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[Visualante2]

Hey bollocks, I've only built one computer but this is how I did it.

I got the PSU in first, this was a really tight squeeze and required a lot of pushing. Then I put the CPU, fan and ram into the motherboard before fixing that in place. Once that's all secure you can start some cabling. and fitting your graphics or sound cards and drives in place. I'm assuming your case will have sliding drive bays which will make it easier to fit them. If not then get those in earlier.

I found the board would bend quite a lot when trying to put the CPU and ram in after the fact so I think it's better to get it in first.

Quick question for y'all. I've had my case about 5 years now. It has the Antec tri-cool fans. How often do you replace yours? I don't see anything wrong with them besides being a little louder than I remember. I'm doing a new build so maybe I should replace the fans while I'm working on it...

 

[Honey Bunny]

That is a lot of copper.

That is a 1.2kg card.

 

[Grums]

Hey,

Is there much of a difference between a 670, 680 and 770?

Now that the 970 out, 2nd hand cards have gone way down in price. Im considering a 670 as its very cheap but would a 770 be a big difference that a 670?

Also 4gb vs 2gb, how big a difference does 4gb make?

Thanks.

 

[Torraz]

Whats the brand name? maybe model name too?

Totally forgot to respond, apologies!

620W, Coolermaster, not sure which mode. I made a photo of it:

 

[C.Dark.DN]

Is there a way to figure out what's causing my notebook's gpu fan to rev up?
I'm only using chrome an the program is set to use integrated graphics in nvidia control panel.

 

[LordAlu]

Is there a way to figure out what's causing my notebook's gpu fan to rev up?
I'm only using chrome an the program is set to use integrated graphics in nvidia control panel.

Do you have "Use hardware acceleration when available" ticked in Chrome under Settings->System?

 

[SugarDave]

Built my new PC last night, and everything seems to be working all ok Thankyou to everyone on here who helped me pick the best parts for my build!

• Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
• Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler
• Gigabyte GA-Z97X-GAMING 7 Motherboard
• Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
• Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
• Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
• Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
• Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI)
• EVGA G2 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
• Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case
• Microsoft Windows 8.1 (64-bit)

Good job, that looks really nice. It's pretty similar to what I'm looking at building, how does the Hyper 212 perform for cooling the i7?

 

[C.Dark.DN]

Do you have "Use hardware acceleration when available" ticked in Chrome under Settings->System?

Turned it off and restarted my PC. The fan went hella loud during boot and is still going a bit.

 

[Pepiope]

So I installed the GPU (so far so good). Is everything fine or should I move these wires out the way?

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

So I installed the GPU (so far so good). Is everything fine or should I move these wires out the way?

[IMG ]http://i.imgur.com/e9QjVED.jpg?3[/IMG]

I'm afraid your PC will be loyal to Megatron first, and then to you.

 

[C.Dark.DN]

Holy shit at that hatsink bro
must go bigger

 

[Smokey]

So I installed the GPU (so far so good). Is everything fine or should I move these wires out the way?

Megatron?

 

[zeroeffect]

OC'ing doesn't cause any damage unless you fry your system by turning the voltage too high, although I'm not sure you can even do that any more.

Does the same thing apply to Intel K CPUs and Asus motherboards? I just don't want to overclock if I'm going to have to deal with factory warranties getting pissed about overclocked components.

 

[Hente]

Is my GPU dying?
I have a 560ti and recently installed Payday 1, during installation it tried to install some new PhysX driver. It then said that the my PhysX driver was never than the one that it was trying to install, so it said it would abort. It never actually ended up aborting so I had to press cancel (I'm assuming by doing this, I messed up my drivers somehow?).
When I started to play the game, 1 min into it the game freezes and I get artifacts similar to this

