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[theSlacker]

well they have a to pn of variants of that range, not uncommon to stop making one surely? Just stores here have it in stock still I guess, I looked up reviews and it seemed good for the price.

Yeah not saying that it is bad, just making sure I got the right info. But anyway I'm out for now.

 

[Lucid07]

Backing up around 400 GB of games ready to install my SSD tomorrow, it's going to take a while.

EDIT: There must be an easier way to just plug in my HDD and use the games off there than waiting hours for them to back up.

 

[Alexios]

Thankfully mobo is one of the parts I ordered from store with local presence so maybe I can take it there tomorrow or later, for their techs to take a look, I guess.

 

[kennah]

Most places will install cpu and ram and test your board for you.

 

[knitoe]

I usually try and solve technical issues myself, but the answer to this has eluded me. Hopefully someone here can help me.

I built a new PC a month or two ago. Everything was fine until one time when I started up the PC and it said it couldn't find the boot device. I went in out of options and I finally fixed it or it fixed itself. I go to shutdown my computer a week or so later and it says It wants to install an update (I have it selected so it won't install anything without asking me), and the next time I power the system on I get the same message.

The bios sees the hard drive. I can select it as the device to boot. I have problems where it doesn't see the Windows 7 parition when trying to do a recovery. I think this might have to do with the system being in AHCI Mode and not having the drivers (I think I had a similar problem at setup). It is an Asus Mother. I try and see if I can load drivers off of the disc that came with the motherboard, but there are hundereds of files in folders on the CD and any of the ones I select it doesn't like. My previous comp could detect partitions without drivers. When I was fixing it the first time I noticed switching to IDE would allow me to see the Windows 7 parition in recovery, but trying to load Windows with IDE causes a blue screen as Windows is starting.

The times when Chkdsk was working it didn't find anything wrong with my OS Hard Drive, a Samsung 830.

The other thing that might be messing up certain portions of me trying to get it to work is that one of the hard disks in my computer was a part of a Vista desktop and when I try to do recovery it fixes the partition table, but only does that.

If the SSD is disappearing from the bios, probably a bad device. When you installed Windows, was it in AHCI or IDE? Switching between the two afterward would cause boot up issues.

 

[Hazaro]

um. It's this one.

From my google search earlier, this is one of the terrible ones that will cut me I reckon. I picked that one up because I found a Temjin TJ08 owners thread on another forum and that seemed to be one of the fans that folks had been happy with.

Yes. Overpriced, heavy, and will cut you.
It looks neat though.

 

[knitoe]

Re-arranged my office after building the new PC. Every piece of furniture is in a different place in the room, but I'm liking this layout much better. Also new rug. Need to work on some more wire management. get them to all come together under the desk or something.
Picture was taken from my couch.

I would never put the PC next to the monitor. The noise would drive me crazy. Mine is always on the floor.

 

[brentech]

I would never put the PC next to the monitor. The noise would drive me crazy. Mine is always on the floor.

It used to be on the floor in the old setup, but I have a bottom mounted PSU that vents under it so I had to give this a try. Was also tired of the space it took up on the floor and it's not really that loud anyways.
I'm actually preferring it on the desk quite a bit.

 

[Trojita]

If the SSD is disappearing from the bios, probably a bad device. When you installed Windows, was it in AHCI or IDE? Switching between the two afterward would cause boot up issues.

Thanks for the reply. It is always detectable by the bios.

My next step is finding out which file/files I need so that I can do the "Load Drivers" during the windows 7 repair, so hopefully I can see my Windows 7 Partition. I asked the question on Overclock.net so hopefully someone answers my question there.

Right now I'm thinking the driver I might need is the Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver, but I'm not sure. The disc that came with my motherboard has way too many damn files and folders, and it won't just search for the file it needs.

 

[knitoe]

It used to be on the floor in the old setup, but I have a bottom mounted PSU that vents under it so I had to give this a try. Was also tired of the space it took up on the floor and it's not really that loud anyways.
I'm actually preferring it on the desk quite a bit.

Just put something flat, like a piece of cardboard, under your case. Problem solve with PSU sucking air from the bottom. Anyway, loudness comes from mostly from video card(s). My Titans are quiet idle, but once they hit 80C, to loud for my taste.

 

[brentech]

I actually used to do that back when I had an apartment. I just had a slab of wood I put the PC on to keep it off carpet.
This was just a solution I wanted to try and actually ended up liking. To each their own.

 

[ruxtpin]

Yes. Overpriced, heavy, and will cut you.
It looks neat though.

Live and learn! I'll be extra mindful while installing. Couple of paychecks I can buy something new if I need to. Case will be closed and I shouldn't be needing to mess with the innards.

