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"I need a New PC!" 2013 Part 2. Haswell = #IntelnoTIM, but free online. READ THE OP.

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kharma45

Member
If you are willing to spend that much you can get better. Best way to save money right now would be not to get and SSD. I love SSD, but if it means cheaping out on another part, no way.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($223.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq Plus 550W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($64.97 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1028.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-22 17:38 EDT-0400)

Reference 7950? can't be having that. Change the RAM to this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=, PSU to this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182132 and put the saving towards this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202026
 

Addnan

Member

Inside that case might not be the worst idea. Guessing they are same as nvidia and reference is exhaust blowing and doesn't throw air all inside the case.
 

Azulsky

Member
I hear ya. I went from a $600 upgrade to spending $1400 on a custom case SFF system with full watercooling.

I know these feels.

At first I was going to just keep it chill and spend about 1.5k on a new box then here we are nearly 3 times that.

But Im happy so its k
 

noonche

Member

kharma45

Member
surly that cant be the real noise! please tell me they dubbed the sound from a airport.... or aircraft carrier...

next time warn a brother that earplugs are required for viewing!

I'm really hoping AMD step it up with their new reference coolers but I doubt it. Nvidia did great work with the one on the 770/780/Titan.
 

Durante

Member
I've been searching for a case for my new PC on and off for the past few days. I almost settled on a Fractal Design Define R4, but then I read about the insufficient/non-existent decoupling of case fans/HDDs.

Any ideas?

Requirements:
- ATX, 7+ expansion slots
- At least 3 3.5" internal HDD slots, preferably mounted facing the side
- External USB3
- I don't need any 5.25" bays, and I'd prefer a closed front and/or a door
- I like having bottom/top mounted fans, but I don't like non-standard fan sizes
- All case fans, HDDs and the PSU should be decoupled
- The design should be as simple as possible. Anything with LEDs or windows is right out
- Aluminum and soundproofing are both a plus, but not absolutely necessary
 

Reckoner

Member
I've been searching for a case for my new PC on and off for the past few days. I almost settled on a Fractal Design Define R4, but then I read about the insufficient/non-existent decoupling of case fans/HDDs.

What do you mean by decoupling of case fans/HDDs?
 
I've been searching for a case for my new PC on and off for the past few days. I almost settled on a Fractal Design Define R4, but then I read about the insufficient/non-existent decoupling of case fans/HDDs.

Any ideas?

Requirements:
- ATX, 7+ expansion slots
- At least 3 3.5" internal HDD slots, preferably mounted facing the side
- External USB3
- I don't need any 5.25" bays, and I'd prefer a closed front and/or a door
- I like having bottom/top mounted fans, but I don't like non-standard fan sizes
- All case fans, HDDs and the PSU should be decoupled
- The design should be as simple as possible. Anything with LEDs or windows is right out
- Aluminum and soundproofing are both a plus, but not absolutely necessary

The HDD mounts in the R4 have thick rubber grommets. The mounting screws never touch the HDD cage. Likewise, the PSU sits on rubber nubs. You could use extra grommets at the back panel to fully de-couple. For fans, maybe get some rubber frame fans?

Just a suggestion, since the R4 meets all your other criteria.
 

NoRéN

Member
What's the best way to upgrade my current build? Want it to last me another year with solid performance.

Current:
-i3 2120
-HD 7850 2GB
-Antec VP450

I'm guessing upgrading the PSU, CPU to an i5 and graphics card should do the trick, right?
 

t-ramp

Member
NoRéN;83231989 said:
What's the best way to upgrade my current build? Want it to last me another year with solid performance.

Current:
-i3 2120
-HD 7850 2GB
-Antec VP450

I'm guessing upgrading the PSU, CPU to an i5 and graphics card should do the trick, right?
Sure, upgrading the CPU and graphics card would provide large performance increases. What motherboard do you have now?
 
The HDD mounts in the R4 have thick rubber grommets. The mounting screws never touch the HDD cage. Likewise, the PSU sits on rubber nubs. You could use extra grommets at the back panel to fully de-couple. For fans, maybe get some rubber frame fans?

Just a suggestion, since the R4 meets all your other criteria.

