I built mine using a Corsair Air 240 and it fits the Windforce 980. I also built a friend a computer using the Fractal Node 304. I really enjoyed that build. I put an Asus GTX 760 DirectCU II and i5 4690k with Evo 212 cooler in that case (was tight, but some of the most fun I have ever had building a computer). The case won't fit much more than the 760 in it.
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"I Need a New PC!" 2015 Part 1. Read the OP and RISE ABOVE FORGED PRECISION SCIENCE
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I built mine using a Corsair Air 240 and it fits the Windforce 980. I also built a friend a computer using the Fractal Node 304. I really enjoyed that build. I put an Asus GTX 760 DirectCU II and i5 4690k with Evo 212 cooler in that case (was tight, but some of the most fun I have ever had building a computer). The case won't fit much more than the 760 in it.
Buggy Loop
Member
Quick question since i installed a new SSD for my main drive, reinstalled windows and backed up the saved games from steam that were in documents.
The question is, is there any way to actually change where Steam saves by default? I would like to not save it on the main drive, its not something that requires speed and some saves get really big and they accumulate throughout the years.
The question is, is there any way to actually change where Steam saves by default? I would like to not save it on the main drive, its not something that requires speed and some saves get really big and they accumulate throughout the years.
yeah that's what I was looking for thanks
I don't think Steam decides where the save files go, it's up to the games. Can get pretty messy. Some people use symlinks, I think there were some scripts posted in this thread.
Muffin Awesome
Member
Well F me later, but I bought the AS thermal paste/cleaning kit/Hyper 212 Evo... Here's hoping when i get it in a few days I don't muck it all up.
I will try and post a pic once I am done.
The Teachinator
Banned
Just spent the last week trying to build in a Hadron case. I've worked with the case before and had no issues with it.
I installed the Asus Impact VII in this case and installing that board in the Hadron is the devils work. What an awful experience. The Asus board kept posting A2 over and over. Taking that board out repeatedly to reseat RAM, reseat CPU, reseating the various power cords...what a bitch.
In the end nothing I would do would get it to post.
Ran to Microcenter and grabbed the recommended mITX Gigabyte board. What an absolute pleasure to build with. The board is extremely easy to work with in the case. It posted immediately.
I would never suggest that someone attempt to install the Impact in the Hadron.
I installed the Asus Impact VII in this case and installing that board in the Hadron is the devils work. What an awful experience. The Asus board kept posting A2 over and over. Taking that board out repeatedly to reseat RAM, reseat CPU, reseating the various power cords...what a bitch.
In the end nothing I would do would get it to post.
Ran to Microcenter and grabbed the recommended mITX Gigabyte board. What an absolute pleasure to build with. The board is extremely easy to work with in the case. It posted immediately.
I would never suggest that someone attempt to install the Impact in the Hadron.
Thanks buddy. It's a nzxt s340. Cheap case, but it looks clean.
I am having some issues with my new build. Before I get into what is going on let me post the specs I just built:
Intel Core I7 4790k
16 GB RAM
Nvidia GTX 980
Asus Maximus Hero VII motherboard.
Power supply details will be below.
I have had this for about a month and everything seemed ok. I was able to play through the Witcher 2 with maxed out settings except for uber sampling at 60 fps and no issues. I then switched over to Assassin's Creed 3 and it was fine until one extended play through (about 4 hours), and the computer completely turned off and 5 seconds later it turned back on. It booted into Windows fine with no error messages, and there was nothing in the event viewer showing a problem. All my saves were gone so I figured it might just be a ubisoft thing.
a few days later I started playing through Shadow Of Mordor. Less than 10 minutes in the computer did the same thing. I ran prime95 to see if I could recreate it, and less than 1 minute into the test that tests max heat and power it did the same thing.
I had kept my 700 watt power supply that I had bought 6 years ago to run this setup. Looking at google people were experiencing the same issue said replacing the power supply would fix the problem. I bought an 850 watt evga power supply, installed it today. Now the prime95 test runs 5 or so minutes and then powers off and on. I was able to play Shadow of Mordor about 30 minutes and it powered off and on.
Next thing that came to mind were checking the temps. Under load during the tests in prime95 the cpu temp never goes above 63 degrees celcius, and the video card never goes above 65 degrees celcius.
I started googling again and came across this link:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1515573/...tely-after-starting-prime95-at-stock-settings
It talks about how the system will do exactly what I am seeing if the voltage goes over a certain limit. I am not overclocking, and when I view the voltage it never goes above 2.x when running prime95.