 

[brentech]

Oh man, back in like 2002 or 2003 I had a case that I used on multiple systems. I was cleaning out some dust build up from dorm life and cut the shit out of my hand.

It was like none of the edges were rounded. It was a deep long cut, luckily it didn't start really bleeding till I got my hand out of there.

Glad to not have that one anymore.

 

[BlisterBrown]

Are they broken off completely, or just bent? It is possible to bend pins back into place using something like the head of a pen. If they are broken, or there is other damage you are sol though.

I didn't see any that were broke off. I put the bent pins back in place best I could, but I'm thinking it's borked. Gonna try and return, we'll see what happens...

 

[BackwardsSuggestions]

Managed to overclock my i5-2400 non 'k' to 3.9 - 4Ghz somehow. At least, CPU-Z is showing it running at that,

 

[scogoth]

Managed to overclock my i5-2400 non 'k' to 3.9 - 4Ghz somehow. At least, CPU-Z is showing it running at that,

BLCK overclock? I thought even non k's could be overclocked 3 or 4 bins above stock.

 

[sestrugen]

Does anyone know where I can buy a Windows 7 HP legit key? I am not in the US and here it costs around USD $150. I just need the product key as I can download the ISO

 

[Guerrillas in the Mist]

Hey there chaps. I've just added some RAM my PC, the first upgrade I've ever done, if you don't count a wifi card. However, the first boot up has been rather slow, so much so that I actually switched the PC off, went into safe mode and restarted again. It's booted up to the desktop, but after sitting at the starting windows screen for a lengthy period of time. I haven't tried opening anything up yet, but it seems to be better now.

Is this normal at all after removing and installing new RAM?

 

[knitoe]

Hey there chaps. I've just added some RAM my PC, the first upgrade I've ever done, if you don't count a wifi card. However, the first boot up has been rather slow, so much so that I actually switched the PC off, went into safe mode and restarted again.

Is this normal at all after removing and installing new RAM?

No. Are the new ram same spec as your old ones?

 

[sestrugen]

Hey there chaps. I've just added some RAM my PC, the first upgrade I've ever done, if you don't count a wifi card. However, the first boot up has been rather slow, so much so that I actually switched the PC off, went into safe mode and restarted again.

Is this normal at all after removing and installing new RAM?

Try entering the BIOS and make sure the timing on the new stick is being recognized properly.

 

[Guerrillas in the Mist]

Try entering the BIOS and make sure the timing on the new stick is being recognized properly.

Ah, it says the timing is 1333Mhz in the Bios, while the RAM is rated at 1600Mhz. How exactly do I go about solving this? I'm in the BIOS and I just see a ton of scary-looking settings under DRAM Timing Control.

 

[brentech]

Does anyone know where I can buy a Windows 7 HP legit key? I am not in the US and here it costs around USD $150. I just need the product key as I can download the ISO

Buying only a key isn't really available anymore it seems.
Places other than Microsoft are selling keys that will likely be deactivated by MS if they even work in the first place.
In reference to already having the install media MS still says to buy the whole package for the key.
I'm guessing they had too many problems with selling just keys.

I had hoped to go that route myself, but only found dead ends for genuine copies.

 

[brentech]

Ah, it says the timing is 1333Mhz in the Bios, while the RAM is rated at 1600Mhz. How exactly do I go about solving this?

Are you seeing the listing for the Ram frequency and it just tops off at 1333?

Is the voltage setting for the Ram correct in bios? (don't just use auto)

 

[Ty4on]

BLCK overclock? I thought even non k's could be overclocked 3 or 4 bins above stock.

A bit above max boost like the 3820. Something like this I think, though I was under the impression you could force the max boost for 1 core onto 4 cores.

 

[knitoe]

Ah, it says the timing is 1333Mhz in the Bios, while the RAM is rated at 1600Mhz. How exactly do I go about solving this? I'm in the BIOS and I just see a ton of scary-looking settings under DRAM Timing Control.

Did you totally replace or added more ram? If replace, set the ram to ram's specs. If added, make sure the new ram is running at the same spec as your old ones. That's why it's always best to buy the same ram.

 

[Guerrillas in the Mist]

Are you seeing the listing for the Ram frequency and it just tops off at 1333?

Is the voltage setting for the Ram correct in bios? (don't just use auto)

Actually, I was looking in the wrong place, the Memory Frequency setting is at Auto in the BIOS, which clocks the memory to 1333Mhz for some reason. I'm assuming it's safe to knock it up to 1600?

It seems to be running at 1.5v, which is the voltage it's rated at.

 

[sestrugen]

Buying only a key isn't really available anymore it seems.
Places other than Microsoft are selling keys that will likely be deactivated by MS if they even work in the first place.
In reference to already having the install media MS still says to buy the whole package for the key.
I'm guessing they had too many problems with selling just keys.

