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[naw]

You could save a bit if you take out the DVD drive and the sound card. Neither is really needed unless you have a specific use for them. You can also save on the memory - alternatives include 16GB Mushkin DDR3-1600 for $124, or 16GB G.Skill DDR3-2400 for $135. I recommend replacing the power supply with a modular one. There is the Antec HCG-850M semi-modular bronze for $80 after rebate, or the EVGA 750W G2 fully modular gold for $89 after rebate. Otherwise, the rest of your parts look just fine.

Made RAM and power supply adjustments with the 16GB G.Skill and EVGA 750W

Dropped the sound card and DVD drive

Only reason why I had the DVD drive was to install Windows, but I just found out that I could download 8.1 Pro from MS for $70. Thanks for the reply bro

 

[kennah]

I thought prices skyrocketed because of a fire at one of the factories?

If that were the case prices would have stabilized. It's all the factors, not just one.

 

[Iacobellis]

If that were the case prices would have stabilized. It's all the factors, not just one.

It's a shame because DDR4 is too expensive right now for everybody to just jump on that instead of the older, overpriced sticks.

8GB of 1600 MHz RAM for $80, sheesh.

 

[Vizzeh]

I'll make the same RAM recommendations for you that I made for another person, you stand to save a bit on both parts. 16GB Mushkin DDR3-1600 for $124, or 16GB G.Skill DDR3-2400 for $135.

I don't really keep up with small form factor case designs, but the case looks very nice.

Consider replacing the Corsair H100i with the H105. For $95, it has a larger radiator with better performance, as well as coming with fans that change speed and can run quieter when at low temperature, and still speed up to match the same RPM as the H100i fans and provide better performance. The Corsair H105 will be a tight fit, but is confirmed to fit in the case. Replacing the H105's included fans with slim fans might be a worthwhile idea (H105 radiator and stock fan thickness is about 63mm, the N1 website recommends a total radiator and fan thickness of 60mm but 85mm total space available), but some slim fans tend to be loud.

Edit: Oh, wait. The NCASE M1 has some restrictive PSU and CPU cooler requirements, and my original suggestion won't all fit. Removed the PSU suggestion.

I Have the 4790k Clocked to 4.7ghz with a Corsair H80i water cooler (could go to 5.1ghz with more Juice, likely slightly less stable.) with temps idling at mid 20's and rarely passing 60degrees, albeit the case is well ventilated with about 5 large fans in it too + an OC'd 980GTX... Unless he is planning on putting more volts into the CPU that would likely be above safe levels (endurance) levels then I would save the cash, altho can never have enough cooling!!

If I were him I would also consider a larger PSU, for future-proofing an aditional GTX980 in SLI, unless SLI will never be an option and a stronger single card to replace, as a 600w will be at the absolute limits, I would consider a 750w

 

[Nipo]

I'll make the same RAM recommendations for you that I made for another person, you stand to save a bit on both parts. 16GB Mushkin DDR3-1600 for $124, or 16GB G.Skill DDR3-2400 for $135.

I don't really keep up with small form factor case designs, but the case looks very nice.

Consider replacing the Corsair H100i with the H105. For $95, it has a larger radiator with better performance, as well as coming with fans that change speed and can run quieter when at low temperature, and still speed up to match the same RPM as the H100i fans and provide better performance. The Corsair H105 will be a tight fit, but is confirmed to fit in the case. Replacing the H105's included fans with slim fans might be a worthwhile idea (H105 radiator and stock fan thickness is about 63mm, the N1 website recommends a total radiator and fan thickness of 60mm but 85mm total space available), but some slim fans tend to be loud.

Edit: Oh, wait. The NCASE M1 has some restrictive PSU and CPU cooler requirements, and my original suggestion won't all fit. Removed the PSU suggestion.

Thanks for the Ram suggestion! Your edit clears up my question about the PSU. I was pretty sure I needed an SFX one judging by the builds I've seen. Every little savings helps.

You make a great argument for the H105 but I think I'll buyh the h100i now and possibly upgrading later. So many people have done builds with the H100i i will let some more experienced people test out the H105. I'll consider it a chicken tax if i end up upgrading later.

I just installed this as my rear exhaust fan. Pulls air like a champ. In fact, the sound of suction/airflow is sometimes louder than actual fan noise. Highly recommended.

Thanks! It looks like people report luck using 2x Noctua NF-F12 PWM + 1x Noctua NF-A15 PWM + 1x Noctua NF-B9 PWM So i'll order some fans too.

 

[LilJoka]

Thanks for the Ram suggestion! Your edit clears up my question about the PSU. I was pretty sure I needed an SFX one judging by the builds I've seen. Every little savings helps.

You make a great argument for the H105 but I think I'll buyh the h100i now and possibly upgrading later. So many people have done builds with the H100i i will let some more experienced people test out the H105. I'll consider it a chicken tax if i end up upgrading later.



Thanks! It looks like people report luck using 2x Noctua NF-F12 PWM + 1x Noctua NF-A15 PWM + 1x Noctua NF-B9 PWM So i'll order some fans too.

So lucky to have an NCASE M1.

 

[paskowitz]

Thanks for the Ram suggestion! Your edit clears up my question about the PSU. I was pretty sure I needed an SFX one judging by the builds I've seen. Every little savings helps.

You make a great argument for the H105 but I think I'll buyh the h100i now and possibly upgrading later. So many people have done builds with the H100i i will let some more experienced people test out the H105. I'll consider it a chicken tax if i end up upgrading later.



Thanks! It looks like people report luck using 2x Noctua NF-F12 PWM + 1x Noctua NF-A15 PWM + 1x Noctua NF-B9 PWM So i'll order some fans too.

For a case of that size, I would not use any other fan. The Industrial models have noise reduction mounts FYI.

 

[Stubo]

Im really surprised by this



I have an i3-3220 and I'm looking to spend about $300 for an i5+mobo, but if 60fps is my goal then why spend the money? I'm not sure if it's worth the money currently. Will certain newer games just not run on a dual core?

I can test it out later today when my 280x comes in.

Some games take much larger advantage of quad core than others, it really depends what types of games you'll be playing the most as to if it's worth it for you.

Look at the clock speeds along the side, overclocking an unlocked CPU is where you get the massive performance gains.

Different games respond to increased CPU cores/clocks in different ways, some are more GPU reliant than CPU reliant for example. It never does any harm to have a faster CPU and it of course has benefits in all other applications also.

I'm sure there will be a post with benchmarking results to back this up, I've seen great posts in this thread on this topic in the past.

 

[RGM79]

I Have the 4790k Clocked to 4.7ghz with a Corsair H80i water cooler (could go to 5.1ghz with more Juice, likely slightly less stable.) with temps idling at mid 20's and rarely passing 60degrees, albeit the case is well ventilated with about 5 large fans in it too + an OC'd 980GTX... Unless he is planning on putting more volts into the CPU that would likely be above safe levels (endurance) levels then I would save the cash, altho can never have enough cooling!!

If I were him I would also consider a larger PSU, for future-proofing an aditional GTX980 in SLI, unless SLI will never be an option and a stronger single card to replace, as a 600w will be at the absolute limits, I would consider a 750w

I recommended the H105 because it was a better performer for nearly the same price. The H80i is also an excellent option that is smaller and would leave more room in the case to work with.

The motherboard and case are mITX, so SLI is impossible. If he goes with a regular ATX power supply, then it may interfere with larger graphics cards and prevent use of some hard drive bays in the case. It's a very small and nice case, but space is at a high premium. If you look at the NCASE website, you'll see that PSU, graphics card and water radiator size need to be juggled to fit just right.

That said, the latest Nvidia flagship cards are very efficient, he might be able to keep using that Silverstone 600 watt PSU with Nvidia cards if they're as efficient in the future. Silverstone is a good brand for PSUs.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Guys any thoughts on this monitor?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0091ME4A0/

Good choice? Bad?

I admit I'm not sure what to look for in a monitor, all I know I want is a 2560x1440 resolution.

 

[FreddieQuell]

I'm getting ready to put my graphics card in and it seems like I might not have all the cables needed. I have a cable that goes from my PSU and has two 6/8 pin connectors on the other end. Is this fine to use? I'm putting in an MSI 970 that has an 8 pin and a 6 pin power input.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Guys any thoughts on this monitor?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0091ME4A0/

Good choice? Bad?

I admit I'm not sure what to look for in a monitor, all I know I want is a 2560x1440 resolution.

It is an ips monitor, great colors for graphics design and video editing. But if you want something for gaming that is a bit cheaper and still ips and 1440p, I would recommend to go with the Korean brands that can be overclocked to 96hz or up to 120hz

specifically the QNIX QX2710

edit: If you have the money, the best gaming monitor right now, also happens to be 1440p, The Asus ROG Swift.

 

[Hanzou]

I thought prices skyrocketed because of a fire at one of the factories?

Yeah that happened at around the same time. As prices going up. I though I remember talks about the fire not being a huge deal for production. Maybe I am wrong. If that was the case though it's been 2 years so toy would think they supply would have caught up by now.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

I'm getting ready to put my graphics card in and it seems like I might not have all the cables needed. I have a cable that goes from my PSU and has two 6/8 pin connectors on the other end. Is this fine to use? I'm putting in an MSI 970 that has an 8 pin and a 6 pin power input.

if it has two 6/8 pins connectors, use all 8 pins in one , and only six from the other.

 

[FreddieQuell]

if it has two 6/8 pins connectors, use all 8 pins in one , and only six from the other.

And just to be clear, were talking about both the 8 pin and the 6 pin coming off of one cable plugged into the psu? I was expecting needing two cables.

 

[RGM79]

And just to be clear, were talking about both the 8 pin and the 6 pin coming off of one cable plugged into the psu? I was expecting needing two cables.

No, use separate cables if there are.

 

[Lunar15]

I was just about set to grab the Enthoo Pro (or maybe the luxe for the lighting/design), but then I saw the reviews for the Fractal R5 and I'm kind of tempted. I like the near-silent design, it's a plus for me. I'm a bit worried about temperature, though. I'd like to add my own fans to it, but you probably lose some of the silence. It's a little bit smaller too, which is a plus.

Also, if you got the version with the glass on the side, wouldn't you lose some silencing as well?

Either way, now I have to make a choice.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

I was just about set to grab the Enthoo Pro (or maybe the luxe for the lighting/design), but then I saw the reviews for the Fractal R5 and I'm kind of tempted. I like the near-silent design, it's a plus for me. I'm a bit worried about temperature, though. I'd like to add my own fans to it, but you probably lose some of the silence. It's a little bit smaller too, which is a plus.

Also, if you got the version with the glass on the side, wouldn't you lose some silencing as well?

Either way, now I have to make a choice.

Do you need silencing? Also, I think in terms of cooling and room, I think the Enthoo Luxe/Pro has it beat. Plus, do you mind doors? The R5 has a front door.

 

[FreddieQuell]

No, use separate cables if there are.

Is that a requirement? I don't have any other PCIE cables.

 

[The Llama]

Is that a requirement? I don't have any other PCIE cables.

I don't think so (I use one cable with my R9 290x).

 

[Lunar15]

Do you need silencing? Also, I think in terms of cooling and room, I think the Enthoo Luxe/Pro has it beat. Plus, do you mind doors? The R5 has a front door.

I almost never use my optical drives, so a door doesn't bother me that much.

I guess temp trumps noise for me, so I might go Enthoo. My current old-ass case is loud as can be, so I guess anything is a step up. I'll still probably invest into some new fans for the Enthoo, though.

 

[FreddieQuell]

I don't think so (I use one cable with my R9 290x).

Yeah, I have it hooked up now and it seems fine to me.

 

[RGM79]

Is that a requirement? I don't have any other PCIE cables.

I don't think so (I use one cable with my R9 290x).

Just to be on the safe side, that's all. If you had two separate cables, I'd recommend it. The point of there being two separate power connectors on the graphics card is that they should have separate power cables from the PSU.

Here are some wattage measurements for the GTX 970. The MSI model uses up to 200 watts on load. Asus Strix, for comparison, uses a bit less, ~170 watts.

PCI-E slots provide 75 watts, 6 pin connector provides another 75 watts, and 8 pin connectors provide 150 watts. Due to the GTX 970 being pretty power efficient, it's possible to run it on PCI-E and a single 8 pin connector (225 watts total capacity, the Asus Strix has only those connectors and uses 170 watts leave 55 watts unused), but the MSI model has both a 6 and 8 pin connector for extra power due to the fact that 225 watts from just PCI-E and an 8 pin connnector is a bit too low for the 200 watts, it's safer to have PCI-E plus an 8 pin plus a 6 pin for 300 watt capacity,

I don't know the particular details about your power supply, it may be that it has a strong 12V rail that can handle powering the MSI GTX 970 from a single cable. Your system will turn on but when the GTX 970 ramps up power usage while gaming, you'll know if it's not enough if you start having problems.

 

[besiktas1]

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

So big thanks to Joka, but a little more advice, instead of the hdd for £55 can you add that to this build please, I'm almost ready to bite the bullet. 😊

 

[gabrielt16]

Im having troubles with my new computer idk if 1 of you can help me. Basically every now and then the screen will screw up and either display as full black or as white with black lines. I assume its the video card or drivers getting screwed but I have no idea what to do.

I have a AMD Radeon R9 280X, current driver I have for it is 14.301.1001.0 from 9/15/2014. AMD Catalyst is the 14.9 revision not the beta.

Help? ]]];

Btw the computer is 3 days old.

 

[Felix Lighter]

Im having troubles with my new computer idk if 1 of you can help me. Basically every now and then the screen will screw up and either display as full black or as white with black lines. I assume its the video card or drivers getting screwed but I have no idea what to do.

I have a AMD Radeon R9 280X, current driver I have for it is 14.301.1001.0 from 9/15/2014. AMD Catalyst is the 14.9 revision not the beta.

Help? ]]];

Btw the computer is 3 days old.

That sounds like a driver crash and other artifacts. Are you overclocking at all? If not it could be a faulty card. Does it happen across different games?

 

[gabrielt16]

Not overclocking and it happens without even playing games. Last night it worked normal but when I played Skyrim I got a full 2 minutes before crashing. Today it worked normal but when I was trying to install a program it crashed again and took me a few tries before getting it working again.

];

 

[Felix Lighter]

Not overclocking and it happens without even playing games. Last night it worked normal but when I played Skyrim I got a full 2 minutes before crashing. Today it worked normal but when I was trying to install a program it crashed again and took me a few tries before getting it working again.

];

If it was me, I'd uninstall the driver and reinstall. I don't know what other options you'd have. Faulty hardware is definitely a possibility with those symptoms.

 

[gabrielt16]

I already went once to the store that built it and they formatted and installed everything, OS and drivers and it ran good on their monitors but when i get home bam it crashes. I might have to go again tomorrow to tell them it ight be the damn card.

Thanks.

 

[LilJoka]

So big thanks to Joka, but a little more advice, instead of the hdd for £55 can you add that to this build please, I'm almost ready to bite the bullet. 😊

Possibly something like this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£134.94 @ 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)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card (£263.96 @ 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)
Total: £728.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-24 23:51 GMT+0000

 

[tarheel91]

I already went once to the store that built it and they formatted and installed everything, OS and drivers and it ran good on their monitors but when i get home bam it crashes. I might have to go again tomorrow to tell them it ight be the damn card.

Thanks.

Have you tried a different cable? It's rare, but sometimes your cable can be bad.

 

[Salaadin]

Are there any good artifact checkers for GPU overclocking? Like EVGA OC scanner?

Tbh, I have a hard time trusting my eyes to check for errors in the Unigine benchmark. I'm probably over thinking it but certain scenes in the bench have me second guessing if they are errors or not... And then I have to run it again on stock to verify.

 

[The Llama]

Are there any good artifact checkers for GPU overclocking? Like EVGA OC scanner?

Tbh, I have a hard time trusting my eyes to check for errors in the Unigine benchmark. I'm probably over thinking it but certain scenes in the bench have me second guessing if they are errors or not... And then I have to run it again on stock to verify.

Try Furmark.

 

[gabrielt16]

Have you tried a different cable? It's rare, but sometimes your cable can be bad.

Just tried it with the Wii U hdmi cable and same problem.

 

[The Llama]

Newegg.com has the 28" Acer B286HK 4K2K (3840x2160) LED-Backlit Monitor on Sale for $349.99 - an additional 5% w/ code NAFBF14A = $332.49. Shipping is Free. Thanks Wolfie8881

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16824009659&cm_sp=

Just saw this on Slickdeals. Not sure if its a great deal or not but $330 for a 4k monitor seemed worth posting.

 

[PFD]

Newegg.com has the 28" Acer B286HK 4K2K (3840x2160) LED-Backlit Monitor on Sale for $349.99 - an additional 5% w/ code NAFBF14A = $332.49. Shipping is Free. Thanks Wolfie8881

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16824009659&cm_sp=

Just saw this on Slickdeals. Not sure if its a great deal or not but $330 for a 4k monitor seemed worth posting.

At 28" I wouldn't go for a TN monitor. The edges will have severe color/contrast shift

 

[Celcius]

Are there any good artifact checkers for GPU overclocking? Like EVGA OC scanner?

Tbh, I have a hard time trusting my eyes to check for errors in the Unigine benchmark. I'm probably over thinking it but certain scenes in the bench have me second guessing if they are errors or not... And then I have to run it again on stock to verify.

Try Furmark.

I wouldn't recommend Furmark. Is there a specific reason why you can't use evga OC Scanner?

 

[knitoe]

At 28" I wouldn't go for a TN monitor. The edges will have severe color/contrast shift

Not sure about this one, but my Acer 28" 4K Gsync only has a very slight color shift . Before buying, I was kinda worried coming from a Dell 27" 1440p IPS. Now, for gaming, I would have no issue recommending a TN panel. They have come a long way from a few years back.

 

[Salaadin]

I wouldn't recommend Furmark. Is there a specific reason why you can't use evga OC Scanner?

I can use it but I've seen others say that they are unreliable and/or not worth it because your GPU is never put under that amount stress regularly.

I used to use OCCT because it has error checking but I'm not really liking that program anymore.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

What's a reasonable selling price for (US):

CM 690 II Case
i7 930 @ 3.9 GHz perfectly stable for 4 years
8 GB DDR3 1600 Ram
128 and 256 SSDs
1 TB HDD
ASUS P6X58D-E MB
Corsair TX650
Radeon HD 7970
Windows 8.1 full license.

I'd try and go for around 700 and see if someone bites. Unless you really want every dollar.

 

[The Llama]

I wouldn't recommend Furmark. Is there a specific reason why you can't use evga OC Scanner?

Whats wrong with Furmark?

 

[FreddieQuell]

Just to be on the safe side, that's all. If you had two separate cables, I'd recommend it. The point of there being two separate power connectors on the graphics card is that they should have separate power cables from the PSU.

Here are some wattage measurements for the GTX 970. The MSI model uses up to 200 watts on load. Asus Strix, for comparison, uses a bit less, ~170 watts.

PCI-E slots provide 75 watts, 6 pin connector provides another 75 watts, and 8 pin connectors provide 150 watts. Due to the GTX 970 being pretty power efficient, it's possible to run it on PCI-E and a single 8 pin connector (225 watts total capacity, the Asus Strix has only those connectors and uses 170 watts leave 55 watts unused), but the MSI model has both a 6 and 8 pin connector for extra power due to the fact that 225 watts from just PCI-E and an 8 pin connnector is a bit too low for the 200 watts, it's safer to have PCI-E plus an 8 pin plus a 6 pin for 300 watt capacity,

I don't know the particular details about your power supply, it may be that it has a strong 12V rail that can handle powering the MSI GTX 970 from a single cable. Your system will turn on but when the GTX 970 ramps up power usage while gaming, you'll know if it's not enough if you start having problems.

Thanks for the info. I just spent a few hours playing and I didn't have any problems so I think I'm good. I will probably pick up another pcie cable though anyways.

 

[Smushroomed]

best fans for an h100i push/pull setup? I'm looking at the noctua industrials, but I'm not sure which ones I have to get for a push/pull. I need to look into static fans correct?

 

[Felix Lighter]

I'd try and go for around 700 and see if someone bites. Unless you really want every dollar.

I was going to sell it for a lot less than that. I was think $400-$500 but I know that would be a crazy deal.

 

[OmegaSkittle]

So a bit of an update with my graphics card situation. Sent the card to PowerColor for an RMA. The card is a PowerColor 7870 Myst Edition.

They emailed me back ~ a week after the card arrived and said they don't have the card in stock anymore.

So being that they are awesome, they offered me a AX7950 3GBD5-2DHPP(amazon page) as a replacement.

Pretty happy with the whole process. Makes up for the $25 i spent for the RMA shipping.

Just don't tell me that card is garbage....

Spoiler

/crossfingers

Well today my RMA upgraded GPU came in. I guess I jinxed myself because the card doesn't work.

It powers on and is recognized by the BIOS but as soon as I try and get into Windows I either get no display or a blue, artifacty/fragmented screen.

Things I have tried to do:

Uninstalled all existing ATI/AMD drivers.

Reinstalling new drivers from both PowerColors site and AMDs site.

Use different PCIE slots.

Use different displays. Along with using both DVI and HDMI.

When I plugged in my old card everything booted up fine and installed basic display drivers.

I emailed them to see what's up but I thought I would give an update.

 

[Himemiya]

So PCGaf...my graphics card was delivered today. These things are really honking big. I have a Thermaltake Urban S1 MicroATX mini tower whose VGA length limit is 260mm, but thankfully the card was just shy of that at 241mm. I'm very new to computer building and I haven't put any of the parts in place yet, and I want to make sure my short-sightedness doesn't cause me panic again. If someone experienced could look over this list of parts I have (minus the tower and graphics card) and point out anything objectionable, especially spatially, I'd love that.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 Haswell Quad-Core 3.2GHz LGA 1150
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H mATX LGA1150 DDR3 1PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 1PCI HDMI SATA3 USB3.0
PSU: Corsair CX Series CX750M 750W ATX 12V 80 Plus Bronze Modular
Memory: G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000)
HDD: Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"

 

[RGM79]

So PCGaf...my graphics card was delivered today. These things are really honking big. I have a Thermaltake Urban S1 MicroATX mini tower whose VGA length limit is 260mm, but thankfully the card was just shy of that at 241mm. I'm very new to computer building and I haven't put any of the parts in place yet, and I want to make sure my short-sightedness doesn't cause me panic again. If someone experienced could look over this list of parts I have (minus the tower and graphics card) and point out anything objectionable, especially spatially, I'd love that.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 Haswell Quad-Core 3.2GHz LGA 1150
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H mATX LGA1150 DDR3 1PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 1PCI HDMI SATA3 USB3.0
PSU: Corsair CX Series CX750M 750W ATX 12V 80 Plus Bronze Modular
Memory: G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000)
HDD: Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"

I'd have gone for a newer motherboard. Your B85 motherboard may need a BIOS update to work with the Haswell CPU, depending on when the date of manufacture of the motherboard was.

Other than that, all of the parts are compatible with each other.

Well today my RMA upgraded GPU came in. I guess I jinxed myself because the card doesn't work.

It powers on and is recognized by the BIOS but as soon as I try and get into Windows I either get no display or a blue, artifacty/fragmented screen.

Things I have tried to do:

Uninstalled all existing ATI/AMD drivers.

Reinstalling new drivers from both PowerColors site and AMDs site.

Use different PCIE slots.

Use different displays. Along with using both DVI and HDMI.

When I plugged in my old card everything booted up fine and installed basic display drivers.

I emailed them to see what's up but I thought I would give an update.

That's unfortunate, I always thought Powercolor to be a budget brand. Excuse the stupid question, but did you make sure the power supply's graphics power cables are plugged in all the way? tried different DVI and HDMI cables?

Do you get the exact same graphical errors whether you use DVI or HDMI? In that case it could just be defective.

I was going to sell it for a lot less than that. I was think $400-$500 but I know that would be a crazy deal.

The computer as a whole isn't bad. I think you could certainly get more than $500 if you sold the parts separately.

 

[OmegaSkittle]

That's unfortunate, I always thought Powercolor to be a budget brand. Excuse the stupid question, but did you make sure the power supply's graphics power cables are plugged in all the way? tried different DVI and HDMI cables?

Do you get the exact same graphical errors whether you use DVI or HDMI? In that case it could just be defective.
.

yeah I swapped the card in and out so many times, I had to have plugged it in correctly at least once.

Used multiple cords

 

[Himemiya]

I'd have gone for a newer motherboard. Your B85 motherboard may need a BIOS update to work with the Haswell CPU, depending on when the date of manufacture of the motherboard was.

Other than that, all of the parts are compatible with each other.

Thank you. That motherboard's actually the one part that hasn't been delivered yet, then I'll inspect it. Could get a new one. Past what date does it need an update?

 

[ricki42]

Thanks for the info. I just spent a few hours playing and I didn't have any problems so I think I'm good. I will probably pick up another pcie cable though anyways.

If your PSU only came with one PCI-E cable with two connectors, I'd assume that using both on the same video card is what is intended. But if you do pick up another cable, make sure it's for that same PSU model.