• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

"I Need a New PC!" 2015 Part 2. Read the OP. Rocking 2500K's until HBM2 and beyond.

Status
Not open for further replies.
Has anybody experienced booting issues after the newest windows 10 update? Sometimes my pc gets stuck on the Asus screen and I have reset the computer until it finally boots
 

Xis

Member
I just got a new PC with a GTX 960. I have a 23" 1080p monitor (a Dell) with a TN panel. Is it worth spending $250 to go to a 27" 1080p IPS monitor? I don't think my graphics card will perform well enough for 1440p.

Edit: My PC is used almost entirely for gaming.
 

Gumbie

Member
Has anybody experienced booting issues after the newest windows 10 update? Sometimes my pc gets stuck on the Asus screen and I have reset the computer until it finally boots

If you're getting stuck that early it has nothing to do with Windows. Sounds like you might have a hardware issue.
 

TBiddy

Member
I just got a new PC with a GTX 960. I have a 23" 1080p monitor (a Dell) with a TN panel. Is it worth spending $250 to go to a 27" 1080p IPS monitor? I don't think my graphics card will perform well enough for 1440p.

Edit: My PC is used almost entirely for gaming.

Depends. Do you think you need a bigger monitor? Can you afford it? Do you have room for it?

You won't gain much of an improvement, I'd argue, besides a bit more screen estate.
 
This chassis comes with 3 fans, 2 at the front and 1 at the top. The front ones will be replaced with the H100i GTX's radiator I assume. So I'll need 2 120mm for top and 2 80mm for the back. Should I also get 2 fans for the bottom? Will there even be any space under the 980 TI? And how useful would they be anyway?

3 front intakes and 2 exhausts (one top one back) is the way to go for me. More than that is just over kill. You can check out this video from Linus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OmkmluAYAQ

I just got a new PC with a GTX 960. I have a 23" 1080p monitor (a Dell) with a TN panel. Is it worth spending $250 to go to a 27" 1080p IPS monitor? I don't think my graphics card will perform well enough for 1440p.

Edit: My PC is used almost entirely for gaming.

In my opinion, you should instead save that up for a better GPU. But if you prefer bigger display, then go with the monitor, if you can wait and save up for a 120HZ or 144HZ then you should do that.
 

NeonBlack

Member
Felt like this was the best place to ask this. I was thinking about buying disc since I have a GCU account with Best Buy and they don't seem to sell download codes, so I had a questions.

Is there any difference with the physical version? Like, would I have to do verification by putting the disc in everytine or are the games usually just added to steam?
 
I realize this is more of a hardware thread but I haven't found any consistent useful info anywhere else.

I seem to have a memory leak that has persisted through the Windows 7 -> Win10 upgrade I think I found the culprit, a driver related to hard drives but I can't really find out how to confirm the cause and fix it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Felt like this was the best place to ask this. I was thinking about buying disc since I have a GCU account with Best Buy and they don't seem to sell download codes, so I had a questions.

Is there any difference with the physical version? Like, would I have to do verification by putting the disc in everytine or are the games usually just added to steam?

Physical copies usually have cd-keys/serial keys that you can redeem on steam.
 

Shaldome

Member
Do you prefer to order from mindfactory.de and caseking.de, or are other retailers okay? I'd recommend looking at geizhals.de, it's a great price comparison shopping website especially for Germany and the EU.

I don't mind other retailers, but I would prefer it to be in one place as my sister in law wants to order it and that would make it simpler for her. These two retailers should actually be the cheapest most of the time, at least that was the case when I looked for parts a year ago.
 

sikkinixx

Member
I'm still rocking a 460GTX (and 2500k). I'd like to be able to run modern stuff at 1080p, doesn't have to be maxed or 100% 60fps, just as good or better than consoles would be nice. Should I be looking at like a 950 or something?
 

Shawn6661

Member
I'm still rocking a 460GTX (and 2500k). I'd like to be able to run modern stuff at 1080p, doesn't have to be maxed or 100% 60fps, just as good or better than consoles would be nice. Should I be looking at like a 950 or something?

Whats your PSU ? I guess a 950 is a good choice, but as you say dont expect running last AAA at 60 fps.

tw3lao7c.png
 

Vaettir

Member
Now if anyone could help me out with a couple of questions that'd be awesome as I am mentally handicapped when it comes to measurements and stuff.

