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[I should be doing hw]

Unfortunately I live in Aus so I can't use that store, which is a shame. That said, if I order a part from ebay that is from the US will it work with other Aus parts? Because I know that they use a different power output than we do, does that apply to PC parts too?

 

[Swag]

Those temps are fine, but use CoreTemp or RealTemp to check instead. Speedfan is rubbish.
Rivatuner for GPU temps

Got Realtemp, I liked speedfan cause it had an option to automate the fan speeds, kept me from worrying about anything overheating.

 

[Hawkian]

Guys, I bought a new rig today.

It was an insane deal I saw on slickdeals, and they were all sold out within 4 hours (was posted on tigerdirect, amazon, and circuitcity.com). Don't think it was posted earlier in the thread, unfortunately!

A mere three months ago the unit retailed for $2,299 and discounted for around $2,000- think it still retails in that general range, maybe up to $300 less.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...-details.asp?EdpNo=4531728&csid=ITD&body=MAIN Unavailable now, sorry.

The case seems to be very love it or hate it, but I am firmly in the former column, especially with the front vertical door open, it looks like a transformer.

$1,118.32 shipped.
- 10% cashback from Bing - a $20 mail-in I can get on the GFX card = $993.32

I'm pretty stunned. Waiting for tigerdirect to call me up and tell me it was all a dream or something. Apparently it shipped two hours ago... muahahhaha

Anybody else get the chance to snag this sweet deal while it was around today?

 

[Technosteve]

Don't buy it. Get the ABS 695/PC-X2000. I have a PC-X500 and it is a dream come true. I am getting the PC-X2000 this christmas and giving the PC-X500 to my brother.

ABS Black Pearl got it on sale, regret getting it because i don't have the courage to drill the holes to route the power cables and i need to buy a window to replace the grill. It lets in so much dust but it keeps things cool =D

 

[Hazaro]

Got Realtemp, I liked speedfan cause it had an option to automate the fan speeds, kept me from worrying about anything overheating.

Ok, well as long as the temperatures match up no worries.

Comp

Not a bad price, that case is insane though :lol
Keyboard is a nice bonus too.

 

[Swag]

Ok, well as long as the temperatures match up no worries.

Tried to run them side by side just to make sure there were no shenanigans and got this :lol

http://i38.tinypic.com/vhf2fd.jpg

Oh and Rivatuner seems a bit too complicated for me

 

[Firestorm]

The Acer actually seems kinda pricey. Must be because they're using the i7 940. That's the problem with most pre-built computers imo. Most important factor of a PC for me is video card but manufacturers know that a higher clock speed on the CPU is what sells so they usually up that instead.

Unfortunately I live in Aus so I can't use that store, which is a shame. That said, if I order a part from ebay that is from the US will it work with other Aus parts? Because I know that they use a different power output than we do, does that apply to PC parts too?

Ah. I'm not too sure what the best place for Aussies to buy parts is. But you can probably get similar stuff there.

 

[SapientWolf]

The Acer actually seems kinda pricey. Must be because they're using the i7 940. That's the problem with most pre-built computers imo. Most important factor of a PC for me is video card but manufacturers know that a higher clock speed on the CPU is what sells so they usually up that instead.Ah. I'm not too sure what the best place for Aussies to buy parts is. But you can probably get similar stuff there.

$993 is about where it should be. $2,299 must be in rape dollars.

 

[Hawkian]

It's listed about $1,699 some sites that have it in stock, I suppose that would be rape dollars as well.

Even in reguarly currency bang for the buck, though, not sure how you could call it pricey considering it does have the 940- it's not a 920 clocked to run like one (obviously that'd save you money). Spec for spec if you built it you'd end up paying MORE than I got it for. Even with timed deals on the 260 and a TB hard-drive, you'd hit over the $1,000 mark if you bought everything.

But maybe the TD page just didn't go a good job featuring it: it is liquid cooled, there are 3 front-access hotswap HDD bays, SLI-ready motherboard (which I due to a recent deal will be taking advantage of), Logitech mouse and usb-only powered speakers included.

And Hazaro, yeah I'm looking forward to checking out the G11.

 

[kittoo]

Guys, I bought a new rig today.

It was an insane deal I saw on slickdeals, and they were all sold out within 4 hours (was posted on tigerdirect, amazon, and circuitcity.com). Don't think it was posted earlier in the thread, unfortunately!

A mere three months ago the unit retailed for $2,299 and discounted for around $2,000- think it still retails in that general range, maybe up to $300 less.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...-details.asp?EdpNo=4531728&csid=ITD&body=MAIN Unavailable now, sorry.

