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[LilJoka]

Hmm...

That is non essential, looks like some sort of fan controller board. he case manual will tell you. It uses the same power connection as your hard disks. If you have plugged a 3 pin fan into the board (looks like you have 1), then that will need connecting to the power supply via SATA power for those fans to work.

 

[opticalmace]

Hmm...

Pretty sure you just connect it to your power supply -- check your case's manual, it says what to do for sure ('cause I have the same case).

 

[NegativeCero]

That is non essential, looks like some sort of fan controller board. he case manual will tell you. It uses the same power connection as your hard disks. If you have plugged a 3 pin fan into the board (looks like you have 1), then that will need connecting to the power supply via SATA power for those fans to work.

Hmm, that's good to know at least. Now I guess I have to figure out why computer won't boot when turned on. Cpu and Gpu fans turn on, gpu and motherboard power and reset buttons lights turn on, but no display.

 

[Altarus]

Hmm...

It's needed to be connected to your PSU, but only IF your fan didn't work when using the fan hub (for exemple, with more than 3 fans plug in the hub, a friend tell me that the 12V is needed, because not enough power for his 3 fans)

 

[LilJoka]

Hmm, that's good to know at least. Now I guess I have to figure out why computer won't boot when turned on. Cpu and Gpu fans turn on, gpu and motherboard power and reset buttons lights turn on, but no display.

Did you plug the display cable in the back of the GPU and not the motherboard outputs?

 

[Walpurgis]

Bought PC Parts from NCIX last weekend and my RAM was magically backordered between the time I hit checkout and the time it shipped. But now it's on sale again this weekend and in stock but I haven't had it shipped out to me, I am not a happy camper.

http://secure1.ncix.com/products/?sku=95956

I ordered my PC parts like two weeks ago and, yesterday, they told me that my RAM was out of stock but I just checked the site.....and it says that it's in stock (and probably has been for two weeks). This is my first time ordering PC parts and I'm not happy either. This is very shady.

 

[NegativeCero]

Did you plug the display cable in the back of the GPU and not the motherboard outputs?

Nope. display cable is in the GPU. Looking up beep codes for X99 I guess.

 

[Sequincer]

It's needed to be connected to your PSU, but only IF your fan didn't work when using the fan hub (for exemple, with more than 3 fans plug in the hub, a friend tell me that the 12V is needed, because not enough power for his 3 fans)

I have owned a phanteks case and a few phanteks hubs so let me explain how this works. Basically you connect voltage controlled DC fans to it and give it power using that connecter in your picture. You also connect another cable to one of the fan headers on your motherboard and this will let you read the fans rpm. BUT, make no mistake, this is damaging and harmful for PWM fans since this is not meant for PWM fans, it only controls DC fans and reads the fan speed of the first fan you connect.

 

[LilJoka]

I have owned a phanteks case and a few phanteks hubs so let me explain how this works. Basically you connect voltage controlled DC fans to it and give it power using that connecter in your picture. You also connect another cable to one of the fan headers on your motherboard and this will let you read the fans rpm. BUT, make no mistake, this is damaging and harmful for PWM fans since this is not meant for PWM fans, it only controls DC fans and reads the fan speed of the first fan you connect.

How is that damaging for PWM fans?

 

[Cyldman]

Alright guys.
In December i wanna make Christmas for myself.
I wanna buy oculus rift or htc vive and buy a new pc.
What could i possibly save from this pc? Processor:Intel QUad i7 920 - 2.66 Ghz
Motherboard:Asus P6T SE
Memóry RAM:6Gb Patriot PC12800 - 1600 Mhz Viper
Graphs, Powercolor 4890 - 1 Gb PCIE
HDD/SSD:Seagate 1 TB Sata 2 7.200 Rpm 32mb
Power source: Fonte NOX APEX 700W

I want the best i can with 1500euros budget.
I know it's early to get some feedback but right now i wanna know if i should save something?
Everyone is saying i could overclock my cpu, buy a new card and power source and that's it.
But i wanna go overboard.
Is it too early to do this in December?
And what could i save from my current build?