Worrying it might be something else I started running a memory test using memtest86 and its been running for an hour and completed 1 pass and is 15% into the next one with no errors. I am also on the latest bios and running all the latest drivers. At this point I am not sure how to proceeed.
So other than looking for advice my questions are:
1. Does anyone know how to bypass or increase the overcurrent feature on the Asus Maximus Hero VII board?
2. Any ideas how to fix this since its obviously not heat related?
Intel Core I7 4790k
16 GB RAM
Nvidia GTX 980
Asus Maximus Hero VII motherboard.
Power supply details will be below.
I have had this for about a month and everything seemed ok. I was able to play through the Witcher 2 with maxed out settings except for uber sampling at 60 fps and no issues. I then switched over to Assassin's Creed 3 and it was fine until one extended play through (about 4 hours), and the computer completely turned off and 5 seconds later it turned back on. It booted into Windows fine with no error messages, and there was nothing in the event viewer showing a problem. All my saves were gone so I figured it might just be a ubisoft thing.
a few days later I started playing through Shadow Of Mordor. Less than 10 minutes in the computer did the same thing. I ran prime95 to see if I could recreate it, and less than 1 minute into the test that tests max heat and power it did the same thing.
I had kept my 700 watt power supply that I had bought 6 years ago to run this setup. Looking at google people were experiencing the same issue said replacing the power supply would fix the problem. I bought an 850 watt evga power supply, installed it today. Now the prime95 test runs 5 or so minutes and then powers off and on. I was able to play Shadow of Mordor about 30 minutes and it powered off and on.
Next thing that came to mind were checking the temps. Under load during the tests in prime95 the cpu temp never goes above 63 degrees celcius, and the video card never goes above 65 degrees celcius.
I started googling again and came across this link:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1515573/...tely-after-starting-prime95-at-stock-settings
It talks about how the system will do exactly what I am seeing if the voltage goes over a certain limit. I am not overclocking, and when I view the voltage it never goes above 2.x when running prime95.
Worrying it might be something else I started running a memory test using memtest86 and its been running for an hour and completed 1 pass and is 15% into the next one with no errors. I am also on the latest bios and running all the latest drivers. At this point I am not sure how to proceeed.
So other than looking for advice my questions are:
1. Does anyone know how to bypass or increase the overcurrent feature on the Asus Maximus Hero VII board?
2. Any ideas how to fix this since its obviously not heat related?
Insane!
So another update on this. It appears there was something messed up in the voltage settings apparently. I went through a cpu optimization using the asus motherboard software and it changed around my voltage settings. I have been running prime95 for 11 minutes now (the longest before was 2 minutes) and while the cpu temp is now around 76 everything is still running. I am going to let it run for another 20 minutes and if it doesn't crap out it appears the issue is fixed.
Bump for late night sanity?
Playing Assassins Creed 3 right now and I just got off the boat and entered Boston. Frame rate went from 60 into the boat to anywhere from 30 to 45 on land. It also runs at 60fps during cutscenes in the same area lol
Sapphire 7950
i7 2600k
Would overclocking my i7 get me back to 60? How should I go about doing that and is how safe is it?
Sapphire 7950
i7 2600k
Would overclocking my i7 get me back to 60? How should I go about doing that and is how safe is it?
Hello PC GAF, I was hoping to pick your brains about a future PC build, but first I want to know if I can recycle some parts of my existing PC. A little bit about myself, I'm pretty much a dummy when it comes to the world of gaming PCs. My friend picked the parts for and built the PC I have now. I don't want to go to him this time around, so that's why I come to you guys for guidance. I basically want something that can play games on high without screen tearing at 1680x1050. Here's what I got at the moment:
Motherboard
CPU
RAM
Power Supply
Heatsink
GPU (This was a hand-me-down from the friend that built this PC, I just never upgraded it through the years)
Case
I appreciate any help you guys can provide!
EDIT: Couple thing I left out: I'm in the US and my budget is up to $1000.
Motherboard
CPU
RAM
Power Supply
Heatsink
GPU (This was a hand-me-down from the friend that built this PC, I just never upgraded it through the years)
Case
I appreciate any help you guys can provide!
