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[Sourtreats]

Need full specs and exactly what you upgraded from and to.

I5 2k sandy Bridge unlocked
4gb Ram upgrading to 8gb corsair
2.25 tb hdd adding 128gb Scandisk SSD
Gtx 560ti upgrading to a gtx 770
500w corsair psu
MSI P67A-GD53

Everything was fine until I installed Windows to the SSD and the installer restarted the machine. Since then I've been stuck in a boot loop. All the fans and 6 lights on the board come one for 15 seconds and then it resets. Nothing comes up on my display, tried DVI and hdmi to connect my display. I've tried spamming DEL, F8, etc. Replaced my old parts and tried and still nothing. Tried reseting the Heat sink on the CPU and tried taking the mobo battery out.

 

[canadian crowe]

Didn't you recently build one?

Edit: Ah, I see. Your 7950 was basically the same thing as a 270X. If you want the PC to last, you'll need an overclockable processor. Check the Kijiji for a used 3750K or 2500K/2600K for around $200 with Z77 motherboard. They don't come up very often, but can sometimes be found.

Thanks. I always start to build one and put the work in but revise my budget. Now that the new consoles are out I was hoping that we'd get better pc vs ps4 builds.
Are steambox specs a good thing to go by? I figure I can build a better one than the cheaper ibuy power ones.

 

[kennah]

Thanks. I always start to build one and put the work in but revise my budget. Now that the new consoles are out I was hoping that we'd get better pc vs ps4 builds.
Are steambox specs a good thing to go by? I figure I can build a better one than the cheaper ibuy power ones.

Well.. are you trying to make a small form factor steam box or are you trying to make a full fledged powerful desktop pc? They're kinda different things with different goals and budgets.

 

[Crimsonsky]

I have a question, or I'm searching for a recommendation really, I have two computers, one upstairs and one downstairs. I just sold the video cards out of each one(to take advantage of the current market). One was a 7970ghz vapor-x 6gb and the other was a 6970 2gb. Now I got about 800 bucks for both. With that, I bought a gtx 780 for my downstairs computer for $509. Now for the upstairs computer I have a choice. I can buy a gtx 770 4gb and save 120 bucks, or I can buy another gtx 780 and then the next time I upgrade I can move the gtx card from my downstairs computer to the upstairs and run SLI to stay up to date with that PC. A further choice is to wait for the 290 and 290x non-reference designs, but those seem to be months away.

Which choice seems wiser to GAF? The 780 for future SLI, the 770 for 120 bucks in savings, or to wait for non-reference versions of the 290 and 290x? The PC upstairs isn't used quite as much by me so I could hold off for a little while, but I don't want to wait too long.

Also that 290x Lightning is one sexy piece of machinery.

 

[kennah]

I have a question, or I'm searching for a recommendation really, I have two computers, one upstairs and one downstairs. I just sold the video cards out of each one(to take advantage of the current market). One was a 7970ghz vapor-x 6gb and the other was a 6970 2gb. Now I got about 800 bucks for both. With that, I bought a gtx 780 for my downstairs computer for $509. Now for the upstairs computer I have a choice. I can buy a gtx 770 4gb and save 120 bucks, or I can buy another gtx 780 and then the next time I upgrade I can move the gtx card from my downstairs computer to the upstairs and run SLI to stay up to date with that PC. A further choice is to wait for the 290 and 290x non-reference designs, but those seem to be months away.

Which choice seems wiser to GAF? The 780 for future SLI, the 770 for 120 bucks in savings, or to wait for non-reference versions of the 290 and 290x? The PC upstairs isn't used quite as much by me so I could hold off for a little while, but I don't want to wait too long.

Also that 290x Lightning is one sexy piece of machinery.

Hard to say... I guess if you have the cash then go for the paired 780. I don't see any point in buying a 770. Or you could also go 760 and save yourself $200.

 

[mkenyon]

I5 2k sandy Bridge unlocked
4gb Ram upgrading to 8gb corsair
2.25 tb hdd adding 128gb Scandisk SSD
Gtx 560ti upgrading to a gtx 770
500w corsair psu
MSI P67A-GD53

Everything was fine until I installed Windows to the SSD and the installer restarted the machine. Since then I've been stuck in a boot loop. All the fans and 6 lights on the board come one for 15 seconds and then it resets. Nothing comes up on my display, tried DVI and hdmi to connect my display. I've tried spamming DEL, F8, etc. Replaced my old parts and tried and still nothing. Tried reseting the Heat sink on the CPU and tried taking the mobo battery out.

