Support NeoGAF

[garath]

Can anyone help me out with a router purchase? I am getting a new place, moving from a large house to a one bedroom.

I have owned a Linksys WRT whatever years ago and it served me well but eventually devices were not connecting to wifi.

I have had good experiences with the Asus RT-N66U but it seems to be out of stock on newegg so is there something that superceded it?

Do I actually gain anything at higher end models? Chrome cast ability? PC is going to be wired like a civilized human being.

I also probably need something for the floor because it is carpet. Usually my tower and external drive are just under the desk.

I have the ASUS RT-N66U. Best router I've owned.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QB1RPY/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It's in stock at Amazon.

It was replaced by the RT-AC68U which is the AC version of it. That's why you'll have trouble finding the N66U. I bought the N66U RIGHT as the AC68U came out. I decided that I didn't have any AC devices, nor did I envision getting any in the immediate future to warrant the extra $100 (at the time). It's still another $70 for the AC router.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FB45SI4/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[yatesl]

I was really unsure about how to mount the fan, and followed the tech guide video. I found it weird that it would be sucking in air that's supposed to go out, I'll swap it around first thing in the morning

I only recently found out that on each fan there should be an arrow pointing in the direction the air was blowing (see this). Up until then it was either guess work, or getting a piece or paper and seeing if it gets sucked in or blown back...

Double check before you move anything.

 

[kiyomi]

I have two but they're so old that one of them is 4:3. Four by three! Ridiculous. Still, the other monitor is fairly decent so for the moment let's just budget for the machine and OS - I'll get a new monitor separately. I am salivating at the thought of 120Hz goodness but hey, one thing at a time...

How does this look?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£239.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£22.63 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£111.56 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£114.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£75.90 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£39.97 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (£163.87 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Fractal Design Define Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£61.99 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£8.00)
Other: Cooler Master VS V550S (£66.39)
Total: £905.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-19 13:39 BST+0100

This leaves a little wiggle room for a different case if you don't like the one I selected, a better GPU, more SSD space, or you could put it towards a new monitor at some stage. You'd be getting a Windows 8.1 or 7 license - depending on your preference - from reddit.com/r/softwareswap. You'd install it via USB.

 

[LeeRoyBrown]

How does this look?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£239.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£22.63 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£111.56 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£114.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£75.90 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£39.97 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (£163.87 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Fractal Design Define Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£61.99 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£8.00)
Other: Cooler Master VS V550S (£66.39)
Total: £905.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-19 13:39 BST+0100

This leaves a little wiggle room for a different case if you don't like the one I selected, a better GPU, more SSD space, or you could put it towards a new monitor at some stage. You'd be getting a Windows 8.1 or 7 license - depending on your preference - from reddit.com/r/softwareswap. You'd install it via USB.

Piss off the i7 get an i5 save the money and put it towards a better GPU.

Please for the love of god, please, you play games right?

 

[Bumhat]

How does this look?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£239.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£22.63 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£111.56 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£114.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£75.90 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£39.97 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (£163.87 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Fractal Design Define Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£61.99 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£8.00)
Other: Cooler Master VS V550S (£66.39)
Total: £905.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-19 13:39 BST+0100

This leaves a little wiggle room for a different case if you don't like the one I selected, a better GPU, more SSD space, or you could put it towards a new monitor at some stage. You'd be getting a Windows 8.1 or 7 license - depending on your preference - from reddit.com/r/softwareswap. You'd install it via USB.

This looks awesome, thanks so much for putting this together! Roughly speaking, how powerful is this machine? Remember I am completely out of the game and have no idea if this is a top-tier system or something more mid-range. You mentioned the GPU - are there any limitations I'm going to face with the one you've selected?

EDIT:

Piss off the i7 get an i5 save the money and put it towards a better GPU.

Please for the love of god, please, you play games right?

I do yeah, but I've been primarily a console gamer for the last five years and whenever I'm on Steam nowadays I'm generally just playing Counter-Strike: Source. However, my desire to get back into PC gaming and my need for a proper editing/visual effects system means I'm ready to get back into the game (so to speak).

Can anyone tell me in plain English what the advantages of the i7 are over the i5? There seems to be a running debate over this and I know far too little to make an informed choice.

EDIT 2:

I've not looked at the requirements for the PC but, if it's just for gaming and not video editing, I'd also knock the RAM down to 8GB to contribute to the card.

I'll be using the machine for editing and visual effects too, so the extra RAM would be really useful (I think!).

 

[yatesl]

Piss off the i7 get an i5 save the money and put it towards a better GPU.

Please for the love of god, please, you play games right?