The case seems to be very love it or hate it, but I am firmly in the former column, especially with the front vertical door open, it looks like a transformer.

$1,118.32 shipped.
- 10% cashback from Bing - a $20 mail-in I can get on the GFX card = $993.32

I'm pretty stunned. Waiting for tigerdirect to call me up and tell me it was all a dream or something. Apparently it shipped two hours ago... muahahhaha

Anybody else get the chance to snag this sweet deal while it was around today?

Shit! that indeed was an awesome awesome deal

 

[Hazaro]

Tried to run them side by side just to make sure there were no shenanigans and got this :lol

http://i38.tinypic.com/vhf2fd.jpg

Oh and Rivatuner seems a bit too complicated for me

You can use eVGA precision instead if that works better for you.
I think GPU-Z also does temps now too.

 

[SapientWolf]

It's listed about $1,699 some sites that have it in stock, I suppose that would be rape dollars as well.

Even in reguarly currency bang for the buck, though, not sure how you could call it pricey considering it does have the 940- it's not a 920 clocked to run like one (obviously that'd save you money). Spec for spec if you built it you'd end up paying MORE than I got it for. Even with timed deals on the 260 and a TB hard-drive, you'd hit over the $1,000 mark if you bought everything.

But maybe the TD page just didn't go a good job featuring it: it is liquid cooled, there are 3 front-access hotswap HDD bays, SLI-ready motherboard (which I due to a recent deal will be taking advantage of), Logitech mouse and usb-only powered speakers included.

And Hazaro, yeah I'm looking forward to checking out the G11.

It's about $1050 if you built it yourself and swap out the 940 for the 920, but you can get it under $1000 if you go i5 and get roughly the same performance. But yeah, you would end up paying about $1500 if you wanted all the bells and whistles so I guess it's not a bad deal.

 

[Hawkian]

It's about $1050 if you built it yourself and swap out the 940 for the 920, but you can get it under $1000 if you go i5

Well yeah that's what I meant- obviously you could get a similar rig for similar prices with slightly less powerful parts. But I got this one in particular for under either of those figures with the more expensive parts and what really made me pull the trigger were the bells and whistles as you said- particularly the front-mounted hdd bay access, I can't wait to check that out.

You can use eVGA precision instead if that works better for you.
I think GPU-Z also does temps now too.

Both of those are good options. Precision is a simple and useful OCing tool so that might be what you want

 

[K.Jack]

Tried to run them side by side just to make sure there were no shenanigans and got this :lol

http://i38.tinypic.com/vhf2fd.jpg

Oh and Rivatuner seems a bit too complicated for me

Your NeoGAF is not like mine. I want yours. Explain.

 

[Swag]

Your NeoGAF is not like mine. I want yours. Explain.

Info is in the OP, towards the bottom

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=372843&highlight=september+desktop

 

[Zyzyxxz]

It's about $1050 if you built it yourself and swap out the 940 for the 920, but you can get it under $1000 if you go i5 and get roughly the same performance. But yeah, you would end up paying about $1500 if you wanted all the bells and whistles so I guess it's not a bad deal.

its watercooled CPU.

Also you get the convenience of not having to build it. Not that its hard but sometimes when I get a new computer I just wanna turn it on, install some games, and enjoy awesome new framerates.

That is a really good deal for a prebuilt.

 

[I should be doing hw]

The P55 mobo + i5 750 + 4GB DDR3 + 5850 + quality 500w/650w combo (depending on whether you'd ever want to go the multi GPU route), really can't be beat in terms of priceerformance and it'll achieve what you want and still have a huge amount of overhead left.

I'm still stumped with the motherboard choice here? Which one did you mean specifically? Because there are heaps of options and I'm not sure what the right one is. Oh and is the 5870 the same except slightly better? Because there is a site that is aussie and sell parts pretty cheap in comparison to what I'm seeing on eBay but it doesn't have the 5850, only the 5870. Also can someone answer my question about ordering american parts and using them in australia?
Then I guess I'll need help with the Tower, screen and disk-drive.

 

[Binabik15]

German Gaf, what is a good place to go hardware shopping? There´s hardwareschotte for price comparisons, but what are good shops? And bad ones?

I have a CC card, if that helps.

 

[DietRob]

Dear PC gaf,

I want to OC my q6600 I've been reading various tech articles and the capabilities of OCing this processor are outstanding (some have reached almost 4ghz stable on air). The problem is I have the chip paired with a Intel dp35dp mobo. From what I am reading the mobo is not OC friendly at all.

