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[Eaten By A Grue]

Well this is frustrating. I got my first ever build up and running last week (first try failed due to a defective mobo). Was working perfectly for 10 days or so. Just now I heard a very loud POP sound from the computer. There was a very bright flash then the computer turned off.

Any idea what went wrong? Could it be my psu? I have an 850w corsair psu...just so strange considering everything was working perfectly for a solid 10 days then it basically just blew up.

If you replaced the mobo, then it is probably best to replace that PSU. Do you know where the pop sound came from? Sounds like a capacitor.

 

[Sothpaw]

If you replaced the mobo, then it is probably best to replace that PSU. Do you know where the pop sound came from? Sounds like a capacitor.

Really hard to pinpoint. It was really loud with a bright flash, and then the computer just turned off. Probably power supply considering the computer turned off?

 

[Hazaro]

Ok, I've been researching de-lidding, and came across this video....

Delid a 3770k, No Razor Blade

I'm laughing so hard I have tears running down my cheeks, and I can't stop watching it over again!

I did this at work (with a bit more finesse on an old chip).

There's nothing funny about Intel's chips running at 90C and forcing people to do this if they want competitive speed to the last two generations of processors.

Also did some practice today for kicks...
Damn things takes a ton of force to get off, seriously.

Phase 1: Why am I holding a wooden block and a hammer crouched next to a vice with a processor on it?
Phase 2: I almost hope this doesn't work so I won't try it on Ivy or Haswell
Phase 3: *tap *tap* *hard tap*
Phase 4: *whack*
Phase 5: *whack*
Phase 6: *Annoyed Whack*
Phase 7: Fucking, PoS. *Slam slam slam slam*
Phase 8: *SMACK SMACK SMACK SM- oh I think it's loose.

SUCCESS!

OK so I posted my question at the end of the last thread so I'll just repeat it here.

I game at 1080p, about to pull the trigger on the 770. Main question is, 2GB or 4GB? I want to sort-of-future-proof this purchase and the looming next-gen of consoles is making me consider the 4GB, but I don't actually know exactly what this memory impacts. Can anyone educate me on that and if I should spend the extra $50?

You can gamble on next gen ports using extra memory at 2GB or not, but by then 3GB cards should be out. Up to you, I don't have a good answer either way.
It's easy to say 'it might use more than 2GB' and upgrade to the 4GB. But like 2 modded games break 2GB currently at 1080p at playable settings.

Really hard to pinpoint. It was really loud with a bright flash, and then the computer just turned off. Probably power supply considering the computer turned off?

Inspect the motherboard for bugling or burst capacitors, then look for scorch marks on the board next to transistors.
(Lightly) smell your PSU if you don't find anything.

Probably had a short somewhere.

 

[VisceralBowl]

I finally pulled the trigger on my PC upgrade/rebuild to cover me for the next 2-4 years.

Some background before I give the specs: (Current and old)

I do very heavy multitasking and my current PC is hitting its limits. I do work in the CE3 SDK and UDK. I model in 3Ds Max and Mudbox. I do video editing in addition to playing tons of games and usually have more than 10 tabs open in Chrome. My current rig is out of space, and out of date. This has prompted me to rebuild my PC with all new stuff.

Old Specs:

i7 930 QC (2.8 GHz)
Intel X58
Alienware Liquid Cooler
GTX 570 1.2 GB
1 TB 7200 RPM HDD
6 GB DDR3 (1333 MHz) (2x3 GB)
875W Dell PSU
Alienware Aroura Case
Disc Drive and Media Reader
(OS)Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium

Now, the parts I ordered today are these:
* Too lazy to list all the individual places I got the parts, as I got a mix of in-store and various online places. The total came to about $1400

i5-3570K

Asus P8Z77-V LK

Cooler Master V6 GT

Gigabyte GTX 780 3 GB

Samsung 840 Series 120 GB SSD

Western Digital 2 TB HDD

Corsair Vengeance 8 GB DDR3 (1600 MHz)

SeaSonic 750W PSU

Corsair 300R Case (No window)

A few extra fans

Arctic MX-4 Thermal Paste

Windows 7 64-bit again

I am re using the disc drive and media reader from the last PC. The old HDD will become a backup drive.

