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[Xplatformer]

OK. Did an upgrade to Windows 10, from Windows 7. Lost ethernet ...had to go back to Windows 7.


BUT, I'm thinking this had to do with my BIOS and not Windows 10. When I did my clean install of Windows 7 my network wasn't active. I had to update both the BiOS and the intel software, (downloaded prior to wiping system...stored on flash drive)...which ended up fixing my network connection in Windows 7.

I'm assuming a clean install of Windows 10 should have all the drivers I need, but the upgrade didn't? Does that make sense?

 

[supernormal]

Can you guys comment on my build.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fjJgGX

Mostly for Video Editing and Graphic Design but I wanna be able to play games on max settings as well. Is there any part I can save a few bucks on, or anything that might be bottlenecking it?

 

[RGM79]

I have a question here as I'm fairly new to PC gaming. Is SLI not a recommended thing or? I use to have SLI 2 970, but someone said SLI is not the best way to go so I ended up taking those out and adding a 980ti. Although I was thinking of future proofing and was told that DX12 will have native SLI support. Is that accurate? I would like to SLI 2 980ti, with 32gb ram, just so I don't have to worry for a while. Sorry for the long post but any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Although running multiple GPUs can offer higher performance for the amount of money you spend, it's not recommended for various reasons. Two graphics cards generate more heat (need good case and cooling for airflow and ventilation), consume more power (need a good power supply), and SLI/crossfire support can be iffy at times. Not all games launch with solid support for multiple graphics cards, the performance is dependent on various factors like driver updates as well as the game's coding and optimizations. Graphical glitches and bugs can be common, like flickering textures. Performance is not so much guaranteed but more like a "up to xx% better" kind of thing. For example, twin GTX 970s can offer higher performance than a single GTX 980 Ti at best, but you won't be getting 200% of a single GTX 970's performance just because there are two of them in there. Expect anywhere around 25~75% performance improvement when running dual cards compared to a single card.

DX12 does have very promising multi-GPU support, but until it's widespread we won't recommend you buy twin graphics cards for something that's promised but not totally delivered yet.

The few occasions we will recommend SLI/crossfire is when users have money to burn and want something super high end like 4K gaming at 60FPS and high settings for the latest games. No single graphics card can do all that, so anyone wanting that will have no choice but to run twin high end graphics cards.

Seems like it.

Having never overclocked before, how much of a boost can I expect? 10-15% of a performance boost?

What's a good stable overclock to shoot for? 4.0? 4.1?

Is the jump from a 4590 to 4690K massive? or at least as big of a jump from a 2310 to a 4590?

Stability depends on a couple different factors. How far the processor is overclocked, the BIOS settings you input (voltage and frequency), and what CPU cooler you have.

The jump from a i5 4590 to i5 4690K is very tiny. They're the same generation and basic design, but the i5 4690K has a slightly higher clock speed. So no, not as big a jump from the i5 2310 to i5 4590.

I am about to have a heart attack!!

So I built my new PC a couple weeks ago and all was going perfectly. I have windows 10 installed, no issues getting everything working. Steam games performing smoothly, etc...

Then last night I turn on the system and nothing comes on screen.

The lights and fans are turning on and working in the case, but the motherboard will not boot to POST or BIOS or even display anything on the monitor at all. Just a black screen as the computer just idly sits lit up doing nothing.

I get no motherboard beeps at all either(which could help determine some errors) as it usually beeps once before loading the BIOS splash image, but not here. I also noticed the HDD indicator on the case is not lighting up at all(likely a factor of the failed boot process not even getting to the HDD-read step access rather than it being at fault).

Before work, I quickly slotted out my various DIMM cards in different configs to see if they were the issue but I get the same problem regardless of which slots are used, alone, swapped, single, etc...

I just blew a ton of cash on this system and 2 weeks later it literally will not start. I did not overclock(just used the ASUS Bios to boost my RAM speed to their native 3000mhz from the underclocked default 2133mhz). No CPU or GPU overclocking.

