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[Pachinko]

Could somebody be so kind to recommend a modest GPU for around £150-£200. I'll mainly be playing older games.

Honestly find it hard to settle on any given card based on their specs as I'm not sure what the difference in real world output would be.

I looked at both XFX Radeon R9 380 Double Dissipation 4GB GDDR5 and SAPPHIRE Radeon R7 370 NITRO 4GB GDDR5 for example but can't determine how much better the R9 380 is really likely to be -- although the price difference is next to nothing.

Also, I notice the difference in price between 2GB and 4GB versions of cards is usually marginal. Is the extra memory's effect on performance negligible or what?

More vram is better , you can run higher texture modes and support higher resolutions.

 

[riflen]

I'm thinking GSync probably won't play too nicely with SLI...I expect micro stutter galore. Still...if I can manage a GTX 680 for $160, I think I'll pull the trigger.

Not true. SLI and G-Sync work perfectly well together. The only caveat is that you cannot use SLI + G-Sync + DSR (Nvidia's driver-level downsampling feature).

 

[Ferr986]

It's the difference between the 950 and 960 worth it? 960 it's around 50€ more.

I need to replace my old GTX460 but I'm on an extremely low budget. I basically play on my PS4, and use the PC for some MMO or ports like Dragons Dogma and stuff, so I don't really need a big GPU (I would need to replace almost all my PC for that).

 

[bomblord1]

You can get people to pick one up for you on reddit if you really care that much.

I wouldn't go that far but I'm looking to buy a 6700K here soon and saving a decent chunk of change like that would be nice.

 

[RGM79]

Thanks yeah, to conclude my Noctua adventure - I realigned the whole heatsink, so it blows the air towards my exhaust fan at the top of my case, and by doing so, it allowed me to add the 2nd fan just above my Ram.

The results - idle is pretty much at ambient temp, so 17c, and under load the spread across all 4 cores is just 48-50c which is a massive damn improvement and very respectable considering it's just air cooling and I honestly cannot hear the fans.

So the Noctua gets the thumbs up here. One thing I would say - I wish they would spend a little less money on their packaging, and give you more than a tiny blob of thermal paste. I don't use a lot, and I barely had enough for two adhesions, which is a bit tight really. Nit-picking though now.

Odd, I have 2 or 3 tunes from various Noctua kits and they're usually good for more than two applications. I use a small pea sized glob.

Could somebody be so kind to recommend a modest GPU for around £150-£200. I'll mainly be playing older games.

Honestly find it hard to settle on any given card based on their specs as I'm not sure what the difference in real world output would be.

I looked at both XFX Radeon R9 380 Double Dissipation 4GB GDDR5 and SAPPHIRE Radeon R7 370 NITRO 4GB GDDR5 for example but can't determine how much better the R9 380 is really likely to be -- although the price difference is next to nothing.

Also, I notice the difference in price between 2GB and 4GB versions of cards is usually marginal. Is the extra memory's effect on performance negligible or what?

The R9 380 is the better performing card. VRAM won't matter is is not being used, but there's no reason not to have more if it doesn't cost much more. There's no benefit in getting less VRAM, and more of it ensures your card won't become bottlenecks as quickly in the future.

Thanks!

One last question, has anyone ever reused their Hyper 212? I bought mine to use with my i5 2500 and it sounds like it should be useable with the i5 6600K with some new thermal paste.

All of the socket 115x motherboards share the same cooler mounting design so it definitely is reusable.

 

[Bloodember]

I don't know if this question pertains to the scope of the thread but I thought I'd ask.

So I have Window 10 on my machine. I've had it since release via the upgrade program from Windows 7.

Now just recently I switched up the motherboard in my PC with a replacement and now I get a constant message in the bottom right corner to activate windows. I completely forgot that your windows serial is tied to your hardware if you choose to replace major components. Well anyway, I got in contact with MS support via Windows 10 start menu and they basically said the only way to fix this is to go through the Windows 7 upgrade process again.

Surely there has to be a way? I don't want to install Windows 7 again and go through the whole process just because I changed the motherboard.

Just put your window 7 key into the change key area in the activation window. That should work.

 

[José Mourinho]

More vram is better , you can run higher texture modes and support higher resolutions.

