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[HoosTrax]

How hard is it to build a SFF PC if its your 1st time buildling?

Not hard. My first ever build was a SFF using this case:

(it's an outdated design these days though)

In fact, I would actually recommend people new to PC go with a SFF using microATX instead of one of the other form factors. Very few people actually need regular ATX, and I find it kind of a waste whenever I see builds with one video card and a couple of hard drive inside an ATX case. microATX leaves you with options if you ever decide you really need some extras like SLI or a sound card.

 

[EsotericManiac]

Well I won't ever be doing overclocking since I don't trust myself with that stuff..
I could get a PC custom built where I pick the parts myself, but I'm a bit of a hurry since I don't have any computer at all atm.

I personally don't know the ins and outs of every piece of hardware (or any for that matter) I have built quite a few machines ranging from $500 - $2500 (not for myself mind you) and it's quite easy.

You'd be much better off using that money ($1,500) and following suggestions in this thread than giving your money to HP

 

[GoddyofAus]

never played Civ but, unsubscribed? if the files are not deleted from your sys, they are still there.

I play World of Tanks a lot and have a bunch of mods. Sometimes with updates the mods break the game and the only way to fix it is to go into the game folder and delete the mods myself.

It looks like it's on the developers end, there's other people on steam complaining about the same problems I'm having.

 

[JB1981]

Not hard. My first ever build was a SFF using this case:

(it's an outdated design these days though)

In fact, I would actually recommend people new to PC go with a SFF using microATX instead of one of the other form factors. Very few people actually need regular ATX, and I find it kind of a waste whenever I see builds with one video card and a couple of hard drive inside an ATX case. microATX leaves you with options if you ever decide you really need some extras like SLI or a sound card.

Thanks. Thinking of doing one of the builds in the OP. Good price/performance ratio and I much prefer the small form factor look.

 

[brentech]

My windowed R4 is supposed to arrive today. Getting excited to do my case transplant, while hoping I don't have to undo the 212 Evo, but I won't hold my breath. It's probably going to get in the way.

 

[Demon Ice]

and IIRC the GPU in the X51 isnt a regular card. Its better than it seems

It's closer to a 660 Ti, but still slower than a full GTX 680.

 

[LCGeek]

oh dear god yes!

ETA: went from a 24" LG to a 27" Asus IPS

Thanks am seriously desiring to make a jump off this 23" but just color reproduction wasn't enough for me. If the size is noticeable from that distance another inch will make this an easy decision for me.

Asus IPS was already on my list and I'd rather give them my money than hannspree.

 

[TerryLee81]

My windowed R4 is supposed to arrive today. Getting excited to do my case transplant, while hoping I don't have to undo the 212 Evo, but I won't hold my breath. It's probably going to get in the way.

Yeah, it will probably be a pain in the ass to screw down the motherboard with the 212 installed. Especially the screws at the top.

 

[brentech]

Yeah, it will probably be a pain in the ass to screw down the motherboard with the 212 installed. Especially the screws at the top.

I was actually able to remove everything with it still attached, fan and all.
I'm starting to think it won't be a problem to put back in a case, even to my own surprise.

Only problem we be lining up the standoffs I imagine. I'll have to make sure to do the ones on the right side first to save some hassle.


Did it all preemptively, the new case isn't here yet.

 

[News Bot]

Are there any online (UK) retailers that would offer discounts or something for computer-related businesses? I own a computer repair business and that would be very handy and it seems like something places would do.

 

[Hawk269]

I just bought a 512GB Samsung 840 pro and was wondering if I needed an actual HDD seeing as it will be put in a clean PC with nothing to backup. I have a 1TB HDD right now and I'm only using 144GB, and I don't see me needing that much storage anytime soon.

It depends on your needs. If you plan to have a lot of games, that 512gb will vanish rather quickly, especially games that have additional hi-res textures which eat up a lot of room. I went total SSD only with 3 of the 840 512gb's Pro's and will be adding a 1 TB HDD to my system later today. Main reason is that I plan to put some video's on my computer now and that eats up a lot of memory.

I use Steam Mover for moving games from SSD to HDD...I will have the majority of my games on the SSD's, but will use the HDD to have some of my older games. My other reason for this was that with the Next Gen Consoles coming in November, you know that average size of games is going to increase since a lot of our PC games are console ports and having a regular HDD would be nice to put some of the older games that don't benefit a lot from SSD.