I've not looked at the requirements for the PC but, if it's just for gaming and not video editing, I'd also knock the RAM down to 8GB to contribute to the card.

 

[LilJoka]

This looks awesome, thanks so much for putting this together! Roughly speaking, how powerful is this machine? Remember I am completely out of the game and have no idea if this is a top-tier system or something more mid-range. You mentioned the GPU - are there any limitations I'm going to face with the one you've selected?

EDIT:

I do yeah, but I've been primarily a console gamer for the last five years and whenever I'm on Steam nowadays I'm generally just playing Counter-Strike: Source. However, my desire to get back into PC gaming and my need for a proper editing/visual effects system means I'm ready to get back into the game (so to speak).

Can anyone tell me in plain English what the advantages of the i7 are over the i5? There seems to be a running debate over this and I know far too little to make an informed choice.

This is a mid-high end system, itll play pretty much anything at max or near max at 1080p 60fps+.

i7 will give you a bit more performance when doing video editing work, and any game that supports hyperthreading. Newer games are starting to support hyperthreading, and generally more cores, but every current game with a few exceptions (Crysis 3, Watch_Dogs, Titanfall) doesnt need hyperthreading. IMO its probably a good way to futureproof what maybe a dead socket mid next year.

If you arent overclocking you can pick the Xeon equivalent CPU which will save around £20 and a H97 board to save some more money.

 

[Bumhat]

This is a mid-high end system, itll play pretty much anything at max or near max at 1080p 60fps+.

i7 will give you a bit more performance when doing video editing work, and any game that supports hyperthreading. Newer games are starting to support hyperthreading, and generally more cores, but every current game with a few exceptions (Crysis 3, Watch_Dogs, Titanfall) doesnt need hyperthreading. IMO its probably a good way to futureproof what maybe a dead socket mid next year.

If you arent overclocking you can pick the Xeon equivalent CPU which will save around £20 and a H97 board to save some more money.

This is a good explanation, thanks. I know very little about overclocking (as you can probably tell from my dunce level of knowledge exhibited in this thread so far) but I am an open book here - you guys clearly know far more than I do, so I want to learn as much as I can.

Just to add that I haven't spent any money on a new PC in over seven years, so if I'm going to do this I am going balls-to-the-wall. Get me as much power as I can afford! I want this machine to last a while...

EDIT: Actually, let's have full disclosure here: I have literally no idea what hyperthreading is. HELP PLZ! Wikipedia casually mentions that hyper-threading is "Intel's proprietary simultaneous multithreading implementation used to improve parallelization of computations" which I guess means... it does lots of things at the same time quickly? Perhaps? I am really behind with this stuff.

 

[Li Kao]

I can't remember if I already asked this some months ago or not, so please excuse me if it is indeed the case. I'm entertaining the idea of upgrading my aging PC, but I have a question first :

When I bought my current rig (pre-assembled) it came with a Cooler Master Silencio case. Very nice, very silencio. But it was said at the time that putting a card more demanding than a 560ti would cause heat issues, as the case was not the best at dissipating heat.
So maybe four years later the first thing I would upgrade is indeed the 560ti and I'm wondering if a 780/780 ti/800 would have issues in this case. Will I have to consider a new case ?

 

[Knch]

One issue I'm having is that for some reason my 1TB HDD is not showing up in the "devices and drives" tab. I've checked "device manager, and the drive is listed, any reason what could be causing this?

Because it hasn't been formatted yet?

Run (Windows key + R) => diskmgmt.msc => Select drive, create partition, format

(So very beaten...)

 

[SMOK3Y]

Bumhat it Basically turns 4 cores into 8

 

[kiyomi]

Piss off the i7 get an i5 save the money and put it towards a better GPU.

Please for the love of god, please, you play games right?

Well, he did say he was doing video editing and stuff, so I figured an i7 was within his budget, and don't forget that with the build I posted, he has another £100 or so to spend on GPU if he wants the extra power.

Usually I would agree about getting an i5 and 8GB RAM (after all that's exactly what I did when I built mine 2 months ago), but he has a nice budget and would probably use the extra power.

Also, the GTX 760 is no slouch.

EDIT: Actually, let's have full disclosure here: I have literally no idea what hyperthreading is. HELP PLZ! Wikipedia casually mentions that hyper-threading is "Intel's proprietary simultaneous multithreading implementation used to improve parallelization of computations" which I guess means... it does lots of things at the same time quickly? Perhaps? I am really behind with this stuff.

