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[Addnan]

My seven year old PC's motherboard died on me, so now it's defenitely time for a new PC. And if i'm buying one, I wanna do it right.
I'm sorry, poor wallet.

This is what we've put together.


So happy!
Kinda new to PC Gaming and i've still got a lot to learn about that and PC's in general, but i'm bloody happy to do that. The waiting is killing me, though. Some part's arent in till Friday next week.

Already ordered the stuff?

Might want to change the processor to the 3770K or better wait until next week and get 4770K. K lets you overclock and since you are getting such a beefy motherboard I am guessing it is something you might want to do.

 

[Lethal]

PSU is overkill for that build. Looks great otherwise, I guess.

 

[Hazaro]

My seven year old PC's motherboard died on me, so now it's defenitely time for a new PC. And if i'm buying one, I wanna do it right.
I'm sorry, poor wallet.

This is what we've put together.


So happy!
Kinda new to PC Gaming and i've still got a lot to learn about that and PC's in general, but i'm bloody happy to do that. The waiting is killing me, though. Some part's arent in till Friday next week.

As said:
PSU is overkill, but it's a nice setup.

If you haven't picked up yet, the 4770 and 4770K and Z87 MPower should be out in a week. You should get those if you can.

 

[Maxwood]

Thanks for the feedback, guy's. I'll look into it.

 

[HoosTrax]

I've had my 2500K at stock for the past two years, but I'm going to start cranking it up now that I'm actually doing CPU intensive stuff on it for a change. Not sure whether I should get a 1155 adapter for my old GTZ, or sell the GTZ and get something more modern like the Raystorm or Heatkiller.

Haswell is going to be compatible with 1155/1156 heatsink holes right?

 

[sytadel]

Willing to go to $2500, and I'm very open to suggestions. Thoughts?

 

[Addnan]

Willing to go to $2500, and I'm very open to suggestions. Thoughts?

Looks solid. If you wait until next week you can get Haswell processor though!

 

[sytadel]

With Haswell, would I have to change motherboards?

 

[Addnan]

With Haswell, would I have to change motherboards?

Yeah, it's a 1150 socket. Z87 chipset.

 

[kennah]

With Haswell, would I have to change motherboards?

Yes but the socket on the one you already selected is a dead socket. The Haswell one is good for two generations and costs about the same.

 

[musicjunkie]

Z87 MPower should be out in a week.

As reason recommending the MSI board over say ASUS or GB?
Best for OCing or something?

 

[Ocho]

So I'm the guy having random shutdowns while playing games. I finally decided to RMA the GPU after running the same games with my friend's GPU and not utterly crashing.

EVGA guys were pretty comprehensive of my issue, no issues whatsoever to request an RMA after I explained all my testing done.

In other news, I bought a 840 pro on a whim. I'm finally going SSD.

 

[legacyzero]

ASUS monitor shipped today!

Come to me, my precious...

So sick of this 1600x900 display.

 

[kharma45]

Willing to go to $2500, and I'm very open to suggestions. Thoughts?

As has been said, go Haswell.

Wait for the GTX 770, don't get a 680 now.

Go for a Samsung SSD.

RAM looks like overkill, what is so special about it that justifies that kind out outlay?

PSU is overkill on the wattage side too for a single GPU.

 

[greatnorthern]

Hey guys - Need some buying advice.

I'm interested in updating my Radeon HD 5850, purely for gaming reasons. It's time. I want dat Metro Last Light.

Current setup:
i5-2500k @ 4.0 GHz
8GB DDR3-1600
ASRock Extreme3Gen3 Z68
Corsair 520W HX PSU

My budget is looking to be around $300-$400 AR.

The 7950 is the obvious answer, but after several enormous, hot, and noisy ATI/AMD cards (like my 5850), I'd prefer something quieter, smaller, and cooler this time. This has me leaning nVIDIA, but the price performance ratio of something like the 670 just isn't as good as the 7950.

I may eventually drop the card I get into a mini-ITX build, making my size, thermal, and noise preferences that much more important.

