Support NeoGAF

[Odrion]

Hoover? Just a normal hoover or is it a brand? Do you have a link for one? I can't seem to find anything on either Amazon UK or US.

My computer is so dusty inside. I feel like I am killing it slowly.

Aside from dusting you could try and change the direction of your case's & cpu cooler's fans to introduce positive pressure (more fans are blowing air into the case than they are blowing it out.)

 

[Izayoi]

Yeah, I hadn't even really factored in a resell value of a 980Ti. If Pascal+ had "worth it to upgrade" value then I'd probably resell the 980Ti and upgrade.

That is my plan as well. Just got a 980 Ti and will be reselling it when Pascal drops (assuming it's not $1000+).

 

[Haloid1177]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($169.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB STRIX Video Card ($674.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White/Red) ATX Full Tower Case ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($96.50 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q 144Hz 27.0" Monitor ($669.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2532.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-14 15:58 EDT-0400

This is what I have right now (bonuses were good this year so I'm able to build to pretty much what I want), and I just ordered the 980ti since that particular one is difficult to find in stock right now. Any suggestions? Not looking to buy the rest of the stuff for another few weeks.

 

[Izayoi]

This is what I have right now (bonuses were good this year so I'm able to build to pretty much what I want), and I just ordered the 980ti since that particular one is difficult to find in stock right now. Any suggestions? Not looking to buy the rest of the stuff for another few weeks.

I would go with two 8GB sticks to give yourself a future upgrade path. Are you planning on doing much overclocking? There are better coolers if you're willing to spend a few extra bucks. If you would like some suggestions, check out this fantastic round-up.

Otherwise, looks great. Out of curiosity, why the mismatched monitors? That would drive me crazy, personally. :lol

 

[LQX]

I see many getting 16GB-32GB of ram. Is that much ram proving to be useful on the new Intel CPUs for gaming and everyday tasks?

 

[Rootbeer]

I would go with two 8GB sticks to give yourself a future upgrade path. Are you planning on doing much overclocking? There are better coolers if you're willing to spend a few extra bucks. If you would like some suggestions, check out this fantastic round-up.

Otherwise, looks great. Out of curiosity, why the mismatched monitors? That would drive me crazy, personally. :lol

well according to pcpartpicker if you want 3000+ DDR4 ram and want to buy it in 2x8GB sticks you are out of luck... there is nothing in stock right now.

It's discouraging because I fully agree with you it would be the smartest choice, but the stock just isn't there.

 

[Izayoi]

I see many getting 16GB-32GB of ram. Is that much ram proving to be useful on the new Intel CPUs for gaming and everyday tasks?

8GB is probably enough for most, but there are more and more things that will utilize the extra for useful purposes (like the SSDs that use a RAM disk to boost performance, or 64-bit executables). I'd say, if you've got the money to do it, there is no reason to not go with a 16GB kit (2x8GB, unless your motherboard has got eight memory slots).

 

[Haloid1177]

well according to pcpartpicker if you want 3000+ DDR4 ram and want to buy it in 2x8GB sticks you are out of luck... there is nothing in stock right now.

It's discouraging because I fully agree with you it would be the smartest choice, but the stock just isn't there.

Yeah I was aiming for 3200 RAM but I can only find it in 4x4, but I can find 3000 RAM in 2x8. Not sure which to go with, price is pretty much the same.

 

[Izayoi]

well according to pcpartpicker if you want 3000+ DDR4 ram and want to buy it in 2x8GB sticks you are out of luck... there is nothing in stock right now.

It's discouraging because I fully agree with you it would be the smartest choice, but the stock just isn't there.

What country? There is plenty of availability in the US. This kit that I just got is in at Newegg currently.

Yeah I was aiming for 3200 RAM but I can only find it in 4x4, but I can find 3000 RAM in 2x8. Not sure which to go with, price is pretty much the same.

You can take a 3000 kit to 3200 if you really need to, but from what I've been reading, 2666-3000 seems to be the sweet spot, with no huge performance gains after you hit 3000 other than some select synthetic benchmarks.

 

[BossDarkseid]

That is my plan as well. Just got a 980 Ti and will be reselling it when Pascal drops (assuming it's not $1000+).

Yeah....Pascal would have to be capable of 60fps 4k the stuff I play to make me think "is a 1k card worth it"....

The build as it would be atm...would roughly be 6700k (although others have recc'd the 5820k).
Asus z170 lga1151.
Kingston Fury 2x8gb (2400, could go higher but the differences...)
Kingston HyperX 120gb ssd
wd black 2tb
980ti
fractal r5
so on and so forth.

