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[FreddieQuell]

Real Temp or SpeedFan.

I have speed fan installed, I should be looking at core 0 and core 1 temps right?

 

[M.D]

What is the difference between the CoolerMaster Hyper 212X and Evo versions? Do you guys think they are good enough or are there any better fan based cooling solutions?

I thought maybe I'd wait with the new cooler because I realized I will need to take everything out of the case again, so I was thinking about getting new case and the cooler in a few months but playing Dragon Age 2 my CPU reaches 80C.. prefer to do it now

 

[LilJoka]

When I need to start increasing voltage, what size increments should I be making? Also, when I'm testing for stability am I just looking for crashes?

0.005v - 0.01v is what I increment.

You want to be using close to minimum voltage so increments should be as small as possible. Larger increments of 0.02-0.05v can be used to start off.

CPUz to monitor Vcore
Realtemp for temps

 

[LilJoka]

Alright, what are ok temperatures? And is say the prime95 blend test a good way to check stability?

Click blend, click custom, now enter a good amount of RAM, 5000mb is usually good for 8gb system.

 

[ricki42]

What is the difference between the CoolerMaster Hyper 212X and Evo versions? Do you guys think they are good enough or are there any better fan based cooling solutions?

I thought maybe I'd wait with the new cooler because I realized I will need to take everything out of the case again, so I was thinking about getting new case and the cooler in a few months but playing Dragon Age 2 my CPU reaches 80C.. prefer to do it now

Supposedly the X has slightly better performance than the Evo
Whether either is good enough depends on what you want and how much you want to pay. I replaced my Evo with a Noctua NH-D14, and the temps went down by at least 10C so I could overclock a bit more.
Depending on your case, you might not have to disassemble everything. It depends on how big the cutout in the motherboard tray is. If it's big enough to reach the cooler backplate, you can just leave everything in the case. That's what I did when I replaced the cooler, just took out the GPU and RAM to have more space.

 

[RedSwirl]

You could set the page file to be on a different drive if there's one. The sites I pulled the solutions from mentioned that 1GB page file was already too small. Try 1.5~2GB.

Really? You only have to have one page file between all your drives?

 

[ricki42]

Any noob tips on applying thermal paste on CPU? CPU cooler is Cooler Master Seidon 120m.

Pea sized in the middle, let the heatsink spread it.

Pea-sized may be a little much. Cooler Master has a nice video on how to install that cooler, at about 5:30 you can see how much thermal paste they use.

 

[M.D]

Supposedly the X has slightly better performance than the Evo
Whether either is good enough depends on what you want and how much you want to pay. I replaced my Evo with a Noctua NH-D14, and the temps went down by at least 10C so I could overclock a bit more.
Depending on your case, you might not have to disassemble everything. It depends on how big the cutout in the motherboard tray is. If it's big enough to reach the cooler backplate, you can just leave everything in the case. That's what I did when I replaced the cooler, just took out the GPU and RAM to have more space.

I'm not looking to do OC any time soon, the problem is I get higher temperatures than usual with my CPU for some reason, so I want to get a cooler that will help deal with that.

I don't mind investing more, the question is will the Hyper 212X be good enough to get me temperatures to where they need to be

I didn't really understand your point about the case and the backplate tho.. I thought the backplate was also supposed to support the extra weight of these coolers?

Can you tell me if I'll need an to use a backplate or not?

Antec 900
GIGABYTE Z97X-GAMING 7

 

[opticalmace]

I think I'm going to go pick up a 512GB MX100. Dat space and value...

 

[DPhentom]

Can anyone offer a second opinion on the extreme build on this site?

http://www.build-gaming-computers.com/high-end-gaming-computer.html

Would I be good if I follow everything on that list or are there better parts I can switch out?

 

[ricki42]

I'm not looking to do OC any time soon, the problem is I get higher temperatures than usual with my CPU for some reason, so I want to get a cooler that will help deal with that.

I don't mind investing more, the question is will the Hyper 212X be good enough to get me temperatures to where they need to be

The Hyper 212 should definitely be sufficient for that.

I didn't really understand your point about the case and the backplate tho.. I thought the backplate was also supposed to support the extra weight of these coolers?

Can you tell me if I'll need an to use a backplate or not?

Antec 900
GIGABYTE Z97X-GAMING 7

Sorry, I wasn't clear. Yes, the cooler comes with a backplate that you will need to mount it on the motherboard. But depending on the case, it is sometimes possible to reach the back of the motherboard from behind without having to take it out of the case. This is what is looks like in my case (seen from the back side):

There is that big square hole where the cooler backplate would sit on the motherboard. It seems your case doesn't have that, so you'd have to take the motherboard out of the case to have access to the back.

