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

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Just want to say, steer well clear of pcupgrade.co.uk. Lied on their page about the motherboard I bought. First it was the incorrect one and then it says nothing about OEM. Get the package today, didn't even come in a proper antistatic bag. Just the outside of one of which had holes poked through it from the motherboard. It had been touching to pieces of foam so there is no way I am touching that one with a 10 foot pole.

Managed to get a full refund but I would recommend not bothering with them. There is more transparency on an eBay listing.
 

theRizzle

Member
Did anyone here ever buy one of those Lian Li PC-O* series of cases? Looking for something in small form factor that can hold a full sized GPU and it seems like my only real options are a RVZ01B or the Lian Li PC-O5S. I'm not a huge fan of the looks of the RVZ01B but I don't hate it and functionally it seems to offer everything I'd need except maybe watercooling. I love the look (and everything else) of the PC-O5S but it's $449 CAD. I am not sure I am prepared to spend that much on a case.
 
Everything I've read points to $800 USD, same price that last year's swift launched at.

Cool. When more is known i might email the site i'm planning on ordering my pc from to see if they know when they'll have it availkable...might hold off on a new pc until i can get it all in one order etc rather than go for a non gsync asus (still 1440p) this year and get something else next year.

Edit: I have emailed pcspecialist...if/when i get a reply I'll post here incase any UK people are interested (regarding price/availability)
 
Is there a DIY term for everything working the first time? Because that totally just happened with my first PC build in eight years. Installing Windows now. Something could still fuck up of course but seeing that sweet sweet BIOS come up with no mysterious lights or beeps was pretty satisfying.
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($219.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $149.99)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $109.99)
Total: $1144.93

I'm going to keep the 7870 XT from my current computer until the node shrink/8GB HBM cards come out next year, at which point I'll pick up a second monitor as well (1440p+/144Hz+ hopefully). Sucks that Micro Center doesn't have any big discounts on CPU/Mobos. Just $20 off for the combo.
 
Is there a DIY term for everything working the first time? Because that totally just happened with my first PC build in eight years. Installing Windows now. Something could still fuck up of course but seeing that sweet sweet BIOS come up with no mysterious lights or beeps was pretty satisfying.

Miracle is the term I would use.
 
Is there a DIY term for everything working the first time? Because that totally just happened with my first PC build in eight years. Installing Windows now. Something could still fuck up of course but seeing that sweet sweet BIOS come up with no mysterious lights or beeps was pretty satisfying.
By the power of Durante...
 
Haha. Anyway, as 300 Windows updates download, here is what I'm coming from, for comedic purposes:

CPU: E8400 Core 2 Duo
RAM: 4GB DDR2
Video: Radeon HD 4890
Storage: 1TB SATA HDD
Case: Antec Sonata III

And it turns out all these parts work together:

CPU: i5 6600K
Heatsink: Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO
Motherboard: ASUS Z-170A
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4 8GB
Video: EVGA GeForce 970 GTX SC
Storage: Crucial BX100 SSD 250GB
Power Supply: CoolerMaster V650
DVD Drive: ASUS 24x DVD-RW
Case: Corsair Carbide 300R

I cut a corner or two on the easily upgradeable parts. I'll slap another hard drive in in a month or two, and if I need to upgrade to 16GB RAM eventually, no sweat. This is for 1080p gaming right now (technically 1680x1050 gaming at the moment, I need a new monitor too.) I haven't touched any OC settings yet, maybe after a couple of weeks.

Soooo anything good come out since, uh, 2011 or so?
 

Irobot82

Member
Theory crafting a budget build for my kids. Looking at a $500 budget build with a G3258. Should I go with a 1TB HDD or a 258GB SSD. They'd mostly be playing games like Minecraft, Terraria, Lego World, Lego games, etc on a 1440x900 monitor (yeah weird resolution but free is free).
 

kennah

Member
Theory crafting a budget build for my kids. Looking at a $500 budget build with a G3258. Should I go with a 1TB HDD or a 258GB SSD. They'd mostly be playing games like Minecraft, Terraria, Lego World, Lego games, etc on a 1440x900 monitor (yeah weird resolution but free is free).

