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[RGM79]

Well updated to the latest bios, which literally said RAM update dated from a week ago...

Everything seems fine now, no crashes or hiccups, though I haven't tried XMP again yet. Will try tomorrow, too late now.

Edit: beveling send that by using the Asus auto overclock turned XMP on and everything is running great.

Good to know it worked out. A friend of mine had trouble running his DDR3 RAM at 1866MHz until I updated the BIOS for him. I couldn't be sure it was the same for you, but it was worth suggesting at least.

Location is India , I know MSI GTX 970 Gaming is the best with best coolers in it but i wanted to make sure whether i should , Zotac is smallest a read a article on bittech , is Zotac really worse ?

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/1

Zotac has a reputation for being "cheap" and offering products at lower prices. I don't think it's entirely undeserved, but honestly anyone can have a good or bad experience with any brand. In your case, I'd look for what's available at a good price and has good support, in case you ever need to deal with customer support or warranty coverage if the graphics card is defective or breaks.

Also, that review article is a bit old. More GTX 970 models have been released since then. EVGA has their ACX2.0+ models for example, which more or less rivals the MSI Gaming 4G's cooler.

Which Zotac model are you talking about, exactly?

 

[Evo X]

Turning stuff down isn't playing at "max" settings anymore. And, there is still a big difference going from 60fps vs 120fps. Like I already said, I assume people getting 144hz would want to get close to at least 120fps. And, to get from 60 to 120 would require turning lots of shit down and defeats of purpose of such a beautiful monitor.

Ok. Feel free to give Windy another $700 for a second card because you seem to care about this more than he does. lol

 

[GrandPipe]

Thanks a lot for the feedback

Here's my version of your build, about $130 was saved:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.00 @ CPL Online)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($65.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-K ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($219.00 @ Centre Com)
Memory: Kingston FURY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($109.00 @ CPL Online)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($479.00 @ Centre Com)
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($149.00 @ PLE Computers)
Total: $1380.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-21 15:02 AEST+1000
.

 

[R0C]

Good to know it worked out. A friend of mine had trouble running his DDR3 RAM at 1866MHz until I updated the BIOS for him. I couldn't be sure it was the same for you, but it was worth suggesting at least.



Zotac has a reputation for being "cheap" and offering products at lower prices. I don't think it's entirely undeserved, but honestly anyone can have a good or bad experience with any brand. In your case, I'd look for what's available at a good price and has good support, in case you ever need to deal with customer support or warranty coverage if the graphics card is defective or breaks.

Also, that review article is a bit old. More GTX 970 models have been released since then. EVGA has their ACX2.0+ models for example, which more or less rivals the MSI Gaming 4G's cooler.

Which Zotac model are you talking about, exactly?

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately EVGA cards are difficult and rare to find here most sellers have MSI and Zotac since there are no service center for EVGA here in India, I'm looking for the basic edition of Zotac no overclocked card

 

[knitoe]

Ok. Feel free to give Windy another $700 for a second card because you seem to care about this more than he does. lol

Yeah, no. Anytime people want to play highend 1440p / 4k around max settings, I always recommend a SLI / CF setup. After going with just a single card, many end up unhappy with the performance and getting a second card anyway. And, seeing how he bought the top rated 144hz IPS gaming monitor with 980ti, I wouldn't be surprise if it happens once again.

 

[Gruso]

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately EVGA cards are difficult and rare to find here most sellers have MSI and Zotac since there are no service center for EVGA here in India, I'm looking for the basic edition of Zotac no overclocked card

I'm running the baby Zotac 970, and I'm loving it. In fact my build is almost a perfect match for what you're aiming at, down to the same CPU.

When I was doing my research, I saw some concerns about coil whine, but then again those concerns seemed to be spread across the whole 970 family. I only get it at super high FPS, for example in game menus where it can run to the hundreds or thousands. Never in normal gaming use.

In short, thumbs up from me.

You'll be pleasantly surprised at what a workhorse the 970 can be too. I also run 1080p for most new things, but it handles 4k DSR like a boss for many things including Arma 3 and DayZ.

 

[Durante]

A single 980ti gets ~45 @ 1440p in Witcher 3 Ultra. I would assume someone getting a 144hz monitor would want to maintain 120fps or more.

Why would you assume that? A 144 Hz monitor is better at any framerate than a 60 Hz, doubly so if it supports variable refresh.

 

[Two Words]

A single 980ti gets ~45 @ 1440p in Witcher 3 Ultra. I would assume someone getting a 144hz monitor would want to maintain 120fps or more.

