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[LiquidMetal14]

Got my 4 SP120's today. Took the 240mm and 40mm fans out of the side panel and put in 1 intake and 1 out there and 1 fan cooling the GPU's directly. MB temps have improved at least 10C and top end GPU temps have improved about 8C. The only issue is I need 2 PWM fan splitters since 2 SP120's are sitting there not being used. Will end up with one more intake at the bottom and maybe one more fan hitting the backside of the 1st GPU which is the hottest.

 

[bro1]

Will do. Standby.

Here's the log:

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.75.0.1300
www.malwarebytes.org

Database version: v2014.02.19.13

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 x64 NTFS
Internet Explorer 11.0.9600.16518
lostsupper :: SAMANTHA [administrator]

2/19/2014 10:18:58 PM
mbam-log-2014-02-19 (22-18-58).txt

Scan type: Full scan (C:|D:|)
Scan options enabled: Memory | Startup | Registry | File System | Heuristics/Extra | Heuristics/Shuriken | PUP | PUM
Scan options disabled: P2P
Objects scanned: 412174
Time elapsed: 26 minute(s), 24 second(s)

Memory Processes Detected: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Memory Modules Detected: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Keys Detected: 1
HKLMSoftwareInstallIQ (PUP.Optional.InstallBrain.A) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.

Registry Values Detected: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Data Items Detected: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Folders Detected: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Files Detected: 0
(No malicious items detected)

(end)

Doesn't windows 8.1 have defender built into it?

 

[davepoobond]

Nope.
You can load a system image onto a USB drive and install Windows from there.

ok.... i dont have access to a 64 bit pc at the moment, only mac os x and windows 7 32 bit


http://lifehacker.com/how-to-create-a-windows-8-installation-dvd-or-usb-drive-505769939


pretty much says i can't get a flash drive with windows 64 bit, right?


edit: oh, also it says it can't be used for a clean install...?

 

[KTT]

I've been following the R7 265 and I'm pretty sure that's the card I want for my new build. I'll be building in mid-March. It's looking like it'll be available for order sometime within the next week or so, right? So my question is:

Will I have to worry about a HUGE demand due to mining? Is getting one for $150 even a possibility?

 

[jfoul]

I've been following the R7 265 and I'm pretty sure that's the card I want for my new build. I'll be building in mid-March. It's looking like it'll be available for order sometime within the next week or so, right? So my question is:

Will I have to worry about a HUGE demand due to mining? Is getting one for $150 even a possibility?

Keep an eye on retailers, and pre-purchase if you can at MSRP. I think the price should be okay in the first couple days of availability.

 

[Grampa Simpson]

Thanks for your help!

Why are you Dennis Richmond?

 

[NoRéN]

Got my 4 SP120's today. Took the 240mm and 40mm fans out of the side panel and put in 1 intake and 1 out there and 1 fan cooling the GPU's directly. MB temps have improved at least 10C and top end GPU temps have improved about 8C. The only issue is I need 2 PWM fan splitters since 2 SP120's are sitting there not being used. Will end up with one more intake at the bottom and maybe one more fan hitting the backside of the 1st GPU which is the hottest.

SP120s are such great fans. Love them!

I'm surprised at your temp differences. Were you using the stock fans?

 

[IMACOMPUTA]

So I jumped on the chance to sell my 280x's at an inflated price. Sold them for $400 each. I now have an $800 GPU budget. I was thinking i'd use it to switch to nvidia "for free".

I've been thinking I want to get a 780ti.

Are there any other routes I should think about going?

 

[wowzors]

Any input if I should wait for the 800 series or jump on a 700 series? I am sitting with a 560ti 1024mb version right now and it didn't perform as I had hoped in the latest games. Good run though for the past couple of years.

I was looking at grabbing a 770 or waiting for a 870 if its anywhere near release/launch/showing.

 

[kennah]

Spend the $200 for a Titan Black.


DO IT

 

[IMACOMPUTA]

Spend the $200 for a Titan Black.


DO IT

Convince me?

BTW I'm gaming at 1440p.

 

[M_A_C]

Spend the $200 for a Titan Black.


DO IT

$200? I'll take two of them please.

 

[kennah]

Convince me?

BTW I'm gaming at 1440p.

