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

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I have not tried installing this from a non-windows 7 machine. What I did is download the isntaller to my win 7 pro machine, ran it and chose "install to bootable media", which then made a flash drive I had loaded into a windows 8 installer. I haven't tried to install this on a blank disk yet (all my parts haven't come yet), but a friend did and said it worked. That's all I know so far...

Okay, damn, I can't believe I completely forgot about Student pricing. Does anyone know if NewEgg charges a restocking fee to return software?
 

AJLma

Member
Okay guys, after reading around, I'm considering installing an aftermarket cooler on an R9 290.

Unfortunately the only installation guide I can find is from Tom's Hardware, and at 1 page, it's a pretty poor guide.

From people who have done similar replacements before, how hard/risky is the installation?
 

MadSexual

Member
At this point, go with the AMD card as they are going to introduce Mantle which seems like it may be huge in many upcoming PC games.
While I'm excited by this, it's still a wildcard IMO. To my knowledge, only EA and whoever is making Thief have announced support. By the time it is mainstream, these cards may be on the way out in favor of the next generation.
 

ss_lemonade

Member
I just bought Windows 8 for $39.99 from mskeyoffer.com We'll see how legit it is in 8 hours. Wish me luck.
Just found this over at linustechtips' forum when someone asked about that site:

Just stumbled across this thread and thought I'd respond since I actually attempted business with them. mskeyoffer, is selling VLK's and on top of that, they are using a VLK generator, and sending the key to your email. Which is why they want you to download "their version" of windows, because a VLK will not work on a typical Win 8 install. I only did it cause I knew PayPal would get me my money back. Also, the mskeyoffer scammer runs a key logger, he was able to get my PayPal info and charge a little over $700 in damage, which PayPal fixed of course. But it was a headache. So to answer your question it is a scam. He has multiple sites as well. Now the sad part is I reported them to Microsoft, which is how I found out of the VLK generator, and It's been 4 months now and the guy hasn't been shut down. And the MS rep led me to believe that for becoming a victim to a licensing scam, I would get a complimentary win 8 pro key for bringing it to their attention. And never received that either. Anyways, sorry for the rambling, but wanted to kind of show what kind of scam it really is.
 

Tablo

Member
While I'm excited by this, it's still a wildcard IMO. To my knowledge, only EA and whoever is making Thief have announced support. By the time it is mainstream, these cards may be on the way out in favor of the next generation.

It's not a wildcard, it will have a lot of benefits for GCN cards, that said I'm still Team Green until they exit the dGPU market, the 760 makes the most sense for now until late 2014 or early 2015, go with that.
 

bro1

Banned
While I'm excited by this, it's still a wildcard IMO. To my knowledge, only EA and whoever is making Thief have announced support. By the time it is mainstream, these cards may be on the way out in favor of the next generation.

Star Citizen is supporting this as are a few other developers
 

mkenyon

Banned
Ah top stuff, cheers. Yeah I know it's not the most discrete case but seeing as my only spare is a monstrous HAF X it will be tiiiiiiny in comparison. My only problem now is what bloody colour to get!
Take a look at the Phenom as well. It's a Prodigy with a different (sleeker) exterior.
At this point, go with the AMD card as they are going to introduce Mantle which seems like it may be huge in many upcoming PC games.
I hate that this is a thing now, but I'd rate G-Sync as more important than Mantle. G-Sync will lead us to 120Hz IPS/PLS panels with low latency. It has a built in lightboost function, and will (hopefully) one day offer lightboost with a dynamic refresh. That improves *every* game, not just games that support it.
 

antonz

Member
Aw I was hoping to order this after I finished classes this morning but they've sold out. Are there any similar deals? Newegg's cybermonday pages are horrible to navigate.

I'm seeing a few $50 2x4GB from Team Vulcan. Are those any good? Never heard of the brand.

EDIT: Is this a good deal/good ram? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231468

Yeah you would be safe with that. G Skill tends to be good quality. Nice 5 star rating after 250+ reviews too so cant go too wrong there
 

Voho

Member
About two years ago I purchased a pre-built PC from Ibuypower.com, and it's been the best gaming investment I've ever made. As we approach the next generation of consoles (and with it, the next generation of console ports), I've been itching to upgrade my computer for the first time. I currently have a GTX 560 Ti w/ 1GB dedicated RAM, an Intel Core i5 2500k 3.30 GHz processor, and 8GB DDR3 general RAM. I've been using a 720p monitor for gaming since I got the rig, and it's served me well. But...