I get nearly 60 fps constant by just disabling hairworks.

 

[knitoe]

Why would you assume that? A 144 Hz monitor is better at any framerate than a 60 Hz, doubly so if it supports variable refresh.

Guess, it just me, but if I pay for top end hardware and can only run it at less than half the speed, I would be disappointed.

I get nearly 60 fps constant by just disabling hairworks.

I was responding to getting "max" settings @ 60fps on 1440p with all games. You are not running "max" if it requires adjusting settings.

 

[Headsteyker]

Guys, opinions about the Cryorig R1 Universal for a i5 6600k? It ran quiet and cool?

 

[vocab]

A single 980ti gets ~45 @ 1440p in Witcher 3 Ultra. I would assume someone getting a 144hz monitor would want to maintain 120fps or more.

If every game was quake 3, sure.

 

[knitoe]

Guys, opinions about the Cryorig R1 Universal for a i5 6600k? It ran quiet and cool?

I don't have the Universal, but the Ultimate. It kept my 5930K@4.5 cool and relatively quiet. I replaced it with a Corsair 110i GTX which cools slightly better, but less quiet. The Universal seems to get great ratings too so it shouldn't have a problem cooling and keeping a 6600K quiet.

If every game was quake 3, sure.

That's why I always recommend SLI / CF for people going 144hz 1440p or 4K gaming. Need them to keep the frame rates high with new games.

 

[Kudo]

IT WAS THE FUCKING USB!!!

I downloaded it again on my new USB, reset the BIOS settings and tried one more time and it let me put in the product key! Installing to my M2 as I type

Thank you guys for all your help! I just hope this is the last of it now.

Feels good to be right. I had the hunch cause Windows 7 said the exact same thing to me as it doesn't support the newer USB interface, so could work in reverse too.
Grats on getting it working, cheers!

 

[ohyouagain]

Another rant about the GTX 950.
If I get the TechPowerUp Review right, the GTX 950 is less efficient than the GTX 750Ti. I wonder why it's the case given the fact that the performance/watt scales so well in Maxwell. Had they kept this specification at the same level we could have had a 50% relative Performance boost for a power enveloppe of 80W.

I find it disappointing that we haven't gotten a newer product in the PCI-E only market in a year and a half. That must be adressed somehow.

 

[Soodanim]

FWIW that's how I gold my Rival and I prefer it over the RAW.

I thought I was a rare (unique would be too much of a stretch) case because of my mouse, but fair enough!

I really like my G502. Like the versatility and button configurations and placement for the most part. Only negative is that the scroll wheel has 3 separate button assignments; standard Middle Click, but also a Left and Right Side Clicks. So if you assign stuff to those(I have scroll left/right through tabs) it's very easy for you to initiate either of those clicks when trying to do a Middle Click. Like 1/3 times. Which can be annoying. Also the scroll wheel doesn't free spin on it's own like my old MX Revolution, instead you have a toggle switch that locks or unlocks the wheel.

Cool. Thanks for the heads up, it's the things like that I like to know beforehand. I ordered one, as it seems to be adored by most who use it.

 

[Headsteyker]

I don't have the Universal, but the Ultimate. It kept my 5930K@4.5 cool and relatively quiet. I replaced it with a Corsair 110i GTX which cools slightly better, but less quiet. The Universal seems to get great ratings too so it shouldn't have a problem cooling and keeping a 6600K quiet

Thanks, is the ram clearance of the ultimate 40mm? How many ram slot does it cover?

 

[LilJoka]

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately EVGA cards are difficult and rare to find here most sellers have MSI and Zotac since there are no service center for EVGA here in India, I'm looking for the basic edition of Zotac no overclocked card

I highly recommend you stay away from Zotac and get the MSI.

Your case should fit up to 10.8 inch GPU. The MSI is 10.5 inch.

 

[knitoe]

Thanks, is the ram clearance of the ultimate 40mm? How many ram slot does it cover?

I raised the fans slightly and use Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4, which are low profile, with no clearance issues.


As for covering ram slots, depends on the MB layout. You can see the cooler is shift left to right which allows it to cover less ram slots.

 

[Jzero]

Is there a possibility that they'll add SATA Express on new Mini ITX boards? I love the form factor of my current build but small builds never have the newer I/O

Edit: found one, i don't really trust ASRock though.