I'm not much of a convincer. It's either that or the 780Ti. I figure since you're that close already, why not go all the way.

 

[IMACOMPUTA]

I'm not much of a convincer. It's either that or the 780Ti. I figure since you're that close already, why not go all the way.

Just read a quick writeup that says it will offer very little noticeable improvement over the 780ti for gamers.

If I were going to $1000 I would probably rather sli 780s.

Any other suggestions?

 

[kennah]

Pretty limited in that price range. You .. could... trisli 760s?

 

[IMACOMPUTA]

I'm kind of wondering more if I should wait for the next batch of cards or just get a 780 and save money.

Or which 780ti I should buy/ if there are any good deals or packins.

 

[lostsupper]

Doesn't windows 8.1 have defender built into it?

Windows 7 here.

 

[SleazyC]

I'm kind of wondering more if I should wait for the next batch of cards or just get a 780 and save money.

Or which 780ti I should buy/ if there are any good deals or packins.

I'm partial to the MSI Lightning series. The 780Ti version isn't out yet but looks to be a beast: Link.

The Asus DirectCU II line of GPUs are also great. Have huge heatsinks on them but cool very efficiently especially at low fan levels.

 

[penis]

I'm wondering, did I fuck up on the CPU and GPU choice ?

I got this all in Jan 2014

couldn't justify 230-250$ on a CPU i5 4670k - got a i5 4430 for 180$ instead wasn't going to OC

Same for the GPU couldn't justify spending 249 on a 760, got a GTX 660 for 180$ instead

will I make it though this gen of games ?

 

[Hazaro]

I'm kind of wondering more if I should wait for the next batch of cards or just get a 780 and save money.

Or which 780ti I should buy/ if there are any good deals or packins.

780 is fine

I'm wondering, did I fuck up on the CPU and GPU choice ?

I got this all in Jan 2014

couldn't justify 230-250$ on a CPU i5 4670k - got a i5 4430 for 180$ instead wasn't going to OC

Same for the GPU couldn't justify spending 249 on a 760, got a GTX 660 for 180$ instead

will I make it though this gen of games ?

You'll be set.

SP120s are such great fans. Love them!

I'm surprised at your temp differences. Were you using the stock fans?

SP120's are overrated (still good fans) and aren't even PWM. They are only good for their color rings which match with everything amazingly enough. I had some, but swapped them out for PWM ones I can't remember.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

SP120s are such great fans. Love them!

I'm surprised at your temp differences. Were you using the stock fans?

I think it had more to do with the 240mm in and small modded in 40mm not taking air out. I think I had an airflow problem so I put in 2 SP120's on the side and set one out on top of the GPU's and 1 in underneath that. I still have 2 SP120's unaccounted for since I'm waiting for my PWM fan splitters to show up on Friday. It's helped temps for sure though.

 

[OriginofHysteria]

So before I go ahead and RMA my board, I was wondering if maybe it could be my PSU? Because the board starts up and runs and it shuts off and restarts and I'm wondering if maybe the it could be a faulty PSU. The debug screen on the board shows normal numbers and such, no FF or anything like that.

I'm using an HX750 as well.

 

[Hazaro]

Gonna swap a mobo and add in the worse value 750 Ti to the builds since the 650 Ti Boost is MIA this weekend.
Any other suggestions?

So before I go ahead and RMA my board, I was wondering if maybe it could be my PSU? Because the board starts up and runs and it shuts off and restarts and I'm wondering if maybe the it could be a faulty PSU. The debug screen on the board shows normal numbers and such, no FF or anything like that.

I'm using an HX750 as well.

Did you go through the steps in the 'help my pc wont turn on' section in the second post?

 

[- J - D -]

Anyone have an idea about why my gpu's voltage would fluctuate when I'm simply idling on desktop? It goes from .900v to .975v when I'm not doing anything and GPU usage is marginal. According to afterburner the power % is spiking to ~40 here and there. Not sure what's causing it, but it's making the temps go up 10c at idle, which kicks up the fans. It's an evga 780 Ti, not overclocked.

 

[jfoul]

After reading the 750 Ti reviews, it seems like Maxwell is going to be able to squeeze the last bit of performance out of 28nm. I have a gut feeling that the Geforce 8xx line is going to be mostly 28nm Maxwell, with the very high end being 20nm.