I had hoped to go that route myself, but only found dead ends for genuine copies.

Yeah I am coming to that realization too, trying to build a PC on a budget is really hard when Windows costs 50% more than retail >_<

 

[Guerrillas in the Mist]

Ok, after having to reboot the PC once again, I've finally got it up and running with the RAM at 1600Mhz. Things seem to be running fine now, although I haven't run anything intensive yet to check for sure.

Thanks for assisting me, folks.

 

[KalBalboa]

GAF PC gods, I just wanted to say thank you. For $948 I built this rig for video editing:

i7 3770k
16 Gigs DDR3-1600, Vengeance
Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Z77
Samsung 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD128BW 128GB 6.0Gb/s
Zotac GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5
ModXStream Pro 600W Modular ATX Power Supply
HAF912 Mid Tower ATX Computer Case
Hyper 212 Plus Universal CPU Cooler

This sucker flies. Thanks for all the recommendations guys.

 

[brentech]

Yeah I am coming to that realization too, trying to build a PC on a budget is really hard when Windows costs 50% more than retail >_<

Yea, you'd think with the internet the way it is, they'd make it simple. Kind of lame

Ok, after having to reboot the PC once again, I've finally got it up and running with the RAM at 1600Mhz. Things seem to be running fine now, although I haven't run anything intensive yet to check for sure.

Thanks for assisting me, folks.

Glad that fixed it. Don't imagine you'd have any problems if all the RAM is the same.

 

[scogoth]

A bit above max boost like the 3820. Something like this I think, though I was under the impression you could force the max boost for 1 core onto 4 cores.

ASUS has that boost 4 like 1 thing in their motherboards, but yeah like I was saying you can overclock it 4 bins above stock. 3820 you can also BLCK overclock but sandy/Ivy use the same clock generator for PCIe and the CPU bus so you can't really go above like 103MHz.

 

[Akai__]

Up to you. Is your CPU overclocked?

I went from a 6850 to a 670 and saw a substantial improvement. Heck, even a 660 was a huge jump.

Really? I already felt like the jump from my 5570 to your 6850 was incredible. I suppose, the jump will be even more incredible, when I get a GTX780 or an AMD 8970 (or whatever they are called), right?

I actually canceled my plans for my 1st build and will use the money, which I got from the insurance, to do my license.

Now that Haswell, isn't that far away, it seems like a good choice.

 

[nbthedude]

Putting together a system for a buddy who decided he was interested in building a gaming PC a few days ago (I think after visiting me last summer and seeing my games on Steam loving Farcry 3 and Tomb Raider on 360 he is ready to move to better hardware).

We have some time to gather parts since I'll be visiting him in May and helping him put it all together. I just have a few questions:

1) Am I correct in assuming that an i5 3570k is pretty good for at least the near future? My biggest concern is helping him drop money now only to find out he's not in good enough shape when the new consoles drop in the Fall.

2) Since he will be doing a fresh purchase/install, Windows 8 the way to go?

3) If he decides he wants a bluray drive is he going to need special software to play bluray movies? I seem to recall someone telling me you have to buy a program to playback bluray on PC. Is this really true?

 

[Akai__]

Putting together a system for a buddy who decided he was interested in building a gaming PC a few days ago (I think after visiting me last summer and seeing my games on Steam loving Farcry 3 and Tomb Raider on 360 he is ready to move to better hardware).

We have some time to gather parts since I'll be visiting him in May and helping him put it all together. I just have a few questions:

1) Am I correct in assuming that an i5 3570k is pretty good for at least the near future? My biggest concern is helping him drop money now only to find out he's not in good enough shape when the new consoles drop in the Fall.

2) Since he will be doing a fresh purchase/install, Windows 8 the way to go?

3) If he decides he wants a bluray drive is he going to need special software to play bluray movies? I seem to recall someone telling me you have to buy a program to playback bluray on PC. Is this really true?

1.) A 3570K is enough for gaming. Overclock it and you are good to go.

2.) Either Windows 7 or Windows 8. I remember mkenyon saying, that Windows 8 is okay now, since they got rid of some major problems with it.

3.) I have a Blu Ray player, too and I can watch movies without a problem. Don't know, if the software was preinstalled in order to work, though.

 

[nbthedude]

1.) A 3570K is enough for gaming. Overclock it and you are good to go.

That is what I figured. He will be hooking it to a tv, so max 1080p anyway (it may even be a 720p TV, not sure).

2.) Either Windows 7 or Windows 8. I remember mkenyon saying, that Windows 8 is okay now, since they got rid of some major problems with it.

They are virtually the same price. I was mainly concerned about compatibility. Last I heard, Wn 8 had a slight performance advantage but some compatibility problems.