 

[LilJoka]

Alright guys.
In December i wanna make Christmas for myself.
I wanna buy oculus rift or htc vive and buy a new pc.
What could i possibly save from this pc? Processor:Intel QUad i7 920 - 2.66 Ghz
Motherboard:Asus P6T SE
Memóry RAM:6Gb Patriot PC12800 - 1600 Mhz Viper
Graphs, Powercolor 4890 - 1 Gb PCIE
HDD/SSD:Seagate 1 TB Sata 2 7.200 Rpm 32mb
Power source: Fonte NOX APEX 700W

I want the best i can with 1500euros budget.
I know it's early to get some feedback but right now i wanna know if i should save something?
Everyone is saying i could overclock my cpu, buy a new card and power source and that's it.
But i wanna go overboard.
Is it too early to do this in December?
And what could i save from my current build?

Possibly too early in December. Although I don't see a new gpu range arriving before VR.

You can hold onto the HDD and the ram if you don't mind doing 4x2gb on haswell, otherwise just the HDD. And you can't use the ram if you go skylake. The PSU is good but in not sure if it will work with new CPUs lower power States (C7). You may want to email the manufacturer.

 

[hitgirl]

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.

yea, I could get a video card and call it a day. With Skylake though you get m.2 ssd speeds and DDR4.

 

[Weetrick]

Hey guys, I have a question about bias lighting. I have an LED light strip behind my living room TV, which is attached to the back with an adhesive strip. I love it.

I want the same thing for my office desktop, which has two 24" monitors. How do you guys have your lights setup for dual monitors?
Do you use 2 LED strips, one for each monitor? Or do you use a single light stretching from one monitor to the next? I'm thinking the first option is better due to mobility.

I'm looking for a clean, smart way of doing this.

Thanks!

 

[Sequincer]

How is that damaging for PWM fans?

PWM uses direct speed control through a method known as pule-width modulation from a PWM module (used in fan controllers or more recent motherboards). DC fans have 3 pins you might notice, but PWM fans have a fourth pin in order to control these fans directly through two different signals - speed control & voltage as opposed to just voltage. If you use PWM fans that are typically capable of running as low as 300rpm through voltage, not only will you only achieve 800 - 1000rpm as its lowest speed, you will also damage the fan's circuit as it isn't designed to be controlled by voltage. A lot of people will also hear a hum when trying to control pwm fans through voltage.

If your motherboard has fan headers that are PWM capable and you spent $20 - $30 per PWM fan, you should invent a PWM hub so that you can power it from your power supply, but control it from your motherboard's fan header. A popular hub people use for such control is: http://www.amazon.com/Swiftech-8-Way-Splitter-Power-Connector/dp/B00IF6R4C8

This is also how people get 6-8 fans in push/pull on radiators. You could use a hub and your motherboard's fan header OR just get a fan controller and plug all fans in since the controllers allow for much more wattage per header. Personally, after using PWM fans, I will never go back; to be able to control your rad fans and case fans separately allows for ultra quiet operation when idle and you can create your own fan curves so they ramp up when gaming.

 

[Haribi]

I knew something would go wrong with my first pc build. Everything was going well until I realised that I ordered the wrong fucking mainboard.
What I wanted to buy was the ASRock B85M Pro4 because I have a micro ATX case. I originally had it correctly in my shopping cart as well but I changed my selection a few times and when I finally decided to buy the ASRock after all, I must've selected the ASRock B85 Pro4 (notice the missing M) without realising that it was the ATX version.
The worst part is that I had already installed the CPU and CPU cooler.

I don't know if I should switch the case for an ATX case so it fits this mainboard or if I should return the mainboard for its micro ATX version. I really like the case but I also don't want to deal with the hassle of removing the thermal paste and reinstalling CPU and CPU cooler when it is already installed perfectly right now.

 

[kamakazi5]

Your Current Specs: NA, building for wife.
Budget: US, as close to $400 as possible
Main Use: Rate 1-5. 5 being Highest: Basic stuff like MS Office and Internet for studying, gaming wise she would like to play stuff like FFXIV, the Sims, nothing too terribly advanced at 1080 and 30fps is fine.
Monitor Resolution: Not needed
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: Stated above
Looking to reuse any parts?: Only need the tower
When will you build?: Do you have a deadline? In the next couple weeks
Will you be overclocking?: No


What I currently picked. The thing I feel I can save on most is the CPU, will an I3 be fine?