 

[Confrontation]

Starting to get a little worried now. Called the store on Tuesday I ordered my 6700k/Z170 mobo at, they said that it's about to be dispatched and would definitely be here on Thursday. Fuckin past noon on Friday now. I live in a very small country, should've just driven the 80miles.

Go for it! It was my first build and I never tinker with computers and it only took me a little less than two hours. Between YT walkthroughs and the manuals that came withwy case and mobo it was easier than I though. Toughest part for me honestly was the fact that I was building in a small case and have big hands (I'm 6'2"). Made the last few parts a bit tough to put in quickly as I didn't have much room to work with. I had honestly thought about doing this for at least 2 years, finally decided to force myself to learn, and bought the parts earlier this week. This thread and Reddit r/buildapc were quite helpful. I'm really glad I decided to do it.

Everybody has to start from this point and the majority is doing great. There are some detailed and helpful YT tutorials. Sure, it takes some time but it's not as hard as you think it is. Just try it!

But I have literally 0 knowledge and invested quite a bit of money in this build.

 

[Kudo]

Ugh, spotted dead pixel on my brand new Dell U2715H.. Looked like the perfect model but that just had to pop up and now I can't take my eyes off it.
Already called support, I really hate buying new displays because of this perfectionism.
So starts the warranty dance, here we go.

 

[Enduin]

What's normally the quickest/easiest option to replace my DOA PSU, go through NewEgg or through Corsair? I'm guessing NewEgg.

 

[opticalmace]

What's normally the quickest/easiest option to replace my DOA PSU, go through NewEgg or through Corsair? I'm guessing NewEgg.

I would definitely go through the retailer if possible.

 

[Azulsky]

Ugh, spotted dead pixel on my brand new Dell U2715H.. Looked like the perfect model but that just had to pop up and now I can't take my eyes off it.
Already called support, I really hate buying new displays because of this perfectionism.
So starts the warranty dance, here we go.

At least Dell is good about the warranty dance, or have been for me. You can essentially say you are not happy with it and they will swap you, albeit that costs an hour or so of your time on the phone.

 

[Chucke1992]

CPU: Core i7 5820k
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro h105
Motherboard: Asus Rampage V Extreme
Memory: Kingston HyperX FURY 4x8GB 2400
Video Card: Palit GTX 970 Jetstream
Case: Aerocool Strike-X ST
PSU: FSP Aurum PRO 1200W (no questions)

Looks unbalanced I presume?

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

CPU: Core i7 5820k
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro h105
Motherboard: Asus Rampage V Extreme
Memory: Kingston HyperX FURY 4x8GB 2400
Video Card: Palit GTX 970 Jetstream
Case: Aerocool Strike-X ST
PSU: FSP Aurum PRO 1200W (no questions)

Looks unbalanced I presume?

Not really. What do you use the PC for?

If you can, slap in a 980ti I guess.

 

[Evo X]

CPU: Core i7 5820k
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro h105
Motherboard: Asus Rampage V Extreme
Memory: Kingston HyperX FURY 4x8GB 2400
Video Card: Palit GTX 970 Jetstream
Case: Aerocool Strike-X ST
PSU: FSP Aurum PRO 1200W (no questions)

Looks unbalanced I presume?

If this is for gaming, get a better GPU like a 980Ti. Cut back on the motherboard & PSU if you have to.

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

Is it odd for a WD Black 2 TB to almost feel like it's not being laggy in anything? Cause I just had a new system configured with that as the only internal storage, and...

I don't feel like I'm missing anything from an SSD.

(Yay, new desktop! Finally, something that runs circles around my laptop.)

 

[Chucke1992]

Not really. What do you use the PC for?

If you can, slap in a 980ti I guess.

For nothing in particular. Most of the time I write applications using Java or surf the internet.
Now I decided to upgrade my LGA775 (with E8400 & 9800 GT) in order to move forward.
Originally I wanted 5960x and 980ti but I want be able to complete my config till January in that case...

I decided to clear it all in one month so I decided to go for GTX 970 (I use AOC i2757fm -> 1080p and not a heavy gamer -> in 1024x768 on my old Rolsen monitor 9800 GT just fine though) -> I can buy another one in the future etc.
Though I am planning to play GTA 5 or Witcher 3. Maybe. One day.

If this is for gaming, get a better GPU like a 980Ti. Cut back on the motherboard & PSU if you have to.

I decided to go with X99 and it's one of the best motherboards there. I can find another uses for PSU - like my current old PC is using two PSUs.