A few things regarding Fractal Design:
- When you screw the HDD into the sleds, screw them in loosely. The minute the screw is threaded into the HDD, stop. Most vibration arises from people who screw them in too tightly.
- Fractal Design rubber grommets are horrible compared to the silicon Antec uses. I think the grommets are interchangeable so if you can get some of the Antecs, using them is a possibility.
- Fan decoupling isn't really ended unless they're really fast spinning fans. The Fractal Design R4 is heavy enough to not rattle. High end fans will offer suspension on dampening anyway.
 

t-ramp

Member
NoRéN;83238397 said:
ASUS P8H61-M LE/CSM

All from the 2012 standard build.
So you couldn't just drop in a K-series i5 and overclock it, unfortunately. Not that it makes a whole lot of difference. You could always swap your i3 for a 3570K now and then upgrade the motherboard later if you want a bit more performance.
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
NoRéN;83231989 said:
What's the best way to upgrade my current build? Want it to last me another year with solid performance.

Current:
-i3 2120
-HD 7850 2GB
-Antec VP450

I'm guessing upgrading the PSU, CPU to an i5 and graphics card should do the trick, right?
What games at what resolutions and setting were you thinking? Along with how much $ you want to drop?

Overall that's still a fantastic mid range rig.
 

delta25

Banned
pc gaf, would my AMD phenom x4 955 bottleneck a ati 7770.

edit. what current gen card would give me the least amount of a bottleneck?
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
pc gaf, would my AMD phenom x4 955 bottleneck a ati 7770.

edit. what current gen card would give me the least amount of a bottleneck?
That's fairly balanced. What games are you looking at and how much to spend?

They'll probably be both held back by your CPU and GPU either way.
 

NoRéN

Member
So you couldn't just drop in a K-series i5 and overclock it, unfortunately. Not that it makes a whole lot of difference. You could always swap your i3 for a 3570K now and then upgrade the motherboard later if you want a bit more performance.
Don't care for overclocking as my needs aren't that high, just gaming at reasonable settings. The 3570K was what i was looking at so that's good to hear.
What games at what resolutions and setting were you thinking? Along with how much $ you want to drop?

Overall that's still a fantastic mid range rig.
Currently at 1600 x 900 and would like to upgrade to 1080. As far as settings, I hope to at least be able to run stuff like GTA V and Assassin's Creed Black Flag at medium settings.

$500 seems reasonable to drop for upgrades. Does that seem good?

And yeah, it has definitely been a solid build. No problems at all and games look great on it.
 
Hey guys,

Anyone want to help a PC modding newb?
I have put my own PC together before but now I am trying to modify a Acer desktop I bought years ago.

I have already replaced the GPU but I just lucked out at TGS and got my hands on a AMD A10 6800k CPU just for doing a tweet at the AMD booth.

It currently has an i7 920 which came stock but because of the locked bios I can't get anymore performace out of it.

As far as I can tell the Acer has a Mini-ATX motherboard(Acer FX68m) and it SEEMS like the CPU would fit when I looked online.

I am always afraid of damaging parts and since the Mini-ATX is so cramped inside I am a little worried about the process!
 

LordAlu

Member
Hey guys,

Anyone want to help a PC modding newb?
I have put my own PC together before but now I am trying to modify a Acer desktop I bought years ago.

I have already replaced the GPU but I just lucked out at TGS and got my hands on a AMD A10 6800k CPU just for doing a tweet at the AMD booth.

It currently has an i7 920 which came stock but because of the locked bios I can't get anymore performace out of it.

As far as I can tell the Acer has a Mini-ATX motherboard(Acer FX68m) and it SEEMS like the CPU would fit when I looked online.

I am always afraid of damaging parts and since the Mini-ATX is so cramped inside I am a little worried about the process!
Your new CPU won't fit that board, so you'd need a new board. According to your board information as well it appears to be an ATX board, mainly because of the width of it since length wise it only has four expansion slots.

What's the actual model of Acer system that you have? It might need a rebuild to be honest.
 

Garou

Member
Hey guys,

Anyone want to help a PC modding newb?
I have put my own PC together before but now I am trying to modify a Acer desktop I bought years ago.

I have already replaced the GPU but I just lucked out at TGS and got my hands on a AMD A10 6800k CPU just for doing a tweet at the AMD booth.

It currently has an i7 920 which came stock but because of the locked bios I can't get anymore performace out of it.

As far as I can tell the Acer has a Mini-ATX motherboard(Acer FX68m) and it SEEMS like the CPU would fit when I looked online.

I am always afraid of damaging parts and since the Mini-ATX is so cramped inside I am a little worried about the process!

AMD Cpus don't fit Intel boards.
Plus, you would most likely see no improvements, here is a similar comparison:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/47?vs=675
 
AMD Cpus don't fit Intel boards.
Plus, you would most likely see no improvements, here is a similar comparison:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/47?vs=675

Ah damn I should have realized that!

