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"I need a New PC!" 2013 Part 1. Haswell, Crysis 3, and secret fairy sauce. Read da OP

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K

Kipp

but I am taking tiny steps forward
Overclocking my 7950 right now. So much tweaking fun :D

I've almost found a stable overclock at 1175 GPU clock, 1900 memory clock, and 1.243 voltage. I think I'll probably have to lower my voltage a bit to get stability.
 
K

kennah

Member
ubersticky said:
LMAO, well yeah I didn't expect anything else. I only use it to check the internet basically or play songs.

I might just get one of those Alienware computers.
Click to expand...
If you are capable of building the cpu ram hard drive os and dvd drive would al be salvageable to a better computer. All you would need is motherboard, case, power supply and gpu.
 
M

Mr. Wonderful

Member
GAF, is a 550W PSU enough to run a 3570K OC'ed to 4.3GHz and a Nvidia 680 with a soundcard and an SSD?

I want to upgrade my 660Ti to a 680 so that I can game at 96Hz, but I'm worried that I won't have enough power, and my original plan of upgrading to a Nvidia 760 GPU was dashed with the whole no new GPUs until late 2013/early 2014 thing.
 
O

OriginofHysteria

Banned
mkenyon said:
Save your wallet, stop coming to this thread.
Click to expand...

Haha agreed on this. I calculated the amount of money i spent on my rig, a year ago it was just about 700-750...now it's a 1500 dollar rig. Microcenter loves me right about now.

Edit: also is there a performance difference with using 1 as opposed to 2 fans on the h80i?
 
W

wandering goat

Member
Is there any word on exactly what kind of RAM would be best suited to the new Haswell boards? For example, with Sandy Bridge everyone said 1.5V RAM would be best to use where voltages were often higher before. Wondering since I'll probably want to jump on a nice 8GB kit the moment it goes on sale. Regretting not purchasing back in December/January when the Corsair listed in the OP was in the $40 range, vs mid $60s now with the ridiculous climb in prices.
 
S

snack

Member
Anyone here have a steelseries sensei raw rubberized version? Does the outter coating easily rub off where you put your thumb?
 
K

kharma45

Member
Mr. Wonderful said:
GAF, is a 550W PSU enough to run a 3570K OC'ed to 4.3GHz and a Nvidia 680 with a soundcard and an SSD?

I want to upgrade my 660Ti to a 680 so that I can game at 96Hz, but I'm worried that I won't have enough power, and my original plan of upgrading to a Nvidia 760 GPU was dashed with the whole no new GPUs until late 2013/early 2014 thing.
Click to expand...

It is yes.

Huw_Dawson said:
Disclaimer: After working for Aria for a month I am now back working at Maplin again... :p I don't get anything off this. It's just a FYI for UK peeps.

Okay, to US people, Maplin is a large chain of hardware stores. ANYWAY:

I spotted this a couple of weeks ago, but I've only just remembered to post about it here. Maplin are doing some work on their online store's PC hardware range. Depending on the item you might be able to get a good buy there. For example, a 7850 2GB for £153, free delivery. It's not the same story across the entire range though. Overclockers have the Corsair 600W PSU at £63, whilst Maplin have it at £70, for example.

Nevertheless, they might be worth checking out for good buys on certain lines?

Using my discount, I grabbed myself a Corsair K60 and a M65... oh my days I love mechanical keyboards now. The mouse made my hand hurt after a couple of hours but my hand appears to have manned up now.
Click to expand...

Maplin surprised me by being the cheapest for this http://www.maplin.co.uk/550w-xfx-pro-series-atx-psu-with-easyrail-technology-587550

It'd be nice if they started to get properly price competitive, could use a proper hardware store in the UK. My local Maplin isn't great though, they've still ATI 3000 series cards in stock :\
 
Hawk269

Hawk269

Member
ubersticky said:
I'm not really looking for a pure gaming laptop or computer since I play everything on my PS3. But it would be nice to be able to play a few games that are only for PC or have PC only features. I don't really need it to run at the highest settings, I just want it to run smooth. Also yeah, a laptop would be best for me since I need it for school.

Ugh, I dont know. Besides I got a new desktop (just a basic one) a few months ago so to get another one just for a few games is not worth it for me.
Click to expand...

Mind me asking why you play most of your games on your PS3?