Obviously things would be tweaked but it's a build with one eye on 4k, but mainly with a GPU upgrade down the line etc. I've never had good experiences with SLI or Xfire.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

So I got my new mobo and cpu installed. Thanks again for the advice RGM79, I couldn't be happier!

I started the computer up without a fresh OS install and everything is working fine. I didn't have much installed since I upgraded to Windows 10. So far all drivers and everything are working great.

What kinds of problems does this typically cause? How long until I would notice--when drivers update?

Just a follow-up in case anyone experiences something similar:

My Windows 10 key suddenly needed activation but will not with the error code: 0xC004C003 and text description "The activation server determined the specific product key has been blocked."

After contacting support, assuming it was my new motherboard, they told me it was due to the large numbers of demands for Windows 10 keys and to give it a week. He gave my a reference code so if it does not go away, I can call back in a week.

I'm fairly certain it's due to my mobo and not the demand on their side of things. For the time being, I'll just have to have the annoying text overlay telling me to activate my key.

 

[mrklaw]

Thanks a lot for the post

I didn't really want to build myself. I've read that it's pretty simple, but TBH I would rather save the time. Unless it's the only way to get what I want, then maybe I'll get my screwdrivers out!

I don't have a copy of windows. I have a keyboard, and will just buy a mouse. I also have a 360 wired controller that I use in my laptop.

Would a tower PC be able to stand beside a speaker and just be hooked up to the TV, I'm guessing by hdmi? If so would that ccl PC (I think it's the elite falcon IV) you mentioned be worth a buy? They also have a decent warranty that looks good.

Thanks a lot, was gonna buy that alienware so you've already helped. Cheers.

No worries. I've done both - built and bought prebuilt. Building myself took a while, but if you literally take something like one of Hazaro's builds in the first post and run it though PC Part Checker you'll get a good idea of what it'll cost. Run a few of the more expensive components through Amazon/scan/ebuyer to see if you can save a few quid. Then building - there are plenty of how-to videos on youtube that'll even run through basic mistakes people make. That, plus support on the GAF thread and you'll be fine if you build yourself.

However, for my current PC I bought from Overclockers prebuilt. I knew what I wanted and they happened to have a 'this week only' special offer with a lost the ideal spec. It was probably cheaper than putting the parts together myself. I did contact them and tweak the specs a little (adding the SSD)

Let me have a look around and see what is out there for prebuilts. How small do you need it? Small form factor cases tend to be towers, but you can also get cases that are more like an AV receiver, so short and wide. But both are a little less likely to get you a cheap prebuilt because small incurs a premium. You may need to compromise on the GPU a little with an eye on upgrading that in a couple of years.

Also worth doing what LordAlu suggests and just pinging the main suppliers out there to see what they can offer for the spec he listed.


Oh I wouldn't put it next to a speaker. Shielded centre speaker would be ok but not a big L/R speaker.



Edit: if you take the CCL Elite Raven IV Pro Gaming PC and customise it, upgrade to an i5-4690k, cooler master TX3 cooler, and an asus strix 970, that comes to almost exactly £800 including Windows 10, a 240GB SSD and a 1TB HDD. SSD is a Kingston one though, don't know if they are good?

Here is the tweaked spec:

Intel Core i5-4690K Quad Core 3.5GHz LGA1150 HD 4600 6MB Processor
Kingston ValueRAM 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz Non-ECC 240-pin DIMM Memory Module
Asus B85M-G Motherboard
Kingston SSDNow V300 240GB Solid State Drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 1TB Hard Drive (7200rpm) SATA 64MB (Internal)
ASUS NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Strix Edition Boost Graphics Card
CCL Choice 22x DVD+/-RW Drive
Fractal Design Core 1100 Computer Case (Black)
Corsair CX600M Builder Series 600 Watt ATX Modular Power Supply Unit
3 Year Collect & Return warranty
ASUS PCE-N15 300Mbps PCI-E Wireless card,
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO CPU Cooler
Default Item Changed Item Added Item
£800.61 inc VAT

 

[mrklaw]

I actually agree with you that a lot of our range isn't great (and there's far too many of them!). Heck, the cheapest K based system we have is £999 which is pretty ridiculous.