Before I order a new mobo (ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo) does PC gaf have any tricks up your sleeve for the dp35dp mobo? I've updated to the most recent bios for the board. There are still no BIOS settings for OCing. It seems that I would have to use software such as SetFSB I have a bad feeling about using software instead of BIOS options.

Help me make a decision should I just go with the ASUS board? Anyone here have any experience OCing on a dp35dp?

 

[brain_stew]

Dear PC gaf,

I want to OC my q6600 I've been reading various tech articles and the capabilities of OCing this processor are outstanding (some have reached almost 4ghz stable on air). The problem is I have the chip paired with a Intel dp35dp mobo. From what I am reading the mobo is not OC friendly at all.

Before I order a new mobo (ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo) does PC gaf have any tricks up your sleeve for the dp35dp mobo? I've updated to the most recent bios for the board. There are still no BIOS settings for OCing. It seems that I would have to use software such as SetFSB I have a bad feeling about using software instead of BIOS options.

Help me make a decision should I just go with the ASUS board? Anyone here have any experience OCing on a dp35dp?

You could try a pin mod?

 

[DietRob]

You could try a pin mod?

I read about that on the Nvidia forums. To be honest doing that scares the crap out of me.

 

[brain_stew]

I read about that on the Nvidia forums. To be honest doing that scares the crap out of me.

Its easily reversible, no real danger from what I can see, really. Its just the same as changing the FSB value in your BIOS. Saves splashing out for a new motherboard, especially one for a dead end platform.

I've read about a lot of success stories, and no real horror stories.

 

[DietRob]

Its easily reversible, no real danger from what I can see, really. Its just the same as changing the FSB value in your BIOS. Saves splashing out for a new motherboard, especially one for a dead end platform.

I've read about a lot of success stories, and no real horror stories.

I appreciate your suggestions. I'm going to have to think about this one. I understand where you are coming from with buying into dead platforms. There are other factors for me to consider also. The mobo I currently sport only has 1 PCI 2.0 slot (no SLI for me, if i want to). If I can get the q6600 to 3.5 + I really won't need to worry about the socket size cause I won't feel the need to upgrade for a couple years. I already have 8gb of DDR2 so I'm not itching to jump to DDR3 either.

It seems like I'm doing a pretty good job talking myself into buying this board. Thanks for the discussion to help me justify my purchase. Unless you have some other variables for me to consider I think I'm gonna go ahead and order it.

 

[Firestorm]

I'm still stumped with the motherboard choice here? Which one did you mean specifically? Because there are heaps of options and I'm not sure what the right one is. Oh and is the 5870 the same except slightly better? Because there is a site that is aussie and sell parts pretty cheap in comparison to what I'm seeing on eBay but it doesn't have the 5850, only the 5870. Also can someone answer my question about ordering american parts and using them in australia?
Then I guess I'll need help with the Tower, screen and disk-drive.

I'd only look at Gigabyte and Asus for motherboards. 5870 is the step up from the 5850. Get the one by XFX if it's the same price as the rest. What's the site?

 

[PopcornMegaphone]

Stupid question - is there any advantage to going ATI/AMD vs ATI/Intel? I'm thinking of buying a i5/5850 combo this Nov.

 

[Firestorm]

Stupid question - is there any advantage to going ATI/AMD vs ATI/Intel? I'm thinking of buying a i5/5850 combo this Nov.

No.

 

[PopcornMegaphone]

Thank you.

 

[Technosteve]

I got a gigabyte X58-UD4P, best thing on there is the Qflash, copy the new bios on to a flash drive boot in to bios select qflash and bam bios update. Only gripe i have is the voltage steps are in .02 increments.

From my research asus, gigabyte are number 1 and number 2 in terms of quality but price is eh depending on tier of features you want. Best bang of the buck is asrock motherboards. They have options from the high end motherboards for middle tier price. Major downside is they have zero warrenty on the boards or 1 month warrenty. But price/performance ratio is very good. I think evga has life time warrenty on mobos but there prices are very high, they only sell high end parts.

Another thing to think about is getting micro atx mobo, you save 100 dollars if you don't need the added expansion slots and ram slots. The asus Republic of Gamers series umatx mobo is very good for the price. You just have to wait for the mainstream P55 chipset mobos to shake out but generally look at the x58 prices as a benchmark.

 

[SapientWolf]

Stupid question - is there any advantage to going ATI/AMD vs ATI/Intel? I'm thinking of buying a i5/5850 combo this Nov.