My computer then crashes and BSODs, while it restarts it still has artifacts similar to these at the boot screens. It also could not get to Windows since it kept BSODing with those artifacts. I completely shut off my computer, remove both my monitor cables, then reconnect only one of my monitors and it seems to start up fine. I reconnect my other monitor and it seems fine once again. I load up a video in MPC-HC w/ MadVR (MadVR utilizes the GPU) and about 3 - 4 mins into the video I once again get artifacts, only this time it doesn't completely restart/BSOD. My screen freezes, gets artifacts, blacks out for a couple of seconds, then comes back saying my drivers failed. I then try to load up Payday 2, and my computer goes back to completely freezing, getting artifacts and restarting. The freezing, black screen, then failed driver messages are now happening even when I'm just browsing the internet.My idle temps were always relatively high (around 50°c - 55°c) but my load temps stayed around 60°c - 70°c.

 

[kennah]

Does the same thing apply to Intel K CPUs and Asus motherboards? I just don't want to overclock if I'm going to have to deal with factory warranties getting pissed about overclocked components.

The stuff is all designed for it. Just don't do anything stupid.

Intel even has a $35 (I think) insurance program you can sign up for where they will replaced a CPU with no questions asked - once.

 

[xBladeM6x]

So I installed the GPU (so far so good). Is everything fine or should I move these wires out the way?

That CPU cooler is fucking awesome. Lol.

 

[ZombieFred]

I am thinking of jumping onto the ASUS VG248QE for a 120 hz Monitor. Good choice coming from a dated 1080p Samsung Sync Master?

 

[Dave_6]

I am thinking of jumping onto the ASUS VG248QE for a 120 hz Monitor. Good choice coming from a dated 1080p Samsung Sync Master?

Yes. Love mine!

 

[xBladeM6x]

I am thinking of jumping onto the ASUS VG248QE for a 120 hz Monitor. Good choice coming from a dated 1080p Samsung Sync Master?

Yes. Do it.

 

[ZombieFred]

Awesome thanks guys. The thing is though I can't seem to find a G Sync Module anywhere for it in the UK! Is it worth pursuing the upgrade to those who G Sync it up? I have 970 SLI you see!

 

[2San]

I am thinking of jumping onto the ASUS VG248QE for a 120 hz Monitor. Good choice coming from a dated 1080p Samsung Sync Master?

It's a good monitor for the price, but the colors aren't that great (the colors are pretty decent when you run the screen at 60Hz interestingly enough). Color wise it should still be a step up from the average Samsung monitor.

I'm not sure if there is an alternative 120Hz+ screen that does colors well and has roughly the same price.

Awesome thanks guys. The thing is though I can't seem to find a G Sync Module anywhere for it in the UK! Is it worth pursuing the upgrade to those who G Sync it up? I have 970 SLI you see!

Europe seems to be out of luck when comes to the Gsync DIY kit.

 

[ZombieFred]

It's a good monitor for the price, but the colors aren't that great (the colors are pretty decent when you run the screen at 60Hz interestingly enough). Color wise it should still be a step up from the average Samsung monitor.

I'm not sure if there is an alternative 120Hz+ screen that does colors well and has roughly the same price.

Colours I don't mind if I am use to this monitor personally. I have my Samsung VT60 Tv for that front if I want to 1080p at 60hz and generally use that for story driven/360 controller based games, while my monitor desk is primary for multiplier use with friends K+M combo for most of it.

Europe seems to be out of luck when comes to the Gsync DIY kit.

Balls. Well I can wait for later monitors no problem down the line for the next jump!

 

[Pepiope]

That CPU cooler is fucking awesome. Lol.

Megatron?

Holy shit at that hatsink bro
must go bigger

I'm afraid your PC will be loyal to Megatron first, and then to you.

lol. Thanks. The guy at Microcenter convinced me to get it. 100% worth it, the red LEDs on the thing are awesome.

Sad part is that I haven't OC the CPU yet...