 

[opticalmace]

CPU: Core i7 5820k
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro h105
Motherboard: Asus Rampage V Extreme
Memory: Kingston HyperX FURY 4x8GB 2400
Video Card: Palit GTX 970 Jetstream
Case: Aerocool Strike-X ST
PSU: FSP Aurum PRO 1200W (no questions)

Looks unbalanced I presume?

Why such an expensive motherboard?

 

[Enduin]

I would definitely go through the retailer if possible.

Figured, put in the request with NewEgg. Spoke with a Corsair rep online and they said it normally takes 1-2 days to process my claim then another 4-5 to send me the new unit. That's not cool.

 

[Kudo]

At least Dell is good about the warranty dance, or have been for me. You can essentially say you are not happy with it and they will swap you, albeit that costs an hour or so of your time on the phone.

They'll be bringing the new monitor on Monday-Tuesday, hopefully all goes right with one swap.
Do you know the if the warranty monitors are brand new or do they give you monitors that have been repaired or something like that?

 

[Chucke1992]

Why such an expensive motherboard?

But it's not expensive.

 

[LilJoka]

But it's not expensive.

Its one of the most expensive X99 boards, not sure what you are getting at? £350 in the UK.
Unless you understand why its that costly, you should be paying about half that.

Should sing alarm bells when you pay more for a board than a CPU.

 

[opticalmace]

But it's not expensive.

Do you need it for a specific reason? It is definitely one of the most expensive X99 boards: http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/motherboard/#sort=a8&page=1&s=28

edit: beaten

 

[Chucke1992]

Its one of the most expensive X99 boards, not sure what you are getting at? £350 in the UK.
Unless you understand why its that costly, you should be paying about half that.

Should sing alarm bells when you pay more for a board than a CPU.

Oh! I see. Well when I was buying it I thought it was not expensive lol
It has nice features.
I would be perfectly fine going with 980 ti but next month. But I decided to close everything in two weeks and my resources are not allow me to go with originally planned 5960x and 980ti. So I decided to cut the CPU, and buy cheaper video.


Originally I saw everything as perfectly powerfull machine to run benchmarks...Though in my country I am not able to buy some desirable parts and I had to ease up a bit.
However some unexpected occurred and I lost almost three months in my PC building. In january I will be able to buy 5960x and 980ti or according the plan - I wanted to buy everthing in june (I was planning to buy 980 originally because 980ti as far as I remember was not there). But now...Basically 5820k + Kingston Fury 32GB + 970 is what I am able to buy right now just buy going to the shop. (well at least when my salary will arrive)

 

[opticalmace]

Oh! I see. Well when I was buying it I thought it was not expensive lol
It has nice features.
I would be perfectly fine going with 980 ti but next month. Now I decided to close everything in two weeks and my resources are not allow me to go with originally planned 5960x and 980ti. So I decided to cut the CPU, and buy cheaper video.

Are you planning on overclocking?

 

[Chucke1992]

Are you planning on overclocking?

Who knows.
When I was buying my E8400 + 9800 GT + 4 GB DDR2 (It was DDR2 at the time...Or not. I don't remember) I was planning to do one day...But still I haven't made any attempts and it's been 7 years...

I am planning to buy second 970 one day though...To compensate inability to buy 980 ti now.

 

[opticalmace]

Who knows.
When I was buying my E8400 + 9800 GT + 4 GB DDR2 (I was DDR2 at the time...Or not. I don't remember) I was planning to do one day...But still I haven't made any attempts and it's been 7 years...

I am planning to buy second 970 one day though...To compensate inability to buy 980 ti now.

A single 980 Ti is a much better solution than 970 SLI. If you drop down to a cheaper motherboard you could save ~$250. Maybe another $50 if you go to a cheaper heatsink, you then won't be far off a 980 Ti.

edit: I'm also assuming you already have that PSU, otherwise that could be another $100 or so saved.

 

[Enduin]

Who knows.
When I was buying my E8400 + 9800 GT + 4 GB DDR2 (I was DDR2 at the time...Or not. I don't remember) I was planning to do one day...But still I haven't made any attempts and it's been 7 years...

I am planning to buy second 970 one day though...To compensate inability to buy 980 ti now.

Only been a day but I'm happy with the Asus X99-A. There are two versions. One with USB 3.1 ports, one just USB 3.0. Both range from $234-258, but I was able to get $25 off by using a promo code and paying via Visa Checkout. The Asus AI suite auto overclocks for you which is what I'm getting at so you don't have to really worry about screwing anything up or not being experienced at it. Though I'm sure other MB like Gigabyte, Asrock and MSI offer similar software suites. Was able to pushing my 5820k to 4.7ghz. Could get more out of it with manual tweaking and probably lower the power draw too. But either way that's a 38% increase in performance by just pressing a button.

