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[orochi91]

okay i7 it is

out of those two setups which one would complement the i7 more

Take the setup LilJoka gave you for the i5, but swap the CPU for an i7 and look into a better MOBO for overclocking.

Get an ASUS z97-A ATX board for the i7.

EDIT: gotta get to class, good luck with your selection(s)!

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

My price range goes from about 300$-6000$.

holly shit. typo?

edit: anyway, (except for Xeon and what else workstations solutions exist) the best processors in the consumer market are the Haswell-E i7 that range from $380 5820K to the $1050 5960X, but all of those are for more than just gaming, I only bought a 5820K because I do a lot of Cinema 4D rendering. i7 4790K is the best way to go for just gaming as of now, because Haswell-E requires ddr4 ram that is stilll pretty expensive.

 

[TheRealTalker]

thanks guys
you helped me a lot

enjoy your class orochi

 

[Hazaro]

Gonna disagree with the 8350 being ok for gaming compared to an i5. If you call it 'ok or 'good' then the i5 is 'incredible'. ASUS Z97-A is also pretty poor value for features / price compared to the other boards, but if you like ASUS you can pick that board up.

okay i7 it is

out of those two setups which one would complement the i7 more

Go with Joka's build or one in the OP and swap in a 4790K if you want i7. Note Joka has mATX motherboard (smaller)

So Ive been using my Intel Core i7 2600 3,4 GHz processor since forever and according to the newer game releases so far (escpecially due to Witcher 3 and Star Citizen) im looking to upgrade and buy a new processor during christmas this year.

I have zero knowledge in the "processor market" and I have no idea what is considered the best processor other than that I want to continue to use Intel.

So I would be greatful if anyone with more knowledge than me could tip me about a good processor.

My price range goes from about 300$-6000$.

Like are one of these recommended?

https://www.komplett.no/intel-core-i7-4790k/817261
https://www.komplett.no/intel-core-i7-5820k-socket-lga2011-3/822371

No need to upgrade your CPU has great performance still and you can't upgrade to either of those CPUs are they are on different sockets.

If that doesn't answer your question fill out the OP bullet point list and ask again.

Hey GAF,

I'm building my significant other a gaming PC for Christmas. She isn't a techie, so I'm trying to configure a sensible build that "just works". She is super excited about The Witcher 3 and Dragon Age: Inquisition, so I'd like to build something that "wows" her with those games. Basically something that outdoes consoles by a fair margin. Parts will be bought in Germany. If there are deals I should be aware of, I'd love to hear it. I don't live in Germany myself, so I've just gone with Amazon.

Your Current Specs: None
Budget: €800-900 excluding monitor (Germany)
Main Use: AAA gaming
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080, will need new monitor
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: The Witcher 3, goal is solid 60 FPS / outdoing consoles by fair margin
Looking to reuse any parts?: Just DVD unit, cabling and accessories where needed
When will you build?: Late December 2014 / Early January 2015
Will you be overclocking?: No

Here's what I've drafted:

i5-4460 (€164.97)
Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H (€70.98)
Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 (€69.89)
Crucial MX100 512GB SSD (€182.89)
Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB (€315.73)
Cooler Master N200 Case (€37.76)
EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular PSU (€79.35)

Total: €917.67 from Amazon Germany

http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/rCGdvK

Comments? What are your thoughts on EVGA power supplies?

I don't think you got a response so I had the post saved, sorry for late response.

Swap to 2x4GB for dual channel RAM.
EVGA are good but I read a post in here to avoid (?) NEX from EVGA. Look for a G1/G2 Supernova or just get a Seasonic / XFX for a bit less. You can cut down to 550W as well to save some money. Overall great performance for price.

 

[Dance Inferno]

Is this the only way for me to create a bootable Windows USB using a Mac:

http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/103874/creating-a-bootable-usb-of-windows-8-1-on-os-x

If I had known that it's basically impossible to create a bootable Windows USB using a Mac I would have bought an optical drive. As it stands I have a fully built PC that I can't use until I figure this out.

