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[kennah]

HELP!

Since rebuilding my PC in a new case (Fractal Design R4), my CPU temps have increased at both idle and load at about +10C. Idle is now 35-45, and as I speak I'm rendering a video at 75-80C (normally 55-65 for this task).

i7-2600K @4.5GHz, Corsair H50 cooler.

All of the components are pushing 3 years old now.. is this normal or should I reapply the thermal paste again?

Edit: Still rendering this video and the temps are now changing quite erratically from 60-80C in 1s intervals...

When you rebuilt did you remove the cooler
And if you removed the cooler did you apply new thermal paste or just reuse what was already on the CPU?
if you removed the cooler is it seated properly?

 

[Smokey]

THE MEN

ARE ABOUT TO BE SEPARATED FROM THE BOYS

only two TIs?

 

[mkenyon]

Just went to Fry's in Renton, they had a ton of Steelseries Rivals for $40.00. Great price for the best mouse.

 

[DJ_Lae]

After going through two sets of powerline adapters with a ton of issues, I finally caved.

Unfortunately drilling a hole in the floor or wall to run a cable downstairs was not an option. On the plus side this wireless card works better than I expected it to, especially after dealing with so much crap over the powerline adapters being painfully slow and dropping connection.

I don't think I'll ever figure out why they stopped working, it was great for a year and despite adding nothing to the circuit I was using the connection went to shit.

 

[Pachimari]

I'm still confused as to which network card I need to get if I want WiFi without one of those bluetooth dongles?

Would something like this do?

It says it has 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11n, but I know nothing about those technologies. =/

 

[knitoe]

I'm still confused as to which network card I need to get if I want WiFi without one of those bluetooth dongles?

Would something like this do?

It says it has 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11n, but I know nothing about those technologies. =/

Yes. That's a internal PCI card. Regarding speed, a < b < g < n < ac. Obviously, you want to use the faster one, but that depends on which on your router supports. For HD streaming, you want at least n.

 

[TC McQueen]

I'm still confused as to which network card I need to get if I want WiFi without one of those bluetooth dongles?

Would something like this do?

It says it has 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11n, but I know nothing about those technologies. =/

That's a good card. I've got one in my gaming rig.

 

[TricksterLoki]

I have a basic question i was hoping to maybe get an answer for. As of right now I am looking at either a SteelSeries Siberia v2 or a Logitech G430 headset and I was curious if any of you have used either and could give some input.

I know that getting a nice pair of headphones and a separate mic would do me better, but most of those are higher than I really want to pay (around 90-100 bucks) I'm open to any other suggestions in that price range though!

 

[Ultimatepancake]

Has anyone on GAF gotten the Silverstone RVZ01 yet? Impressions?
Also is 450 watts enough for an R9 270x, an i3 4130, a 7200rpm HDD, and a 60ish GB SSD?

 

[Jibbed]

When you rebuilt did you remove the cooler
And if you removed the cooler did you apply new thermal paste or just reuse what was already on the CPU?
if you removed the cooler is it seated properly?

Yep, new thermal paste and everything.

It's idling now after a few hours of doing nothing at 40C.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

only two TIs?

Only 2 since I don't want to mess with 3 way and the money.

On a separate note, how do I get those 25 dollar keys from Reddit? I have no idea how to get a hold of the guy for the Windows 8.1 Pro sale.

Never mind, I found the threads I think.

 

[thespot84]

Yep, new thermal paste and everything.

It's idling now after a few hours of doing nothing at 40C.

same intake/exhaust setup with the fans?

 

[LiquidMetal14]

itshappening.gif

Prepare to be CPU limited.

I hope not with my 4.6ghz 3930k

Also got the blower I posted earlier and gave the PC a clean. This thing is absolutely perfect for cleaning out the radiator in my H100i. Great build and several attachments like brushed head which comes in handy for brushing radiator fins.

 

[Smokey]

Only 2 since I don't want to mess with 3 way and the money.