 

[Chucke1992]

A single 980 Ti is a much better solution than 970 SLI. If you drop down to a cheaper motherboard you could save ~$250. Maybe another $50 if you go to a cheaper heatsink, you then won't be far off a 980 Ti.
edit: I'm also assuming you already have that PSU, otherwise that could be another $100 or so saved.

But performance wise I thought 970 SLI would be better than single 980 ti....
As I said I was planning to buy everything in June...So I have everything except CPU, RAM and GPU. Some unexpected expenses occurred...

Only been a day but I'm happy with the Asus X99-A. There are two versions. One with USB 3.1 ports, one just USB 3.0. Both range from $234-258, but I was able to get $25 off by using a promo code and paying via Visa Checkout. The Asus AI suite auto overclocks for you which is what I'm getting at so you don't have to really worry about screwing anything up or not being experienced at it. Though I'm sure other MB like Gigabyte, Asrock and MSI offer similar software suites. Was able to pushing my 5820k to 4.7ghz. Could get more out of it with manual tweaking and probably lower the power draw too. But either way that's a 38% increase in performance by just pressing a button.

I wish I could have some good offers in my country...Only higher prices and no deals sadly.

But 4.7Ghz is a high result! Is it perfectly stable? And what about power consumption and heating? Also I am not planning to overclock from the very beginning - losing guarantees is not a good thing.

Should sing alarm bells when you pay more for a board than a CPU.

What do you mean by the way? On X99 platform there are consumer 3 CPUs for now - 5820k, 5930k and 5960x. 5820 & 5930 (4 way sli is useless) are the same basically and 5960x has no reason -> so 5820k. But 5960x was tempting...8 pure cores...Instead of AMD "fake" cores.

 

[opticalmace]

But performance wise I thought 970 SLI would be better than single 980 ti....
As I said I was planning to buy everything in June...So I have everything except CPU, RAM and GPU. Some unexpected expenses occurred...


I wish I could have some good offers in my country...Only higher prices and no deals sadly.

But 4.7Ghz is a high result! Is it perfectly stable? And what about power consumption and heating? Also I am not planning to overclock from the very beginning - losing guarantees is not a good thing.


What do you mean by the way? On X99 platform there are 3 CPUs for now - 5820k, 5930k and 5960x. 5820 & 5930 (4 way sli is useless) are the same basically and 5960x has no reason -> so 5820k. But 5960x was tempting...8 pure cores...Instead of AMD "fake" cores.

970 SLI and 980 Ti are pretty much the same performance, but fewer headaches with a single card.

edit: He just meant paying more for a motherboard than your CPU in the enthusiast segment is usually unnecessary.

 

[Chucke1992]

970 SLI and 980 Ti are pretty much the same performance, but fewer headaches with a single card.

edit: He just meant paying more for a motherboard than your CPU in the enthusiast segment is usually unnecessary.

Well I enjoyed to waste money before...But I had to put into a good use > 1000$ and it affected me...
I doubt I'll release the full potential of Asus Rampage V - it's too monstrous and powerful for me. But whatever...

 

[Enduin]

I wish I could have some good offers in my country...Only higher prices and no deals sadly.

But 4.7Ghz is a high result! Is it perfectly stable? And what about power consumption and heating? Also I am not planning to overclock from the very beginning - losing guarantees is not a good thing.

That's unfortunate. X99 boards are pretty pricey to begin with, even the barely two week old Z170 boards go for considerably less. Asus's Z170-A only goes for like 180 or something, nearly $70 cheaper compared to the X99-A. I was lucky and got my 5820k for only $300, so I was OK with spending a little more on the MB, but not that much more.

Haven't run any serious stress tests, but everything appears stable. Power draw is not much more and the voltage is well within acceptable ranges and heat was very very good, never broke 67c under full load. But I do still need to put it through some more tests to ensure it's solid.

 

[Daffy Duck]

Here's a dumb question:

How do you install an OS on a brand new machine that has no optical drive support in the case?

Bootable USB? Would that work on first boot up just off the MB bios?

I am in a bind trying to find a nice case that the GF won't think is hideous (PC will be in the bedroom due to lack of room elsewhere in the house) and the nicer looking cases I think she'll sign off on don't come with a CD drive bay in the case (I'm looking at you NZXT), so bootable USB is my only option? I do have a USB CD drive that I've hardly ever used.

