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[The Llama]

So would something like this cover my needs?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008IFXQFU/?tag=neogaf0e-20

What the hell is this magic?

I mean, it depends on your needs. I'd try it out, just because its so cheap, and see if it works well enough for you.

Powerline adapters use the electrical wiring in your residence to send signals. Pretty neat, eh? Not quite as good as ethernet wiring but better than WiFi.

 

[Kayant]

Brilliant, thank you. I'll also need a wireless internet card - are there any that are particularly recommendable?

NP

The TP-WDN4800 (IIRC) is pretty good - I have one in my rig.

Saved for future needs. Thanks.

Aye, it has a pretty good reputation on that PC Parts Picker.

So if I were to build this, what sort of capability would it have? Particularly w regards to games and occasional possible streaming:


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£167.50 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.95 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£106.99 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Kingston Fury White Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£59.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£52.08 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Toshiba 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.60 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (£272.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Corsair 350D MicroATX Mid Tower Case (£74.64 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12G 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£73.49 @ Amazon UK)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter (£26.39 @ Aria PC)
Total: £896.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 21:17 GMT+0000

Looks like a great build to me . In terms of monitors am not as knowledgeable but I have a couple in mind that I have seen recommend on forums but do u have a preferred panel type in terms of IPS or TN?

 

[kennah]

I'm not saying don't put games on an SSD. I'm saying it's pointless to RAID0 them.

DIablo III is indeed one game that needs to be on non rotational media (what you're describing can be accomplished with a USB3 flash drive actually)

 

[Trojita]

Probably a powerline ethernet adapter kit.

There's a bunch out there. I don't have any first hand experience with them though I know there are some folks who have.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cription=powerline+networking&N=-1&isNodeId=1

Though if it's a house and you own it, I'd take the time to wire it properly.

So would something like this cover my needs?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008IFXQFU/?tag=neogaf0e-20

edit: looking at the reviews it looks like it has really low download speeds

What the hell is this magic?

They are a real thing lol.

The only problem is concerns over security across those power lines.

 

[Trojita]

I'm not saying don't put games on an SSD. I'm saying it's pointless to RAID0 them.

DIablo III is indeed one game that needs to be on non rotational media (what you're describing can be accomplished with a USB3 flash drive actually)

If I plan on making them into one partition anyways, why wouldn't I raid 0 them?

I was going to buy the 480GB, but it was sold out. Don't want two different drives on my computer housing separate games.

 

[The Llama]

If I plan on making them into one partition anyways, why wouldn't I raid 0 them?

I was going to buy the 480GB, but it was sold out. Don't want two different drives on my computer housing separate games.

RAID introduces all kinds of headaches and can be a pain to get setup, and if you ever add/remove storage you might need to fiddle around with the settings. It's hardly worth it for HDD's, let alone for SSD's.

 

[Sanjay]

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£106.99 @ Ebuyer)

Do you require a micro mobo?

If not then check this mobo out its great and cheap:-
Case £57.35 (NZXT Source 340)

 

[SpeedyDesiato]

Do you require a micro mobo?

If not then check this mobo out its great and cheap:-
Case £57.35 (NZXT Source 340)

I genuinely have no idea the difference between a micro and non- I'm just going with what was recommended. I like to play video games, and I'd like to play them on my PC. That is the extent of my knowledge. Oh, and I've swapped out graphics cards and RAM in the past.

 

[Yudoken]

I love pc gaming but restore backups and switching from Windows 7 to 8.1 is a pian in the arse.
I've encountered several problems and I'm currently not able to successfully run Splinter Cell Blacklist from Uplay (the only Ubisoft game I've purchased in years).
I've already did install it several different ways and if it's still not working this time I'm gonna give it up for today.
I've also could'nt start Dirt 3 (crahed after the logo) but didn't have time to download the whole game.
The worst part is that I'm currently using a free 30 minutes wifi hot spot and have to change my mac adress after the timer runs out to have access to the internet because my internet at my new place is going to be avaible in a few weeks (hopefully).
I hate this whole procedure an I hopefully don't have to do this not again in the next few years.
Tl:dr:
Almost no internet, try to restore uplay game but game doesn't start.
Also limited hot spot internet as only source for internet

 

[Mekh]

Is this good value?

