SUBZERO-08
Member
Thanks a lot for the information. He was really happy to hear about these alternatives & savings!
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"I Need a New PC!" 2015 Part 1. Read the OP and RISE ABOVE FORGED PRECISION SCIENCE
- Thread starter Hazaro
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Thanks a lot for the information. He was really happy to hear about these alternatives & savings!
Stratosphere
Member
I have a noob question about case fans. I just bought a Rosewill RFA-120-K as a cheap replacement for my old machine, and after installation I realized that it's rather loud...
I was hoping that I could control the speed either through SpeedFan or the BIOS, but no luck. After some google research, it seems that the fan has to be PWM in order to regulate speed? And even then, does it have to be plugged into the PWR pins on the mobo?
I was hoping that I could control the speed either through SpeedFan or the BIOS, but no luck. After some google research, it seems that the fan has to be PWM in order to regulate speed? And even then, does it have to be plugged into the PWR pins on the mobo?
What motherboard do you have? Generally, 3 pin fans can have their speed controlled through voltage, while 4 pin fans will be speed controlled via PWM.
I could get another set of RAM for a bit cheaper but I get this message:
Paired with Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor if it matters, would appreciate someone filling me in on what this means and building with voltage and over reccomended voltage in mind.
I also have another 1866 Ram as backup, in case no go.
Paired with Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor if it matters, would appreciate someone filling me in on what this means and building with voltage and over reccomended voltage in mind.
I also have another 1866 Ram as backup, in case no go.
Stratosphere
Member
It's pretty ancient, ASUS P6T Deluxe.
Also, I tried using the Y adapter that came with the fan as an extension (plugging the 3 pin end into the mobo), but it wouldn't even power the fan that way. What gives?
What RAM models are you considering? 1.65V RAM is slightly out of the the processor's "comfort zone", but is safe to run, it just needs a bit higher voltage to run at the rated speed and may be somewhat unstable if run at the wrong settings. There are 2133MHz kits that run at 1.5V that I could otherwise recommend, like G.Skill Ares or Patriot Viper 3.
That's not a bad price if you don't mind going with 1.65V RAM modules. Otherwise, go with this 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3-2133 1.5V for $77 instead if you want 2133MHz. It has dropped to ~$68 in the past.
I don't know what 1866MHz RAM you were looking at, but otherwise there's this 8GB G.Skill Ares DDR3-1866 1.5V kit for $66 I can recommend.
Have you tried the Asus Fan Xpert utility? The P6T Deluxe product page says it is available for the motherboard. I don't know about the Y adaptor, I assume you've tried both ends?
Stratosphere
Member
I tried the utility, but doesn't appear that it's compatible. As for the 3/4 adaptor, it can only go one way as it has male/female ends. For now I have it plugged in directly, but being a side fan, it's a rather tight fit.
Has vram really impact game performance yet? I felt like all the fuss for mordor was proven false and ultra barely looked better than high.
Regardless of whether it actually looks better or not, there are definitely some games which use more than 3GB of VRAM at 1080p (Watch_Dogs, Mordor, etc.). I just can't in good faith recommend anyone buy a high end GPU with less than 4GB of VRAM. With the new consoles having so much RAM available, we're going to see VRAM usage stay high, and probably keep increasing.
MADGAME
Member
Very helpful, thanks again. Nice to see you helping on here, I know others appreciate it also. I did take off the side and check the power supply but there is no sticker visible, it is either underneath or on the back side. I'll have to take it out to check.
Yeah latest drivers. Haven't had a crash yet today but my wired internet keeps dropping.
Oh and Temps are normal. Around 35C while browsing with a twitch stream running and around 45C-50C during games.I hope someone can help me out here. My wife needs a new computer for video editing. The one she has now is quite old, and it takes forever for her to do any editing. I'd rather just buy something that is already put together (I really don't feel like building one right now). Her budget is around $850. Are there any good pre-built computers I can buy? Thanks.
So upping voltage is mostly just risking some bit of heat increase and maybe risking blue screens? Assume it's just gonna be somewhere with the other RAM profile stuff in bios. Sorry, just trying to be thorough before I spend all my food checks, hue.
Femmeworth
Banned
Change of plans, planning to buy everything and build in the next week or so.
In all honesty, running at 1.65V isn't really gonna hurt anything unless you get unlucky with a really poor CPU or you expect it to last like 8+ years (I think Intel designs their CPU's to be good for 10+).