There is an advantage to going ATI/Intel, or Nvidia/AMD, for some bizarre reason. There was a comment about that in a 5870 review. It could be due to driver issues.

 

[Coen]

Finally bit the bullet and ordered a new rig

Antec P183 Zwart, Geen Voeding
GigaByte GA-P55-UD3R
Intel Core I5 750 2.66 GHz, 4.8 GT/s, 1 MB, 8 MB, Boxed
Corsair TW3X4G1600C9DHX 4 GB, PC3-12800, 1600 MHz, 9, Non-ECC, Kit Of 2
Samsung Spinpoint EcoGreen F2 1.5 TB, 5400 Rpm, 32 MB, S-ATA II/300
Corsair TX650 650 Watt, 24 Pins
Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 1024 MB
Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE S-ATA, Bulk, Zwart
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, NL, OEM, 64-Bit
Zalman ZM-F3 Case Fan 120 Mm
Logitech Desktop Cordless MX 3200 Laser USB, Zwart
Intronics Antistatische Polsband

Will probably have to wait a week before it arrives due to the 5850. Really looking forward to it though. Have about three years of PC gaming catching-up to do.

 

[Dark Stalkers]

ABS Black Pearl got it on sale, regret getting it because i don't have the courage to drill the holes to route the power cables and i need to buy a window to replace the grill. It lets in so much dust but it keeps things cool =D

It's so sexy though. :3

 

[Violater]

Guys, I bought a new rig today.

It was an insane deal I saw on slickdeals, and they were all sold out within 4 hours (was posted on tigerdirect, amazon, and circuitcity.com). Don't think it was posted earlier in the thread, unfortunately!

A mere three months ago the unit retailed for $2,299 and discounted for around $2,000- think it still retails in that general range, maybe up to $300 less.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...-details.asp?EdpNo=4531728&csid=ITD&body=MAIN Unavailable now, sorry.

The case seems to be very love it or hate it, but I am firmly in the former column, especially with the front vertical door open, it looks like a transformer.

$1,118.32 shipped.
- 10% cashback from Bing - a $20 mail-in I can get on the GFX card = $993.32

I'm pretty stunned. Waiting for tigerdirect to call me up and tell me it was all a dream or something. Apparently it shipped two hours ago... muahahhaha

Anybody else get the chance to snag this sweet deal while it was around today?

FUuuuuuu I nearly cried
Any chances of that popping up again?

 

[godhandiscen]

Guys, I bought a new rig today.

It was an insane deal I saw on slickdeals, and they were all sold out within 4 hours (was posted on tigerdirect, amazon, and circuitcity.com). Don't think it was posted earlier in the thread, unfortunately!

A mere three months ago the unit retailed for $2,299 and discounted for around $2,000- think it still retails in that general range, maybe up to $300 less.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...-details.asp?EdpNo=4531728&csid=ITD&body=MAIN Unavailable now, sorry.

The case seems to be very love it or hate it, but I am firmly in the former column, especially with the front vertical door open, it looks like a transformer.

$1,118.32 shipped.
- 10% cashback from Bing - a $20 mail-in I can get on the GFX card = $993.32

I'm pretty stunned. Waiting for tigerdirect to call me up and tell me it was all a dream or something. Apparently it shipped two hours ago... muahahhaha

Anybody else get the chance to snag this sweet deal while it was around today?

GET RID OF THAT CASE. Acer discontinued that model because they burn inside, to the point that they cause house fires. http://gadgetblips.dailyradar.com/story/desktop_computers_recalled_by_acer_america_corp_due_to/ Keep the components, just don't even attempt to use that case unless you want to play russian roulette and fry them.

 

[brain_stew]

I'd only look at Gigabyte and Asus for motherboards. 5870 is the step up from the 5850. Get the one by XFX if it's the same price as the rest. What's the site?

XFX don't have the same warranty coverage outside of North America. Its just a standard 1/2 year in the EU, I'd imagine it'd be the same in AUS.

 

[Hazaro]

GET RID OF THAT CASE. Acer discontinued that model because they burn inside, to the point that they cause house fires. http://gadgetblips.dailyradar.com/story/desktop_computers_recalled_by_acer_america_corp_due_to/ Keep the components, just don't even attempt to use that case unless you want to play russian roulette and fry them.

Aww bummer.

The case kind of looks evil now that I look at it.

 

[Firestorm]

XFX don't have the same warranty coverage outside of North America. Its just a standard 1/2 year in the EU, I'd imagine it'd be the same in AUS.

