of RAM is better than 2GB.

 

[cpp_is_king]

Still a little confused about how to tell what speed my memory is running at. Here's a screenshot from CPU-Z

However, in my BIOS, it's set to 2400MHz, and the RAM is also specced for 2400MHz, so it should be fine. So what is my RAM currently running at?


And why, in the following screenshot, does it say that the max bandwidth is PC3-10700 even though you can clearly see from the part number 3 lines below that it's PC3-19200

 

[kennah]

If you can afford it go for it. Not much uses 4gig at this point - unless you are modding games. But it certainly doesn't hurt


Your tram is running at 2400

Ddr = double data rate. That 1200 is your data rate. Double it

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Anyone know when we might start seeing some 900D reviews? I was reading late March earlier, but no updates other than stores will get their shipments mid-April. At this point, that's the only case that my sway me from dropping coin on an SM5 or SM8.

 

[CornBurrito]

How up to date are the builds posted in the OP?

I'm really interested in the SFF build because I am living in a dorm room and space is precious. One question about the SFF build though, can I replace the graphic card suggested with a 680, or is the 660Ti listed for a specific reason?

Also I know some people run multiple graphics cards. When is that necessary?

 

[GHG]

How up to date are the builds posted in the OP?

I'm really interested in the SFF build because I am living in a dorm room and space is precious. One question about the SFF build though, can I replace the graphic card suggested with a 680, or is the 660Ti listed for a specific reason?

Also I know some people run multiple graphics cards. When is that necessary?

Yes you should be able to get a 680 into a ssf build. I would presume the 660ti is there purely to keep the overall price of the build down. You could get a titan in one of those things if you really wanted.

As for multiple gpu's... Various reasons. 120hz monitors, ultra high res monitors, multiple monitors, iq whores, downsampling, e-peen, etc, etc.

General rule of pc gaming, dont ask why, just embrace it.

 

[Demon Ice]

I also agree with everyone saying that 2GB isn't going to cut it for much longer.
I would suggest going 3GB 7950 CF or 3GB 660 Ti SLI http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/10/31/galaxy_geforce_gtx_660_ti_gc_3gb_sli_review/1#.UU9aHlebOOI and then using the savings towards an SSD.

Just remember that putting two cards in SLI or Crossfire does not double the amount of VRAM your GPU solution has access too. The data is duplicated in both sets of memory, so the effective amount of memory in both of those solutions would still be 3 GB.

 

[GHG]

Just remember that putting two cards in SLI or Crossfire does not double the amount of VRAM your GPU solution has access too. The data is duplicated in both sets of memory, so the effective amount of memory in both of those solutions would still be 3 GB.

Yep, fully aware of that. Sli owner here .

Its just that the extra gb of vram should give him some nice headroom, especially for the resolution he'll be gaming at.

 

[CornBurrito]

Yes you should be able to get a 680 into a ssf build. I would presume the 660ti is there purely to keep the overall price of the build down. You could get a titan in one of those things if you really wanted.

As for multiple gpu's... Various reasons. 120hz monitors, ultra high res monitors, multiple monitors, iq whores, downsampling, e-peen, etc, etc.

General rule of pc gaming, dont ask why, just embrace it.

So if I am only looking for a modest rig I don't need multiple cards.

I'd say I am aiming for 60fps with no/few drops at high to medium settings in most games, or locked 30 fps with no drops at high settings for some really graphically intense games where a stable 60 fps would just be impossible.

In that case is even the 680 overkill?

 

[ColonelColon]

edit: Nevermind... I decided to ask for help from tech support.

 

[scogoth]

Still a little confused about how to tell what speed my memory is running at. Here's a screenshot from CPU-Z

However, in my BIOS, it's set to 2400MHz, and the RAM is also specced for 2400MHz, so it should be fine. So what is my RAM currently running at?


And why, in the following screenshot, does it say that the max bandwidth is PC3-10700 even though you can clearly see from the part number 3 lines below that it's PC3-19200

Double Data Rate RAM (DDR), CPU-Z will always show half of what the RAM is actually running at.

And the SPD settings are the automatic settings set to ensure compatibility, ignore them.

Everything is setup fine

 

[cpp_is_king]

Any good software that will put a system tray icon to display my CPU/GPU temperatures?

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Any good software that will put a system tray icon to display my CPU/GPU temperatures?

I know you can display your GPU temp in the task bar using EVGA's Precision-X. Not sure about CPU; I don't often worry about my CPU temps.

 

[red731]

Yea, I had "problem" with RAM showing up in CPU-Z too.
There was 667 instead of 800 (having 1600) and the "clocks" were wrong - 9 9 9 24 instead of 10 10 10 27

I've must have changed and load the XMP 1.3 profile in BIOS in the RAM setting and now everything is looking good and how it should.