Yeah latest drivers. Haven't had a crash yet today but my wired internet keeps dropping.
Other than the motherboard being defective in the first place, I've only ever had similar issues with incorrect motherboard chipset drivers.
Yeah, those temperatures aren't bad. I guess you'll need to RMA the motherboard.
Pretty much. It's only a risk if you're doing manual RAM overclock settings, which you probably won't be. Using one of the preset RAM profiles will be perfectly safe.
Darn, figured I'd have to do a return. Anyone ever do one at Micro Center? Also which would you guys recommend in the ~$150 range? My store is in Yonkers, NY. http://goo.gl/OqTR7T
For the prices I see there, I can recommend the ASRock Z97 Pro4 for $95 after rebate, the Gigabyte Z97X-SLI for $110, or the ASRock Z97 Extreme4 for $129 after rebate.
Thanks man. Hopefully I can get this fixed on Saturday.
NJDEN
Member
Hey guys, I've got a question.
I want to build my dad a gaming rig. I'd be reusing some of my old components and I'm trying to keep his build relatively cheap so he can upgrade later if he wants to play games other than Skyrim & Civilizations (his usual).
I'm not 100% sure, but I think an AMD is the best option. I'm considering something in the FX series, but not sure if the better option is the 6 core or the 8. I want to secure some level of future proofing through the current generation for upcoming games...
Do you guys think that the 8 core is a waste for gaming or does it make a pretty big difference? I know the amount of cores isn't as important for gaming and AMD benchmarks differently than Intel processors.
I want to build my dad a gaming rig. I'd be reusing some of my old components and I'm trying to keep his build relatively cheap so he can upgrade later if he wants to play games other than Skyrim & Civilizations (his usual).
I'm not 100% sure, but I think an AMD is the best option. I'm considering something in the FX series, but not sure if the better option is the 6 core or the 8. I want to secure some level of future proofing through the current generation for upcoming games...
Do you guys think that the 8 core is a waste for gaming or does it make a pretty big difference? I know the amount of cores isn't as important for gaming and AMD benchmarks differently than Intel processors.
What parts will you have on hand to reuse, and what parts will you need to buy? What's your budget?
Depending on how much you will spend.. well, if you're looking for future proofing, AMD FX is not what you want. The AM3+ socket that AMD FX processors use is a dead end and will not be receiving any new generation of processors in the future. Also, AMD's newest processors in the FX line are over two years old (not counting low power versions of existing FX processors that were released in 2014) and generally lose out to Intel in performance. It's not even that AMD "benchmarks differently", generally the only place where AMD FX pulls ahead of Intel is in multi-threaded programs like graphics and video processing/rendering which can take advantage of 6/8 cores. For the purposes of gaming, you will want stronger performance from each core rather than many weaker cores.
Below a certain price point ($150 or so) AMD FX can be preferable to an Intel Pentium or i3 processor, but if you have the money for an i5 processor ($180 and more), I and other people in this thread will very much recommend Intel for future upgrades and generally higher framerate performance. Games just don't take advantage of multiple cores.
However, if you are looking for best bang for your buck at a very low budget, then AMD FX is competitive. You would be looking at the FX-6300 versus an i3 processor.
Here's a comprehensive list of processor benchmarks for Skyrim. The site is Polish, but the charts and graphs are mostly English. Here, Intel Pentium and Celeron processors perform similarly to FX 8XXX series processors.
GameGPU.ru did their own testing which differs a bit, AMD FX processors have a better showing here but still only perform on par with Intel i3 processors.
NJDEN
Member
Well as it stands I have an Antec 1100 w/ fans, GTX 570, 8GB of RAM, HDD & Evo CPU cooler. I need a PSU, mobo & CPU.
I did a little research since my last post and learned that i3s and even Pentiums are way more capable than I thought. My budget is hovering right around $300 w/ $150 of that in an Amazon gift card. I do have a Microcenter near me for good CPU deals.
He is going to start the system off with Skyrim & Civs 5 for sure, but eventually I'd like him to experience games like Dragon Age Inquisition (I know a new graphics card will probably be required for current generation games later down the line).
Sounds good, the 570 will serve him just fine for now. I have two different parts list for you.
