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"I Need a New PC!" 2014 Part 1. 1080p and 60FPS is so last-gen and your 2500K is fine
- Thread starter Hazaro
- Start date
- Status
OFFIS
Member
Easily.
780 Ti.
Kenyon, your rig is a thing of beauty.
SMOK3Y
Generous Member
Redid some of my pipe runs to clean it up, namely the res/pump to GPU.
After:
how come no power cables to ya GPU....
well anywhere really?
Sword Of Doom
Member
Good job. Looks very nice. Good thing you used 45 degree angles where possible instead of doing 90's everywhere. I always wonder about flow when I see acrylic tubing and it's all 90 degree angles. Btw what fittings are you using?
Still need to leak test it. The converter for molex power blew up (it was a shitty one) halfway through the process.
TY! Not done yet though
Or PSU?
I'm leak testing. Need to wait till Tuesday to finish.
90 degree adapters? Yeah, definitely kills flow. The 90 degree bends don't though, as the internal aperture doesn't change.
The fittings are 10mm pneumatic push fittings, the angle adapters are all Koolance.
Okay guys, here are my (mostly final) specs, let me know what you think and whether or not everything is compatible with each other:
I kind of need to decide quickly on the motherboard (and less importantly, the optical drive) because they each are on sales which end really soon. The motherboard's sale ends on 5/7, should I go with it?
Also, Windows 8.1 is not final. I just put that there because that is what I'll get if my friend doesn't have his spare copy of Windows 7 or already used it.
I went with the Z87M so it could fit in a Micro ATX tower. Is it still as good? Just curious though, what are the benefits to a Micro ATX tower? I really like mine due to its sound dampening and would like it even if it were mid or full tower, but is there any benefit to a Micro ATX other than it's size? Can you safely move it around, say if I wanted to connect it to my TV? It's not like I have limited space- I don't want to sacrifice a better motherboard for space. If the Mpower Z87 is much better than the Z87M, then I'd rather get that. I need to know quickly though as the sale ends on the 7th. What would be a mid-tower or full tower alternative to the tower I chose if I don't decide to stick with it?
Also, my friend constantly recommended CPU liquid cooling for me even though I don't think it's really needed. Would it even be worth it if I overclocked my Intel i7 4770k? How complicated is it to set up that model of liquid cooling?
Finally, I got 8 gigs of RAM after much debate. If I ever want to upgrade it, I can easily. 8 seems like more than enough for now though.
EDIT:
On the topic of the GTX 780 Lightning, how is it? Seems to be just as powerful as the Titan for much less of the price, which is very useful for a 1440p screen. I'll have to remove a drive bay to fit in it though, no biggie as the tower I chose has 6. Also, I'm really pissed about Qnix's "Pixel Perfect" version of their monitor, as according to the terms it's still not considered defunct if it has 1 dead pixel in the center or up to 5 on the corners, which makes the $50 extra spent on the pixel perfect version pointless. What are the chances of my model coming with this? Anyone here have experiences with that?
Double Edit:
Holy crap, I forgot a network card! Any recommendations? Or is the ethernet that comes with it fine?
I kind of need to decide quickly on the motherboard (and less importantly, the optical drive) because they each are on sales which end really soon. The motherboard's sale ends on 5/7, should I go with it?
Also, Windows 8.1 is not final. I just put that there because that is what I'll get if my friend doesn't have his spare copy of Windows 7 or already used it.
If you are that set on the lightning 780, you should get the MSI MPower Z87 board to match
I went with the Z87M so it could fit in a Micro ATX tower. Is it still as good? Just curious though, what are the benefits to a Micro ATX tower? I really like mine due to its sound dampening and would like it even if it were mid or full tower, but is there any benefit to a Micro ATX other than it's size? Can you safely move it around, say if I wanted to connect it to my TV? It's not like I have limited space- I don't want to sacrifice a better motherboard for space. If the Mpower Z87 is much better than the Z87M, then I'd rather get that. I need to know quickly though as the sale ends on the 7th. What would be a mid-tower or full tower alternative to the tower I chose if I don't decide to stick with it?
Also, my friend constantly recommended CPU liquid cooling for me even though I don't think it's really needed. Would it even be worth it if I overclocked my Intel i7 4770k? How complicated is it to set up that model of liquid cooling?