I now have a 1080p monitor, soon to be joined by a second for a dual monitor setup. And with some holiday money floating around, I figured it's the perfect time to upgrade. Let me preface this with the following: I have absolutely no experience with internal computer hardware, so this entire process will be brand new to me. I've done some research, and the two components I'd like to upgrade (RAM and Graphics) are relatively painless to do, so I have a little confidence at least. I've already purchased the RAM ( I know my motherboard supports it, researched that already) bringing my total RAM to 16GB.

I also am looking to purchase a GTX 770 w/ 4GB dedicated RAM, but I don't know if my setup will be able to handle it. Will my CPU cause issues with my future setup? I'd be grateful for any help in the matter, and If any further information is required, I'd be happy to give it. Thanks!
 

TheD

The Detective
I'm in charge of some builds for a few friends and they are all getting ready to pull the trigger. The only thing still giving me trouble is the video card. The upper limit on the budget allocation for the GPU is $400, so I've got it down to:

770 4GB, R9 280X, and 7970 Ghz ed.

These guys all want price/performance value with as much staying power as they can afford at the moment. None of them care about streaming, GSync, or SLi/Crossfire.

If you're buying right now, what do you choose and why (feel free to get technical)?

Get the 770.
I had a 7970 Ghz (280X is just a slower clocked rebrand) and even in some of the games that it came with it had performance problems (Crysis 3) due to the weak tessellation hardware (confirmed in tessellation heavy benchmarks where it was around as slow as my old GTX570!), micro stuttering problems (Farcry Blood Dragon) and also driver bugs in other games like Planetside 2.

I replaced it with a GTX680 4GB (that I overclocked to 770 clocks) and all those problems went away (and I got features like shadowplay, that I am really loving).

About two years ago I purchased a pre-built PC from Ibuypower.com, and it's been the best gaming investment I've ever made. As we approach the next generation of consoles (and with it, the next generation of console ports), I've been itching to upgrade my computer for the first time. I currently have a GTX 560 Ti w/ 1GB dedicated RAM, an Intel Core i5 2500k 3.30 GHz processor, and 8GB DDR3 general RAM. I've been using a 720p monitor for gaming since I got the rig, and it's served me well. But...

I now have a 1080p monitor, soon to be joined by a second for a dual monitor setup. And with some holiday money floating around, I figured it's the perfect time to upgrade. Let me preface this with the following: I have absolutely no experience with internal computer hardware, so this entire process will be brand new to me. I've done some research, and the two components I'd like to upgrade (RAM and Graphics) are relatively painless to do, so I have a little confidence at least. I've already purchased the RAM ( I know my motherboard supports it, researched that already) bringing my total RAM to 16GB.

I also am looking to purchase a GTX 770 w/ 4GB dedicated RAM, but I don't know if my setup will be able to handle it. Will my CPU cause issues with my future setup? I'd be grateful for any help in the matter, and If any further information is required, I'd be happy to give it. Thanks!

The 2500K is still one of the best CPUs you can get and they are monsters when overclocked.
 

mkenyon

Banned
Get the 770.
I had a 7970 Ghz (280X is just a slower clocked rebrand) and even in some of the games that it came with it had performance problems (Crysis 3) due to the weak tessellation hardware (confirmed in tessellation heavy benchmarks where it was around as slow as my old GTX570!), micro stuttering problems (Farcry Blood Dragon) and also driver bugs in other games like Planetside 2.

I replaced it with a GTX680 4GB (that I overclocked to 770 clocks) and all those problems went away (and I got features like shadowplay, that I am really loving).
I still prefer the 7970/280X over the 680/770, but it really does come down to picking features.
About two years ago I purchased a pre-built PC from Ibuypower.com, and it's been the best gaming investment I've ever made. As we approach the next generation of consoles (and with it, the next generation of console ports), I've been itching to upgrade my computer for the first time. I currently have a GTX 560 Ti w/ 1GB dedicated RAM, an Intel Core i5 2500k 3.30 GHz processor, and 8GB DDR3 general RAM. I've been using a 720p monitor for gaming since I got the rig, and it's served me well. But...