 

[The Llama]

Is this good value?

Pretty much anything with an AMD CPU is a poor value right now.

 

[Trojita]

RAID introduces all kinds of headaches and can be a pain to get setup, and if you ever add/remove storage you might need to fiddle around with the settings. It's hardly worth it for HDD's, let alone for SSD's.

Would creating a spanned volume be just as bad, without the benefits of Raid 0?

 

[Sanjay]

I genuinely have no idea the difference between a micro and non- I'm just going with what was recommended. I like to play video games, and I'd like to play them on my PC. That is the extent of my knowledge. Oh, and I've swapped out graphics cards and RAM in the past.

Then get the normal size, not much price difference. Also check out this video review of the case I mentioned.

 

[garath]

I love pc gaming but restore backups and switching from Windows 7 to 8.1 is a pian in the arse.
I've encountered several problems and I'm currently not able to successfully run Splinter Cell Blacklist from Uplay (the only Ubisoft game I've purchased in years).
I've already did install it several different ways and if it's still not working this time I'm gonna give it up for today.
I've also could'nt start Dirt 3 (crahed after the logo) but didn't have time to download the whole game.
The worst part is that I'm currently using a free 30 minutes wifi hot spot and have to change my mac adress after the timer runs out to have access to the internet because my internet at my new place is going to be avaible in a few weeks (hopefully).
I hate this whole procedure an I hopefully don't have to do this not again in the next few years.
Tl:dr:
Almost no internet, try to restore uplay game but game doesn't start.
Also limited hot spot internet as only source for internet

Uplay just sucks. I tried for an hour to figure out a way to move my far cry 4 install fromy old hard drive to the new SSD. It refused and wanted to redownload it. I had no issues moving steam or EA games.

 

[Yudoken]

Uplay just sucks. I tried for an hour to figure out a way to move my far cry 4 install fromy old hard drive to the new SSD. It refused and wanted to redownload it. I had no issues moving steam or EA games.

The worst part about this that I KNOW it's because somthing small causing this problem but who the hell knows what's causing the issue.
I'm really happy that I've sold my free ubisoft game key which was free with my 970,
I hope I can get my rig ready for friday to play some games of my backlog...
But I've too fix every issue on my pc before I start.

 

[Cuban Legend]

PC GAF, I'm currently contemplating 2 nearly-identical builds: 1st one is for a friend whose gotten into Hardcore PC gaming recently. He will be mainly using it for any recent PC games at 1080p as a steambox with a 360-gamepad, and will also be using it for Emulating Dolphin, with some web browsing mixed in, HE WILL NOT BE ENCODING MULTIMEDIA AT ALL. The 2nd build is for me as I will be encoding multimedia and use the PC to live stream gameplay at 1080p on twitch. both are identical with the exception of the CPU and Mobo. and both intend to be overclocked to the highest stable clock speeds available at 1.3 - 1.35 volts. The 2 builds are based off Mkenyon's small form-factor build sheet using the Raven RVZ01:

Build 1: (G3258 & AsRock Z97M-ITX/AC) https://pchound.com/puNXR4/
Build 2: (4790K & ASUS Maximum VII Impact) https://pchound.com/oAK4uc/

Variations from Mkenyon's small form-factor builds are explained:
Mobo: (ASUS H97 I Plus) was a reliable and affordable ASUS H97 board that can overclock the G3258.
RAM: (G.SKILL (2x4GB) F3-2400C11D-8GSR) was cheaper/faster.
SSD: (128GB MX100 SSD) was more affordable than the 256GB.
GPU: (ASUS GTX970 STRIX) was for it's 0db fans during low-intensity and non-gaming usage.
CPU HSF: (Noctua NH-L12) was tested to fit in the RVZ01 as per the RVZ01 Owner's club thread, and is the best performing Low-Profile Mini-ITX CPU cooler as per this review of the top-8.