 

[M.D]

Ah, that makes sense now! Thank you.

Really sucks taking my motherboard out a few days after I built it, but guess I have no choice ;p

I'll get the 212X tomorrow if its in stock, hope it will fit in with all 4 RAM sticks and my huge ass GPU

 

[appaws]

Can anyone offer a second opinion on the extreme build on this site?

http://www.build-gaming-computers.com/high-end-gaming-computer.html

Would I be good if I follow everything on that list or are there better parts I can switch out?

Without a doubt it is a very high end build.

IMO, that case is terrible and ugly. I would switch it out with something like a Corsair 780T or one of the Phanteks cases.

You don't really need to spend that much on the motherboard, although it is a really good one. You could go down to a lower priced but still fully featured board from Asus or another of the good companies. There is no real performance delta between motherboards these days. It is all features and looks.

You should make sure you get low-profile RAM so there are no clearance issues with that air cooler.

Unless you are really going to be watching Blu-rays on it...I would save the $$$ and get rid of that optical drive. It is unnecessary. Put that $60 towards maybe a bigger SSD.

 

[Skyfireblaze]

Quick and probably weird question: Is it possible to lock framerates to a decimal value? I overclocked my monitor to 75hz and would like to lock the framerate of some games to 37.5fps instead of the usual 60hz 30fps setup. If not, should I lock the framerate at 38 or 37fps for best results?

 

[FreddieQuell]

So a little update on my progress. I have my g3258 at 4.7Ghz at 1.323v and ~65C at load, with about a 15 min test so far.

I'm trying to dial back the voltage a bit (going from 1.323 to 1.321) but it doesn't seem like my change in the bios is being reflected in cpuz. Anyone have any ideas why that might be?

 

[The Llama]

Quick and probably weird question: Is it possible to lock framerates to a decimal value? I overclocked my monitor to 75hz and would like to lock the framerate of some games to 37.5fps instead of the usual 60hz 30fps setup. If not, should I lock the framerate at 38 or 37fps for best results?

Don't think so... Can you change your monitor to 74 or 76 hz?

 

[Skyfireblaze]

Don't think so... Can you change your monitor to 74 or 76 hz?

Umm you know... I don't know why I didn't think of this but yeah that's probably easier! D: I will try 76hz now and if that doesn't work then 74, thanks for the tip

 

[DPhentom]

Without a doubt it is a very high end build.

IMO, that case is terrible and ugly. I would switch it out with something like a Corsair 780T or one of the Phanteks cases.

You don't really need to spend that much on the motherboard, although it is a really good one. You could go down to a lower priced but still fully featured board from Asus or another of the good companies. There is no real performance delta between motherboards these days. It is all features and looks.

You should make sure you get low-profile RAM so there are no clearance issues with that air cooler.

Unless you are really going to be watching Blu-rays on it...I would save the $$$ and get rid of that optical drive. It is unnecessary. Put that $60 towards maybe a bigger SSD.

Thanks, will definitely switch the case for the black and red 780T and have consoles that can run bluray so I will be allocating that money elsewhere. As for the board and ram what would you recommended?

 

[PFD]

Is there much of a difference between the Gigabyte GA-Z97X UD3H and the UD5H?

If it's just the extra USB 3.0 slots, I'd rather save my money and get the UD3H

 

[Prophet Steve]

Is there much of a difference between the Gigabyte GA-Z97X UD3H and the UD5H?

If it's just the extra USB 3.0 slots, I'd rather save my money and get the UD3H

Well it also says an extra ethernet port and extra SATA ports, but that's probably it.

 

[UncleO]

How is this guys

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320E 3.2GHz 8-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($93.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 730 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.70 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($77.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1198.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 16:15 EST-0500

 

[The Llama]

How is this guys

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320E 3.2GHz 8-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($93.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 730 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.70 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($77.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1198.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 16:15 EST-0500

Very poor for that kind of money. You should go i5 and get a better power supply.

 

[XBP]

The sticks that are sold in a set have been tested together to ensure that they work well together. Since this is DDR4, I guess you are on X99 and thus quad-channel. Getting a set of 4x4 GB ensures that you can advantage of that. The 2x(2x4) GB may still work well together, though.

How high are the chances of them not working correctly when they are exactly the same RAM? I've already bought the RAM so I cant really do anything right now. I guess returning them is an option.