1) This chassis comes with 3 fans, 2 at the front and 1 at the top. The front ones will be replaced with the H100i GTX's radiator I assume. So I'll need 2 120mm for top and 2 80mm for the back. Should I also get 2 fans for the bottom? Will there even be any space under the 980 TI? And how useful would they be anyway?

2) Which fans should I buy? I know the Noctua ones are considered the best ones out there but they look a little expensive and are a very hideous shade of brown. I'd definitely prefer quiet fans though. I'd also love to get some with LEDs on them, I've seen several rigs online with fans that bathe the entire casing in light. So are there viable quiet LED fans out there, or do people just put LED strips on them?

3) Would I need some sort of additional wires and/or splitter to attach all these fans to my motherboard? If yes, could someone please link one on Amazon?

4) I've heard the H100i GTX fans are loud. Any thoughts on this? Also, assuming if I'm getting LED fans I'd like the same color for this cooler's fans too.

Thanks in advance!

1. You shouldn't need THAT much airflow unless the environment this computer is in is pretty hot. I wouldn't bother grabbing the 80mm rear exhaust as the top 120mm exhaust will pull out an equivalent amount of air out of the case. With the way the tubing wraps around the case, you might not have the clearance to fit an additional 120mm on top. The cooler already comes with two fans, so you have extra to play with.

2. If you don't like the brown color of the Noctua, you can opt for the industrial versions. These cost at a premium, operate in tougher conditions, and come in the color black. You could also go for the tried and tested Gentle Typhoon AP-15 1850rpm fans. Cost about the same or sometimes cheaper than the Noctua NF-F12. I'd suggest trying to grab at least two of these for the radiator. If these cost too much, you could get the Cougar Vortex PWM fans. Slightly cheaper than the GT's, come in black, and have solid SP performance.

3. I see three system PWM fan headers on the motherboard. The cooler comes with a Y splitter so up to two fans can be connected to the CPU header. You can grab some of these Silverstone PWM splitters if you need to have more fans.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B46XKKQ/?tag=neogaf0e-20

4. I mentioned the Gentle Typhoons in 2. I wouldn't recommend getting LED fans. Not nearly as bright as an LED strip and some can't perform as good as the Noctua or Gentle Typhoon. Bitfenix Alchemy 2.0 Magnetic strips are available on Amazon now in a variety of colors.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=bitfenix+alchemy+2.0

Hey guys, is this a good ssd for gaming?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sandisk...lack/3075012.p?id=1219570102967&skuId=3075012

It's on sale at best buy for 59 bucks....

Most Sandisk SSD's are solid for consumer use. I don't see a problem with gaming.
 

isamu

OMFG HOLY MOTHER OF MARY IN HEAVEN I CANT BELIEVE IT WTF WHERE ARE MY SEDATIVES AAAAHHH
Hi guys,

Decided to go with a Devil's Canyon 4790K upgrade instead of the skylake. Can you please take a quick look at these parts and tell me if this is a good deal from Newegg?


Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0 GHz LGA 1150 BX80646I74790K Configurator


1 × Intel Core i7-4790K Devil’s Canyon Quad-Core 4.0 GHz LGA 1150 BX80646I74790K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4600
Item #: N82E16819117369

1 × GIGABYTE G1 Gaming GA-Z97X-Gaming 7 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128708

2 × CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model CMY16GX3M2A2400C11
Item #: N82E16820233778

1 × SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 2 TB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-75E2T0B/AM
Item #: N82E16820147441

Grand total $1370 from Newegg.

(I already have everything else...980ti, PC tower, power supply, optical drives, etc)

Good deal? Should I buy now or wait til Black Friday/Cyber Monday?

What parts if anything should I change?
 

Vaettir

Member
Good deal? Should I buy now or wait til Black Friday/Cyber Monday?

What parts if anything should I change?

These all sound fine. I don't think the 2TB Evo will ever be lower than that for another year. Any kind of sale will be negligible in the mean time. Unless you live near a Microcenter, the 4790k from Newegg is at a good price.
 
Hi guys,

Decided to go with a Devil's Canyon 4790K upgrade instead of the skylake. Can you please take a quick look at these parts and tell me if this is a good deal from Newegg?


Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0 GHz LGA 1150 BX80646I74790K Configurator




Grand total $1370 from Newegg.

(I already have everything else...980ti, PC tower, power supply, optical drives, etc)

Good deal? Should I buy now or wait til Black Friday/Cyber Monday?

What parts if anything should I change?

A 2TB SSD seems like big overkill, especially since they are evolving pretty quickly. Are you only buying from Newegg?

Might be easier to compare if you used PC part picker.
 

FinKL

Member
Hey guys, is this a good ssd for gaming?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sandisk...lack/3075012.p?id=1219570102967&skuId=3075012

It's on sale at best buy for 59 bucks....

Any SSD will be > Mechanical HDD. With that said, I'm pretty sure these are at the low-medium end of read/write speeds on SSD and will be good value. The Samsung Evo/Crucial MX/BX are faster, cost more, and real world performance gain would be neglible. I think I'm gonna pick up the 480gb at Amazon for $110
 

sikkinixx

Member
Whats your PSU ? I guess a 950 is a good choice, but as you say dont expect running last AAA at 60 fps.

tw3lao7c.png

I think it's a 450W. The whole thing needs a good clean out and some new fans since it kinda crammed all the shit into my case a while back.

I know the exchange rate to Canada hurts things but fucking hell cards are expensive now.
 

RGM79

Member
Can anyone enlighten me on bottlenecking?, im gonna get a r9 390 that i want to pair with a haswell or skylake i5K but i currently have an i3 2120 (sandy bridge) cpu, and want to use it for the time until i find a good cpu/mb combo, lets say i can play farcry 4 at 900p with mid settings fine with a 6870, will i notice a difference if i put the 390 or will i get stuck on 720p/900p due to the processor?

The R9 390 will definitely perform better than your 6870 even when used with your i3 processor. That said, in some games you may not get the full potential performance of the R9 390, that's all. No, you will not be stuck at 720p/900p.

Ok so here's a list of parts for my new PC. I already bought the chassis, GPU (found a cheap deal so opted for this instead of Gigabyte G1), cooler and PSU (I know 1000w is overkill but again, found a really good deal).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($144.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($96.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($147.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($632.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Air 240 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($154.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1602.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-23 07:37 EST-0500

Now if anyone could help me out with a couple of questions that'd be awesome as I am mentally handicapped when it comes to measurements and stuff.

1) This chassis comes with 3 fans, 2 at the front and 1 at the top. The front ones will be replaced with the H100i GTX's radiator I assume. So I'll need 2 120mm for top and 2 80mm for the back. Should I also get 2 fans for the bottom? Will there even be any space under the 980 TI? And how useful would they be anyway?

2) Which fans should I buy? I know the Noctua ones are considered the best ones out there but they look a little expensive and are a very hideous shade of brown. I'd definitely prefer quiet fans though. I'd also love to get some with LEDs on them, I've seen several rigs online with fans that bathe the entire casing in light. So are there viable quiet LED fans out there, or do people just put LED strips on them?

3) Would I need some sort of additional wires and/or splitter to attach all these fans to my motherboard? If yes, could someone please link one on Amazon?

4) I've heard the H100i GTX fans are loud. Any thoughts on this? Also, assuming if I'm getting LED fans I'd like the same color for this cooler's fans too.

Thanks in advance!

1 & 2. I'd skip getting 80mm fans, they aren't really necessary and depending on the model can get rather loud. You probably don't need fans for the bottom of the case either. The Air 240 should handle temperatures very well, so you don't need to use up every fan mount anyway. I'd recommend that you build the PC as is and then check the temperatures. If for some reason airflow is inadequate, then you can add fans as needed. If you're interested in low noise, filling the case with fans isn't a good idea unless you have a fan controller or a means of controlling the speed of all of the fans via the motherboard fan headers.

Corsair makes quiet editions of their SP and AF line of 120mm fans, and some have LEDs in a variety of colors. They should suit your needs just fine, it seems like many people are satisfied with them. Separate LED strips are an option, but would require you to run an extra power cable or two from your PSU.

3. It depends on how many fans you want to hook up. The motherboard has only three fan headers. The H100i uses one fan connector and powers the two fans for the radiator with cables from the pump unit. Here's a nice cable that allows three fans to be plugged into each header.