What do you think GAF? The last PC I bought whole was the Alienware 5 years ago, and I have upgraded it since, but I think this should suit my needs. I have built 4 PCs in the last 2 years so this isn't completely alien to me.

Also, is there a place I could sell my old PC parts that I am not using and get a reasonable amount of money back? ($500-800 is what I think it would all be worth today)

 

[gabbo]

Love my Fractal R4. Very quiet. Spacious interior.

It seems that's the way to go with a case then. Any other suggestions/part swaps?
I'm hoping to keep the whole thing at or under $1k and have it last at least as long as my current machine (5 years in September).

 

[EatinOlives]

You can gamble on next gen ports using extra memory at 2GB or not, but by then 3GB cards should be out. Up to you, I don't have a good answer either way.
It's easy to say 'it might use more than 2GB' and upgrade to the 4GB. But like 2 modded games break 2GB currently at 1080p at playable settings.

Thanks! I have another quick question. I have a 500W PSU and I'm reading from several sources that 500W is just not adequate for 770 cards. I'm assuming I really do need to buy a new PSU as well?

 

[Wolf Akela]

Reposting this.

My USB wifi adapter is dying. Link quality frequently drops to 5% and stays there until I restart it.

Is there any con to using something small like this:

Compared to a dongle like this? Does the range suck in comparison?

 

[kennah]

Reposting this.

My USB wifi adapter is dying. Link quality frequently drops to 5% and stays there until I restart it.

Is there any con to using something small like this:


Compared to a dongle like this? Does the range suck in comparison?

Both will suck. We suggest Power Line adaptors, or if that isn't an option a pci-e card with a beefy antenna... No matter what you do for WiFi it's not going to be stellar, so it really doesn't matter what you get.

 

[ACE 1991]

Had anyone who has recently redeemed the AMD free games offer with new GPUs had trouble getting a bioshock infinite key? I used the product key provided by AMD about a week ago and got my keys for tombraider and blood dragon but it said there were not infinite keys available at the moment. I emailed AMD but never recieved a response... Pretty pissed, the only reason I pulled the trigger was to be able to get bioshock for free. Should I call AMD?

 

[Addnan]

I finally pulled the trigger on my PC upgrade/rebuild to cover me for the next 2-4 years.

Some background before I give the specs: (Current and old)

I do very heavy multitasking and my current PC is hitting its limits. I do work in the CE3 SDK and UDK. I model in 3Ds Max and Mudbox. I do video editing in addition to playing tons of games and usually have more than 10 tabs open in Chrome. My current rig is out of space, and out of date. This has prompted me to rebuild my PC with all new stuff.

Old Specs:

i7 930 QC (2.8 GHz)
Intel X58
Alienware Liquid Cooler
GTX 570 1.2 GB
1 TB 7200 RPM HDD
6 GB DDR3 (1333 MHz) (2x3 GB)
875W Dell PSU
Alienware Aroura Case
Disc Drive and Media Reader
(OS)Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium

Now, the parts I ordered today are these:
* Too lazy to list all the individual places I got the parts, as I got a mix of in-store and various online places. The total came to about $1400

i5-3570K

Asus P8Z77-V LK

Cooler Master V6 GT

Gigabyte GTX 780 3 GB

Samsung 840 Series 120 GB SSD

Western Digital 2 TB HDD

Corsair Vengeance 8 GB DDR3 (1600 MHz)

SeaSonic 750W PSU

Corsair 300R Case (No window)

A few extra fans

Arctic MX-4 Thermal Paste

Windows 7 64-bit again

I am re using the disc drive and media reader from the last PC. The old HDD will become a backup drive.

What do you think GAF? The last PC I bought whole was the Alienware 5 years ago, and I have upgraded it since, but I think this should suit my needs. I have built 4 PCs in the last 2 years so this isn't completely alien to me.

Also, is there a place I could sell my old PC parts that I am not using and get a reasonable amount of money back? ($500-800 is what I think it would all be worth today)

Looks like a solid parts list, you should be happy with it.

 

[yatesl]

You could save some money by cutting back on the PSU (we recommend 600W for a 770 system), and you could get cheaper RAM too (few % difference in performance between most DDR3 RAM).

And if you wanted to get really drastic you could buy Sandy or Ivy Bridge instead, which are now cheaper and only slightly slower when you factor in their better OC'ing.

