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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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Yusaku

Member
I have a can of compressed air that I want to use to do some dusting on my PC components.

I tested it on an old keyboard and on the odd occasion some liquid comes out. I am worried about using it on the components. I am following the instructions and doing very quick presses at the recommended distance.

You shouldn't get condensation from canned air if you're holding the can correctly (vertically). Condensation only happens when you're using it at funny angles.
 

Yusaku

Member
Is it ok to add an additional fan to my CPU cooler rad? I currently have 2 on the rad at the moment in push/pull config but I wondered if I could attach another fan to the push so I had 3 fans in total.

Would it work at all or be pointless? The fans are Corsair SP 120's high performance.

iR0FpDbFWHJis.png

All I can think of is this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUbpb23yTK8
 

mkenyon

Banned
Welp, changed a few things and ordered: Here's the final thing:
Solid!

If you have any other questions when it comes to assembly or anything, please feel free to post. Between Scogoth, myself, and others who step in we should be able to answer most WC'ing questions.

n0n44m is also in The Netherlands, iirc, and is probably the most knowledgeable person on GAF about watercooling.
Me too, hah!
You shouldn't get condensation from canned air if you're holding the can correctly (vertically). Condensation only happens when you're using it at funny angles.
Yep, need to use it vertically. If you turn it, then it can shoot the stuff out. You could also use a Data Vac, which despite the name Vac, is a miniature air compressor. It's worth its weight in gold.
 
Unfortunately if you've done disk cleanup and removed service pack backups that about all you can do. The whole NVIDIA folder can be deleted no problem. It simply stores the installer files for the drivers but after the drivers are already installed there is not much need for them anymore.

Thanks. I'll at least get rid of that 2 GB or so from NVIDIA! I also have a 2nd user account on the computer that we never use anymore, that seems to take up 1.5 GB or so, I can likely clear everything out of there and delete the account. Should get me back up to a somewhat safer 6+ GB free.
 

brentech

Member
It's a troll video, those aren't real temps :p

ha, I didn't bother to look at it past that point. Still pretty funny though. Was about to say, I've never heard of such a thing and didn't think the fans would do anything, but yeah. Guess should watch/read further.
 
Alright PC based gaf, I have popped up a couple of threads previously and have been waffling back with what and how much I have to spend.

I have a bit fenix prodigy and would like to keep a build below or at the 600 mark. My main uses would be a moderate gaming machine (cs source/go, bf3, and tf2 - I currently do the steam games on a 8600m gt powered laptop), and video hub for the living room.

Question is should I wait for the next gen intel, or what should I really even do to get started, I have read the recommended build guides, but I also want some personal opinions from people who have built before, thanks in advance.
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
ha, I didn't bother to look at it past that point. Still pretty funny though. Was about to say, I've never heard of such a thing and didn't think the fans would do anything, but yeah. Guess should watch/read further.
It does actually defy physics :p
Alright PC based gaf, I have popped up a couple of threads previously and have been waffling back with what and how much I have to spend.

I have a bit fenix prodigy and would like to keep a build below or at the 600 mark. My main uses would be a moderate gaming machine (cs source/go, bf3, and tf2 - I currently do the steam games on a 8600m gt powered laptop), and video hub for the living room.

Question is should I wait for the next gen intel, or what should I really even do to get started, I have read the recommended build guides, but I also want some personal opinions from people who have built before, thanks in advance.
At the $600 range the new Intel chips might come out in June/July, but the i3's are much later than that (Late Q3/Early Q4?).

I've used the $600 build myself (With a 460) and it is very capable, you'll have no problem with it's performance.
 

comu

Neo Member
Hi

I'm currently building a PC.

Does the power supply fan face up or down?

I'm using the Fractal Design Define R4

There is no indication of it in the manual of the power supply

It's an OCZ 600 Modxstream
 

mkenyon

Banned
Hi

I'm currently building a PC.