I now have a 1080p monitor, soon to be joined by a second for a dual monitor setup. And with some holiday money floating around, I figured it's the perfect time to upgrade. Let me preface this with the following: I have absolutely no experience with internal computer hardware, so this entire process will be brand new to me. I've done some research, and the two components I'd like to upgrade (RAM and Graphics) are relatively painless to do, so I have a little confidence at least. I've already purchased the RAM ( I know my motherboard supports it, researched that already) bringing my total RAM to 16GB.

I also am looking to purchase a GTX 770 w/ 4GB dedicated RAM, but I don't know if my setup will be able to handle it. Will my CPU cause issues with my future setup? I'd be grateful for any help in the matter, and If any further information is required, I'd be happy to give it. Thanks!
Overclock your processor (maybe Ibuypower did that for you?), and you're golden. FWIW, I'd go for a 780 over a 770 4GB if the price is close. Otherwise, the 770 is still rock solid.

The only bottleneck you're looking at is PCI-E 2.0, which shouldn't be an issue for another generation at least.
 

jordisok

Member
So after doing some much needed spring cleaning (of the physical dust ridding kind) on my PC recently I decided to do some stress testing and the results don't seem good :\

Assuming the programs (core temp & HWmonitor) are reading correctly my Phenom 955 BE is having some real temp problems, right now its idling at around 40-43 C, ran Prime95 earlier and it hit a consistent 89-90 C at 100% load.

Will know more when I can get into it tomorrow, but build is around 3.5 years old and the cooler is stock, is it likely to be a thermal paste issue? and what kinda damage could this have done? The most intensive thing I do atm is probably CS:GO.
 

Voho

Member
Thanks for the quick responses!

I still prefer the 7970/280X over the 680/770, but it really does come down to picking features.

Overclock your processor (maybe Ibuypower did that for you?), and you're golden. FWIW, I'd go for a 780 over a 770 4GB if the price is close. Otherwise, the 770 is still rock solid.

The only bottleneck you're looking at is PCI-E 2.0, which shouldn't be an issue for another generation at least.

It isn't already overclocked to my knowledge. How would I go about doing that? I've never overclocked anything before.
 

MadSexual

Member
Thanks for the quick responses!



It isn't already overclocked to my knowledge. How would I go about doing that? I've never overclocked anything before.
You'll want an aftermarket cooler if you're going to overclock, so ask yourself if you're comfortable changing thermal compound and installing one. I did it myself for the first time recently, and it was pretty simple, but I might have been nervous if hadn't handled parts for years already.
 

Voho

Member
You'll want an aftermarket cooler if you're going to overclock, so ask yourself if you're comfortable changing thermal compound and installing one. I did it myself for the first time recently, and it was pretty simple, but I might have been nervous if hadn't handled parts for years already.

I'm assuming that's a bit more difficult than inserting RAM sticks? XD

So, without overclocking, my rig can't handle the upgrade, correct? I don't have the cash right now to purchase additional parts, and the thought of a cooling system that requires excessive maintenance isn't exactly exciting to me. I read in the OP (under Hazaro's PC build sheet) that you could stick in any graphics card with an i5 processor and a 550W PS or above (I have an 850 watt). I'm assuming that it refers to a better i5 than my 2500K?
 

kharma45

Member
I'm assuming that's a bit more difficult than inserting RAM sticks? XD

So, without overclocking, my rig can't handle the upgrade, correct? I don't have the cash right now to purchase additional parts, and the thought of a cooling system that requires excessive maintenance isn't exactly exciting to me. I read in the OP (under Hazaro's PC build sheet) that you could stick in any graphics card with an i5 processor and a 550W PS or above (I have an 850 watt). I'm assuming that it refers to a better i5 than my 2500K?

It can, it's just that your rig has a lot more performance to be gained for the sake of a small cooler investment and 15 minutes of your time to fit it.

There is no maintenance involved with an air cooler. Fit it and that's it. $25/£25 is all you need to spend on a Hyper 212.
 

Voho

Member
It can, it's just that your rig has a lot more performance to be gained for the sake of a small cooler investment and 15 minutes of your time to fit it.

There is no maintenance involved with an air cooler. Fit it and that's it. $25/£25 is all you need to spend on a Hyper 212.

Oh, I assumed from what everyone was saying that it just plain wouldn't work. If I opted to not overclock, what kind of performance would I get compared to my current setup then? I don't have any money to spare if I go for a 770, so the cooling system would have to wait until the new year. Surely it could be added post-installation?