With the PSU, in thinking long term. I don't want to spend £10 less now, but a £80 replacement if I overclock/SLI/god forbid, get a Titan or something.

Same with Haswell - this is almost £1000 on a new PC, I'd rather not use outdated sockets.

I appreciate all the feedback and advice!

 

[Hazaro]

Thanks! I have another quick question. I have a 500W PSU and I'm reading from several sources that 500W is just not adequate for 770 cards. I'm assuming I really do need to buy a new PSU as well?

Depends on your PSU, what's the model and how old is it?

I'd suggest a good 550W unit+ (It is a $400 CPU after all), mainly because any most 500W units (Just a matter of models) are older and not as good as the current crop.

It'll probably run just fine though if the PSU is semi recent and your CPU and GPU aren't clocked to the moon.

With the PSU, in thinking long term. I don't want to spend £10 less now, but a £80 replacement if I overclock/SLI/god forbid, get a Titan or something.

Same with Haswell - this is almost £1000 on a new PC, I'd rather not use outdated sockets.

I appreciate all the feedback and advice!

Yeah you are good to go. Just run a memtest on your RAM when you get it in.

 

[EatinOlives]

Depends on your PSU, what's the model and how old is it?

I'd suggest a good 550W unit+ (It is a $400 CPU after all), mainly because any most 500W units (Just a matter of models) are older and not as good as the current crop.

It'll probably run just fine though if the PSU is semi recent and your CPU and GPU aren't clocked to the moon.

I'm running on this:

(SILVERSTONE ST50F-ES 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=1#scrollFullInfo

It's nearly three years old, and I'm overclocking my CPU (i5 750) as much as I can on this system, managed to cap it at 3.8 GHz.

Looks like I need a new PSU, right?

 

[yatesl]

Yeah you are good to go. Just run a memtest on your RAM when you get it in.

How come? Can RAM often be bad or something? As I said, I appreciate the advice - although I've decided to stick with the same mobo & PSU! It's taken me since Wednesday to get the courage to press this order button, after having extensively looked at multiple forums/asked many questions every minute I've not been at work.

Here's hoping it all goes smoothly - I don't think I'll have any issues getting a GTX 770 3x Windforce in a Fractal R4?

 

[Hazaro]

I'm running on this:

(SILVERSTONE ST50F-ES 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=1#scrollFullInfo

It's nearly three years old, and I'm overclocking my CPU (i5 750) as much as I can on this system, managed to cap it at 3.8 GHz.

Looks like I need a new PSU, right?

Actually I'd be ok with using that. It's a solid unit that delivers power properly and in spec. Plus seemed ok with drawing a bit extra [Hardware Secrets review]
You can buy a Kill-A-Watt and measure what your PC uses for kicks if you aren't at ease. Or a new PSU!

Anandtech has this:
CPU: Intel Core i7-3960X @ 4.3GHz
Motherboard: EVGA X79 SLI
for their bench and only hit 400W load.

[H] has:
i7 3770K @ 4.8Ghz
350W load (375W OC)

How come? Can RAM often be bad or something? As I said, I appreciate the advice - although I've decided to stick with the same mobo & PSU! It's taken me since Wednesday to get the courage to press this order button, after having extensively looked at multiple forums/asked many questions every minute I've not been at work.

Here's hoping it all goes smoothly - I don't think I'll have any issues getting a GTX 770 3x Windforce in a Fractal R4?

Heard more DOAs on the Ballistix. I do this for any RAM I buy anyway.

Should be fine.

 

[charlequin]

Well, I finally brought all the pieces of my build home, hooked everything up, and finished setting 'er up. Behold, Michelle Rodriguez:

Too big for my desk!

I ran through some of the basic tests: 33C average idle, around 57C running at 100% load (via Prime95) -- all stock still, but hopefully this means I've got a little headroom to do some OCing.*

I also (for the very first time) hooked my PC up to my TV via a (super-long) extra HDMI cord, and wow, the whole thing is like a revelation. I'm watching media files via XBMC, controlling everything with my 360 pad, and not having to deal with the shitty throughput, broken skipping, and network hiccups I had with UMS.

Now i just need to wait for Steam to finally finish downloading Metro 2033 and I can actually try the thing out on some real content. Thanks a million to everyone in this thread for getting me to this point.