 

[knitoe]

Is my GPU dying?
I have a 560ti and recently installed Payday 1, during installation it tried to install some new PhysX driver. It then said that the my PhysX driver was never than the one that it was trying to install, so it said it would abort. It never actually ended up aborting so I had to press cancel (I'm assuming by doing this, I messed up my drivers somehow?).
When I started to play the game, 1 min into it the game freezes and I get artifacts similar to this

My computer then crashes and BSODs, while it restarts it still has artifacts similar to these at the boot screens. It also could not get to Windows since it kept BSODing with those artifacts. I completely shut off my computer, remove both my monitor cables, then reconnect only one of my monitors and it seems to start up fine. I reconnect my other monitor and it seems fine once again. I load up a video in MPC-HC w/ MadVR (MadVR utilizes the GPU) and about 3 - 4 mins into the video I once again get artifacts, only this time it doesn't completely restart/BSOD. My screen freezes, gets artifacts, blacks out for a couple of seconds, then comes back saying my drivers failed. I then try to load up Payday 2, and my computer goes back to completely freezing, getting artifacts and restarting. The freezing, black screen, then failed driver messages are now happening even when I'm just browsing the internet.My idle temps were always relatively high (around 50°c - 55°c) but my load temps stayed around 60°c - 70°c.

Yeah, there seems to be an issue, especially if it happens during bootup, with the video card. Time for 970.

 

[appaws]

Hi All,

I am a total complete noob to overclocking, have never done it before. So please excuse my basic questions. Few things:

-- I have a 3570k with DDR3 1600
-- ASUS Maximus V Gene
-- I'm very conservative and since I'm totally new, for now I'm just trying it at 4.2 ghz

-- Do yall think there's anything wrong with running at Manual voltage longterm? I have it at 1.225v right now, and I always turn my PC off overnight. So it's not a 24/7 system.
-- I looked into Offset voltage, but it seemed more complicated with possibly changing other advanced settings. I don't feel comfortable going into all those deeper BIOS menus, like LLC or Phase Control or those other settings. I have no idea what that stuff is, lol

-- Idle Win7 desktop temps (at 4.2 ghz with 1.225v) range from 30 to 40. Sounds like some people say it shouldn't be that high... what do yall think?

Thanks for any info! All the BIOS OC settings look super complicated, so I just want to do something easy and safe.

No, there is nothing wrong with using a fixed voltage at all. It does not hurt anything. Offset just allows allows the voltage to fluctuate up and down along with the load on the CPU.

I have had my 3570k running at 4.4ghz for over 2 years now with no problems, using offset. There are good guides out there for overclocking this chip using either fixed or offset, look around on google or on overclock.net.

Temps depend a little on the silicon lottery and a lot on your cooling. What kind of cooling are you using? What are your load temps at stock? ...and with your current 4.2ghz OC?

 

[wowzors]

Colours I don't mind if I am use to this monitor personally. I have my Samsung VT60 Tv for that front if I want to 1080p at 60hz and generally use that for story driven/360 controller based games, while my monitor desk is primary for multiplier use with friends K+M combo for most of it.



Balls. Well I can wait for later monitors no problem down the line for the next jump!

I dont believe the kit is even sold in the US anymore, I was going to buy this monitor earlier this week but the DIY kits seem to be MIA.

 

[Omega]

I think I have this psu http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GH9NA6O/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Is that good enough for a 970? OP says 550w is good but i remember seeing somewhere that not all 550w are.

was hoping to only have to upgrade mobo/cpu/gpu for now and add everything in later.

 

[KePoW]

No, there is nothing wrong with using a fixed voltage at all. It does not hurt anything. Offset just allows allows the voltage to fluctuate up and down along with the load on the CPU.

I have had my 3570k running at 4.4ghz for over 2 years now with no problems, using offset. There are good guides out there for overclocking this chip using either fixed or offset, look around on google or on overclock.net.

Temps depend a little on the silicon lottery and a lot on your cooling. What kind of cooling are you using? What are your load temps at stock? ...and with your current 4.2ghz OC?