Thoughts?

 

[kharma45]

Hey guys - Need some buying advice.

I'm interested in updating my Radeon HD 5850. It's time.

Current setup:
i5-2500k @ 4.0 GHz
8GB DDR3-1600
ASRock Extreme3Gen3 Z68
Corsair 520W HX PSU

My budget is looking to be around $300-$400 AR.

The 7950 is the obvious answer, but after several enormous, hot, and noisy ATI/AMD cards (like my 5850), I'd prefer something quieter, smaller, and cooler this time. This has me leaning nVIDIA, but the price performance ratio of something like the 670 just isn't as good as the 7950.

I may eventually drop the card I get into a mini-ITX build, making my size, thermal, and noise preferences that much more important.

Thoughts?

If you're in no rush the 770 should be along this week. 7950 is still a very good vfm card, and most with a good cooler run cool and fairly quiet.

 

[Blearth]

Willing to go to $2500, and I'm very open to suggestions. Thoughts?

Don't spend $300 on RAM.

 

[nbthedude]

As has been said, go Haswell.

Wait for the GTX 770, don't get a 680 now.

Go for a Samsung SSD.

RAM looks like overkill, what is so special about it that justifies that kind out outlay?

PSU is overkill on the wattage side too for a single GPU.

Those are my thoughts too. He is spending over $500 on RAM and a Power Supply! That seems crazy to me.

I suppose if you have money to burn it's fine, but even then spending $100 on each will get you the exact same performance and nice quality parts. If he is really determined to spend that much though, he could always take the savings and invest in a better videocard. That will make a much bigger difference than over priced RAM and Power Supply.

 

[lordy88]

If you're in no rush the 770 should be along this week. 7950 is still a very good vfm card, and most with a good cooler run cool and fairly quiet.

I'm in the same boat here, but I'm not looking to spend more than $250 tops (preferably ~$200) for a card. I'm also waiting for Haswell, so I have a week or two before pulling the trigger. What card should I be aiming for?

 

[mkenyon]

Those are my thoughts too. He is spending over $500 on RAM and a Power Supply! That seems crazy to me.

I suppose if you have money to burn it's fine, but even then spending $100 on each will get you the exact same performance and nice quality parts. If he is really determined to spend that much though, he could always take the savings and invest in a better videocard. That will make a much bigger difference than over priced RAM and Power Supply.

Haters.

That's my PSU and RAM

Willing to go to $2500, and I'm very open to suggestions. Thoughts?

Lots of suggestions. Definitely revisit when Haswell releases next week.

 

[Smokey]

If you want to go overkill on anything a PSU would be where to do it. Everything kind of depends on it... And you never know what you want to do in the future.

 

[Salaadin]

Is it safe to buy an 1155 HSF now? This is guaranteed to work with 1150, right?
Im looking at the CM212 EVO recommended in the OP. Good enough even if I plan to overclock?
This will all be built inside a Fractal R4, btw.

Z87 MPower looks too good to pass up. I think Ill be going with that as well.

 

[mkenyon]

Is it safe to buy an 1155 HSF now? This is guaranteed to work with 1150, right?
Im looking at the CM212 EVO recommended in the OP. Good enough even if I plan to overclock?
This will all be built inside a Fractal R4, btw.

Z87 MPower looks too good to pass up. I think Ill be going with that as well.

1. No, not safe to buy, and it will not work with 1150.

2. Yes, CM212 Evo is meant for overclocking.

3. Z87 MPower is meant for people wanting to push their systems hard. You'd be better served by a less expensive motherboard once we find out which are good 'uns. Right now, my money is on the Gigabyte D3H as the best Z87 board for the money.

 

[HoosTrax]

1. No, not safe to buy, and it will not work with 1150.

Not sure what you mean by this. The holes are supposedly the same as 1155/1156. Unless you've seen something that suggests otherwise?

 

[Loris146]

Guys i have a problem with this game.