I've got a question regarding DVD ROM -

I bought the ASUS one from the first page and it is working, but it is working like this -

I will insert the disc into the drive and in My computer, the only things changes is the name of the drive so it KNOWS, something is in there and I can fix it by doing this -

• put the CD/DVD in and restart computer - it shows
• put the CD/DVD inside, un and reinstall drivers - it will show and I can take it out and put other in it and still shows

There are two drivers for the drive - mhahci and iaStorF (which in regedit is on Start=3[not 0 like it is on for drives -ssd, hdd]).
In Intel Rapid Start programm, there are two disks and on third place ATAPI disc drive.

I would prefer that it would be working correctly and not me doing the things in list to get it work.

The drive is on SATA 2, SSD and HDD are on SATA 3.

ed: I will try and change the 3 in the regedits iaStorF(driver the drive uses) to 0! Hopefuly that will fix it... damn, is work over yet?

 

[Deaf Spacker]

I can't decide between a 4GB EVGA GTX 680 or a 240GB Corsair Neutron GTX.

If I get the SSD drive I'll be getting the 2GB version of the above card, the system drive is a 2TB Seagate Barracuda. The SSD will be used for games, nothing else.

 

[cpp_is_king]

Can anyone recommend a pair of 5.1 surround speakers that they know for a fact has a headphone jack on the front panel that will downmix the sound to stereo?

Piece of shit z506s don't, and since Amazon has a no return policy on this item (never even heard of that on Amazon before, but w/e) I'm out $100 and need new speakers.

 

[neoanarch]

http://amzn.com/B004CRSM4I

Fuck I hate that stupid oversized heatspreader but its the cheapest I can find.

 

[AndyBNV]

http://amzn.com/B004CRSM4I

Fuck I hate that stupid oversized heatspreader but its the cheapest I can find.

That's a good price given the current prices of other modules, and much lower than it was just a few days ago: http://camelcamelcamel.com/Corsair-...600C9/product/B004CRSM4I?active=summary&tp=3m

Just be aware that heatspreaders may cause an issue if you have a large CPU heatsink and fan.

 

[neoanarch]

That's a good price given the current prices of other modules, and much lower than it was just a few days ago: http://camelcamelcamel.com/Corsair-...600C9/product/B004CRSM4I?active=summary&tp=3m

Just be aware that heatspreaders may cause an issue if you have a large CPU heatsink and fan.

Yeah, I went ahead and bought it. Even with the tax it was still cheaper by far than anything else.

 

[TheD]

I know you can display your GPU temp in the task bar using EVGA's Precision-X. Not sure about CPU; I don't often worry about my CPU temps.

CoreTemp puts the CPU temp in the task bar.

 

[Stop It]

I have two 3Dmark Advanced Edition benchmark codes for sale if any of you are interested in them. $10 a piece, or $15 for both.

PM Sent.

This

Looks totally fine to me.

 

[Arulan]

I can't decide between a 4GB EVGA GTX 680 or a 240GB Corsair Neutron GTX.

If I get the SSD drive I'll be getting the 2GB version of the above card, the system drive is a 2TB Seagate Barracuda. The SSD will be used for games, nothing else.

It is very likely that "next-gen" games will begin to utilize up to 4GB of VRAM, some already go past 2GB. I'd recommend going for the 4GB of VRAM unless you plan to upgrade your video card within two years regardless.

 

[Deaf Spacker]

It is very likely that "next-gen" games will begin to utilize up to 4GB of VRAM, some already go past 2GB. I'd recommend going for the 4GB of VRAM unless you plan to upgrade your video card within two years regardless.

Thanks, I'm trying to plan it so that I won't need to upgrade for a few years at least.

I won't notice a drop in performance with the 4GB card, as it is slightly slower than the 2GB version?

 

[AndyBNV]

Thanks, I'm trying to plan it so that I won't need to upgrade for a few years at least.

I won't notice a drop in performance with the 4GB card, as it is slightly slower than the 2GB version?

How much is "slightly"? I doubt it's much, and you can probably gain it back with a quick overclock.

By the way, in response to this:

I can't decide between a 4GB EVGA GTX 680 or a 240GB Corsair Neutron GTX.

If I get the SSD drive I'll be getting the 2GB version of the above card, the system drive is a 2TB Seagate Barracuda. The SSD will be used for games, nothing else.

You could get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-148-564&ParentOnly=1&IsVirtualParent=1 and accelerate your 2TB. I don't know if that is the cheapest place for one, but I have it and it's great. Took my Planetside 2 loads on a WD Black from ~30-40 secs to ~5-10 secs.