Hey appaws, thanks for answering appreciate it.

Cooling -- I have a basic closed loop watercooling.

Load temps at stock, I forget... would have to go back down to stock to check.

Currently at 4.2 ghz / 1.225v -- I played Marvel Heroes for about two hours today with Real Temp running, and the highest cores got to around 67. Not higher than 70

 

[opticalmace]

I think I have this psu http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GH9NA6O/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Is that good enough for a 970? OP says 550w is good but i remember seeing somewhere that not all 550w are.

was hoping to only have to upgrade mobo/cpu/gpu for now and add everything in later.

Yup that'll be perfectly capable.

 

[Felix Lighter]

The stuff is all designed for it. Just don't do anything stupid.

Intel even has a $35 (I think) insurance program you can sign up for where they will replaced a CPU with no questions asked - once.

No questions asked? Hmmmmmmm....

 

[kennah]

No questions asked? Hmmmmmmm....

Burn the Shit outta that chip man. But sign up first

 

[Felix Lighter]

Burn the Shit outta that chip man. But sign up first

I can't bring myself to do it.

 

[mdsfx]

I got my hands on both a g1 gigabyte 970 and an Asus Strix 970. Which one should I keep? I have done research on both but both are getting pretty great reviews...

I am literally sitting in front of both of these graphics cards right now trying to decide which one to open and keep lol...

 

[Taco_Human]

Hey guys, I'm tired of having to always keep my computer close to my router. Can you guys recommend a good WiFi receiver to install in my pc? I'm kinda tired of not being able to move my pc around my house.

Any reliable parts you guys know of?

 

[Hazaro]

No questions asked? Hmmmmmmm....

Yeah I've used it before

I am literally sitting in front of both of these graphics cards right now trying to decide which one to open and keep lol...

Open both, keep which doesn't have coil whine

 

[Durante]

I posted in the 120hz thread about this too but I'll just cross post here.

I just set up my VG248QE and overall I'm incredibly disappointed in the colors and actual display itself. I'm coming from an IPS display. I've set it up reasonably enough that I could live with it but I have a real issue.

This panel that I got has really inconsistent coloring/brightness. The center is definitely brighter than the rest of the panel and the upper left is so bad that colors appear different in that corner. I know I'd probably have to RMA to get one that isn't so shit but I just want to know how common this is with these panels. I've seen some stories of people going through 3-4 to get one that works. But honestly if I have to go through all that trouble I'm just going to return this display. Finally taking advantage of all those frames my rig puts out is great but not at this cost.

I had the same experience with the VG248QE.

 

[riflen]

Hi All,

I am a total complete noob to overclocking, have never done it before. So please excuse my basic questions. Few things:

-- I have a 3570k with DDR3 1600
-- ASUS Maximus V Gene
-- I'm very conservative and since I'm totally new, for now I'm just trying it at 4.2 ghz

-- Do yall think there's anything wrong with running at Manual voltage longterm? I have it at 1.225v right now, and I always turn my PC off overnight. So it's not a 24/7 system.
-- I looked into Offset voltage, but it seemed more complicated with possibly changing other advanced settings. I don't feel comfortable going into all those deeper BIOS menus, like LLC or Phase Control or those other settings. I have no idea what that stuff is, lol

-- Idle Win7 desktop temps (at 4.2 ghz with 1.225v) range from 30 to 40. Sounds like some people say it shouldn't be that high... what do yall think?

Thanks for any info! All the BIOS OC settings look super complicated, so I just want to do something easy and safe.

I feel obliged to reply as I have a 3570k with the Maximus V Gene. I'm no expert but I have a stable 4.6Ghz OC. First up, glance over this link if you haven't already.

http://rog.asus.com/184142012/maxim...e-i5-3570k-to-4-5ghz-on-the-maximus-v-gene/2/

Generally the idle temps aren't relevent. What are the temps running Prime95? The reason it's pretty warm at idle is because you're fixed at 1.225v, rather than using an offset (which would only ramp up the voltage when the CPU is loaded).
It's not necessarily a bad thing, but with a bit more time and effort, you could come up with a more power/heat efficient setting.