I'd go with the SSD.
 

theRizzle

Member
I'd go for the SSD too.

I built my dad a G3258 + 750ti PC this summer. It's a pretty impressive little rig for the price. He's playing at 1600x900 and it works great.
 

Walpurgis

Banned
I ordered my prebuilt PC from NCIX a while ago but they told me that there was a missing part (EVGA 500W 80 Plus) last week. They finally got that part today but now they ran out of stock for RAM. They offered me this 8GB ram DIMM as a replacement "at no extra cost". I'm not in much of a rush but my mom has been asking about the PC recently. Should I accept the replacement or would it be better to way for them to restock? I want the best memory.

This is the build that RGM79 made for me and the one that I am using.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.98 @ NCIX)
Storage: Toshiba Product Series:DT01ACA 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Superclocked Video Card ($274.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($52.98 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($42.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $795.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-16 02:49 EDT-0400
 

theRizzle

Member
I'd take it. There will be no perceivable difference as far as you are concerned. The only issue you might have is if you add another 8gb stick down the road... that RAM has a ridiculously high profile cooler and can conflict with some CPU heatsinks. If you only have the 1 stick, you can put it in the slot on your mobo that's further from the CPU so it won't be a problem.
 

kuYuri

Member
How about for 1440p? 980 ti worth it there?

Absolutely. I have it along with the Acer XB270HU monitor (1440p, 144hz, G-Sync) and games look and run amazing.

I can run Arkham Knight all settings max and can get a consistent 50+ FPS.

Of course, it's a huge investment, but for 1440p, definitely worth it.
 
I just bought a 34UM95 and I'm having a bit of trouble.

Certain games just don't play nice with it. Bioshock Infinite crashes every time I try to open it and other games just don't run well enough on my GPU to play with full 21:9. In those instances I want to play those games in 16:9 with black bars but outside of CS:GO I'm having a hard time making it happen. For example, in the original Crysis I can't get the game to play in 16:9. I went to my nvidia control panel and selected No Scaling and it still stretches when I select 2560x1440.

How can I resolve this?
 
Quick maybe dumb question: I'm just about to finish my first build, but there is a 12V input hanging off the back of the case. It's way too short to connect to anything, so am I expected to get an extension for this thing or what? And I guess, where does it plug into? Using the Phantek Enthoo Pro recommended in OP.

Edit: To add some more info, when I turn on the power, the computer does turn on and quietly hums, but I guess it doesn't display anything on screen. Not sure if it's that short input inside my case or something else. Any help is appreciated.
 
So guys I saw that my monitor support AMD freesync, should I go for a 970 or a 390? The monitor is 2560x1080, but I plan to upgrade to a 3440x1440. Which GPU will be more future proof? What will I lose going AMD?

At the second resolution especially, tge 390 powers past the 970, so the AMD card would be more suitable for you if you don't mind extra heat generated from its GPU. At higher resolutions than 1080p, the 390s 8GB of memory can also tell against the 970's 3.5GB (+0.5GB slower VRAM).
 

hitgirl

Member
Friend wants to buy my PC, but I'm having a hard time justifying upgrading from my 780 and i5 3570k, as I only game on a 1080p 60hz TV. Guess I can play Witcher 3 with higher settings at 60hz. And if I go the Skylake/DD4/980TI route I'll be VR ready and I can use the cool m.2 ssd format.. hmm..
 
Guys what's the best 400-500€ card that I can fit on a Bitfenix Prodigy case? I've thought about a MSI R9 390X but I've heard it's triple-slot and the Bitfenix only can house a 2-slot max. card :( I have a 760 right now.
 

LilJoka

Member
Friend wants to buy my PC, but I'm having a hard time justifying upgrading from my 780 and i5 3570k, as I only game on a 1080p 60hz TV. Guess I can play Witcher 3 with higher settings at 60hz. And if I go the Skylake/DD4/980TI route I'll be VR ready and I can use the cool m.2 ssd format.. hmm..