I'd like to ask if these builds are reasonlable and if I should pull the trigger on them. Also, when will Mkenyon update the parts on the small form-factor build sheet since prices have gone down and new parts have come to be great finds?

 

[knitoe]

RAID introduces all kinds of headaches and can be a pain to get setup, and if you ever add/remove storage you might need to fiddle around with the settings. It's hardly worth it for HDD's, let alone for SSD's.

What headaches? I have been raiding 0 forever. Only negative is 2x drive failure rate which for me is zero since I never had a drive failed in that configuration. I'll take the double performance anyday.

Would creating a spanned volume be just as bad, without the benefits of Raid 0?

Just hardware raid 0 SSDs through the bios / MB. Once in Windows, you just setup as any regular single drive. Not sure why the poster above says they are a headache to setup. Just don't use the shitty Windows Software Raid.

 

[ChoklitCow]

PSU just exploded while playing Day Z. Using this as an excuse to make a major overhaul. Had an i7 from 2008 that I could have overclocked more but never did. Otherwise I'm keeping my GTX 770 and cleaning house. This thread is amazing. Time to start shopping!

 

[RGM79]

PSU just exploded while playing Day Z. Using this as an excuse to make a major overhaul. Had an i7 from 2008 that I could have overclocked more but never did. Otherwise I'm keeping my GTX 770 and cleaning house. This thread is amazing. Time to start shopping!

Ooh, do you have a budget or parts in mind? Anything you'll reuse from the old computer like hard drives?

currently contemplating 2 nearly-identical builds: 1 is for a friend whose gotten into Hardcore PC gaming recently. He will be mainly using it for any recent PC games at 1080p as a steambox with a 360-gamepad, and will also be using it for Emulating Dolphin, with some web browsing mixed in, HE WILL NOT BE ENCODING MULTIMEDIA AT ALL. The 2nd build is for me as I will be encoding multimedia and use the PC to live stream gameplay at 1080p on twitch. both are identical with the exception of the CPU and Mobo. and both intend to be overclocked to the highest stable clock speeds available at 1.3 - 1.35 volts. The 2 builds are based off Mkenyon's small form-factor build sheet using the Raven RVZ01:

Build 1: (G3258 & AsRock Z97M-ITX/AC) https://pchound.com/puNXR4/
Build 2: (4790K & ASUS Maximum VII Impact) https://pchound.com/oAK4uc/



Variations from Mkenyon's small form-factor builds are explained:
Mobo: (ASUS H97 I Plus) was a reliable and affordable ASUS H97 board that can overclock the G3258.
RAM: (G.SKILL (2x4GB) F3-2400C11D-8GSR) was cheaper/faster.
SSD: (128GB MX100 SSD) was more affordable than the 256GB.
GPU: (ASUS GTX970 STRIX) was for it's 0db fans during low-intensity and non-gaming usage.
CPU HSF: (Noctua NH-L12) was tested to fit in the RVZ01 as per the RVZ01 Owner's club thread, and is the best performing Low-Profile Mini-ITX CPU cooler as per this review of the top-8.

I'd like to ask if these builds are reasonlable and if I should pull the trigger on them. Also, when will Mkenyon update the parts on the small form-factor build sheet since prices have gone down and new parts have come to be great finds?

There's quite a bit of cost savings that can be done with alternative parts (mainly motherboard and CPU), but I'm away from a pc at the moment. You could save around $100 and more for each build. I'll get back to you as soon as I can, or some of the other thread regulars might drop in to help.

 

[Ryman]

Unless she really wants the 980, the 970 has the better performance/cost.
With that CPU cooler it's better to use low profile RAM; not a deal breaker, but it ensures that the RAM will fit without having to mount the cooler fan slightly higher.
Get a different PSU, people here usually recommend Seasonic. I have a EVGA G2, I think that one is good too.
Does she really need an optical drive? Might be better to get a bigger storage drive instead (in addition to the SSD). Your second build doesn't have any storage listed at all.