My specs are below and I would appreciate any and all help!!

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700k 4.00Ghz
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VIII Hero
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000Mhz Memory
SSD Storage: Intel 180gb SSD
HDD Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte G1 GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card
Case: Corsair 600C Clear Case
Power Supply: Cooler Master 650w EX2 Power Supply

I can't even fathom where to begin just getting the BOOT to work again.

Check page 40 and 41 of the PDF of your motherboard's manual. The LEDs can help troubleshoot what's wrong if you are having a hardware issue. Otherwise, check your PC's power supply cables to make sure everything is plugged in. Even if it's already plugged in, there's no harm in unplugging it and reinserting to make sure.

OK. Did an upgrade to Windows 10, from Windows 7. Lost ethernet ...had to go back to Windows 7.


BUT, I'm thinking this had to do with my BIOS and not Windows 10. When I did my clean install of Windows 7 my network wasn't active. I had to update both the BiOS and the intel software, (downloaded prior to wiping system...stored on flash drive)...which ended up fixing my network connection in Windows 7.

I'm assuming a clean install of Windows 10 should have all the drivers I need, but the upgrade didn't? Does that make sense?

Windows 10 has the same drivers regardless of if it was an upgrade or a clean installation. When you had Windows 10 installed, did you check Device Manager to see if the drivers were missing before you went back to 7?

Edit: in any case, you should be getting the latest drivers from the motherboard manufacturer's website. Did you check if there were drivers available?

 

[Rebel Leader]

I'm thinking of upgrading my i5 4460 to an i7 4790k how ever the i7 is under review on amazon. Anyone know why?

 

[RoninChaos]

I believe the Maximus has a bios reset button on the board. That should remove any tweaks and allow it to post again. Might be worth trying that.

 

[bomblord1]

I was thinking more on high.
If i can adjust my budget say an extra 50$-100$ to reach such heights i am willing to do so however.
Im not trying to build a beast of any sorts nor do i need one.

How does this look? (Does not include OS but purchasing one should be within your budget). I also was unsure if you needed a monitor, DVD drive, etc.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: *MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.95 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 4GB Video Card ($233.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $791.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-26 15:48 EST-0500

 

[FlyingSaucer]

Please, if somebody can help me : I've come across a KFA2 GeForce GTX980 for 400€. I've never hear about that KFA brand before, can they be trusted ? Is there a catch ?

Currently running an i5 2500K OC CPU, and a 500W PSU (but I'm willing to change it as it's probably a little weak for an OC'ed card)

 

[Smokey]

I see. I just noticed, I think we have the same fan controller. Sentry Mix 2 Fan Controller

Yup. Very basic, but gets the job done.

 

[Burgess_101]

So for some reason my HDD has destroyed itself and I can't get it to mount. I was putting some RAM in my server turned it back on and it was showing two partitions for some reason.

I have since put it in my Windows PC and it shows two partitions of which I cannot access though they are both primary partitions. There is unallocated space around them, I don't have a clue what to do.

I can't lose this data.

 

[LilJoka]

So for some reason my HDD has destroyed itself and I can't get it to mount. I was putting some RAM in my server turned it back on and it was showing two partitions for some reason.

I have since put it in my Windows PC and it shows two partitions of which I cannot access though they are both primary partitions. There is unallocated space around them, I don't have a clue what to do.

I can't lose this data.

Unallocated means the partition table is probably corrupted, quite likely the data is still there.

The best tool ive found to recover disks like this is from these guys
https://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm

DO NOT TURN THE PC OFF

 

[bomblord1]

So the Motherboard I was going to get went off sale before my paycheck. I was wondering if anyone knows ANYTHING about this one?