Imagine the motorway. The amount of traffic on the motorway is your instructions per clock - IPC. This is where Intel dominates over AMD when it comes to CPUs. The rate the traffic moves at is your clock speed. The number of lanes you have are the amount of cores your CPU has. So an i3 will have two cores, an i5 will have 4. The more lanes you have, the more traffic can get through easily without there being a jam. Now, the i7 I posted also has 4 cores - so how does it differentiate from the i5? Hyperthreading is kind of like the Hard Shoulder. It's there to let that bit of traffic get through when things are looking real messy. Most of the time it isn't even used, but in specific instances like video editing and soforth, it can be useful.

 

[luffeN]

Yeah i was just asking for more detailed advice, knowing that many interesting models just came out, thank you for your time

I have this one at home "BenQ XL2411T" and it is superb monitor for gaming. IIRC the eye-care / flicker free feature also helps (besides eyes getting less strained) when you lower the brightness to 25 or something like that. I think that I run my monitor on 25 or 30 and it is still bright. The 120hz desktop / browsing etc. feels awesome. Everything is super smooth.

There is a newer model out: BenQ XL2411Z 61

I can wholeheartedly recommend the 2411T.

 

[Bumhat]

Well, he did say he was doing video editing and stuff, so I figured an i7 was within his budget, and don't forget that with the build I posted, he has another £100 or so to spend on GPU if he wants the extra power.

Usually I would agree about getting an i5 and 8GB RAM (after all that's exactly what I did when I built mine 2 months ago), but he has a nice budget and would probably use the extra power.

Also, the GTX 760 is no slouch.

Imagine the motorway. The amount of traffic on the motorway is your instructions per clock - IPC. This is where Intel dominates over AMD when it comes to CPUs. The rate the traffic moves at is your clock speed. The number of lanes you have are the amount of cores your CPU has. So an i3 will have two cores, an i5 will have 4. The more lanes you have, the more traffic can get through easily without there being a jam. Now, the i7 I posted also has 4 cores - so how does it differentiate from the i5? Hyperthreading is kind of like the Hard Shoulder. It's there to let that bit of traffic get through when things are looking real messy. Most of the time it isn't even used, but in specific instances like video editing and soforth, it can be useful.

Thanks Mono, you've been a huge help so far! Just wondering, how the hell is Windows 8.1 listed as being only eight pounds? Does it come with one of the other bits of hardware?

So, the GPU: given we have a bit of wiggle-room with the budget, is it worth me getting something a bit more powerful? I'm not looking to upgrade this machine for several years, so it'd be good to get something relatively future-proof.

EDIT: Sorry Mono, I only just noticed this: "reddit.com/r/softwareswap. You'd install it via USB." Another stupid question - what is this reddit group? How does it work? I don't know anything

 

[theSlacker]

EDIT: Sorry Mono, I only just noticed this: "reddit.com/r/softwareswap. You'd install it via USB." Another stupid question - what is this reddit group? How does it work? I don't know anything

You make an account on reddit, which requires nothing, find a person selling what you want at the price you want from reddit.com/r/softwareswap and then PM that person what you want to buy and your email address for them to send you an invoice. I have used s5ean a few times on there and went smooth, but am sure the process works the same with any of the sellers.

Note that they will just be selling you the keys and you will have to find where to download the official software in the proper version, and how you are going to load in onto your computer yourself. Think the area to the right of the screen on that reddit has a link to where to get your OS download and info, but it seems to be dead right now so got me.

 

[Bumhat]

You make an account on reddit, which requires nothing, find a person selling what you want at the price you want from reddit.com/r/softwareswap and then PM that person what you want to buy and your email address for them to send you an invoice. I have used s5ean a few times on there and went smooth, but am sure the process works the same with any of the sellers.

Note that they will just be selling you the keys and you will have to find where to download the official software in the proper version, and how you are going to load in onto your computer yourself. Think the area to the right of the screen on that reddit has a link to where to get your OS download and info, but it seems to be dead right now so got me.

Is this legal? I doubt it wouldn't be given you're openly talking about it on GAF, but it just sounds a bit of an odd system. How does it work exactly for the seller? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions here, I'm just slightly confused about the system.

 

[shandy706]

Trying to build a system for my cousin who is....well, to put it nicely, incredibly poor. (due to his parents). Anyway, he's out on his own for the first time and wants a "gaming" PC for next to nothing. He can afford all his bills, food, etc..with his job, so this will be basically his first "splurge" in his life, but it won't disable his livelihood.

There are no stores nearby that are worthwhile, outside of Best Buy and Walmart.

His Budget is $450...and even then he's not sure. I recommended a console to him, but he says he has an extensive Steam library built up (even without a gaming PC) on his $400 Walmart PC he has had for a good 5+ years.

Anyway, I told him some of these parts are REALLY iffy, and that we may get some DOAs or they may not last long....but he just wants to try and pull it off.