 

[Rufus]

Bootable USB? Would that work on first boot up just off the MB bios?

Yup. You might have to set it as a boot option in the BIOS though, but that's trivial.

 

[LilJoka]

But performance wise I thought 970 SLI would be better than single 980 ti....
As I said I was planning to buy everything in June...So I have everything except CPU, RAM and GPU. Some unexpected expenses occurred...


I wish I could have some good offers in my country...Only higher prices and no deals sadly.

But 4.7Ghz is a high result! Is it perfectly stable? And what about power consumption and heating? Also I am not planning to overclock from the very beginning - losing guarantees is not a good thing.


What do you mean by the way? On X99 platform there are consumer 3 CPUs for now - 5820k, 5930k and 5960x. 5820 & 5930 (4 way sli is useless) are the same basically and 5960x has no reason -> so 5820k. But 5960x was tempting...8 pure cores...Instead of AMD "fake" cores.

Intel dont care about overclocking, Intel overclock insurance is also not required. Intel cant tell a CPU was overclocked unless its literally charred by silly volts.

Since you never have overclocked, and not even sure if you will, the Rampage is definatly not cost effective to buy. You say nice features, but really have you checked what nice features are also also available on cheaper boards?

The only reason to buy Rampage is to squeeze that last 50-100Mhz from the chip at the 4.8Ghz+ speeds.

 

[Daffy Duck]

Something something went here.

 

[Tensketch]

I've recently moved into an apartment with my girlfriend. So I intend on building a front-room PC. I've looked at the htpc guide and I intend on following it and building the PC over the next few months.
I already have a decent PC that I use for general purpose and I figured I could upgrade some parts of the PC and recycle the existing parts into the FRPC.

The PC specs are as follows:

MB: ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87
CPU: 4670k
RAM: Corsair 16GB DDR3 1600MHz
GPU: gigabyte 780 windforce ghz edition
PSU: Corsair CX750M
Cooler: Zalman LQ310

So I intend on buying a 4690K to start, that can go in the PC, meaning the FRPC now has a 4670k. The 780 is great for the FRPC, but I don't know what to get in replacement. I have had nightmares with AMD cards so I generally don't touch them. But I do not have the money to splash on a 980ti (the 780 was half paid for as a christmas present, I still had to pay half myself), a standard 980 is realistic to a point (it would have to be a weekly deal or something that takes it below £400) but still a little high on the price range, so I was looking at 970's. question is though, would the 970 be better suited in the FRPC, or swap it out for my main PC?

Cheers, GAF.

 

[opticalmace]

Here's a dumb question:

How do you install an OS on a brand new machine that has no optical drive support in the case?

Bootable USB? Would that work on first boot up just off the MB bios?

I am in a bind trying to find a nice case that the GF won't think is hideous (PC will be in the bedroom due to lack of room elsewhere in the house) and the nicer looking cases I think she'll sign off on don't come with a CD drive bay in the case (I'm looking at you NZXT), so bootable USB is my only option? I do have a USB CD drive that I've hardly ever used.

USB stick or USB cd drive would work fine, I've used both for OS installs.

I would go for Skylake over Haswell if you're starting fresh at this point.

I've recently moved into an apartment with my girlfriend. So I intend on building a front-room PC. I've looked at the htpc guide and I intend on following it and building the PC over the next few months.
I already have a decent PC that I use for general purpose and I figured I could upgrade some parts of the PC and recycle the existing parts into the FRPC.

The PC specs are as follows:

MB: ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87
CPU: 4670k
RAM: Corsair 16GB DDR3 1600MHz
GPU: gigabyte 780 windforce ghz edition
PSU: Corsair CX750M
Cooler: Zalman LQ310

So I intend on buying a 4690K to start, that can go in the PC, meaning the FRPC now has a 4670k. The 780 is great for the FRPC, but I don't know what to get in replacement. I have had nightmares with AMD cards so I generally don't touch them. But I do not have the money to splash on a 980ti (the 780 was half paid for as a christmas present, I still had to pay half myself), a standard 980 is realistic to a point (it would have to be a weekly deal or something that takes it below £400) but still a little high on the price range, so I was looking at 970's. question is though, would the 970 be better suited in the FRPC, or swap it out for my main PC?

Cheers, GAF.

What are you going to be using the FRPC for? I'm not sure I understand, do you want to have two separate gaming PCs? Or just one and an HTPC?