My current cooling device was listed as follows when I purchased it (CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9]). I'm assuming that's nothing compared to what your talking about, so if possible might you explain further? I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing with this stuff, and I'd like to get better :)
 
The wait has begun, the first part as arrive...

jQKEXPQ.jpg

Sadly, it's only the CPU cooler

So i've pulled the trigger this weekend on this build.

PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/2dOTJ

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ NCIX)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.79 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($133.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($165.48 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($186.34 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card ($489.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($134.89 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1520.45
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-02 19:19 EST-0500)

I actually paid $1457.73 including shipping and taxes(15% over here) not including the Mail-in Rebates. Quite happy with the price.

Picture of the build will follow whenever i get everything, nothing else as shipped, blackfriday/cybermonday seems to have slow down the processing rate of everything.
 
Oh, I assumed from what everyone was saying that it just plain wouldn't work. If I opted to not overclock, what kind of performance would I get compared to my current setup then? I don't have any money to spare if I go for a 770, so the cooling system would have to wait until the new year. Surely it could be added post-installation?

My current cooling device was listed as follows when I purchased it (CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9]). I'm assuming that's nothing compared to what your talking about, so if possible might you explain further? I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing with this stuff, and I'd like to get better :)

That line is talking about the fans for your case that suck in and blow out air. What everyone else is talking about is a heatsink/cooler that goes on your CPU. Before you buy a new heatsink for your CPU though, you should check how much clearance you have in your case to make sure it'll fit.
 
I have not tried installing this from a non-windows 7 machine. What I did is download the isntaller to my win 7 pro machine, ran it and chose "install to bootable media", which then made a flash drive I had loaded into a windows 8 installer. I haven't tried to install this on a blank disk yet (all my parts haven't come yet), but a friend did and said it worked. That's all I know so far...

Let me know when you install the OS on your new PC. I'm sure you're right that creating the bootable DVD or flashdrive the way you did, on a separate PC will work fine but there just isn't much information out there about using the student version on a new PC with no OS and I need to be 100% sure before I tell my friend to pull the trigger on the deal.
 
Any tips for cleaning off my GTX 670? It's a little dusty after pulling it from my old machine...I have some canned air, will probably need more, but is there anything else I can do?
 

antonz

Member
Man Newegg sold a lot of video cards this past weekend. SOLD OUT, SOLD OUT, SOLD OUT..

Was looking for a 7850 deal.

They have almost gone through their entire stock of R9 290s as well and those weren't on sale. Friday they had every brand and tons of them. Now all that's left is Powercolor and HIS.

Kind of annoyed with newegg though. Orders I placed this weekend still haven't shipped sitting at packed. Don't see why stuff packed this weekend couldn't go out today
 
They have almost gone through their entire stock of R9 290s as well and those weren't on sale. Friday they had every brand and tons of them. Now all that's left is Powercolor and HIS.

Kind of annoyed with newegg though. Orders I placed this weekend still haven't shipped sitting at packed. Don't see why stuff packed this weekend couldn't go out today
They were way behind. Stuff that I ordered on Wednesday didn't ship out until today.
 

guek

Banned
So I ordered an extra 8GB of ram on a whim because it was so cheap for cyber monday. Quick question though - is it ok to have an asymmetrical amount of ram? I initially ordered a single 8GB stick and now I have two additional 4GB sticks being shipped in. Is there anything sub-optimal with that configuration?
 
So I ordered an extra 8GB of ram on a whim because it was so cheap for cyber monday. Quick question though - is it ok to have an asymmetrical amount of ram? I initially ordered a single 8GB stick and now I have two additional 4GB sticks being shipped in. Is there anything sub-optimal with that configuration?
No more dual channel configuration. You want to use the two 4GB sticks, rather than trying to combine them with the 8GB stick or using the single 8GB stick on its own.

Also, make sure to read your mobo manual. You have to put the sticks in certain slots for a dual-channel configuration.
 

guek

Banned
No more dual channel configuration. You want to use the two 4GB sticks, rather than trying to combine them with the 8GB stick or using the single 8GB stick on its own.

Wait, so I can't or I shouldn't? Could I buy another 8GB stick and pair it with the one I already have alongside the extra 4GB?

If it's not recommended, I'll just return the extra ram I bought today but I only bought a single 8GB stick for my build.
 

Conceptor

Member
Hey guys, looking for some advice on a PSU for a spare PC. We don't really see the good Cyb Monday deals that you do in the States but I need to order something soon so might as well do it today.