Thanks for the suggestion. I had a feeling she should opt for the 970 given what she wants out of it. And she does want an optical drive (I asked if she really wanted it, and she did). Oh, and on the build I had put together, for whatever reason the MX100 wasn't listed on Part Picker (or I'm too blind to see it, which is apparently the case).

 

[charpunk]

Anyone know if a USB soundcard exists that has optical out and dolby live support?

Finished putting this pc together and there is no way I can have this PCI soundcard installed if I go SLI, as it's pretty much touches the fans of my 970. I use an Astro mixamp for everything, so I would rather not lose the 5.1 support.

 

[Cuban Legend]

There's quite a bit of cost savings that can be done with alternative parts (mainly motherboard and CPU), but I'm away from a pc at the moment. You could save around $100 and more for each build. I'll get back to you as soon as I can, or some of the other thread regulars might drop in to help.

wow, save $100 or more per build? any cost-saving advice to optimize these builds is greatly appreciated.

 

[Katyusha]

Anyone know if a USB soundcard exists that has optical out and dolby live support?

Finished putting this pc together and there is no way I can have this PCI soundcard installed if I go SLI, as it's pretty much touches the fans of my 970. I use an Astro mixamp for everything, so I would rather not lose the 5.1 support.

This or this might be what you're looking for

 

[ChoklitCow]

Ooh, do you have a budget or parts in mind? Anything you'll reuse from the old computer like hard drives?

As close to 1,000 as possible. Other than that old i7 I don't think there is much of value, and I'm not really interested in overclocking. Has an old mechanical harddrive in it. Really all I'd be taking is the GTX 770, the optical drive, and a 8-in-1 drive (sd cards, etc). I created this computer on Cyberpower in 2008 and have just been picking up new items as needed.

Biggest thing I'm scared of is messing with the mobo and CPU which is why I went through an outside company last time. Using Haz's Enthusiast one I came up with this. Not sure if I actually need a case as I can probably use my old one:
http://pcpartpicker.com/b/Dq7hP6

 

[Volcynika]

I recently built a new PC and I'm looking to get a new monitor. Due to gift cards I have (about $200) I'd like to buy it through Dell's site. Aiming for something 1440p at least. Any recommendations?

 

[The Llama]

I recently built a new PC and I'm looking to get a new monitor. Due to gift cards I have (about $200) I'd like to buy it through Dell's site. Aiming for something 1440p at least. Any recommendations?

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=225-4015

Looks like this one is on sale because it just got replaced by a newer model (doubt there's much of a difference), its the cheapest 1440p they have.

 

[ChoklitCow]

Anyone know if a USB soundcard exists that has optical out and dolby live support?

Finished putting this pc together and there is no way I can have this PCI soundcard installed if I go SLI, as it's pretty much touches the fans of my 970. I use an Astro mixamp for everything, so I would rather not lose the 5.1 support.

Depending on what type of Realtek device you currently have, there are some community opened drivers out there that make Digital Live a lot more accessible for a majority of devices. I'm honestly naive when it comes to things like this, but I'm assuming because of Dolby licensing it is technically illegal. When I was just trying to search for Digital Live compatible motherboards that was one of my highest found searches :/

 

[shintoki]

Need some help.

My computer is still suffering some of the same issues.

The back USB ports are not functioning correctly nor is the Etherport. The front USB ports are working and the only thing that works in the back is the wireless card that keeps going in and out. The Etherport cable doesn't seem to work at all.

I've replaced the motherboard, CPU, etc. So it's not them. I'm unsure what else it could be. For this reason my internet keeps going in and out and I'm getting close to killing someone... having to restart applications is painful.

 

[RGM79]

wow, save $100 or more per build? any cost-saving advice to optimize these builds is greatly appreciated.