4. You can always replace the H100i fans. Corsair's SP line (static pressure) is better for radiators than their AF line (airflow) and will match the rest of your PC if you get the Corsair fans with LEDs.

Hey guys, is this a good ssd for gaming?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sandisk...lack/3075012.p?id=1219570102967&skuId=3075012

It's on sale at best buy for 59 bucks....

Not bad, it's a good price. The performance isn't amazing or anything, but should do quite well.
 
1. You shouldn't need THAT much airflow unless the environment this computer is in is pretty hot. I wouldn't bother grabbing the 80mm rear exhaust as the top 120mm exhaust will pull out an equivalent amount of air out of the case. With the way the tubing wraps around the case, you might not have the clearance to fit an additional 120mm on top. The cooler already comes with two fans, so you have extra to play with.

2. If you don't like the brown color of the Noctua, you can opt for the industrial versions. These cost at a premium, operate in tougher conditions, and come in the color black. You could also go for the tried and tested Gentle Typhoon AP-15 1850rpm fans. Cost about the same or sometimes cheaper than the Noctua NF-F12. I'd suggest trying to grab at least two of these for the radiator. If these cost too much, you could get the Cougar Vortex PWM fans. Slightly cheaper than the GT's, come in black, and have solid SP performance.

3. I see three system PWM fan headers on the motherboard. The cooler comes with a Y splitter so up to two fans can be connected to the CPU header. You can grab some of these Silverstone PWM splitters if you need to have more fans.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B46XKKQ/?tag=neogaf0e-20

4. I mentioned the Gentle Typhoons in 2. I wouldn't recommend getting LED fans. Not nearly as bright as an LED strip and some can't perform as good as the Noctua or Gentle Typhoon. Bitfenix Alchemy 2.0 Magnetic strips are available on Amazon now in a variety of colors.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=bitfenix+alchemy+2.0

Thanks very much for your reply. I was actually considering the Corsair SP 120s. Are those not viable? They had good reviews and looked nice and cheap.

Is this the black Noctua you meant?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KFCR5BA/?tag=neogaf0e-20

There are other more expensive versions of this too, with 3000 PWM and stuff.

And yeah, I noticed that the cooler's wires may not allow 2 fans top. But I think 2 at the back are important for exhaust as I read several people had high temps before they got those.

Anyway, thanks again for your help!
 

theRizzle

Member
So I am building a new rig, and this is my most interesting machine I've ever built. It's a little out there and definitely not what everyone (or maybe anyone) is looking for, but for me in my current situation it's perfect. I just wanted to post it here so you guys can get a glimpse into my madness.

What I have realized since I built my first PC (P4 2.8ghz + Radeon 9700 Pro), what I expect out of a PC is probably a lot more than what most people expect, and the laptop I bought a few months ago is nice (spent $2000 CDN) but still not quite cutting it for me as an every day PC.

Thus, I present to you THIS:

CASE: Bitfenix Prodigy Midnight Black
CPU: i7-6700k
COOLER: Noctua NH-D15
MOBO: GA-Z170N-Gaming 5
RAM: Gskill TridentZ DDR4 3000 32gb (16gb x 2)
PSU: Silverstone ST65F-G 650W (140mm to fit in the case)
GPU: ASUS GTX 970 4gb (the short version)
SSD: Samsung 950 Pro M.2 256gb
HDD1: WD Black 6tb
HDD2: WD Green 6tb
HDD3: WD Green 6tb
HDD4: WD Green 6tb
ODD: Pioneer Bluray Writer
OS: Windows 10 Home


Total Cost: Just over $4,000 CDN


So there's a few reasons for this insane build with over $1300 in HDD's alone. I still have every single internal and external drive that I've had since that P4 build 13 years ago. I want to finally consolidate every picture, video & song I've ever downloaded and start organizing them so I can get rid of the 30+ hard drives I have lying around. I also have a ton of personal footage and music that isn't backed up at all so I'd like to have all that on one local HD. The Prodigy is the smallest case I can find that will hold that many 3.5" drives, which is literally the ONLY reason I chose it. I have an extremely small desk area, and will also have to put the PC in a suitcase to get it to where I live so the smaller the better.