ASRock H110M-ITX/ac LGA 1151
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157687

The main reason I want it is the integrated wifi and the fact it's $40 cheaper than it's closest competitor. I don't intend to OC

 

[Burgess_101]

Unallocated means the partition table is probably corrupted, quite likely the data is still there.

The best tool ive found to recover disks like this is from these guys
https://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm

DO NOT TURN THE PC OFF

I can see files (photos seem to be missing) what do I do from here?

 

[RGM79]

Can you guys comment on my build.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fjJgGX

Mostly for Video Editing and Graphic Design but I wanna be able to play games on max settings as well. Is there any part I can save a few bucks on, or anything that might be bottlenecking it?

You can save money by going with alternative parts that are cheaper but still meet your needs. Will you be overclocking? If not, a $30 air cooler will do just fine. Even if you do want to overclock, a $70 air cooler will be more than enough. Of course, you can stay with water cooler if you prefer it for the looks.

Do you really want that $170 case? Consider a cheaper one. There are also decent power supplies for half that price, like the EVGA B2 750 watt model for just $60.

I'm thinking of upgrading my i5 4460 to an i7 4790k how ever the i7 is under review on amazon. Anyone know why?

No idea, have you tried asking Amazon? You can always order the processor from elsewhere like Best Buy or Newegg.

Please, if somebody can help me : I've come across a KFA2 GeForce GTX980 for 400€. I've never hear about that KFA brand before, can they be trusted ? Is there a catch ?

Currently running an i5 2500K OC CPU, and a 500W PSU (but I'm willing to change it as it's probably a little weak for an OC'ed card)

That brand was/is known as Galaxy or Galax in other parts of the world.

 

[LilJoka]

I can see files (photos seem to be missing) what do I do from here?

You can see the files where? If thats in the GetDataBack software you should just be able to copy them to another drive.

Edit
Free version:

Download the trial version and recover your files. You can preview your data to be sure it actually works. If you like the results you do not need run the program again. Purchase the license key and enter it into the open program. Then copy everything you need!

You may want to try a freeware alternative off google too see if the results match. You can save the results from GetDataBack just in case you end up using the paid version, then you dont need to rescan the drive.

 

[Burgess_101]

You can see the files where? If thats in the GetDataBack software you should just be able to copy them to another drive.

I don't have enough space to copy all of the files across. Can the software recover itself?

 

[RoninChaos]

If the game will only be on one monitor and the other one is just displaying your desktop or some non-3D program, it'll be fine. there's not really any performance penalty at all, maybe just a tiny one.

Okay thank you. That's exactly what I'll be doing. I'm running most games at 120 fps and I expect to take a hit on fps but hopefully it won't be too large.

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

How does this look? (Does not include OS but purchasing one should be within your budget). I also was unsure if you needed a monitor, DVD drive, etc.

Im good on a monitor.
i think id need a dvd drive or better yet prefer it.
As for everything else here its looking good.
Should I be ok here for my desired benchmarks?
Even on something AAA like fallout 4 or witcher 3?

 

[LilJoka]

I don't have enough space to copy all of the files across. Can the software recover itself?

Nope, you have to copy the files to a different drive, no other option. Find a USB drive or borrow an external drive. Or hook up another PC on the network and copy to a shared folder over Ethernet.

 

[Brandon F]

Check page 40 and 41 of the PDF of your motherboard's manual. The LEDs can help troubleshoot what's wrong if you are having a hardware issue. Otherwise, check your PC's power supply cables to make sure everything is plugged in. Even if it's already plugged in, there's no harm in unplugging it and reinserting to make sure.

Thanks for the page manual links. I did notice the DRAM LED light was flashing on the Mobo which got me to test all different configs for my RAM sticks quickly before work(none made a difference).

Hard to even consider that not only are my brand new RAM sticks both dead/corrupted after two weeks, but I guess its possible(bad batch? Something fried them?) They look fine though physically and are a really popular brand with plenty of good feedback on Amazon.