She also wants a smaller form factor in case she wants to take the tower to her mom's occasionally.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cchcD3

 

[LilJoka]

PWM uses direct speed control through a method known as pule-width modulation from a PWM module (used in fan controllers or more recent motherboards). DC fans have 3 pins you might notice, but PWM fans have a fourth pin in order to control these fans directly through two different signals - speed control & voltage as opposed to just voltage. If you use PWM fans that are typically capable of running as low as 300rpm through voltage, not only will you only achieve 800 - 1000rpm as its lowest speed, you will also damage the fan's circuit as it isn't designed to be controlled by voltage. A lot of people will also hear a hum when trying to control pwm fans through voltage.

If your motherboard has fan headers that are PWM capable and you spent $20 - $30 per PWM fan, you should invent a PWM hub so that you can power it from your power supply, but control it from your motherboard's fan header. A popular hub people use for such control is: http://www.amazon.com/Swiftech-8-Way-Splitter-Power-Connector/dp/B00IF6R4C8

This is also how people get 6-8 fans in push/pull on radiators. You could use a hub and your motherboard's fan header OR just get a fan controller and plug all fans in since the controllers allow for much more wattage per header. Personally, after using PWM fans, I will never go back; to be able to control your rad fans and case fans separately allows for ultra quiet operation when idle and you can create your own fan curves so they ramp up when gaming.

Although your understanding is correct on the function of PWM signalling, your missing a crucial aspect, a 0% duty cycle is the same as a 12v DC signal. And that the PWM pin lives ia separate pin not shared by a 3 pin header.

Putting less than 12v through a PWM fan will actually just give the same result as the standard fans, it wont damage them, they will run slower, but they will not be able to start off with low voltages (this is the whole point in going PWM), meaning low voltages are unreliable, usually 6v is enough though.

The pin out on a PWM fan is just 12v, GND, RPM, PWM.
The pin out on a standard fan is just 12v, GND RPM.

The 12V is actually the supply to the fan itself. The PWM signal is usually low voltage, usually 3v. The Fan then has some electronics which modulate the PWM signal against the 12v DC signal to create the final modulated 12v signal to power the motor. If the PWM sinal is a 0v, it wont modulate the 12v signal at all, so the motor will just run at 12v. If the 12v drops (as in the case of a 3pin header) then fan speed just drops as normal too.

Therefore you cannot damage a PWM fan on a 3pin header, itll just function as a 3pin fan and its limitations.

 

[demented]

I need help with my 2nd monitor, but let's forget it's 2nd because I disconnected first and tried everything.
Basically I moved and carried pc and monitor(s) with me and now my 2nd monitor doesn't work over DVI anymore. I tried different cable, same deal, says no signal deteted, tried cable with other monitor and it works. Tried HDMi cable on that monitor and it works too so I only can assume that DVI port on the monitor got damaged or isn't working now somehow? Don't know why because I didn't even disconnect the cable from it while moving, maybe it was tugged or moved too much and got damaged idk but unlikely. Anyone got idea what to do or cut my loses and just use HDMI instead?

 

[Shining Sunshine]

I need help with my 2nd monitor, but let's forget it's 2nd because I disconnected first and tried everything.
Basically I moved and carried pc and monitor(s) with me and now my 2nd monitor doesn't work over DVI anymore. I tried different cable, same deal, says no signal deteted, tried cable with other monitor and it works. Tried HDMi cable on that monitor and it works too so I only can assume that DVI port on the monitor got damaged or isn't working now somehow? Don't know why because I didn't even disconnect the cable from it while moving, maybe it was tugged or moved too much and got damaged idk but unlikely. Anyone got idea what to do or cut my loses and just use HDMI instead?

Have you tried it on another PC to see if it is the monitor port or the cable?

 

[Sequincer]

Although your understanding is correct on the function of PWM signalling, your missing a crucial aspect, a 0% duty cycle is the same as a 12v DC signal. And that the PWM pin lives ia separate pin not shared by a 3 pin header.

Putting less than 12v through a PWM fan will actually just give the same result as the standard fans, it wont damage them, they will run slower, but they will not be able to start off with low voltages (this is the whole point in going PWM), meaning low voltages are unreliable, usually 6v is enough though.

The pin out on a PWM fan is just 12v, GND, RPM, PWM.
The pin out on a standard fan is just 12v, GND RPM.