 

[HoosTrax]

I think this guy might be the solution to my FT03 height-related angst:

The faceplate looks so much nicer than the plasticky one on the SG09. I can't quite bring myself to go miniITX and lose my sound card, so I guess I'll have to wait until these start shipping.

 

[iavi]

Guys, I'm actually thinking about going from the 7950 to Ref 7990 when AMD launches their take.

Along with the big Xfire and mem controller overhauls, I have the feeling it's going to be amazing.

The 7950 will go in my sff build that I don't need whatsoever.

 

[Hawk269]

Well I won't ever be doing overclocking since I don't trust myself with that stuff..
I could get a PC custom built where I pick the parts myself, but I'm a bit of a hurry since I don't have a computer at all atm.

But seeing all the hate for HP I guess I'll just stay away from them at least, thanks for the comments!



Hmm I see.. for me who isn't very tech-savvy I would never know that. I would just see the 1,5GB GTX660 and think meh. But if the X51 really is that good I guess I could put it on the maybe list.

On another note though, computers (and parts) in sweden are really costly so I doubt Ill get anything good (for gaming) below 1500 USD.

Dont ever say "NEVER" when it comes to OC. It is just too easy to do these days and it takes little effort. It does take some time depending on what you want. For a CPU they have programs that will do it for you...you will get better results doing it yourself, but a very fast, very easy and when I say "very easy", you pretty much run a program it auto-overclocks and your done. When I first got my 2600k CPU I too was afraid to overclock, but I used one of those auto programs and gained a 33% increase in spead in a matter of minutes with these auto overclocks.

I then read and learned some more and did my own OC via the BIOS and got about a 40% increase in spead. GPU OC is just as easy, you download Afterburner or Precision X, move the slider over to increase the Core clock, you run a stability test for a bit or few stability tests and that is about it.

The time comes in doing the testing...some people like to stress test for a bit, others like to stress test for a short amount of time, so that part will vary. But in the end, OC, especially just a light overclock can net a massive improvement in performance for llittle to no effort.

 

[xJavonta]

I think this guy might be the solution to my FT03 height-related angst:



The faceplate looks so much nicer than the plasticky one on the SG09. I can't quite bring myself to go miniITX and lose my sound card, so I guess I'll have to wait until these start shipping.

Holy shit, what is this?!

 

[HoosTrax]

Holy shit, what is this?!

Silverstone SG10. (Not for sale yet as far as I know)

Looks a bit like what would happen if you flipped a FT03 onto its back and lost the legs and removed that plastic grid covered compartment.

 

[HoosTrax]

double post

 

[brentech]

Just received my R4. I'm wowed out of the gate. The quality of those side panels is so far above any case I've owned. Got damn.

Main reason I wanted to switch out, just look at this size difference. Much more working room. Liked the old case (diablotek evo, wonderful budget case) , but I like all this extra space, and the quality seems superb as I play around with it before installing parts.

 

[stiill]

Sanity check: I'm replacing my very old Athlon 64 FX (yup). I think I can reuse the case and PSU, and replace everything else. I'm trying to keep costs very low.

GPU: EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB $180
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z77-HD3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI $268 (mobo+cpu combo)
Case: reusing CoolerMaster Cosmos
PSU: reusing EnerMax Galaxy DX X
Optical: reuse
Sound: on-board
HDD: WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive $72
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 8 GB (2X4 GB) $52
SSD, optional, not sure I'll get it: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 128 $139

Comes out to:
$572 w/out SSD
$711 w/ SSD

Actually about $20 more, because I'm paying tax on a couple items.

Question: Is it foolish to buy this CPU without buying a good heat sink? Given that the whole point of the K models is the unlocked clock? If so, what sink would you recommend?

 

[MisterNoisy]

Sanity check: I'm replacing my very old Athlon 64 FX (yup). I think I can reuse the case and PSU, and replace everything else. I'm trying to keep costs very low.

GPU: EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB $180
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z77-HD3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI $268 (mobo+cpu combo)
Case: reusing CoolerMaster Cosmos
PSU: reusing EnerMax Galaxy DX X
Optical: reuse
Sound: on-board
HDD: WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive $72
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 8 GB (2X4 GB) $52
SSD, optional, not sure I'll get it: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 128 $139

Comes out to:
$572 w/out SSD
$711 w/ SSD

Actually about $20 more, because I'm paying tax on a couple items.

Question: Is it foolish to buy this CPU without buying a good heat sink? Given that the whole point of the K models is the unlocked clock? If so, what sink would you recommend?