The R9 380 is the better performing card. VRAM won't matter is is not being used, but there's no reason not to have more if it doesn't cost much more. There's no benefit in getting less VRAM, and more of it ensures your card won't become bottlenecks as quickly in the future.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Frostburn]

Been getting annoyed with my BenQ G2420 being pretty much useless without software calibration (which then doesn't come over into full screen games so end up being completely washed out) and looking around for a new monitor. As much as I'd like G-Sync I don't think my budget can stretch to a decent monitor with it in. Currently looking at the Dell u2414h, but does anyone have any recommendations for around £200-250 max? 1080p 60hz is fine for me, but if a decent 120/144hz is out there I'd take a look.

Mine looked bad until I did a Reset All via the menu within the monitor and somehow that fixed the colors and washed out look for me. I did calibrate it after that and use a custom ICD file I found online but now it doesn't COMPLETELY annoy me every time I look at the monitor.

 

[drhankmccoyphd]

All of the socket 115x motherboards share the same cooler mounting design so it definitely is reusable.

Just be careful. Apparently, some of the cooler brackets are what secure your chip into the socket. So when you remove them to install the Hyper there's nothing keeping the chip in the socket. I learned this the hard way and bent a bunch of pins when I was removing my Hyper to reinstall.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

Thanks PCGaf, PC is done. Here some crappy pics:

Thanks again for all your help !

 

[drhankmccoyphd]

Are there any preferred sellers for RAM? I'm looking for some decently fast DDR3 but I don't want to spend too much.

 

[opticalmace]

Are there any preferred sellers for RAM? I'm looking for some decently fast DDR3 but I don't want to spend too much.

More or less whichever retailer has a good price.

Budget? How many GB? What CPU/motherboard? I assume you're in the US.

 

[drhankmccoyphd]

More or less whichever retailer has a good price.

Budget? How many GB? What CPU/motherboard? I assume you're in the US.

$30-40 budget 8GB AM3+ AMD 1090T w/ MSI A970-G43 (yeah I know). I want something I can use in a later socket 1150 build when I get my brother's handmedown mobo. Was hoping for 1866 or 2100MHz.

 

[Megabat]

i'm getting a HDD error warning from my desktop. It was a Samsung 1TB.


I'm on the market for a new HDD, but I want something that will last. This has been my first HDD failure in 20+ years of pc usage. What are the best 1 or 2 TB drives. It seems every review brings up these HDDs failing regarding manufacturer. Is it the larger data per platter, or what?

Buy a refurbished drive. If a part is going to fail, it's usually within months of purchase; refurbs have already passed that period, and often last years after the original manufacturer warranty has passed.

 

[th3dude]

Just ordered my MSI 970 to replace my 570 SLI in my 2500K system.

This is how it starts...

 

[bomblord1]

Thanks PCGaf, PC is done. Here some crappy pics:


Thanks again for all your help !

Awesome man

 

[Megabat]

It's the difference between the 950 and 960 worth it? 960 it's around 50€ more.

I need to replace my old GTX460 but I'm on an extremely low budget. I basically play on my PS4, and use the PC for some MMO or ports like Dragons Dogma and stuff, so I don't really need a big GPU (I would need to replace almost all my PC for that).

50€ is a bit too wide a gap. The 960 is definitely faster, but the subjective difference consists of a few settings adjustments. Both cards are solid for 1080p.

I bought a 960 in February 2015, months before the 950 released. While I'm quite happy with it, I definitely wouldn't have considered it over the 950.

 

[UnholySpectacle]

I need some help with a mobo. I got a hand me down i7 3770 so I need a good LGA1155 mobo since I want to put the max amount of DDR3 and a GTX 980 TI in there.

Would something like this be a good deal if I wanted to do SLI in the future:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007KTY4A6/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=

Not too many places sell new 1155 mobos so I figured this might be my best bet. Would I be looking at any limitations if I go this route?

 

[Ferr986]

50€ is a bit too wide a gap. The 960 is definitely faster, but the subjective difference consists of a few settings adjustments. Both cards are solid for 1080p.

I bought a 960 in February 2015, months before the 950 released. While I'm quite happy with it, I definitely wouldn't have considered it over the 950.

Thanks! I play at 1080p and I don't have any intention to go up to 4K. I think I'll go for the 950.

 

[kris.]

i've had a Carbide 200r since i built my PC, probably 3 years ago, and i'm looking really hard for an upgrade because i'm not a fan of this case at all. i'm reading some really positive stuff about the Define R5, anyone have one of these and have any opinion on them?