.

i understand. it was just a playful jab

i miss sli

interested to hear your impressions of that corsair cherry red kb. may be looking for a cherry red kb soon

 

[LiquidMetal14]

i understand. it was just a playful jab

i miss sli

My mind has been going in loops the last 2 days. I should have emphasized my post with a

 

[kharma45]

Has anyone on GAF gotten the Silverstone RVZ01 yet? Impressions?
Also is 450 watts enough for an R9 270x, an i3 4130, a 7200rpm HDD, and a 60ish GB SSD?

Yeah plenty of power for that.

 

[Hazaro]

ok i picked up some parts for the cheap pc i want to build. unfortunately although i live in spain, i do not speak spanish yet.

Here is a picture of the components if anyone can tell me if there are any conflict problems i would appreciate it.

Looks fine to me.

So, I want an internal RAID for editing video footage up to 1920x1080. Is there a difference between these two drives besides the 7200RPM vs IntelliPower (variable between 5400-7200, I guess?);

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236351

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236344

Would either perform pretty much the same for RAID 0 video editing? I don't understand the price difference. The more expensive drive has 2 more years of warranty, is that the differentiating factor?

Enterprise have longer warranty, but at least form 1 data storage company they didn't notice them not dying anymore than the other. There might be some setting on the Reds (NTLR or something I forget) that you may have to look into.

So the Fry's near me will price match the Microcenter $179 i5-4670k. Love me some price match.

Good to know, too bad I don't need anything.

I finished my build last night and everything is working perfectly except one thing.
When ever I plug headphones in to the jack on the back of the motherboard it is very staticy. The jack on the front of the case is perfectly clear however. I've tried multiple pairs of headphones and the same thing happens. Any ideas on what it could be?

Should almost always be the opposite. The front panel usually has terrible shielding / connection.
You can try to shimmy around some connectors inside and see if it makes a difference, but I would just buy a sound card.

 

[Pachimari]

Hmm.. count me surprised!

I have an old desktop computer which I got build by a store back in August of 2008, and it can run games like Saints Row IV and Borderlands 2 on High settings, though without PhysX.

It has the following specs:

- Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.5 GHz
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro P
- DDR3 1066 MHz 1024MB PC3-8500
- Asus P5E3
- Samsung 1TB Spinpoint Sata II/3
- Inno3D GeForce 9600GT I-Chill
- Asus DVD drive 20x Sata
- Antec Solo Quiet Mini Tower
- NorthQ 500Watt Fanless ODB PSU

Is all of this outdated or can I use any of it for my new computer?

I already ordered a Fracture R4 tower, the PSU, HDD and heatsink for my new PC.

Yes. That's a internal PCI card. Regarding speed, a < b < g < n < ac. Obviously, you want to use the faster one, but that depends on which on your router supports. For HD streaming, you want at least n.

That's a good card. I've got one in my gaming rig.

I'll buy this then - thank you guys.

 

[kharma45]

I was going to suggest that HDD as it's still a good one if it works still. I know you've already ordered one but you could throw it in too. You could probably try and sell the rest.

 

[TheChewyWaffles]

I seem to have a problem with my PC looking washed out on my new Benq projector. The PS4 and Xbox one look fine but everything on the PC looks washed out and dull. Got a GTX 760 powering this rig. Anyone have a suggestion on what I need to do? It was previously hooked up to a Pany plasma and looked great. Running Windows 8 if that matters.

 

[theultimo]

Welp taxes came in and Microcenter is having a build your own sale.

This is what i got, a SFF Microcenter special!