All from newegg, so we might find even cheaper parts elsewhere online.

Processor: G3258/Haswell - LGA1150 $70
Motherboard: Biostar H81MHV3 $45
RAM: Some off Brand 8GB (2x4GB) $67
Video Card: Sapphire R9 270 2GB $170
Hard Drvie: Western Digital 500GB $55
Power Supply: TOPOWER 500W $30
System Case: DIYPC M88 $29

Total cost: $466

Then install free SteamOS with USB.

That's what i have for now. It doesn't include a keyboard and mouse, but he's keeping his old ones, along with his monitor. Remember...this is for someone who literally can't make any big changes cost wise..I'm looking for even cheaper alternatives vs something slightly higher.

I know the G3258 is highly recommended around here as an entry level CPU, anything cheaper worthwhile?

Edit** I know we could go cheaper than the R9 270, but I'm trying to get him as much oomph for his $450 as I can. If there's a better suggestion, with similar performance, let me know. I've been an Nvidia guy for a long time.

 

[yatesl]

Is this legal? I doubt it wouldn't be given you're openly talking about it on GAF, but it just sounds a bit of an odd system. How does it work exactly for the seller? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions here, I'm just slightly confused about the system.

Legal to buy. Whether the seller is going against terms of use, that depends on what they're selling. Usually it's keys from a student account or MSDN, which are often 'not for resale'.

It's akin to selling promo copies of games on eBay though. Sort of.

 

[kiyomi]

Thanks Mono, you've been a huge help so far! Just wondering, how the hell is Windows 8.1 listed as being only eight pounds? Does it come with one of the other bits of hardware?

So, the GPU: given we have a bit of wiggle-room with the budget, is it worth me getting something a bit more powerful? I'm not looking to upgrade this machine for several years, so it'd be good to get something relatively future-proof.

EDIT: Sorry Mono, I only just noticed this: "reddit.com/r/softwareswap. You'd install it via USB." Another stupid question - what is this reddit group? How does it work? I don't know anything

Sure it's worth getting a better GPU if you can afford it. However, nobody can truthfully tell you that processor x or graphics card y is going to make you "future proof", because there's no such thing.

Part of my reasoning with the cheaper GPU I recommended to you is that whether you like the idea or not, it does incentivize you to upgrade sooner and leaves more money in your pocket to do so. Would you rather spend ~£300 on a GPU now and enjoy it while it's okay for the next 3 years? Or would you be okay with spending £165 now and upgrading in 1-2 years time? It kind of depends how you view it.

Is this legal? I doubt it wouldn't be given you're openly talking about it on GAF, but it just sounds a bit of an odd system. How does it work exactly for the seller? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions here, I'm just slightly confused about the system.

I believe most of - if not all - keys are sold by college students who get them for free as part of education programs. So they're legitimate keys, but it's technically illegal for them to sell them to you, I guess. Microsoft/authorities have no track record of punishing people though, so it's considered very safe.

The actual download of the Windows 8.1 ISO is completely legal - you can actually get it on Microsoft's website provided you have the key.

 

[Nostremitus]

Is this legal? I doubt it wouldn't be given you're openly talking about it on GAF, but it just sounds a bit of an odd system. How does it work exactly for the seller? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions here, I'm just slightly confused about the system.

It's fine. The seller may be breaking their EULA, but it isn't illegal. You actually DL the copy of Windows from Microsoft and input the product key when it asks. You'll need a computer that's running a similar version of Windows (32 vs 64 bit) in order to create a bootable flash drive. Then boot your new PC with that drive and let it do it's thing.

Or just not enter it until you get your computer set up all the way since you will get the 30 day trail thing going if you don't put in a code right away.

You could do this too, I guess. I wasn't aware of this.

 

[theSlacker]

Is this legal? I doubt it wouldn't be given you're openly talking about it on GAF, but it just sounds a bit of an odd system. How does it work exactly for the seller? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions here, I'm just slightly confused about the system.

It's legal to buy.

Also found the reddit faq about how to download the actual OS software and get it on usb for you.

 

[kiyomi]

You'll need a computer that's running a similar version of Windows (32 vs 64 bit) in order to create a bootable flash drive.

Yup. This is super important and should probably be in the OP if it isn't already.

 

[theSlacker]

You actually DL the copy of Windows from Microsoft and input the product key when it asks.

Or just not enter it until you get your computer set up all the way since you will get the 30 day trail thing going if you don't put in a code right away.