*I assume I should just look at the guides in the OP to figure out my approach on this. I did get the MPower Z77 though -- is the OC Genie on this worth anything at all?

 

[Addnan]

OC Genie is okay, but it probably won't get you near the limit of your CPU. It took mine to 4.2ghz, most get to around 4 with that. Manually clocking I got much higher, will probably be the same for you.

 

[yatesl]

What graphics card did you get? Was it easy to fit the mobo inside the case?

 

[charlequin]

OC Genie is okay, but it probably won't get you near the limit of your CPU. It took mine to 4.2ghz, most get to around 4 with that. Manually clocking I got much higher, will probably be the same for you.

Cool. I guess I should just try manually then.

What graphics card did you get? Was it easy to fit the mobo inside the case?

I got the Gigabyte 770 4GB. Fitting it in was pretty easy, although there wasn't a ton of clearance (maybe half an inch?) in the back -- if it were any longer I would've had to pull out the removable drive bay. Actually the biggest problem was getting the expansion card screws in after I seated the card -- the case has a lip such that you can't actually get in there with a screwdriver, and my giant meaty hands were proving useless for that particular detail work. I wound up getting a coworker with significantly smaller hands to tighten them for me, lolz.

 

[yatesl]

Cool. I guess I should just try manually then.



I got the Gigabyte 770 4GB. Fitting it in was pretty easy, although there wasn't a ton of clearance (maybe half an inch?) in the back -- if it were any longer I would've had to pull out the removable drive bay. Actually the biggest problem was getting the expansion card screws in after I seated the card -- the case has a lip such that you can't actually get in there with a screwdriver, and my giant meaty hands were proving useless for that particular detail work. I wound up getting a coworker with significantly smaller hands to tighten them for me, lolz.

The Windforce version with 3 fans? Same as me then (only 2GB), so good to hear.

 

[bodyboarder]

Cheapest place to get windows 7/8? Preferably not an upgrade.

Actually is 8 worth getting yet?

 

[Sober]

Well, I finally brought all the pieces of my build home, hooked everything up, and finished setting 'er up. Behold, Michelle Rodriguez:

Too big for my desk!

You named your PC michelle rodriguez? Nice.

Need to think of a new name for my next one

 

[charlequin]

The Windforce version with 3 fans? Same as me then (only 2GB), so good to hear.

Yeah, the Windforce one.

You named your PC michelle rodriguez? Nice.

All the PCs in my household are named after Hispanic celebrities: Antonio Banderas, Ricardo Montalban, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin....

 

[Sober]

Yeah, the Windforce one.



All the PCs in my household are named after Hispanic celebrities: Antonio Banderas, Ricardo Montalban, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin....

I just pick old timey names. My current PC is Delilah.

I might call my new one Maybelle.

Or something else I haven't made up my mind.

I'm going to be stuck at the windows setup for like an hour or two.

 

[Thorgal]

Ok, I've been researching de-lidding, and came across this video....

Delid a 3770k, No Razor Blade

I'm laughing so hard I have tears running down my cheeks, and I can't stop watching it over again!

Wait thats not how you you are supposed to do it ?

Spoiler

 

[Walshicus]

Okay, so I've got an Athlon II X4 635 (2.9Ghz) processor in my system and the motherboard is an M4A77T model that states it's AM3 socket.

I've read online that some motherboards are AM3+ compatible, does anyone know if this is the case with the model I have?

 

[Inversive]

I'm looking to buy a decent gaming pc for around 600-700 GBP (about 800$?), do you guys recommend getting the best budget pc listed in the OP? I've missed out on shit loads of PC games in the past years due to my laptop being really outdated so i want a rig that can run them well.

 

[BRUTALBOWN]

Agreed, Amazon UK really needs to be added, the free delivery (for goods supplied or fulfilled by Amazon) really puts them over the top of a lot of other suppliers.

And Overclockers custom builds are annoying and expensive, for one they only allow limited customization of each build (Different, limited options available for each base built chosen, no "fully custom" option that I can see) and after pricing up a build there you end up paying well over the odds especially as they charge a silly amount for cable management (which should be a standard build feature for a PC in 2013!)