Ah, I didn't know that. What always impressed me about XFX and EVGA was that their warranties cover overclocking too. Is that still true outside NA?

 

[brain_stew]

Ah, I didn't know that. What always impressed me about XFX and EVGA was that their warranties cover overclocking too. Is that still true outside NA?

No idea, doesn't really matter in reality, OCing a GPU is entirely done in software, there's no traces left behind on the hardware (unless you get into voltmods and the like), in the practical sense all GPU warranties cover OCing.

 

[Violater]

Ok PC higher minds help me to choose, for the millionth time

Evga
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=x58_motherboard-_-13-188-039-_-Product

Or

Asus

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365

Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224

If anyone has either motherboards and can share their experience.

 

[Binabik15]

Noob question, but does Vista still want to be unlocked/registered/installed after a graphic card switch?

Because my brother needs more power.

 

[godhandiscen]

Ok PC higher minds help me to choose, for the millionth time

Evga
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=x58_motherboard-_-13-188-039-_-Product

Or

Asus

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365

Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224

ASUS. It OC's with a lower V-Core. I have the ASUS RAMPAGE EXTREME II and It OC's better than the EVGA Classified. EVGA, when it comes to mobos, is just flashy, while ASUS has been in the game for ages and knows how to get shit done. Also, they have the process so perfected that I never hear of ASUS mobos breaking, whereas is a different story with EVGA adding new features and what not with which they don't have experience.

 

[Technosteve]

Ok PC higher minds help me to choose, for the millionth time

Evga
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=x58_motherboard-_-13-188-039-_-Product

Or

Asus

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365

Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224

If anyone has either motherboards and can share their experience.

you are a rich man =(

 

[Violater]

you are a rich man =(

Been saving since the Q9450's came out, the running joke according to my friends is I will never buy for the fear of something new and better coming out "soon"

 

[TheHeretic]

Unfortunately I live in Aus so I can't use that store, which is a shame. That said, if I order a part from ebay that is from the US will it work with other Aus parts? Because I know that they use a different power output than we do, does that apply to PC parts too?

Number one website for an Australian is staticice.com, its lists all the online stores by order of price for whatever you search.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

So I think I am going to jump into the wide world of SSD's this fall. It's come down to the Intel x-25m (gen 2) 80gb at $289 and the OCZ summit 120gb w/ samsung controller for $335. Any opinions on one over the other? I know Intel is the best quality, but 80gb is on the small side for my OS drive, 120gb would be perfect but the summit series is still fairly new. Both support trim/garbage collection so thats not an issue. Thanks for any thoughts, suggestions!

 

[brain_stew]

Been saving since the Q9450's came out, the running joke according to my friends is I will never buy for the fear of something new and better coming out "soon"

If that's the case then you're making a pretty poor purchase imo. If you have to save to afford these parts then they're not for you, you can get basically the same real world performance for half the price now that socket LGA1156 is launched, that'd be my advice.

 

[Lostconfused]

If that's the case then you're making a pretty poor purchase imo. If you have to save to afford these parts then they're not for you, you can get basically the same real world performance for half the price now that socket LGA1156 is launched, that'd be my advice.

People make poor decisions when it comes to hardware all the time. I mean i got a core i5 because it annoyed me that RE5 was limited by my core2 duo.

 

[brain_stew]

People make poor decisions when it comes to hardware all the time. I mean i got a core i5 because it annoyed me that RE5 was limited by my core2 duo.

Well I wouldn't call that a poor decision, really. You bought the best "bang for buck" CPU on the market.

My point isn't that people shouldn't upgrade its that the highest end parts are always overpriced. That's fine, if you've got the cash to burn, but if not its worth having the knowledge that often you'd probably not notice a difference in games even if you halved your budget.

 

[Minsc]

Yea, the Core i5 is a very good processor, it can beat the core i7 920 in some things, even multi-threaded things (such as video encoding).

 

[Cheeto]

Been saving since the Q9450's came out, the running joke according to my friends is I will never buy for the fear of something new and better coming out "soon"

Best bet probably is to save some money a buy a lesser rig and save the remainder for a GPU upgrade down the road.

 

[Violater]

If that's the case then you're making a pretty poor purchase imo. If you have to save to afford these parts then they're not for you, you can get basically the same real world performance for half the price now that socket LGA1156 is launched, that'd be my advice.

My Pc would be first and foremost for 3d modeling and rendering, gaming is just a bonus.
So no my decision is not a poor one, and saving for the PC parts only means I drink, party and waste money less.

So far I have only received one answer to my question.