The first list I recommend more as it has a better processor that can be overclocked for better future proofing, but none of the parts are from Amazon as Amazon's prices currently are a bit high for motherboard, and power supply.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $310.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-08 03:57 EST-0500
This second list includes parts from Amazon for the motherboard and power supply that you can use your $150 credit on, but overall isn't as good because I had to cut back and go with a slightly weaker non-overclocking processor to accomodate Amazon's more expensive motherboard and power supply.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: MSI H97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $304.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-08 04:04 EST-0500
If you don't mind spending a bit more while wanting to use your Amazon credit, I'd recommend the i5 4690K from Microcenter paired with the motherboard and power supply I chose from Amazon, but that'll put you over the budget by quite a bit.
Your Current Specs: AMD X4 3,2ghz CPU. 6GB DDR3 RAM. GPU = ATI Radeon HD 5750. Not entirely sure about the rest.
Budget + Location: ~800-900 + The Netherlands
Main Use: Rate 1-5. 5 being Highest: Gaming (5), Video Editing (2), Streaming games in HD, (4), General Usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback, photoshop) (5).
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: If I could run Witcher 3 properly when it comes out that would be nice.
Looking to reuse any parts?: Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ, 1TB. Maybe 2 of them.
When will you build?: Do you have a deadline? Before March hopefully
Will you be overclocking?: Maybe, so I guess yes. (I'll need an extra CPU cooler for that though, right?)
I don't know anything about PC hardware so I am looking for advice etc.
Took a look at the sheet in the OP, followed that mostly and came up with this:
Anything I could/should swap out to get more bang for my buck? Maybe in the GPU or RAM area. Any advice is appreciated.
Budget + Location: ~800-900 + The Netherlands
Main Use: Rate 1-5. 5 being Highest: Gaming (5), Video Editing (2), Streaming games in HD, (4), General Usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback, photoshop) (5).
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: If I could run Witcher 3 properly when it comes out that would be nice.
Looking to reuse any parts?: Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ, 1TB. Maybe 2 of them.
When will you build?: Do you have a deadline? Before March hopefully
Will you be overclocking?: Maybe, so I guess yes. (I'll need an extra CPU cooler for that though, right?)
I don't know anything about PC hardware so I am looking for advice etc.
Took a look at the sheet in the OP, followed that mostly and came up with this:
(total price = 886,57)
Anything I could/should swap out to get more bang for my buck? Maybe in the GPU or RAM area. Any advice is appreciated.
Hey guys, I'm essentially a complete newcomer to gaming pc's. Figured I would post this here and see if everything looks ok. I want to be sure all the parts will work together and I'm not making any glaring oversights about what I need. Also if there is anywhere I could cut costs I would be appreciative to know that as well. Thanks for the help!
Pollux
Member
Quick question...I'm looking up different graphics cards and I'm leaning towards a GTX 970. But when I go to pc part picker and type in GTX 970 about 30 different cards come up. How the hell do I know what to pick, what's better, etc.?
Also, whats the difference between MSI NVIDIA GTX 970 and EVGA NVIDIA GTX 970 and all the other ones?
Also, whats the difference between MSI NVIDIA GTX 970 and EVGA NVIDIA GTX 970 and all the other ones?
lordfuzzybutt
Member
I agree for the most part but to play TW3 properly then a gtx 760 is not quite enough. If you can go a bit overboard and get at least a 4Gb 770 then yes it is good.
Mostly cooling. You can't go wrong with either so don't worry and just get the one fits your wallet best.
Danke. Will look over it now for changes. Easier this way!
Unless the 770 is cheap (which is rarely, if ever, is) I'd not bother with it.
Skel1ingt0n
I can't *believe* these lazy developers keep making file sizes so damn large. Btw, how does technology work?
Think of the brands kind of like dealerships. You have a Overland Park Mazda and Don Don Mazda and LASTNAMEHERE Mazda. But they all sell Mazdas.
The "dealerships" are EVGA and MSI and Gigabyte, etc.
They can make reference cards (to the spec that Nvidia's defaults are based on). This means they work exactly as designed, no worse or better. Also, that means that you can replace the fans with watercooling blocks more easily.
Then they have custom cards. You take the base/reference - say, for a 970 - and they might add better cooling or higher clocks or more power or more headroom or a different look. It's still BASED on the reference card, but it has mods.
There are lots of sites to pick out the best one. But usually, I just go by price compared to reviews.