Or just upgrade the GPU to a GTX 980Ti/1080 and be ready for VR. Nobody should be upgrading from 3rd generation core to skylake. You could even drop in a 3770k.
 

Haribi

Why isn't there a Star Wars RPG? And wouldn't James Bond make for a pretty good FPS?
Guys my new pc just arrived and as this is my first own build I have a little problem.
It's probably a stupid question but I have tp ask anyway.
It's about the Alpenföhn Ben Nevis cpu cooler. There are two stickers/labels (don't know the right english term) on the backplate. Now my question is, do I have to remove these 2 stickers or let it stay there the way it is?

mn6qC6z.jpg
 

Ganondolf

Member
If I had a laptop base i5/i7 and a desktop based gpu (higher end) would the lower cpu cause big issues or are newer pc games heavily gpu based and as such the cpu does not matter as much as its doing miner tasks (like consoles)?

Edit:
RAM: 8gb
SSD: 256gb
 

LilJoka

Member
Guys my new pc just arrived and as this is my first own build I have a little problem.
It's probably a stupid question but I have tp ask anyway.
It's about the Alpenföhn Ben Nevis cpu cooler. There are two stickers/labels (don't know the right english term) on the backplate. Now my question is, do I have to remove these 2 stickers or let it stay there the way it is?

.jpg

These look like double sided tape to prevent the backplate falling off during installation. You can leave them as they are, unless you need the extra helping hand from the tape. Personally I would leave it as tape can make a mess on the motherboard when it comes to dismantelling the cooler at a later date.

If I had a laptop base i5/i7 and a desktop based gpu (higher end) would the lower cpu cause big issues or are newer pc games heavily gpu based and as such the cpu does not matter as much as its doing miner tasks (like consoles)?

Edit:
RAM: 8gb
SSD: 256gb

Hard to say without CPU and gpu models.
 

Oemenia

Banned
Stuck on an LG775 socket here but recently upgraded to a Q9550. How much of a bottleneck is it with modern cards in the £100-200 range?
 

LilJoka

Member
Stuck on an LG775 socket here but recently upgraded to a Q9550. How much of a bottleneck is it with modern cards in the £100-200 range?

Purely game dependant, in terms of minimum fps could be about 10-15% worse with something like a GTX 960 or 750Ti.
 

Ganondolf

Member
Hard to say without CPU and gpu models.

I'm not sure yet but I know they will be skylake dual core cpus.

essentially I have a surface pro 2 setup which includes the hub so that I can use it as a tablet, laptop and desktop. I may upgrade to the surface pro 4 (or make wait till the surface pro 5). I saw on the net that the new thunderports let you attach an external gpu unit.

I was thinking that I may invest in an external gpu when they come available (and if the SP4/5 are compatible) if it lets me play pc games at an respectable level.
 

LilJoka

Member
I'm not sure yet but I know they will be skylake dual core cpus.

essentially I have a surface pro 2 setup which includes the hub so that I can use it as a tablet, laptop and desktop. I may upgrade to the surface pro 4 (or make wait till the surface pro 5). I saw on the net that the new thunderports let you attach an external gpu unit.

I was thinking that I may invest in an external gpu when they come available (and if the SP4/5 are compatible) if it lets me play pc games at an respectable level.

If surface pro 4 actually has a decent skylake CPU of 2 cores, it could probably work quite well with a GTX 750Ti, but the whole external GPU stuff would have another issue of powering the GPU too (you lost the mobility aspect now), surface pro wont supply enough power for it.

Better off building a small ITX machine something like a G3258/i3 GTX 750Ti build, and then game streaming to your surface if you have decent wifi. It means you also have a proper upgrade path in the future too.

On the subject of Surface Pro 4, anyone else interested this time round?
 

Ganondolf

Member
but the whole external GPU stuff would have another issue of powering the GPU too (you lost the mobility aspect now), surface pro wont supply enough power for it.