Hyper 212 EVO is $30 and an easy pick - great budget cooler that's trivially easy to install. I also like the Xigmatek Gaia at $20, but the stock fan is kinda meh - fans are easy to replace later tho.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

http://www.overclock.net/t/1297712/mc-corsair-corsair-900d-godzilla-unveiled/3870

Umm.... wow that looks nice! I was sure this would be my next case.... but I've slowly found myself leaning toward the Caselabs SM5... but now I'm drooling over this thing again. Can't wait for reviews; but man, that looks really good.

 

[Sorral]

Just received my R4. I'm wowed out of the gate. The quality of those side panels is so far above any case I've owned. Got damn.

Main reason I wanted to switch out, just look at this size difference. Much more working room. Liked the old case (diablotek evo, wonderful budget case) , but I like all this extra space, and the quality seems superb as I play around with it before installing parts.

That does look like a really good size and with a lots of room. It will be in a later upgrade as I actually don't like the path for the wires on my current build after dealing with it now.

Oh and I already got my replacement MB yesterday. Will put it together tonight.

 

[RaoulDuke]

looking for some advice on upgrading my aging system. I only have about $350 i can spend now.

current:
athlon2 x4 630, 8gb ram, 5770 1gb video card. the rest i can keep.

For 350$ i can get an i5 3570 and motherboard to go with it and 8gb ram. also assuming my ram will not carry over. so thats about all i can afford at this point. just keep the video card for now and live with it until i can afford to upgrade that.

the other option would be to just get a new video card now and then do the cpu/mb/ram later, but that doesnt seem like the best way to go...

anything im not thining about or missing?

 

[brentech]

That does look like a really good size and with a lots of room. It will be in a later upgrade as I actually don't like the path for the wires on my current build after dealing with it now.

Oh and I already got my replacement MB yesterday. Will put it together tonight.

Nice. Hope it goes smooth.

I just need to figure out a few connectors as R4 has a few 2/3 pin connectors that I'm unsure what exactly they're for. Otherwise I have all my headers and fans connected. Only remaining component is to bring the PSU in and connect it up.

Nvm, just figured it out. It's for the fan speed adjuster. So just power connectors.

So much easier to get stuff connected in here with my fat fingers. Barely had room in old case, would take a long time to get headers to case fans on in the fashion I wanted. This one was quick and clean.

 

[LCGeek]

Sanity check: I'm replacing my very old Athlon 64 FX (yup). I think I can reuse the case and PSU, and replace everything else. I'm trying to keep costs very low.

GPU: EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB $180
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z77-HD3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI $268 (mobo+cpu combo)
Case: reusing CoolerMaster Cosmos
PSU: reusing EnerMax Galaxy DX X
Optical: reuse
Sound: on-board
HDD: WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive $72
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 8 GB (2X4 GB) $52
SSD, optional, not sure I'll get it: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 128 $139

Comes out to:
$572 w/out SSD
$711 w/ SSD

Actually about $20 more, because I'm paying tax on a couple items.

Question: Is it foolish to buy this CPU without buying a good heat sink? Given that the whole point of the K models is the unlocked clock? If so, what sink would you recommend?

Intel stock coolers suck even if you don't oc. Just google that subject. The evo is great I got one it's budget and can easily go up to about 4.5ghz with no problems never seen it break 75c yet.

 

[brentech]

Computer is all back together in the new Fractal R4.
Running great, real happy with all the wire management and simplistic features. Such an awesome case.
10x easier to work inside than any other case I've owned.

 

[stiill]

Thanks! I'm ordering the listed system, with the Hyper 212 EVO as well.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

http://www.overclock.net/t/1297712/mc-corsair-corsair-900d-godzilla-unveiled/3870



Umm.... wow that looks nice! I was sure this would be my next case.... but I've slowly found myself leaning toward the Caselabs SM5... but now I'm drooling over this thing again. Can't wait for reviews; but man, that looks really good.

god damn, this one-ups my Lian Li P80 in every way and shape imaginable. damn it, I said I wasn't spending on any type of upgrades for one whole year.....

 

[mkenyon]

god damn, this one-ups my Lian Li P80 in every way and shape imaginable. damn it, I said I wasn't spending on any type of upgrades for one whole year.....

Not in build quality. Not to say that the 900D lacks it, it's just that Lian Li can't be touched.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

My rigs is getting a couple of years old;


i7 Sandy bridge 3,0 GHz (940, LGA-1366)(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001H5Z0XE/?tag=neogaf0e-20)

12 Gigs of DDR3

Dual 128GB SSDs in raids(they feel slow now..)