The reason I ask, is I use to only game on my PS3/360 until I got a good PC. At that point, I realized I can get the same exact games and run them a lot better than they would run on the console. Granted, exclusives have a spot on consoles and those are the games I still get for them, but unless there is a game on all three (PC, PS3/360) and a lot of my Xbox friends are playing together then I get that version, but I would say over the last year almost all my multi-platform games have been the PC version.

The other benefit I found was that I was re-buying older games on PC that I had previously played on console and enjoying them even more due to the increase performance and the fact that if you wait for Steam sales you can get big budget games at times for as low as $5.00!
 
J

j2theizzay

Member
oneils said:
Anyone here care to share their experiences with using a gaming pc in the living room?

I'm thinking of getting a SFF gaming pc from NCIX and playing some games in the living room. Only thing I don't really have a lot of experience with is wireless peripherals.

My TV is pretty far from the couch - about 10 feet. I was thinking of just using motioninjoy with my dual shock 3 and a blue tooth dongle and/or a wireless 360 controller.

Only thing I can see being a pain is typing youtube searches and stuff like that.

Has anyone done this without a wireless keyboard/mouse? If so, does it work well?
Click to expand...

I use a Logitech K400 for keyboard/trackpad combo. I don't like the small right shift as the up arrow key gets in the way. Touchpad is ok and can scroll with 2 finger swipe. For games I bought the Xbox controller that comes with the wireless dongle.
 
N

nbthedude

Member
Rayge said:
Micron's 1TB SSD for under $600.

My late 2014 build is looking sweeter and sweeter. I would say 1TB SSDs will be close to the $300 range by then.
Click to expand...

I think I already know the answer to this after a bit of research, but I just want to make sure:

If you buy the DVD version of Windows 8 can you still use the key off it for a USB .iso install?

A friend of mine is getting ready to build and the DVD versions seem cheaper than just ordering an .iso key.
 
Koroviev

Koroviev

Member
nbthedude said:
I think I already know the answer to this after a bit of research, but I just want to make sure:

If you buy the DVD version of Windows 8 can you still use the key off it for a USB .iso install?

A friend of mine is getting ready to build and the DVD versions seem cheaper than just ordering an .iso key.
Click to expand...

Of course. The .iso you use for Windows 8 has nothing to do with the key.
 
S

Sorral

Member
DeVeAn said:
So what should I go for 670 GTX or 7970? I am partial to nvidia but, can go either way. I know I want the Gigabyte version of either card (windforce).

Also these cards are worth $399 right?
Click to expand...

I think I read here that the 7970 OC'd can get ahead of an OC'd 680 in most games. The posts about this are some pages back.
It is better for the amount of money you're paying for sure especially if you won't do SLI. I think I saw the lowest at $407 or so on newegg. Don't think it was a gigabyte.

Edit: Anandtech benchmarks. The 680 is ahead in BF3.
 
L

Lighthouse

Member
oneils said:
Anyone here care to share their experiences with using a gaming pc in the living room?

I'm thinking of getting a SFF gaming pc from NCIX and playing some games in the living room. Only thing I don't really have a lot of experience with is wireless peripherals.

My TV is pretty far from the couch - about 10 feet. I was thinking of just using motioninjoy with my dual shock 3 and a blue tooth dongle and/or a wireless 360 controller.

Only thing I can see being a pain is typing youtube searches and stuff like that.

Has anyone done this without a wireless keyboard/mouse? If so, does it work well?
Click to expand...

I went with this wireless keyboard with mouse pad. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DKZTMG/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Its super thin and light works great, the mousepad is just as good as if you were using a laptop.
Price is right too.
 
L

Like the hat?

Banned
If I was looking for a prebuilt PC from Amazon in the $800 range, what would be the best bet? $800 being the most I would want to spend, and it would have to be sold direct from Amazon.

Gamewise, the most I would want to play would be like Skyrim or something at moderate to high settings, but I would want something I could upgrade in the future.
 
GHG

GHG

Member
Like the hat? said:
If I was looking for a prebuilt PC from Amazon in the $800 range, what would be the best bet? $800 being the most I would want to spend, and it would have to be sold direct from Amazon.

Gamewise, the most I would want to play would be like Skyrim or something at moderate to high settings, but I would want something I could upgrade in the future.
Click to expand...

Best bet is to take the $800 and build one yourself. Failing that, look at getting an Alienware x51. Those are the only prebuilt systems I could ever recommend.

EDIT: Just seen that you would want something you could upgrade in the future. Build one yourself. Look at some of the suggested builds in the OP.
 