Finally, I got 8 gigs of RAM after much debate. If I ever want to upgrade it, I can easily. 8 seems like more than enough for now though.
EDIT:
On the topic of the GTX 780 Lightning, how is it? Seems to be just as powerful as the Titan for much less of the price, which is very useful for a 1440p screen. I'll have to remove a drive bay to fit in it though, no biggie as the tower I chose has 6. Also, I'm really pissed about Qnix's "Pixel Perfect" version of their monitor, as according to the terms it's still not considered defunct if it has 1 dead pixel in the center or up to 5 on the corners, which makes the $50 extra spent on the pixel perfect version pointless. What are the chances of my model coming with this? Anyone here have experiences with that?
Double Edit:
Holy crap, I forgot a network card! Any recommendations? Or is the ethernet that comes with it fine?
maneil99
Member
Possibly this summer, either way gpus never drop price because if new a new generation
Fuuuuuuuuuuuck
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
When is the next computery event we might hear about the 800 series from?
I forgot the name of the one people were mentioning previously.
I forgot the name of the one people were mentioning previously.
Hawk269
Member
Redid some of my pipe runs to clean it up, namely the res/pump to GPU.
Before:
After:
Also a significant GPU upgrade from the Matrix 7970, 780 Ti Classy Kingpin.
Very nice. What kind of tubing/piping is that?
Okay, I know this is sudden, but I've made a separate rig "blueprint" using a mid-tower instead of a Micro ATX, and I think I like it more because the motherboard is more powerful and it leaves more room for expansion.
Here's my original Micro ATX model which I posted a few posts back(I did forget to add the wireless network card though):
And here is my mid-tower rig:
Which one do you guys like better? Is it even necessary for me to buy a CPU cooler for the intel i7 4770k, let alone a liquid one? I just chose it because it was cheap. Also, I need to make a decision on the motherboard soon as it goes off sale on Wednesday. Is the MSI Z87 Mpower good?
Here's my original Micro ATX model which I posted a few posts back(I did forget to add the wireless network card though):
And here is my mid-tower rig:
Which one do you guys like better? Is it even necessary for me to buy a CPU cooler for the intel i7 4770k, let alone a liquid one? I just chose it because it was cheap. Also, I need to make a decision on the motherboard soon as it goes off sale on Wednesday. Is the MSI Z87 Mpower good?
sdjfhaskjdf
IIRC hand bent metal, don't know specifics.
Go mATXOkay, I know this is sudden, but I've made a separate rig "blueprint" using a mid-tower instead of a Micro ATX, and I think I like it more because the motherboard is more powerful and it leaves more room for expansion.
Here's my original Micro ATX model which I posted a few posts back(I did forget to add the wireless network card though):
And here is my mid-tower rig:
____
Which one do you guys like better? Is it even necessary for me to buy a CPU cooler for the intel i7 4770k, let alone a liquid one? I just chose it because it was cheap. Also, I need to make a decision on the motherboard soon as it goes off sale on Wednesday. Is the MSI Z87 Mpower good?
Drop Seidon for an air cooler (212 EVO or whatever), or a single 120mm rad water cooler like an H60. You don't need water. You don't even need aftermarket if you aren't going to overclock.
Get a Samsung EVO SSD instead
Get a modular PSU, I don't have a model for your 750W and the PSU section needs updating thanks to Corsair releasing 20 fucking PSUs, but the Gold Seasonic or Rosewill HIVE are good value.
Get Win 8.1 off /r/software swap for $20
You don't need such an expensive 140mm fan for one exhaust since it can only mount on top and side (although it would work well as a side intake)
Any parts you swap in you should justify, like 'more powerful motherboard' means what? Motherboards does 0.1% for performance.
Vincent Alexander
Member
I'm currently rocking an Nvidia GTX 760 4 GB card from EVGA. However, someone on GAF is selling a reference ASUS R9 290 for $280. Think it is worth it to sell my GTX and pick up the 290? I don't know if it matters much in consideration, but I'm running a 1440p monitor.
It's a great deal, but the reference cooler is BUTTS and the card will hit 95C and throttle unless it's as loud as a jet engine pretty much. So I'd look to replace it.