CPU Intel Core i5 4670k ($179.00)
CPU Cooler Zalman 8000b Low Profile CPU Cooler ($35.00)
Motherboard Gigabyte z87n-wifi ($104.00 bundle deal)
Case Fractal Node 304 ($69.00 bundle deal)
Memory PNY XLR8 16GB CL9 1600Mhz ($129.00 bundle deal)
Hard Drive Corsair 120GB SSD ($78.00)
Hard Drive Seagate Baracuda 2TB ($104.00)
Power Supply Corsair CX 750m ($65.00)
GPU Galaxy GTX 660 ($85.00 open box)

Total Spent: $666.00 Plus tax. I'll upgrade the GPU later, but the 660 seems ok for my monitor res. (Panosonic Viers, only 720P)

Heres a couple of pics:

2 things i've noticed:

There is way too many wires for the size of the case, i cant route iy very well :|
Tower coolers and other big coolers on gigabytes mini itx mobos WILL hit the GPU, you have to use one that fits low profile.
So far running stable, Prime95 had a max 70c temp, 28c idle, and 55-60c gaming. Silent too, its about 20dba or so idle, and 40dba gaming.

 

[implike]

I would like to buy these parts separately over the next few months.
I'm completely new to pc building and will be completely new to pc gaming once this build is finished.
What do you guys think?


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($294.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 750GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($399.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($319.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC68 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Chaser A31 ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.08 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1692.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-08 20:20 EST-0500)

 

[FromTheFuture]

Hey guys, I was thinking about possibly upgrading my PC. Would like some advice as I've been out of the loop for quite a while. Looking to replace pretty much everything, and most likely going Intel/nVidia this time around.

Reason is pretty much the first time since I built this PC in 2009, it hasn't met my expectations. Pretty much it struggles with playing the most recent batch of AAA games (i.e. AC4) even on lower settings.

Would really appreciate some help/opinions/ideas. Thanks!

Current Specs

• CPU - AMD Phenom II X3 720 (OC'd @ 3.5 GHz)
• RAM - 8GB G.SKILL DDR2-1066
• Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3
• GPU - ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB
• PSU - Antec EarthWatts 430W (80+)
• Case - Antec 900 v2 Mid Tower
• HDD - Have HDDs but interested in an SSD

Budget - Around $800 USD but flexible. Located in the US.

Main Uses

• Gaming - 5
• Emulation - 3
• Video Editing - 1
• Streaming - 4
• Model Work - 2 (Still new to/looking into it)
• General Usage - 4 (Occasional work and Windows programming)

Monitor Resolution - 1080p. No plans to upgrade at the moment.

Specifics - Not too picky about performance. 60 FPS preferred, but perfectly fine with 30 FPS @ max on a single player game. Don't really care about PhysX, Super Sampling, CUDA.

Reuse Parts - HDDs. Still contemplating keeping my Antec 900; I'm somewhat tempted to get a quieter case though.

Deadline - None.

Overclocking - Yes.
​

 

[kennah]

Welp taxes came in and Microcenter is having a build your own sale.

This is what i got, a SFF Microcenter special!

CPU Intel Core i5 4670k ($179.00)
CPU Cooler Zalman 8000b Low Profile CPU Cooler ($35.00)
Motherboard Gigabyte z87n-wifi ($104.00 bundle deal)
Case Fractal Node 304 ($69.00 bundle deal)
Memory PNY XLR8 16GB CL9 1600Mhz ($129.00 bundle deal)
Hard Drive Corsair 120GB SSD ($78.00)
Hard Drive Seagate Baracuda 2TB ($104.00)
Power Supply Corsair CX 750m ($65.00)
GPU Galaxy GTX 660 ($85.00 open box)

Total Spent: $666.00 Plus tax. I'll upgrade the GPU later, but the 660 seems ok for my monitor res. (Panosonic Viers, only 720P)

Heres a couple of pics:

2 things i've noticed:

There is way too many wires for the size of the case, i cant route iy very well :|
Tower coolers and other big coolers on gigabytes mini itx mobos WILL hit the GPU, you have to use one that fits low profile.
So far running stable, Prime95 had a max 70c temp, 28c idle, and 55-60c gaming. Silent too, its about 20dba or so idle, and 40dba gaming.

Incredible deal!

 

[Aesthet1c]

Isn't that the Microcenter in store price for the 4670k? That is such a steal. Does Amazon price match that at all? I assume not..