Budget: $50
Retailers: Canada Computers / NCIX
Function: Will be going into a midrange PC that would have a couple of HDDs, BR + DVD player, mid-range GPU (nothing fancy, sub 100$) and whatever fans/peripherals required.

I'm seeing a lot of the Corsair CX/TX series PSU's but I'm not sure if they're built using the high end parts you guys recommend people look for..

Thanks for any help!
 
Wait, so I can't or I shouldn't? Could I buy another 8GB stick and pair it with the one I already have alongside the extra 4GB?

If it's not recommended, I'll just return the extra ram I bought today but I only bought a single 8GB stick for my build.
If you buy another 8GB stick, it would have to be exactly the same as the one you've already bought. Even then, you're risking compatibility problems. You're much better off using the 2 stick kits of RAM.
 

guek

Banned
If you buy another 8GB stick, it would have to be exactly the same as the one you've already bought. Even then, you're risking compatibility problems. You're much better off using the 2 stick kits of RAM.

So I can't just use the 8GB by itself?

Can I use 4 sticks of 2 different types?
 

tr4656

Member
Hey guys, looking for some advice on a PSU for a spare PC. We don't really see the good Cyb Monday deals that you do in the States but I need to order something soon so might as well do it today.

Budget: $50
Retailers: Canada Computers / NCIX
Function: Will be going into a midrange PC that would have a couple of HDDs, BR + DVD player, mid-range GPU (nothing fancy, sub 100$) and whatever fans/peripherals required.

I'm seeing a lot of the Corsair CX/TX series PSU's but I'm not sure if they're built using the high end parts you guys recommend people look for..

Thanks for any help!
I'd just go for http://www.ncix.ca/products/?affiliateid=7474144&sku=59615.

Sennheiser 363d for $140.75. That includes tax and shipping. Should I bite?

Why not just get cans?
 

DTKT

Member
Well shit, just missed out of 16GB of 1600 memory for 100$. Figured they had enough in stock till tonight.

Was wrong. Now sad. :(
 

guek

Banned
You can. But the ram runs at half speed. Thus losing the benefit of having more.

Gah, I asked two questions! So can I use 2 different types of ram ever? What happens if I use two 4GB sticks and a single 8GB stick? The 8GB runs at half speed?
 
So I basically have everything that I need for a desktop except for a CPU cooler. I have a 4670k/GTX 760 so I plan to overclock eventually. I want something that will get the job done, but I don't want it to be loud if I'm not overclocking.

Also, since it's being discussed right now: I bought 2x4GB sticks of RAM and I also got another 4GB stick for free as part of something else I bought. They're both from G. Skill, two from Sniper and one from Ripjaws series. Should I even bother with the 3rd stick?
 

tr4656

Member
So I basically have everything that I need for a desktop except for a CPU cooler. I have a 4670k/GTX 760 so I plan to overclock eventually. I want something that will get the job done, but I don't want it to be loud if I'm not overclocking.

How much do you want to spend?
 

Dreavus

Member
Hey guys, I put together a build using the charts in the OP. Wondering if there is anything glaring I should be aware of that jumps out regarding compatibility. Using this to upgrade/replace my ailing gaming computer (still using the good old 8800 GT)

Intel Core i5 4670K Unlocked Quad Core 3.4GHZ Processor LGA1150 Haswell 6MB Cache Retail

Gigabyte Z87X-D3H ATX LGA1150 Z87 DDR3 3PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 HDMI CrossFireX/SLI SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard

Patriot Viper 3 8GB 2X4GB PC3-12800 DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24 1.5V Dual Channel Memory Kit - Black Mamba

ASUS GeForce GTX 760 DirectCU II OC 1075MHZ 2GB 6.0GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card

Samsung 840 Evo Series MZ-7TE120BW 120GB 2.5in SATA III Internal SSD Single Unit Version

Antec Basiq BP550 Plus 550W 24PIN ATX 12V V2.2 80PLUS Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Bitfenix Shinobi Window ATX Mid Tower Case Black 3X5.25EXT 8X3.5INT No PS Top USB3.0 Audio

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 1366/1150/1155/1156/2011 120mm

Seagate ST2000VN000 2TB 64MB SATA 6GB/S 3.5in Internal NAS Hard Drive

ASUS DRW-24F1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer Black

I'm pretty noob regarding all this, but it seems relatively straight forward. I posted a few months back with something similar, but never pulled the trigger on the order. This time I am poised to do so! POISED.
 
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