Even if the RAM is bad, I am a bit concerned that the Mobo didn't even do the multiple beeps to warn that the RAM is faulty. No beeps at all.

 

[bomblord1]

Im good on a monitor.
i think id need a dvd drive or better yet prefer it.
As for everything else here its looking good.
Should I be ok here for my desired benchmarks?
Even on something AAA like fallout 4 or witcher 3?

I can play Fallout 4 at the very least on the R9 280 (slightly worse) on ultra @ 1080p a stable FPS (I have had dips in the denser areas around diamond). Although it's not a super demanding title. I could probably hit 60 by reducing the settings but I like the eye candy.

I also have a worse CPU (i5-3470) and have yet to run into a Dolphin or PCXS2 game I can't run without some setting tweaks.

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

I can play Fallout 4 at the very least on the R9 280 (slightly worse) on ultra @ 1080p a stable FPS (I have had dips in the denser areas around diamond). Although it's not a super demanding title. I could probably hit 60 by reducing the settings but I like the eye candy.

I also have a worse CPU (i5-3470) and have yet to run into a Dolphin or PCXS2 game I can't run without some setting tweaks.

This is pretty much what i wanted to hear.
As for an OS is that all a matter of preference?
I have no idea if certain titles have any weird issues related to an OS or if they are affected in anyway period.

 

[supernormal]

You can save money by going with alternative parts that are cheaper but still meet your needs. Will you be overclocking? If not, a $30 air cooler will do just fine. Even if you do want to overclock, a $70 air cooler will be more than enough. Of course, you can stay with water cooler if you prefer it for the looks.

Do you really want that $170 case? Consider a cheaper one. There are also decent power supplies for half that price, like the EVGA B2 750 watt model for just $60.

That brand was/is known as Galaxy or Galax in other parts of the world.

Thanks for your input.

I won't be buying all of it at the same time, do you recommend buying the parts in any specific order (as to take advantage of items that are sure to drop in price later on maybe be replaced by better parts).

Also what performance can I expect on gaming at 3440x1440.

 

[bomblord1]

This is pretty much what i wanted to hear.
As for an OS is that all a matter of preference?
I have no idea if certain titles have any weird issues related to an OS or if they are affected in anyway period.

The only OS you will be able to play the majority of games and emulators on is Windows. Some Linux Distro's have a few but only a handful of big titles. You don't want to even attempt a hackintosh and Steam OS has a myriad of problems and runs slower than Windows on games.

 

[Kezen]

I have some spare parts lying around and it pains me to see them gathering dust on my shelves.
I only need a mobo, a CPU, a case plus a Windows copy.
I have everything else, my old 970 + my sister's 770 that she no longer uses.
I have a quality PSU (Corsair AX760), hard drives, optical drives if needed.

So I've decided that I'm going to put the money on the table to assemble a budget gaming PC. That will also be a nice experiment to test scalability of current games.
I've settled on the Zalman ZM T4 for the case, but I don't know what entry level CPU to chose.
Considering this is only a secondary gaming build I'm not willing to spend more than 80€ for the CPU, what is the current best budget gaming CPU ? I thought the Pentium G3258 would fit the bill.

 

[LilJoka]

I have some spare parts lying around and it pains me to see them gathering dust on my shelves.
I only need a mobo, a CPU, a case plus a Windows copy.
I have everything else, my old 970 + my sister's 770 that she no longer uses.
I have a quality PSU (Corsair AX760), hard drives, optical drives if needed.

So I've decided that I'm going to put the money on the table to assemble a budget gaming PC. That will also be a nice experiment to test scalability of current games.
I've settled on the Zalman ZM T4 for the case, but I don't know what entry level CPU to chose.
Considering this is only a secondary gaming build I'm not willing to spend more than 80€ for the CPU, what is the current best budget gaming CPU ? I thought the Pentium G3258 would fit the bill.