If you really don't want to build it yourself a lot of places will build it for you (including us) - I'd definitely recommend calling around to see what the various sites will do for you. That way you can get one to your specification rather than buying "off the shelf" so to speak. You'd be looking to see what they can do for a spec like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£178.00 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.95 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£103.22 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£32.03 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial BX100 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£44.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£38.70 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card (£249.55 @ Aria PC)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case (£62.76 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Fractal Design Integra M 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£46.98 @ Novatech)
Total: £781.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-14 09:02 BST+0100

Bear in mind these are just the parts based on cheapest retail prices - most places that build will likely add a build fee but they may discount some of the items to hit a price point.

Hey, who do you work for? I agree that often you can tweak things - my Overclockers build was a special offer and I still got them to slot in an SSD. Ultimately if they're building it anyway it isn't much extra effort to put more parts in and you're making more money.

My guess about the lack of non-k parts is an expectation that they can sell 'overclocked gamer PCs' for a premium. But if you ask they may be able to switch in a K processor and a cooler assuming you'll take the responsibility of overclocking.

 

[Izayoi]

Yeah....Pascal would have to be capable of 60fps 4k the stuff I play to make me think "is a 1k card worth it"....

The build as it would be atm...would roughly be 6700k (although others have recc'd the 5820k).
Asus z170 lga1151.
Kingston Fury 2x8gb (2400, could go higher but the differences...)
Kingston HyperX 120gb ssd
wd black 2tb
980ti
fractal r5
so on and so forth.

Obviously things would be tweaked but it's a build with one eye on 4k, but mainly with a GPU upgrade down the line etc. I've never had good experiences with SLI or Xfire.

When exactly are you looking to make your purchase? Are you waiting until the 6700K hits retailers in the US?

 

[BossDarkseid]

When exactly are you looking to make your purchase? Are you waiting until the 6700K hits retailers in the US?

PRobably end of September/early October and I'm from the UK

As to whether it's prebuilt or pcpartpicker'd, I'm not sure yet. Various circumstances may dictate which I go with but the price difference wouldn't be insane. If Skylake was going to get it's 5820k equivalent next year then, as long as they don't do something funny and change the cpu chip from 1151 I may get something more mid range now and upgrade that part next year.

So many variables.

Edit: At a puuuuush i could possibly hold off on upgrading my pc/gettinga new one at all until next summer but...it'd potentially make things more difficult than they need to be between now and then so I'd rather spend now and resell say the 980Ti next year to upgrade etc.

 

[Rebel Leader]

Got the new motherboard

Everything seems to be working fine
Installing Windows


If it happens again. I'm done with computers

 

[Izayoi]

PRobably end of September/early October and I'm from the UK

As to whether it's prebuilt or pcpartpicker'd, I'm not sure yet. Various circumstances may dictate which I go with but the price difference wouldn't be insane. If Skylake was going to get it's 5820k equivalent next year then, as long as they don't do something funny and change the cpu chip from 1151 I may get something more mid range now and upgrade that part next year.

So many variables.

Edit: At a puuuuush i could possibly hold off on upgrading my pc/gettinga new one at all until next summer but...it'd potentially make things more difficult than they need to be between now and then so I'd rather spend now and resell say the 980Ti next year to upgrade etc.

Personally, I think it's a lot of fun putting together my own PC. I treat it as a learning experience... I've been building PCs for many years and it amazes me how much easier it has become, especially in the last five years. It used to be that I would cut myself pretty badly at least once during a build, but that hasn't happened of late. Everything is really user friendly now. I have to say, I dig it.

I would not get my hopes up for Skylake-E being regular old 1151. Especially with eight cores, I imagine the voltage requirements will be different, most likely accompanied by a 130W+ TDP (Skylake is already running at 95W as it is).

 

[BossDarkseid]

Personally, I think it's a lot of fun putting together my own PC. I treat it as a learning experience... I've been building PCs for many years and it amazes me how much easier it has become, especially in the last five years. It used to be that I would cut myself pretty badly at least once during a build, but that hasn't happened of late. Everything is really user friendly now. I have to say, I dig it.

I would not get my hopes up for Skylake-E being regular old 1151. Especially with eight cores, I imagine the voltage requirements will be different, most likely accompanied by a 130W+ TDP (Skylake is already running at 95W as it is).

Ah, damnit. Just looked it up and Skylake-E wouldn't release till Q3 2016 at the earliest? I can't wait that long. Eugh. I wish we knew about the chip Skylake-E would use. And that it'd magically be lga1151. I really don't want to have to upgrade my mobo as well as CPU in a years time, esp if its GPU time as well if Pascal is great.

Oh well.

 

[Smokey]

I was wondering if the baby arrival would take you out of this crazy game, but guess not!