Overclockers are totally useless too, I had so many problems with them, my new build PC turned up not booting anything so had to flash the mobo so it would boot windows 8, that was on top of loads of other big issues! Would never use them again.

 

[Addnan]

I'm looking to buy a decent gaming pc for around 600-700 GBP (about 800$?), do you guys recommend getting the best budget pc listed in the OP? I've missed out on shit loads of PC games in the past years due to my laptop being really outdated so i want a rig that can run them well.

Fill out the questions in the OP, will make it easier to know what is best for you!

 

[itxaka]

Reposting this.

My USB wifi adapter is dying. Link quality frequently drops to 5% and stays there until I restart it.

Is there any con to using something small like this:


Compared to a dongle like this? Does the range suck in comparison?

They suck. suck suck suck. I have one installed on my mother's pc and the thing went for around 15% signal with a wall and the router is at 3 meters. Suck suck suck.

Get one with an antena, it's really worth it.

 

[Wolf Akela]

Both will suck. We suggest Power Line adaptors, or if that isn't an option a pci-e card with a beefy antenna... No matter what you do for WiFi it's not going to be stellar, so it really doesn't matter what you get.

They suck. suck suck suck. I have one installed on my mother's pc and the thing went for around 15% signal with a wall and the router is at 3 meters. Suck suck suck.

Get one with an antena, it's really worth it.

Left home before I saw these. Already purchased an Asus N13. No issues so far with 70% Signal Strength and 90% Connection Quality. My router is only one wooden floor down though.

I just bought a Corsair M65 too and wow! I love the matte/rubbery feel and I can actually draw straight lines now! My old crappy mouse can't draw straight even against a ruler. Feels a bit bigger than expected though.

edit: What? I can't assign combo keys like Ctrl + something?

edit2: Macros saved me.

 

[Tomas]

I need to mod my case (Fractal R3). The problem is that the vents on the front panel's side are the main source of intake. However, they are not filtered and that results in dust getting into the case.
Anyone knows a simple mesh/fabric I could buy and somehow clip behind the vents?
Thank you

 

[kharma45]

True, but do you get Grid 2? Also out of stock on Amazon, for £6 difference.
After researching I might get the Fractal, as reviews say it's much quieter. Hopefully I can fit another 770 down the line,
Why that PSU? Big W difference for little cash difference. Is mine overkill, even for potentially 2 GPUs down the line?

How come? Can RAM often be bad or something? As I said, I appreciate the advice - although I've decided to stick with the same mobo & PSU! It's taken me since Wednesday to get the courage to press this order button, after having extensively looked at multiple forums/asked many questions every minute I've not been at work.

Here's hoping it all goes smoothly - I don't think I'll have any issues getting a GTX 770 3x Windforce in a Fractal R4?

You don't get GRID 2 with Amazon, no. Places like Ebuyer and Novatech you do though and they're both cheaper still. As for fitting in another 770, I would argue by the time the 770 isn't able to perform to a good standard you'd be better off just getting a new GPU altogether. SLI isn't an ideal option, you're always better off with one big powerful card.

750w isn't overkill for an SLI set up, it's ideal but again I wasn't aware that was a plan of yours. That is why I changed the PSU to that Seasonic which is a much quieter and higher quality unit.

As for the case being able to fit a multi GPU set up, it can

Overclockers are totally useless too, I had so many problems with them, my new build PC turned up not booting anything so had to flash the mobo so it would boot windows 8, that was on top of loads of other big issues! Would never use them again.

Yeah they can be very hit and miss from what I've read, I tend to stay away from them when I can.

 

[kharma45]

UK guys, I was going to send this off to Hazaro to update the UK section of the OP, what do you think?

Amazon (Parts, free delivery across whole of the UK)
Novatech (Parts, Pre-built machines)
Overclockers (Parts, Pre-built machines, Custom built)
Ebuyer (Parts, Pre-built machines)
Aria (Parts, Pre-built machines)
CCL (Parts, Pre-built machines)
Dabs (Parts)
Scan (Parts, Custom built)
Maplin (Parts)
Chillblast (Custom Built)
Cougar Extreme (Custom Built)
PC Specialist (Custom Built)
Dino PC (Custom Built)
Computer Planet (Custom Built)
Quiet PC (Pre-built, Custom built)

Maplin you might question but they have had some good deals of late.