 

[thespot84]

hey, gaf. i'm about to build my first gaming PC (titanfall and dark souls 2 must be played on it!)

i want a pretty capable pc (money not really an issue).

so far i came up with this. any thoughts? recommendations?

I'd do some googling as to whether that ram on that board will interfere with the CPU cooler, since the heatspreaders are so tall.

 

[Dr_Boris_Goltz]

Sorry if I'm being one of those annoying dudes in this thread, but how is this build?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.24 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT H230 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq Plus 550W 80+ Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $669.18
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 05:47 EST-0500)

As I stated before my goals are to play Titanfall at 1080p at Xbox One quality, and to eventually run Dark Souls 2 comfortably on decent settings.

Any changes? Is this machine easily upgrade-able in the foreseeable future?

 

[JimPanzer]

anyone knows what fps/score you should get out of a GTX760 in the unigine heaven benchmark (1080p, highest settings)? I'm around 34 fps with my gainward gtx 760 2GB phantom and can't say if this is good or bad.

 

[Ashes]

Gonna swap a mobo and add in the worse value 750 Ti to the builds since the 650 Ti Boost is MIA this weekend.
Any other suggestions?

Did you go through the steps in the 'help my pc wont turn on' section in the second post?

I was just going to ask about this. Can't find 650 ti boost now. & was wondering about the 750ti.

 

[CyanideFuse]

I am looking to build a 2nd budget range PC so that me and my partner can both play online together. We have a pretty good main computer so this one is going to be a cut down version for the secondary player when we both want to play together.

I am pretty clear on things apart from the motherboard; I have no idea what constitutes 'overspending' on a motherboard. I want something decent, whatever this means, but nothing over-the-top.

I am in the UK - and there seems to be a fair choice on the sites I have looked at in the price range of £80-100. Is this a decent price band for a board?

Is this okay (as per the spreadsheet in OP): http://www.ebuyer.com/507057-gigabyte-ga-b85m-d3h-socket-1150-hdmi-dvi-matx-motherboard-ga-b85m-d3h

Is there much difference between 1866MHz and 1600MHz RAM?

 

[kiyomi]

I am looking to build a 2nd budget range PC so that me and my partner can both play online together. We have a pretty good main computer so this one is going to be a cut down version for the secondary player when we both want to play together.

I am pretty clear on things apart from the motherboard; I have no idea what constitutes 'overspending' on a motherboard. I want something decent, whatever this means, but nothing over-the-top.

I am in the UK - and there seems to be a fair choice on the sites I have looked at in the price range of £80-100. Is this a decent price band for a board?

Is this okay (as per the spreadsheet in OP): http://www.ebuyer.com/507057-gigabyte-ga-b85m-d3h-socket-1150-hdmi-dvi-matx-motherboard-ga-b85m-d3h

Is there much difference between 1866MHz and 1600MHz RAM?

What CPU and case are you using?

1600MHz is fine.

 

[PwnCakes193]

So my GPU (Zotac GTX 570 AMP) is starting to get way too hot lately. I mean we're talking hitting 90 watching Netflix. I've determined that I need to get a new case fan, as I think my case is the issue. What else can I do besides add a fan and dust blow it to make it so it isn't absolutely meltingly hot?

 

[SleazyC]

So my GPU (Zotac GTX 570 AMP) is starting to get way too hot lately. I mean we're talking hitting 90 watching Netflix. I've determined that I need to get a new case fan, as I think my case is the issue. What else can I do besides add a fan and dust blow it to make it so it isn't absolutely meltingly hot?

You'll want to examine how your fans are setup as well. If you added more fans to your case you might have more fans pulling air in than pushing air out. This will create an imbalance that will cause stale air to back up in your case and could cause temperature issues.

Sorry if I'm being one of those annoying dudes in this thread, but how is this build?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.24 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT H230 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq Plus 550W 80+ Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $669.18
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 05:47 EST-0500)

As I stated before my goals are to play Titanfall at 1080p at Xbox One quality, and to eventually run Dark Souls 2 comfortably on decent settings.

Any changes? Is this machine easily upgrade-able in the foreseeable future?

Can you afford to bump up the processor a bit? If you had a processor that was a bit more solid you could likely run the majority of games coming out with no issue. With the setup you have now you can probably run Dark Souls 2 just fine (basing this assumption off of how lightweight Dark Souls 1 was). Not sure about Titanfall.