The WD Black is for my Steam Library, which I will download completely over Christmas when I go visit family because my connection at home is atrocious (If you listen to the Giant Beastcast, I'm the guy who wrote in a few weeks ago living in the Arctic). I picked the 970 because it was the most powerful small card I could find, and for the foreseeable future I'll only be playing at 1080P anyways so I'm hoping that I'll get a few years out of it. I figure it'll be a while before I buy a new 4k monitor, and hopefully there are good single card solutions for that resolution by then.

I'm not really looking for any advice as I've been researching for a while and this is pretty much exactly what I want. Also as I'm sure you can glean I'm not too concerned about budget for this rig... mostly just wanted to share.
 

RGM79

Member
So I am building a new rig, and this is my most interesting machine I've ever built. It's a little out there and definitely not what everyone (or maybe anyone) is looking for, but for me in my current situation it's perfect. I just wanted to post it here so you guys can get a glimpse into my madness.

What I have realized since I built my first PC (P4 2.8ghz + Radeon 9700 Pro), what I expect out of a PC is probably a lot more than what most people expect, and the laptop I bought a few months ago is nice (spent $2000 CDN) but still not quite cutting it for me as an every day PC.

Thus, I present to you THIS:

CASE: Bitfenix Prodigy Midnight Black
CPU: i7-6700k
COOLER: Noctua NH-D15
MOBO: GA-Z170N-Gaming 5
RAM: Gskill TridentZ DDR4 3000 32gb (16gb x 2)
PSU: Silverstone ST65F-G 650W (140mm to fit in the case)
GPU: ASUS GTX 970 4gb (the short version)
SSD: Samsung 950 Pro M.2 256gb
HDD1: WD Black 6tb
HDD2: WD Green 6tb
HDD3: WD Green 6tb
HDD4: WD Green 6tb
ODD: Pioneer Bluray Writer
OS: Windows 10 Home
Total Cost: Just over $4,000 CDN

So there's a few reasons for this insane build with over $1300 in HDD's alone. I still have every single internal and external drive that I've had since that P4 build 13 years ago. I want to finally consolidate every picture, video & song I've ever downloaded and start organizing them so I can get rid of the 30+ hard drives I have lying around. I also have a ton of personal footage and music that isn't backed up at all so I'd like to have all that on one local HD. The Prodigy is the smallest case I can find that will hold that many 3.5" drives, which is literally the ONLY reason I chose it. I have an extremely small desk area, and will also have to put the PC in a suitcase to get it to where I live so the smaller the better.

The WD Black is for my Steam Library, which I will download completely over Christmas when I go visit family because my connection at home is atrocious (If you listen to the Giant Beastcast, I'm the guy who wrote in a few weeks ago living in the Arctic). I picked the 970 because it was the most powerful small card I could find, and for the foreseeable future I'll only be playing at 1080P anyways so I'm hoping that I'll get a few years out of it. I figure it'll be a while before I buy a new 4k monitor, and hopefully there are good single card solutions for that resolution by then.

I'm not really looking for any advice as I've been researching for a while and this is pretty much exactly what I want. Also as I'm sure you can glean I'm not too concerned about budget for this rig... mostly just wanted to share.

Killer machine. I know you don't want advice.. but since you're posting here, we might as well share comments on it. WD green drives have a "head parking feature" which is pointless and could wear down the hard drive sooner. Hitachi or Toshiba or other WD models (red, black) are better for not having it. WD Blacks can be quite loud, though.

Oh and if money is no object, then an AMD R9 Nano would be a more powerful card than the GTX 970 while being quite small.

I don't mind other retailers, but I would prefer it to be in one place as my sister in law wants to order it and that would make it simpler for her. These two retailers should actually be the cheapest most of the time, at least that was the case when I looked for parts a year ago.

Well, your parts list isn't bad at all. The only thing I'd be a little wary about is the R9 280, it's quite an old graphics card. I'm sure you could find a GTX 960 4GB that will run cooler and quieter.
 

theRizzle

Member
Killer machine. I know you don't want advice.. but since you're posting here, we might as well share comments on it. WD green drives have a "head parking feature" which is pointless and could wear down the hard drive sooner. Hitachi or Toshiba or other WD models (red, black) are better for not having it. WD Blacks can be quite loud, though.