Alright, I have some parts lists for you. I use PCPartPicker instead of PCHound, though. I also used this PSU wattage calculator, and PCPartPicker also does on-the-fly wattage calculations. For the G3258 build, I recommend the following:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12 37.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($66.57 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($58.41 @ NCIX US)
Total: $876.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 20:57 EST-0500

You'll save about $100 on that build. Yes, the Silverstone 450 watt power supply is enough - power supply calculators estimate the G3258 overclocked at 4.5GHz to consume less than 90 watts, while the GPU will use somewhere around 200 watts or less. Generally, the system should use about 350 watts at peak usage. The lack of modular cables makes the build a bit messier, but it will likely still work out. You could make some slight changes - I'd leave out the SSD if you don't absolutely need it, and there is the modular version of that Silverstone 450 watt PSU which is $90, a $30 increase over the non-modular version.

Here's the other build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12 37.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($66.57 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97N-Gaming 5 Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($132.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($58.41 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1081.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 21:03 EST-0500

You could go with the i5 4690K instead of the i7. Yes, the i7 is better for tasks like encoding, but the i5 4690K will deliver all the same gaming performance while being just slightly slower for encoding. Not sure about streaming, but I doubt it takes an i7 just for streaming.

Edit: forgot to mention overclocking. Bit-tech reported a slight issue but was otherwise easily able to get to 4.8ghz. On that Noctua cooler, you may be able to get 4.5GHz, but in a small case without an ideal cooler, be sure to check temperatures.

Yes, the 450 watt power supply should still be able to handle overclocking and the GTX 970. According to the PSU wattage calculator, the overclocked i5 system should use about 400 watts at most, still within the limit for the Silverstone 450 watt PSU. Silverstone tends to make good quality PSUs, so I'd trust it to be able to handle the load. You may want to go back to the 600 watt version to better support a future graphics card upgrade, though.

The same thing I said earlier about the PSU modularity and SSD still apply. You may also want to upgrade to water cooling for slightly better performance than that Noctua air cooler. Unless you're dead set on wanting that mITX case for yourself, I actually recommend you move up to a slightly larger mITX or even mATX case. You'll have better expandability in the future, it won't be as cramped to install parts in, cooling could be better with a different CPU cooler. Going with mATX will even allow you to slot in a second GTX 970 for SLI in the future.

 

[RGM79]

Need some help.

My computer is still suffering some of the same issues.

The back USB ports are not functioning correctly nor is the Etherport. The front USB ports are working and the only thing that works in the back is the wireless card that keeps going in and out. The Etherport cable doesn't seem to work at all.

I've replaced the motherboard, CPU, etc. So it's not them. I'm unsure what else it could be. For this reason my internet keeps going in and out and I'm getting close to killing someone... having to restart applications is painful.

If it's not the motherboard.. maybe it's the case. Something could be shorting out the ports at the back due to inadvertent metal contact between the motherboard and case.

 

[knitoe]

Need some help.

My computer is still suffering some of the same issues.

The back USB ports are not functioning correctly nor is the Etherport. The front USB ports are working and the only thing that works in the back is the wireless card that keeps going in and out. The Etherport cable doesn't seem to work at all.

I've replaced the motherboard, CPU, etc. So it's not them. I'm unsure what else it could be. For this reason my internet keeps going in and out and I'm getting close to killing someone... having to restart applications is painful.

Very strange. Have you tried fresh install Windows? Maybe, the case causing issue with MB. Tried setting up the PC in outside the case or in another one?

 

[charpunk]

Depending on what type of Realtek device you currently have, there are some community opened drivers out there that make Digital Live a lot more accessible for a majority of devices. I'm honestly naive when it comes to things like this, but I'm assuming because of Dolby licensing it is technically illegal. When I was just trying to search for Digital Live compatible motherboards that was one of my highest found searches :/

I'll have to look into that, thanks. I really should have just spent extra on a board that had dolby support.

 

[Momentary]

Silverstone just had a product launch event that showcased the FTZ01. Expect it to hit stores soon now. I'm excited.

From what has been said, it's fully aluminum and supports SFX-L PSUs.

 

[The Llama]

Silverstone just had a product launch event that showcased the FTZ01. Expect it to hit stores soon now. I'm excited.