 

[RGM79]

I thought it wasn't a good idea to mix different kinds of ram? Let's say I do this. What settings would I use in the BIOS? Would I essentially just use slower timings for my current ram?

And since I was at the bottom of the page, here's my original post:

It's never a bad idea to get identical RAM for best compatibility, I'm just thinking about the price. For a $15-20 difference on the price of something that costs $30-50, there's not a large difference in performance. If you don't mind spending $50, then by all means go for identical RAM. Just pointing out an cheaper alternative.

Really? You only have to have one page file between all your drives?

Yes, you only need one for the OS. it's not that each drive needs one, but that the OS just needs a space to do memory swap work.

Is there much of a difference between the Gigabyte GA-Z97X UD3H and the UD5H?

If it's just the extra USB 3.0 slots, I'd rather save my money and get the UD3H

YYou can compare the diffrences on the manufacturer's website. I don't know where you are going to be buying the motherboard, but in the US, the UD3H is $125 and the UD5H is $150, however the UD5H also has a $20 mail in rebate, so if you don't mind that sort of thing, $130 makes it a very good deal.

How high are the chances of them not working correctly when they are exactly the same RAM? I've already bought the RAM so I cant really do anything right now. I guess returning them is an option.

There's a very high chance that they will work just fine. It's the exact same product, rated for the exact same speed and memory timing. If they don't work together but work separately in the same motherboard, then you could even invoke warranty on the product and get a replacement.

 

[Pakkidis]

How is this guys

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320E 3.2GHz 8-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($93.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 730 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.70 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($77.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1198.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 16:15 EST-0500

That power supply isn't going to cut it. I have a Fx8350 and HD7950 3gig vid card and have a 650W power supply.

 

[opticalmace]

Annnd bought. I just need a 970 now and the title will be perfectly applicable to me... already got the 2500k.

 

[ColonelSkills]

Hey guys, quick question regarding a usage case and appropriate requirements, particularly because I've never built for this scenario before.

I have a strong primary PC. I want to build a mini ITX support machine to stick in the living room and hook up to my television.

Most use cases for this are standard HTPC things, light RetroArch, BluRay playback, streaming content from my server, etc.

But I want to accomplish two things with this that are slightly different from standard.

- I want to use the machine to stream via Steam In Home Streaming from my primary PC.
- I want to capture content from my consoles (also hooked up in the living room) for both recording and streaming to twitch/hitbox. Preferablly at 1080p60, so that rules out some of the USB options.

Now, the capture device and so on along with the mini ITX requirement means that'll eat my PCI-E slot and I'll be without a video card.

My question is if something like an i3 4130 with onboard video would be able to handle the streaming and capturing, or am I better off going with something like an i5 and a 750ti and then using a USB solution for the capture device?

Just gonna quote myself. since I didn't see any responses. This sort of build will suffice for this usage case, yeah?

 

[ricki42]

How high are the chances of them not working correctly when they are exactly the same RAM? I've already bought the RAM so I cant really do anything right now. I guess returning them is an option.

I honestly don't know, seems to be rare. If you buy the set, the manufacturer basically guarantees that they will play nice together, so most people usually recommend getting a set.

 

[colt92]

How is this guys

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320E 3.2GHz 8-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($93.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 730 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.70 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($77.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1198.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 16:15 EST-0500

You should get a better CPU and power supply. I think this would be much better, and it's just a little more expensive:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 730 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.70 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($77.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1275.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 16:48 EST-0500

 

[kharma45]

How is this guys

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320E 3.2GHz 8-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($93.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 730 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.70 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($77.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1198.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 16:15 EST-0500

If it's gaming

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.96 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.77 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $1083.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 16:47 EST-0500

Then that's far, far better.

 

[LilJoka]

So a little update on my progress. I have my g3258 at 4.7Ghz at 1.323v and ~65C at load, with about a 15 min test so far.

I'm trying to dial back the voltage a bit (going from 1.323 to 1.321) but it doesn't seem like my change in the bios is being reflected in cpuz. Anyone have any ideas why that might be?

Normal, you may not see the impact in CPUz, but its working, trust it. The small increments can be hard to detect due to things like Load Line Calibration which reactivly increase Vcore during load scenarios. The strength of the load line calibration means that certain Vcore "levels" just tend not to be what you want it to exactly do.

If you decrease by another notch of Vcore you may see the impact, but it may end up being lower than expected.

 

[The Llama]

Normal, you may not see the impact in CPUz, but its working, trust it. The small increments can be hard to detect due to things like Load Line Calibration which reactivly increase Vcore during load scenarios. The strength of the load line calibration means that certain Vcore "levels" just tend not to be what you want it to exactly do.