There *has* to be something that is unplugged.

 

[canadian crowe]

Well.. are you trying to make a small form factor steam box or are you trying to make a full fledged powerful desktop pc? They're kinda different things with different goals and budgets.

Ideally I'd like to make a steambox, but I'm trying to be realistic about budget. I know the $500 steam boxes aren't amazing. Right now I'm going with a bigger desktop build.

I've come up with this so far: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/b/KKU

I'm mainly concerned about consistent performance. I have a ps4, but I think the steam sales and PC backwards compatibility is appealing to me more than Sony's ecosystem.

 

[kennah]

Ideally I'd like to make a steambox, but I'm trying to be realistic about budget. I know the $500 steam boxes aren't amazing. Right now I'm going with a bigger desktop build.

I've come up with this so far: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/b/KKU

I'm mainly concerned about consistent performance. I have a ps4, but I think the steam sales and PC backwards compatibility is appealing to me more than Sony's ecosystem.

Isn't that the build you just sold? Shows an AMD 8350. You should be looking at the builds that are in the OP. I think you'll have a hard time building something that will last years and years with $700 Canadian since we get screwed on so many prices here.

Wait a week and see what comes out of the new AMD Kavari chips. You might be able to put together something decent from that in a smaller form factor. Basically - save up longer to get what you want, instead of settling for something that you can do now.

 

[canadian crowe]

Great, I'll hold on a bit more. Thanks for the advice!

 

[mkenyon]

Got a surprise bonus from Promethean Mutations with the rest of my cables today.

 

[kennah]

Great, I'll hold on a bit more. Thanks for the advice!

And with this Steam Box stuff, there are so many beautiful new small cases coming out soon that can go next to a TV. Holding on a couple weeks to see what's going to happen is a great idea.

Got a surprise bonus from Promethean Mutations with the rest of my cables today.

What kinda keyboard is that? Mechanical?

 

[Baconsaurus Rex]

I've noticed that my external Western Digital HDD has gotten increasingly louder over the last few weeks especially. It's three years old now so is that a sign that it is dying?

 

[riflen]

I have no idea but I figured out my PC sometimes wouldn't POST and go in to a "boot loop" unless a monitor was plugged in to the motherboard. It's annoying but as soon as I see Windows I can unplug the monitor and replug it back in to my graphics card. May be it's worth a go on your end?

On the subject - if anyone actually knows what is making this happen with my PC and how I can stop it that would be great.

Intel Core i5 4670k (stock clocked)
Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H
2 x 4GB 1600 Mhz CAS 9 Corsair Vengeance Pro RAM
EVGA GTX760 3BG FTW Graphics card
Windows 8.1 Pro

Page 55 of the motherboard manual has this to say:

Init Display First
Specifies the first initiation of the monitor display from the installed PCI graphics card, PCI Express graphics card or the onboard graphics.

-IGFX Sets the onboard graphics as the first display.
-PCIe 1 Slot Sets the graphics card on the PCIEX16 slot as the first display.(Default)
-PCIe 2 Slot Sets the graphics card on the PCIEX8 slot as the first display.
-PCIe 3 Slot Sets the graphics card on the PCIEX4 slot as the first display.
-PCI Sets the graphics card on the PCI slot as the first display.

I'd first make sure this setting reflects which slot your GPU is installed into. If it's set correctly, then perhaps check if there's a motherboard BIOS update available.

 

[MRORANGE]

So I think 2014 might be the year for me to upgrade my old PC, I was thinking of Mini ITX:

This is the EVGA Hadron ITX case with 500w PSU.


Reasons:

- I don't use sli/crossfire
- Limited space
- Will only have 1 HDD/ 1 SSD
- Portability is a bonus
- my old pc with a 4850, 2gb of system ram and a q6600 isn't cutting it no more

Problems:

- This PC must last around 5 years
- Intel Haswell-E is coming out this year (8 actual cores)
- Unlikely to have a ITX motherboard that can support that cpu
- Only dual slots for DDR3/4 on most ITX boards.
- 500w should be enough for a single GPU and a high end cpu..... I hope.


Alternative:

- Replace the 4850
- Buy some cheap ddr2
- Start building in 2015, when 8 cores will be cheaper and a ITX version will come around.

Of course I have nothing concrete planed (plus I need to start saving!) but any info on what I should do?

 

[C00kie M0nster]

Hey guys, I'm in the process of finalizing my gaming PC for the TV and I got a really great wireless headset and mouse. The last thing I need is a wireless keyboard.