From what has been said, it's fully aluminum and supports SFX-L PSUs.

Did they launch the product in some dudes living room?!

 

[NoRéN]

Coil whine is harmless, correct? I have the opportunity to get another 970 through a RMA but I'm not sure if I want to deal with the hassle.

 

[charpunk]

Coil whine is harmless, correct? I have the opportunity to get another 970 through a RMA but I'm not sure if I want to deal with the hassle.

Correct.

 

[DTKT]

I was looking into a 970 to replace an "aging" 670. The issue I have is that I'm still rocking an i5-750 overclocked to 3.7

I know that CPU bottlenecks are not an easy thing to figure out, but at some point, I'm going to have to replace my MB and the CPU with something more modern. Do I really need to do that to actually unlock the full potential from the 970?

 

[RGM79]

I was looking into a 970 to replace an "aging" 670. The issue I have is that I'm still rocking an i5-750 overclocked to 3.7

I know that CPU bottlenecks are not an easy thing to figure out, but at some point, I'm going to have to replace my MB and the CPU with something more modern. Do I really need to do that to actually unlock the full potential from the 970?

I think so, yes, but you shouldn't be that far behind the ubiquitous i5 2500K which is still good enough in most games, and it does depend on what games you play. You can overclock up to 4.2GHz on air cooling, so that's worth trying.

Here are some benchmarks from when the 2500K came out, it has a 10-20fps lead on the 750 in most if not all tests.

 

[Trojita]

Silverstone just had a product launch event that showcased the FTZ01. Expect it to hit stores soon now. I'm excited.



From what has been said, it's fully aluminum and supports SFX-L PSUs.

I'd definitely be interested in that if I get to make my TV PC Box at some point.

 

[DTKT]

I think so, yes, but you shouldn't be that far behind the ubiquitous i5 2500K which is still good enough in most games, and it does depend on what games you play. You can overclock up to 4.2GHz on air cooling, so that's worth trying.

Here are some benchmarks from when the 2500K came out, it has a 10-20fps lead on the 750 in most if not all tests.

Doesn't seem to bad since it's a stock 750. I'm really tempted now!

Coil whine has me worried though. :|

 

[Cuban Legend]

Alright, I have some parts lists for you. I use PCPartPicker instead of PCHound, though. I also used this PSU wattage calculator, and PCPartPicker also does on-the-fly wattage calculations. For the G3258 build, I recommend the following:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12 37.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($66.57 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($58.41 @ NCIX US)
Total: $876.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 20:57 EST-0500

You'll save about $100 on that build. Yes, the Silverstone 450 watt power supply is enough - power supply calculators estimate the G3258 overclocked at 4.5GHz to consume less than 90 watts, while the GPU will use somewhere around 200 watts or less. Generally, the system should use about 350 watts at peak usage. The lack of modular cables makes the build a bit messier, but it will likely still work out. You could make some slight changes - I'd leave out the SSD if you don't absolutely need it, and there is the modular version of that Silverstone 450 watt PSU which is $90, a $30 increase over the non-modular version.

Here's the other build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12 37.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($66.57 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97N-Gaming 5 Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($132.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($58.41 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1081.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 21:03 EST-0500

You could go with the i5 4690K instead of the i7. Yes, the i7 is better for tasks like encoding, but the i5 4690K will deliver all the same gaming performance while being just slightly slower for encoding. Not sure about streaming, but I doubt it takes an i7 just for streaming.

Edit: forgot to mention overclocking. Bit-tech reported a slight issue but was otherwise easily able to get to 4.8ghz. On that Noctua cooler, you may be able to get 4.5GHz, but in a small case without an ideal cooler, be sure to check temperatures.

Yes, the 450 watt power supply should still be able to handle overclocking and the GTX 970. According to the PSU wattage calculator, the overclocked i5 system should use about 400 watts at most, still within the limit for the Silverstone 450 watt PSU. Silverstone tends to make good quality PSUs, so I'd trust it to be able to handle the load. You may want to go back to the 600 watt version to better support a future graphics card upgrade, though.