 

[Addnan]

UK guys, I was going to send this off to Hazaro to update the UK section of the OP, what do you think?

Amazon (Parts, free delivery across whole of the UK)
Novatech (Parts, Pre-built machines)
Overclockers (Parts, Pre-built machines, Custom built)
Ebuyer (Parts, Pre-built machines)
Aria (Parts, Pre-built machines)
CCL (Parts, Pre-built machines)
Dabs (Parts)
Scan (Parts, Custom built)
Maplin (Parts)
Chillblast (Custom Built)
Cougar Extreme (Custom Built)
PC Specialist (Custom Built)
Dino PC (Custom Built)
Computer Planet (Custom Built)
Quiet PC (Pre-built, Custom built)

Maplin you might question but they have had some good deals of late.

They're all good store, but the list is a little long

 

[kharma45]

They're all good store, but the list is a little long

Because we've so much choice Guess I could lop off Maplin but the rest are all fine sites. Maybe Cougar Extreme too as whilst I've no doubt their service is as good as ever the PSUs and cases they're offering aren't great.

So that would then be

Amazon (Parts, free delivery across whole of the UK)
Novatech (Parts, Pre-built machines)
Overclockers (Parts, Pre-built machines, Custom built)
Ebuyer (Parts, Pre-built machines)
Aria (Parts, Pre-built machines)
CCL (Parts, Pre-built machines)
Dabs (Parts)
Scan (Parts, Custom built)
Chillblast (Custom Built)
PC Specialist (Custom Built)
Dino PC (Custom Built)
Computer Planet (Custom Built)
Quiet PC (Pre-built, Custom built)

Which is still a bit too long but I feel are all good sites in general.

 

[LordAlu]

Because we've so much choice Guess I could lop off Maplin but the rest are all fine sites. Maybe Cougar Extreme too as whilst I've no doubt their service is as good as ever the PSUs and cases they're offering aren't great.



Because we've so much choice Guess I could lop off Maplin but the rest are all fine sites. Maybe Cougar Extreme too as whilst I've no doubt their service is as good as ever the PSUs and cases they're offering aren't great.

So that would then be

Amazon (Parts, free delivery across whole of the UK)
Novatech (Parts, Pre-built machines)
Overclockers (Parts, Pre-built machines, Custom built)
Ebuyer (Parts, Pre-built machines)
Aria (Parts, Pre-built machines)
CCL (Parts, Pre-built machines)
Dabs (Parts)
Scan (Parts, Custom built)
Chillblast (Custom Built)
PC Specialist (Custom Built)
Dino PC (Custom Built)
Computer Planet (Custom Built)
Quiet PC (Pre-built, Custom built)

Which is still a bit too long but I feel are all good sites in general.

Looks good to me

 

[Lethal]

So...my 3570k was taking a long time to boot at 4.5ghz and 1.18v. I mean, it was totally stable otherwise: zero crashes, p95 no errors.

Was it stupid of me to increase the voltage just to speed up boot? Didnt seem to affect temps. Max of 63c either way. Im playing around with the offset now...

 

[Spookie]

Because we've so much choice Guess I could lop off Maplin but the rest are all fine sites. Maybe Cougar Extreme too as whilst I've no doubt their service is as good as ever the PSUs and cases they're offering aren't great.

<snip>

Which is still a bit too long but I feel are all good sites in general.

At the end of the day we only need a few sites. I'd remove Overclockers since their prices are extortionate and possibly Ebuyer as they are known to use Yodel which is the shittiest courier service around.

You could shorten it down to: Amazon, Novatech, Aria, Scan (free DPD delivery if you post on their forum 20 times). Though I wouldn't be able to comment on custom PC stores as I always build my own.

 

[LordAlu]

CCL do custom builds as well btw, you just have to call or e-mail as there's no builder on the website. You can give them a list of components and they'll build it all for £60 and give a 3 year warranty on the build itself.

Edit: Don't Scan do pre-builds as well?

 

[kharma45]

At the end of the day we only need a few sites. I'd remove Overclockers since their prices are extortionate and possibly Ebuyer as they are known to use Yodel which is the shittiest courier service around.

You could shorten it down to: Amazon, Novatech, Aria, Scan (free DPD delivery if you post on their forum 20 times). Though I wouldn't be able to comment on custom PC stores as I always build my own.