Of course, you could use ASUS' software to overclock the CPU from within Windows. It's as easy as picking the speed you want and pressing OK. People here won't recommend using software, though I found it useful for learning and testing.

 

[Pepiope]

Anyone know how to get my Asus VG248QE to run higher than 60Hz? It's connected through DisplayPort and I can't figure it out.

Edit: nvm

 

[KePoW]

I feel obliged to reply as I have a 3570k with the Maximus V Gene. I'm no expert but I have a stable 4.6Ghz OC. First up, glance over this link if you haven't already.

http://rog.asus.com/184142012/maxim...e-i5-3570k-to-4-5ghz-on-the-maximus-v-gene/2/

Generally the idle temps aren't relevent. What are the temps running Prime95? The reason it's pretty warm at idle is because you're fixed at 1.225v, rather than using an offset (which would only ramp up the voltage when the CPU is loaded).
It's not necessarily a bad thing, but with a bit more time and effort, you could come up with a more power/heat efficient setting.

Of course, you could use ASUS' software to overclock the CPU from within Windows. It's as easy as picking the speed you want and pressing OK. People here won't recommend using software, though I found it useful for learning and testing.

awesome, thanks for the link and further details. Like I mentioned, I have never OCed anything and the BIOS looks super complicated with like 50+ settings just in the OC section haha

 

[Vamphuntr]

Can I make a decent gaming PC with 1300$? I wanted to buy a PS4 and Xbox one at first but since most of the big games are also on PC and because of steam sales I want to move away from console gaming. Instead of buying PS4 + Xbox One + a new laptop I will invest everything in a gaming PC. I've read the OP and watched the videos linked and I'm still mystified on how to choose parts.

 

[The Llama]

Can I make a decent gaming PC with 1300$? I wanted to buy a PS4 and Xbox one at first but since most of the big games are also on PC and because of steam sales I want to move away from console gaming. Instead of buying PS4 + Xbox One + a new laptop I will invest everything in a gaming PC. I've read the OP and watched the videos linked and I'm still mystified on how to choose parts.

$1300? Absolutely. You don't even need to spend that much, actually (unless you need a monitor/keyboard/etc.).

 

[Vamphuntr]

$1300? Absolutely. You don't even need to spend that much, actually (unless you need a monitor/keyboard/etc.).

Do you have any "I don't know what I'm doing" kind of newbie guide? I'm seriously lost at how to choose parts and how to spot deals.

 

[LilJoka]

Do you have any "I don't know what I'm doing" kind of newbie guide? I'm seriously lost at how to choose parts and how to spot deals.

We can help you chose parts if you fill in the questions from the OP

[Basic Desktop Questions]
Your Current Specs: CPU / RAM / Motherboard / GPU (Graphics) / PSU (Power Supply) / Case / HDD (Hard Drive)
Budget: Price Range + Country
Main Use: Rate 1-5. 5 being Highest: Light Gaming, Gaming, Emulation (PS2/Wii), Video Editing, Streaming games in HD, 3D/Model work (and what program), General Usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback).
Monitor Resolution: What resolution will you be playing your games at? Are you going to upgrade later? Are you buying a new monitor?
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: Is 30FPS acceptable? 60? 120? How important is PhysX / SuperSampling / CUDA to you?
Looking to reuse any parts?: List make and model (e.g. Corsair 520HX, 640GB SATA HDD, Antec 900)
When will you build?: Do you have a deadline?
Will you be overclocking?: Yes, No, Maybe (This means yes!)

 

[The Llama]

Do you have any "I don't know what I'm doing" kind of newbie guide? I'm seriously lost at how to choose parts and how to spot deals.

