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[Helmholtz]

Will this RAM work okay with a 4690k + z series mobo?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455&leaderboard=1
I only see mention of LGA1155 on those pages. It should be fine with 1150 too, no?

 

[Takosuke]

The i7 5930K and X99 motherboard will require new DDR4 memory, just in case you didn't know, and that's quite expensive right now. Microcentre currently has the i7 4790K for $250 but only for in-store purchase.

If you don't mind me asking, what are you using the computer for? The i7 4790k is quite good and will satisfy most people for a few years at least, and for games the i5 4690K is sufficient and performs close to the 4790K. Would you really need to upgrade again next year if you buy into Z97?

Z97 and socket 1150 aren't due to be made obsolete any time soon. The Broadwell line of CPUs is due out in the middle of 2015 for Z97 and socket 1150. Skylake's Z170 and socket 1151 platform is apparently releasing at around the same time, but isn't going to be replacing Z97 and socket 1150. Next year's Skylake CPUs won't be unlocked for overclocking and might not be totally performance-oriented.

Good tro know, about the DDR4... I currently have some Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) (CMZ16GX3M2A1600C9), so yeah would be a shame to get rid of it. I do mostly Gaming I have one of those QNIX 2710 evo II QHD 120hz), + photo and some video editing as a hobby.

Since my I7 930 last me forever (just upgraded my 4870x2 to a 680 gtz 2 years ago and added some ram as descrived above), seems like I need to pay a visit to a Micro Center in that case Cheers!

 

[Piercedveil]

Yep. Keep in mind, most applications need to be reinstalled to work well with Windows, don't just transplant the folder from "Program Files" and expect it to work.

Ah, yeah of course. Going to have quite a few things to install. Mostly Steam games I suppose.

Thanks again.

 

[RGM79]

Will this RAM work okay with a 4690k + z series mobo?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455&leaderboard=1
I only see mention of LGA1155 on those pages. It should be fine with 1150 too, no?

That's an older set released back in 2011 when 1155 was the current platform, I guess. It'll be fine, it's compatible with nearly anything that takes DDR3.

If you're interested in buying higher speed memory, for $1 more you can get 8GB G.Skill Sniper DDR3-2133 for $58. For $7 more there's 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws Z DDR3-2400 for $64. Heatspreader is kinda big, though.

 

[Helmholtz]

That's an older set released back in 2011 when 1155 was the current platform, I guess. It'll be fine, it's compatible with nearly anything that takes DDR3.

If you're interested in buying higher speed memory, for $1 more you can get 8GB G.Skill Sniper DDR3-2133 for $58. For $7 more there's 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws Z DDR3-2400 for $64. Heatspreader is kinda big, though.

Okay thanks for the info. Do you think 2400 ram is worth the extra $7 (vs 1866)?

 

[lordy88]

The only things I have to recommend are that the Hyper 212 could be replaced with the newer Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo which is cheaper at $27, and that you can get higher speed 16GB G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3-1866 RAM for almost the same price and $13 bundle discount.

As for the motherboard, I'd go with the Gigabyte. All things considered, there's not too much of a difference, although I think the Gigabyte model has a better audio chipset (ALC1150 compared to the Asus' ALC892).

Thanks a lot for the help!

 

[RGM79]

Okay thanks for the info. Do you think 2400 ram is worth the extra $7 (vs 1866)?

In terms of performance, it'll depend on the game and application. Most of the time you probably won't be able to notice the difference. There are a few applications for high speed memory like Battlefield 4 and video editing, as well as the fact that AMD APUs do better with high speed memory.

I think 1866MHz will probably suit you just fine.

 

[tm24]

Oh man, my new computer is up and running. It's beautiful. I love it

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Oh man, my new computer is up and running. It's beautiful. I love it

Gotta love that new smell.
Now OC that bitch and let her burn.

 

[tm24]

Gotta love that new smell.
Now OC that bitch and let her burn.

I love the new fan sound. Ran a quick fire strike test before i finish for the night. 9302, a huge increase from 5171 with my old rig of an AMD Phenom X6 II and a 660ti. Gonna OC that i5 later when i have the time. Time to reinstall programs and move files over

 

[Pharaoh 117]

Any big HDD on sale? 3 or 4TB would be ideal.

 

[Sanjay]

Is the Asetek 545LC still good or are there better options now?

 

[RGM79]

Is the Asetek 545LC still good or are there better options now?

That's a water cooler for small cases.. haven't seen one of those before. What case do you have, and what processor are you cooling?

Asetek no longer sells products directly to the product, and that cooler has been discontinued.