Frostinferno
Member
Need to replace my ASUS P6X58D-E motherboard which recently died on me. Any suggestions for something comparable (preferably in the $100 range)? Won't be OC if that matters any.
Hey guys,
turning to GAF experts for help, cause this is a bit out of my league. No problem with desktops, but I've never dabbled in HTPCs and I don't know whats possible with modern components.
So, I want to make myself a nice little HTPC for the living room, preferably 4K proof for the future. For some insane reason I'd also like it to be capable of running Dolphin and emulating Wii more or less perfectly, which means a speedy CPU. As quiet as possible and preferably in a form factor not bigger than last gen consoles.
Easy, eh?
Some questions:
a) years ago, when Dolphin came out, you needed something like an i5, overclocked to 4.x ghz, to run it properly. I'm guessing (hoping?) current CPUs should be fast enough to do it without the need to overclock them?
b) are AMDs CPUs capable enough for something like this or should I be looking at more expensive Intels?
c) quiet components? I have zero experience with this. Is passive cooling for current CPUs even possible?
d) I'm guessing HTPC = Mini ITX? Any motherboard and pretty case suggestions?
I did some digging through this mkenyon's Small Form Factor Build Guide and this Lifehacker's Guide and saw AMD's Kaveri APU mentioned. Is this anything I should look into?
Anyhow, thanks to anyone bothering to read this long ass post and offer some advice!
turning to GAF experts for help, cause this is a bit out of my league. No problem with desktops, but I've never dabbled in HTPCs and I don't know whats possible with modern components.
So, I want to make myself a nice little HTPC for the living room, preferably 4K proof for the future. For some insane reason I'd also like it to be capable of running Dolphin and emulating Wii more or less perfectly, which means a speedy CPU. As quiet as possible and preferably in a form factor not bigger than last gen consoles.
Easy, eh?
Some questions:
a) years ago, when Dolphin came out, you needed something like an i5, overclocked to 4.x ghz, to run it properly. I'm guessing (hoping?) current CPUs should be fast enough to do it without the need to overclock them?
b) are AMDs CPUs capable enough for something like this or should I be looking at more expensive Intels?
c) quiet components? I have zero experience with this. Is passive cooling for current CPUs even possible?
d) I'm guessing HTPC = Mini ITX? Any motherboard and pretty case suggestions?
I did some digging through this mkenyon's Small Form Factor Build Guide and this Lifehacker's Guide and saw AMD's Kaveri APU mentioned. Is this anything I should look into?
Anyhow, thanks to anyone bothering to read this long ass post and offer some advice!
Hey guys,
turning to GAF experts for help, cause this is a bit out of my league. No problem with desktops, but I've never dabbled in HTPCs and I don't know whats possible with modern components.
So, I want to make myself a nice little HTPC for the living room, preferably 4K proof for the future. For some insane reason I'd also like it to be capable of running Dolphin and emulating Wii more or less perfectly, which means a speedy CPU. As quiet as possible and preferably in a form factor not bigger than last gen consoles.
Easy, eh?
Some questions:
a) years ago, when Dolphin came out, you needed something like an i5, overclocked to 4.x ghz, to run it properly. I'm guessing (hoping?) current CPUs should be fast enough to do it without the need to overclock them?
b) are AMDs CPUs capable enough for something like this or should I be looking at more expensive Intels?
c) quiet components? I have zero experience with this. Is passive cooling for current CPUs even possible?
d) I'm guessing HTPC = Mini ITX? Any motherboard and pretty case suggestions?
I did some digging through this mkenyon's Small Form Factor Build Guide and this Lifehacker's Guide and saw AMD's Kaveri APU mentioned. Is this anything I should look into?
Anyhow, thanks to anyone bothering to read this long ass post and offer some advice!
You can build something like i built for my living room. Its quite and pretty small (could be smaller if you used onboard GPU but that would mean its a pure HTPC only).
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=106652558&postcount=10754
Something like an ASrock/Gigabyte/Asus (depending on budget and overclocking or not) miniITX Motherboard, a Haswell i5 or i7 CPU, 8Gb Ram and GPU that fits the budget. Thatll do what you need in terms of performance.