 

[HarryDemeanor]

THE MEN

ARE ABOUT TO BE SEPARATED FROM THE BOYS

I need to buy that MetroVac. My PC needs to be dusted out big time.

 

[kyrax12]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($114.48 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $768.37
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-09 00:17 EST-0500)


How is this budget Gaming build?

ANy opinions?

Is the CPU a bottleneck to the GPU?

I am planning on overclocking the CPU.

 

[BoosterDuck]

Is 8 gb of DDR3 ram clocking at 666 Mhz worse than 4 gb's running at 1333 Mhz dual channel?

 

[Pachimari]

But should I go with the Gigabyte Z87X and a WiFi module like this?

Or just go with the Z87N WiFi?

 

[Asiriya]

But should I go with the Gigabyte Z87X and a WiFi module like this?

Or just go with the Z87N WiFi?

The second board is a mini ITX btw, not an ATX like the first one.

 

[makeitawkward]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($114.48 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $768.37
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-09 00:17 EST-0500)


How is this budget Gaming build?

ANy opinions?

Is the CPU a bottleneck to the GPU?

I am planning on overclocking the CPU.

Excellent build. A better CPU will help with bottlenecking and last longer, however.

 

[kiyomi]

Welp taxes came in and Microcenter is having a build your own sale.

This is what i got, a SFF Microcenter special!

CPU Intel Core i5 4670k ($179.00)
CPU Cooler Zalman 8000b Low Profile CPU Cooler ($35.00)
Motherboard Gigabyte z87n-wifi ($104.00 bundle deal)
Case Fractal Node 304 ($69.00 bundle deal)
Memory PNY XLR8 16GB CL9 1600Mhz ($129.00 bundle deal)
Hard Drive Corsair 120GB SSD ($78.00)
Hard Drive Seagate Baracuda 2TB ($104.00)
Power Supply Corsair CX 750m ($65.00)
GPU Galaxy GTX 660 ($85.00 open box)

Total Spent: $666.00 Plus tax. I'll upgrade the GPU later, but the 660 seems ok for my monitor res. (Panosonic Viers, only 720P)

That's a devil of a deal!

Spoiler

sorry

Very jealous of the deals people seem to get in the US. Nice going.

 

[Angel Abaddon]

I've ended up picking up a 212 Evo fan, got it installed on my i5 2500k and at stock 20c idle, 35 under load. Which is nice. I've followed http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2011/01/07/how-to-overclock-the-intel-core-i5-2500k/5 as its the same as my motherboard, but upped the Vcore 2 steps as it BSOD'd under prime95.

I'm now running IBT, but noticed under CoreTemp my VID is at 1.411. CPU-Z tells me 1.344, so is this anything I should be worried about, since I know the 2500k should really only max out at 1.4?

 

[kharma45]

Hey guys, I was thinking about possibly upgrading my PC. Would like some advice as I've been out of the loop for quite a while. Looking to replace pretty much everything, and most likely going Intel/nVidia this time around.

Reason is pretty much the first time since I built this PC in 2009, it hasn't met my expectations. Pretty much it struggles with playing the most recent batch of AAA games (i.e. AC4) even on lower settings.

Would really appreciate some help/opinions/ideas. Thanks!

Current Specs

• CPU - AMD Phenom II X3 720 (OC'd @ 3.5 GHz)
• RAM - 8GB G.SKILL DDR2-1066
• Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3
• GPU - ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB
• PSU - Antec EarthWatts 430W (80+)
• Case - Antec 900 v2 Mid Tower
• HDD - Have HDDs but interested in an SSD

Budget - Around $800 USD but flexible. Located in the US.

Main Uses

• Gaming - 5
• Emulation - 3
• Video Editing - 1
• Streaming - 4
• Model Work - 2 (Still new to/looking into it)
• General Usage - 4 (Occasional work and Windows programming)

Monitor Resolution - 1080p. No plans to upgrade at the moment.

Specifics - Not too picky about performance. 60 FPS preferred, but perfectly fine with 30 FPS @ max on a single player game. Don't really care about PhysX, Super Sampling, CUDA.