If you decrease by another notch of Vcore you may see the impact, but it may end up being lower than expected.

And just to add on to this, just IMO but if you're sort of relying on load line calibration to increase the Vcore a bit, your voltage is probably a bit too low. Others may disagree, but I'm a "better safe than sorry" type.

 

[besiktas1]

So... the Alienware Alpha.
Looked at my options for building a pc, bearing in mind I've never done that before, Is this my best option for a:

Low power consumption
Small form factor,
Plays current gen games as well as/better than my xbox one or ps4.
Will use it a lot for keeping it on and as my DLNA server for devices across my house.

Was thinking of the £700 model. So thats my budget. £700

Alienware Alpha
£699.00
4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processor
Windows 8.1
8GB Memory
2TB Hard Drive

 

[PFD]

You can compare the diffrences on the manufacturer's website.[/url] I don't know where you are going to be buying the motherboard, but in the US, the UD3H is $125 and the UD5H is $150, however the UD5H also has a $20 mail in rebate, so if you don't mind that sort of thing, $130 makes it a very good deal.

I'm actually buying in Canada. The difference here atm is $45, I'd rather use that on a Xonar DGX

 

[LilJoka]

And just to add on to this, just IMO but if you're sort of relying on load line calibration to increase the Vcore a bit, your voltage is probably a bit too low. Others may disagree, but I'm a "better safe than sorry" type.

Yeah generally if you are running offset Vcore then medium LLC is enough. If you're running Fixed, then use the LLC level that offers a slightly higher idle Vcore than load vcore.

Its much more hard with offset to tweak LLC, some chips can handle High LLC, but some are not so great so need medium LLC to make sure each Vcore setting at each multiplier is sufficient up to the maximum clock.

 

[LilJoka]

So... the Alienware Alpha.
Looked at my options for building a pc, bearing in mind I've never done that before, Is this my best option for a:

Low power consumption
Small form factor,
Plays current gen games as well as/better than my xbox one or ps4.
Will use it a lot for keeping it on and as my DLNA server for devices across my house.

Was thinking of the £700 model. So thats my budget. £700

Alienware Alpha
£699.00
4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processor
Windows 8.1
8GB Memory
2TB Hard Drive

Low power consumption - Yes
Small form factor - Yes
Plays current gen games as well as/better than my xbox one or ps4. - No GTX 860M is pretty rubbish - Laptop GPU. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hID4TNtJ8U
Will use it a lot for keeping it on and as my DLNA server for devices across my house. - Yes

Also 5400rpm data drive not really ideal. CPU overkill for that GPU, really the base spec CPU in the top spec choice would make no difference to gaming performance.

 

[besiktas1]

Low power consumption - Yes
Small form factor - Yes
Plays current gen games as well as/better than my xbox one or ps4. - No GTX 860M is pretty rubbish - Laptop GPU. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hID4TNtJ8U
Will use it a lot for keeping it on and as my DLNA server for devices across my house. - Yes

Also 5400rpm data drive not really ideal. CPU overkill for that GPU, really the base spec CPU in the top spec choice would make no difference to gaming performance.

So what are my alternatives? Can you help me out please 😊

 

[Aguero9320]

Hey guys! First ever post!

Looking to build a small, living room HTPC and gaming box so looking at Mini ITX.

How does this look? Using Amazon because gift cards, Prime etc... Sorry if not formatted correctly! Exported from PC Partpicker as plain text!

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hQzzCJ) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hQzzCJ/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i74790k) | $299.99 @ Amazon
**CPU Cooler** | [Cooler Master Seidon 120M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rls12m24pkr1) | $64.99 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [Asus Z97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97iplus) | $149.99 @ Amazon
**Memory** | [Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/patriot-memory-pvl38g213c1kr) | $92.73 @ Amazon
**Storage** | [Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-internal-hard-drive-ct256mx100ssd1) | $109.99 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-04gp42974kr) | $349.99 @ Amazon
**Case** | [Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc120akkn1) | $49.88 @ Amazon
**Power Supply** | [XFX XTR 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550bbefx) |-
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $1117.56
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 19:10 EST-0500 |

 

[Rebel Leader]

Finally got a graphics card.

The 750ti SC was on sale for $75(after I traded in some games for it original price $150)
--

Aguero9320

When you export use BBCode:

 

[ricki42]

So what are my alternatives? Can you help me out please 😊

If you are willing to build it yourself, post the 'basic desktop questions' in the OP. Also, have a look at some of the suggested builds in the OP; PCPartPicker is really helpful in figuring out what's available and how much it costs (you can change your country in the upper right).