 

[LilJoka]

Is this the only way for me to create a bootable Windows USB using a Mac:

http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/103874/creating-a-bootable-usb-of-windows-8-1-on-os-x

If I had known that it's basically impossible to create a bootable Windows USB using a Mac I would have bought an optical drive. As it stands I have a fully built PC that I can't use until I figure this out.

Those steps are not that hard if you just follow, but if you really want a GUI to do it, just install VirtualBox for free and load up Windows 7 ISO. Then from within that just create the Win 8 USB using the standard tool. I would just do those steps though as itll save lots of time.
If you need any help with those steps dont hesitate to ask.

 

[Vizzeh]

Working on a new build atm, at the drawing board really and cannot decide if I want a 6 Core or a 4 Core.

Since I plan on going for a GTX980, I also plan to future proof the processor a little, but cannot decide If 4 Higher clock cores will be more beneficial over 6 Slower Clock Cores. highly primarily for gaming ofc - Will likely overclock either too with a medium-tier air cooler.

- Moving house after xmas so do not want to start throwing money everywhere, but at the same time, when I buy a steak, I don't mind spending a few extra £ on a better quality 1 although do believe in Value.

 

[Dance Inferno]

Those steps are not that hard if you just follow, but if you really want a GUI to do it, just install VirtualBox for free and load up Windows 7 ISO. Then from within that just create the Win 8 USB using the standard tool. I would just do those steps though as itll save lots of time.
If you need any help with those steps dont hesitate to ask.

OK thanks, I'll reach out if I have any questions. I'm not a techy person at all and just building my PC was difficult enough without having to create boot disks using a terminal haha.

As a backup though you're suggesting installing Windows 7 as a virtual machine on my Mac then using the official Microsoft tool to create a bootable USB?

 

[LilJoka]

OK thanks, I'll reach out if I have any questions. I'm not a techy person at all and just building my PC was difficult enough without having to create boot disks using a terminal haha.

As a backup though you're suggesting installing Windows 7 as a virtual machine on my Mac then using the official Microsoft tool to create a bootable USB?

Yep but seriously this is a lot of time thrown away lol. Terminal lines written in that post should work no issues, just make sure you are working in the right directory and use diskutil to find the USB disk number.

 

[Dance Inferno]

Yep but seriously this is a lot of time thrown away lol. Terminal lines written in that post should work no issues, just make sure you are working in the right directory and use diskutil to find the USB disk number.

OK thanks I'll try the terminal method tonight when I get home from work. What do you mean when you say to make sure I'm working in the right directory though? Do you mean to make sure I'm typing in the right address for the ISO file?

 

[LilJoka]

OK thanks I'll try the terminal method tonight when I get home from work. What do you mean when you say to make sure I'm working in the right directory though? Do you mean to make sure I'm typing in the right address for the ISO file?

Yeah, for example, if your windows8.iso is in /User/Downloads/

Open Terminal, type:
cd /User/Downloads <ENTER>
--this is now your working directory
If you type: ls <ENTER>
Youll get a list of files in the directory, so you can check your windows8.iso is there - which it should be.
So you should now be able to run those commands.

 

[yatesl]

What's GAF's opinion on the hard drive inside the Seagate STBV4000200 4TB external drive?

I have a library of stuff, and both my 3TB drive and my 2TB drives are getting full (707GB and 88GB respectively). I'm tempted to buy that (£100 for a 4TB isn't bad, I think?), plug it in to my ASUS RT N66U router, and have my own little NAS drive. That way my PC doesn't need to be on for the other PC and laptop to access the files.

 

[TheRealTalker]

was this the motherboard orochi97 was talking about to get if I was getting a i7?
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132118

pc part picker doesn't seem to have it when I listed it as Asus z97-A ATX

 

[Damerman]

Working on a new build atm, at the drawing board really and cannot decide if I want a 6 Core or a 4 Core.

Since I plan on going for a GTX980, I also plan to future proof the processor a little, but cannot decide If 4 Higher clock cores will be more beneficial over 6 Slower Clock Cores. highly primarily for gaming ofc - Will likely overclock either too with a medium-tier air cooler.