 

[Delt31]

guys - seems like these specs would be in the Great category correct?

CPU: Intel i7 4770k OC'd to 4.3ghz, stable
CPU cooler: Thermaltake Water 2.0 Performer Closed-Loop Liquid CPU Cooler.
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87-D3HP Z87
PSU: Antec NeoECO C NEO ECO 520C 520W 80+ Certified
RAM: Patriot Viper 3 8GB DDR3
Case: Fractal Arc Midi
Video card: Nvidia GTX 660
Storage One: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB
Storage Two: Samsung MZ-7TD250BW 840 Series Solid State Drive (SSD) 250 GB

This would be a used rig - what say you and a reasonable price for used?

 

[kiyomi]

guys - seems like these specs would be in the Great category correct?

CPU: Intel i7 4770k OC'd to 4.3ghz, stable
CPU cooler: Thermaltake Water 2.0 Performer Closed-Loop Liquid CPU Cooler.
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87-D3HP Z87
PSU: Antec NeoECO C NEO ECO 520C 520W 80+ Certified
RAM: Patriot Viper 3 8GB DDR3
Case: Fractal Arc Midi
Video card: Nvidia GTX 660
Storage One: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB
Storage Two: Samsung MZ-7TD250BW 840 Series Solid State Drive (SSD) 250 GB

This would be a used rig - what say you and a reasonable price for used?

You seem to have an ATX motherboard in a MicroATX case. That's the only problem I can see.

 

[jeremy70583]

If i buy a windows key from reddit, What is the easiest way to get an ISO if all i have access to is a 32 bit windows 7 laptop?

 

[Entropia]

If i buy a windows key from reddit, What is the easiest way to get an ISO if all i have access to is a 32 bit windows 7 laptop?

I noticed that some of the posters had a link to download their ISO.

 

[CyanideFuse]

How do these parts seem for price / performance? We are looking to build a second budget PC so that me and my partner can play online together.

My plan is to swap a GTX670 into this build into late this year / next year when we upgrade our main PC and I take the 670 card from there.


CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (£128.50 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£54.99 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£64.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card (£99.12 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (£38.64 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Fractal Design Tesla R2 500W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£60.28 @ Amazon UK)

Could a Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB at £77.00 be a good option or will it be too low a spec for medium range settings 1080/60 gaming - BF4, Titanfall mainly?


Edit:

This may be an idiotic question but anyway...

I have a spare HDD with Win 7 (64 bit). If I put it into a new setup do I only need to verify the installation with a new key or do I have to entirely reinstall Windows?

 

[LiquidMetal14]

I noticed that some of the posters had a link to download their ISO.

That and usually there's a link to MSFT's website that has the small 40mb~ installer for 8 and 8.1 which makes it enormously easy and automated to upgrade from any OS.

 

[KiKaL]

So my faithful Audigy SE seems to by dying and I am trying to figure out what I should do. I see the two recommended cards are the ASUS Xonar DSX or the Creative Sound Blaster Z.

I am debating between the two but also wasn't sure if maybe I should just go back to onboard. My motherboard is a ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX . 75% of the time I use headphones and am playing Counter-Strike so sound is pretty important. I don't mind spending a bit more for something that makes sense, especially when my last card has been with me for probably 10 years. I am also using headphones a lot due to using a smaller desk. Eventually down the road I would hope to get a better speaker set up.

 

[plasmawave]

Which version is the best Windows 7 64 bit to get?
I'm planing to do some heavy video editing and some 3D modeling.

 

[OriginofHysteria]

Did you go through the steps in the 'help my pc wont turn on' section in the second post?

Yes I did, I pretty much went barebones on it as well and still nothing to the screen and it resets itself after 3 seconds. Also, I dont have a mobo speaker so I'm not sure about any beeps.

 

[Granadier]

Which version is the best Windows 7 64 bit to get?
I'm planing to do some heavy video editing and some 3D modeling.

Unless you are planning on doing a lot of intense Virtual Desktop work, I would recommend just going with Professional.

 

[plasmawave]

Unless you are planning on doing a lot of intense Virtual Desktop work, I would recommend just going with Professional.

Just curious, what are my other options? I'm a total noob when it comes to PC.