K

kharma45

Member
Crimsonclaw111 said:
Good buy with the rebate and price cut? I'm not aiming to Ultra everything under the sun for the next few years but something that'll last me a few years at decent setting instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202004

Will pair with and i5 3570k + 8 GB RAM. Or should I spend the extra $30-40 for the 2GB OC version?
Click to expand...

If you can I'd try to make the step up to a 2GB mode http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102999 If you don't the 1GB is still a good card.
 
K

kharma45

Member
Crimsonclaw111 said:
Hmmm. Sounds like I should spare $30-40 to further futureproof my setup then. You're a nice poster for taking the time to help me, thanks.

Any suggestions for RAM? I hear prices spiked recently.
Click to expand...

They've been on a steady upward trend of late

trend.ram.700.png


If you're just gaming and general use I still think 8GB is enough.
 
I

Infinite Justice

Member
Crimsonclaw111 said:
Hmmm. Sounds like I should spare $30-40 to further futureproof my setup then. You're a nice poster for taking the time to help me, thanks.

Any suggestions for RAM? I hear prices spiked recently.
Click to expand...

Just spend it since its looking like the soon to be minimum once the next gen stuff comes out.


The Samsung one was the ultimate choice in this thread but apparently its no longer in stock and also was getting expensive.

Now there are other choices that do well like the Corsair Vengenance (Low profile version preferable when working with a huge cooler like a Hyper 212+/EVO) or G.Skill ripjaws plus as said above 8GB is plenty right now (unless you are doing stuff that demands more like media, photoshop, virtualization)
 
S

Sorral

Member
Crimsonclaw111 said:
Was going to grab Corsair RAM since it's only $52 or so atm:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

And the Radeon HD 7850 2GB and grab the rest in coming months, just for gaming.
Click to expand...

That RAM(and similar ones) are in combo deals. I don't know if you need anything else, but here is the link to the combo deals. The promotion code won't work since the combo will be in effect though.

Edit: They are $51.99 free shipping in Amazon too, but rest are $60+. Probably a price match by amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QBUL1C/?tag=neogaf0e-20
 
C

Crimsonclaw111

Member
Thanks for the help guys, gonna go with the Amazon link since I have Prime shipping and don't want to use my free Shop Runner trial or w/e Newegg has until I'm ready to buy all my other components.
 
C

CreepingFear

Member
Coldsnap said:
Is 4 gig of ram still ok now a days? I have a i5 2500k and gtx560
Click to expand...

It might require a little bit of managing if you're the type that has 20 tabs open in your browser, itunes, and a bunch of other programs at the same time, but it's doable. I think 8GB is the sweet spot at this point, but the prices of ram have gone up drastically.
 
Anton668

Anton668

Member
Coldsnap said:
Is 4 gig of ram still ok now a days? I have a i5 2500k and gtx560
Click to expand...

As said above, is it ok for you?

4 seems to be the min nowadays, 8 the preferred amount, and anything higher if you are doing media or other work.

keep an eye on your usage, if you seem to consistently run low/out then its time to upgrade.

Crimsonclaw111 said:
So final verdict - buy the RAM now or wait a month or two?
Click to expand...

Not knowing which direction prices are going to go atm, though seemingly upwards, I would buy now.
 
C

Coldsnap

Member
Anton668 said:
As said above, is it ok for you?

4 seems to be the min nowadays, 8 the preferred amount, and anything higher if you are doing media or other work.

keep an eye on your usage, if you seem to consistently run low/out then its time to upgrade.



Not knowing which direction prices are going to go atm, though seemingly upwards, I would buy now.
Click to expand...

I guess I shoulda asked if it's okay for PC gaming! That's all I ever do on the PC, and I close down everything before booting a game.
 
C

Crimsonclaw111

Member
Pulled the trigger on the RAM, will be here Tuesday, only to be packed away for a month or two, possibly more. Hope it works then, otherwise Amazon'll have to help bail me out!

Coldsnap said:
I guess I shoulda asked if it's okay for PC gaming! That's all I ever do on the PC, and I close down everything before booting a game.
Click to expand...
4 GB is fine for PC gaming afaik but with next-gen coming around it couldn't hurt to upgrade.
 