Case i used was Fractal Node 304, which is silent, i can only hear my old loud HDD in there, even though its mounted on rubber grommets. My HTPC uses a SSD only. But otherwise its silent as you can get.
You can check this case out too
http://www.silverstonetek.com/raven/products/index.php?model=RVZ01
But i find the plastic looks too cheap and tacky.
There is one aspect you may want to look into for a great HTPC. Its called CIR (Consumer infra red) header. This CIR Header allows plugging in a Infra Red module that acts exactly like the XBox 360/MCE/Micosoft Infra Red module. It allows turning on the PC via a Media Centre Remote such as Logitech Harmony/Xbox 360 remote and more, from Shutdown. Anything else will only allow wake from sleep. But i think there are no Haswell ITX boards with CIR, so you may want to go for a Z77 board, i believe the asRock ones have CIR. My HTPC uses CIR and i built my own IR module, very simple, just the IR component, a resistor and a capacitor. Then i plugged it into the header and off it works. The CIR header basically has the actual decoding hardware on the motherboard rather than in an external module (like USB IR modules) which means you can then put the IR receiver anywhere in the case.
Alright guys, I finally decided to OC my 3570k. I've been testing at 1.16v (cpu_z shows Im Really hitting 1.152v) @ 4.2 Ghz. My temps in prime 95 average 75c and can hit 80c at times. I also played a few games and the temps seem to hit around 60c for the most part. Does all this sound good? Should I go higher? This is my first OC and I was wondering what temps other gaffers deem acceptable.
1.6v, you want to kill the chip in a day?
Try reduce that to 1.2v and go from there. Use Prime95 to test.
Just for comparison, my i7 3770 does 4.21Ghz at 1.05v (and stock it runs around 1.04v). My load temp is 70c with a Hyper 212 in a Fractal Node 304 which is not the most ideal cooling.
phxxBullet
Banned
Hey guys,
turning to GAF experts for help, cause this is a bit out of my league. No problem with desktops, but I've never dabbled in HTPCs and I don't know whats possible with modern components.
So, I want to make myself a nice little HTPC for the living room, preferably 4K proof for the future. For some insane reason I'd also like it to be capable of running Dolphin and emulating Wii more or less perfectly, which means a speedy CPU. As quiet as possible and preferably in a form factor not bigger than last gen consoles.
Easy, eh?
Some questions:
a) years ago, when Dolphin came out, you needed something like an i5, overclocked to 4.x ghz, to run it properly. I'm guessing (hoping?) current CPUs should be fast enough to do it without the need to overclock them?
b) are AMDs CPUs capable enough for something like this or should I be looking at more expensive Intels?
c) quiet components? I have zero experience with this. Is passive cooling for current CPUs even possible?
d) I'm guessing HTPC = Mini ITX? Any motherboard and pretty case suggestions?
I did some digging through this mkenyon's Small Form Factor Build Guide and this Lifehacker's Guide and saw AMD's Kaveri APU mentioned. Is this anything I should look into?
Anyhow, thanks to anyone bothering to read this long ass post and offer some advice!
If you want to use dolphin, you don't want a AMD CPU in there. Also, you'll want the fastest CPU you can afford, and maybe a good heatsink to OC the CPU if needed.
1.6v !!!!! Stop!! You should never need over 1.2-1.3 for that chip. Actually, 4.2 should be reachable at stock voltage.
Okay, so i upgraded my pc this winter (from a Q9550 @ 3.6 ghz, 8gb ddr2, asus P5q-E to a n i5-4670k @ 4.2Ghz, 16 gb ddr3, MSI Z87 GD65 board) and now it is time to update the ol' Gpu (GTX570)
I've nailed it down to these 2 options:
MSI GTX 780 3gb OC gaming card
Palit GTX 760 4gb jetstream SLI
The price is +- same where I live (460 eur).
The reason why I tend to go SLI is because these 2 cards completely destroy the GTX 780 (when SLI works ofc ) and because i have a 2010 old ocz 700 W PSU (so can't upgrade to SLI 780).
So my future move will be buying a GTX 1080 + a new PSU
Any faults in my reasoning?