If you have a Z77 motherboard you don't have to buy an Adrenaline, either, as the Z77 has caching support built in: http://www.hardcoreware.net/ssd-cache-performance/

 

[Deaf Spacker]

How much is "slightly"? I doubt it's much, and you can probably gain it back with a quick overclock.

Slightly as in not even 100mhz difference but this is off the top of my head so I could be wrong.

I take it that SSD drives are not worth getting compared to the 4GB 680?

 

[AndyBNV]

Slightly as in not even 100mhz difference but this is off the top of my head so I could be wrong.

I take it that SSD drives are not worth getting compared to the 4GB 680?

It will make you load into the game faster, but that's it. 4GB GPU will let you load up on Skyrim mods, and might prove beneficial in upcoming "next-gen" games. We have no idea if they'll go past 2GB VRAM, but it's likely. Perhaps not this year, but almost certainly before your stated upgrade window reopens.

 

[Deaf Spacker]

It will make you load into the game faster, but that's it. 4GB GPU will let you load up on Skyrim mods, and might prove beneficial in upcoming "next-gen" games. We have no idea if they'll go past 2GB VRAM, but it's likely. Perhaps not this year, but almost certainly before your stated upgrade window reopens.

Brilliant, thanks you.

The motherboard I'll be using is a Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3, Intel X79 Chipset if that makes a difference.

 

[GHG]

So if I am only looking for a modest rig I don't need multiple cards.

I'd say I am aiming for 60fps with no/few drops at high to medium settings in most games, or locked 30 fps with no drops at high settings for some really graphically intense games where a stable 60 fps would just be impossible.

In that case is even the 680 overkill?

If you can afford it i'd never say a single 680 would be overkill for anyone unless you are gaming at less than 1080p.

For what you described, something like a 7870 or 660ti would do the job, but obviously the 680 would last you a lot longer.

 

[AndyBNV]

Brilliant, thanks you.

The motherboard I'll be using is a Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3, Intel X79 Chipset if that makes a difference.

X79 lacks Smart Response Technology as far as I'm aware, so if you wanted a SSD cache drive to speed up your 2TB HDD you'd need to buy something like the Crucial Adrenaline, which ships with its own caching software.

 

[AndyBNV]

If you can afford it i'd never say a single 680 would be overkill for anyone unless you are gaming at less than 1080p.

For what you described, something like a 7870 or 660ti would do the job, but obviously the 680 would last you a lot longer.

The bar is going to be moving quite considerably this year. High-med now will likely be med-low by the end of 2013.

If you wanted to save some money, look at 670s with fancy custom coolers that allow the card to be OC'd out the wazoo.

Edit: Ooops, shouldn't have done that as a new post. Don't kill me!

 

[Homes223]

I just used this to make a the "Standard" version PC. Thank you Hazaro!

 

[Hazaro]

My new silverstone 600w strider psu just developed a very slight rattle. Is that a sign of impending doom?

Most likely just the fan being off. Which is something you should replace before it goes on for months.

How up to date are the builds posted in the OP?

I'm really interested in the SFF build because I am living in a dorm room and space is precious. One question about the SFF build though, can I replace the graphic card suggested with a 680, or is the 660Ti listed for a specific reason?

Also I know some people run multiple graphics cards. When is that necessary?

Pretty up to date. Nothing else has come out that really changes the items or where the builds stand.

Some of the SFF cases might not fit a full 680 or 7970. The 670 can be a very short card and is very solid. Most cases will fit anything, but note not all cards are the same lengths (Even the same model ones). A simple google of GPU + case model will usually let you know if it fits.

Yea, I had "problem" with RAM showing up in CPU-Z too.
There was 667 instead of 800 (having 1600) and the "clocks" were wrong - 9 9 9 24 instead of 10 10 10 27

I've must have changed and load the XMP 1.3 profile in BIOS in the RAM setting and now everything is looking good and how it should.

I've got a question regarding DVD ROM -

I bought the ASUS one from the first page and it is working, but it is working like this -

I will insert the disc into the drive and in My computer, the only things changes is the name of the drive so it KNOWS, something is in there and I can fix it by doing this -

• put the CD/DVD in and restart computer - it shows
• put the CD/DVD inside, un and reinstall drivers - it will show and I can take it out and put other in it and still shows

There are two drivers for the drive - mhahci and iaStorF (which in regedit is on Start=3[not 0 like it is on for drives -ssd, hdd]).
In Intel Rapid Start programm, there are two disks and on third place ATAPI disc drive.

RAM commonly doesn't automatically set itself to 1600Mhz or higher, no biggie.

I'm not exactly following. Your DVD drive is having issues reading stuff? Try a different SATA cord + power + port, then RMA if it's still a no go. Although it could be super weird incompatibility thing.