E

Eaten By A Grue

Member
Man that BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX case is pretty tight fighting components into. I had trouble getting the Cosair H60 liquid cooler in it along with the power supply. I really had to crush them in there. I have to go back to Microcenter though, the fans power connectors are three prongs, but the motherboard's are four. I need to get three prong adapter to the power supply connector: http://www.microcenter.com/product/260711/Power_Supply_4-pin_to_3-pin_Fan_Adapter

If I ever need to upgrade this thing, I am going to need to surgically take this thing apart. I literally had to put every component in a certain order or I would never be able to reach in the case.
 
B

BriareosGAF

Member
GTX 690 4GB is being very unstable, any troubleshooting pointers? Seated properly as far as I can tell, drivers are latest WHQL 314.22, h/w config is:

Asus P8P67
i5-2500K
8G GSkill
Corsair TX750
1xWD Caviar 1TB
4xOCZ 256G Vertex3
Win7/64bit recent clean install (last month)

Driver is crashing and recovering during SC2, GPU temps are only around 51C, with fans at 31%, etc. Occasionally hard locks.

Is fine outside heavy duty D3D which makes me suspect the driver stack, but I don't see a lot of chatter online about it being unstable.

Previous card was a Radeon 6950, never had an issue.
 
G

gilljoy

Member
Decided I'm going to get the Fractal R4 but its like hens teeth trying to get the windowed black version I may end up just buying the black one now and buying a window at a later date.

Well in the UK atleast
 
B

brentech

Member
mkenyon said:
Save your wallet, stop coming to this thread.
Click to expand...

Was going to try to return the case as it's still good as new, but realized what I could do instead of parting out my old PC....the case that all that is in had some front fan issues.

I think I'll pull it all out, put a fresh install on it and sell the whole system on eBay. I could probably get a few hundred for it me thinks. It's an Intel Q9400 w/ Nvidia 9800GTX+
Was still good for all your basic usages and low requirement games like TF2 and such.

Get it all out the door at once.
 
T

Ty4on

Member
Eaten By A Grue said:
If I ever need to upgrade this thing, I am going to need to surgically take this thing apart. I literally had to put every component in a certain order or I would never be able to reach in the case.
Click to expand...

That's the case for pretty much every ITX case and IMO what kinda makes them special :p
Just hate when there is one really annoying design flaw.
 
H

HammerOfThor

Member
So guys, heres what I'm thinking my build will be

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Green 2TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card


I'm going for a higher end build, but I don't need super top of the line.

How does it look? Is there something I should downgrade or something I should upgrade?


This will be my first PC build in like 7 years since high school, can't wait :)
 
S

Sorral

Member
4MvpOMY.jpg
Click to expand...

Soon...
If I don't burn down my apt somehow.

I think I will go with Win7pro even though I have both that and Win8. I looked for gaming benchmarks, but there wasn't any drastic ones and Tom's hardware one was from last year.
Unless someone else got an entirely different opinion?
 
C

chickdigger802

Banned
got my hdd's and gfx. (128gb ssd + 1tb wd black, 7870xt) from my current rig... trying to piece together the rest.



AS Rock LGA1155 DDR3 SATA3 USB3.0 Quad CrossFireX and Quad SLI A GbE ATX Motherboard Z77 EXTREME4

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory F3-1600C9D-16GX​M

Intel Core i7-3770 Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155 - BX80637I73770

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - CPU Cooler with 4 Direct Contact Heat Pipes (RR-B10-212P-G1​)

that adds up to about $600, which is a bit on the higher end then my originally limit of 500.

I think I also need a new mouse too... so add another $70 for like a g700.

Are there any corners I can cut, or should I sucker up a bit more cash and go for it?
 
A

asdad123

Member
chickdigger802 said:
got my hdd's and gfx. (128gb ssd + 1tb wd black, 7870xt) from my current rig... trying to piece together the rest.



AS Rock LGA1155 DDR3 SATA3 USB3.0 Quad CrossFireX and Quad SLI A GbE ATX Motherboard Z77 EXTREME4

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory F3-1600C9D-16GX​M

Intel Core i7-3770 Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155 - BX80637I73770

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - CPU Cooler with 4 Direct Contact Heat Pipes (RR-B10-212P-G1​)

that adds up to about $600, which is a bit on the higher end then my originally limit of 500.

I think I also need a new mouse too... so add another $70 for like a g700.

Are there any corners I can cut, or should I sucker up a bit more cash and go for it?
Click to expand...

Do you need the 3770? Why not a 3570k and OC it? Could save you some cash especially since you're already getting a z77 board.

Also, if you don't mind used parts, check out the BST thread and hardforums. You can get some good deals sometimes.
 
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