 

[brentech]

Originally, I was really itching to put Windows 8 on this system, but then I watched some videos on the usage and the aspect of what I like about it, just doesn't work how I thought it would. Rather just be in Windows 7 since it runs great anyways. Probably the OS I've been happiest with overall.

 

[kharma45]

Windows 8 all the way.

If you can't get on with Metro (give it a chance at least and force yourself to use it for a month) just install one of the numerous Start replacement programs. 8 is faster, designed for SSDs and has no issues now.

 

[PoweredBySoy]

designed for SSDs

say wha?

 

[mkenyon]

(give it a chance at least and force yourself to use it for a month)

Why would you force someone to be limited at computing prowess for a month!? YOU MONSTER.

 

[kharma45]

say wha?

8 was written with SSDs in mind afaik and requires little tweaking to get the best out of them. I could of course be wrong as your reaction now makes me think I dreamed reading that somewhere.

Edit - Yeah this guide like our one in the OP, most of the things you need to do for your SSD are done by default in 8 http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/36440-Windows-7-8-SSD-Optimization

Why would you force someone to be limited at computing prowess for a month!? YOU MONSTER.

Pfft there are no limitations as long as you unpin everything bar Desktop that Microsoft pin by default. Pin your own things you actually use and make Metro work for you. It's just a glorified Start menu at the end of the day but provides you with much more info and is much more flexible.

 

[scogoth]

8 was written with SSDs in mind afaik and requires little tweaking to get the best out of them. I could of course be wrong as your reaction now makes me think I dreamed reading that somewhere.



Pfft there are no limitations as long as you unpin everything bar Desktop that Microsoft pin by default. Pin your own things you actually use and make Metro work for you. It's just a glorified Start menu at the end of the day but provides you with much more info and is much more flexible.

Theres no limitations if you use Start8

 

[kharma45]

Theres no limitations if you use Start8

Each to their own. That's why I'm fully behind Windows 8, if you don't like Metro after using it (and for more than just a few times) then you've the option to revert to a more classic style of Windows through various Start replacement programs.

There isn't a downside to it now at all, it's just better.

 

[comu]

This is making me want to get Win 8 instead of Win 7 for my first build.

I need to read more about it before I decide though

 

[kharma45]

Do.

Without sounding like a broken record, if you don't like Metro you don't have to use it.

 

[mkenyon]

Do.

Without sounding like a broken record, if you don't like Metro you don't have to use it.

But you said I had to. FOR A MONTH.

 

[SonofdonCD]

In the market for a $200 video card. Looking into a Radeon HD 7850 2gb card specifically. Is there any preference to manufacturer? I've seen prices as low as $179.99. And as it comes with Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider, it's hard to pass up.

 

[kharma45]

But you said I had to. FOR A MONTH.

It's what I feel it needs to really get to grips with it properly and tailor it to suit your needs best. If after that stage you still don't like it fair enough install a Start replacement but I get annoyed at people who just poo-poo the new Start because it's different and they just don't like change.

It works extremely well for me, I've Live Tiles with news, email, weather, sports etc. all updated when I log in, and I've tiles for the programs I need right in front of me when the PC boots. Of course YMMV with Windows 8 but it is underneath a good OS, the responsiveness of it on an SSD is just incredible. Hopefully Blue doesn't disappoint

Spoiler

and they don't decide to charge for it.

In the market for a $200 video card. Looking into a Radeon HD 7850 2gb card specifically. Is there any preference to manufacturer? I've seen prices as low as $179.99. And as it comes with Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider, it's hard to pass up.

I'd grab this one myself http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102999 I've the MSI TF3 and my brother has the ASUS and whilst they're very good I wouldn't pay the premium for them as the Sapphire is still very good.

 

[Alexios]

I gave up for tonight, though I connected everything nice and tidy as if it was all working... Too bad I didn't set up my new monitor before trying to build the PC to atleast see some HD goodness on my old system in less demanding games and videos. Also, I was wrong about the store having a local presence so I googled for places that offer service around here to call tomorrow and ask them what they'll charge to test the mobo and anything suspect and if it checks out then set it up properly for me. Hopefully I'll find one that will charge no more than ~10 and can do it fast enough for me to wait there and take it back right away to use or return.

 

[Ty4on]

ASUS has that boost 4 like 1 thing in their motherboards, but yeah like I was saying you can overclock it 4 bins above stock. 3820 you can also BLCK overclock but sandy/Ivy use the same clock generator for PCIe and the CPU bus so you can't really go above like 103MHz.

Knew about the BLCK. Was talking about how you can get 3820 to 4.3 without touching it, but I think you know that better than me. Didn't know about that Asus thingy.

 

[snack]

What's a good white quiet case other than the Define R4?