 

[Tugatrix]

Guys my xfx R9 280x is giving me trouble and I can't solve them, the screen is flickering, this is anoying, I found out it is a problem with the VBIOS, which I try different solutions, many made the problem worst, but I found one that made the problem more stable, but now is getting worst again, what to do?

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Guys my xfx R9 280x is giving me trouble and I can't solve them, the screen is flickering, this is anoying, I found out it is a problem with the VBIOS, which I try different solutions, many made the problem worst, but I found one that made the problem more stable, but now is getting worst again, what to do?

What to do first is tell us what you did already? What's your temp when it flickers?

 

[Tugatrix]

What to do first is tell us what you did already? What's your temp when it flickers?

I did a VBIOS update via

http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/index.php?manufacturer=XFX&model=R9+280X

and ATIflash

I used the most recent update the 015.044.000.010.000000

For some time has been working, the flickering almost stoped, but today it's getting worst, it's even crashing the PC

 

[Femmeworth]

If it goes way past the actual RAM stick then it is not low profile. AKA no giant heatspreaders.

So the G.SKILL Sniper Series should be fine? It has heat spreaders but they don't look too high.

Manufacturer's website should list it, so you need to do a little research. If you're looking at parts via PCPartPicker, most of the RAM info pages have a picture of them. Noctua's website has a handy listing of compatible RAM modules for people who will be using their air coolers, you need to go to the product page for the heatsink and click on the compatibility link on the left hand navigation bar.

Corsair RAM will say if it's low profile or not in the name.
G.Skill's Eco and Ares models are low profile.
Crucial RAM is low profile if the name is just "Crucial" (no heatspreader), the other models like "Crucial Ballistix" and others vary, but the "Ballistix Elite" are tall.
Team Group's Vulcan and Zeus are very short, basically bare.
A-Data's Premier and XPG V1.0 models are short, while everything else is tall.
Mushkin memory all have the same height heatspreader, not very tall, could be considered low.

Thanks.

 

[RGM79]

I did a VBIOS update via

http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/index.php?manufacturer=XFX&model=R9+280X

and ATIflash

I used the most recent update the 015.044.000.010.000000

For some time has been working, the flickering almost stoped, but today it's getting worst, it's even crashing the PC

That's not a good idea. Why you trying to flash a new one? That's an easy way to brick a video card if it happens to go wrong. There are only three reasons to flash your graphics card's BIOS:

1. Some kind of major flaw in the current BIOS AND the manufacturer tells you to do so (warranty likely still valid even in the event that it goes wrong).

2. You're looking for modified bios meant to improve performance and you accept the risk or do not mind if the card dies (warranty invalidated by flashing).

3. You want to render the graphics card dead with no physical evidence (manufacturer probably still able to tell what killed it).

Please tell me you backed up the original BIOS or have a copy of it.. Or at least noted what the original working version number was. You'll want to restore that right away.

New BIOS revisions for graphics cards aren't always better. Most graphics card manufacturers don't even provide users with any way to flash new VBIOS. The main reason why there are new VBIOS revisions is because the manufacturer may create multiple variants of the same graphics card model with slightly different hardware here and there (98% the same), but they will have different BIOS revisions. I think you flashed a BIOS meant for a slightly different card, and that is causing your problems. Basic video output still works but the card is choking because it's running improperly on the wrong BIOS.

So the G.SKILL Sniper Series should be fine? It has heat spreaders but they don't look too high.

Thanks.

According to G.Skill's website FAQ, their Sniper line (42mm) are slightly taller than the Ripjaws line (40mm).

http://www.gskill.com/en/faq/Memory

Hmm, I always thought the Sniper heatspreaders looked shorter, but I've never actually handled those models of RAM.

 

[Tugatrix]

That's not a good idea. Why you trying to flash a new one? That's an easy way to brick a video card if it happens to go wrong. There are only three reasons to flash your graphics card's BIOS:

1. Some kind of major flaw in the current BIOS AND the manufacturer tells you to do so (warranty likely still valid even in the event that it goes wrong).

2. You're looking for modified bios meant to improve performance and you accept the risk or do not mind if the card dies (warranty invalidated by flashing).

3. You want to render the graphics card dead with no physical evidence (manufacturer probably still able to tell what killed it).

Please tell me you backed up the original BIOS or have a copy of it.. Or at least noted what the original working version number was. You'll want to restore that right away.