Edit: Ooops, shouldn't have done that as a new post. Don't kill me!

It's ok I triple post all the time.

I just used this to make a the "Standard" version PC. Thank you Hazaro!

You are quite welcome. I hope you enjoy it.

 

[CornBurrito]

Pretty up to date. Nothing else has come out that really changes the items or where the builds stand.

Some of the SFF cases might not fit a full 680 or 7970. The 670 can be a very short card and is very solid. Most cases will fit anything, but note not all cards are the same lengths (Even the same model ones). A simple google of GPU + case model will usually let you know if it fits.

In addition to the google search terms, would that PC part picker let me know if the stuff wouldnt fit?

 

[red731]

I'm not exactly following. Your DVD drive is having issues reading stuff? Try a different SATA cord + power + port, then RMA if it's still a no go. Although it could be super weird incompatibility thing.

Yes. But I know two ways on how to solve it - one by restarting the PC with disc in it and the other one, un and reinstalling drivers in win7.

Will try combination of cables and that registry thing.

 

[Vestal]

Yes. But I know two ways on how to solve it - one by restarting the PC with disc in it and the other one, un and reinstalling drivers in win7.

Will try combination of cables and that registry thing.

Some newer DVD drives have issues when you set the storage controller to IDE Mode instead of AHCI.. Personally ive seen it twice before.

 

[VE3TRO]

Edit:

Nevermind I found a 4 SATA to ATA which came with the case lol. Sitting right next to the case where I was working.

Now thats done everything is 100% Some hi res photos coming tonight. B-)

 

[metalshade]

My gigabyte 7950 just arrived.
The correct process for an upgrade is to remove my old 6870, plug my HDMI into the mobo (i5 2500k) and delete all folders with AMD or anything related, then I can run ccleaner and clear the registry stuff, then plug in my new card, and HDMI and install the drivers and I'm done.
Gigabytes drivers or from AMD's site?
Still need to find a buyer for the 6870.

 

[Vestal]

My gigabyte 7950 just arrived.
The correct process for an upgrade is to remove my old 6870, plug my HDMI into the mobo (i5 2500k) and delete all folders with AMD or anything related, then I can run ccleaner and clear the registry stuff, then plug in my new card, and HDMI and install the drivers and I'm done.
Gigabytes drivers or from AMD's site?
Still need to find a buyer for the 6870.

13.1 beta drivers..

if you want uber cleaning. Run the uninstaller for drivers.. restart into safe mode and run drivercleaner and cc cleaner.. Shutdown and put new card in.

 

[Reckless Onion]

The numbers that Windows reports for memory usage don't always mean what you think they mean, and can be very hard to decipher. In short: Don't try to add/subtract the various numbers you see and compare them against the number that you think they should add/subtract up to.

Windows is telling you that the Total is 8147, and that's all you need to know. Everything is working fine

it adds up though (standby + free = available, standby = cached, available + in use = total for the most part)

Looks like it all adds up to me...

Looks totally normal to me.

Thanks all! I was worried for nothing.

 

[kharma45]

My gigabyte 7950 just arrived.
The correct process for an upgrade is to remove my old 6870, plug my HDMI into the mobo (i5 2500k) and delete all folders with AMD or anything related, then I can run ccleaner and clear the registry stuff, then plug in my new card, and HDMI and install the drivers and I'm done.
Gigabytes drivers or from AMD's site?
Still need to find a buyer for the 6870.

Get them from AMD, and get the latest 13.3 beta ones and also apply the latest CAP, it's 12.11 iirc.

 

[longdi]

X79 lacks Smart Response Technology as far as I'm aware, so if you wanted a SSD cache drive to speed up your 2TB HDD you'd need to buy something like the Crucial Adrenaline, which ships with its own caching software.

newest bios has added SRT to X79, at least with Asus lineup. not sure about gigabyte.

i will rather use a 128gb SSD for the OS drive, the SRT is an interesting feature but it can come in later on my 2TB storage HDD for Steam and other programs i guess.

 

[longdi]

My gigabyte 7950 just arrived.
The correct process for an upgrade is to remove my old 6870, plug my HDMI into the mobo (i5 2500k) and delete all folders with AMD or anything related, then I can run ccleaner and clear the registry stuff, then plug in my new card, and HDMI and install the drivers and I'm done.
Gigabytes drivers or from AMD's site?
Still need to find a buyer for the 6870.

i will just keep the 6870 inside, download latest catalyst driver, run it and select uninstall. shut down. remove 6870, insert 7950 and re-run the downloaded catalyst driver and install.

afterwards, delete the amd temp folder it creates in your c:\ drive. bingo!

I never had to use ccleaner registry stuff for a long time.