Regarding the model it is the Aspire M7720.

I have already replaced the GPU with a HD Radean 7850 and that helped performance a lot but now my CPU is the bottleneck.

I know I could easily get more performance by overclocking the i7 but I am scared of trying to unlock the BIOS.

Also, the CPU I got is not the 5800k but the 6800k Black edition at 4.1ghz / 4.4Ghz Max Turbo.

Damn I wonder what I should do. I never should have opened the processor box to ogle it like an idiot haha
 

Slavik81

Member
Cooler Master, it would have been great if you'd put a piece of paper into the HAF XB's case saying that the screws were in the hard drive bay.

The hard drive bay is enclosed on all sides, and the fittings pack was in a cardboard 3.5" HDD case in the bay. I was just about to contact support, but I decided to try installing the HDD first in order to discover all the screws I needed. It was nice finding it, but I spent a half-hour trying to figure out if I'd lost it or if it were just not included.

Ah damn I should have realized that!

Regarding the model it is the Aspire M7720.

I have already replaced the GPU with a HD Radean 7850 and that helped performance a lot but now my CPU is the bottleneck.

I know I could easily get more performance by overclocking the i7 but I am scared of trying to unlock the BIOS.

Also, the CPU I got is not the 5800k but the 6800k Black edition at 4.1ghz / 4.4Ghz Max Turbo.

Damn I wonder what I should do. I never should have opened the processor box to ogle it like an idiot haha
Check the return policy immediately. My local shop has a 7-day no-questions-asked return policy (even for opened products, as long as you return everything). Maybe you'll be lucky and theirs is just as good.
 

Addnan

Member
The i7 would be better than the APU though. I don't know how hard it is to get a cheap 1366 motherboard though. If you get an overclock on that it would be better than the AMD.
 
[url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1GyQw]PCPartPicker part list[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1GyQw/by_merchant/]Price breakdown by merchant[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1GyQw/benchmarks/]Benchmarks[/url]

[b]CPU:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54670]Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor[/url] ($219.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Motherboard:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-h87iplus]Asus H87I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard[/url] ($118.55 @ Newegg)
[b]Memory:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9b]Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory[/url] ($74.99 @ Amazon)
[b]Storage:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7te120bw]Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk[/url] ($99.99 @ Amazon)
[b]Video Card:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-03gp42784kr]EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card[/url] ($663.98 @ Newegg)
[b]Power Supply:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/silverstone-power-supply-st65fg]Silverstone 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply[/url] ($115.98 @ Newegg)
[b]Operating System:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700404]Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)[/url] ($99.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Other:[/b] SilverStone PP05 Short Cable for PSU Set ($19.99)
[b]Other:[/b] Nippon Labs CT-4MINI-NA ($1.49)
[b]Other:[/b] Fractal Design FD-CA-NODE-304-WH White Aluminum / Steel Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case ($89.99)
[b]Other:[/b] QNIX QX2710 LED Evolution ll DPort 27" 2560x1440 Samsung PLS (LG IPS) Matt Screen Panel HDMI, Display Port, PC 27-inch Monitor * Thunderbolt Display ($379.00)
[b]Total:[/b] $1883.94
[i](Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)[/i]
[i](Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-22 18:54 EDT-0400)[/i]

This is it guys. I can't believe I went from small indie build to 1440p megaton. Damn you mofos and all your tech talk. I will now wait for the AMD presser and decide if I should go with the new AMD benchmark GPU or wait for a possible price drop for the whole line of GTX 780 cards. I have a feeling that Valves announcement won't be aimed at where I want to take my next gen gaming.

Is it me or that 1440p monitor (Amazon) I picked out amazing for all it's bells and whistles. For that price! Hope I am right on that one. I will post if all goes well when I get it shipped.
At that price, and considering you got the Node as a case, it's a shame you don't overclock. If you choose the cheaper, non-gold-certifield PSU (still a really good unit!), you could get something like this for not much more money:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($223.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus Z87I-DELUXE Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($185.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($67.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($633.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Essential 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($95.87 @ Outlet PC)
Other: QNIX QX2710 LED Evolution ll DPort 27" 2560x1440 Samsung PLS (LG IPS) Matt Screen Panel HDMI, Display Port, PC 27-inch Monitor * Thunderbolt Display ($379.00)
Other: SilverStone PP05 Short Cable for PSU Set ($19.99)
Other: Nippon Labs CT-4MINI-NA ($1.49)
Total: $1932.76
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-23 04:02 EDT-0400)

Change the SSD to the 120GB 840 EVO and the price drops below what you'd pay for what you put together. Overclocking your CPU is totally worth it, especially considering you have a friggin 780 in there. Do it.
 