 

[e90Mark]

Anyone interested in a 6600k? Thinking I'm probably going to pick up that 6700k while its msrp at Micro Center, lol.

 

[holygeesus]

Thanks PCGaf, PC is done. Here some crappy pics:


Thanks again for all your help !

I have the same case. If you aren't using the cages in the top right, I remove the whole bracket, as it gives you more room and air flow. I have 2 SSD's in mine, both screwed underneath the motherboard, so have ripped the entire top and bottom cages out, and it helps a lot.

 

[thenexus6]

Thinking of pulling the trigger on this soon (my first build ever)

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/gXpXTW

Anyone have suggestions for the case? While I like the Fractal ones and the dimensions are fine expect the depth. Its far too long for my setup.

I want something small, simple and cheap.

 

[Otheradam]

Just ordered my MSI 970 to replace my 570 SLI in my 2500K system.

This is how it starts...

I got a 970 when it first came out for my 2500k system... 3 weeks ago I broke down and built a new system with the 970 even though it didn't give me any frame rate improvements.

 

[Ferr986]

Ok guys, I need some help because there's something really weird happening with my PC that I don't understand.

I just replaced my 4GB RAM to 8. Inserted them, PC boots BUT, my monitor won't show anything. Like, it doesn't receive any signal.

if I hook the PC to my TV, then it shows the image, yet it only shows after loading windows. I can't see the usual BIOS boot and stuff no matter what.

Anyone know what's happening?

Btw Windows detects the 8GB just fine.

 

[Bloodember]

Ok guys, I need some help because there's something really weird happening with my PC that I don't understand.

I just replaced my 4GB RAM to 8. Inserted them, PC boots BUT, my monitor won't show anything. Like, it doesn't receive any signal.

if I hook the PC to my TV, then it shows the image, yet it only shows after loading windows. I can't see the usual BIOS boot and stuff no matter what.

Anyone know what's happening?

Btw Windows detects the 8GB just fine.

Try resetting your bios, should be a button on the mobo. If your mobo is an Asrock, then for sure thats what it is. Any changes you make on an Asrock you have to reset the bios, from my experiences.

 

[Ferr986]

Try resetting your bios, should be a button on the mobo. If your mobo is an Asrock, then for sure thats what it is. Any changes you make on an Asrock you have to reset the bios, from my experiences.

It's a Gigabyte, it's for a Phenom II 955. i'll try to see how to reset the bios. I'm sure MEMs were on auto on the BIOS before replacing the sticks btw

 

[Bloodember]

It's a Gigabyte, it's for a Phenom II 955. i'll try to see how to reset the bios. I'm sure MEMs were on auto on the BIOS before replacing the sticks btw

Have you tried booting with one stick? Try one stick at a time also to rule out bad ram.

 

[Ferr986]

Have you tried booting with one stick? Try one stick at a time also to rule out bad ram.

Tried this, same happens. Monitor wont work, TV does, skip BIOS but windows works fine at recognizes 4GB.

Didn't see any button to reset the BIOS, guess I should take out the battery?

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

Repost:

Guys.
Now the case is here.
Tomorrow the final 3 ingredients arrive and ill be building my first PC.
Educate me on drivers gaf.
After I assemble what do I need to be downloading for full functionality?
Do you need my parts list to inform me first?

Also please provide links

 

[Ferr986]

ok jus tried the old memorys and the same shit happens. Fuck this, wtf is goin on

 

[CraigerGamer]

Amazon has the CS Storm Spawn Mouse on sale for $129.99. The OP says you can pick one up for $35. Am I looking at the wrong mouse?

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Repost:

Guys.
Now the case is here.
Tomorrow the final 3 ingredients arrive and ill be building my first PC.
Educate me on drivers gaf.
After I assemble what do I need to be downloading for full functionality?
Do you need my parts list to inform me first?

Also please provide links

Just visit the company that makes your motherboard's site. They have drivers for everything.

Download your gpu driver.

 

[Quenk]

Amazon has the CS Storm Spawn Mouse on sale for $129.99. The OP says you can pick one up for $35. Am I looking at the wrong mouse?

Right mouse but it's a bit old now and only 3rd parties are selling it for higher prices.

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

Its time.
It all here, wish me luck gaf.
First time for everything.

 

[CraigerGamer]

Right mouse but it's a bit old now and only 3rd parties are selling it for higher prices.

OK. Thanks for the info.