I'd like a great gaming keyboard (mechanical if possible). I know of the Logitech K800 and will probably buy that one if I can't find anything else. You guys have any suggestions?

 

[chaosblade]

I've noticed that my external Western Digital HDD has gotten increasingly louder over the last few weeks especially. It's three years old now so is that a sign that it is dying?

Use a program that reports your SMART data, that should tell you if your HDD is having issues. If any values are near or below the threshold value you should back everything up ASAP and plan a HDD purchase (I assume it's not under warranty, WD Black may still be though?)

 

[HoosTrax]

What kinda keyboard is that? Mechanical?

I think that's an accounting calculator...

 

[Ieu]

Page 55 of the motherboard manual has this to say:

I'd first make sure this setting reflects which slot your GPU is installed into. If it's set correctly, then perhaps check if there's a motherboard BIOS update available.

Cheers, I just checked in the BIOS and I had set that correctly. There is a new BIOS out but it's a beta version so I'm going to leave it.

 

[kennah]

So I think 2014 might be the year for me to upgrade my old PC, I was thinking of Mini ITX:

This is the EVGA Hadron ITX case with 500w PSU.


Reasons:

- I don't use sli/crossfire
- Limited space
- Will only have 1 HDD/ 1 SSD
- Portability is a bonus
- my old pc with a 4850, 2gb of system ram and a q6600 isn't cutting it no more

Problems:

- This PC must last around 5 years
- Intel Haswell-E is coming out this year (8 actual cores)
- Unlikely to have a ITX motherboard that can support that cpu
- Only dual slots for DDR3/4 on most ITX boards.
- 500w should be enough for a single GPU and a high end cpu..... I hope.


Alternative:

- Replace the 4850
- Buy some cheap ddr2
- Start building in 2015, when 8 cores will be cheaper and a ITX version will come around.

Of course I have nothing concrete planed (plus I need to start saving!) but any info on what I should do?

You're a hero and an inspiration.

As much as I ask Santa for it every day - it's very unlikely that we will ever see a Socket 2011 ITX. THOUGH NOW THAT APPLE HAS DONE IT - we hope someone else will take the plunge.

500W is lots for any single gpu set up. Power consumption has been either going down or staying steady. Been a couple years of efficiency boosts, which is awesome. I run a 450W PSU on my 2600K and GTX 670 - and this same PSU will run a 780 no problem, chokes a little on a Titan. If you aren't dead set on the Hadron, there are 600W SFX PSUs coming out 'soon'.

Going SFF is the way to do it in my opinion. Now that we have very fast external buses for hard drives (Thunderbolt and USB3) there's no reason to have a buttload of hard drives inside the case anymore. Slap a few SSDs inside, and have your external stuff outside. USB3 is more than enough to run steam games off of an external if you get a good one.

As well with the whole SteamBox stuff, there are going to be so many more ITX cases to choose from very soon.

Yay!

 

[Azulsky]

All the CES gsync monitors are sad TN pandas.

I think I will just grab a Dell 28" 4k as my second screen and await the coming of our lord and saviour Oculus Rift.

 

[Granadier]

Hey guys, I'm in the process of finalizing my gaming PC for the TV and I got a really great wireless headset and mouse. The last thing I need is a wireless keyboard.

I'd like a great gaming keyboard (mechanical if possible). I know of the Logitech K800 and will probably buy that one if I can't find anything else. You guys have any suggestions?

I have the non-illuminated version of the K800 (the combo one with the mouse) and I love it.

 

[C00kie M0nster]

I have the non-illuminated version of the K800 (the combo one with the mouse) and I love it.

Thanks! Yeah, that's the consensus I'm getting from my web browsing. That is the best wireless keyboard you can get outside of these custom ones made by small providers.

 

[MRORANGE]

You're a hero and an inspiration.

As much as I ask Santa for it every day - it's very unlikely that we will ever see a Socket 2011 ITX. THOUGH NOW THAT APPLE HAS DONE IT - we hope someone else will take the plunge.

500W is lots for any single gpu set up. Power consumption has been either going down or staying steady. Been a couple years of efficiency boosts, which is awesome. I run a 450W PSU on my 2600K and GTX 670 - and this same PSU will run a 780 no problem, chokes a little on a Titan. If you aren't dead set on the Hadron, there are 600W SFX PSUs coming out 'soon'.

Going SFF is the way to do it in my opinion. Now that we have very fast external buses for hard drives (Thunderbolt and USB3) there's no reason to have a buttload of hard drives inside the case anymore. Slap a few SSDs inside, and have your external stuff outside. USB3 is more than enough to run steam games off of an external if you get a good one.