New BIOS revisions for graphics cards aren't always better. Most graphics card manufacturers don't even provide users with any way to flash new VBIOS. The main reason why there are new VBIOS revisions is because the manufacturer may create multiple variants of the same graphics card model with slightly different hardware here and there (98% the same), but they will have different BIOS revisions. I think you flashed a BIOS meant for a slightly different card, and that is causing your problems. Basic video output still works but the card is choking because it's running improperly on the wrong BIOS.

The original VBIOS was malfunctioning, much worse than with the new one I install, If I restore it the flickering and crashing problem will be worst than now

 

[RGM79]

The original VBIOS was malfunctioning, much worse than with the new one I install, If I restore it the flickering and crashing problem will be worst than now

How did you narrow down the original problems to the VBIOS?

 

[Tugatrix]

How did you narrow down the original problems to the VBIOS?

I googled the problem, that apparently is frequent on this graphic card and they all point to the VBIOS

 

[b0bbyJ03]

Hey guys, I've got a problem that I've never really dealt with and I'm not sure how to fix it. I picked up Wolfenstien on Black Friday and it seems to be running terribly. I used RTSS to try and figure out what is happening and I noticed that my GPU usage never goes above 60%. The CPU usage doesn't seem to go much over 70% on the highest core. Any ideas on why this game is not fully using resources? It will play at 60fps and just freezes every few seconds

 

[RGM79]

I googled the problem, that apparently is frequent on this graphic card and they all point to the VBIOS

I only found guesses relating to BIOS problems, no concrete answers. Most people seem to be assuming it's the BIOS and hoping that a BIOS update solves the phone, but have not explained why they believe this.

There are people attempting to flash the Black Edition's BIOS to the regular model. No one who has reported flickering seems to have successfully fixed it by BIOS flashing. There was one person who reported that it lessened flickering slightly but ended up returning the card anyway.

Other people mention something about flickering caused by invalid VDDC, which may be related to idle state of power and GPU clock. Others said flickering goes away if they manually set GPU clock when idle to 400MHz or higher via Catalyst overdrive.

Have you tried this? At least two people have reported that it worked for them.

And at the bottom of this page, it turned out that incorrect cable and/or adaptor was the culprit. What cables and/or adaptor are you using? Ideally it should be DVI dual link or HDMI.

 

[Hironobu Sakaguchi]

i own radeon r9 280x, will i get benefit of buying an nvidia compatible monitors if i want to use blurbusters tools? or is it ok to buy any supported monitor by them regarding nvidia features whether it have it or not?
for notice: i dont care bout 3D at all

i want to buy one of these 3 but i'm still hesitating for some incompatibility fears?
all prices are from my region

viewsonic VG2401mh - $334

ProLite GB2488HSU-B1 - $304

asus VG248QE - $296

i believe i'd take asus or viewsonic, and for some reason i'm pretty much deciding on viewsonic unless someone have another opinion

i notice that viewsonic response time is 1ms gdelta, but asus is 1ms g2g , what's the difference and which is better?

 

[LilJoka]

I'm not super savvy about PC parts and stuff (I built mine using an old GAF PC thread recommended build and a video of someone building a PC using many of the same parts in the exact same case), so I have a few questions/comments/whatever.

-Why not get entirely new RAM? It looks like buying 8 gigs of RAM would only be a dozen or so dollars more than buying more of the RAM I'm using now. Also, are you sure that my motherboard will accept four sticks? Do I need to make sure that all of the sticks I use are exactly the same? I seem to remember that it screws up if the RAM is unbalanced or something...

-I use my PC as my main video-game-playing device these days, so I would like something that can play next-gen console ports on par with the PS4 at 1080p, if not better....but I could just be saying that because I've been spoiled by being able to max out most games that have come out over the past 3.5 years with ease with a relatively-inexpensive set-up. I'm patient.
....Just looked up an old invoice, and it seems that my 560ti was $250 when I bought it in 2011. Huh, that's more expensive than I remembered, but now I do recall that it was the most expensive part of my build back then. Huh. Still, not willing to spend that much to upgrade right now, so I might wait until cards come down in price.

-I think the biggest problem I have right now with my PC is the hard drive. It scores the lowest in my Windows experience score (not that that means a whole lot, haha), and my computer has had more and more problems loading things and has generally gotten more and more sluggish and gives me blue screens of death more and more. I know that I'm supposed to reformat my hard drive, but the prospect terrifies me. I also really want to get a SDD, but that would also require me to reformat/redo my PC. Here are my concerns/questions:

1. Can I re-install Windows from a previously-used (Windows 7) disc without having to pay some activation fee or something?

2. How should I back up all of my old data? Should I put it on a portable hard drive?

3. If I got an SSD, how would I set it up to work alongside my HDD? How could I tell my computer to download certain things to SSD and others to the HDD?