Dual SLI 470 Gigabyte SOC(Super Overclocked) GPUs ( http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_geforce_gtx_470_soc_review,1.html )



temperatures are down, but its heaty. SSDs are beginning to feel slow, and I am just feeling teh meh. I really want an excuse to get rid of my SLI setup. I feel its been too costly on temps, and room. I find single GPUs more stable. On the other hand.. having two overclocked 470s have been giving good performance.



I wonder what the Nvidia 700 series will bring. Im bogged down that my CPU supports the LG-1366 and not the common LG1155. That means new i5 CPUs are out of the question for me

 

[mkenyon]

Get a good CPU cooler, overclock your CPU. Your i7 (Nehalem) is just about even with an equally clocked Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge.

looking for some advice on upgrading my aging system. I only have about $350 i can spend now.

current:
athlon2 x4 630, 8gb ram, 5770 1gb video card. the rest i can keep.

For 350$ i can get an i5 3570 and motherboard to go with it and 8gb ram. also assuming my ram will not carry over. so thats about all i can afford at this point. just keep the video card for now and live with it until i can afford to upgrade that.

the other option would be to just get a new video card now and then do the cpu/mb/ram later, but that doesnt seem like the best way to go...

anything im not thining about or missing?

Upgrade video card, save money for Haswell release in 2 months.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

Not in build quality. Not to say that the 900D lacks it, it's just that Lian Li can't be touched.

yes that's true, BUT my lian li front door broke.(I dropped it) so now it won't close properly. also it doesn't take a 2x140mm rad without a little rigging. the Corsair covers it.

 

[mkenyon]

140mm rads aren't optimal, because 140mm fans aren't nearly as good. 120 is still where it's at solely because of fan tech.

This is on sale right now too.....

 

[MisterNoisy]

Not in build quality. Not to say that the 900D lacks it, it's just that Lian Li can't be touched.

Even their lower-budget Lancool stuff has impressed me in terms of fit and finish, it not necessarily design (though I loved the K63 I had a couple of years ago).

 

[LegendX48]

just thought I'd share this with you guys

I'm still slightly miffed at how much the cpu alone cost but its partially here now even though I won't get to use any of it until Friday evening (waiting on ram to arrive and also just don't have time). Hoping to have my frustration with its pricing alleviated once I get to use it

 

[GatorFan]

Anyone using Rainmeter to monitor their temps/clock/voltages? Would like to use it for that purpose and I've done some googling, but I haven't really come up with any decent skins. I use RadeonPro and Sapphire Trixx if that makes any difference. Thanks!

 

[brentech]

Anyone using Rainmeter to monitor their temps/clock/voltages? Would like to use it for that purpose and I've done some googling, but I haven't really come up with any decent skins. I use RadeonPro and Sapphire Trixx if that makes any difference. Thanks!

What I've been using.

It uses CoreTemp for the load/temp readings.
The rainmeter Enigma theme mixed with the functions I wanted from this package.
Zepha 2.0

 

[Echoplx]

Not in build quality. Not to say that the 900D lacks it, it's just that Lian Li can't be touched.

Speaking of, can anyone recommend a good way to clean LianLi cases? I love mine but am scared to go near it because it gets fingerprints so easily lol

 

[MisterNoisy]

Speaking of, can anyone recommend a good way to clean LianLi cases? I love mine but am scared to go near it because it gets fingerprints so easily lol

This fucker right here is the king mother for cleaning your PC out - no more canned air, no more wondering if 'you got it all'.

 

[brentech]

This fucker right here is the king mother for cleaning your PC out - no more canned air, no more wondering if 'you got it all'.

Lol, I own a similar model, made for a totally different purpose.
I'm an automotive detailer, I use it to blow water out of cracks and even dry certain parts of vehicles with this guy. Same body, bit more powerful though.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LQB24G/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[theSlacker]

http://www.overclock.net/t/1297712/mc-corsair-corsair-900d-godzilla-unveiled/3870

Umm.... wow that looks nice! I was sure this would be my next case.... but I've slowly found myself leaning toward the Caselabs SM5... but now I'm drooling over this thing again. Can't wait for reviews; but man, that looks really good.

I wish they would make a 350D now with the same styling as the 550D, just smaller.

Also the front of that looks kinda meh. A bad change from the other D series cases.

 

[GatorFan]

What I've been using.

It uses CoreTemp for the load/temp readings.
The rainmeter Enigma theme mixed with the functions I wanted from this package.
Zepha 2.0

Thank you sir! I will check it out

 

[A good poster]

When can we expect the 7990 to be released? Around October when BF4 drops? Tomshardware is saying it might even drop this month.