As well with the whole SteamBox stuff, there are going to be so many more ITX cases to choose from very soon.

Yay!

Thanks Yeah totally should just go all SSD, I already have Steam games on external. I guess it's a wait and see game with Socket 2011 itx Hopefully someone will make one (soon!).

 

[sorijealut]

So I have my discontinued 7950 sitting in my dorm computer. I'm hoping I can sell mine for ~$400 when I get back to school. I just hope the demand is still there, because my friend sold his on Amazon for that much.

 

[TheD]

I've never been forced to legacy BIOS. Motherboards with UEFI I've installed with the Win 7 USB Key where I've actively played around in UEFI aftewards for overclocking: Maximus IV Gene, Maximus V Gene, Rampage IV Gene, MSI Z77 MPower, Gigabyte X79 Assassin 2, Gigabyte Z77X-UP7, Gigabyte Z87 Sniper M5.

No, that is not how it works.

Having the system boot an OS in legacy BIOS mode does not mean that it changes the firmware's user control interface.
BIOS and UEFI are not the menu that allows you to change settings, they are the the interface between the firmware code that starts up the system/initializes the hardware/provides some services and the OS.

 

[mkenyon]

No, that is not how it works.

Having the system boot an OS in legacy BIOS mode does not mean that it changes the firmware's user control interface.
BIOS and UEFI are not the menu that allows you to change settings, they are the the interface between the firmware code that starts up the system/initializes the hardware/provides some services and the OS.

Thank you for the clarification. The inner workings of this stuff is still beyond me.

I think that's an accounting calculator...

Yep

All the CES gsync monitors are sad TN pandas.

I think I will just grab a Dell 28" 4k as my second screen and await the coming of our lord and saviour Oculus Rift.

Not all TN panels are created equal!

There's always the Eizo Foris too.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

Checking out Ass Creed IV finally.

Holy crap the Physic particle option makes my gpu crawl like a slug. I'm just at the beginning where I'm chasing the assassin.

That's disappointing because the 780 should handle these fine. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[Baconsaurus Rex]

Use a program that reports your SMART data, that should tell you if your HDD is having issues. If any values are near or below the threshold value you should back everything up ASAP and plan a HDD purchase (I assume it's not under warranty, WD Black may still be though?)

Thanks! Seems everything is alright but the noise is getting on my nerves. Might pick up an eternal HDD in a few months because of it.

 

[Azulsky]

Not all TN panels are created equal!

There's always the Eizo Foris too.

I was really hoping for a IPS panel especially seeing that many reviewers were touting the benefits of gsync for the 60hz region.


Foris still an option but seems like its having a high lemon rate.

 

[cdyhybrid]

I want to go from 4GB to 8GM of RAM. My motherboard (Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H) has 4 memory slots - should I just buy two more 2GB sticks or just replace both with 4GB sticks?

 

[mkenyon]

I want to go from 4GB to 8GM of RAM. My motherboard (Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H) has 4 memory slots - should I just buy two more 2GB sticks or just replace both with 4GB sticks?

Either way is fine.

 

[Erebus]

What's an acceptable price tag to sell my old Q9550? I know it's an old socket and all but for someone who is still bound to LGA 775, it's a pretty good CPU when overclocked.

 

[kennah]

What's an acceptable price tag to sell my old Q9550? I know it's an old socket and all but for someone who is still bound to LGA 775, it's a pretty good CPU when overclocked.

I'd say between 60-80, but depends a lot on where you live and what the prices are locally.

 

[OminoMichelin]

Are OCZ PSUs any good? THis one is pretty cheap and has good reviews

 

[HoosTrax]

Are OCZ PSUs any good? THis one is pretty cheap and has good reviews

Personally, I would rather buy a PSU from a company that hasn't declared bankruptcy, just in case you need to contact support or RMA something.

 

[cdyhybrid]

Either way is fine.

I'm thinking I'm going to just get 2 x 4GB in case I wanted to add more in the future.

Newegg has G.SKILL AEGIS, Value, and NS - all the same price and all DDR3/1600/1.5V. Should I just get the best looking one? Mainly going to be playing modded Skyrim and probably BF4.

 

[mkenyon]

I'm thinking I'm going to just get 2 x 4GB in case I wanted to add more in the future.

Newegg has G.SKILL AEGIS, Value, and NS - all the same price and all DDR3/1600/1.5V. Should I just get the best looking one? Mainly going to be playing modded Skyrim and probably BF4.