Oh and if money is no object, then an AMD R9 Nano would be a more powerful card than the GTX 970 while being quite small.

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I worded it poorly that I wasn't looking for "advice" as I am still definitely interested in comments... just not so much the "That's too much RAM, nobody needs that much HD space, etc." type of comments.

I have been squarely on Team Green for GPUs basically since AMD bought ATi, and I'd never heard of the Nano until today. If I was going for pure power today, I'd probably get that instead. Unfortunately, a new monitor is a few years down the road for me most likely and I'll only be able to download games every 6 months because my internet is abhorrent, so the PC will stay as my "nostalgia" machine for now. I think the 970 should do me just fine at 1080p for a while.

I'd never heard that about the WD Greens.I only picked them because it was the cheapest 6tb drive that isn't a Seagate. I don't know if I can justify an extra $300 ($100 per HD) to go up to Blacks, but the Toshiba drives are only $20 per drive more right now so I think I might go that route instead. Cheers!
 

Shaldome

Member
Well, your parts list isn't bad at all. The only thing I'd be a little wary about is the R9 280, it's quite an old graphics card. I'm sure you could find a GTX 960 4GB that will run cooler and quieter.

Thanks, don't know why I did not check the 960 must have thought that it would be more expensive. Changed the list to include a 960 4GB now.

Only leaves the TFT. Anyone have a tip for a cheap TFT? The ones in the OT do not seem available any more.

Is this something equivalent or still okay?
 

Uff duh

Banned
Getting ready upgrade my CPU to the i7-6700k and the price jumped up to over $400 on Newegg and Amazon so I was looking for alternatives and came across the i7-5820K. My question is should I wait untill the i7-6700k comes back down to retail and snag that or is the i7-5820k a better part. Also what are the difference in the x-99 platform and the z-170? Ill spend the $400 on the part if its worth it btw.
 

Vaettir

Member
Thanks very much for your reply. I was actually considering the Corsair SP 120s. Are those not viable? They had good reviews and looked nice and cheap.

Is this the black Noctua you meant?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KFCR5BA/?tag=neogaf0e-20

There are other more expensive versions of this too, with 3000 PWM and stuff.

And yeah, I noticed that the cooler's wires may not allow 2 fans top. But I think 2 at the back are important for exhaust as I read several people had high temps before they got those.

Anyway, thanks again for your help!

The Corsair SP 120s are okay if you wanted to color match the build. They are louder than the GT's or the Noctua's at higher RPM's. Depends if acoustics matter to you.

That Industrial NF-F12 also comes in a 2000 RPM version. But they all have low noise adaptors to reduce the RPM.

Getting ready upgrade my CPU to the i7-6700k and the price jumped up to over $400 on Newegg and Amazon so I was looking for alternatives and came across the i7-5820K. My question is should I wait untill the i7-6700k comes back down to retail and snag that or is the i7-5820k a better part. Also what are the difference in the x-99 platform and the z-170? Ill spend the $400 on the part if its worth it btw.

You'd pay more for the X99 motherboard than you would on the Z170 board is one thing. The 6700k is still a better CPU for gaming than the 5820k because of its clock speeds. The extra cores benefit if you're doing extra workloads like rendering. If you decided to grab either now, the prices would be relatively similar, give or take $30-$40 difference.

Both are fantastic options either way so you won't be disappointed.
 
My dad needs a new laptop on the cheap for work and he called me to ask.

This is a pretty good deal right? I paid 1100 at launch with student discount and still use it, lol.
Surface Pro 2

Just wondering if there's anything better given black friday sales coming.
 

Astra

Member
I just nabbed an Asus PB278Q for $329 CDN. That deal came at the perfect time, as I was looking for a new monitor and wanted to go 1440p. That particular monitor wasn't my first choice, but it was on my list of possible purchases. At that price though, I jumped on it right away.

Now the question is, do I get a Displayport cable, or Dual-Link DVI? I need about 15ft of cable.
 

RGM79

Member
I just nabbed an Asus PB278Q for $329 CDN. That deal came at the perfect time, as I was looking for a new monitor and wanted to go 1440p. That particular monitor wasn't my first choice, but it was on my list of possible purchases. At that price though, I jumped on it right away.

Now the question is, do I get a Displayport cable, or Dual-Link DVI? I need about 15ft of cable.