EDIT: Couple thing I left out: I'm in the US and my budget is up to $1000.
crisdecuba
Member
Here's a question. Has anyone out there ever built or owned what you would call a top-of-the-line PC? I ask because I've been daydreaming about someday building a cutting edge PC, and envisioning some crazy triple monitor set up that can play the latest games in 4k at over 60fps while encoding HD video in the background hehehe. So I was just wondering if anyone out there has ever done this, and if you could share your experience as to how awesome / underwhelming / so worth it / not worth it it was. The thing that triggered this day dreaming is the announcement of the Titan X, and just thinking about how expensive that will prolly be... 
wait, didn't you say earlier that you tried a different old video card and it still wouldn't work??
so that means it's not the 980
A while back I heard that some Gigabyte boards were apply too much voltage and that would result in some high temperatures and shutdowns without warning (triggered by voltage/thermal protection). Have you checked the BIOS for any relevant settings for "overcurrent" settings? How about BIOS updates? Often times, those vague BIOS update change notes about "increased CPU compatibility" refer to things like this that they'd rather not go into detail about.
So.. the one consistent factor is that you can't get picture from the GTX 980?
All power cables from the PSU are plugged in, without using molex adaptors or anything like that? You're sure the GPU is inserted all the way in (the plastic locking mechanism should engage with a soft click)?
Another thing to try would be to put the GTX 980 in a different PCI-E slot or even a different PC.
What CPU cooler do you have? There's a lot of helpful information for overclocking here.
What's your budget? And I assume you're in the US?
The cheapest method and what I would personally recommend would be to overclock your processor and get a new graphics card. That Xigmatek cooler was very good back in the day and it's still decent today. Your PC can still pass for decent 1080p gaming when it comes to CPU processing power, but that ancient 8800GTX needs to be replaced.
For overclocking the CPU, you and your friend can refer to this guide. Many other guides exist, and how far you can overclock your processor depends on a couple of things that I'm sure your friend can skim through to check.
As for building a new PC, which new processors and motherboards you will want to get depends on what your budget is. For consumers, new Intel Skylake parts that will eventually replace the existing Intel consumer lineup are expected to release sometime around this fall, maybe September, so waiting until then to build a new PC could be worth it.
If you have more money to spend on a new PC now, you could go for higher end enthusiast parts like the Intel X99 line, which was released just over half a year ago and still has a long life ahead of it.
Dio Brando
Banned
So, these past few months have not been kind to my monitors, and one of them died. i'm thinking of getting new ones. A friend recommended the Dell S2340L. What's your opinion on it? Would be used for gaming, mostly.
Damn, I knew I forgot something. Budget is up to $1000. As for overclocking, I tried following the guide you linked, but I would overheat easily. I thought it might've been the heatsink I was using?
EDIT: I forgot to add: If I do go the overclocking route, which GPU would you recommend? Is the RAM I have enough if I do end up sticking with my current CPU?
If it's overheating, maybe a thorough cleaning is in order, and also cleaning off and reapplying new thermal paste. You could also get a better cooler.
If you'd rather not deal with that and you want to build a new PC now, then that's also definitely possible for $1000, especially when you can reuse your case, power supply, CPU cooler, and RAM.
Gimme a couple of minutes and I'll put together a build for you.
wow, thank you so much!
I recently build a new rig and sold my old rig off and made quite a bit back so my overall spending budget was way less than intended.
My current rig:
-i7 3770K (OC'd to 4.5GHz) with a Corsair H50 Watercooler
-EVGA GTX 680
-EVGA Z77 Stinger (Mini-ITX)
-G.Skill Sniper Series RAM (2133MHz, 8GB)
-PNY XLR8 120GB SSD, 500GB WD HDD 7200RPM
-Silverstone 450w PSU
-Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini-ITX Case
Spent $340 for the build. The only thing reused from my last build was the PSU and SSD/HDD. I sold my old rig for $300 on Craigslist (Phenom II X4 960T, GTX 660, FOXCONN A88GMV, 8GB G.Skill Value Series DDR3 RAM, Rosewill Ranger M. Case). Serious upgrade for not a whole lot of money either.
My current rig:
-i7 3770K (OC'd to 4.5GHz) with a Corsair H50 Watercooler
-EVGA GTX 680
-EVGA Z77 Stinger (Mini-ITX)
-G.Skill Sniper Series RAM (2133MHz, 8GB)
-PNY XLR8 120GB SSD, 500GB WD HDD 7200RPM
-Silverstone 450w PSU
-Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini-ITX Case
Spent $340 for the build. The only thing reused from my last build was the PSU and SSD/HDD. I sold my old rig for $300 on Craigslist (Phenom II X4 960T, GTX 660, FOXCONN A88GMV, 8GB G.Skill Value Series DDR3 RAM, Rosewill Ranger M. Case). Serious upgrade for not a whole lot of money either.