 

[LilJoka]

Trying to build a system for my cousin who is....well, to put it nicely, incredibly poor. (due to his parents). Anyway, he's out on his own for the first time and wants a "gaming" PC for next to nothing. He can afford all his bills, food, etc..with his job, so this will be basically his first "splurge" in his life, but it won't disable his livelihood.

There are no stores nearby that are worthwhile, outside of Best Buy and Walmart.

His Budget is $450...and even then he's not sure. I recommended a console to him, but he says he has an extensive Steam library built up (even without a gaming PC) on his $400 Walmart PC he has had for a good 5+ years.

Anyway, I told him some of these parts are REALLY iffy, and that we may get some DOAs or they may not last long....but he just wants to try and pull it off.

All from newegg, so we might find even cheaper parts elsewhere online.

Processor: G3258/Haswell - LGA1150 $70
Motherboard: Biostar H81MHV3 $45
RAM: Some off Brand 8GB (2x4GB) $67
Video Card: Sapphire R9 270 2GB $170
Hard Drvie: Western Digital 500GB $55
Power Supply: TOPOWER 500W $30
System Case: DIYPC M88 $29

Total cost: $466

Then install free SteamOS with USB.

That's what i have for now. It doesn't include a keyboard and mouse, but he's keeping his old ones, along with his monitor. Remember...this is for someone who literally can't make any big changes cost wise..I'm looking for even cheaper alternatives vs something slightly higher.

I know the G3258 is highly recommended around here as an entry level CPU, anything cheaper worthwhile?

Edit** I know we could go cheaper than the R9 270, but I'm trying to get him as much oomph for his $450 as I can. If there's a better suggestion, with similar performance, let me know. I've been an Nvidia guy for a long time.

Too much dodgy parts here, board, PSU, case. For $44 more get something reliable and something that you wont regret 6months down the line:

Fractal Design Core 1000
Pentium G3258
Asus H81M-K
Team Vulcan 2x4GB 1600 CL9
EVGA 500W PSU
Sapphire R9 270
WD 500GB Blue

SteamOS is Linux based, so doesnt support many games at all.

 

[kharma45]

Trying to build a system for my cousin who is....well, to put it nicely, incredibly poor. (due to his parents). Anyway, he's out on his own for the first time and wants a "gaming" PC for next to nothing. He can afford all his bills, food, etc..with his job, so this will be basically his first "splurge" in his life, but it won't disable his livelihood.

There are no stores nearby that are worthwhile, outside of Best Buy and Walmart.

His Budget is $450...and even then he's not sure. I recommended a console to him, but he says he has an extensive Steam library built up (even without a gaming PC) on his $400 Walmart PC he has had for a good 5+ years.

Anyway, I told him some of these parts are REALLY iffy, and that we may get some DOAs or they may not last long....but he just wants to try and pull it off.

All from newegg, so we might find even cheaper parts elsewhere online.

Processor: G3258/Haswell - LGA1150 $70
Motherboard: Biostar H81MHV3 $45
RAM: Some off Brand 8GB (2x4GB) $67
Video Card: Sapphire R9 270 2GB $170
Hard Drvie: Western Digital 500GB $55
Power Supply: TOPOWER 500W $30
System Case: DIYPC M88 $29

Total cost: $466

Then install free SteamOS with USB.

That's what i have for now. It doesn't include a keyboard and mouse, but he's keeping his old ones, along with his monitor. Remember...this is for someone who literally can't make any big changes cost wise..I'm looking for even cheaper alternatives vs something slightly higher.

I know the G3258 is highly recommended around here as an entry level CPU, anything cheaper worthwhile?

Edit** I know we could go cheaper than the R9 270, but I'm trying to get him as much oomph for his $450 as I can. If there's a better suggestion, with similar performance, let me know. I've been an Nvidia guy for a long time.

That PSU is going to be awful. Steer well clear.

Could he stretch to this?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card ($125.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $486.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-19 10:41 EDT-0400

Then grab Windows from Reddit.

 

[LilJoka]

Trying to build a system for my cousin who is....well, to put it nicely, incredibly poor. (due to his parents). Anyway, he's out on his own for the first time and wants a "gaming" PC for next to nothing. He can afford all his bills, food, etc..with his job, so this will be basically his first "splurge" in his life, but it won't disable his livelihood.

There are no stores nearby that are worthwhile, outside of Best Buy and Walmart.

His Budget is $450...and even then he's not sure. I recommended a console to him, but he says he has an extensive Steam library built up (even without a gaming PC) on his $400 Walmart PC he has had for a good 5+ years.

Another config

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/RfPGhM
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/RfPGhM/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus H81M-K Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 270 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $458.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-19 10:43 EDT-0400

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/RfPGhM

Guess you need the Z97 boards to overclock the G3258 to get good performance. So that would add to the cost a bit. I think you can OC on some H series boards through a chipset loophole. But they board cooling probably isnt up to scratch.