Check the return policy immediately. My local shop has a 7-day no-questions-asked return policy (even for opened products, as long as you return everything). Maybe you'll be lucky and theirs is just as good.

That's the thing, I didn't actually buy it! I got it from a booth at TGS for tweeting a pic of me wearing their stupid cape.

So I guess I could sell it to a local shop and look for a cheap 1366 board. I looked into it once and they all seemed discontinued.
 

Garou

Member
Ah damn I should have realized that!

Regarding the model it is the Aspire M7720.

I have already replaced the GPU with a HD Radean 7850 and that helped performance a lot but now my CPU is the bottleneck.

I know I could easily get more performance by overclocking the i7 but I am scared of trying to unlock the BIOS.

Also, the CPU I got is not the 5800k but the 6800k Black edition at 4.1ghz / 4.4Ghz Max Turbo.

Damn I wonder what I should do. I never should have opened the processor box to ogle it like an idiot haha

The difference between yours and the one I posted is roughly 0.2Ghz, so it wouldn't change anyway.

If you truly feel a CPU-bottleneck, then overclocking won't solve that either.
Sell the AMD CPU, sell the i7 and the board and buy a new motherboard and CPU. Anything else is most likely a waste of time.

Overclocking on Intel is not that hard. An amatuer like me was able to do it with a bit oc research.

It's not easy if your chipset doesn't support it natively.
 
Overclocking on Intel is not that hard. An amatuer like me was able to do it with a bit oc research.

It's a prebuilt I bought years ago and would require me to actually flash the bios and load in a custom one.

Garou said:
The difference between yours and the one I posted is roughly 0.2Ghz, so it wouldn't change anyway.

If you truly feel a CPU-bottleneck, then overclocking won't solve that either.
Sell the AMD CPU, sell the i7 and the board and buy a new motherboard and CPU. Anything else is most likely a waste of time.

What would be a recommended board/CPU combo at this point?
The pre-built case is pretty big so hopefully I can fit most combos without needing a new one...
 
NoRéN;83251829 said:
Don't care for overclocking as my needs aren't that high, just gaming at reasonable settings. The 3570K was what i was looking at so that's good to hear.

Currently at 1600 x 900 and would like to upgrade to 1080. As far as settings, I hope to at least be able to run stuff like GTA V and Assassin's Creed Black Flag at medium settings.

$500 seems reasonable to drop for upgrades. Does that seem good?

And yeah, it has definitely been a solid build. No problems at all and games look great on it.
Your 7850 will probably be able to run GTA V and AssCreed on medium settings, but open-world games are CPU-intensive, so definitely upgrade to i5.
If you're not overclocking (and you won't be with that motherboard), the i5-3350P is fine.

This 7950 is best value GPU at the moment and would give you a pretty big performance increase, but I don't know if its worth it right now. The 7850 is still a solid performer, especially if you don't need insane amounts of AA or whatever. Hell, my framerate-insensitive flatmate has a Sapphire 7850 and he runs everything maxed out.

Add the cheap Asus from the OP and you end up at ~$520. Maybe kick the graphics card, get a better monitor and upgrade something else with the rest of your budget?

Edit: Or you do this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: MSI Z77MA-G45 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($159.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $489.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-23 04:40 EDT-0400)

Chose the mATX motherboard to keep the cost below $500. The ATX-version is 24 dollars more.
Nice 1080p IPS monitor, new decent Z77 motherboard, i5-3570K and a heatsink for overclocking.
 

Garou

Member
What would be a recommended board/CPU combo at this point?
The pre-built case is pretty big so hopefully I can fit most combos without needing a new one...

Looking at reviews online it seems your case fits only micro-ATX-boards which are a bit more expensive than ATX ones.

How much do you want to spend? And are you planning to overclock?
 
Looking at reviews online it seems your case fits only micro-ATX-boards which are a bit more expensive than ATX ones.

How much do you want to spend? And are you planning to overclock?

Honestly, I wouldn't want to spend that much. In fact if I were going to spend any money I would probably try to re-use the i7 and just get a motherboard capable of overclocking.

It would depend on how much I could sell this AMD chip for I guess.

Would it really be better to keep using the i7 920 instead of this AMD?
I guess the fancy Black edition name made me think it was on level with the higher tier i7 chips.
 
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