Would go for i3

 

[Kezen]

Would go for i3

I can't find a Core I3 for less than 100€.

 

[RGM79]

Thanks for the page manual links. I did notice the DRAM LED light was flashing on the Mobo which got me to test all different configs for my RAM sticks quickly before work(none made a difference).

Hard to even consider that not only are my brand new RAM sticks both dead/corrupted after two weeks, but I guess its possible(bad batch? Something fried them?) They look fine though physically and are a really popular brand with plenty of good feedback on Amazon.

Even if the RAM is bad, I am a bit concerned that the Mobo didn't even do the multiple beeps to warn that the RAM is faulty. No beeps at all.

Did anything appear on the two digit LED display?

Thanks for your input.

I won't be buying all of it at the same time, do you recommend buying the parts in any specific order (as to take advantage of items that are sure to drop in price later on maybe be replaced by better parts).

Also what performance can I expect on gaming at 3440x1440.

There's never any definite price drops. How long of a time period are you expecting to buy the computer parts over? We recommend buying most parts within a week or two, no more than a month. You don't really benefit from buying your new PC part by part over time unless you score some really nice bargains. Buying parts over the period of a few months just means the return and warranty period expires sooner. Also, some retailers offer returns usually within only 30 days. After that you'll have to speak to the manufacturer about the warranty which can result in longer delays and a longer processing time than returning/exchanging with the retailer. For that reason we don't recommend you buy anything early, perhaps just to find out later that it was defective after the point of return. If you absolutely have to buy some parts earlier rather than altogether, then certain parts like the case, CPU cooler, and processor are fairly safe and are rarely defective (or doesn't matter much), but other parts such as motherboards, graphics cards, and power supplies can have higher defect rates.

The GTX 980 Ti is pretty much the strongest single graphics card that you can get. 1440p performance is pretty good, but performance will vary by the game and what graphics settings the games are on, of course. Depending on the game you may not be able to play on maximum settings. There are some links that may be useful to you, such as this Ocaholic graphics card hierarchy benchmark, this HardOCP 1440p test for the GTX 980 Ti, or this Tweaktown GTX 980 TI review at 1440p. For performance results with newer games, you'll have to search around for articles specifically about that game, like this Techspot article on Fallout 4 PC performance.

I can't find a Core I3 for less than 100€.

How much are the other parts you are buying? What retailers are you looking at?

 

[Kezen]

How much are the other parts you are buying? What retailers are you looking at?

I found the MSI H81M-P33 for 45€, the case for 30€.
I'm based in France, amazon.fr is my go to place to shop PC parts.

Any Core I3 I'm looking at is at the very least 100€ and I can't spend that much for what will only be a secondary gaming PC. Honestly, the G3258 seems to punch above its weight, and I won't torture him with heavily multithreaded games anyway.

 

[Burgess_101]

Nope, you have to copy the files to a different drive, no other option. Find a USB drive or borrow an external drive. Or hook up another PC on the network and copy to a shared folder over Ethernet.

Well I have TestDisk running in an attempt to fix it. I do have a server here that I can put it on but I just got done moving it all off of the Seagate HDD in there onto this WD Red.

I hope I have those photos elsewhere or they are still on there... Can they just disappear like that? I did format some allocated space whilst I was playing about with it, can it be deleted that way?

 

[supernormal]

Did anything appear on the two digit LED display?



There's never any definite price drops. How long of a time period are you expecting to buy the computer parts over? We recommend buying most parts within a week or two, no more than a month. You don't really benefit from buying your new PC part by part over time unless you score some really nice bargains. Buying parts over the period of a few months just means the return and warranty period expires sooner. Also, some retailers offer returns usually within only 30 days. After that you'll have to speak to the manufacturer about the warranty which can result in longer delays and a longer processing time than returning/exchanging with the retailer. For that reason we don't recommend you buy anything early, perhaps just to find out later that it was defective after the point of return. If you absolutely have to buy some parts earlier rather than altogether, then certain parts like the case, CPU cooler, and processor are fairly safe and are rarely defective (or doesn't matter much), but other parts such as motherboards, graphics cards, and power supplies can have higher defect rates.