- Moving house after xmas so do not want to start throwing money everywhere, but at the same time, when I buy a steak, I don't mind spending a few extra £ on a better quality 1 although do believe in Value.

i would go for 6 cores. Someone posted in the ACunity thread where more cores meant more framerate. the 5930X and a gtx 980had the highest framerate in AC unity 1080 max with min frames of like 80 or something like that.

 

[LilJoka]

i would go for 6 cores. Someone posted in the ACunity thread where more cores meant more framerate. the 5930X and a gtx 980had the highest framerate in AC unity 1080 max with min frames of like 80 or something like that.

Think you mean this

It is SLI however, which means more CPU resources needed.

 

[Goldenmoney]

was this the motherboard orochi97 was talking about to get if I was getting a i7?
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132118

pc part picker doesn't seem to have it when I listed it as Asus z97-A ATX

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97a

 

[TheRealTalker]

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97a

thanks

 

[TheRealTalker]

sorry again but just fine tuning some stuff

I choose the set up that a fellow Gaffer recommended and swapped out some stuff that you guys said to but there seem to be some problems
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nckRCJ

Potential Issues/Incompatibilities

• Corsair 350D MicroATX Mid Tower Case and Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard are not compatible.
  
• The Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory operating voltage of 1.65V exceeds the Intel Haswell Refresh CPU recommended maximum of 1.5V+5% (1.575V). This memory module may run at a reduced clock rate to meet the 1.5V voltage recommendation, or may require running at a voltage greater than the Intel recommended maximum.

 

[Goldenmoney]

sorry again but just fine tuning some stuff

I choose the set up that a fellow Gaffer recommended and swapped out some stuff that you guys said to but there seem to be some problems
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nckRCJ

You picked a microATX case, so you'll need a microATX mobo. Or you can change the case to an ATX case.

 

[ricki42]

sorry again but just fine tuning some stuff

I choose the set up that a fellow Gaffer recommended and swapped out some stuff that you guys said to but there seem to be some problems
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nckRCJ

You are trying to put an ATX mobo into a micro-ATX case. Either choose a microATX motherboard, or an ATX case. Which one you choose depends on how big a case you want and how many expansion slots you want.
As for the RAM, just choose 1.5V sticks, you can select the voltage range in pcpartpicker on the right side.

 

[TheRealTalker]

kinda confused with the ram voltage thing

right hand side.... hmmmmm

Edit: Nevermind I think I got it

 

[LilJoka]

kinda confused with the ram voltage thing

right hand side.... hmmmmm

Go for this RAM
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-hx318c10fbk28

If you choose to go ATX, which imo is waste of space for general gamers these days, you need a bigger case. Corsair 350D will only fit a maximum size of mATX.
Motherboard sizes from small to large - mITX, mATX, ATX.

IMO if you want to seriously overclock, just get a better mATX motherboard rather than go for a full size ATX board and case.

Edit just had a read
The Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro has a 4 phase digital VRM design, so i see no issues with overclocking on it. Its not the old type of 4 phase which had no digital VRM control, this will be vastly superior to what we used to see.

 

[Smushroomed]

Any good 850w fully modular 80 plus gold silent PSUs for cheap?

 

[TheRealTalker]

Go for this RAM
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-hx318c10fbk28

If you choose to go ATX, which imo is waste of space for general gamers these days, you need a bigger case. Corsair 350D will only fit a maximum size of mATX.
Motherboard sizes from small to large - mITX, mATX, ATX.

IMO if you want to seriously overclock, just get a better mATX motherboard rather than go for a full size ATX board and case.

I see thanks

Man you guys are life savers

 

[LilJoka]

I see thanks

Man you guys are life savers

Yeah as long as you arent trying to push 4.6Ghz+ I think itll be fine.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

If you choose to go ATX, which imo is waste of space for general gamers these days,

But what does one do without 10 USB 3.0 ports?!

Any good 850w fully modular 80 plus gold silent PSUs for cheap?

shut, you just missed a great offer last weekend. the fully modular EVGA 850W GOLD was at $89 after mail rebate.