Reuse Parts - HDDs. Still contemplating keeping my Antec 900; I'm somewhat tempted to get a quieter case though.

Deadline - None.

Overclocking - Yes.
​

I'll do one build with your current case and one sans it. Re use your RAM in both and your HDDs

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.97 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($122.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Other: 8GB G.SKILL DDR2-1066 (Purchased)
Other: HDDs (Purchased)
Other: Antec 900 case
Total: $830.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-09 07:52 EST-0500)

Takes you slightly over but we could change the mobo if you wish to get under.

For one with a new case

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.97 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($72.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT H230 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Other: 8GB G.SKILL DDR2-1066 (Purchased)
Other: HDDs (Purchased)
Total: $830.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-09 07:54 EST-0500)

Same deal again, we can change the mobo.

EDIT - I thought you had DDR3 RAM, so we will need to change it up a bit. Dropping the UD4H to the Biostar Z87W would enable you to slot in 8GB RAM.

I would like to buy these parts separately over the next few months.
I'm completely new to pc building and will be completely new to pc gaming once this build is finished.
What do you guys think?


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($294.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 750GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($399.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($319.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC68 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Chaser A31 ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.08 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1692.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-08 20:20 EST-0500)

• Change to a 4770K
• Change your motherboard, that one isn't great when it comes to OCing
• Change the RAM away from that stupidly tall stuff
• $40 more would get you a 960GB SSD if it interests you
• Since you're just gaming you could swap to a 4670K and be no worse off
• Swapped you to a better PSU, but you can go much cheaper if you're not going to SLI. You could drop to the $50-65 mark.
• Windows 8 is better but does cost a bit more
• If you live near a Microcenter you can save big on the CPU

You can also install Windows through USB and save on the DVD drive

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($334.29 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 750GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($319.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC68 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT H230 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1721.20
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-09 08:09 EST-0500)

I do think you're also going overkill on the SSD. Drop even to 500GB and pair a 1TB HDD with it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($114.48 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $768.37
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-09 00:17 EST-0500)


How is this budget Gaming build?

ANy opinions?

Is the CPU a bottleneck to the GPU?

I am planning on overclocking the CPU.

Don't go AMD for your CPU. Runs hot, consumes lots of power and the weak IPC of the CPU will cause issues in many games which are CPU bound. You'd be better off with an i3 that you couldn't overclock than the 6300.

That RAM also won't be that cheap as the rebate is one per household.

PSU isn't great either.

 

[bee]

anyone in the uk, there's a big ssd bargain on right now, Crucial M500 120GB for £45.98 delivered

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/listmodule/SSD/~M500~/list.html?AID=10401721&PID=1546795&SID=586855361

use code CR10JFD

 

[kennah]

[*]RAM - 8GB G.SKILL DDR2-1066
[*]Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3

Reuse Parts - HDDs. Still contemplating keeping my Antec 900; I'm somewhat tempted to get a quieter case though.

I'll do one build with your current case and one sans it. Re use your RAM in both and hard drives

Kharma wait! Guy has ddr2 not ddr3. Will need new ram.

 

[kharma45]

Kharma wait! Guy has ddr2 not ddr3. Will need new ram.

shit good catch! Instead it'd be something like this

I'll need to re-look at those builds later as you'd be talking $850 after swapping in some DDR3 and changing the mobo to the Z87W.

 

[Lexxism]

Okay, I'm planning to buy a GPU. I'm thinking of just buying GTX 760 or should I just go with GTX 770? Does it really make a difference? Also, what's the best brand to buy with? Or it doesn't really matter? Follow up question: What does the 2GB or 4GB mean on the GPU? The price difference is like $30-50.

 

[kharma45]

CORSAIR HX Series HX750 modular for $80

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-020814-Index-_-PowerSupplies-_-17139010-L02C

Would be good for your build implike instead of that XFX I recommended.

 

[CreepingFear]

I need to buy that MetroVac. My PC needs to be dusted out big time.