The GTX 980 Ti is pretty much the strongest single graphics card that you can get. 1440p performance is pretty good, but performance will vary by the game and what graphics settings the games are on, of course. Depending on the game you may not be able to play on maximum settings. There are some links that may be useful to you, such as this Ocaholic graphics card hierarchy benchmark, this HardOCP 1440p test for the GTX 980 Ti, or this Tweaktown GTX 980 TI review at 1440p. For performance results with newer games, you'll have to search around for articles specifically about that game, like this Techspot article on Fallout 4 PC performance.


How much are the other parts you are buying? What retailers are you looking at?

Super helpful. I wish I would've got replies like this on the pcpartpicker forum. I guess I'll wait a bit and buy it all at once. Thank you so much.

 

[QuantumSquid]

Which build should I go for, guys? 1080p 60fps on a mix of Medium/High settings is my goal.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($209.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $661.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-26 17:48 EST-0500

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $761.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-26 17:49 EST-0500

 

[opticalmace]

Which build should I go for, guys? 1080p 60fps on a mix of Medium/High settings is my goal.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($209.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $661.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-26 17:48 EST-0500

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $761.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-26 17:49 EST-0500

If you can afford the 970 I'd go for that.

 

[RGM79]

Which build should I go for, guys? 1080p 60fps on a mix of Medium/High settings is my goal.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($209.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $661.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-26 17:48 EST-0500

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $761.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-26 17:49 EST-0500

With some thriftier parts selection, you can get a build with a GTX 970 for nearly the same cost as the GTX 960 build you had earlier.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H-A Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($41.98 @ 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 ($48.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $670.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-26 18:03 EST-0500

 

[LilJoka]

Well I have TestDisk running in an attempt to fix it. I do have a server here that I can put it on but I just got done moving it all off of the Seagate HDD in there onto this WD Red.

I hope I have those photos elsewhere or they are still on there... Can they just disappear like that? I did format some allocated space whilst I was playing about with it, can it be deleted that way?

If a HDD fails it usually fails in the short period after purchasing it, so it can happen.

Formatting doesn't delete data, just marks it as deleted. Usually a recover program like GetDataBack will find these files but usually loses the real file names. So make sure to check every folder that appears in the results. Also depends exactly which partition you deleted and which partition those photos were on.

Of course writing data to the formatted area will overwrote those areas flagged as deleted and then you can't get the old files back. That's also why you have to copy recovered files to a different disk.

 

[QuantumSquid]

With some thriftier parts selection, you can get a build with a GTX 970 for nearly the same cost as the GTX 960 build you had earlier.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H-A Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($41.98 @ 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 ($48.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $670.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-26 18:03 EST-0500

That's a mATX build though... and as much as I like to go thrifty, are these parts going to last? Never heard of Mushkin...

 

[Brandon F]

Did anything appear on the two digit LED display?

It kept flashing various number codes. I am going to do some more rigorous testing tonight after work and note all the codes and report back(also checking what they mean in the manual).

I also just bought a new PSU off Amazon to install as my current one is a few years old and was purchased 'used' when I needed one fro my prior PC build. I am not certain that is the issue, but I have been meaning to upgrade it anyway.

Got a Corsair RM850 as a replacement. Hope it is a reliable one.

 

[LilJoka]

That's a mATX build though... and as much as I like to go thrifty, are these parts going to last? Never heard of Mushkin...

Mushkin has been around for many years, top end ram manufacturer only really used/known by people in the game.
And no reason not to go mATX these days.

 

[RGM79]

That's a mATX build though... and as much as I like to go thrifty, are these parts going to last? Never heard of Mushkin...