The 12V is actually the supply to the fan itself. The PWM signal is usually low voltage, usually 3v. The Fan then has some electronics which modulate the PWM signal against the 12v DC signal to create the final modulated 12v signal to power the motor. If the PWM sinal is a 0v, it wont modulate the 12v signal at all, so the motor will just run at 12v. If the 12v drops (as in the case of a 3pin header) then fan speed just drops as normal too.

Therefore you cannot damage a PWM fan on a 3pin header, itll just function as a 3pin fan and its limitations.

Did not know that, that's good to know. I've heard from a lot of people that it can be damaging to the fan, but none have explained it in the detail you have.

 

[demented]

Have you tried it on another PC to see if it is the monitor port or the cable?

No but I tried two different DVI cables with both monitors and both cables worked with main monitor but not the one in question. Don't really have any other pc's to test it with atm except laptops.

 

[Oemenia]

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

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.

Ouch, some of them are quite bad. How much difference would it be with something like a GTX 750 Ti since the GTX 980 is enthusiast class.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

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?

Hey, so I was in almost the exact same situation as you early last summer. I'd ordered a GTX 970 in preperation for building an entirely new PC when Skylake released in August, but for the moment all I had was a Q9550. Couldn't overclock either, so I was stuck on the stock 2.83 Ghz.


I mean... it worked. Everything is a lot BETTER now that the card is paired with a newer processor, but even in my old system, the GTX 970 made a HUUUUGE difference compared to the Radeon 7770 I had been using before that.

Strangely, the biggest problem that I had was frame pacing. For example, Tomb Raider 2013 would run between 55-60 fps with everything maxed out aside from TressFX (turned off because it's an ATI specific technology) and Level of Detail (set to "low" because it's a particularly CPU-intensive setting), but it felt a lot lower than that, because the pacing was all screwy. Life is Strange and BioShock Infinite had similar problems.

 

[CreepingFear]

I received my motherboard last night from Newegg. One little problem... It was supposed to come with a 6700k. The processor did not come with the motherboard and it wasn't in a separate box either. It was supposed to be in the same shipment. Either someone at the Newegg warehouse fucked up and did not put my processor in the shipment, or someone from UPS opened my box and stole my processor. Newegg was closed last night, so I had to call them today. When I called them, instead of sending me another one right away, they said I had to fill out a claim and the claim would take 3-5 business days to process.

So I ordered another processor so I could get it early next week. I have to make sure the Newegg follows through and gives me the refund on the original processor and gives me a refund on the shipping for this 2nd processor that I ordered. So frustrating and stressful.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Guys guys guys. I finally fixed the the front USB ports on my computer!

The Fractal Design R5 has four USB ports on the front: two USB 3.0 ports, and two USB 2.0 ports:

Ever since I built my computer in mid-august, only two of these ports--the USB 3.0 ones--have actually worked. I didn't know what what was wrong, and it was 11 pm and I'd been working on the computer since noon, so I said "screw it", and left the USB ports as they were.

Well, I finally got around to opening up my computer again and looking around. Turns out my motherboard has two ports with the exact same number of pins--one labeled "JUSB1", which had a cable plugged into it, and another labeled "JUSB2", which was empty. I moved the cable and voila, it works!

I, for one, am as excited as heck. Four functional USB ports! That's, like, twice as many as I had before!

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Guys guys guys. I finally fixed the the Front USB ports on my computer!

The Fractal Design R5 has four USB ports on the front: two USB 3.0 ports, and two USB 2.0 ports:

Ever since I built my computer in mid-august, only two of these ports--the USB 3.0 ones--have actually worked. I didn't know what what was wrong, and it 11 pm and I'd been working on the computer since noon, so I said "screw it", and left USB ports as-is.

Well, I finally got around to opening up my computer again and looking around. Turns out my motherboard has two ports with the exact same number of pins: one labeled "JUSB1", which had a cable plugged into it, and another labeled "JUSB2", which was empty. I moved the cable and voila, it works!

I, for one, am as excited as heck. Four functional USB ports! That's, like, twice as many as I had before!

Sure you did your math right there buddy?

Spoiler

Jk, congrats

 

[Oemenia]

Hey, so I was in almost the exact same situation as you early last summer. I'd ordered a GTX 970 in preperation for building an entirely new PC when Skylake released in August, but for the moment all I had was a Q9550. Couldn't overclock either, so I was stuck on the stock 2.83 Ghz.