Right, have a look at this. Slightly over the cost of the last build but I have a solution for that.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($218.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($96.48 @ Newegg)
Memory: Avexir Core series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M550 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Best Buy)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N250PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1198.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-08 11:17 EST-0500
Better PSU, much better GPU cooler, overclockable i5, dual channel RAM.
You could save big by dropping Windows and the DVD drive and buying a copy of Windows from Reddit for $20 or so
http://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftso..._windows_7_8_81_servers_office_visio_project/
http://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftso...ll_products_keys_windows_7_8_81_professional/
JetForceGemini
Banned
Anybody interested in a Pentium g3258, pm me
lordfuzzybutt
Member
Yeah, just checked and the price for 770 is atrocious.
But that said, a 760 with 2GBs VRAM is not ideal at all for a new build.
metareferential
Member
So guys, since it seems that the latest Oculus Rift's prototype was running on a single gtx 980, and considering the benefits of VR SLI from nvidia (one gpu per eye), I was playing with builds for VR.
What would be the cheapest VR SLI build featuring two 980's?
Budget: cheapest
mandatory: two gtx 980.
Anyone wants to tackle this?
What would be the cheapest VR SLI build featuring two 980's?
Budget: cheapest
mandatory: two gtx 980.
Anyone wants to tackle this?
foamdino
Member
The next 'big thing'?
http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/...-and-steelseries-release-consumer-eye-tracker
Sounds like it could be useful - certainly could have used this when contemplating my PhD last year.
http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/...-and-steelseries-release-consumer-eye-tracker
Sounds like it could be useful - certainly could have used this when contemplating my PhD last year.
fx 4100, 8gb of ram, and two 980's? I mean if the only mandatory component is that I would go this direction and get a really nice cooling unit to OC the fx4100 this build would be incredibly CPU bottlenecked though.
A "balanced" build would be impossible under $2000
Price, noise, ability to run at higher clocks, power consumption, features. The main thing is to get a card with an open air cooler rather than a "blower" cooler. Blowers are not as efficient, therefore the cards are slower and noisier. Nvidia reference coolers (the one you see in Nvidia website & marketing) are unusually good blowers, and cards with them are okay to buy despite not having the absolute best performance, but the 970 is not generally available with the reference cooler.
Blowers vs open air: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVY_tNJXUIk
For a 970, if the prices are even close, I would personally go for a Gigabyte card. They are huge, but one of the best 970s in performance and noise terms, and the only open air model which has the full 3x Displayport + legacy outputs of the Nvidia reference design. Others only have 1x Displayport + legacy outputs. If you're not bothered by that, then I'd suggest MSI open air cards, which seem to be very slightly ahead of the Asus, EVGA etc. designs in perf/noise while not costing more.
I'd like to thank this thread for helping me build a PC this week. My old motherboard died last week and I was in dire need of an upgrade anyway. I'm no stranger to building PCs, but it's been awhile and I hadn't kept up on hardware. I've now got a nice, fast system in a beautifully laid out case that's virtually silent sitting at my desk and imperceptible 12 feet away on the couch.
Pollux
Member
Gotcha. So, would whichever GTX 970 I go with work with Intel i7 CPU?
And would the combination of those be able to run pretty much everything decent settings?
Finally, there's an option on pc part picker for a CPU cooler - would I need to get one of those for the i7?
Is this the type of card you're talking about?
CPU's come with stock coolers that work fine as long as you don't OC. Also, Modern graphics card universally use the PCI-E slot on the motherboard which basically all modern MOBO's that you buy for building purposes have (I'm sure exceptions to this exist but they are exceptions now the rule) so any modern graphics card will work with any modern CPU.
That's one of the specific cards I suggested, yes.
This and this are the Gigabytes which I also suggested. The difference between those two Gigabyte models is just that one is clocked slightly higher out of the box (guaranteed / warrantied) and probably has a bit higher performance potential if you want to do your own overclock. The cheaper one can surely be overclocked at least up to the stock speed of the pricier one though. With just $20 price difference between the two, I think both are reasonable value.
Just ordered this PC based on your suggestions. Thanks again for the help!
Femmeworth
Banned
This is what I'm looking at right now.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $289.99)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($126.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory (Purchased For $64.98)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($110.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($359.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($83.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1151.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-08 14:28 EST-0500
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $289.99)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($126.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory (Purchased For $64.98)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($110.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($359.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($83.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1151.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-08 14:28 EST-0500
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