4. I also had a horrible time getting my PC up in running because of a faulty version of Windows...and...well...it's hard to explain...here are a few of my posts from 2011:







...And my computer has mostly been fine since then, over three years later. Unfortunately, I think both of the Windows disks are buried in my desk, completely unlabeled! I'm terrified of picking the wrong one and going through all of this again (especially since it doesn't kill itself until a few days later)!

....

So, basically, I'm asking for some help/advice from GAF regarding reformatting a hard drive and installing a SSD.

1. Yes, just use the same key, might need to do a phone activation at most.
2. Why backup if you are installing Windows to a new SSD? Just unplug the HDD and install the SSD, install Win 7 to the SSD. Then plug the HDD back in. Just tell the BIOS to boot from the SSD.
3. If you right click your user folders, like right click Downloads, go to location Tab, you can change the location from C:/.. to D:/.... This way all downloads end up at the HDD by default. That can be done for all the personal folders.

Also im not sure what program you are using to downloading files, but 99% of the time you can browse to any location to save your file anyways.

Why dont you just download Windows 7 of the same version from Microsoft links. They are still around if you know where to look. All you need to check is the the MD5 hash of the ISO matches the ones provided from Microsoft. You can use a program like hashtab to check the MD5 checksum of a file. Mydigitalife forum is a good place to check.

 

[zerokoolpsx]

My local Micro Center are out of stock for the 4790k. They got the 5820k, but the DDR4 ram isn't cheap.

Is Crucial ram any good?

 

[kharma45]

My local Micro Center are out of stock for the 4790k. They got the 5820k, but the DDR4 ram isn't cheap.

Is Crucial ram any good?

Yeah it's fine.

 

[kennah]

Picked up a $20 Sensei Raw today. Can't wait to try it out

 

[Spat_triate]

It begins!

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

Samsung 840 EVO 500GB for $189 or Crucial MX100 512GB for $189? Any major difference performance wise?

Right now I've got a WD Caviar Black 750GB as my main storage drive with a 840 EVO 256GB with the OS and apps, but I'm finding thats getting more crammed with stuff as time has gone on and I end up downloading more games but not deleting them.

 

[kharma45]

I'd get the MX100 for the bigger capacity. Both are good drives tho.

 

[Contra11]

I want to build the best gaming PC for 1500 $ so guys tell me what to get "i already have a monitor so it doesn't count and i want a normal desktop PC and i dont want AMD CPUs OR GPUs "

 

[The Llama]

I want to build the best gaming PC for 1500 $ so guys tell me what to get "i already have a monitor so it doesn't count and i want a normal desktop PC and i dont want AMD CPUs OR GPUs "

Fill out the form in the OP.

 

[PFD]

Has anyone tried to install the Team Xtreem LV 16GB DDR3 ram with the Hyper 212 Evo? Do they fit?

 

[Vow of Silence]

I'm planning on a new PC early next year, been running a dual core 8600 since 2009 and tided myself over with a graphics card upgrade to a 6950 a couple of years ago. Money is an object (£1500 is my upmost limit for budget and I'd like to spend £250ish of that on a new monitor), but I'd rather spend more now than spend less and then in a couple of years feel like I should have bit the bullet on a more than 4 core cpu. There seems to be overall very little interest in >4 core chips in this thread. I'm deciding on whether to build around a 5820K or 4690K. Any advice to help me make up my mind would be much appreciated.

 

[The Llama]

I'm planning on a new PC early next year, been running a dual core 8600 since 2009 and tided myself over with a graphics card upgrade to a 6950 a couple of years ago. Money is an object (£1500 is my upmost limit for budget and I'd like to spend £250ish of that on a new monitor), but I'd rather spend more now than spend less and then in a couple of years feel like I should have bit the bullet on a more than 4 core cpu. There seems to be overall very little interest in >4 core chips in this thread. I'm deciding on whether to build around a 5820K or 4690K. Any advice to help me make up my mind would be much appreciated.

With roughly a £1250 budget, I wouldn't go X99. There are very few games that take advantage of 6 cores, and while games are slowly getting more multi-threaded, I question whether having 6 cores will make a material difference in the next few years.

Plus it seems like you can usually overclock the 4690k and 4790k more easily because they put off a lot less heat than the 6 core CPU's.

 

[Socreges]

Planning to build a new computer but for now I'm just hoping to get a new monitor. Any opinions on the Samsung LS22D390HS/ZC 21.5" LED Monitor?

Hard to come by reviews (none on Amazon) but the few I’ve seen were very good.