With Z97
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mDqQK8

 

[Bumhat]

Thanks all for the advice about the Reddit thing, I understand the system better now and it sounds pretty legit. As long as someone has paid the original asking price (student discount or otherwise) then I'm fine with it.

Just wondering, what's the deal with the bootable flash drive thing Nostremitus mentioned? My ancient desktop is still running 32-bit Windows XP (don't laugh!) so that piece of crap isn't going to be much help here!

Sure it's worth getting a better GPU if you can afford it. However, nobody can truthfully tell you that processor x or graphics card y is going to make you "future proof", because there's no such thing.

Part of my reasoning with the cheaper GPU I recommended to you is that whether you like the idea or not, it does incentivize you to upgrade sooner and leaves more money in your pocket to do so. Would you rather spend ~£300 on a GPU now and enjoy it while it's okay for the next 3 years? Or would you be okay with spending £165 now and upgrading in 1-2 years time? It kind of depends how you view it.

This is a good way of explaining it. I'd be happy to spend a little more on a GPU, but I don't need something that's hundreds of pounds more right now when I currently have no practical knowledge of how the GPU you've already listed will work for me.

 

[kiyomi]

If you don't enter a key for Windows and have to use the trial version, is it 64-bit?

 

[Nostremitus]

Just wondering, what's the deal with the bootable flash drive thing Nostremitus mentioned? My ancient desktop is still running 32-bit Windows XP (don't laugh!) so that piece of crap isn't going to be much help here!

When you go the the official website to download the upgrade, Windows will determine which OS you are running and create an upgrade boot drive for it. So if the PC you are using is 32bit, it will create a 32bit bootable drive. Do you know anyone with a 64bit system and no bandwidth cap?

 

[Bumhat]

When you go the the official website to download the upgrade, Windows will determine which OS you are running and create an upgrade boot drive for it. So if the PC you are using is 32bit, it will create a 32bit bootable drive. Do you know anyone with a 64bit system and no bandwidth cap?

Because of my job I know a lot of people at a local post-production film/TV company, so I'm sure they can get me on a 64-bit machine. Having said that I know another editor who I'd bet is on a 64-bit system, so that'd probably be a better shot!

 

[LilJoka]

If you don't enter a key for Windows and have to use the trial version, is it 64-bit?

If its the 64bit ISO then yes.
You can run this in command prompt after 29 days to get another 30 days

slmgr -rearm

Can be done for 90 days.

 

[kiyomi]

If its the 64bit ISO then yes.
You can run this in command prompt after 29 days to get another 30 days

slmgr -rearm

Can be done for 90 days.

Duh, I shoulda figured that. :V

 

[Bumhat]

Hey Mono, just wondering - what's the deal with a sound card? My current desktop has a fairly serviceable 7.1 Audigy card (I think it's Audigy anyway) that I've had no problems with in the past.

 

[shandy706]

Thanks guys, I'm use to building nicer builds but don't have a ton of experience with cheaper builds. Eli (my cousin) really should consider a PS4/X1 instead, I don't think he realizes the difference he'll have vs what he plays at my house (i7/GTX 780 setup).

I've told him it will take a ton of money to push games like I do. He doesn't seem to understand, shrug.

I'll show him the software exchange, I'd certainly suggest he goes with Windows. I could help him set that up.

I've been tossing around and messing with building a site that specializes in helping people with building PCs.

My cousin's inquiry and that of a couple other friends recently has motivated me a bit. I seem to be getting hounded by "everyday" people on what PCs they could play lots of "real" games on. Everyone knows me as the computer guy at work and through family and friends.

I've owned a relevant domain, but just now messing with it. I should probably read through here more as it seems some of those cheaper parts are really frowned upon.

I worry about "crappy" parts as suggestions when approaching the site, but I also don't want to price the low builds out of someones price range. Helping someone with a low budget is great. I see it here all the time.

 

[LilJoka]

Thanks guys, I'm use to building nicer builds but don't have a ton of experience with cheaper builds. Eli (my cousin) really should consider a PS4/X1 instead, I don't think he realizes the difference he'll have vs what he plays at my house (i7/GTX 780 setup).

I've told him it will take a ton of money to push games like I do. He doesn't seem to understand, shrug.

I'll show him the software exchange, I'd certainly suggest he goes with Windows. I could help him set that up.

I've been tossing around and messing with building a site that specializes in helping people with building PCs.

My cousin's inquiry and that of a couple other friends recently has motivated me a bit. I seem to be getting hounded by "everyday" people on what PCs they could play lots of "real" games on. Everyone knows me as the computer guy at work and through family and friends.