My PC's specs are :

I5 3570k
GTX 670 Windforce 3x
8 gb ram
Asrock z77 pro 4


I have huge frame drop in Swtor and the gpu's usage is very very low even when i have low fps. For example FPS 28 GPU Usage 18%

I don't know why. I have clean all driver (with driver fusion and ccleaner) , install new driver, reinstall the game but nothing, i'm still having the same problem.

I have this problem only on Swtor. For example i play Alan wake very good with 60 fps all the time and the gpu usage is very high.


Someone can help me? ( sorry for bad english but i'm italian xD).

I quote my post on Swtor topic in community. I don't what the hell is going on xD.

Someone have some ideas ?

 

[Sothpaw]

So I know this is frowned upon, but I don't have any time to build a PC nowadays and I found the following for $1,499. The power supply isn't listed, but I called Dell and this comes with an 875W power supply that can be upgraded to as much as 1100W. I always like to buy a new PC when the next console generation is revealed.

How does this compare to the next gen consoles? Should I be able to play anything they can comfortably? Is 875W enough power to run any mid range cards coming out now/in the near future? Or am I simply throwing away my money? Thanks for helping me out.




PROCESSOR 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3820 processor (10M Cache, Overclocked up to 4.1 GHz)

OPERATING SYSTEM Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English

MEMORY 16GB (4 X 4GB) Quad Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz

VIDEO CARD 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660

HARD DRIVE 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3Gb/s

MONITOR No Monitor

SOUND CARD Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 24X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability

 

[mkenyon]

Not sure what you mean by this. The holes are supposedly the same as 1155/1156. Unless you've seen something that suggests otherwise?

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh HSF

right.

Yeah, safe to buy. Thanks for catching that!

 

[MedIC86]

So I know this is frowned upon, but I don't have any time to build a PC nowadays and I found the following for $1,499. The power supply isn't listed, but I called Dell and this comes with an 875W power supply that can be upgraded to as much as 1100W. I always like to buy a new PC when the next console generation is revealed.

How does this compare to the next gen consoles? Should I be able to play anything they can comfortably? Is 875W enough power to run any mid range cards coming out now/in the near future? Or am I simply throwing away my money? Thanks for helping me out.




PROCESSOR 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3820 processor (10M Cache, Overclocked up to 4.1 GHz)

OPERATING SYSTEM Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English

MEMORY 16GB (4 X 4GB) Quad Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz

VIDEO CARD 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660

HARD DRIVE 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3Gb/s

MONITOR No Monitor

SOUND CARD Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 24X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability

Thats not a really good GPU for 1500 dollars, why not look up a shop that assembles the components you choose? you could pick one of the builds in the OP

 

[mkenyon]

MSI XPower Z87

So I know this is frowned upon, but I don't have any time to build a PC nowadays and I found the following for $1,499. The power supply isn't listed, but I called Dell and this comes with an 875W power supply that can be upgraded to as much as 1100W. I always like to buy a new PC when the next console generation is revealed

Terrible value, too much money in the wrong places. That's not likely to do well with the next console generation without a solid video card upgrade.

Wait a few weeks for Haswell to launch, and then look at the Alienware X51, ibuypower Revolt, have someone on GAF build it for you, or build it yourself. If you want something a bit more substantial without doing one of the latter two options, check out Maingear.

The PC you listed above would perform on par with the $840 build in the OP.

 

[usea]

Pop back in a week after we have Haswell information and pricing to work with.

Do you know if any of your software is GPU accelerated and whether nVidia or AMD works better?
Do you plan on STREAMING to Twitch, or just watching?
Samsung 840 Pro over the M4.

Amazon > Newegg imo.

Yeah, some stuff is GPU accelerated like photoshop, but I don't know if they work better with one brand.

I don't plan on streaming, but it would be nice if I could stream a game if I wanted (spy party!). It's not a priority.

 

[diehard]

ugh i'm so bored of my Sandy Bridge i5.. i don't care if i need it or not, I'm buying Haswell and MSI mobo day 1 just to have something to do.