Well, mATX is just a different size, it has no bearing on the quality of parts. The Gigabyte motherboard I recommended has more reviews and more positive reviews than the ASRock model. It's 4/5 stars on Newegg after 36 reviews, and 4.5/5 stars on Amazon after 19 reviews.

If you don't want Mushkin, go with other RAM like this Crucial 2x4GB kit ($32), it's still a bit cheaper than the other kit and it has thousands of positive reviews.

I consider the WD Black drives to be unnecessarily expensive, the Blue drives are already fine for consumer use. It has a positive score of 4/5 on Newegg after over 1500 reviews.

Fractal has a good reputation for nice cases, but since aesthetics are subjective, you can pick another case.

The power supply is okay for the cost. It's not amazing, but it's not totally crap either. The Seasonic you chose is a 6 year old design, but at the time it was reviewed it was considered excellent.

 

[QuantumSquid]

Well, mATX is just a different size, it has no bearing on the quality of parts. The Gigabyte motherboard I recommended has more reviews and more positive reviews than the ASRock model. It's 4/5 stars on Newegg after 36 reviews, and 4.5/5 stars on Amazon after 19 reviews.

If you don't want Mushkin, go with other RAM like this Crucial 2x4GB kit ($32), it's still a bit cheaper than the other kit and it has thousands of positive reviews.

I consider the WD Black drives to be unnecessarily expensive, the Blue drives are already fine for consumer use. It has a positive score of 4/5 on Newegg after over 1500 reviews.

Fractal has a good reputation for nice cases, but since aesthetics are subjective, you can pick another case.

The power supply is okay for the cost. It's not amazing, but it's not totally crap either. The Seasonic you chose is a 6 year old design, but at the time it was reviewed it was considered excellent.

Alright, I'll consider your build. A 970 build for the price of a 960 sounds pretty good to me, but I've never built a regular PC before, let alone a mATX. How different is building a mATX compared to a regular ATX?

 

[Onemic]

I just bought a Benq GW2455 and Im trying to create a 3 monitor setup, only problem is I cant get more than 2 monitors to actually display anything. Any help on how to solve this issue?

My GPU is the R9 270 and I'm using 1 HDMI, 1 DVI, and 1 DVI-M to DisplayPort-M cable.

 

[Sky Chief]

Alright, I'll consider your build. A 970 build for the price of a 960 sounds pretty good to me, but I've never built a regular PC before, let alone a mATX. How different is building a mATX compared to a regular ATX?

I've never built mATX before but my next build will definitely be mATX. Modern mobos have so much built in there's no need for a bunch of PCI slots for most builders. ATX is just a waste, I think a more compact system would be much more appealing.

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

The only OS you will be able to play the majority of games and emulators on is Windows. Some Linux Distro's have a few but only a handful of big titles. You don't want to even attempt a hackintosh and Steam OS has a myriad of problems and runs slower than Windows on games.

Basically Win 10?
Also any component alternatives I can swap without performance loss?
I have one person in my life who PC games who tells me I should grab a 970.
Any OTHER components i can swap to stay under $850 while getting the gtx 970?

Or is that incompatible with the build youve shown me so far?

 

[e90Mark]

Alright, I'll consider your build. A 970 build for the price of a 960 sounds pretty good to me, but I've never built a regular PC before, let alone a mATX. How different is building a mATX compared to a regular ATX?

Overall, you have less space to work with and have to be a bit more mindful of cable management, but nothing a first time builder can't handle.

The case in the build is fairly basic, so cable management will basically be pushing all the wires behind the HDD rack, lol.

 

[QuantumSquid]

As I said, I'm really liking the build RGM79 put together, but are there alternative mATX cases in that price range?

What I liked about my GTX 960 build was the Corsair 100R toolless case that would make it a bit simpler to put together as it almost completely takes screws out of the equation. This is my first time ever building a PC so I want to keep it simple where possible.