Re-read the OP a few times. There's a good guide there on the different parts you can get at different budgets. And obviously ask any questions you have!

 

[thespot84]

Can I make a decent gaming PC with 1300$? I wanted to buy a PS4 and Xbox one at first but since most of the big games are also on PC and because of steam sales I want to move away from console gaming. Instead of buying PS4 + Xbox One + a new laptop I will invest everything in a gaming PC. I've read the OP and watched the videos linked and I'm still mystified on how to choose parts.

make an account on pcpartpicker.com. start a new system build and choose parts you find on haz's lists in OP. Post them here for critique: profit.

 

[Vamphuntr]

We can help you chose parts if you fill in the questions from the OP

Re-read the OP a few times. There's a good guide there on the different parts you can get at different budgets. And obviously ask any questions you have!

make an account on pcpartpicker.com. start a new system build and choose parts you find on haz's lists in OP. Post them here for critique: profit.

I'll look over this over the weekend and ask you guys for help. Thanks guys (and gals)!

 

[RGM79]

Fair enough. Any recommendations for a good USB wifi adaptor?

I've had good experience with Linksys and Asus USB adaptors. If you're in Canada, NCIX and Memory Express have some cheap deals on refurbished Linksys AE2500 ($10) and AE3000 ($20) USB wifi N adaptors, they're the midrange models. Good price if you don't mind refurbished.

 

[Hindl]

For everyone pumping up the Asus VG248QE would you recommend it over the BenQ XL2411Z? Deciding between those two, seems to come down to g sync vs lightboost. What's the consensus on these?

 

[ekgrey]

is 16:10 ever supported in games or would i be playing everything with bars? thinking about that Dell UltraSharp.

are there any 1080p monitors under $300ish with really good image quality? i'm almost exclusively single player, so i'm not sold on 144Hz. would love 1440p but can't afford it right now.

will be powered by a 970, if Amazon ever gets them again.

 

[appaws]

Hey appaws, thanks for answering appreciate it.

Cooling -- I have a basic closed loop watercooling.

Load temps at stock, I forget... would have to go back down to stock to check.

Currently at 4.2 ghz / 1.225v -- I played Marvel Heroes for about two hours today with Real Temp running, and the highest cores got to around 67. Not higher than 70

So assuming you have something like an H80 or H100, or one of the many other brands that do basically that same thing. That's good for a decent OC. My best guess would be that you could lower that voltage while keeping your OC at 4.2. You would have to use trial and error, lower it a little and stability test it, rinse and repeat until you find the lowest possible voltage that keeps it stable at that OC. This would lower your temps.

Also, of course you could keep the voltage at 1.225 and ratchet the multiplier up one step at a time....stability test and watch your temps....until you find how high you can get while keeping the temp at an acceptable level. I always aimed to keep mine around 80C maxed in Prime95 Small FFT. This leaves a lot of thermal headroom because no game or regular use will stress a CPU the way Prime does.

I feel obliged to reply as I have a 3570k with the Maximus V Gene. I'm no expert but I have a stable 4.6Ghz OC. First up, glance over this link if you haven't already.

http://rog.asus.com/184142012/maxim...e-i5-3570k-to-4-5ghz-on-the-maximus-v-gene/2/

Generally the idle temps aren't relevent. What are the temps running Prime95? The reason it's pretty warm at idle is because you're fixed at 1.225v, rather than using an offset (which would only ramp up the voltage when the CPU is loaded).
It's not necessarily a bad thing, but with a bit more time and effort, you could come up with a more power/heat efficient setting.

Of course, you could use ASUS' software to overclock the CPU from within Windows. It's as easy as picking the speed you want and pressing OK. People here won't recommend using software, though I found it useful for learning and testing.

The autoOC software has jumped miles ahead in the last few years. I still think that it generally uses more voltage than it needs to a lot of the time. I would also say that it is good for anyone doing OCing to learn a little about what they are doing and why...although I would never argue with learning and testing.