The same thing I said earlier about the PSU modularity and SSD still apply. You may also want to upgrade to water cooling for slightly better performance than that Noctua air cooler. Unless you're dead set on wanting that mITX case for yourself, I actually recommend you move up to a slightly larger mITX or even mATX case. You'll have better expandability in the future, it won't be as cramped to install parts in, cooling could be better with a different CPU cooler. Going with mATX will even allow you to slot in a second GTX 970 for SLI in the future.

Thank You for helping me squeeze even more value and save money on these 2 builds.

-I noticed the new mobo suggested for build #1 still has OC'ing abilities once a 1.40 bios update is done, which is perfect.
-Why switch to the EVGA 970 ACX 2.0 though? The ASUS STRIX costs less, and includes the 0db fan mode, does the EVGA card have that fan mode?
-Good call on using the 450W SFX PSU, i was considering it but wanted to make room for a future GPU and CPU to both be OCed, but since im limited to 1 GPU in this build, is it safe to assume that my next upgrade years down the line will be more powerful and more power efficient once there's a die shrink and a couple revisions?
-Great choice on the RAM, i was looking to have the most affordable 8GB of low-profile ram available.
-Also, good call on lowerin ghte 4790K to a 4690K, saved some bucks there too!
-You're right I don't NEED the SSD so i dropped it.
-and while i was at it, I found the ML07B from Silverstone to be cheaper than the RVZ01B.
-All-in-all Build #2's price was able to come down below my original price for build #1! and Build #1 is even more affordable now! Thanks!

let me know what you think of the revised part list
build 1:http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jMzyZL
build 2:http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DJ6hdC

 

[Flandy]

Anyone have any impressions on this powerline?

 

[Femmeworth]

I'm going to take advantage of the $15 off $75+ offer at Newegg. Thinking about getting this RAM set. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231550 Is there better low profile RAM I can get close to that price?

 

[kamakazi5]

Quick question on motherboard installation. My case (phantom 410 mid tower) says that for ATX motherboards (mine is the MSI Z97 PC Mate) I have to install 9 mounting screws but when I put the motherboard in it only has holes for 6 screws. Are the other mounting screws just installed for support or is something not right?

It's been a while since I built my last PC so I'm a little wary.

 

[GearDraxon]

Quick question on motherboard installation. My case (phantom 410 mid tower) says that for ATX motherboards (mine is the MSI Z97 PC Mate) I have to install 9 mounting screws but when I put the motherboard in it only has holes for 6 screws. Are the other mounting screws just installed for support or is something not right?

It's been a while since I built my last PC so I'm a little wary.

According to the manual, it looks like there are only 6 holes on that board, and that's fine! Attach with abandon!

 

[Nostremitus]

Quick question on motherboard installation. My case (phantom 410 mid tower) says that for ATX motherboards (mine is the MSI Z97 PC Mate) I have to install 9 mounting screws but when I put the motherboard in it only has holes for 6 screws. Are the other mounting screws just installed for support or is something not right?

It's been a while since I built my last PC so I'm a little wary.

Only install the standoffs in the holes that line up with the motherboard. If you install one on the case but your motherboard doesn't have a hole for it, it could touch something on the back of the board and cause a short.

 

[RGM79]

Thank You for helping me squeeze even more value and save money on these 2 builds.

-I noticed the new mobo suggested for build #1 still has OC'ing abilities once a 1.40 bios update is done, which is perfect.
-Why switch to the EVGA 970 ACX 2.0 though? The ASUS STRIX costs less, and includes the 0db fan mode, does the EVGA card have that fan mode?
-Good call on using the 450W SFX PSU, i was considering it but wanted to make room for a future GPU and CPU to both be OCed, but since im limited to 1 GPU in this build, is it safe to assume that my next upgrade years down the line will be more powerful and more power efficient once there's a die shrink and a couple revisions?
-Great choice on the RAM, i was looking to have the most affordable 8GB of low-profile ram available.
-Also, good call on lowerin ghte 4790K to a 4690K, saved some bucks there too!
-You're right I don't NEED the SSD so i dropped it.
-and while i was at it, I found the ML07B from Silverstone to be cheaper than the RVZ01B.
-All-in-all Build #2's price was able to come down below my original price for build #1! and Build #1 is even more affordable now! Thanks!