I've nailed it down to these 2 options:
MSI GTX 780 3gb OC gaming card
Palit GTX 760 4gb jetstream SLI
The price is +- same where I live (460 eur).
The reason why I tend to go SLI is because these 2 cards completely destroy the GTX 780 (when SLI works ofc
) and because i have a 2010 old ocz 700 W PSU (so can't upgrade to SLI 780).So my future move will be buying a GTX 1080 + a new PSU
Any faults in my reasoning?
Holy Shit, I just realized I meant 1.16v! Sorry!
Ok thats better. Run Prime95 click Blend, click Custom. Enter 90% of your free RAM (check in task manager). Test for 15mins, reduce Vcore till it fails. Find the minimum VCore required. If temps are good, and you want to push further at this point, keep increasing multiplier and Vcore slowly. Once you find a good middle ground of temps/vcore then do longer runs of Prime95 to finalise the overclock.
haha, I'm still laughing at the reactions i got... soo sorry, what was a ridiculous brain fart on my part. so yes, that is exactly the method i was using and due to time i stopped at 4.2. I was wondering what you guys thought about those temps i was hitting. Im seeing a lot of different advice when i google temps. some people act like its a big deal to go over 80C and others say that at long as you dont got over 95C you should be good (TJ Max being 105C) i know the longevity of the chip is affected but people say its debatable whether that matters or not cause the type of people that OC usually replace chips in 3 to 5 years anyway. So i guess what im trying to ask is what do other gaffers shoot for in terms of max temps when stress testing? thanks. also, how do stress testing temps typically compare to your real case uses, like gaming?
For me 75*c is what i like to keep it close too. 85 is too much imo. Ivy scales badly with temps too. The tri gate transistors like colder temps exponentially.
I like to stay under 70, but then again I never really push the proc to it's limits. My 3570 sits @ 4.2 and under load holds around 56. That's with a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 running ~2000rpm's and voltage at 1.175.
Are you getting those temps during stress testing? I noticed a pretty big difference between gaming temps and prime 95 temps. I played batman AO and Titnfall for an hour and the highest temps I hit where 60C. I hit 80C in prime 95 with a 5 hour runtime
Prime 95 pushes it into the upper 60's on all cores (~68). Gaming stays in the mid 50's. If I try oc'ing past 4.4ghz, the temps increase exponentially.
Cool. Thanks for the quick replies. Looks like I'm where I need to be then. I think I'll stay at 4.2.
My 3770K seems to be a bit of a bum chip (or maybe it's normal and I have unrealistic expectations), each step past 4.2 GHz seems to require more and more voltage. The absolute minimum for just entry-level stability for 4.4 GHz through about 15 rounds of IBT on high is 1.236v, and my 212 EVO cannot cool well enough for me to dare push much higher. I'll be replacing it with a Phanteks PH-TC14PE and I would like to get to 4.6 GHz utilizing the offset method for final usage without exceeding ~1.3v, but I don't think that's going to be possible. I have my XMP profile disabled and PLL voltage doesn't seem to play much of a role in stability. I'm also on a Z77X-UD3H. Any advice? Would the lowered heat with the new cooler potentially increase stability with less voltage?
That's definitely the sweet spot for mine, and even at "just" 4.2, it destroys most anything you throw at it.
What are your current temps? Also, overclocking is an absolute crapshoot. You may get a winner or well....not. Have you tried disabling hyper threading?
At ~1.2v and 4.3 GHz, the hottest core peaks at 84C, at 1.236v and 4.4, the hottest peaks at 89C. I have high hopes for my new Phanteks there. Back at stock, my 3770K peaks at 1.14v and about 67-70C. All these measurements are with IBT, obviously everything is much lower just during games or cinebench or something. My only other experience with Ivy Bridge is with the 3570K machine I built for my brother. That was a fantastic overclocker, but I have not tried disabling hyperthreading yet. I would take a slightly lower clock for hyperthreading, no point in disabling the defining feature of the i7.
That's definitely a little warm, mid 70's @ 4.4 would be nice. As for the hyperthreading, disable and rerun the test just to see if there's a difference. On my old 2600k it made about 7 or 8 degree difference. But yeah, I agree on it being the main buying point of the chip.