 

[Phreaker]

Your problem is quite simple... Quit using optical and use hdmi for audio through your a/v reciever. Once connected, go back to that same page on the sound settings and right click on the nvidia audio device you are using, select 5.1, select the layout and select the types of audio that can be decoded by youramp. Then all your games will be in 5.1 and any movies that are in 5.1 will play correctly using these settings if you use a player like vlc.

Thanks to you and everyone that assisted me. I tried HDMI from the GTX670 to my receiver and configured it for 5.1 and in the properties it already knew what the receiver could do. I had no options to select. I fired up Infinite and Borderlands 2, both were in surround, yeah! My receiver was showing 5.1 sound via PCM.

I did run into a black level issue. I had to change the HDMI black level on the TV from low to normal in order to see things like the middle key used in the brightness settings in Bioshock. Anyway, trying to get all my other devices to look right using this new black level might be a challenge. I'm also still messing with the nvidia res settings to get the whole picture on the display.

Lastly, If I want to go optical for audio and have surround sound for my games, what card would be recommended? (My receiver supports a bunch of DTS and DD types as well as WMAPRO9)

 

[Diseased Yak]

What I've been using.

It uses CoreTemp for the load/temp readings.
The rainmeter Enigma theme mixed with the functions I wanted from this package.
Zepha 2.0

Damn that's awesome, thanks for the hookup!

 

[mkenyon]

I think this guy might be the solution to my FT03 height-related angst:



The faceplate looks so much nicer than the plasticky one on the SG09. I can't quite bring myself to go miniITX and lose my sound card, so I guess I'll have to wait until these start shipping.

External DAC. They're generally better than soundcards anyway.

Guys, I'm actually thinking about going from the 7950 to Ref 7990 when AMD launches their take.

Along with the big Xfire and mem controller overhauls, I have the feeling it's going to be amazing.

The 7950 will go in my sff build that I don't need whatsoever.

Wat. AMD has said that these issues, while they can be slightly corrected, are a root issue with the manufacturing process that may take 2 gens to totally work out.

I wish they would make a 350D now with the same styling as the 550D, just smaller.

Also the front of that looks kinda meh. A bad change from the other D series cases.

Your wish has been granted.

There should be a new Arc Mini and Define Mini soon as well.

 

[teiresias]

Ugh, so I think my ASUS GTX670 has kicked the bucket to a degree. Here's what happened tonight:

While playing The Last Remnant my screen froze and then suddenly went black and never came back. After a forced reset the system would start to boot into Windows 7 but it would reset and freeze with a blank screen right after the "Starting Windows 7" screen.

I found I could boot into Windows 7 in safe mode fine and run off of the generic driver, however there were red blotches all over the screen that had never been there before. Once in safe mode I uninstalled all the Nvidia drivers and that allowed me to boot back into Windows 7 non-Safe Mode and run the card with a generic Windows display driver. However, the red blotchy corruption was still there. Here's a photo I took of the screen to show the blotches (I'm not sure they show up in print-screen captures):

Any time I tried reinstalling the Nvidia graphic drivers (I tried the last two driver revisions) Windows would fail to boot after restarting the computer after the install and I would be forced to reset the computer as before.

I also tried installing the stability BIOS update available on the Asus site, but that did absolutely no good.

So the card technically still functions using a generic driver, but occasionally the PC boots up and isn't even able to identify the card as a 670 and the card won't output anything higher than 640x480 (or so it looks like anyway).

So, seems to be RMA time unfortunately. I really want to get off of this i7-870 and this P55a Gigabyte motherboard, it's been the most unstable system I've ever built.

 

[DTKT]

What are the implications and potential damage of running a 670 at ~100% and 75C for extended periods of time?

 

[Ivan A Nguyen]

So I just got a budget of 1200 to order a PC. I'm looking at buying from ibuypower, but before I pull the trigger I curious if there is a similar site or better one. I like the customizability of the build, but shipping looks crazy.

 

[The Broken Ska Record]

I think I've finalized my setup, for the most part. This is what I plan on buying:

I have a 1TB HDD I can use, it sucks, but it would work for general storage. I also plan on holding on to my video card for a bit before I upgrade since that'll be a little more expensive. I also have an old PSU that I can use.

The only thing I'm majorly unsure of is the CPU. NewEgg has a $20 off code for the next few hours, so it'll be $20 cheaper. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.