Go with displayport, it supports longer cable lengths.
 

soco

Member
Getting ready upgrade my CPU to the i7-6700k and the price jumped up to over $400 on Newegg and Amazon so I was looking for alternatives and came across the i7-5820K. My question is should I wait untill the i7-6700k comes back down to retail and snag that or is the i7-5820k a better part. Also what are the difference in the x-99 platform and the z-170? Ill spend the $400 on the part if its worth it btw.

Hah. i wasn't sure if it was just me or not. Similar thing happened to the gtx 970 i was looking at.
 

Mr. Robot

Member
The R9 390 will definitely perform better than your 6870 even when used with your i3 processor. That said, in some games you may not get the full potential performance of the R9 390, that's all. No, you will not be stuck at 720p/900p.

Got it, thanks for the input man.
 

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
So, I want to update my GPU. My current rig is a 3770k 16gb ddr3 and my GPU is a GeForce 670gtx 2gb vram. What's the best out there right now... The 970? Any good deals?
 

RGM79

Member
Anyone got any opinions on this SYBER Steam Machine?

It's currently $100 off instant and $100 off mail-in rebate. It's similar to the Alienware Steam Machine, but unlike alienware it gives you many more options for upgrading and customization before even buying it.

Going mainly by specs, the pricing of the $589 model is a little bit more expensive than buying similar parts separately and building it, but if you like the aesthetic and smaller size, it's a plus. All of them seem to be sold out already though, so I can't see how far it can be customized. Clicking on them just brings me to the main website.

So, I want to update my GPU. My current rig is a 3770k 16gb ddr3 and my GPU is a GeForce 670gtx 2gb vram. What's the best out there right now... The 970? Any good deals?

GTX 970, GTX 980 Ti, or R9 390 for good price to performance ratio.
 
OK..anyone else notice on their monitor that color settings/clarity is improved when going dvi instead of hdmi?

I just bought and older model Acer monitor H236HL, and it's display looks better through DVI than it does through HDMI.

Anyone know why that is? Oh, and my color settings won't stick when I connect via HDMI either.

My video card is an MSI GTX 970.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Was going to jump on the $210 4690K with a Gigabyte B85 motherboard, with Visa Checkout that would be just $20 more than the 4590 combo with the same board. But the CPUs have that dumb Intel gift attached so you can't get the Visa Checkout bonus. $20 difference would be worth it for the potential to get a Z97 board later, but $55, not so much.

Still, this combo looks pretty nice. $205 after rebate for an Intel quad core and a seemingly decent budget motherboard. Unless there is some catch for B85 I'm not aware of, it seems like a really solid combo deal.


Should be a nice step up from the Athlon II x3 he's upgrading from.
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
Hmm, I've currently got a 1080p 23" 60hz monitor that I've had 6 or 7 years and was thinking about a possible upgrade. At first I was leaning towards 4K, but at only 27" or 28" it seems like having so many pixels would be unnecessary/wasted and you would also have to scale/enlarge text in windows to make it readable anyway. Then I considered 1440p @ 144hz, but that also seems like a waste with so many games being locked to 30 fps or 60 fps these days. Maybe I should just keep going with what I've got haha.
 

Finaika

Member
Hmm, I've currently got a 1080p 23" 60hz monitor that I've had 6 or 7 years and was thinking about a possible upgrade. At first I was leaning towards 4K, but at only 27" or 28" it seems like having so many pixels would be unnecessary/wasted and you would also have to scale/enlarge text in windows to make it readable anyway. Then I considered 1440p @ 144hz, but that also seems like a waste with so many games being locked to 30 fps or 60 fps these days. Maybe I should just keep going with what I've got haha.

Upgrade to a 32" 1080p 60Hz monitor.
 

BubbaMc

Member
Minecraft has pretty low requirements, but will they be running a lot of mods? That might push the required specs a bit higher.

Do you have any idea of how much of a budget you'd want to limit both PCs to?

Thanks for the reply. I think the most I'd want to spend is $3000AUD (including monitors/keyboards/mice). They're always trying new mods also.
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
Upgrade to a 32" 1080p 60Hz monitor.

I'd be worse off because I'd have the same resolution but a larger screen, resulting in lower PPI. I think I'd rather just get a 4k tv at that point lol, although input lag would be a concern with switching over to a tv. I don't plan to buy anything soon anyway so I've got plenty of time to think it over.
 