I've owned a relevant domain, but just now messing with it. I should probably read through here more as it seems some of those cheaper parts are really frowned upon.

I worry about "crappy" parts as suggestions when approaching the site, but I also don't want to price the low builds out of someones price range. Helping someone with a low budget is great. I see it here all the time.

The builds me and Kharma posted could do most games 1080p 60fps mid-high settings maybe 2xAA. Wont be able to do what a 780 can do, but its still a good experience. And going with a Z97 board means later you can pop in a i7 4770/4790, i5 4650/4670. With no overclocking that would stretch the PSU to a GTX 760/770. And cards are getting more power efficient each gen. Itll look and play better than console, plus free MP and cheap games.

 

[shandy706]

The builds me and Kharma posted could do most games 1080p 60fps mid-high settings maybe 2xAA. Wont be able to do what a 780 can do, but its still a good experience. And going with a Z97 board means later you can pop in a i7 4770/4790, i5 4650/4670. With no overclocking that would stretch the PSU to a GTX 760/770. And cards are getting more power efficient each gen. Itll look and play better than console, plus free MP and cheap games.

Oh, I know, I don't think he'll move his budget any higher though. He balks at anything over the $450.

I showed him the $460 build I come up with and he wanted to know if we can go lower.

That's a TON of money to him. Shot in the dark, he probably only brings home $200-300 a week. I'd guess his apartment, water, power is at least $600 a month, then he has food and gas. So it took him like all summer just to save the $450. I really appreciate the help in my search. I enjoy helping people...they just make it hard sometimes, lol.

 

[LilJoka]

Oh, I know, I don't think he'll move his budget any higher though. He balks at anything over the $450.

I showed him the $460 build I come up with and he wanted to know if we can go lower.

That's a TON of money to him. Shot in the dark, he probably only brings home $200-300 a week. I'd guess his apartment, water, power is at least $600 a month, then he has food and gas. So it took him like all summer just to save the $450. I really appreciate the help in my search. I enjoy helping people...they just make it hard sometimes, lol.

Yeah totally understand. The best way to go about it is just to let him save a bit more imo. If he has to wait a month or so for the slightly more reliable rigs, it'll save huge headaches down the line.

 

[kharma45]

Oh, I know, I don't think he'll move his budget any higher though. He balks at anything over the $450.

I showed him the $460 build I come up with and he wanted to know if we can go lower.

That's a TON of money to him. Shot in the dark, he probably only brings home $200-300 a week. I'd guess his apartment, water, power is at least $600 a month, then he has food and gas. So it took him like all summer just to save the $450. I really appreciate the help in my search. I enjoy helping people...they just make it hard sometimes, lol.

Then there's no point really. Anything cheaper than this isn't worth doing

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.29 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.89 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $455.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-19 12:21 EDT-0400

That's the very, very lowest I could recommend going.

 

[Alexalder]

Still looking for advice:

Hi GAF,
I'm looking for a new monitor to replace my 4yo one. Medium-high budget, around 400€, give reasons to go higher or lower.
Here is what i am looking for:
- Long lasting, at least another 4 years, it's now the right time to buy?
- I don't really need 4k, maybe 1440? Even just 1080p wouldn't be bad
- >60hz would be nice, as i don't play graphically intensive games and have a pretty decent pc (770, i7-4770)
- Good comfort on regular tasks, is BenQ flicker-free a thing or just a gimmick?
- G-Sync, it seems good, am i right about this?
- 24", it seems a good size for my regular distance (40 cm - 15 inches), is it ok?
- Adjustable height, i need it to lower as much as possible as i don't have much space vertically

Thank you for your help in advance

Your Current Specs: i7-4770 / 16gb 1866MHz / AsRock Z87 Pro4 / Palit GTX 770 2GB/ Cooler Master G650M 650W / BitFenix Shinobi Window / Western Digital Caviar Blu 1TB + SSD Samsung 840 EVO Basic 120GB
Budget: Around 400€, that's what i spent for my tv, but i can go higher if it's necessary
Main Use:
Light Gaming 4 (League, Hearthstone, Starcraft 2)
Gaming 2 (basically zero)
Emulation (PS2/Wii) 2
Video Editing 2
Streaming games in HD 1
3D/Model work (and what program) 1
General Usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback) 5
Monitor Resolution: I guess 4k is too much for my hardware to handle
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: I don't really know advanced technology, i basically play League, Hearthstone, Starcraft 2 and surf the web/code
When will you build?: This year? Is this the right time or should i wait?
Will you be overclocking?: No

 

[LilJoka]

Then there's no point really. Anything cheaper than this isn't worth doing

PCPartPicker part list
That's the very, very lowest I could recommend going.