Sorry future little Smokey, but you gonna be paying for your own college tuition. Daddy's gotta have that beast mode pc. Lol

it don't stop

i will just have to be a single card pleb for a year ;_;

Spoiler

if i can hold out that long lol

 

[DMTripper]

No worries. I've done both - built and bought prebuilt. Building myself took a while, but if you literally take something like one of Hazaro's builds in the first post and run it though PC Part Checker you'll get a good idea of what it'll cost. Run a few of the more expensive components through Amazon/scan/ebuyer to see if you can save a few quid. Then building - there are plenty of how-to videos on youtube that'll even run through basic mistakes people make. That, plus support on the GAF thread and you'll be fine if you build yourself.

However, for my current PC I bought from Overclockers prebuilt. I knew what I wanted and they happened to have a 'this week only' special offer with a lost the ideal spec. It was probably cheaper than putting the parts together myself. I did contact them and tweak the specs a little (adding the SSD)

Let me have a look around and see what is out there for prebuilts. How small do you need it? Small form factor cases tend to be towers, but you can also get cases that are more like an AV receiver, so short and wide. But both are a little less likely to get you a cheap prebuilt because small incurs a premium. You may need to compromise on the GPU a little with an eye on upgrading that in a couple of years.

Also worth doing what LordAlu suggests and just pinging the main suppliers out there to see what they can offer for the spec he listed.


Oh I wouldn't put it next to a speaker. Shielded centre speaker would be ok but not a big L/R speaker.



Edit: if you take the CCL Elite Raven IV Pro Gaming PC and customise it, upgrade to an i5-4690k, cooler master TX3 cooler, and an asus strix 970, that comes to almost exactly £800 including Windows 10, a 240GB SSD and a 1TB HDD. SSD is a Kingston one though, don't know if they are good?

Here is the tweaked spec:

Intel Core i5-4690K Quad Core 3.5GHz LGA1150 HD 4600 6MB Processor
Kingston ValueRAM 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz Non-ECC 240-pin DIMM Memory Module
Asus B85M-G Motherboard
Kingston SSDNow V300 240GB Solid State Drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 1TB Hard Drive (7200rpm) SATA 64MB (Internal)
ASUS NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Strix Edition Boost Graphics Card
CCL Choice 22x DVD+/-RW Drive
Fractal Design Core 1100 Computer Case (Black)
Corsair CX600M Builder Series 600 Watt ATX Modular Power Supply Unit
3 Year Collect & Return warranty
ASUS PCE-N15 300Mbps PCI-E Wireless card,
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO CPU Cooler
Default Item Changed Item Added Item
£800.61 inc VAT

You're a star!

I'm thinking the lazy route and getting the pre built PC from ccl.

I'm taking its not hard to overclock whatever needs to be overclocked lol

Also just to be 100%... I can just hook this PC via hdmi to my TV and it'll work? Or do I need other cables and stuff to make it work?

Thanks again, I wanna be a PC gamer but I really don't have the space for desks, monitors etc. I have a great TV and it would be sweet to just play games on that

 

[Rebel Leader]

You're a star!

I'm thinking the lazy route and getting the pre built PC from ccl.

I'm taking its not hard to overclock whatever needs to be overclocked lol

Also just to be 100%... I can just hook this PC via hdmi to my TV and it'll work? Or do I need other cables and stuff to make it work?

Thanks again, I wanna be a PC gamer but I really don't have the space for desks, monitors etc. I have a great TV and it would be sweet to just play games on that

Yes you can set up windows while on a tv with hdmi

 

[Izayoi]

Ah, damnit. Just looked it up and Skylake-E wouldn't release till Q3 2016 at the earliest? I can't wait that long. Eugh. I wish we knew about the chip Skylake-E would use. And that it'd magically be lga1151. I really don't want to have to upgrade my mobo as well as CPU in a years time, esp if its GPU time as well if Pascal is great.

Oh well.

The problem with waiting is by the time is releases (some are even saying as far out as 2017), there is going to be something else on the horizon... It's never ending. You might as well bite the bullet now. I can say with almost certainty that it will NOT be vanilla 1151 - as far as I know, pretty much all of Intel's refreshes that add more cores (or the E-series refreshes in general) are on a different socket and/or chipset

 

[DMTripper]

I actually agree with you that a lot of our range isn't great (and there's far too many of them!). Heck, the cheapest K based system we have is £999 which is pretty ridiculous.