 

[Dance Inferno]

Yeah, for example, if your windows8.iso is in /User/Downloads/

Open Terminal, type:
cd /User/Downloads <ENTER>
--this is now your working directory
If you type: ls <ENTER>
Youll get a list of files in the directory, so you can check your windows8.iso is there - which it should be.
So you should now be able to run those commands.

Ohhhhhh. Haha OK thanks, I would have totally messed it up without that explanation. I didn't realize you have to set your working directory in terminal.

 

[Dual Blade]

Dear PCGAF,

I am looking for some advice on a build for a workstation and media center but also to play a few games I missed. I am mostly following Haz's build guide. My priority is for a smooth performance while handling media for 3-4 years.

The 3 main games I am hoping to play at near max settings would be The Witcher 1+2 and Fallout NV with mods. New games are not a priority as I prefer to use my PS4 instead. Of the 3 I understand that The Witcher 2 would be the most intensive.

My Budget is ~$600.

CPU: i5 4690K
MOBO: AsRock z97 PRO4
GPU: GTX 750Ti or R9 270
+ 4GB RAM/SSD/PSU/Case

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/XHBJpg

I feel with the K series CPU and the SLI/Crossfire mobo I have room to overclock for more performance if necessary. Problem is that I am already near my budget! Is this system overkill for what I want it to do?

 

[Artchur]

Hey Gaf!

As boxing day/black Friday are approaching I'm looking to upgrade my PC. I built it in 2012 and the only addition I have made since then is another vid card to try out SLI.

Here is my current build, any thoughts? Keep in mind I use a dual monitor setup and then occasionally will duplicate a screen on my TV via HDMI if I feel like gaming on the couch.

I5 3570K @ 3.4
16 GB DDR3 RAM
2 x GeForce GTX 670
750W Power Supply
Mobo - P8Z77-V
Antec 1100 Case

Is it time for a new CPU? I'm just look ahead towards the release of DA:I and W3.

Thanks!

 

[The Llama]

Hey Gaf!

As boxing day/black Friday are approaching I'm looking to upgrade my PC. I built it in 2012 and the only addition I have made since then is another vid card to try out SLI.

Here is my current build, any thoughts? Keep in mind I use a dual monitor setup and then occasionally will duplicate a screen on my TV via HDMI if I feel like gaming on the couch.

I5 3570K @ 3.4
16 GB DDR3 RAM
2 x GeForce GTX 670
750W Power Supply
Mobo - P8Z77-V
Antec 1100 Case

Is it time for a new CPU? I'm just look ahead towards the release of DA:I and W3.

Thanks!

Overclock your CPU and it'll be good for another 2-3 years. A new GPU would be the best upgrade, definitely.

 

[Artchur]

Overclock your CPU and it'll be good for another 2-3 years. A new GPU would be the best upgrade, definitely.

Yeah I actually have it up to 4.3, that is the best I could get without things starting to go haywire. Thanks for the input.

 

[Teggy]

Transition from AMD to Intel is complete.

I went from this mess:

to this...less messier mess:

The clip on that one stray power cable couldn't fit through one of the cable management holes, so there it is to mess up the view.

Works great so far, expect for the life of me I can't get Geforce Experience running anymore, which means I can't use easy downsampling. Seems to be a common occurrence, but none of the solutions have worked.

 

[garath]

Transition from AMD to Intel is complete.

I went from this mess:



to this...less messier mess:



The clip on that one stray power cable couldn't fit through one of the cable management holes, so there it is to mess up the view.

Works great so far, expect for the life of me I can't get Geforce Experience running anymore, which means I can't use easy downsampling. Seems to be a common occurrence, but none of the solutions have worked.

I'm fairly certain DSR has nothing to do with geforce experience. I've actually uninstalled the geforce experience and I still see the DSR options in the nvidia control panel.

 

[appaws]

Dear PCGAF,

I am looking for some advice on a build for a workstation and media center but also to play a few games I missed. I am mostly following Haz's build guide. My priority is for a smooth performance while handling media for 3-4 years.