Does the power supply fan face up or down?

I'm using the Fractal Design Define R4

There is no indication of it in the manual of the power supply

It's an OCZ 600 Modxstream
Doesn't matter in the slightest.

Most people go face down though.
 

comu

Neo Member
Where do I put the fan plugs into?

CPU fan plug is in CPU FAN socket

Then I have 3 case fans.

Two are from the case (3 pin)

One is an extra i bought (4 pin)

there are two 4 pin sockets (CHA_FAN1 and CHA_FAN2) on the motherboard

And a 'PWR_FAN' which is a 3 pin socket

All fans are PWM, and I want to control the fan speed using the case's fan controller.

Thanks
 

brentech

Member
Where do I put the fan plugs into?

CPU fan plug is in CPU FAN socket

Then I have 3 case fans.

Two are from the case (3 pin)

One is an extra i bought (4 pin)

there are two 4 pin sockets (CHA_FAN1 and CHA_FAN2) on the motherboard

And a 'PWR_FAN' which is a 3 pin socket

All fans are PWM, and I want to control the fan speed using the case's fan controller.

Thanks

If you want all 3 fans controlled by the case fan controller, then you need to follow the 3 cable leads from the fan controller and connect the fans to them. You'll need an adapter for the 4pin fan I believe. Then connect the molex connector from the fan controller and they officially all have power when on.
 

SRTtoZ

Member
So I ordered an MSI 680 GTX 2gb but they sent me a MSI 680 Twin Frozr 4gb. I only 1080p game so I know I wont be using 4gb, but how are the Twin Frozr cards?
 

comu

Neo Member
GPU has 2 6pin connectors,

do i have to fill them all up?

psu doesnt have a 9 pin, but it does have 2 6pin+2pin plugs

is this correct?

also the case molex doesnt fit into psu molex
 

brentech

Member
GPU has 2 6pin connectors,

do i have to fill them all up?
Yes.

psu doesnt have a 9 pin, but it does have 2 6pin+2pin plugs

is this correct?
Typo and mean "doesn't have a 8 pin?, if correct, then 6+2 is fine.
My own PSU provides a 4+4 for my mobo 8pin.

also the case molex doesnt fit into psu molex
As in you have 2 female ports, or you have a male and female but they won't connect?
Sometimes you just have to use a pen or something to push the pins into better position on the male end.
 

Dave_6

Member
My GPU has two 8-pin connectors but I've only got a 6-pin in one and 6+2 in the other one. The only other 8-pin with my PSU will not fit (I'm using a Sapphire 7970).
 

knitoe

Member
So I ordered an MSI 680 GTX 2gb but they sent me a MSI 680 Twin Frozr 4gb. I only 1080p game so I know I wont be using 4gb, but how are the Twin Frozr cards?
You should visit the Bioshock performance thread if you think 4GB VRAM won't make a difference at 1080p. Really, people need to stop thinking you only need X VRAM for Y resolution. It was wrong at 1080p @1GB and @1.5GB. Once nextgen console comes out, many games will most likely be using >GB of VRAM

As for the Twin Frozr, it's much better than the stock cooler. If you go SLI, worse because the hot air is blown inside your case instead of toward the back.
 

SRTtoZ

Member
You should visit the Bioshock performance thread if you think 4GB VRAM won't make a difference at 1080p. Really, people need to stop thinking you only need X VRAM for Y resolution. It was wrong at 1080p @1GB and @1.5GB. Once nextgen console comes out, many games will most likely be using >GB of VRAM

As for the Twin Frozr, it's much better than the stock cooler. If you go SLI, worse because the hot air is blown inside your case instead of toward the back.