If you really don't want to build it yourself a lot of places will build it for you (including us) - I'd definitely recommend calling around to see what the various sites will do for you. That way you can get one to your specification rather than buying "off the shelf" so to speak. You'd be looking to see what they can do for a spec like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£178.00 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.95 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£103.22 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£32.03 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial BX100 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£44.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£38.70 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card (£249.55 @ Aria PC)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case (£62.76 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Fractal Design Integra M 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£46.98 @ Novatech)
Total: £781.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-14 09:02 BST+0100

Bear in mind these are just the parts based on cheapest retail prices - most places that build will likely add a build fee but they may discount some of the items to hit a price point.

Hey, I didn't realise this post was kinda aimed at me.

I will do as you say but the ccl option is 800 and will have a 3 yr warranty.

Hmmmm more to ponder!

 

[BossDarkseid]

The problem with waiting is by the time is releases (some are even saying as far out as 2017), there is going to be something else on the horizon... It's never ending. You might as well bite the bullet now. I can say with almost certainty that it will NOT be vanilla 1151 - as far as I know, pretty much all of Intel's refreshes that add more cores (or the E-series refreshes in general) are on a different socket and/or chipset

Yeah. It's not like a 6700k would gimp my performance in the meantime and I can just upgrade bits and pieces for the future.

Cheers

 

[Izayoi]

You're a star!

I'm thinking the lazy route and getting the pre built PC from ccl.

I'm taking its not hard to overclock whatever needs to be overclocked lol

Also just to be 100%... I can just hook this PC via hdmi to my TV and it'll work? Or do I need other cables and stuff to make it work?

Thanks again, I wanna be a PC gamer but I really don't have the space for desks, monitors etc. I have a great TV and it would be sweet to just play games on that

You will be just fine plugging it into a TV with HDMI support.

Yeah. It's not like a 6700k would gimp my performance in the meantime and I can just upgrade bits and pieces for the future.

Cheers

Exactly! :>

 

[BossDarkseid]

You will be just fine plugging it into a TV with HDMI support.


Exactly! :>

Thank you for the help!

Now my only real deliberations come down to size of ssd and whether I go liquid or fan cooling....

 

[Izayoi]

Thank you for the help!

Now my only real deliberations come down to size of ssd and whether I go liquid or fan cooling....

How much data do you store? Do you usually play a lot of different games? If you have a sizable Steam library (like most on GAF do, I imagine) and you actually play a lot of those game (less common around here), I think it would do you well to go for at least 500GB if you can afford it. If you use programs that rely heavily on HDD performance (like Photoshop and its scratch disks) it might also be worth it. Are you planning on just having one drive, or will you be using a mechanical drive and an SSD in tandem?

In terms of water vs. air, unless you are doing extreme overclocking, air will probably be just fine. Are you planning on going with a closed-loop solution? Keep in mind some closed-loop coolers are not as effective as high-end air solutions, and often cost more. They can also be incredibly loud. It's a little out of date at this point, but this guide should serve as a good starting point.

 

[mrklaw]

Thank you for the help!

Now my only real deliberations come down to size of ssd and whether I go liquid or fan cooling....

That CCL I linked has 240GB SSD and 1TB HDD. Plenty. If you ring around to see if you can get LordAlu's spec in a small case, then I'd go for a Samsung 120GB SSD for Windows and apps, and a 1TB HDD for games. You can probably have a couple of games on the SSD too (easy enough to move back and forth with steam mover)

 

[Kilrathi]

I am trying to pick between these two builds

Skylake
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory
Storage: Samsung SM951 128GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card

Haswell-E
CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI X99A SLI PLUS ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory
Storage: Samsung SM951 128GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card

Going to be using for my home VR development and PC gaming rig

Edit ( I have CM styker full size atx, SATA 3 ssd, 2 1TB WD drives, Sound Blaster Z, and corsair tx 750w v2 that I am going to reuse)

 

[DMTripper]

No worries. I've done both - built and bought prebuilt. Building myself took a while, but if you literally take something like one of Hazaro's builds in the first post and run it though PC Part Checker you'll get a good idea of what it'll cost. Run a few of the more expensive components through Amazon/scan/ebuyer to see if you can save a few quid. Then building - there are plenty of how-to videos on youtube that'll even run through basic mistakes people make. That, plus support on the GAF thread and you'll be fine if you build yourself.