 

[LilJoka]

So what are my alternatives? Can you help me out please 😊

Maybe this?
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£130.74 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Scythe BIG Shuriken 2 Rev. B 45.5 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£30.14 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£78.72 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£61.04 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£51.75 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£56.64 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case (£35.58 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12G 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£72.79 @ Amazon UK)
Other: R9 280X 3GB (£220.00)
Total: £737.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-24 00:52 GMT+0000

Other cases: Silverstone RVZ01, Node 304, Silverstone FT03 Mini

 

[Jibbed]

Sup, PC-GAF. I'm thinking of selling my current rig (I live in the UK), it was recently rebuilt in a new case a few months ago but I'm needing something a little more functional/portable for university.

I know I'm going to take a pretty big hit selling this stuff but yeah, here are the specs:

OS: Windows 8.1
Case: Fractal Design R4 Black Pearl
CPU: i7 2600K @ 3.4GHz (stock)
GPU: Gigabyte Windforce GTX 770 2GB
RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 256GB
Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooler: Corsair H50 (water)
PSU: Cooler Master 850W Modular
WiFi: TP Link 300Mbps card
Misc: Cheap CD drive, loads of spare cables.

All in, it's cost me about £1500 over the past 4 years to build it and keep it up to date (upgraded GPU from 560Ti last year). What do you reckon? In its current state, it's immaculate. Did a proper job on the cable management for the recent rebuild.

Sell it as a package, or as individual parts? Any guesses at value?

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Anyone know any deals coming up on 970's?

Looking to get for a rig I'm selling.

 

[appaws]

Thanks, will definitely switch the case for the black and red 780T and have consoles that can run bluray so I will be allocating that money elsewhere. As for the board and ram what would you recommended?

There was nothing wrong with that board at all, if that is the one you like...

You said you are buying a red and black case (good choice, btw) so how about the Maximus VII Hero to match? Asus does have the best UEFI software and a generally makes great products overall.

For RAM, I just look for low profile stuff from one of the more well-respected brands. My personal favorite is G. Skill "Ares", but there is also Corsair Dominator LP and I am sure there are others.

 

[SugarDave]

Just tried capping CS:GO at 60fps to compare to 120. Holy fucking shit, I didn't expect to actually find it choppy.

 

[Hanzou]

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.98 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($98.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($189.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $690.90

Any thought on this build. It's a gaming PC for my brother and am trying to keep the price as low as possible while still having the PC be powerful for the futures. He is not someone is is obsessed with frame rate and graphic fidelity so a locked 30 fps without all the bells and whistles in the graphic settings is good enough. If it runs even fatster the better.. Looking for a couple opinions on a few things:

I went with the R9 280 as it seems like Nvidia has nothing in this price range that comes close to the 280. Plus the 3Gb will probably even make the card hold up even better down the road. I was also lookigng at the OC Gigabyte 280 for $10 more, worth the price? http://www.ncix.com/detail/gigabyte-radeon-r9-280-oc-0b-98788-1242.htm

Any thoughts on the motherboard and cpu? I think I will get a hyper 212 cooler on there but overclocking is going to be light if it all. He does not know how to do it so I might just bump it up a few hundred MHZ and call it a day. I want a Mobo that is relatively inexpensive but still good quality, will this one fit the bill or is there something better in the price range? Never owned a MSI board before.


Power supply OK? Ram should be OK I think.

 

[rtcn63]

You'll need an i5 with a "k" at the end if you want to overclock the CPU, IIRC. And make sure that the motherboard supports it natively.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Guys any thoughts on this monitor? It's the last thing I need to buy for my PC build

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-070-AC

I was looking at G-Sync before but they're too expensive after I've already spent so much (more than double the above one :/)
Think it's a good choice, and how much am I missing out on by not paying the premium for 144hz and G-Sync?

 

[Hanzou]

You'll need an i5 with a "k" at the end if you want to overclock the CPU, IIRC. And make sure that the motherboard supports it natively.

Now I was under the impression the "K' meant the multiplier was unlocked which is what you need for much higher overclocks. Can still increase the base clock while leavig the multiplier the same like I did on my i5 760?

 

[kennah]

Now I was under the impression the "K' meant the multiplier was unlocked which is what you need for much higher overclocks. Can still increase the base clock while leavig the multiplier the same like I did on my i5 760?

That's not really recommended anymore.