The 3 main games I am hoping to play at near max settings would be The Witcher 1+2 and Fallout NV with mods. New games are not a priority as I prefer to use my PS4 instead. Of the 3 I understand that The Witcher 2 would be the most intensive.

My Budget is ~$600.

CPU: i5 4690K
MOBO: AsRock z97 PRO4
GPU: GTX 750Ti or R9 270
+ 4GB RAM/SSD/PSU/Case

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/XHBJpg

I feel with the K series CPU and the SLI/Crossfire mobo I have room to overclock for more performance if necessary. Problem is that I am already near my budget! Is this system overkill for what I want it to do?

I think if I had a $600 budget I would go to a Pentium Anniversary build and try to put a little more money into the GPU instead of the CPU. Especially for a build with any gaming in mind. The reason I say this is because it is a good overclocking chip for general usage and gaming...and will provide an upgrade path to a Broadwell i5 or i7 when those come out and you have a little more money.

Something like this:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/YzsP99
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/YzsP99/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.93 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $660.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-12 18:09 EST-0500

I didn't work really hard on finding deals or sales or anything like that....I am sure you could get down closer to the 600 mark with a little shopping around.

 

[Boss Man]

Where do I get power cables like this (to the GPU) and where do I figure out how to do it? I hate the 6+2 ones that came with my PSU they look ugly and hang off to the side.

 

[Damerman]

Where do I get power cables like this (to the GPU) and where do I figure out how to do it? I hate the 6+2 ones that came with my PSU they look ugly and hang off to the side.

I'm pretty sure those cables have 6+2 PCI-E cables too. earlier in the thread i was advised to look at cables that your PSU manufacturer put out. You will need either a modular PSU, or use these cables as extensions... and they are pretty long so that is a lot of extra cable to hide if u use them as extensions. I know that corsair and NZXT sell their own cables, so you can look at their respective websites depending on which PSU you own. I also hear that they sometimes are shoddy, so be careful.

 

[aborath]

Hey folks,

I haven't upgraded my GPU in nearly five years. Sometime next year, hopefully, I'll be building a new PC, but for the nonce , I'm thinking about just upgrading my GPU and riding the rest of the system out for another six months or so. My question is: would a i5 760 @ 2.8GHz bottleneck a GTX 970 terribly? Mind you, the GPU is running on a PCI-Express 2.0 channel, not 3.0.

Edit: 850W modular PSU, if that helps.

 

[Boss Man]

I'm pretty sure those cables have 6+2 PCI-E cables too. earlier in the thread i was advised to look at cables that your PSU manufacturer put out. You will need either a modular PSU, or use these cables as extensions... and they are pretty long so that is a lot of extra cable to hide if u use them as extensions. I know that corsair and NZXT sell their own cables, so you can look at their respective websites depending on which PSU you own. I also hear that they sometimes are shoddy, so be careful.

Lol, well thanks I found them but it's the whole set for $90 so never mind.

 

[opticalmace]

Hey folks,

I haven't upgraded my GPU in nearly five years. Sometime next year, hopefully, I'll be building a new PC, but for the nonce , I'm thinking about just upgrading my GPU and riding the rest of the system out for another six months or so. My question is: would a i5 760 @ 2.8GHz bottleneck a GTX 970 terribly? Mind you, the GPU is running on a PCI-Express 2.0 channel, not 3.0.

Edit: 850W modular PSU, if that helps.

Nah, the 760 will do you just fine.

 

[RGM79]

Hey folks,

I haven't upgraded my GPU in nearly five years. Sometime next year, hopefully, I'll be building a new PC, but for the nonce , I'm thinking about just upgrading my GPU and riding the rest of the system out for another six months or so. My question is: would a i5 760 @ 2.8GHz bottleneck a GTX 970 terribly? Mind you, the GPU is running on a PCI-Express 2.0 channel, not 3.0.

Edit: 850W modular PSU, if that helps.

I used to have a i5 750, and am currently on a i7 875K (same socket you have). Bottlenecking depends more on the game you're playing, some games require more CPU power, some are more reliant on the graphics card. To get an idea, you'll have to look up CPU benchmarks for the kind of games you play. For most games, I don't believe the bottlenecking will be too bad, but you could try overclocking your i5 760. My i5 750 was able to get up to 4GHz easily and stable.