However, for my current PC I bought from Overclockers prebuilt. I knew what I wanted and they happened to have a 'this week only' special offer with a lost the ideal spec. It was probably cheaper than putting the parts together myself. I did contact them and tweak the specs a little (adding the SSD)

Let me have a look around and see what is out there for prebuilts. How small do you need it? Small form factor cases tend to be towers, but you can also get cases that are more like an AV receiver, so short and wide. But both are a little less likely to get you a cheap prebuilt because small incurs a premium. You may need to compromise on the GPU a little with an eye on upgrading that in a couple of years.

Also worth doing what LordAlu suggests and just pinging the main suppliers out there to see what they can offer for the spec he listed.


Oh I wouldn't put it next to a speaker. Shielded centre speaker would be ok but not a big L/R speaker.



Edit: if you take the CCL Elite Raven IV Pro Gaming PC and customise it, upgrade to an i5-4690k, cooler master TX3 cooler, and an asus strix 970, that comes to almost exactly £800 including Windows 10, a 240GB SSD and a 1TB HDD. SSD is a Kingston one though, don't know if they are good?

Here is the tweaked spec:

Intel Core i5-4690K Quad Core 3.5GHz LGA1150 HD 4600 6MB Processor
Kingston ValueRAM 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz Non-ECC 240-pin DIMM Memory Module
Asus B85M-G Motherboard
Kingston SSDNow V300 240GB Solid State Drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 1TB Hard Drive (7200rpm) SATA 64MB (Internal)
ASUS NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Strix Edition Boost Graphics Card
CCL Choice 22x DVD+/-RW Drive
Fractal Design Core 1100 Computer Case (Black)
Corsair CX600M Builder Series 600 Watt ATX Modular Power Supply Unit
3 Year Collect & Return warranty
ASUS PCE-N15 300Mbps PCI-E Wireless card,
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO CPU Cooler
Default Item Changed Item Added Item
£800.61 inc VAT

I've just been on the ccl website, and when I do the build mentioned above it comes to £911.14. It looks like the same until I add the price for the OS. Not sure what's going on.

Sorry if I'm spamming the thread.

Oh and thanks to the guys saying I can just hook up to a TV. That sounds great.

 

[Izayoi]

That CCL I linked has 240GB SSD and 1TB HDD. Plenty. If you ring around to see if you can get LordAlu's spec in a small case, then I'd go for a Samsung 120GB SSD for Windows and apps, and a 1TB HDD for games. You can probably have a couple of games on the SSD too (easy enough to move back and forth with steam mover)

I don't know... I would say AT LEAST 240GB. I have a 120GB currently and it's a huge pain in the ass to constantly move games around between that and my mechanical drives... especially with some of the more modern MMOs, which are fucking huge and have massive file structures.

 

[Mystic654]

I just got two radiator (Black Ice Nemesis GTX) for my first water cooling setup. I'm just don't know what fans to use. I need 140mm fans and I'm looking for quiet and good performance.

When I E-mail the company they said the sweet spot is usually 1300 RPM. What fans does everyone suggest using? Noctua, Be Quiet or another company. What RPM should I set them too.

I know Noctua RPM is 1500 or 1200 RPM with low noise cable for normal edition. ID fans from noctua are way to loud.

 

[opticalmace]

I am trying to pick between these two builds

Skylake
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory
Storage: Samsung SM951 128GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card

Haswell-E
CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI X99A SLI PLUS ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory
Storage: Samsung SM951 128GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card

Going to be using for my home VR development and PC gaming rig

Edit ( I have CM styker full size atx, SATA 3 ssd, 2 1TB WD drives, Sound Blaster Z, and corsair tx 750w v2 that I am going to reuse)

Are you planning on SLI at some point?

 

[Izayoi]

I just got two radiator (Black Ice Nemesis GTX) for my first water cooling setup. I'm just don't know what fans to use. I need 140mm fans and I'm looking for quiet and good performance.

When I E-mail the company they said the sweet spot is usually 1300 RPM. What fans does everyone suggest using? Noctua, Be Quiet or another company. What RPM should I set them too.

I know Noctua RPM is 1500 or 1200 RPM with low noise cable for normal edition. ID fans from noctua are way to loud.

Noctua for sure, if you can afford them (which I'm assuming won't be a problem) and if you can stand the (in my opinion) awful color scheme. I ended up going with a different brand because I really can't stand the colors, and it completely clashes with the rest of my build... sue me. ;_;

I am trying to pick between these two builds

Skylake
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory
Storage: Samsung SM951 128GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card

Haswell-E
CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI X99A SLI PLUS ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory
Storage: Samsung SM951 128GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card

Going to be using for my home VR development and PC gaming rig

Edit ( I have CM styker full size atx, SATA 3 ssd, 2 1TB WD drives, Sound Blaster Z, and corsair tx 750w v2 that I am going to reuse)

Development in what capacity? If you are doing a lot of rendering and compiling, the Haswell-E build will be better. As mentioned previously, it's a great overclocker and can trade blows with Skylake when it comes to gaming. In terms of multi-threaded performance, a 6/12 solution is going to blow a 4/8 solution out of the water (generally speaking).