It's one of the best purchases I've made. No more canned air cans that get too cold or leak liquid if you don't hold them up right. The few cons it has is that it is very loud and can get hot. Still worth it.

 

[Nakazato]

So... I had a job cancel on me meaning I can only get a processor or video card...

So which 1st ?

2500k-3570k or a 760.

Rig of now is

i3 2100
5750
4 gbs of ram

 

[kennah]

Get the video card.

You could probably sell your i3 and existing video card for enough to get close to an upgrade for an i5

 

[Water]

Okay, I'm planning to buy a GPU. I'm thinking of just buying GTX 760 or should I just go with GTX 770? Does it really make a difference? Also, what's the best brand to buy with? Or it doesn't really matter? Follow up question: What does the 2GB or 4GB mean on the GPU? The price difference is like $30-50.

760 is cheaper, 770 is stronger, there's no other difference. Browse through the game benchmarks here to see what the framerate differences are and decide if they are worth the price difference to you. (I'd go for the 770.)
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7103/nvidia-geforce-gtx-760-review

Re: memory, only a small amount of GPUs have over 2GB so no developer is going to release games asking for more than 2GB any time soon. By the time more VRAM becomes important, you will likely want to upgrade GPU anyway. If you want that kind of future proofing, you should consider saving up for a 780.

 

[brickwalker0]

I have to get a monitor TODAY so I was wondering if someone could recommend me a good one sub $250 at somewhere like a Best Buy. Are there certain things someone would need to know about my computer to make sure its compatible?

 

[Bboy AJ]

If you're buying a Samsung Evo, do not get the 120GB one. It's the 240 one that's fast. The 120 one is not that much better than what else is out there. And what else is out there is cheaper.

 

[Water]

If you're buying a Samsung Evo, do not get the 120GB one. It's the 240 one that's fast. The 120 one is not that much better than what else is out there. And what else is out there is cheaper.

Yup, the big speed jump happens from 120GB to 250GB. 500GB is faster than the 250GB, but not significantly.

 

[kharma45]

So... I had a job cancel on me meaning I can only get a processor or video card...

So which 1st ?

2500k-3570k or a 760.

Rig of now is

i3 2100
5750
4 gbs of ram

Get the video card.

You could probably sell your i3 and existing video card for enough to get close to an upgrade for an i5

yeah GPU first. By far the weakest link.

Sell the 2100 as suggested and you could look at used 2500K/3570K, could be a good saving.

 

[ManBearPig]

GAF are these temps normal cores 0 and 1 are always 5-10 higher? I haven't overclocked and my heatsink is a hyper 212 EVO. I moved my cpu and video card to an R4 from my old R3 and swapped my motherboard to a Asus P8 Z77-V Pro. I have reset the EVO four times and the temps are always similar to these and these are probably the best yet. I looked at the EVO to when I removed it to make sure the thermal paste was covering the CPU good too. These temps are better then my old R3 which hovered at ~40 idle with the hype 212+ that was on it.

 

[Edvardelis]

So I'm trying to overclock my Gigabyte GTX 780 using OC Guru II.

I set it to:
+50 Mhz GPU
+400 Mhz Memory
105% Power Target (maximum)

... and I start seeing artifacts and texture flickering. Not a ton, mind you, but it happened regularly. I backed down to +25 Mhz GPU and +200 Mhz Memory, and they disappeared.

Strange thing is the GPU will self boost to 1150 Mhz without an issue.

I raised the voltage to 1.2V ( the maximum), it didn't have any effect.

Am I doing something wrong or is my card just not capable of overclocking that much?

 

[Pachimari]

If you're buying a Samsung Evo, do not get the 120GB one. It's the 240 one that's fast. The 120 one is not that much better than what else is out there. And what else is out there is cheaper.

Yup, the big speed jump happens from 120GB to 250GB. 500GB is faster than the 250GB, but not significantly.

And I thought I should cut down on the 250GB to 120GB. =/ Is it a lot faster at loading up software and windows?