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
I currently get around 45°C-55°C under load
Edit: lol I switched the games resolution from 1080p to 600p and the frame rate is almost identical. CPU bottlenecking the game or is this just a horrible port?
Edit 2: here's the rest of my build while we're at it
SAPPHIRE 100352-3L Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge Quad-Core 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155
Crucial DDR3 8GB 240pin 1333 RAM
Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
2.x volts!?
A 4790k shouldn't use more than 1.1-1.2x volts stock. running 1.5 v and above for a long time would probably damage the chip.
if it is actually getting fed that high of a voltage, it is probably shutting itself of as a safety precaution.
I suggest that you reset all the relevant bios settings to default.
Ok, so i came across some info that told me to only put the RAM into slots 1-4. That did allow it to display an image. Anything in slots 5, 6, 7, or 8 doesn't allow an image and i'm unsure why.
It was a typo. Its running at 1.28. I ran prime95 for 2 hours without any issues now.
With the temps I am getting would you guys recommend I overclock or leave at stock? Do you have any good guides you recommend?
I average about 36C on idle and 55C on full load. That's at 4.5GHz with water cooling. So it depends. But keeping your temps in 30 range idle and 50-60 range on full load seems to be what most people I've seen average so try to go for that.
It's always best to see what clock speeds you can reach without raising the voltage, then raise your voltage a bit to see what your target zone is until your system is unstable at that speed. Then start lowering the voltage at that target clock to see how low the voltage is until you lose stability. That way you can lower your temps a bit with lesser voltages.
You should always check your motherboard manual in regards to which slots to use depending on how many sticks you have.
They can be really picky, especially if you want to want to use all the channels.
You really don't want to go higher than 80c for a 24/7 stable oc, which doesn't give you much margin to play with, if you're already at 76.
But if you want to read up on overclocking, this might be helpful.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($222.75 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight SD1283 89.5 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($101.48 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($98.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($532.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Lian-Li PC-K62 ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $0.00)
Other: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620W Power Supply (Purchased)
Total: $1016.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-14 00:54 EDT-0400
Something like that would last you quite a few years. If you live near a Microcenter store, you could get a processor and motherboard bundle for even cheaper. The GTX 980 was just something I stuck on the list just to see if it worked, and apparently it will fit in your budget. Your power supply will be able to handle it, although if you don't mind dropping down to a slightly less capable graphics card (GTX 970 or R9 290/290X?) then there's more money to play with in terms of extras like a new CPU cooler or power supply. The i5 4690K runs cooler than the i7 920 will, so it's safe to reuse the Xigmatek cooler. That said, do you or your friend have thermal paste? If not, it's less than $7 for a reusable tube of decent paste.
I thought about reusing the RAM, it'd probably not such a good idea. If you install three sticks then they will only run in single channel mode. You could get 8GB of new matching RAM to use with your current RAM, but that specific older mix of speed and voltage costs a lot more, about $83. You might as well just get 8GB of newer faster RAM for $60 to replace the older stuff you have.
I forgot to ask, but you probably have hard drives you'll be reusing too, right?
I hear AC3 wasn't a great game, not sure if that was because it was a bad port. ACU runs at a consistent 25~30FPS for me regardless of what settings I try it at. I doubt it's your CPU, looking around it seems that other people are doing just fine with it.
All the same, anytime we hear that someone is running an older K series overclockable processor but not overclocking, we tell them to overclock it. The 212 Evo should be adequate for some moderate overclocking, it's fine to get up to 60~70 degrees at load, anything higher isn't good, though.
To be honest I'm really only interested in AC3 because of its setting.
Should I just use that guide you gave me in your last post and then come in here and ask questions if I'm not sure?
baphomet
Member
I have a question. Is there a legal way to get a windows 8.1 pro ISO that I can enter my legit CD key into?
I wanted a raid 0 setup.
I wanted a raid 0 setup.
You can download the Windows 8.1 ISO from Microsoft themselves with a valid license key, these links will help.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-CA/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only
baphomet
Member
Excellent! Thanks again for all your help!
RumblingRosco
Member
Hi PC GAF. Is there a video card out there that is a worthwhile upgrade for a 1GB 560ti that costs $150 (or less)? I am interested in playing Heroes of the Storm at 1080p while recording with Fraps with as high as settings as that price will allow.
Current specs:
i5 2500k @ 4.1 GHz
1 GB 560ti (stock clock)
8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Windows 8.1
Any advice is appreciated. The 560ti has served me super well actually, so I wouldn't mind waiting longer, but I'm just trying to figure out if anything exists in my budget at this time. Maybe I'll need to wait for another cycle of new cards.