Yeah, see this is similar to my first config, but the problem is, can you overclock the G3258? Then if you can, the H series board will be pants, and VRM likely overheat. The G3258 at stock is ok, but not great, may even be better going H81/i3 in that case. This config just has too many dead ends, and will be out of date in no time compared to spending the extra 40 bucks.

 

[kharma45]

Yeah, see this is similar to my first config, but the problem is, can you overclock the G3258? Then if you can, the H series board will be pants, and VRM likely overheat. The G3258 at stock is ok, but not great, may even be better going H81/i3 in that case. This config just has too many dead ends, and will be out of date in no time compared to spending the extra 40 bucks.

You can. The Pentium doesn't need top of the line power delivery, it's only a 53w CPU at the end of the day http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-g3258-b81-cheap-overclocking,3888.html

 

[mkenyon]

Still looking for advice:

ASUS VG248QE or BenQ XL2411Z. The Eizo Foris FG2421 would probably be the best bet, but it's a bit more pricey at around $600.

 

[Smokey]

I have the ASUS RT-N66U. Best router I've owned.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QB1RPY/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It's in stock at Amazon.

It was replaced by the RT-AC68U which is the AC version of it. That's why you'll have trouble finding the N66U. I bought the N66U RIGHT as the AC68U came out. I decided that I didn't have any AC devices, nor did I envision getting any in the immediate future to warrant the extra $100 (at the time). It's still another $70 for the AC router.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FB45SI4/?tag=neogaf0e-20

I have this router. It has never gone out on me. Exceptional piece if kit, and the wireless signal is strong. Best router I've used.

 

[LilJoka]

You can. The Pentium doesn't need top of the line power delivery, it's only a 53w CPU at the end of the day http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-g3258-b81-cheap-overclocking,3888.html

Maybe 80W when at 4.5Ghz? Guess it should be ok.
My old Asus AMD board that had no VRM heatsinks was rated for 95W, and i had a lot more that going through it with a Phenom X4 @ 3.8Ghz.

 

[mkenyon]

I have this router. It has never gone out on me. Exceptional piece if kit, and the wireless signal is strong. Best router I've used.

Yep, just bought one myself as my last router started to kick the bucket. The software side of it is really neat too, makes a lot of complicated networking stuff easy to manage. I read a number of really great reviews about it beforehand as well.

 

[yatesl]

Yep, just bought one myself as my last router started to kick the bucket. The software side of it is really neat too, makes a lot of complicated networking stuff easy to manage. I read a number of really great reviews about it beforehand as well.

Thirded. (Fourthed?)

Great replacement for the garbage BT HomeHub.

 

[Alexalder]

ASUS VG248QE or BenQ XL2411Z. The Eizo Foris FG2421 would probably be the best bet, but it's a bit more pricey at around $600.

Wouldn't ips be better? I am a total ignorant about monitors. I don't game that much, and i rarely watch videos as i have my 40" tv for that.
Is g-sync important? Totally out of budget?

 

[kiyomi]

Hey Mono, just wondering - what's the deal with a sound card? My current desktop has a fairly serviceable 7.1 Audigy card (I think it's Audigy anyway) that I've had no problems with in the past.

I wouldn't know, sorry. It could be usable but by the sounds of it you've had it for a long time. Motherboard audio is generally fine these days. Post the exact model of the sound card and maybe someone here can offer you more substantial advice.

 

[The Llama]

Wouldn't ips be better? I am a total ignorant about monitors. I don't game that much, and i rarely watch videos as i have my 40" tv for that.
Is g-sync important? Totally out of budget?

There are no IPS 120/144Hz monitors, unfortunately. G-Sync is cool, but costly. And requires you have an nVidia GPU.

 

[Bumhat]

I wouldn't know, sorry. It could be usable but by the sounds of it you've had it for a long time. Motherboard audio is generally fine these days. Post the exact model of the sound card and maybe someone here can offer you more substantial advice.

That's cool, if motherboard audio has improved then that's fine for me. My work involves little in the way of advanced audio work (there's usually a post-house that sorts all that out) and as long as games sound nice with a decent set of headphones then I don't really need much else.

Ok, let's move on to the real nitty-gritty stuff: assuming I buy the components for a new PC, what next? Is there a specific order I need to install everything? How do I go about installing drivers for hardware before an OS is in place, or is that the first thing I sort out? I've never remotely attempted to build a PC so my knowledge here is severely limited - the most I've done previously was to upgrade my graphics card and put more RAM in, which was easy.