let me know what you think of the revised part list
build 1:http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jMzyZL
build 2:http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DJ6hdC

1. Yes, a lot of manufacturers have enabled overclocking for non Z series motherboards. H97 can also overclock the G3258. Technically lower end non-Z series motherboards may not be as well equipped/designed for overclocking, but others have reported good overclocking results on even H81 and B85 motherboards.

2. That's weird. I think something odd happened and the prices weren't updated. I chose the EVGA SC ACX 2.0 because it costs $340 and has a factory overclock of 1.17 GHz. The Asus Strix currently costs $349 and has a factory overclock of just 1.11 GHz, that means the Asus model is $10 more expensive and just slightly slower.

I am unsure about the silent fan mode. The FTW version of the EVGA GTX 970 ACX 2.0 has silent fan mode, it is unclear if this SC version does or does not. You can go back to the Asus model, I guess, but for the same price I recommend this MSI GTX 970 for $349 which also has silent fan mode for sure and a factory overclock of 1.14 GHz.

3. Yeah, mITX limits you to a single graphics card. No chance of going SLI or Crossfire. Depending on how efficient graphics cards are in the future, you may want to get the 600 watt power supply instead, that will be your decision. Unconfirmed benchmarking of next generation graphics card power consumption shows that they will be pretty efficient, but it might be safer to go with 600 watts anyway.

4. You're quite welcome.

5. You may want to opt for water cooler with such compact cases. They will perform better than compact Noctua air coolers, I think. The Noctua NH-L12 costs $67 while the Cooler Master Seidon 120V is $50 and should fit.. not sure about internal component clearance as I'm not too familiar with Silverstone's mITX cases. I know Noctuas are designed to be quiet, but the Noctua's fans may have to spin faster and louder to be able to deal with the heat of overclocking. From reading reviews of the NH-L12, I sort of doubt if it can handle overclocking well.

 

[kamakazi5]

According to the manual, it looks like there are only 6 holes on that board, and that's fine! Attach with abandon!

Thanks.

 

[nicoga3000]

OK, so I did the trade for my laptop last night. This is the PC I got out of it:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H50 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($169.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($289.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Raidmax Vampire ATX Full Tower Case ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($134.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1251.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-18 09:18 EST-0500

I'm quite pleased. Not shown would be the 600GB and 300GB HD he left in there for me. Also not 100% sure if the GPU is MSI, but I picked it because it's the same chipset. I have 3 things I need to do:

• Get a monitor
• Get a 2+TB mechanical drive for media and an SSD for the OS/games
• Get some speakers

I don't want to spend a ton of the monitor right now. Is there a good buy I can get that will be sufficient until I want to spend $250+ on a good monitor?

As for the HD and SSD, what are the best options for large capacity mech drives? And do SSDs ever go on sale?

 

[wowzors]

OK, so I did the trade for my laptop last night. This is the PC I got out of it:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H50 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($169.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($289.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Raidmax Vampire ATX Full Tower Case ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($134.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1251.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-18 09:18 EST-0500

I'm quite pleased. Not shown would be the 600GB and 300GB HD he left in there for me. Also not 100% sure if the GPU is MSI, but I picked it because it's the same chipset. I have 3 things I need to do:

• Get a monitor
• Get a 2+TB mechanical drive for media and an SSD for the OS/games
• Get some speakers

I don't want to spend a ton of the monitor right now. Is there a good buy I can get that will be sufficient until I want to spend $250+ on a good monitor?

As for the HD and SSD, what are the best options for large capacity mech drives? And do SSDs ever go on sale?

I think for about +$20 you could have got a 4gb 970