Ordered a GTX 780, i think my might be my first nvidia card ever.

 

[kharma45]

ugh i'm so bored of my Sandy Bridge i5.. i don't care if i need it or not, I'm buying Haswell and MSI mobo day 1 just to have something to do.

Ordered a GTX 780, i think my might be my first nvidia card ever.

If you're going to do that at least go for an i7 not another i5. Or you could go SB-E and then upgrade to IB-E if you really want more things to fiddle with.

 

[diehard]

If you're going to do that at least go for an i7 not another i5. Or you could go SB-E and then upgrade to IB-E if you really want more things to fiddle with.

I'll get the i7, i figure if i spend $650 on a GPU i might as well spend the extra $100 for hyperthreading and cache.

I have thought about going socket 2011 but after hearing about the IB-E delay i decided not to.

 

[Ace Harding]

I'm doing more and more research and getting more comfortable with this whole PC-building business. I'm really excited for my first build.

Questions:

* When people say "wait for Haswell" do they mean wait for those CPU's to be released so you can buy them, or wait to see what that release will do to Ivy Bridge prices? If I'm building a new PC in the fall, would it be good to save a few bucks to use a 3570K or 3770K, or is the incremental cost for the Haswell upgrade likely to be worth the performance boost? I'm shooting for the Hazaro "enhanced" build, w/ a GTX670 (or maybe a better card by the fall, just trying to keep this sub-$1500 inc. monitor/KB/Mouse). I guess I just don't know how much the processor is going to impact my gaming experience, where the trade-offs are.

* What's up with DDR3 prices? From what I read RAM was SUPER cheap several months ago but has been creeping up since (still probably cheap though). Should I buy my RAM now to avoid further price increases? Or will it go back down before October/November?

 

[Addnan]

I'm doing more and more research and getting more comfortable with this whole PC-building business. I'm really excited for my first build.

Questions:

* When people say "wait for Haswell" do they mean wait for those CPU's to be released so you can buy them, or wait to see what that release will do to Ivy Bridge prices? If I'm building a new PC in the fall, would it be good to save a few bucks to use a 3570K or 3770K, or is the incremental cost for the Haswell upgrade likely to be worth the performance boost? I'm shooting for the Hazaro "enhanced" build, w/ a GTX670 (or maybe a better card by the fall, just trying to keep this sub-$1500 inc. monitor/KB/Mouse). I guess I just don't know how much the processor is going to impact my gaming experience, where the trade-offs are.

* What's up with DDR3 prices? From what I read RAM was SUPER cheap several months ago but has been creeping up since (still probably cheap though). Should I buy my RAM now to avoid further price increases? Or will it go back down before October/November?

It's going to be priced pretty much the same as Ivy Bridge. The price of Ivy probably won't change much. It will be worth waiting the week and getting the equivalent Haswell chip for a boost in performance.

The RAM prices have gone up a bit, but that's just what happens unfortunately.

 

[Smash88]

Some of you have said the AX860 has some sort of coil whine? Is this confirmed? Or does it only pertain to certain AX860s?

Most of you know my system by now, i7 4770k, GTX Titan, 16GB DDR3 2133mhz - would a AX760 be enough to OC the CPU and GPU?

I do not plan on going SLI ever. So can I safely assume a AX760 would be enough for my overclocking needs?

Thanks.

 

[mkenyon]

I'm doing more and more research and getting more comfortable with this whole PC-building business. I'm really excited for my first build.

Questions:

* When people say "wait for Haswell" do they mean wait for those CPU's to be released so you can buy them, or wait to see what that release will do to Ivy Bridge prices? If I'm building a new PC in the fall, would it be good to save a few bucks to use a 3570K or 3770K, or is the incremental cost for the Haswell upgrade likely to be worth the performance boost? I'm shooting for the Hazaro "enhanced" build, w/ a GTX670 (or maybe a better card by the fall, just trying to keep this sub-$1500 inc. monitor/KB/Mouse). I guess I just don't know how much the processor is going to impact my gaming experience, where the trade-offs are.