 

[Izayoi]

e: double post, sorry

 

[Darryl M R]

Is nvidia new card really coming out in 2016?

 

[Kilrathi]

Are you planning on SLI at some point?

Maybe, or I might just go a better single card

Development in what capacity? If you are doing a lot of rendering and compiling, the Haswell-E build will be better. As mentioned previously, it's a great overclocker and can trade blows with Skylake when it comes to gaming. In terms of multi-threaded performance, a 6/12 solution is going to blow a 4/8 solution out of the water (generally speaking).

I am primarily working in Unreal Engine 4 for the most part, for VR. I was on i7 sandy bridge on a p67 board with R9 290, now's that in a micro atx machine on a b75 board for events because my laptop has fermi gpu in it.

 

[Kalentan]

Hey, I was wondering.

• I have a Cosair TX650 Power Supply
• Intel Core i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz (8 CPUS) ~2.7GH
• 8GB of RAM
• 1 TB HDD

But now I have a AMD Radeon R9 200 / HD 7900 Series which I'm 99.999% is dying. Though it can run games fine, my second screen no longer works and if I only have 1 screen plugged in, then that one doesn't work.

So I was wondering, with all of that, could I just buy a new case, a new gpu (either same, little weaker, or little stronger) and new cooling(?), would that be too much? Or would I also have to replace more than just that?

I was looking at this:
Cooler Master HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 - High Air Flow Mid Tower Computer Case
But I'm unsure, does this come with fans or no?

 

[Celcius]

The graphics card isn't running!

It doesn't work until the PC loads the drivers!

Quoting my own post to give you guys an update: thankfully it was just my GPU failing that caused this. I switched it today with an old GTX 280 and my PC is working fine.

I think I'll stick to it since I rarely play games anymore. Is GTX 280 more powerful than my CPU's integrated graphics? (3570k)

@Shining Sunshine - now do you understand? The videocard renders what shows up on the screen whether you're in the bios or in windows. You'll noticed that the fan & lights on your videocard are running even when you're in the bios.

@Erebus - The GTX280 is much better than the integrated graphics. 2-3 years ago I had to get by on a GTX 280 for a while and it's still a capable card despite being so old.

 

[Enduin]

Hey, I was wondering.

• I have a Cosair TX650 Power Supply
• Intel Core i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz (8 CPUS) ~2.7GH
• 8GB of RAM
• 1 TB HDD

But now I have a AMD Radeon R9 200 / HD 7900 Series which I'm 99.999% is dying. Though it can run games fine, my second screen no longer works and if I only have 1 screen plugged in, then that one doesn't work.

So I was wondering, with all of that, could I just buy a new case, a new gpu (either same, little weaker, or little stronger) and new cooling(?), would that be too much? Or would I also have to replace more than just that?

I was looking at this:
Cooler Master HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 - High Air Flow Mid Tower Computer Case
But I'm unsure, does this come with fans or no?

You have a similar computer to what I'm upgrading from.

i7 920 ocd to 3.6ghz
16gb RAM
7950 3gb
1tb HDD

What's your budget and general usage? Cause that setup is pretty old now and really showing its age. I've been itching to upgrade for over a year now and am finally going through with it now.

 

[Kalentan]

You have a similar computer to what I'm upgrading from.

i7 920 ocd to 3.6ghz
16gb RAM
7950 3gb
1tb HDD

What's your budget and general usage? Cause that setup is pretty old now and really showing its age. I've been itching to upgrade for over a year now and am finally going through with it now.

Budget isn't much. Truly I'm just trying to get what I have to work properly again for a good year or so. I just got an XBO, and was REALLY looking forward to everything in my gaming ecosystem to work... but my computer, which has been the weak link (and by that I mean in terms of issues rather than power) for a while. It was working just fine till yesterday when... "poof" apparently the GPU is dying as I began to see corrupted screens.

Maybe a budget of $200-300, but that is because I am trying to transfer over stuff like the i7, HDD, and PSU.