 

[bomblord1]

Its time.
It all here, wish me luck gaf.
First time for everything.

I wish you the luckiest.

 

[brandonh83]

Its time.
It all here, wish me luck gaf.
First time for everything.

Awesome. Good luck. Finally got my bank bullshit sorted and have a new card, so I'm going to attempt to re-order everything today. However, I'm thinking about getting a better GPU, the one I had lined up was an R9 390, but I feel like I can afford a bit better, especially after the week of waiting for the situation to be resolved and getting paid again.

I did get the Node 304 case however and really dig it. Can't wait to stick shit in there.

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

So far so good.
no thermal paste if im using stock fan right?
Pulling out the MB i may as well be unearthing alien artifacts

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

So far so good.
no thermal paste if im using stock fan right?

Yeah, the thermal paste is pre-applied to the stock cooler.

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

Cpu+fan in.
Bring it ram

 

[RGM79]

Thinking of pulling the trigger on this soon (my first build ever)

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/gXpXTW

Anyone have suggestions for the case? While I like the Fractal ones and the dimensions are fine expect the depth. Its far too long for my setup.

I want something small, simple and cheap.

How much depth is there to work with? There are some ways to optimize the cost of your parts list for price and performance. There's no point buying 1866MHz RAM for example when your motherboard cannot handle running it at more than 1600MHz. You can probably opt for a cheaper H81 or B85 motherboard as well. Also, you do not need a CPU cooler as the stock one should be adequate enough to keep it from overheating.

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

One ram stick per dimm channel with the reccomended dimm taking priority right?

 

[theRizzle]

One ram stick per dimm channel with the reccomended dimm taking priority right?

Check your Mobo manual for the best RAM configuration. Some motherboards prefer slots 1 and 3 before 2 and 4, for example. Some are 1 and 2, then 3 and 4... though I think that's more rare.

 

[aygomyownroad]

My partner has just got a new job that will mean she has to go to college to get some certificates.

I have built a PC long ago and want to do it again, however I am totally lost with all the various codes for AMD processors and the like.

1) aside from internet and Microsoft Office, I would like the machine to run Photoshop
2) I would like a machine that could last 3 years without upgrading if possible
3)I have ps4 and Xbox One. Any games on PC will be RTS (like C & C, Topico 5 etc) or indie games.
4) is it worth looking in to DDR4 RAM? Can they fit on any motherboard?
5) price. We are unsure of how much to spend. I wouldn't want to spend more than £600 if possible. Although we could go higher if need be.
Price doesn't need to include Windows 10.

Thanks PCgaf!

 

[holygeesus]

Check your Mobo manual for the best RAM configuration. Some motherboards prefer slots 1 and 3 before 2 and 4, for example. Some are 1 and 2, then 3 and 4... though I think that's more rare.

Yeah I wish they would standardise that. I naturally installed my two sticks in 1 and 3 on this latest build, only to read the manual and see it recommended 2 and 4. First time I'd encountered that, and a bit of a ball-ache considering the behemoth CPU cooler blocking them in.

 

[bomblord1]

One ram stick per dimm channel with the reccomended dimm taking priority right?

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Use Ram Slots 2 and 4!

(or 1 and 3) just make sure you have it set up in dual channel mode.

 

[Ferr986]

Try resetting your bios, should be a button on the mobo. If your mobo is an Asrock, then for sure thats what it is. Any changes you make on an Asrock you have to reset the bios, from my experiences.

I took out the bios and left it out for +5 mins. I guess it counts as a reset?
Anyways, it didnt work

I dont know what to do

Edit: wait , ihad a slight oc on the cpu (nothing big, its a 955 black edition) and the oc is still up after the reset. Shouldnt be at default?

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

Im guessing the absolute tiniest screws are for securing the mb on posts

 

[thenexus6]

How much depth is there to work with? There are some ways to optimize the cost of your parts list for price and performance. There's no point buying 1866MHz RAM for example when your motherboard cannot handle running it at more than 1600MHz. You can probably opt for a cheaper H81 or B85 motherboard as well. Also, you do not need a CPU cooler as the stock one should be adequate enough to keep it from overheating.

Ideally around 38cm would be good for me..

I just put that cooler on the list out of paranoia really as i'm new to this.

What would you add / remove from my list to make it cheaper? I need have a different motherboard in but was getting compatibility messages about updating the BIOS or something which I didn't really understand.