Yeah, whichever one is cool. They're all probably the same thing

 

[chaosblade]

I'd probably go with the NS RAM, but I'm not sure there is going to be much difference in them if any.

$75 is pretty crazy for 8GB though. Honestly I'd just grab 2x2GB since that's cheaper, unless you need the 16GB (and if you do I'd get it now). It's probably not going to be worth upgrading later because we'll have DDR4 and prices will be as bad or worse than they are now for DDR3. 8GB will probably be good for just a gaming PC until you'd upgrade the motherboard/CPU.


And if you're not in a hurry I'd wait a little. Newegg regularly runs promos on RAM, there's some 1333 8GB kits in their current promo email. One is $60 and the quality probably wouldn't be any lower than value-tier RAM you're looking at right now, but bandwidth is lower.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Why does everyone want DDR4 right now? Is Sandra benchmarking the latest thing? RAM is so negligible for gaming I don't understand.

Personally, for me, because it's going to create a huge jump in performance for integrated GPUs/APUs.

 

[OminoMichelin]

Personally, for me, because it's going to create a huge jump in performance for integrated GPUs/APUs.

People think DDR3 is going to be better/cheaper for a while still, and I don't see why they would be wrong.

 

[metareferential]

I5 2k sandy Bridge unlocked
4gb Ram upgrading to 8gb corsair
2.25 tb hdd adding 128gb Scandisk SSD
Gtx 560ti upgrading to a gtx 770
500w corsair psu
MSI P67A-GD53

Everything was fine until I installed Windows to the SSD and the installer restarted the machine. Since then I've been stuck in a boot loop. All the fans and 6 lights on the board come one for 15 seconds and then it resets. Nothing comes up on my display, tried DVI and hdmi to connect my display. I've tried spamming DEL, F8, etc. Replaced my old parts and tried and still nothing. Tried reseting the Heat sink on the CPU and tried taking the mobo battery out.

Is the old hdd still connected?

I've had something similar when adding a new ssd: disconnected the old hdd and everything went fine.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

People think DDR3 is going to be better/cheaper for a while still, and I don't see why they would be wrong.

Oh, of course. I'm thinking more for laptops, where we're constrained to stock standard frequencies with DDR3, whereas DDR4 will offer lower voltage, higher data density, and a jump in integrated GPU performance.

For desktops, however, where who cares about power, and we've got four slots, I completely agree though.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

Wow, seeing the EVGA or Ubi forums, the Physx particles option in Ass Creed 4 makes even the Titan SLIs crawl and drop to 20fps.

This tech is like five-ten years to early!

 

[Azulsky]

Wow, seeing the EVGA or Ubi forums, the Physx particles option in Ass Creed 4 makes even the Titan SLIs crawl and drop to 20fps.

This tech is like five-ten years to early!

Yes, yes it does

 

[FoxSpirit]

Got a surprise bonus from Promethean Mutations with the rest of my cables today.

Wow, a $1000 line connector cable

edit: Yeah, when it's flawless, they Foris is brilliant. Seriously, I will never go back to TN and IPS panels ever again. Internal lightboost is very good but not perfect. Ergonomics are a bit limited. Contrast ratio is.... is... it's a relief to finally have a monitor in front of me where I get the impression of optical transparency instead of staring into a washed out mess.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

How much does processor factor into more performance? I know it does but my question is the performance results review sites are getting with games are better than the performance I'm getting with the same GPU.

But they're using oc'ed i5s/i7s while I'm just using vanilla i7.

Does that extra speed really improve the performance even though my i7 exceeds recommendations?

 

[kennah]

That's what we were telling you from the start...

 

[CoG]

How much does processor factor into more performance? I know it does but my question is the performance results review sites are getting with games are better than the performance I'm getting with the same GPU.

But they're using oc'ed i5s/i7s while I'm just using vanilla i7.

Does that extra speed really improve the performance even though my i7 exceeds recommendations?

A faster CPU will get you a few extra frames in games. Nowhere as beneficial as a better GPU.

 

[bigkrev]

I have a dumb question

What does system speed on the MOTHERBOARD mean? I'm looking at the GA-Z77X-UD3H for my rig, and plan on putting an i5-4570k as the CPU. But on the description for the motherboard it says:

1600/1333/1066MHz system speed (2666MHz overclocked)
With an Intel® Z77 Express chipset for fast computing. The 333 Onboard Acceleration technologies help speed up data transfer and charge connected devices quickly.

What does this mean? Will my 3.4gh processor not run at full speed on this board?

 

[kennah]

That's the ram speeds.