RGM79

Member
Thanks for the reply. I think the most I'd want to spend is $3000AUD (including monitors/keyboards/mice). They're always trying new mods also.

A parts list like this should do quite well:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($275.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: G.Skill Value 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.00 @ IJK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ Centre Com)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 390 8GB PCS+ Video Card ($475.00 @ CPL Online)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($45.00 @ Scorptec)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($72.00 @ CPL Online)
Keyboard: Gigabyte GK-KM6150 Wired Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($12.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $1072.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-24 16:12 AEDT+1100

At first, I was going to recommend a cheaper GTX 960 or R9 380 or R9 280X, but if you'd prefer to go with 1440p monitors then a GTX 970 or R9 390 is in order. Overkill for Minecraft, but it fits into your budget and will happily run any other games they may want to try including the latest and should last a couple of years without needing upgrades. The case and keyboard/mouse can be changed out for something else if it isn't to your liking, those are cheap but okay options. The only thing I haven't chosen are the monitors. I'm not much of a monitor guy, hopefully someone else can chime in with recommendations for the Australian dollar. Hopefully ~$860 is enough to account for two decent 1440p monitors.

Of course, if you're absolutely sure they are only interested in Minecraft and nothing else, the computers could cost less with some lower end parts and still be adequate for Minecraft at 1440p and 60FPS. Or going with two 1080p monitors would require less graphics card power to maintain 60FPS and cost less as well.
 

Burai

shitonmychest57
I'd never heard that about the WD Greens.I only picked them because it was the cheapest 6tb drive that isn't a Seagate. I don't know if I can justify an extra $300 ($100 per HD) to go up to Blacks, but the Toshiba drives are only $20 per drive more right now so I think I might go that route instead. Cheers!

Don't necessarily be put off by the WD Greens. I've got them in my HTPC and store all of my media on them. They are quiet 5200 RPM drives that will park for energy conservation when not in use which makes them perfect for my use case. I don't really need these drives to be running when I'm not accessing them and I certainly don't need them to be particularly fast for media access.

If you're using them for little-used archived files you might find them ideal for your stuff.
 
1 & 2. I'd skip getting 80mm fans, they aren't really necessary and depending on the model can get rather loud. You probably don't need fans for the bottom of the case either. The Air 240 should handle temperatures very well, so you don't need to use up every fan mount anyway. I'd recommend that you build the PC as is and then check the temperatures. If for some reason airflow is inadequate, then you can add fans as needed. If you're interested in low noise, filling the case with fans isn't a good idea unless you have a fan controller or a means of controlling the speed of all of the fans via the motherboard fan headers.

Corsair makes quiet editions of their SP and AF line of 120mm fans, and some have LEDs in a variety of colors. They should suit your needs just fine, it seems like many people are satisfied with them. Separate LED strips are an option, but would require you to run an extra power cable or two from your PSU.

3. It depends on how many fans you want to hook up. The motherboard has only three fan headers. The H100i uses one fan connector and powers the two fans for the radiator with cables from the pump unit. Here's a nice cable that allows three fans to be plugged into each header.

4. You can always replace the H100i fans. Corsair's SP line (static pressure) is better for radiators than their AF line (airflow) and will match the rest of your PC if you get the Corsair fans with LEDs.

Thanks for your reply! The thing is I'm currently located in a place where I can't buy shit and a friend's flying in from the US on the 7th, so I thought I'd just buy the fans now in case I need them later and am unable to do so. But yeah, makes sense to not buy too many. Thanks again, you were very helpful! :)
 
Hmm, I've currently got a 1080p 23" 60hz monitor that I've had 6 or 7 years and was thinking about a possible upgrade. At first I was leaning towards 4K, but at only 27" or 28" it seems like having so many pixels would be unnecessary/wasted and you would also have to scale/enlarge text in windows to make it readable anyway. Then I considered 1440p @ 144hz, but that also seems like a waste with so many games being locked to 30 fps or 60 fps these days. Maybe I should just keep going with what I've got haha.

100hz+ is worth it even if the number of games where yo can hit 100 fps is limited. Even just browsing the internet and on your desktop it just feels nicer.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom