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"I Need a New PC!" 2015 Part 2. Read the OP. Rocking 2500K's until HBM2 and beyond.
- Thread starter Hazaro
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I used a Windows 10 lisence on my Macbook and then transferred it to a completely different desktop PC. It said it cannot activate and I used the phone option to basically tell a robot voice that I only have it on 1 PC. Lots of numbers needed to be punched in. Everything works.
EDIT: I just saw the pictures. I've got no clue.
Judging from the parts it seems to be enough.
How necessary is the after market cooling? I kinda wanted an SSD.
Use this tool to enter your specs and see if you need more power.
Doing a rough estimate of your hardware, 500 watts should be good, but could be cutting it close depending on how many fans, optical/storage drives, and other accessories you will be powering.
ZQQLANDER
Member
Whew, thanks. The instructions for the video card mentioned I need at least 400W power supply. Thought I might be cutting it a little close.
Edit: Thanks gnexus! Very useful tool. Think I'll be good.
It's basically a requirement. Surely your PC build isn't hinging on a $25 part?
Windows doesn't exactly allow for that, but if you don't mind a little bit of lag, this may work for you. A sound card with the stereo mixer capability is required, though. Some people have mentioned alternative software workarounds in the comments as well.
A year or two down the line with flagship graphics cards. Sooner if you don't mind playing on low settings and older games.
What power supply model do you have? Nah, 500 watts should be more than enough. The i5 6500 processor will draw from 50 watts and maybe up to 100 watts on load, the GTX 960 will draw a bit under 150 watts, and the motherboard itself 25~50 watts and each storage drive up to 10 watts each.
Aztechnology
Member
Damn... I have always been able to use the phone option in the past as well. Not sure why this time is different. Although I've never done it on 10 before.
ZQQLANDER
Member
Thanks for the reassurance.
EVGA Bronze 500W. Have a 250GB SSD and 1TB Hard Drive. No optical.
The i5 6600K doesn't come with any heatsink for cooling. You are kind of required to buy one. You could opt for a cheaper one if you wanted, but $25 for a cooler is not much to ask. It's not like removing the CPU cooler would leave you enough money in your budget to get an SSD, would it?
Well, if you are absolutely not interested in having an overclockable processor, you could opt for the cheaper i5 6500 (which comes with a basic heatsink), a B150 or H170 motherboard, and cheaper 2133MHz RAM.
You first put the io shield from the inside of the case to the back.Then you get the 9 screws that your case has for motherboard and you put your motherboards holes above these ones
http://imgur.com/4rdVbLp and tighten them....Unless your manual says otherwise.
http://imgur.com/VQhyx73
Just check holes like the ones marked red. there might not be 9 might be less..I certainly saw at least 2 on the upper 2 in the middle and 2 on the lower side
Check at page 9 on manual.Use the 9 bases that Define S gives you.Put the motherboard holes above those bases and use the other screws to tighten it
TyrantGuardian
Member
As someone who plays a lot of somewhat older games from the vast pc catalogue, this is patently false. I run many games at 4K/120fps with no issues at all. Though I realize people shopping pc parts are in it to max settings and only play the latest titles, I guess? Is that even true? I dunno. As much as I lament not being able to run Witcher 3 like that, I find massive enjoyment in making Hexen look ridiculous and run silky smooth in the Doomsday engine. Even 3D vision is cool there.
Well sure, I meant the kind of games people buy gaming PC's for: modern current games. It'll be a couple of years at the earliest to be able to play a modern game at 4K/144Hz and even then it'll happen on the $1000 (single) GPU's. It'll be a really long time before a $600 single GPU plays [that year's] new games at 4K/144Hz without running the game at the lowest settings available.
So I currently have Windows 10 Professional on my current PC.
When I build my new machine, do I really have to reinstall from my Win 7 Pro ISO all over again, and THEN wait for a download ticket for Windows 10 to override it as I did a few months ago? Just seems so silly.
When I build my new machine, do I really have to reinstall from my Win 7 Pro ISO all over again, and THEN wait for a download ticket for Windows 10 to override it as I did a few months ago? Just seems so silly.
Current version of the Windows 10 installer accepts Windows 7/8/8.1 product key straight.
The 1151 chips don't come with any cooler at all.
You have a license of Windows 10 that was upgraded from a license of Windows 7. You cannot transfer that license to a new PC.
If I use a retail license of Windows 7 or 8.1, which can be transferred from one machine to another, to upgrade to Windows 10 for free can I then transfer that underlying Windows 7/8.1 license to another machine and upgrade it to Windows 10 as well since Windows 7/8.1 is no longer in use on the other machine? (23 June 2015)
NO
NO
Only the K models don't. The cheaper non-overclocking models do.
I think he's saying that the IO shield has these annoying little metal tabs on it: http://techreport.com/r.x/buildguide/case-shield.jpg
Those are there to help make sure the chassis is grounded to all the ports, but they're also annoying because if you don't slide the mobo in at the right angle they'll get in the way, go inside of ports instead of just touching the outside, etc. Then they get bent up and it gets even worse.
So I should definitely buy an OEM copy of Windows 10 alongside my components? If I install Windows 7/8.1 but already redeemed my free upgrade, then I am forced to buy a new copy of Win 10?
Oh,i didnt know....I guess high end models dont have it?I built a new MSI X99A Mpower build and it didnt have it....But i still think it cant be that much of a problem having them
TheChewyWaffles
Member
In MSI I trust. Their twin frozr model just went in my PC and I love it. Been an MSI guy since the 570.
edit: speaking of which, I have an MSI GTX 970 for $250 shipped if anyone is interested. Twin Frozr model. Hope it's ok to mention it here. If not, I'll edit.
Aztechnology
Member
This is roughly the issue I just ran into after upgrading my hardware. I grabbed a copy of windows 10 pro off Reddit for $45 after I didn't find anything in the GAF B/S/T. Try the Microsoft Software Swap thread there.
Your free upgrade has been tied to that computer. You can try contacting Microsoft support for help transferring the Windows 10 license if you want to push the issue. My understanding is that Microsoft considers those free licenses of Windows 10 to be "digital entitlement" and not transferable like normal Windows 10 licenses bought from a store.
If you don't want to spend a lot of money and you don't mind taking a slight risk, you could get a cheap Windows license from a reddit seller. Here's my usual disclaimer on buying from there:
Cheap Windows licenses can be bought from reddit's microsoftsoftwareswap for cheap, around $15 USD or less. Windows 10 licenses are also available for a bit more. These are most likely legitimate keys that are resold from educational programs like Technet or MSDNAA/Dreamspark. However, you are dealing with a person instead of a retailer, and informal Windows keys sales are not approved by Microsoft and probably breaking some licensing agreement, but it's not illegal. The risks involved are that the person could be selling you a fake or used key, or that Microsoft may refuse to give you support and/or deactivate your license and refuse to reactivate it. That's not very likely, usually it only happens if the seller and their list of sold keys was caught. We've had people here using those keys without issues for a long time and others who say Microsoft deactivated their key after several months. The 7/8/8.1 keys should be upgradeable to Windows 10, but confirm with the seller to be sure, of course.
Aztechnology
Member
Here was my concern, which is why I went with a 10 key. I upgraded from 8.1 to 10 when it launched, I then upgraded components so was forced to re-activate. I couldn't find my 8.1 key so I was out of luck. I was worried that in the future, when I undoubtedly upgrade again the window for free upgrades would have passed and then my 8.1 key would no longer give me access to 10. Should I upgrade components again that is. This is because to my understanding the W10 entitlement is tied to my hardware and not a key. Was I wrong? Should have just gone with a 8.1 key? Regardless not a big concern for me, but may be of import to others here.
Here, I changed the parts list to include the changes I recommended earlier. Non-overclocking processor, cheaper RAM and motherboard to match, and includes a 250GB SSD.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 390 8GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($274.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Silencio 352 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $865.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-08 19:51 EST-0500
Once you activate Windows 10, a record of the digital entitlement activation is stored on Microsoft's servers Based on the PC hardware you had at the time of activation. The next time you reinstall Windows, it will check the hardware, generate some kind of unique ID from that info, and then check with Microsoft to see if they find a match. If there's a match, Windows 10 will automatically activate without needing you to enter any product key. I would also think that entering your Windows 8.1 product key would work for activation. If you change your hardware (parts upgrades and replacements) then it might not automatically reactivate and you'll have to contact Microsoft to get help with activation. However, you should not be forced to buy another copy of Windows at all.
You are only forced to get a new Windows license if you are building a new PC that is separate from the old one. I'm sorry you lost your Windows 8.1 key, though. The key is pretty important.
The build is quite fine but i believe having a better motherboard and an overclockable CPU is far more essential than an SSD.Plus u can always buy one after for quite cheap..
Thats why i suggest sticking to the previous build RGM79 has done for you
Also if he wants to stick to non overclockable CPU and since he is willing to spend 900 maybe he can get this http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-h170pro being ATX sized and generally better chipset/feautures?
Wowfunhappy
Member
Bit of an unusual question:
The main graphics card in my PC is a GTX 970. However, I have one old, obscure game I want to run that has graphical glitches with nVidia cards.
If I was to install a crappy ATI card into my motherboard's second PCIE slot, would there be any way to switch to the other graphics card (fairly easily) for this one game?
The main graphics card in my PC is a GTX 970. However, I have one old, obscure game I want to run that has graphical glitches with nVidia cards.
If I was to install a crappy ATI card into my motherboard's second PCIE slot, would there be any way to switch to the other graphics card (fairly easily) for this one game?
I'm really interested what old obscure game is worth even thinking about something like this?
Also as a bonus answer: Try playing the game in a virtual OS.
Wowfunhappy
Member
It's a rhythm game, so I can't use a VM because it will introduce latency.
Disconnect from the internet and try to activate. It will give you the option.
That motherboard isn't bad, it seems to have good reviews. It's a bit more expensive, though. And ATX isn't necessarily better. It'll be up to Cocaloch how to spend his money.
As far as I know, it's not possible to switch graphics cards via software like that.
Aztechnology
Member
I'll remember that for future reference. As for right now I just bought a key because I don't want the future headache since I can't find my 8.1 key.
Wow, that's a great price. Should sell quick.
Stilton Disco
Member
Well I've just built my first PC and something has clearly gone wrong somewhere.
Followed online guides and the manuals to the letter, everything was seemingly working perfectly when I first booted it, installed Windows 10 from an external DVD player without a hitch, it then restarted, and now it either freezes on the initial Windows load screen, or the screen goes to unlit black. If I try and boot from the DVD again, it gets to the blue/purple screen then freezes before the language options appear, then the screen goes black too.
So what might be fucked here?
Followed online guides and the manuals to the letter, everything was seemingly working perfectly when I first booted it, installed Windows 10 from an external DVD player without a hitch, it then restarted, and now it either freezes on the initial Windows load screen, or the screen goes to unlit black. If I try and boot from the DVD again, it gets to the blue/purple screen then freezes before the language options appear, then the screen goes black too.
So what might be fucked here?
opticalmace
Member
Could be a few things. I would try memtest86 to see if your RAM has an issue. I would also boot up from an Ubuntu USB stick and see if that works okay.
I assume you can poke around in your bios and whatnot? Are you overclocking at all?
Maybe list your system specs here.
Stilton Disco
Member
i5 4460 CPU
Asus h81m-c motherboard
R7 265 GPU
2x4gb hyperx fury 1866mhz Ram
500W psu
250 Sandisk SSD
No overclocking. I can access the bios fine, but I have no idea what I'm doing.
I did notice before hand that the motherboard says it's meant for 1600mhz ram, but when I looked it up people said that shouldn't be a problem. Could that be it?
So I'm finally looking to build a PC. My MacBook is out of commission and I'm not really interested in a laptop since I've been out of college for a few years now.
I'm looking to budget about $700 and I'm going to be exclusively playing for now on the living room TV. I'm not looking to run anything maxed out. I'd like to play most games at normal/high settings to get close to a 60 FPS frame rate.
I know stuff like Witcher 3 I wont be able to but it will be better than on console. I've watched a few videos as I'm completely new to building a PC other than replacing a few hard drives. Is this build going to be ok? Also do I need the cooling fan? I've seen some with and some without.
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 Processor (6M Cache, 3.5 GHz upto 3.90 GHz)
MB: ASRock Micro ATX DDR3 1333 LGA 1150 Motherboards H97M PRO4
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Storage: WD Blue 1TB Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon NITRO R9 380 4GB DL-DVI-I / DL-DVI-D / HDMI / DP Dual-X OC Graphics Card
Case: Thermaltake Versa N21 Translucent Panel ATX Mid Tower Window Gaming Computer Case Case
Power Supply: EVGA 500 W1 80+, 500W Continuous Power, 3 Year Warranty Power Supply 100-W1-0500-KR
Cooling Fan: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan
I'm looking to budget about $700 and I'm going to be exclusively playing for now on the living room TV. I'm not looking to run anything maxed out. I'd like to play most games at normal/high settings to get close to a 60 FPS frame rate.
I know stuff like Witcher 3 I wont be able to but it will be better than on console. I've watched a few videos as I'm completely new to building a PC other than replacing a few hard drives. Is this build going to be ok? Also do I need the cooling fan? I've seen some with and some without.
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 Processor (6M Cache, 3.5 GHz upto 3.90 GHz)
MB: ASRock Micro ATX DDR3 1333 LGA 1150 Motherboards H97M PRO4
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Storage: WD Blue 1TB Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon NITRO R9 380 4GB DL-DVI-I / DL-DVI-D / HDMI / DP Dual-X OC Graphics Card
Case: Thermaltake Versa N21 Translucent Panel ATX Mid Tower Window Gaming Computer Case Case
Power Supply: EVGA 500 W1 80+, 500W Continuous Power, 3 Year Warranty Power Supply 100-W1-0500-KR
Cooling Fan: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan
Lemonade727
Member
Heard it was a good idea to list my GPUs in here as well as the BST. Figured I'd just link to the post instead of copying the whole thing in here. I'll remove if needed. Selling 2 980s but selling individually as well. $400/ea shipped or 750 shipped for both.
http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=191635872&postcount=8744
http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=191635872&postcount=8744
darkwing-buck
Member
Will a EVGA 80+ Bronze 600 Watt PSU be enough for my GTX 970?
opticalmace
Member
Looks like crap, at least in my experience. It's an analog signal, use DVI or HDMI or DP if you can.
Should be fine. Try setting the ram to 1600mhz in the bios if you'd like. I'd still try the memtest86 and ubuntu USB stick thing.
Yup, much more than enough.
flyinpiranha
Member
Anybody? Would also consider DDR4 since it's actually only another $100 or so.
Wanted to free my HDMI but I guess I'll use that. Thanks
opticalmace
Member
I'd look at something like this. I would probably go for 16GB of DDR4-3000, but either way is fine. You could go to a cheaper motherboard if you want to save a bit of cash. And even if you're not planning on OC'ing I'd highly recommend a Z170 board and the K cpu. It can really extend the life of your system considerably, and you might decide to overclock down the line.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($260.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($165.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $512.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-08 22:45 EST-0500
Doesn't hurt to try it out. Maybe you won't notice a difference.
Stilton Disco
Member
And how do I change the ram speed and where would memtest86 be?
opticalmace
Member
Leave the ram speed for now and just do memtest and the ubuntu usb stick imo. Memtest is just at http://www.memtest86.com/. You can load it onto a USB stick.
darkwing-buck
Member
Cool. Thanks!
I'm committed to waiting for Pascal, but I've just been browsing around some custom-build sites for shits and giggles. Do they still make, how do I put this, "aesthetically pleasing" cases? Everything out there seems ghastly. They're either decked out in garish lights or with these pointless transparent sides or have just really weird physical dimensions.
I'm planning on having this thing hooked up to my living room television, a room that normal people will frequent. I can't have it looking like something my 13 year-old self would doodle on the back of his homework..
I'm planning on having this thing hooked up to my living room television, a room that normal people will frequent. I can't have it looking like something my 13 year-old self would doodle on the back of his homework..
Do you prefer to buy from Amazon, or are other retailers okay? Your build isn't bad, but not the best for price to performance. For example, for $650 you could get a PC with an R9 390 which can allow you to play more games at 60FPS and higher settings.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H-A Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin ECO2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 390 8GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($274.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $646.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-08 22:57 EST-0500
Sure. Would you want something with subdued design like a Fractal Design case with subtle looks or a Silverstone case that can blend in with home theatre receiver equipment? Or is there a specific look you might want?
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