Strangely, it looks different here (where I would be buying it from because of shipping reasons) than it does at TigerDirect or Amazon or on Samsung's website. They must have the wrong picture? Or maybe the wrong model listed..

Would the 390 even necessarily be superior to the 300?

 

[exmachina64]

Edit: I'll rephrase.

I'm designing a rig for my cousin.

This is what I'm looking at so far:

Case: Fractal Design Core 1000
CPU: Intel Pentium G3258
Motherboard: ASRock B85M
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 1600Mhz 8GB (2x4GB)
GPU: EVGA GTX 750 Ti
Power Supply: Antec VP450
Storage: Western Digital Black 1TB 7200RPM

Current Specs: None
Budget: Roughly $500.
Main Use: Gaming
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Specific Games: Civ: Beyond Earth, Wasteland 2 - 1080p, 30fps
Timeframe: Over the next couple months, looking for sales from Black Friday through January.
Overclocking: Ideally.

After the initial build, he may be able to do things like slot in a better CPU and GPU over time. He already has the case, so that's why I was trying to find a CPU fan in the original version of the post. PCPartPicker says the much loved Cooler Master 212 Evo isn't compatible with that case, so I'm mainly looking for a fan recommendation. If the case is uniformly terrible and I should tell him to return the case and pick something else in the MicroATX space, please voice your opinion.

 

[garath]

Picked up a $20 Sensei Raw today. Can't wait to try it out

Wow. That's a deal. I love my Sensei Raw. No regrets at all paying $50

Samsung 840 EVO 500GB for $189 or Crucial MX100 512GB for $189? Any major difference performance wise?

Right now I've got a WD Caviar Black 750GB as my main storage drive with a 840 EVO 256GB with the OS and apps, but I'm finding thats getting more crammed with stuff as time has gone on and I end up downloading more games but not deleting them.

I'd get the Samsung with the free Far cry 4 code and sell the code for $30.

 

[Vow of Silence]

With roughly a £1250 budget, I wouldn't go X99. There are very few games that take advantage of 6 cores, and while games are slowly getting more multi-threaded, I question whether having 6 cores will make a material difference in the next few years.

Plus it seems like you can usually overclock the 4690k and 4790k more easily because they put off a lot less heat than the 6 core CPU's.

My only concern is that with the PS4 and XB1 having low clock cores, all game development in the next few years is going to have to heavily focus on spreading work over as many cores as possible, and get up to speed with this relatively quickly. Sure, 4690K will steal beat consoles on clock speed, but I think engine development to optimise for multi-threading over clock speed is inevitable. I guess there's just no way of knowing. My dual core has lasted this long I guess, so I suppose your write. Just have to stave off the upgrade anxiety and be sensible.

 

[Bad7667]

Hey guys I need some advice on my build.


Any thoughts are much appreciated.

 

[Musician]

Has anything been said about the next generation of Nvidia cards? I'm currently on a 680 and can't really justify going to a 970...

 

[Kezen]

Has anything been said about the next generation of Nvidia cards? I'm currently on a 680 and can't really justify going to a 970...

We know GM200 is real and coming but when is anyone's guess. They're probably waiting for AMD's next batch.

 

[TMC]

Hey guys,

Which SSD would be the better buy?

Samsung 840 EVO:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147249

or

Crucial MX100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148821

The Crucial has 12GB more space. It is only roughly $5 more than the 840 EVO after $25 off coupon. The 840 EVO includes Far Cry 4 (I wont be able to play it until I upgrade my GPU).

Which one is the best overall buy?

Thanks GAF!

 

[Addnan]

Evo is the better SSD and it is cheaper so an easy choice.

 

[ricki42]

Hey guys,

Which SSD would be the better buy?

Samsung 840 EVO:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147249

or

Crucial MX100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148821

The Crucial has 12GB more space. It is only roughly $5 more than the 840 EVO after $25 off coupon. The 840 EVO includes Far Cry 4 (I wont be able to play it until I upgrade my GPU).

Which one is the best overall buy?

Thanks GAF!

Both are currently $190 at amazon.

 

[TMC]

Both are currently $190 at amazon.

Newegg is still cheaper because they do not charge tax (and have that $25 off $200/$10 off $100 coupon).

Would you recommend the Evo as well?

Thanks guys!

 

[kharma45]

Just get whatever is cheapest. If that's the Evo so be it. Both are great drives. Plus you also get FC4 which sweetens the deal even more. No brainer.

 

[DarkoMaledictus]

Any know if there are any crazy Cyber Monday deals on 1tb SSDs?

 

[TMC2k1]

EDIT: Woops. Nevermind.