 

[Kintaro]

I believe I've decided. I'm going to build a new Micro ATX gaming rig for myself. I'll use what I can from my rig here but I'm going to grab the newer parts over time to save some money. Once it's done, I can then look to use the previous rig for my girlfriend so she can game with me as well (she isn't as serious as I am about it though). So, plugging in one of those newer $150 solutions is a dream for her.

Now to plan... <rubs hands together>

 

[Delt31]

You seem to have an ATX motherboard in a MicroATX case. That's the only problem I can see.

I see. I'll need to check out why. as for price, what would be reasonable for this setup.

 

[Blak_Status]

I just had a question about my psu. Am I ok with 500w? I'd actually probably swap it out for the CX500m if 500w is ok.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $0.00)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard (Purchased For $0.00)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($65.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($545.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($89.56 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($53.58 @ Microcenter)
Total: $865.01
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 11:15 EST-0500)

 

[yatesl]

Looking to do something nice for my brother, and might buy a replacement part for his PC. He inherited it off of me when I built a new one. He doesn't use it too much, but I know he's been contemplating an Xbox One (the second one in the house, don't ask).

Here's what it is now:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 45.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler (£16.35 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Patriot Viper II Sector 5 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (£36.59 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (64-bit) (£106.90 @ Ebuyer)
Other: Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P
Other: Club 3D ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Other: Sony Optiarc AD-5240S 24x Internal SATA DVDRW
Other: Edimax 802.11g EW-7128g Wireless PCI Card
Total: £159.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 16:16 GMT+0000)

First thing's first, the 500GB HDD it's installed to is horrendous as a C:\, as it's really slow (it was my old PS3 hard drive). Also, the Antec 300 case is a mess too (scratched up, faulty front USB ports). I wouldn't mind a small HTPC-like case, that can take a full size ATX motherboard.

Also looking at getting one of the new budget cards (R7 270x or 750Ti), but unsure how the Phenom II X4 stacks up these days (almost five years later).

Any suggestions? I don't want to break my wallet, but there's my 600+ Steam library on family share that's going to waste.

 

[mkenyon]

I just had a question about my psu. Am I ok with 500w? I'd actually probably swap it out for the CX500m if 500w is ok.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $0.00)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard (Purchased For $0.00)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($65.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($545.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($89.56 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($53.58 @ Microcenter)
Total: $865.01
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 11:15 EST-0500)

Swap that out for the Silverstone Strider in the SFF guide (third post in thread). CX series isn't great, and I certainly wouldn't be using one with a 780 and an overclocked processor. Speaking of which, you'll also need a CPU cooler. Grab the one from the Node Build in the SFF guide as well.

First thing's first, the 500GB HDD it's installed to is horrendous as a C:\, as it's really slow (it was my old PS3 hard drive). Also, the Antec 300 case is a mess too (scratched up, faulty front USB ports). I wouldn't mind a small HTPC-like case, that can take a full size ATX motherboard.

Also looking at getting one of the new budget cards (R7 270x or 750Ti), but unsure how the Phenom II X4 stacks up these days (almost five years later).

Any suggestions? I don't want to break my wallet, but there's my 600+ Steam library on family share that's going to waste.

I'd suggest putting a 120GB SSD in there, swapping in one of the budget cards you're talking about, and then putting it in one of the cases from the OP.

The motherboard is really going to limit you in terms of getting an HTPC chassis, as the full sized ATX ones are pretty spendy.

The Phenom II X4s aren't great, but they're within spitting distance of AMD's FX series processors, and even faster than the first gen of FX processors (Bulldozer).

I believe I've decided. I'm going to build a new Micro ATX gaming rig for myself. I'll use what I can from my rig here but I'm going to grab the newer parts over time to save some money. Once it's done, I can then look to use the previous rig for my girlfriend so she can game with me as well (she isn't as serious as I am about it though). So, plugging in one of those newer $150 solutions is a dream for her.

Now to plan... <rubs hands together>

mATX is my size of choice. Let me know if you have any questions.

*edit*

TechReport's review of the 750Ti is up.

 

[zarnold56]

I have a 1GB HD6870 as my current graphics card. Is there a card $200 or under that will be a major performance upgrade? Also do these used 6870's sell pretty well for those bitcoin miners?