 

[aronnov reborn]

complete noob question. I have a dell studio xps and i'm going to upgrade my video card. but first i'm going to upgrade my 350 watt PSU...

uhm.. are all psu's the same general size? I want to be sure it fits right into my box so what do i need to do to make sure it's the right dimensions?

 

[Mozendo]

uhm.. are all psu's the same general size?

Not all of them, but most are.

I want to be sure it fits right into my box so what do i need to do to make sure it's the right dimensions?

Even if the dimensions fit that doesn't guarantee the PSU will work with a prebuilt computer.
The main connector might not match your MoBo's main connector socket. Happened to me on two computers. Have you googled if anyone using your specific prebuilt were able to switch the PSU?

 

[Teggy]

I'm fairly certain DSR has nothing to do with geforce experience. I've actually uninstalled the geforce experience and I still see the DSR options in the nvidia control panel.

It can be done outside of GeForce experience, but a lot of games don't provide resolutions greater than my monitor in the settings, and Geforce Experience makes that part easy.

 

[RGM79]

Not all of them, but most are.


Even if the dimensions fit that doesn't guarantee the PSU will work with a prebuilt computer.
The main connector might not match your MoBo's main connector socket. Happened to me on two computers. Have you googled if anyone using your specific prebuilt were able to switch the PSU?

To my knowledge, Dell stopped using proprietary ATX power supplies and motherboard power cable pinouts years ago. Some small form factor PCs from Dell do have proprietary PSU types, but that is more shape and size than incompatible cable pinouts.

 

[aronnov reborn]

Not all of them, but most are.


Even if the dimensions fit that doesn't guarantee the PSU will work with a prebuilt computer.
The main connector might not match your MoBo's main connector socket. Happened to me on two computers. Have you googled if anyone using your specific prebuilt were able to switch the PSU?

Thanks man! Looking to get This. I just need a 24 pin or 20+4 pin cable for my board. so this PSU should cover me right?

 

[Kvik]

I just want to share this outdoor barbeque impractical casket watercooling solution from Gigabyte:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5255#ov

 

[jordn613]

I'm running 3DMark Fire Strike on my second MSI 970 (returned the first one to Microcenter and then re-ordered from Newegg with the free game deal) and my scores are not as good as the first card. Something is definitely not right.

Here's the score from my first card OC'd using Afterburner:
9514
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/4585546

Running at the same OC tonight with the new card produced a lot of artifacts and crashed the benchmark in the first scene. It was able to resume, and this is my score:
8913

Ironically, neither card had any coil whine to speak of and neither got very hot (above low 70s).

Should I RMA or try and exchange it with Newegg?

 

[RGM79]

Thanks man! Looking to get This. I just need a 24 pin or 20+4 pin cable for my board. so this PSU should cover me right?

If you're set on getting that PSU, then get it from Newegg, they have it for as low as $35 with free shipping after rebates. However, if you don't mind spending around $80, you can get the XFX Pro 750 watt PSU for $60 after a $20 mail in rebate. Without knowing what video card you intend to get, it's hard to make a definite suggestion.

 

[jordn613]

I'm running 3DMark Fire Strike on my second MSI 970 (returned the first one to Microcenter and then re-ordered from Newegg with the free game deal) and my scores are not as good as the first card. Something is definitely not right.

My score with no OC on my new card, stock settings:
4629
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/4697699

Here's the score from my first card OC'd using Afterburner:
9514
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/4585546

Running at the same OC tonight with the new card produced a lot of artifacts and crashed the benchmark in the first scene. It was able to resume, and this is my score:
8913

Ironically, neither card had any coil whine to speak of and neither got very hot (above low 70s).

Should I RMA or try and exchange it with Newegg?

 

[orochi91]

I just want to share this outdoor barbeque impractical casket watercooling solution from Gigabyte:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5255#ov

OH MY GOD.

But, why?

That seems so unnecessary, especially since the 980s run pretty cool as is.