 

[Mystic654]

Noctua for sure, if you can afford them (which I'm assuming won't be a problem) and if you can stand the (in my opinion) awful color scheme. I ended up going with a different brand because I really can't stand the colors, and it completely clashes with the rest of my build... sue me. ;_;

You can't see the fans since they will be hidden by the radiator. The color never bothered me.

1200 RPM is good to cool the system?

 

[Enduin]

Budget isn't much. Truly I'm just trying to get what I have to work properly again for a good year or so. I just got an XBO, and was REALLY looking forward to everything in my gaming ecosystem to work... but my computer, which has been the weak link (and by that I mean in terms of issues rather than power) for a while. It was working just fine till yesterday when... "poof" apparently the GPU is dying as I began to see corrupted screens.

Maybe a budget of $200-300, but that is because I am trying to transfer over stuff like the i7, HDD, and PSU.

200-300 might do the job but it will be tight, might not be able to get a GPU as good as what you had plus the new CPU cooler and case.

 

[Kalentan]

200-300 might do the job but it will be tight, might not be able to get a GPU as good as what you had plus the new CPU cooler and case.

Honestly even if it's just "slightly" worse but cheaper. I can do that. I would just LOVE to go a year without an issue with my desktop. It has yet to happen since I got it.

 

[Haloid1177]

Otherwise, looks great. Out of curiosity, why the mismatched monitors? That would drive me crazy, personally. :lol

Because I really want the ASUS 34" Gsync monitor they showed early in the year, but I need two monitors now. So I'll buy a cheap secondary right now and once the 34" is released I'll relegate the 27" ROG Swift to my secondary monitor. Mainly just trying to save money while meeting my needs currently.

Unless you guys have a better monitor suggestion for me, because I've actually been struggling with the decision more than the rest of the build. Keyboard/mouse advice would be decent too. Not sure what is best out of the choices in the OP.

EDIT: I didn't realize Acer's 34" GSync monitor was coming to market in September. Might not bother with the other two then.

 

[badb0y]

I'm still on my i7 2600k at 4.4 Ghz and GTX 980 Ti. Should I consider going 6700k or 5820k? It doesn't seem like there's much difference when gaming.

 

[KrisB]

I'm still on my i7 2600k at 4.4 Ghz and GTX 980 Ti. Should I consider going 6700k or 5820k? It doesn't seem like there's much difference when gaming.

Minimal gains really, not worth it.

 

[mrklaw]

I've just been on the ccl website, and when I do the build mentioned above it comes to £911.14. It looks like the same until I add the price for the OS. Not sure what's going on.

Sorry if I'm spamming the thread.

Oh and thanks to the guys saying I can just hook up to a TV. That sounds great.

Damn forgot about the OS - their PCs are very carefully arranged so some have Windows, some don't, some are customisable, some not.

windows 10 home brings you to £875. If you dropped down to a Zotac or plait GTX970 that would save you £30, or to an MSI R9 380 you'd save £90 bringing you below £800

And if anyone can comment on whether the cheaper motherboards in this list are decent you save a few more quid

This image shows the price with Windows 10 home and a Zotac 970. If the cheapest motherboard on the list was still fine, that'd come down to £830, or £970 if you went with the R9 380

 

[Rolfgang]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($169.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB STRIX Video Card ($674.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White/Red) ATX Full Tower Case ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($96.50 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q 144Hz 27.0" Monitor ($669.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2532.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-14 15:58 EDT-0400

This is what I have right now (bonuses were good this year so I'm able to build to pretty much what I want), and I just ordered the 980ti since that particular one is difficult to find in stock right now. Any suggestions? Not looking to buy the rest of the stuff for another few weeks.

I would pick the Acer XB270HU, instead of the ROG Swift. It's a little bit more expensive, but it's a 4 ms IPS-panel, vs a 1 ms TN-panel.

 

[Wag]

Welp. My Ivy Bridge mobo is dying (either that or I have a bad 980Ti, we'll find out once I replace my setup). So I bought some new stuff. This is what I bought:

5820k (Microcenter $299 tax free weekend tomorrow MA)
MSI X99A Plus Refurb - $179 (might as well get the USB 3.1 ports) - MSI is the only X99 motherboards that does 3-way SLI with 28 lanes
G.SKILL Value 16GB (4 x 4GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4-19200) Desktop Memory Model F4-2400C15Q-16GNT - $99
Thermalright True Spirit 140 BW Rev. A - $50

That's it. I should be able to overclock a little with the True Spirit. Hopefully it's not my 980Ti that's bad or I'll be RMA'ing it.