Maybe you can answer this for me because now I am not sure how much GDDR5 this card has. My dxdiag says 4042mb under display (680 gtx) but when I just ran 3dmark11 it shows 2gb of video memory. Any idea? Also, is a 3dmark11 graphics score of 9800 about right?
 

mkenyon

Banned
You should visit the Bioshock performance thread if you think 4GB VRAM won't make a difference at 1080p. Really, people need to stop thinking you only need X VRAM for Y resolution. It was wrong at 1080p @1GB and @1.5GB. Once nextgen console comes out, many games will most likely be using >GB of VRAM.
Care to show benches that indicate 2GB vs. 4GB on kepler cards make a difference in Bioshock? This is exactly the sort of information I've been looking for.
 

knitoe

Member
Maybe you can answer this for me because now I am not sure how much GDDR5 this card has. My dxdiag says 4042mb under display (680 gtx) but when I just ran 3dmark11 it shows 2gb of video memory. Any idea? Also, is a 3dmark11 graphics score of 9800 about right?
What does GPUZ say?

Care to show benches that indicate 2GB vs. 4GB on kepler cards make a difference in Bioshock? This is exactly the sort of information I've been looking for.

Benchmarks(fps) doesn't show stuttering problems. All you have to do is go into the Bioshock Performance thread and see many people stating going from a 2GB to a 4GB card got rid of their stuttering issue.
 

LCGeek

formerly sane
Benchmarks(fps) doesn't show stuttering problems. All you have to do is go into the Bioshock Performance thread and see many people stating going from a 2GB to a 4GB card got rid of their stuttering issue.

Wrong person to say the benchmarking comment too as he has proved that assertion wrong.
 

mkenyon

Banned
Benchmarks(fps) doesn't show stuttering problems. All you have to do is go into the Bioshock Performance thread and see many people stating going from a 2GB to a 4GB card got rid of their stuttering issue.
Gotcha. I'd kill for some raw data on this.

*edit*

@LCGeek, nah, Knitoe knows what's up which is why he was saying it wouldn't be caught with FPS tools.

It's pretty easy to run frame latency benches. Check a box in Fraps, and use Frafsbenchviewer. Screenshot it.
 

LCGeek

formerly sane
Gotcha. I'd kill for some raw data on this.

*edit*

@LCGeek, nah, Knitoe knows what's up which is why he was saying it wouldn't be caught with FPS tools.

It's pretty easy to run frame latency benches. Check a box in Fraps, and use Frafsbenchviewer. Screenshot it.

Should've noticed the way he said benchmark vs how I saw it.

More surprised people wouldn't have done the benchmarks if there are difference for 1GB to 2GB cards the difference should be there in some examples for 2 vs 4. I'm more curious to know if anyone has yet.
 

F#A#Oo

Banned
Holy crap. Just opened my Fractal Define R4. Cases have really modernised since I last bought one. lol

I am coming from a Cooler Master Sileo 500 which was close fit with motherboard, CPU cooling and GPU. Certainly didn't have all these grommets and easy well thought out design ideas.

I guess that's what happens when you stop following the scene for a few years.
 

comu

Neo Member
After 6 hours of unpacking, PC building and putting empty boxes away, Windows 8 has installed successfully :)

Building notes:
I forgot to connect the GPU power before I pressed the power button for the first time :)
The back I/O shield took more than 20 minutes to insert.
After installing the additional front fan, it took another 20 minutes to put the fan holding thing back into place.
Installing the RAM took at least 10 minutes :) (tiny samsung RAM)

AHCI mode and 1600 RAM speeds were already set.

First impressions of Win8 (10 minutes of looking around):

It's great! Installed the Samsung 840 pro 250gb magician software and ran the benchmark. Both read and write were above the advertised speeds. Starts really quickly :)


Haven't connected the ethernet cable yet or installed any drivers.

In what order should I continue?
I'm thinking of...

1. Motherboard drivers
2. GPU drivers
3. SSD firmware update
4. Windows update

Any help would be great

Thanks a lot GAF!


Sidenote:

According to the 'EZ Mode' of the BIOS, the cpu started at 60 degrees and went up to 87 in about 3 minutes (on stock cooler).
 