I like to apply my own. Preferably Arctic Silver ceramic. It's a little more "runny" than the silver 5 and works just about as well. Using the grain of rice to center of processor method.
10mm copper painted with I believe MTN spray paint.
Askherserenity
Member
So, just got a bit of extra money I can use on some new PC part/parts. This is what I am currently running with:
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-3220 CPU @ 3.30GHz (probably what I should replace)
MB: MSI B75MA-P45
RAM: G.Skill DDR3 4GB (2 x 2GB)
Videocard: GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB GDDR5
It's not the best set up but I haven't had much trouble running ultra settings on most games and with reasonable fps.
What should I replace? Only thinking about spending around 200-300.
Thinking of just going with this: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i5-3570K-Quad-Core-Processor/dp/B007SZ0E1K
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-3220 CPU @ 3.30GHz (probably what I should replace)
MB: MSI B75MA-P45
RAM: G.Skill DDR3 4GB (2 x 2GB)
Videocard: GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB GDDR5
It's not the best set up but I haven't had much trouble running ultra settings on most games and with reasonable fps.
What should I replace? Only thinking about spending around 200-300.
Thinking of just going with this: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i5-3570K-Quad-Core-Processor/dp/B007SZ0E1K
phxxBullet
Banned
Add 2x2gig (I guess buying a new 2x4gig kit would be too expensive for you?) and .. well. Either a i5-3450 or a GTX 760. In the end both, CPU and GPU will need a replacement.
// The 3570k you linked isn't worth it as your board is a B75, so no OCing there.
Also, what's your PSU ?
TheRagnCajun
Member
I would keep saving for a full upgrade. You're gonna need it in a couple years.
Askherserenity
Member
Yeah, I guess I should just go for the i5 and the 2x4gig...I just feel like my cpu is bogging down my GTX 650 but I'm not sure.
Just want to get whatever will give me the biggest performance increase. Not sure how a GTX 760 will be performing alongside my current cpu.
My PSU is just a 450W Antec...not that great. I never planned on having a crazy setup. Just something modest at least.
Is there any decent upgrades for me to get? I like to play at 1080p 60fps and I've been able to do this awhile, had my PC for almost a year though and usually I upgrade at that time. I think I might just keep going with current setup until 4k TVs get lower and better or a sickly efficient graphics card comes out.
i5 3570k delid @ 4.9ghz
GTX 780 overclocked 3,200 on valley
H100i
SSD
6GB Ram
i5 3570k delid @ 4.9ghz
GTX 780 overclocked 3,200 on valley
H100i
SSD
6GB Ram
I have everything put together and I installed Windows.
Two issues I'm running into:
1) Windows isn't seeing my second hard drive when I go into "My Computer." I know it's installed and getting power, because when I installed Windows, I had the option to install it on the 128gb SSD or the 2TB hard drive. Obv I chose the SSD, but why isn't the 2 TB showing up in Windows?
2) It's not recognizing my sound card (Creative Soundblaster ZXR). I went to install the drivers and I'm getting this "no equipment found" type of error message. I guess my next step is to just pull it out and put it back in, see if that does anything, but I'm not sure what to do if that doesn't work.
Another question:
I installed the drivers for the motherboard off of the disc that came with it, but then I went to the Asus website to get the latest releases. When I look up my MB, it says there are 74 files to dl. Which ones do I DL? All of them? Only the latest in each folder?
http://www.service.asus.com/#!downloads/c1wax
Two issues I'm running into:
1) Windows isn't seeing my second hard drive when I go into "My Computer." I know it's installed and getting power, because when I installed Windows, I had the option to install it on the 128gb SSD or the 2TB hard drive. Obv I chose the SSD, but why isn't the 2 TB showing up in Windows?
2) It's not recognizing my sound card (Creative Soundblaster ZXR). I went to install the drivers and I'm getting this "no equipment found" type of error message. I guess my next step is to just pull it out and put it back in, see if that does anything, but I'm not sure what to do if that doesn't work.
Another question:
I installed the drivers for the motherboard off of the disc that came with it, but then I went to the Asus website to get the latest releases. When I look up my MB, it says there are 74 files to dl. Which ones do I DL? All of them? Only the latest in each folder?
http://www.service.asus.com/#!downloads/c1wax
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