I assume I would be able to link the gpu unit to the hub (un-attaching the SP when needed) and that the external gpu unit would have its own power supply
 

LilJoka

Member
I assume I would be able to link the gpu unit to the hub (un-attaching the SP when needed) and that the external gpu unit would have its own power supply

Hmm not quite, if you look at the hub power brick, its probably about 50W, the surface only uses about about 40W iirc. A GTX 750Ti uses 75W on its own. I wouldnt expect Microsoft to out a massive power supply for their next dock (if there is one) just for that purpose as it would only appeal to a very small niche.
 
Quick maybe dumb question: I'm just about to finish my first build, but there is a 12V input hanging off the back of the case. It's way too short to connect to anything, so am I expected to get an extension for this thing or what? And I guess, where does it plug into? Using the Phantek Enthoo Pro recommended in OP.

Edit: To add some more info, when I turn on the power, the computer does turn on and quietly hums, but I guess it doesn't display anything on screen. Not sure if it's that short input inside my case or something else. Any help is appreciated.

Anyone know if I'm wrong about this?
 

Ganondolf

Member
Hmm not quite, if you look at the hub power brick, its probably about 50W, the surface only uses about about 40W iirc. A GTX 750Ti uses 75W on its own. I wouldnt expect Microsoft to out a massive power supply for their next dock (if there is one) just for that purpose as it would only appeal to a very small niche.

would the external gpu enclosure have a power supply like external hard drives etc?

EDIT: your right, just checked the hub power brick and its only 48w so it the external gpu enclosure does not have its own power supply I'm out of luck.
 

Smokey

Member
I picked up a Corsair K65 RGB. Really nice keyboard. After owning mechanical keyboards with Brown, Blue, and now Red switches(K65) I think Reds are the best. They feel great. Still provides good feedback, but not as loud as Blues. Always heard that many people preferred Reds and now I see why!

Red > Blue > Brown
 

AlanOC91

Member
I finally took the plunge :/

vQnVS59.png


Not a huge upgrade over my crossfire R9 290s but I hope to sell both and get a good chunk of the cash back.

Finally will have HDMI2.0 though! Which I badly need for my 4k tv.
 

KevinRo

Member
I finally took the plunge :/

vQnVS59.png


Not a huge upgrade over my crossfire R9 290s but I hope to sell both and get a good chunk of the cash back.

Finally will have HDMI2.0 though! Which I badly need for my 4k tv.

Hey man, I'm kind of in your past situation. I'm on 1440p. Tell me how the heat and performance difference is.
 
Anyone used the Corsair k70?

Got a Razer Deathadder at the start of the month for about £30 and that's nice but I kinda need a new keyboard...and the Chroma doesn't do it for me but I've heard good stuff about the k70.

Also..if I'm largely just going to be using an SSD for Windows + a few steam games etc (Fallout 4 is an upcoming one that springs to mind)...there's no real point in say going for these supposedly stupid fast Intel 7xx SSDs (which are priced to match :p) over a Samsung or Kingston one...
 

Smokey

Member
I finally took the plunge :/

vQnVS59.png


Not a huge upgrade over my crossfire R9 290s but I hope to sell both and get a good chunk of the cash back.

Finally will have HDMI2.0 though! Which I badly need for my 4k tv.

You'll have a much smoother experience. Congrats!
 

RGM79

Member
Stuck on an LG775 socket here but recently upgraded to a Q9550. How much of a bottleneck is it with modern cards in the £100-200 range?

Techspot recently did an article where they did gaming benchmarks with a wide variety of processors, including a Q9650 which should perform extremely similar to your Q9550. They used a GTX 980 for their testing, but you should see similar bottlenecking but lower results with whatever GPU you go with.


The circuit board that the cable is connected to is a fan controller or hub, it allows your PC to support and maybe control more fans than the motherboard has connectors for. It's totally optional, but since you seem to already have fans plugged into there, you probably want to use it, so you should plug in a SATA power cable from the power supply to the wire in your hand.
 
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