Dave_6

Member
Came home from work, turned PC on (cut it off last night because severe storms were coming in) and Windows won't start. Asked me if I wanted to start Windows normally or do a system restore; I chose restore (bad move maybe?). It was working fine last night, now this just because I turned it off? It restored back to a point before I installed Steam or Origin, yet when I got to looking all the Steam apps/folders were still there. Had to delete them so I could reinstall it. I'm now in the process of installing Bioshock Infinite and then Crysis 3.

Any idea(s) WTF happened? I know I'm a complete PC noob and this is my first build but it's been a PITA so far.
 

knitoe

Member
Is it true that vengeance ram might cause the cpu cooler to block some ports?
Do you mean having ram with tall fins blocking you from installing large heatsink coolers? They stand vertical so can't imagine they would block any ports.
Came home from work, turned PC on (cut it off last night because severe storms were coming in) and Windows won't start. Asked me if I wanted to start Windows normally or do a system restore; I chose restore (bad move maybe?). It was working fine last night, now this just because I turned it off? It restored back to a point before I installed Steam or Origin, yet when I got to looking all the Steam apps/folders were still there. Had to delete them so I could reinstall it. I'm now in the process of installing Bioshock Infinite and then Crysis 3.

Any idea(s) WTF happened? I know I'm a complete PC noob and this is my first build but it's been a PITA so far.
Next time, just restart like "normally". That option appears when Windows didn't shutdown properly. Most time there are no issue with Windows. If it fails, then, do a restore. As for Steam, it should see that you already download the game files and only need to do a quick reinstall for that game to work.
 

snack

Member
I got 2x4gb of this ram laying around:

F3-10666CL9D-4GBRL (2Gx2)
http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=225

Could I use this old ram for the following:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
According to the 'EZ Mode' of the BIOS, the cpu started at 60 degrees and went up to 87 in about 3 minutes (on stock cooler).
BIOS temps are usually terribly wrong, use the utilities in the OP.
Load temps most important.
Also use Celsius :p
Is it true that vengeance ram might cause the cpu cooler to block some ports?
The tall fans can rest or block some heatsinks on RAM slot 1, yes.
Came home from work, turned PC on (cut it off last night because severe storms were coming in) and Windows won't start. Asked me if I wanted to start Windows normally or do a system restore; I chose restore (bad move maybe?). It was working fine last night, now this just because I turned it off? It restored back to a point before I installed Steam or Origin, yet when I got to looking all the Steam apps/folders were still there. Had to delete them so I could reinstall it. I'm now in the process of installing Bioshock Infinite and then Crysis 3.

Any idea(s) WTF happened? I know I'm a complete PC noob and this is my first build but it's been a PITA so far.
Should have just started normally.

You did a System Restore to the last checkpoint (Resets programs to a certain point, keeps files intact)
I got 2x4gb of this ram laying around:

F3-10666CL9D-4GBRL (2Gx2)
http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=225

Could I use this old ram for the following:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Yup, just make sure to set it to 1.5V in the BIOS.
 
I'm having a tough time trying to decide on the type of graphics card I want. It's between a 7970, GTX 670, or a GTX 680. My price range is $400-$450ish. I'll be running games at 1920x1080 with a possible option to run on dual monitors.

Reading AnandTech, the 7970 and the 680 perform right around the same, but the 7970 does come with Crysis 3 and Bioshock Infinite, which I both want.
 

Dave_6

Member
Ugh now it won't launch Bioshock (in Steam). Says "Installing DirectX for Windows: Step 1 of 1" then fades out like it's going to start but then goes right back to where it was on Steam.

Before this, I had left the room for ~30 minutes with Bioshock installing/downloading. Went back in there and the PC was off. Turned it back on, no display, nothing. Turned it back off then back on and then it finally booted up. Think I need to let my PC guru-friend at work look at this thing. I might can put one together but I can't get it to run right or do anything properly.
 
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