I mean... it worked. Everything is a lot BETTER now that the card is paired with a newer processor, but even in my old system, the GTX 970 made a HUUUUGE difference compared to the Radeon 7770 I had been using before that.

Strangely, the biggest problem that I had was frame pacing. For example, Tomb Raider 2013 would run between 55-60 fps with everything maxed out aside from TressFX (turned off because it's an ATI specific technology) and Level of Detail (set to "low" because it's a particularly CPU-intensive setting), but it felt lower than that, because the pacing was all screwy. Life is Strange and BioShock Infinite had similar problems.

That's good to hear since the 7770 is still bottlenecked by that processor and is still a decent card. Either way, it's good news since I can play older and some new games well enough.

How much of a difference would an OC make?

 

[Wowfunhappy]

How much of a difference would an OC make?

I have been told in the past that the Q9550 is a very good overclocker. A quick Google search shows that most people are able to get it to around 4 Ghz. So, about a 30% increase over the performance I was getting at stock speeds.

It's something I have zero first-hand experience with, though. My old computer was a pre-built Dell with a locked-down motherboard, so overclocking was completely out of the question.

 

[Oxn]

I was using a 3570K, and I am finally able to convince my sister to trade me her 3770K chip because she no longer need to to do CAD work.

I immediately OC it to 4.4 at 1.2v. Stressed it for a while at temp hovering around 85degree.

Feels good man. I don't think I'll need to upgrade for another 2 years, and when I do I'll finally move onto the Xtreme platform.

 

[CharpyImpact]

So, recently I have been getting a gray lined screened, like this

I assume this is my video card dying AGAIN. I did an RMA about 2 months ago and clearly something weird is still going on. Did I make the right assessment that it is the video card.

I have Gigabyte 7970 so this sucks. I wanted to wait longer to get a new card.

 

[opticalmace]

So, recently I have been getting a gray lined screened, like this

I assume this is my video card dying AGAIN. I did an RMA about 2 months ago and clearly something weird is still going on. Did I make the right assessment that it is the video card.

I have Gigabyte 7970 so this sucks. I wanted to wait longer to get a new card.

Try using integrated graphics? Could be monitor I suppose.

 

[CharpyImpact]

Try using integrated graphics? Could be monitor I suppose.

Used my friend's nvidia card. No problems thus far. Worth trying to RMA this sucker a second time for the same problem?

 

[Renekton]

http://wccftech.com/nvidia-conducted-secret-meeting-press-york-city/

(salty rumor) New secret card by Nvidia coming soon, possibly Titan XZ?

 

[Oxn]

http://wccftech.com/nvidia-conducted-secret-meeting-press-york-city/

(salty rumor) New secret card by Nvidia coming soon, possibly Titan XZ?

Another $3000 card?

 

[hitgirl]

Can anyone say how 21:9 support is on PC racing games; Dirt Rally, Formula 1 2015? Was going to get a screen for racing Sims, but not sure to go high refers rate or 21:9. Monitor will also double as a spreadsheet work machine during the day..

 

[WhiskeyDiver]

God yes. i7 4790k + 980 ti + 1440p gaming @60 fps feels so good. I wanna rub it all over my skin. Feels so good finally upgrading from a 7 year old athlon x2 215 + radeon 5670. It's a shame witcher 3 and GTA 5 are taking way too long to download...they need to hurry up now.

 

[mike23]

Your Current Specs:
CPU: 2500k @4.2ghz
RAM: 16GB DDR3
Motherboard: Asus P8P67 Pro
GPU: Radeon 5850
HDD: Samsung EVO 500GB & 250GB, Corsair F120. Plus several spinning HDs. Will be reusing them all.

Budget: Stilling deciding on the budget. Above is in my price range. Probably wouldn't go for 2 video cards.

Main Use: Everything. Gaming + I'm a software developer. I do a lot of CPU intensive stuff.

Monitor Resolution: Currently running two monitors. 2560x1440 and 1920x1200. Both at 60hz. Thinking about grabbing a 1440p 144hz monitor as well.
Looking to reuse any parts?: Reusing my SSDs and blu-ray burner
When will you build?: No deadline. Could be tomorrow, could be a few weeks. Basically once I'm unable to talk myself out of it.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($564.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Best Buy)
Motherboard: Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($239.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB HYBRID Video Card ($729.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($117.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2422.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-27 01:32 EDT-0400

I'm toying with going big on my next PC. I've had my current one for about 4.5 years.
Basically what I'm looking for is performance. I may hold off on 32GB of that memory, but probably not.

Questions:
Are there any areas where I'm missing performance for my $?
I'm unsure about CPU water coolers. How's the one I chose? Will it fit well in my case?
I see that the MSI X99S SLI Plus is suggested in the first post, how does it compare to the one I chose?
Is there anything coming out in the near future (this year?) that might be worth waiting for?

 

[Burgess_101]

After my kerfuffle midweek with PCupgrade.co.uk (whom I still recommend you avoid, even though it seems they have bought stock of most 1155 motherboards in the UK), I managed to pick up a GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 for just £100. I am pretty happy and can't wait to get my PC up and running again.

 

[Boombox On]

I've been thinking about adding extra storage for my PC. I currently have. A 1 tb Caviar Blue drive that I've been using for the last two years. Should I just add in another one, or has this drive been being used for so long that I might as well just replace it altogether with a 2tb drive?

Also, in case of the latter, which brand? Is the price of the Caviar Black worth it for the reliability?

 

[kharma45]

So, recently I have been getting a gray lined screened, like this

I assume this is my video card dying AGAIN. I did an RMA about 2 months ago and clearly something weird is still going on. Did I make the right assessment that it is the video card.

I have Gigabyte 7970 so this sucks. I wanted to wait longer to get a new card.

Funny my 7850 started doing this yesterday. Can't tell if it's just the one game causing it or not yet though.

 

[Oxn]

After my kerfuffle midweek with PCupgrade.co.uk (whom I still recommend you avoid, even though it seems they have bought stock of most 1155 motherboards in the UK), I managed to pick up a GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 for just £100. I am pretty happy and can't wait to get my PC up and running again.

Thats a cute looking board

 

[CharpyImpact]

Funny my 7850 started doing this yesterday. Can't tell if it's just the one game causing it or not yet though.

Dota 2 Reborn? That is where this is happening.

 

[kharma45]

Dota 2 Reborn? That is where this is happening.

Telltales GoT game in my case

 

[Burgess_101]

I've been thinking about adding extra storage for my PC. I currently have. A 1 tb Caviar Blue drive that I've been using for the last two years. Should I just add in another one, or has this drive been being used for so long that I might as well just replace it altogether with a 2tb drive?

Also, in case of the latter, which brand? Is the price of the Caviar Black worth it for the reliability?

Use Crystal disk info and just check how its doing but 2 years is honestly nothing in my opinion. I have a 320gb WD HDD that's been going for well in excess of 8 years now and it doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon.

Obviously backed up but I would add to what you have and just back up what is important to you.

 

[bluntspoon]

Your Current Specs:
CPU: 2500k @4.2ghz
RAM: 16GB DDR3
Motherboard: Asus P8P67 Pro
GPU: Radeon 5850
HDD: Samsung EVO 500GB & 250GB, Corsair F120. Plus several spinning HDs. Will be reusing them all.

Main Use: Everything. Gaming + I'm a software developer. I do a lot of CPU intensive stuff.

I'm toying with going big on my next PC. I've had my current one for about 4.5 years.
Basically what I'm looking for is performance. I may hold off on 32GB of that memory, but probably not.

Questions:
Are there any areas where I'm missing performance for my $?
I'm unsure about CPU water coolers. How's the one I chose? Will it fit well in my case?
I see that the MSI X99S SLI Plus is suggested in the first post, how does it compare to the one I chose?
Is there anything coming out in the near future (this year?) that might be worth waiting for?

I think you would be astounded at the difference just putting a 980Ti in there would make.

Comparing a 5870 with a straight 980 gives you this.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1062?vs=1351

Your difference would be even more pronounced.

Your board also would take a 3770K I believe, which should help on the cpu side of things. I guess it depends how much impact the hyper threading would have on the software you use.

 

[gloriousd]

Hi Guys and Gals,

I want a gaming PC but I don't have enough funds to buy the entire thing at once. I was thinking about building a PC based on a Core i5 5675C and using the integrated graphics for light gaming (Starcraft 2 LotV, Heroes of the Storm, LoL, etc.) while I save some money on a dedicated graphics card (GTX970/ R9 390 minimum). Is it a good idea? What kind of RAM should I use to get a good compromise between performance and price (as I understand integrated graphics rely on RAM)? Is there an easy way to check whether a motherboard is compatible with Broadwell chips? Should there be anything else I should know?