I guess my question is, are there good cheap mATX toolless cases for about $80 or less?

 

[RGM79]

Alright, I'll consider your build. A 970 build for the price of a 960 sounds pretty good to me, but I've never built a regular PC before, let alone a mATX. How different is building a mATX compared to a regular ATX?

As I said, I'm really liking the build RGM79 put together, but are there alternative mATX cases in that price range?

What I liked about my GTX 960 build was the Corsair 100R toolless case that would make it a bit simpler to put together as it almost completely takes screws out of the equation. This is my first time ever building a PC so I want to keep it simple where possible.

I guess my question is, are there good cheap mATX toolless cases for about $80 or less?

I understand your hesitation being a newcomer, you probably just want to get started with the basics and not dive into what looks like a specialized category, but there isn't anything different between ATX and mATX other than size, the parts all work together.

The ATX and mATX standards are extremely similar, mATX just means slightly shorter motherboards and smaller cases. The motherboards are nearly identical, just with fewer expansion slots for cards. They're meant to be interchangeable wherever they fit. Whether it's ATX, mATX, or mITX, it's the same learning curve when it comes to assembling a computer from the parts. The only difference is in the size of the parts involved and layout, some cases are cubes, some are towers, etc. Compatible parts are labeled as being ATX/mATX/mITX and use the same tools/screws/mounts. Smaller parts will fit into larger cases, but larger parts won't fit into smaller cases.

You can use the Corsair 100R ATX case from your parts list with the mATX motherboard and the other parts from my parts list.

I just bought a Benq GW2455 and Im trying to create a 3 monitor setup, only problem is I cant get more than 2 monitors to actually display anything. Any help on how to solve this issue?

My GPU is the R9 270 and I'm using 1 HDMI, 1 DVI, and 1 DVI-M to DisplayPort-M cable.

What brand and model of R9 270 do you have and which monitor and cable isn't working?

 

[QuantumSquid]

I understand your hesitation being a newcomer, you probably just want to get started with the basics and not dive into what looks like a specialized category, but there isn't anything different between ATX and mATX other than size, the parts all work together.

The ATX and mATX standards are extremely similar, mATX just means slightly shorter motherboards and smaller cases. The motherboards are nearly identical, just with fewer expansion slots for cards. They're meant to be interchangeable wherever they fit. Whether it's ATX, mATX, or mITX, it's the same learning curve when it comes to assembling a computer from the parts. The only difference is in the size of the parts involved and layout, some cases are cubes, some are towers, etc. Compatible parts are labeled as being ATX/mATX/mITX and use the same tools/screws/mounts. Smaller parts will fit into larger cases, but larger parts won't fit into smaller cases.

You can use the Corsair 100R ATX case from your parts list with the mATX motherboard and the other parts from my parts list.



What brand and model of R9 270 do you have and which monitor and cable isn't working?

Thanks man, you've been a real help. Does this look like a good monitor to go with this setup?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/aoc-21-5-ips-led-hd-monitor-black/8163044.p?id=1218864514315

 

[Onemic]

What brand and model of R9 270 do you have and which monitor and cable isn't working?

Club3D R9 270

It's not a specific monitor/cable that doesnt work, instead it's whichever monitor/cable is plugged in last.

 

[Orin GA]

I overclocked my i5-4670K to 4.0Ghz and did 10 runs (High) with IntelBurnTest.

Results:

 

[Orin GA]

I overclocked my i5-4670K to 4.0Ghz and did 10 runs (High) with IntelBurnTest. Should I push for 4.2?

Results:

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Does anyone want an internal DVD reader/writer? It's originally from an old Dell, but it still works fine. I was using it in my self-built desktop up until about a month ago when I got a BluRay drive.

I will ask that you cover shipping; I won't know exactly how much this is until I send it, but I can't imagine it would be more than $4 to anywhere in the US.

If no one answers, it's going into electronics recycling.