* What's up with DDR3 prices? From what I read RAM was SUPER cheap several months ago but has been creeping up since (still probably cheap though). Should I buy my RAM now to avoid further price increases? Or will it go back down before October/November?

Yeah, Haswell is the new CPU to be released next week. There's more info in the OP.

Prices on new CPUs don't drop outside of sales. The MSRP of Haswell and Ivy will likely be at the same place. So, the only way to save on getting older processors is to buy used.

DDR3 prices are climbing because they are scaling down production, IIRC. Happens with every memory generation. Start super high, go super low, creep slowly up, and then skyrocket when it's no longer standard.

Some of you have said the AX860 has some sort of coil whine? Is this confirmed? Or does it only pertain to certain AX860s?

Most of you know my system by now, i7 4770k, GTX Titan, 16GB DDR3 2133mhz - would a AX760 be enough to OC the CPU and GPU?

I do not plan on going SLI ever. So can I safely assume a AX760 would be enough for my overclocking needs?

Thanks.

AX860 has a high chance of coil whine, yes.

Your system would be suited to an AX660. Total power draw, with everything overclocked to the nines, is around 375-400W.

 

[CerebralTiger]

I'm looking for an HTPC-like horizontal PC case that can house high-end desktop components (e.g. i7-3770k and GTX Titan) and provide reasonable airflow. I don't plan on overclocking any of the components.

Is the Silverstone LC13 my only option?

 

[Salaadin]

1. No, not safe to buy, and it will not work with 1150.

2. Yes, CM212 Evo is meant for overclocking.

3. Z87 MPower is meant for people wanting to push their systems hard. You'd be better served by a less expensive motherboard once we find out which are good 'uns. Right now, my money is on the Gigabyte D3H as the best Z87 board for the money.

Not sure what you mean by this. The holes are supposedly the same as 1155/1156. Unless you've seen something that suggests otherwise?

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh HSF

right.

Yeah, safe to buy. Thanks for catching that!

Thank you!

This is my first processor launch so Im wondering how long it will take until we start getting good Haswell info? The final 3 things I need are the mobo, CPU, and RAM and I cant really shop for that until Haswell hits. I know the launch is Monday so will everything hit on Monday or will it be a slow trickle throughout the next few weeks?

 

[nbthedude]

Haters.

That's my PSU and RAM



Lots of suggestions. Definitely revisit when Haswell releases next week.

If you want to go overkill on anything a PSU would be where to do it. Everything kind of depends on it... And you never know what you want to do in the future.

I can definitely see an argument for a more expensive PSU investment since that is the one part that you can use nearly forever in every future build.

But $300 for a PSU, that's some major bling right there.

 

[Ace Harding]

It's going to be priced pretty much the same as Ivy Bridge. The price of Ivy probably won't change much. It will be worth waiting the week and getting the equivalent Haswell chip for a boost in performance.

The RAM prices have gone up a bit, but that's just what happens unfortunately.

Yeah, Haswell is the new CPU to be released next week. There's more info in the OP.

Prices on new CPUs don't drop outside of sales. The MSRP of Haswell and Ivy will likely be at the same place. So, the only way to save on getting older processors is to buy used.

DDR3 prices are climbing because they are scaling down production, IIRC. Happens with every memory generation. Start super high, go super low, creep slowly up, and then skyrocket when it's no longer standard.

Great - thank you both. I must have missed the Haswell info in the OP - will read.

Edit: Oh you mean that GIANT table right at the top of the OP? Whoops.

 

[nbthedude]

DDR3 prices are climbing because they are scaling down production, IIRC. Happens with every memory generation. Start super high, go super low, creep slowly up, and then skyrocket when it's no longer standard.
.

Isn't it kind of early for that to be happening as the "tail end", though? I mean there aren't even non DDR3 motherboards out yet.

 

[derder]

If you want to go overkill on anything a PSU would be where to do it. Everything kind of depends on it... And you never know what you want to do in the future.

bad, bad advice. In order of overkill:

1.GPU
2.CPU
3.Cooling
4.SSD
...