I'm sorry for those questions but I have been out of the loop when it comes to PC gaming for the last 7 years.

Alternatively, I could buy an i3 Haswell + R9 270/Geforce 750Ti but that would get me the performance of my "gaming" laptop (which I intend to sell), so it seems pointless. I won't be able to use all the cash from selling the laptop, so there's that.

 

[The Boat]

If I went for a locked Skylake, should I go for an H170 instead of a Z170?

 

[Redmethod18]

Hi guys I've been working on a build recently and while I have a decent idea of what I am looking for I was wondering if there is anything else I should be considering?

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
Cooler: Noctua NH-D15
Motherboard: Asus Z170
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4-3000
SSD: Crucial BX100 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti
Case: NZXT H630
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 750W G2

I've been following a lot of what is said in the OP to get a decent handle on what I'm looking for.

Thanks

P.S. I'm in the UK so some of the parts I've been looking at seem to be unavailable here. But I think that was mainly a badly categorised PSU list.

P.P.S. I was wanting to get a Corsair K70 RGB with Blue Switches but there are discontinued and impossible to find, brown however are possible to find is there a huge difference between brown and blue switches? Should I just go for the K95 with blues?

Sorry some list minute details. Budget between £1800-2000

I'm going to be using pretty much exclusively for gaming possibly some C++ and Matlab based calculations nothing too taxing, mainly just checking code.

I'm going to be getting a 2560x1440 144hz monitor. Also running dual monitor possibly connecting to TV somewhat regularly.

Most likely won't be overclocking.

I want to keep current PC as is so it can be used for other stuff so I will need all new parts.

I'm relatively new to posting so if I made any mistakes please let me know.

Thanks again for any and all help.

 

[Celcius]

Your Current Specs:
CPU: 2500k @4.2ghz
RAM: 16GB DDR3
Motherboard: Asus P8P67 Pro
GPU: Radeon 5850
HDD: Samsung EVO 500GB & 250GB, Corsair F120. Plus several spinning HDs. Will be reusing them all.

Budget: Stilling deciding on the budget. Above is in my price range. Probably wouldn't go for 2 video cards.

Main Use: Everything. Gaming + I'm a software developer. I do a lot of CPU intensive stuff.

Monitor Resolution: Currently running two monitors. 2560x1440 and 1920x1200. Both at 60hz. Thinking about grabbing a 1440p 144hz monitor as well.
Looking to reuse any parts?: Reusing my SSDs and blu-ray burner
When will you build?: No deadline. Could be tomorrow, could be a few weeks. Basically once I'm unable to talk myself out of it.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($564.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Best Buy)
Motherboard: Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($239.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB HYBRID Video Card ($729.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($117.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2422.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-27 01:32 EDT-0400

I'm toying with going big on my next PC. I've had my current one for about 4.5 years.
Basically what I'm looking for is performance. I may hold off on 32GB of that memory, but probably not.

Questions:
Are there any areas where I'm missing performance for my $?
I'm unsure about CPU water coolers. How's the one I chose? Will it fit well in my case?
I see that the MSI X99S SLI Plus is suggested in the first post, how does it compare to the one I chose?
Is there anything coming out in the near future (this year?) that might be worth waiting for?

Seeing as how your current cpu is no slouch, have you considered just buying the cpu cooler and videocard first, overclocking your current cpu further, and seeing if the performance works for you? If not then you wouldn't have bought anything that you weren't already going to buy, but that gtx 980 ti alone will be a huge step up from the 5850 you currently have, and overclocking further would help in some those cpu-intensive programs you mentioned. I'm currently running a 2600k @ 4.6ghz on air with hyper-threading, (meaning that your cpu without HT could possibly run cooler and potentially have even more overclocking headroom), so I would bet you should be able to squeeze more out of your 2500k with the new cooler than the 4.2ghz that you currently have. With the money you've saved you could wait until Skylake-E comes out and transfer the corsair cpu cooler and the gtx 980ti over into that rig, or if you are satisfied with your new performance then could use the money saved on that 1440p 144hz monitor you mentioned.

 

[KurtFehl]

Wrong thread.