Current specs:
i5 2500k @ 4.1 GHz
1 GB 560ti (stock clock)
8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Windows 8.1
Any advice is appreciated. The 560ti has served me super well actually, so I wouldn't mind waiting longer, but I'm just trying to figure out if anything exists in my budget at this time. Maybe I'll need to wait for another cycle of new cards.
Zenaku
Member
Bit of problem.
Bought a brand new Asus Strix 980, and after a little effort I managed to get the thing in my case (after removing some parts), and after reseating the card once or twice the thing came on, booted to windows, installed the drivers, rebooted, and everything seemed fine.
Booted up the Alien Isolation benchmark to see what FPS I can get, and after a few seconds the cards fans go into overdrive and the display goes blank, with no response from the keyboard. I shut it off via the mains, remove and reseat the GPU, and all I get is 1 long beep, 3 short, VGA not detected.
Reseated it 10-20 times, cleared CMOS, removed and reseated DRAM, nada. My old GPU (660ti) is working fine, as I have it installed now to be on here.
Mobo is P8P67 EVO, i5 2500k, 550w PSU from XFX.
Bought a brand new Asus Strix 980, and after a little effort I managed to get the thing in my case (after removing some parts), and after reseating the card once or twice the thing came on, booted to windows, installed the drivers, rebooted, and everything seemed fine.
Booted up the Alien Isolation benchmark to see what FPS I can get, and after a few seconds the cards fans go into overdrive and the display goes blank, with no response from the keyboard. I shut it off via the mains, remove and reseat the GPU, and all I get is 1 long beep, 3 short, VGA not detected.
Reseated it 10-20 times, cleared CMOS, removed and reseated DRAM, nada. My old GPU (660ti) is working fine, as I have it installed now to be on here.
Mobo is P8P67 EVO, i5 2500k, 550w PSU from XFX.
Every CPU is different, so nobody knows how yours is going to be. Try 4.1 or 4.2 and see where you get.
If you can stretch another $10 you can get a R9 280 for $160 after rebate: http://www.microcenter.com/product/440775/Radeon_R9_280_BOOST_3GB_DDR5_Video_Card
If not then a R9 270X or a 270 would be an okay upgrade. Look for used cards as well, you might be able to get something even better. Try and overclock your CPU a little more if you can, if you're going to be recording.
lordfuzzybutt
Member
Assuming you are from the US.
Radeon 280 160$ after 25$ rebate.
Radeon 270 150$ after 10$ rebate.
Radeon 270x 144$ after 20$ rebate.
Option 1 recommended. AMD outperform NVIDIA in this range.
It sounds like you are doing some exessive reseating here.
If it actually got into windows once it should be seated just fine.
And i don't understand the reasoning behind reseating the ram, unless you bought them at the same time as you bought the strix.
Have you plugged in both 8 and 6 pin pci-e into the graphics card?
I know 980 strix start with just the 8 pin plugged in but crash under load unless both cables are connected, pretty dumb design.
The AMD 300 series will probably be out by then, and the Nvidia Titan X is getting detailed and possibly launched this month on the 17th.
Zenaku
Member
I reseated the ram because I have no idea where the motherboards manual is, and didn't know if the beeps were referencing a GPU problem or a ram problem. Google search had people saying both, until I searched further.
I have both pci-e connected, the leds on the card light up when power's flowing, stay lit up when the computers turned on.
Others have already recommended the AMD option for better performance for the price, but if recording is very important, an alternative would be the GTX 750 Ti with ShadowPlay for recording. It's much less of a performance hit when it comes to game recording than FRAPS or even AMD's GVR, as these benchmarks show, although performance varies by the game.
If i am not wrong, 100 degrees and over is dangerous.
I'd say 75~80 degrees Celsius would be the upper limit. You probably won't hit that high unless you're overclocking and/or running Prime95, which isn't advisable with the bundled Intel cooler.
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
I have another question if anyone could help me. What's a good mass storage hdd for internal? It's been a while since I needed one and I mostly see Toshibas and WD's rainbow of colors and just not sure what I should get anymore. I mostly just want it for media. I think the last two I got were a samsung and a WD black but that was a while ago. Any suggestions of what's a good brand anymore? Thanks.
Muffin Awesome
Member
I am running the stock cooler at the moment, but after playing TF2 on all high and 1080p I am getting temps of mid 50-60 degrees C and the gpu at about 45 degrees (760 gtx). I am so new to the PC world, is this normal?
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