 

[derder]

I'm looking for an HTPC-like horizontal PC case that can house high-end desktop components (e.g. i7-3770k and GTX Titan) and provide reasonable airflow. I don't plan on overclocking any of the components.

Is the Silverstone LC13 my only option?

I'm actually about to use a Fractal Design Define R3 on it's side for a HTPC case. I'd recommend this if you don't care about the number of internal HDDs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352028

 

[mkenyon]

Isn't it kind of early for that to be happening as the "tail end", though? I mean there aren't even non DDR3 motherboards out yet.

With pipelines being what they are, as well as DDR4 to be available for servers with Haswell EP, they have to begin tooling for that. Micron already has, and has DDR4 samples out.

I'm not certain on the specifics, but I know a vast majority of the memory that is out there comes from either Samsung or Micron.

I can definitely see an argument for a more expensive PSU investment since that is the one part that you can use nearly forever in every future build.

But $300 for a PSU, that's some major bling right there.

AX860 is $200.

I'm looking for an HTPC-like horizontal PC case that can house high-end desktop components (e.g. i7-3770k and GTX Titan) and provide reasonable airflow. I don't plan on overclocking any of the components.

Is the Silverstone LC13 my only option?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...008308 50002031 600043623&IsNodeId=1&name=ATX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112335

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352028&IsVirtualParent=1

I like the last one the most.

 

[Demon Ice]

MSI XPower Z87
Terrible value, too much money in the wrong places. That's not likely to do well with the next console generation without a solid video card upgrade.

Wait a few weeks for Haswell to launch, and then look at the Alienware X51, ibuypower Revolt, have someone on GAF build it for you, or build it yourself. If you want something a bit more substantial without doing one of the latter two options, check out Maingear.

The PC you listed above would perform on par with the $840 build in the OP.

Thats the same GPU that's in the x51. Sounds like an Alienware Aurora if I'm not mistaken.

 

[mkenyon]

Thats the same GPU that's in the x51. Sounds like an Alienware Aurora if I'm not mistaken.

The 660 in the X51 is actually more akin to the 660Ti. They have a special one off 660.

But, that's why I said wait for a refresh. I'd imagine that there will be a pending 760Ti/Haswell refresh soon for the X51.

The Revolt can have the Titan though.

 

[Smokey]

bad, bad advice. In order of overkill:

1.GPU
2.CPU
3.Cooling
4.SSD
...

Anndddd all of them depend on what to function?

 

[mkenyon]

bad, bad advice. In order of overkill:

1.GPU
2.CPU
3.Cooling
4.SSD
...

I disagree. $200 on a solid PSU will last you years. I have an X750 from about... 4-5 years ago that has powered probably 10 different builds.

Anndddd all of them depend on what to function?

This.

I would never suggest to splurge on a PSU on a budget build, or even a build with a $1000 budget. But if you are getting into serious part territory with a top of the line GPU, a solid PSU to power that and any options you might want to pursue in the future can save you money.

Spend $90 on a PSU to get a $200 PSU later is a crappy situation.

 

[Baleoce]

Currently I'm running:

• i7-950 (OC @3.8GHz) Socket 1366
• EVGA Nvidia GTX 460
• 6GB of DDR3 1600 (supports up to 3 channel 2100+)
• no SSD.

I know that in terms of next-gen I'm probably going to:

• Replace my RAM with a 3 stick 12GB set, or whatever is best at the time.
• Upgrade the GPU to a 660ti whenever one goes on offer (or again, whatever's best at the time).
• Reinstall the OS to a decent SSD.
• I suspect I may need a better PSU, but I'll have to test that sometime.

But in terms of the CPU, should I be looking towards this Haswell line when it comes out, will my board even support them? What would be a good long-term replacement on a 1366 board? I can push the OC a bit further (4.2GHz apparently), but for the moment it does everything I want just fine. Just trying to think ahead. Thanks in advance.