I dunno, City Link are up there with being the worst. The Scan free delivery also applies too if you post on AVForums but only applies to mainland UK, those of us in Northern Ireland don't get it.

We could cut it down to this, and whilst it is still ling there is a good balance between places to get parts and places to go for custom built machines

Amazon (Parts, free delivery across whole of the UK)
Novatech (Parts, Pre-built machines)
Aria (Parts, Pre-built machines)
CCL (Parts, Pre-built machines, custom builds via email or phone)
Dabs (Parts)
Scan (Parts, Custom built)
Chillblast (Custom Built)
PC Specialist (Custom Built)
Dino PC (Custom Built)
Computer Planet (Custom Built)
Quiet PC (Pre-built, Custom built)

CCL do custom builds as well btw, you just have to call or e-mail as there's no builder on the website. You can give them a list of components and they'll build it all for £60 and give a 3 year warranty on the build itself.

Didn't know that, updated it now.

 

[Addnan]

You can't remove a website just based on what delivery company they use. Amazon use Yodel more often than not when they deliver to my house, never really had a problem.

Overclockers I never cared for, they don't offer anything Scan already don't, but at a higher price.

 

[kharma45]

Hm fair point. Thing about Ebuyer too is although they may use Yodel they do offer free UK mainland delivery within 5 working days which isn't too bad.

 

[Quake1028]

Here are my current specs. Got some bday money. Wondering if a GTX 660 would be a good upgrade to get me through the rest of the year, or would it be bottlenecked in this rig?

Intel i5-2500K
GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3
MSI N460GTX Hawk 1GB
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB
CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-650TX

 

[Spookie]

You can't remove a website just based on what delivery company they use. Amazon use Yodel more often than not when they deliver to my house, never really had a problem.

At the end of the day if you use ebuyer and Yodel fuck up you've got to RMA that back to them and it's a long and arduous process. Amazon isn't so much of an issue since most of the time their customer service is A star good.

Here are my current specs. Got some bday money. Wondering if a GTX 660 would be a good upgrade to get me through the rest of the year, or would it be bottlenecked in this rig?

I'm using my 2500K and put a 780 in. Had no issues with performance as most games don't utilize the CPU nearly enough.

 

[theytookourjobz]

Just ordered one of those Metro air blowers to get the probably insane amount of dust and hair out of my rig when my new stuff comes Tuesday. Anyone else use one before?

 

[kharma45]

Here are my current specs. Got some bday money. Wondering if a GTX 660 would be a good upgrade to get me through the rest of the year, or would it be bottlenecked in this rig?

Intel i5-2500K
GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3
MSI N460GTX Hawk 1GB
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB
CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-650TX

It would fine fine. Look into overclocking that 2500K if you haven't done so already.

 

[ElfArmy177]

What's a good selling price for 3570k, p8z77 vlx motherboard, and evga 670 ftw 2gb??

I'm hoping to get a 780 soon. Someone said get another 670, but microstutters would drive me nuts.

edit : also, has anyone had luck with that lucid MVP in actually increasing performance? I heard its bullshit from some people, not from others.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Cool. I guess I should just try manually then.



I got the Gigabyte 770 4GB. Fitting it in was pretty easy, although there wasn't a ton of clearance (maybe half an inch?) in the back -- if it were any longer I would've had to pull out the removable drive bay. Actually the biggest problem was getting the expansion card screws in after I seated the card -- the case has a lip such that you can't actually get in there with a screwdriver, and my giant meaty hands were proving useless for that particular detail work. I wound up getting a coworker with significantly smaller hands to tighten them for me, lolz.

You sure as hell jumped into a good proper system for gaming that should hold you for a while. I'm not sure how proper next gen games will run on it but I suspect with the advances being made with multi core and GPGPU implementation on consoles, we should see a benefit on the PC side and a 770 is more than competent. I'm a little jealous even though I have 2 670's which beat your single GPU but I want games to run at 60fps and even my rig is not able to do everything at 60 sometimes.

Enjoy it though. I thought I had you on my Steam friends list so maybe if you get some games, we could tear a game up on your new rig.

 

[BigAT]

Anyone have any recommendations on a cheap PC gaming headset? The left ear speaker on mine is dying/dead and it's driving me nuts.